Social Patterns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 9 and 10 October 1993

by David C. Grove (Editor), Rosemary A. Joyce (Editor)

Overview

This volume is both a summation of work that has been carried out over a long period of time and a signpost pointing the way for future studies. Issues regarding gender, social identity, and landscape archaeology are present, as are the analysis of mortuary practices, questions of social hierarchy, and conjunctive studies of art and society that are in the best tradition of scholarship at Dumbarton Oaks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884022527
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	01/01/1999
Series:	Dumbarton Oaks Pre-Columbian Symposia and Colloquia , #18
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d)

Table of Contents

	Preface	vii
	Asking New Questions about the Mesoamerican Pre-Classic	1
	Social Dimensions of Pre-Classic Burials	15
	The Genesis of Hierarchy: Mortuary and Offertory Ritual in the Pre-Classic at Cuello, Belize	49
	Men's and Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca	67
	The Pre-Classic Maya Compound as the Focus of Social Identity	97
	Ideology, Material Culture, and Daily Practice in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica: A Pacific Coast Perspective	127
	From Stone to Symbols: Olmec Art in Social Context at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan	155
	Pre-Classic Cityscapes: Ritual Politics among the Early Lowland Maya	183
	Olmec Ritual Behavior at El Manati: A Sacred Space	225
	Public Monuments and Sacred Mountains: Observations on Three Formative Period Sacred Landscapes	255
	Commentary: Ritual, Social Identity, and Cosmology: Hard Stones and Flowing Water	301
	Index	319

Editorial Reviews

Collects ten articles from the 1993 conference (exact date not noted) devoted to the Pre-Classic Olmec civilization and neighboring populations. Among the topics treated are evidence of the growth of textile production as a window into the formalization of separated gender identity, similar looks into the origins of specialized building practices, the processes of the introduction of monumental architecture, and the growth of elites that could exercise coercive power. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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