Archaeology and identity on the Pacific coast and Souther Highlands of Mesoamerica: an introduction / Claudia Garcia-Des Lauriers and Michael W. Love -- What a waste: identity construction in the archaeological records of southern Mesoamerica / Hector Neff -- Urbanization and the practices of identity at La Blanca, Guatamala / Michael W. Love -- Architecture and identity at Horcones, Chiapas / Claudia Garcia-Des Lauriers -- A common space: Lake Amatitlan and Volcan Pacaya in the cosmology of Escuintla, Highland Guatamala, and beyond / Lucia R. Henderson -- Yearning for ancestors: elite identity in Cotzumalhuapa sculpure / Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos -- Linguistic patterns, material culture, and identity in late postclassic to postcolonial Soconusco -- Janine Gasco -- Tojil cult in classic Cotzumalhuapa: origin of postclassic confederations on the Pacific coast / Ruud van Akkeren -- The problem of ethnicity and the construction of K'iche'an identity / Geoffrey E. Braswell -- Construction Mesoamerican identities and subjects / John E. Clark.
Summary:
"A series of case studies with varied approaches to how identity is revealed in the archaeological record of the Pacific coast and highlands of southeastern Mesoamerica. The Pacific coast and southern highlands of Chiapas and Guatemala is a region significant to debates about the origins of social complexity, interaction, and colonialism. The area, however, has received uneven attention and much of what we know is largely restricted to the Preclassic period. This theoretically eclectic volume presents greater temporal coverage, is geographically unified, and engages some of the most important questions of each period through a discussion of the archaeology of identity. Chapters range from traditional assessments of identity to discussion of practice and relational personhood; all share a concern for how archaeology and ethnohistory provide opportunities and challenges in the reconstruction of identities. The region is one with a multifaceted history of interactions between local populations and those from other parts of Mesoamerica. Linguistic diversity, landscape, and artistic representations have added to the complexities of understanding identity formation here. Rather than providing a unified voice on the issues, Archaeology and Identity on the Pacific Coast and Southern Highlands of Mesoamerica is a dialogue presented through case studies, one that will hopefully encourage future research in this complex and little understood region of Mesoamerica"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.