Ontologies des figurines, assemblages rituels domestiques et questions liées au genre à Xaltocan, Mexique, au cours du Postclassique

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Agency, practice, and chronological context: a Bayesian approach to household chronologies

Click on the DOI link to access the article (may not be free).This article proposes a methodological change within social archaeologies of household agency and practice, specifically a move to prioritize the development of precise household chronologies. Chronological precision can allow scholars to historicize household practice and remain anchored in social, political, and economic context, and thus, chronology is a vital part of archaeological studies of agency at the microscale. Given the field's recent focus on detailed stratigraphic excavations, microstratigraphy, and the reconstruction of genealogies of practice, I suggest that the easiest way to improve chronological precision is Bayesian statistical modeling of a large number of stratified radiocarbon determinations from household contexts. I illustrate the value of such an approach through the case study of the Structure 122 household at Xaltocan, Mexico. I create a precise chronology using Bayesian statistical modeling of 14 AMS radiocarbon dates from stratified deposits, which allows me to not only determine the precise timing of individual deposits, but also to interrogate previous findings of ethnic shift with broader political-economic changes. This sample, while small, hints that chronological imprecision may have led to the incorrect attribution of transformations in practice to elite, imperial actors, and demonstrates how Bayesian household chronologies may help archaeologists better identify agential practices.This research was conducted with the permission of Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History. The Gonzalez-Sanchez family graciously allowed excavations on their property, and the project also benefited from the support of the Xaltocan cultural center, the Xaltocan delegados, and the Gran Senorio de Xaltocan Historical Society. This research was supported by a Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (7797) from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (0968551), a Young Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, a Grant-in-Aid of Research from the Sigma Xi Foundation, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, a Graduate Research Grant from the University Research Grants Committee at Northwestern University, and a Research Grant from the LeCron Foster and Friends of Anthropology at Northwestern University

Mesoamerica—Aztec Figurines

Aztec ceramic figurines are ubiquitous small finds in central Mexican domestic contexts. As expressive miniature representations of humans, animals, and temples that were distributed through an extensive market system, they provide a window into Aztec worldviews, regional economies, and the household realm. Yet they have received relatively scant archaeological attention, likely because of disciplinary bias toward the monumental and imperial. This chapter reviews this small but compelling corpus of research, identifying a series of six approaches that are loosely chronologically arranged: (1) defining Aztec figurines, (2) figurines as types and as representations of deities, (3) figurines in household ritual, (4) figurine production and exchange, (5) figurines and social identity, and (6) figurine materialities. This analysis also identifies challenges that remain, including a lack of published catalogues of figurine collections, and insufficient detailed contextual excavations of houses where figurines were produced and consumed.</p

Supplement: Collaborative Archaeology Symposium: Presentation by José Cruz Cobos at Xaltocan, Mexico

This video is a supplement to the Lisa Overholtzer's article "The Field Crew Symposium: A Model for Initial Implementation of a Collaborative Archaeology Project" (Advances in Archaeological Practice, 2015, 3(1).)The video recording of the presentation by José Cruz Cobos at the Collaborative Archaeology Symposium (Xaltocan, Mexico, 2010.

SO THAT THE BABY NOT BE FORMED LIKE A POTTERY RATTLE: AZTEC RATTLE FIGURINES AND HOUSEHOLD SOCIAL REPRODUCTIVE PRACTICES

AbstractThis paper examines the materiality—or the mutually constitutive relationships between people and things—of Aztec rattle figurines in order to shed light on household ritual life in Postclassic central Mexico. By examining iconographic, archaeological, and ethnohistoric evidence, I argue that these figurines were actively used in household healing rituals concerning successful biological and social reproduction, comprised of the work, relationships, and attitudes that perpetuate human life. I then consider the physical experience of that ritual use by exploring the visual, tactile, auditory, and physiological aspects of these figurines. I contend that their visibility in workshops, markets, and the home presented an image of the female body that reinforced women's important roles in the production and reproduction of the household and society. Finally, the material qualities of these figurines reveal ancient discourses on the human body and experimentation with bodily representation in terms of scale, form, and material.</jats:p

A New Bayesian Chronology for Postclassic and Colonial Occupation at Xaltocan, Mexico

This article proposes a new four-phase chronology for Postclassic and colonial occupation at Xaltocan, Mexico, using Bayesian statistical modeling of a suite of 54 radiometric dates. Of these, 46 samples come from recent extensive excavations of sealed, stratified household deposits, facilitating improved understanding of sample context and resulting in a more accurate chronology. The timing of the adoption of major ceramic wares at the site and intrasite level is outlined and contextualized within broad, regional phases. These results are particularly valuable given recent research that repudiates a uniform chronological framework for the Basin of Mexico in the Postclassic period, and indicates instead a significant amount of chronological overlap and regional variation in the use of distinct ceramic types.DOI: 10.2458/56.1750

A New Bayesian Chronology for Postclassic and colonial occupation at Xaltocan, Mexico

Click on the DOI link to access the article (may not be free).This article proposes a new four-phase chronology for Postclassic and colonial occupation at Xaltocan, Mexico, using Bayesian statistical modeling of a suite of 54 radiometric dates. Of these, 46 samples come from recent extensive excavations of sealed, stratified household deposits, facilitating improved understanding of sample context and resulting in a more accurate chronology. The timing of the adoption of major ceramic wares at the site and intrasite level is outlined and contextualized within broad, regional phases. These results are particularly valuable given recent research that repudiates a uniform chronological framework for the Basin of Mexico in the Postclassic period, and indicates instead a significant amount of chronological overlap and regional variation in the use of distinct ceramic types.Xaltocan cultural center, the Xaltocan delegados, and the Gran Senorio de Xaltocan Historical Society. This research was supported by a Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (7797) from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (0968551), a Young Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, a Grant-in-Aid of Research from the Sigma Xi Foundation, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, a Graduate Research Grant from the University Research Grants Committee at Northwestern University, and a Research Grant from the LeCron Foster and Friends of Anthropology at Northwestern University

Book review: The Oxford handbook of mesoamerican archaeology

Click on the link to access the article (may not be free)