Materiality, regimes of value, and the politics of craft production, exchange, and consumption: A case of lime plaster at Teotihuacan, Mexico

Tracking Proto-Porcelain Production and Consumption in the Dongjiang Valley of Bronze Age Lingnan

“…On a more general level, this case study has not only shown us the importance of carefully reconstructing the value of craft products, but also highlighted how socially ingrained considerations about utilitarian, visual and symbolic characteristics underlie production modes and consumption behaviour. Furthermore, it seems consumers may have selected certain material objects according to their understanding of socially and culturally created values, along with their interests, practical capacities and specific situations or contexts (Marakami 2016, 60). Certain objects, in particular ceramics, have the potential to be involved in different use contexts.…”

Labor Mobilization and Cooperation for Urban Construction: Building Apartment Compounds at Teotihuacan

“…I complement architectural energetics with an analysis of construction materials to assess the organization of their production and procurement. I assessed the compositional variability of lime plaster across apartment compounds using petrographic and cathodoluminescence analysis (see Murakami [2010, 2016a] for details of the analytical procedures). Lime plaster, which was used for coating the surfaces of buildings, is a nonlocal resource to the Teotihuacan Valley that was imported from the Tula region (Barba Pingarrón et al 2009) and probably also from the Zumpango region (Murakami 2016a:65).…”

“…By calculating and comparing these two measures for structures pertaining to different segments of a society, it is possible to examine the differential distribution of power. I use the term “power” instead of wealth to denote the existence of multiple sources of social power (including economic or wealth) that are drawn on for construction activities (Mann 1986; see also Murakami 2016a). We should nevertheless be cautious in extrapolating power relations from differential labor expenditures; differential access to labor may not coincide with other dimensions of social inequality, as seen in societies where architectural conspicuous consumption is constrained by egalitarian norms (Kamp 1993; Lyons 2007).…”

“…Technological analysis of lime plaster composition revealed a highly standardized nature of production for the Tlamimilolpa and Early Xolalpan phases (Murakami 2010, 2016a). Lime plaster during the Tlamimilolpa phase is almost devoid of aggregate materials (90%–99% lime matrix with incompletely uncalcined lime; Murakami 2016a:Figure 5); volcanic ash was introduced as aggregate materials along with better calcined lime during the Early Xolalpan phase (Murakami 2016a:Figure 6). Interestingly, there are no notable differences in the quality and recipe of lime plaster between the central precinct and surrounding apartment compounds (Figure 5).…”

“…The standardized composition of lime plaster suggests that lime plaster production was centrally organized by a group of artisans, who may have been closely related to ruling elites (Murakami 2016a). Although there is a possibility that different groups of artisans just happened to share certain technology, I point out two kinds of evidence that would support my interpretation.…”