Redefining the Epiclassic Period in Mesoamerica

This volume reassesses Central Mexico’s Epiclassic period, challenging old views of crisis and fragmentation. Using archaeological, iconographic, and linguistic evidence, it highlights regional diversity, new institutions, shifting identities, and Teotihuacan’s legacy, offering a nuanced view of this pivotal era.

This volume examines the Epiclassic period (ad 550/600–900/1000) in Central Mexico, which has long been viewed as a transitional era marked by societal upheaval and the rise of independent city-states. This period has typically been characterised by shifting settlement patterns, the intensification of militarism, and increased contact with foreign regions, such as the Maya. However, recent scholarship has begun to question these assumptions, prompting renewed interest in this key period.

Drawing on a diverse range of archaeological, iconographic and linguistic evidence, the Copenhagen Epiclassic Roundtable aimed to reassess the defining features of this period and evaluate continuities and discontinuities from Classic to Postclassic times. Scholars from diverse disciplines presented evidence from various sites across Central Mexico and adjacent regions to analyse the advent of horizon markers, regional material culture, distinctive artistic styles, the emergence of new political institutions and the complex interplay between conflict and cooperation. They critically address questions regarding militarism, cultural homogeneity and exchange, geopolitical dynamics, trade networks and identity formation processes.

The twelve chapters of the volume investigate general issues, site-specific archaeology and thematic contributions as they explore the legacies of Teotihuacan and the impact of Epiclassic developments on the rise of the ensuing high cultures of Central Mexico. By emphasizing the heterogeneity of the Epiclassic landscape, this volume offers a more holistic and nuanced understanding of the complexities and enduring significance of this pivotal period of Mesoamerican history.

List of Figures

List of Tables

Introducing the Copenhagen Roundtable on the Epiclassic Period in Mesoamerica – Claudia I. Alvarado León and Christophe Helmke

Chapter 1: Disentangling the Epiclassic – Claudia I. Alvarado León

Chapter 2: Closing a Cycle: Rethinking the Epiclassic for Teotihuacan – Natalia Moragas Segura

Chapter 3: Diverse Approaches to the post-Teotihuacan World: The Epiclassic in the Toluca Valley, Central Mexican Highlands – Yoko Sugiura and Rubén Nieto Hernández

Chapter 4: New Approaches to the Epiclassic Period in the Tula Region, Mexico – Patricia Fournier G. and Fermín Sánchez-Aldana

Chapter 5: Conflict and Community during the Epiclassic Period in the Basin of Mexico and Southern Mezquital Valley – Christopher Morehart

Chapter 6: The Epiclassic in the San Juan River Region, Queretaro, Mexico: A Kaleidoscope of Possibilities – Fiorella Fenoglio Limón

Chapter 7: Epiclassic in South Central Michoacan – José Luis Punzo Díaz

Chapter 8: The Monumental Architecture of Rincón de Las Flores (Zacapu, Michoacan) in the Context of the Epiclassic Period in West-Central and Central Mexico – Grégory Pereira

Chapter 9: The Linguistic Panorama of the Epiclassic: Placing Nahuan among the Languages of Western Mesoamerica – Magnus Pharao Hansen

Chapter 10: The Identification of Exogenous Models in the Visual Culture of the Central Highlands: Approaches to Emulation Processes in the Figurative Systems of Cacaxtla-Xochitecatl and Xochicalco – Juliette Testard

Chapter 11: From the East: Reflections on the Nature, Origin and Timing of Maya Traits at Central Mexican Epiclassic Sites

Christophe Helmke, Jesper Nielsen, Claudia I. Alvarado León and Silvia Garza Tarazona

Chapter 12: Redefining the Epiclassic: Synthesis, Summary and Future Prospects – C. I. Alvarado León, F. Fenoglio Limón, C. Helmke, C. Morehart, M. Pharao Hansen and J. Testard

Resúmenes

Author Biographies

Claudia I. Alvarado León obtained her PhD in Mesoamerican Studies from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Copenhagen in the Central Mexican Writing Systems and Calendars project. With over fifteen years as researcher in the Xochicalco project, she focuses on socio-political development processes and their impact on the built environment. Currently, she teaches at the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia and El Colegio de Morelos.

Christophe Helmke is Associate Professor of American Indian Languages and Cultures at the Institute of Cross-cultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 1996, he has participated in and led excavations, archaeological reconnaissance and epigraphic documentation at a variety of sites in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. Between 2019 and 2024 he served as co-Principal Investigator of the Central Mexican Writing Systems and Calendars project, funded by the Velux Foundations.

• Edited by Claudia I. Alvarado León
• Edited by Christophe Helmke