Recent Research in Puebla Prehistory

Plunket, Patricia; Uruñuela, Gabriela

doi:10.1007/s10804-005-2485-5

Cited by 49 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…It is possible that this turmoil may have created a flux of migrants to other rising centers of regional power (18,20). Cantona is similar to other regional powers that emerged in the late Classic, because it is strategically located, on a basaltic flow with a view of the surrounding landscape (2,10,18). This defensible position may have contributed to the site's persistence, and might have helped the city attract migrants fleeing political turmoil.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Paleoclimate records from this area therefore have broad implications for our understanding of the importance of past climate change in altering the "northern frontier of Mesoamerica," defined as the northern limit of maize agriculture (9). Moreover, this area was controlled by powerful pre-Columbian city-states in the Classic and Post-Classic periods, and served as an important site of contact between highland Mexico and the cultures of the Atlantic Gulf Coast (10).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Cultural implications of late Holocene climate change in the Cuenca Oriental, Mexico

Bhattacharya¹,

Byrne²,

Böhnel

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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There is currently no consensus on the importance of climate change in Mesoamerican prehistory. Some invoke drought as a causal factor in major cultural transitions, including the abandonment of many sites at 900 CE, while others conclude that cultural factors were more important. This lack of agreement reflects the fact that the history of climate change in many regions of Mesoamerica is poorly understood. We present paleolimnological evidence suggesting that climate change was important in the abandonment of Cantona between 900 CE and 1050 CE. At its peak, Cantona was one of the largest cities in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, with a population of 90,000 inhabitants. The site is located in the Cuenca Oriental, a semiarid basin east of Mexico City. We developed a subcentennial reconstruction of regional climate from a nearby maar lake, Aljojuca. The modern climatology of the region suggests that sediments record changes in summer monsoonal precipitation. Elemental geochemistry (X-ray fluorescence) and δ18O from authigenic calcite indicate a centennial-scale arid interval between 500 CE and 1150 CE, overlaid on a long-term drying trend. Comparison of this record to Cantona’s chronology suggests that both the city’s peak population and its abandonment occurred during this arid period. The human response to climate change most likely resulted from the interplay of environmental and political factors. During earlier periods of Cantona’s history, increasing aridity and political unrest may have actually increased the city’s importance. However, by 1050 CE, this extended arid period, possibly combined with regional political change, contributed to the city’s abandonment.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural implications of late Holocene climate change in the Cuenca Oriental, Mexico

Bhattacharya¹,

Byrne²,

Böhnel

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…It is also worth considering the wide variety of examples of material reuse and recycling documented in the archaeological record. Several ethnographic and archaeological studies have identified the stockpiling of discards as an indicator of reuse and recycling behaviors (Bradley, 1988;Chang, 1988Chang, , 1991Hayden and Cannon, 1983;Kamp, 1991;Pettegrew, 2002;Plunket and Uruñuela, 2005;. Other studies have documented that systematic scavenging and reclamation can commonly occur at abandoned structures (Cameron, 1990(Cameron, , 1991Diehl, 1998;Tomka 1993).…”

Section: Reclamation and Recycling In The Archaeological Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

The recycling of material culture today and during the Paleolithic

Amick

2015

Quaternary International

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Archaeologists are being increasingly challenged to apply their methods and perspectives to address contemporary global concerns, such as material consumption and recycling. The archaeological investigation of recycling can contribute to understanding its behavioral causes and situational contexts because it can reveal systematic patterning in its temporal, spatial, and formal dimensions. In this paper, I review some of the archaeological evidence of artifact recycling and a few lessons drawn from those studies, including general patterns in lithic recycling behavior and needs to address ambiguity in the definition of recycling, compounding factors of equifinality in lithic reduction, and recognizing opportunism in recycling behavior. This evidence is also used to consider the behavioral and environmental circumstances of patterned recycling in the broader study of material culture and human behavior. It is argued that archaeological studies can offer useful contributions to such universal theories and that archaeological explanations about recycling behavior would benefit from greater integration with the larger body of historical and social science studies on this topic.

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“…Nevertheless, in domestic areas on the periphery of Cholula, fragments of these vessels have been found in trash pits and building lls (Hernández 2005:42;Suárez et al 1992). is suggests that not only a restricted sector of the population had access to them, although the nature of these Cholultecan domestic deposits still requires more analysis (see Plunket and Uruñuela 2005). e events represented by those archaeological remains -public ceremonies, feasts, o erings and funerary rituals-were, and still are, essential elements of community life in Mesoamerica.…”

Section: Ceramics As Ritual Objects and Media Of Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Ceramics and the Spanish Conquest

Sánchez¹

2012

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Recent Research in Puebla Prehistory

Cited by 49 publications

References 49 publications

Cultural implications of late Holocene climate change in the Cuenca Oriental, Mexico

Cultural implications of late Holocene climate change in the Cuenca Oriental, Mexico

The recycling of material culture today and during the Paleolithic

Ceramics and the Spanish Conquest

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