An Examination of Capitalism on Nineteenth-Century Haciendas in Yucatán, Mexico,

Author(s): Erin R. Schmidt

Year: 2013

Summary

This paper presents archaeological and historical evidence of the changing roles of haciendas in

the Mexican economy during the nineteenth century in Yucatán. Specifically, this paper looks at how

haciendas changed before and just after the Caste War of Yucatán through the examination of

hacienda site structures, population data, and material culture comparisons. Haciendas are

agricultural estates that are maintained by a wealthy land-owner and a lower-class labor force to

supply small- scale markets with goods and enhance the prestige and status of the owner. The spread

of haciendas across Yucatán was a process related to changes brought on by shifts in capitalist

relations among owners and workers that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. I compare the

variation in the architecture of the haciendas before and after the Caste War (1847), in the areas

around Yaxcabá, Valladolid, and Campeche. Architectural variation and material culture comparisons

reveal new details about labor organization and production during the volatile nineteenth century.

As knowledge regarding haciendas increases, new questions arise about their

structure and functions across time and space.

Cite this Record

An Examination of Capitalism on Nineteenth-Century Haciendas in Yucatán, Mexico,. Erin R. Schmidt. Masters Thesis. New Mexico State University (NMSU), Anthropology. 2013 ( tDAR id: 500218) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8500218

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
Historic • Historic Native American • Maya • Spanish

Material
Building Materials • Ceramic • Fauna • Glass • Ground Stone • Metal • Soil Samples

Site Name
Ebtun, Cuncunul, Kaua, Tekom, Tixcacalcupul, Yucatan • Xcalacoop

Site Type
Agricultural Field or Field Feature • Agricultural or Herding • Apiary • Canal or Canal Feature • Cemetery • Cenote • Corral • Hacienda • Hamlet / Village • Historic Church / Religious Structure • Historic Communal / Public Structure • Historic Governmental Structure • Historic Structure • noria (waterwheel) • Ossuary • Plaza • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features • Road • Town / City • Trail • Water Control Feature • Water-Related

Investigation Types
Data Recovery / Excavation • Ethnographic Research • Ethnohistoric Research • Historic Background Research • Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis • Reconnaissance / Survey • Site Evaluation / Testing

General
'Historical Archaeology' • Archaeological site survey and testing • colonial and postcolonial transformations • Ethnohistory • Landscape • Yucatan, Mexico

Geographic Keywords
Yucatan, Mexico

Temporal Keywords
Historic Period 1545 - 2000

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1545 to 2024

Spatial Coverage

min long: -88.532; min lat: 20.532 ; max long: -88.167; max lat: 20.724 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Principal Investigator(s): Rani T Alexander

Record Identifiers

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Soil Permit, 2012(s): P330-12-00183

NMSU Institutional Review Board, Human Subjects Research, 2012(s): 7512 (Expedited)

Consejo de Arqueologia, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH)(s): Oficio Num. C.A. 401-36/1479

Notes

General Note: This thesis includes survey and test excavation documentation for Hacienda Santiago Aguada, Campeche, Mexico.

File Information

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Erin Schmidt_An Examination of Capitalism on Nineteenth-Century Haciendas in Yucatán, Mexico, MA thesis, 2013, NMSU