The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica: Archaeological Perspectives

274 Pages·2005·23.21 MB·English

by  Susan Kepecs

The Postclassic to Spanish-Era Transition in Mesoamerica

The Postclassic to Spanish-Era
Transition in Mesoamerica
Archaeological Perspectives
Edited by Susan Kepecs and
Rani T. Alexander
University of New Mexico Press l Albuquerque
©2005by the University ofNew Mexico Press
All rights reserved.Published 2005.
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
09 08 07 06 05 1 2 3 4 5
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The postclassic to Spanish-era transition in Mesoamerica :
archaeological perspectives / edited by Susan Kepecs and
Rani T.Alexander.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 0-8263-3739-2(cloth :alk.paper)
1. Indians ofCentral America—Antiquities.
2. Excavations (Archaeology)—Central America.
3. Central America—Antiquities.
I.Kepecs,Susan,1946– II.Alexander,Rani T.,1962–
F1434.P682005
972.8’01—dc22
2005015321
Book and jacket design and
typography by Kathleen Sparkes
This book was typeset using
Minion 10/13;2column 17p7
The display type is
the Univers family
Contents
FOREWORD
Matthew Restall xi
ONE
The Postclassic to Spanish-Era
Transition in Mesoamerica: An Introduction
Rani T.Alexander and Susan Kepecs 1
TWO
The Aztec Palace under Spanish Rule:
Disk Motifs in the Mapa de México de 1550
(Uppsala Map or Mapa de Santa Cruz)
Susan Toby Evans 13
THREE
Consumption and the Varied Ideologies of
Domination in Colonial Mexico City
Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría 35
FOUR
The Basin of Mexico A.D. 1450–1620:
Archaeological Dimensions
Thomas H.Charlton,Cynthia L.Otis Charlton,
and Patricia Fournier García 49
FIVE
From Imperial Core to Colonial Periphery:
The Lake Pátzcuaro Basin 1400–1800
Helen Perlstein Pollard 65
SIX
The Consequences of Spanish Colonial Rule for the
Indigenous Peoples of Chiapas, Mexico
Janine Gasco 77
SEVEN
On the Margins of Peripheries: The Consequences of
Differential Incorporation in the Colonial Southwest
Mark T.Lycett 97
EIGHT
Mayas, Spaniards, and Salt: World Systems
Shifts in Sixteenth-Century Yucatán
Susan Kepecs 117
NINE
Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Maya
Political Geography in Central Petén, Guatemala
Don S.Rice and Prudence M.Rice 139
TEN
Isla Cilvituk and the Difficulties of
Spanish Colonization in Southwestern Campeche
Rani T.Alexander 161
ELEVEN
Postcolonial Conquest of the Southern Maya Lowlands,
Cross-Cultural Interaction, and Lacandon Maya Culture Change
Joel W.Palka 183
REFERENCES CITED 203
CONTRIBUTORS 253
INDEX 255
Figures
2.1 The tecpan-calliglyph 14
2.2 Changing political organization in central Mexico 15
2.3 Tenochtitlán–Mexico City:Codex Osunatecpan 17
2.4 Tlatelolco:Códice del tecpan Santiago Tlatelolcotecpan 18
2.5 Tenochtitlán:Motecuzoma’s tecpan 20
2.6 Mapa de México,about 1550 21
2.7 Mapa de México,Sectors I and II 22
2.8 Mapa de México,Sectors III and IV 28
2.9 Mapa de México,Sector VI 29
2.10 Mapa de México,Sectors V,VIII,and IX 31
2.11 Mapa de México,Sectors VII,X,and XI 32
3.1 Map ofthe Centro Histórico ofMexico City 40
3.2 Majolica sherds excavated by the Programa de Arqueología Urbana 42
3.3 Red Ware sherds excavated by the Programa de Arqueología Urbana 43
4.1 Basin ofMexico with relevant sites 51
4.2 Eastern Teotihuacán Valley with Otumba and dependencies 53
5.1 The Tarascan empire 67
5.2 Late Postclassic settlements listed in documentary sources 68
5.3 Late Postclassic settlements from archaeological survey 69
6.1 Location ofstate ofChiapas in southern Mexico 78
6.2 Map ofChiapas 79
6.3 Linguistic map ofChiapas 80
6.4 Map ofa portion ofChiapas highlands 85
7.1 The location ofNew Mexico in northern New Spain 98
7.2 The Rio Grande Valley 104
7.3 San Pedro,feature map 108
7.4 San Pedro,feature associated with copper production in
plan and section 110
vii
8.1 Chikinchel in Yucatán 119
8.2 The Late Postclassic world system 123
8.3 The Chan Tzucub 125
8.4 Chikinchel in the Late Postclassic 127
8.5 Emal 128
8.6 Tases paste groups at Loche,San Fernando Aké,and Emal 130
8.7 Chikinchel in the Transitional Era 131
8.8 The Maya economic world,ca.1540–1640 134
9.1 Mapped Postclassic and Colonial period sites in the central
Petén Lakes region 142
9.2 Late seventeenth-century Maya political territories in the central
Petén Lakes region 143
9.3 The peninsular site ofNixtun-Ch’ich’in the western basin of
Lake Petén Itzá 145
9.4 Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Maya language distribution 151
10.1 Location ofthe study area 163
10.2 Ecological zones in southwestern Campeche 168
10.3 Site plan ofIsla Cilvituk 169
10.4 A sector at Isla Cilvituk 171
10.5 Site setting 174
10.6 Sahcabchén,eighteenth-century church interior 177
10.7 Sahcabchén,earlier chapel,possibly seventeenth century 178
10.8 Sahcabchén,Noria 178
11.1 Map ofthe southern Maya Lowlands and archaeological sites 186
11.2 Lacandon ceramics from El Caobal,Petén 190
11.3 Lacandon chert blades and arrowheads 191
11.4 Lacandon trade goods from El Caobal 192
11.5 God pot from El Mangal 194
11.6 Ceramics from La Palmera,Petén 195
11.7 Chert artifacts from La Palmera 195
11.8 Trade items from La Palmera 196
11.9 Metal artifacts from La Palmera 196
viii
Tables
2.1 Architectural forms ofthe Mapa de México 23
2.2 Mapa de Méxicobuildings with disk friezes,by sector 24
3.1 Cross tabulation ofceramic ware per house in the PAUsites 45
4.1 Population changes a.d.1521–1620:Basin ofMexico 52
4.2 Population changes a.d.1521–1620:Otumba city-state 57
5.1 Phases ofthe Lake Pátzcuaro Basin 70
5.2 Population history ofthe Lake Pátzcuaro Basin 1500–1750 73
7.1 Missions established among the Rio Grande Pueblos during the
seventeenth century 105
7.2 Excavated mission sites discussed in the text 107
10.1 Distribution ofstructure types,their area,and volume by
spatial sector 172
11.1 Quantities and densities ofartifacts from El Caobal 193
11.2 Quantities and densities ofartifacts from La Palmera 197
ix