Los mayas de los Altos de Chiapas y sus vecinos occidentales: interacción, identidad e intercambio en una frontera cultural

Abstract

Resumen: El presente estudio investiga las formas multifacéticas en que los límites políticos y las barreras sociales fueron definidos y mantenidos en la frontera occi dental de la región lingüística y cultural maya. Las comparaciones del intercambio de diferentes bienes y medios pueden resaltar el grado en el que las barreras cultu rales fueron permeables o impenetrables en la zona fronteriza entre los mayaha blantes de tzotzil de los Altos de Chiapas y sus vecinos hablantes de zoque de la Depresión Central. Las relaciones de intercambio entre ellos parecen haber sido suspendidas al final del período Postclásico Temprano, sugiriendo que la permeabi lidad de la frontera occidental decreció a lo largo del tiempo, posiblemente como resultado de la llegada y expansión de los chiapanecas a la Depresión Central. Sin embargo, algunos tipos de artefactos de alto valor, como los ornamentos de metal, continuaron siendo intercambiados en esta frontera cultural.PalabRas clave: fronteras, intercambio, mayas, Chiapas, cerámica.abstRact: This study investigates the multifaceted ways that political borders and so cial boundaries were defined and maintained along the western frontier of the Maya linguistic and cultural area. Comparisons between the exchange of different goods and resources can highlight the degree to which cultural boundaries were porous or impermeable in the frontier zone between the Tzotzil-speaking Maya populations of Highland Chiapas and the Zoque and Chiapanec-speaking groups of the Central Depression. Exchange relationships between the Highland Maya and neighboring Zoque-speaking populations appear to have been mostly discontinued by the end of the Early Postclassic period, suggesting that the porosity of the western frontier decreased over time, possibly resulting from the arrival and expansion of the Chia panecs in the Central Depression. However, a few types of high-value luxury items, such as metal ornaments, continued to be exchanged across cultural frontiers.

6 Urban Commerce in the Jovel Valley of Highland Chiapas

“…Two miniature axes (Figure 6.3C), a Oaxaca‐style copper axe‐money (Figure 6.3A), and two copper earspools (Figure 6.3B) were recovered by Frans Blom in the monumental center of Moxviquil. Notably, the axe‐money and earspools are nearly identical to examples recovered by Navarrete from Late Postclassic period contexts at Chiapa de Corzo (Lee 1969; Navarrete 1966; see also Paris and López Bravo 2017). This suggests that long‐distance merchants with access to Central Mexican/Oaxacan metal goods may have provided similar items to the two cities.…”

“…Many imported vessels were recovered from the tombs and caches of the Moxviquil Upper Plaza, while others were deposited as offerings in the funerary cave. Gulf Coast-style fine orange wares were widely imitated by local ceramic producers, and the imitations were consumed by most local households ; see also Paris, Taladoire, and Lee 2015;Paris and López Bravo 2017).…”

“…Similar-looking vessels were produced in the Ixtapa Valley (McVicker 1969) and the Chiapa de Corzo area of the Central Depression (Sullivan 2009). Ixtapa Fine Orange and related types constitute approximately 3 percent of household ceramic vessel assemblages (Paris and López Bravo 2017). Others, including Chanal Model-carved (Culbert 1965), represent local imitations of Fine Orange Y (R. Smith 1958), and are found in a limited number of contexts in the Moxviquil monumental zone (Paris and López Bravo 2017).…”

“A Place So Far Removed”: Dynasty and Ritual in Monuments From Chinkultic, Chiapas, Mexico

“…While Chinkultic was occupied by Maya peoples in the Late Classic and Early Postclassic periods (Ball 1980; Campbell 1988), the area to the west was populated by Zoque and Chiapanec groups, who produced art, ceramics, and architecture that is stylistically different from that produced in Maya areas (Calnek 1988; Domenici and Lee 2012; Lowe 1977). The material record, however, has not revealed a distinct boundary between Maya and non-Maya peoples in this area in the Late Classic period (Paris and López Bravo 2017), and isolated examples of art in a Maya style have been found far to the west at sites like Lopez Mateos and Peñitas (Navarrete et al 1993:Figures 27, 31, 39). Because there is no distinct boundary between culture groups in this area, I refer to the Comitán area as a frontier rather than a border, a region rather than a line (Adelman and Aron 1999:815; Rodseth and Parker 2005:10).…”

Gulf Coast Influence at Moxviquil, Chiapas, Mexico

“…The Jovel Valley is the largest intermountain valley in the Central Plateau of highland Chiapas, making it a strategic location for pre-Hispanic settlement. While archaeological projects in the central highlands (Adams 1961; Blom & Weiant 1954; Culbert 1965; Lee 1985; McVicker 1969; 1974; Weiant 1954a,b), including our own (Paris 2012; Paris & López Bravo 2013; 2017) have identified numerous sites in the valley, Moxviquil is the largest and best-documented. Frans Blom and Clarence Weiant conducted excavations at the monumental centre in 1952–53, while our own project, the Proyecto Económico de los Altos de Chiapas (2009–present), has focused on the survey and excavation of outlying residential areas.…”