Tarascan Copper Metallurgy: A Multiapproach Perspective
By (author) Blanca Estela Maldonado
Paperback (Published)
(September 2018)
ISBN: 9781784916251
8.07 x 11.42 inches
Price: $64.00
In stock
A study which provides valuable insights into the nature of metal production and the development of technology and political economy in ancient Mesoamerica, offering a contribution to general anthropological theories of the emergence of social complexity.
In the early sixteenth century much of West Mexico was under the rule of the Purhepecha Empire, known to Europeans as the Tarascan Kingdom of Michuacan. Both archaeological and ethnohistorical evidence indicate that during the Late Postclassic Period (A.D. 1350-1525) this political unit was the primary center for metallurgy and metalworking in Mesoamerica. This technology was largely based on copper and its alloys. ‘Tarascan Copper Metallurgy: A multiapproach perspective’ focuses on evidence recovered from the area surrounding Santa Clara del Cobre, a Tarascan community in Central Michoacan. This pioneer research required the employment of multiple strands of evidence, including archaeological survey and excavation, ethnoarchaeology, experimental replication, and archaeometallurgy. Intensive surface survey located concentrations of manufacturing byproducts (i.e. slag) on surface that represented potential production areas. Stratigraphic excavation and subsequent archaeometallurgical analysis of physical remains were combined with ethnohistorical and ethnoarchaeological data, as well as comparative analogy, to propose a model for prehispanic copper production among the Tarascans. The goal of this analysis was to gain insights into the nature of metal production and its role in the major state apparatus. The study provides valuable insights into the development of technology and political economy in ancient Mesoamerica and offers a contribution to general anthropological theories of the emergence of social complexity.
- By (author) Blanca Estela Maldonado
Other Titles in this Series
Wari Women from Huarmey
Bioarchaeological Interpretation of Human Remains from the Wari Elite Mausoleum at Castillo de Huarmey, Peru
Obsidian Across the Americas
Compositional Studies Conducted in the Elemental Analysis Facility at the Field Museum of Natural History
Metallurgy in Ancient Ecuador
A Study of the Collection of Archaeological Metallurgy of the Ministry of Culture, Ecuador
Archaeological Paleography
A Proposal for Tracing the Role of Interaction in Mayan Script Innovation via Material Remains
Similar Books
Patrimonio antes del patrimonio
Una genealogía del pensamiento patrimonialista y la arqueología mexicana en un amplio siglo XIX
From Sedentarisation to the Complex Society
Settlement, Economy, Environment, Cult. Proceedings of the workshops in Lisbon, Tehran and Lima (2016 - 2019)
Volume 21
Toro Muerto, vol. I
A Catalogue of Iconographic Motifs in Rock Art / Un catálogo de motivos iconográficos del arte rupestre
Volume 20
Adolescente de Jalpan
Primer estudio iconográfico y esbozo de interpretación iconológica sobre una escultura huasteca en la Sierra Gorda del Noreste de México
Archaeological Investigations in Guadalupe, Northeast Honduras
Interaction Networks during the Late Pre-Hispanic Period (AD 900-1525)
Volume 19
Flower World – Mundo Florido
Music Archaeology of the Americas - Arqueomusicologia de las Americas
Volume 7
Obsidian Across the Americas
Compositional Studies Conducted in the Elemental Analysis Facility at the Field Museum of Natural History
La fábrica del prestigio en Mesoamérica
Interacciones y alteridad en el Altiplano central durante el período epiclásico (600-900 d.C.)
El Palacio: Historiography and new perspectives on a pre-Tarascan city of northern Michoacán, Mexico
Essai bibliographique sur l’archéologie francophone de la Mésoamérique
Bibliographical essay upon the French-speaking contributions to Mesoamerican archaeology; Ensayo bibliográfico sobre la arqueología francófona de Mesoamérica
Sea Shells in the Mountains and Llamas on the Coast
The Economy of the Paracas Culture (800 to 200 BC) in Southern Peru
Volume 16
Wari Women from Huarmey
Bioarchaeological Interpretation of Human Remains from the Wari Elite Mausoleum at Castillo de Huarmey, Peru
Flower World – Mundo Florido
Music Archaeology of the Americas - Arqueomusicologia de las Americas
Volume 6
Paisajes en un sector de la Quebrada de Humahuaca durante la Etapa Agroalfarera
Arqueología de Tumbaya (Jujuy, Argentina)
Peintures et gravures rupestres des Amériques: Empreintes culturelles et territoriales
Proceedings of the XVIII UISPP World Congress (4-9 June 2018, Paris, France) Volume 2, Session XXV-3
