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In the Sierra de Santa Marta (Veracruz, Mexico) a process of maldevelopment/sustained underdevelopment has prevailed that has deteriorated the socio-natural environment. Thus, the objective is to find alternatives that improve their socio-territorial situation (ecological, socioeconomic and landscape). From a transdisciplinary methodology -Geography, Anthropology and Environmental History- this research has identified and analysed four non-governmental natural resource management projects that, with a holistic hydrographic basin approach, promote integrally sustainable socioecological practices of socio-environmental governance. These eco-cultural experiences contribute to reforesting the territory and reducing poverty, generating progress towards human development of the indigenous peasant communities of Mesoamerica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of food production in Mesoamerica was a complex and protracted process. We argue that while maize had been cultivated for many millennia, this cereal grain assumed a markedly more important role in the political economy of the Soconusco (and elsewhere in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize) only after 1000. cal BC. Macrobotanical data from the long-occupied village of Cuauhtémoc document low-level maize production from 1900 to 1400. cal BC with a significant increase during the final centuries of the site's occupation after 1000. cal BC. Botanical evidence of increased maize consumption at this time occurred with evidence for changing groundstone use, intensified exploitation of dog and deer as well as iconography linking maize with rulership. This was also when monumental architecture was first built to mark a regional hierarchy of political centers. Changes evident in the Soconusco at 1000. cal BC parallel transformations in both highland and lowland regions of Mesoamerica when ceramic-using villagers expanded into new environments, farther away from the permanent water sources favored by Late Archaic and Early Formative peoples. We interpret the changes evident at 1000. cal BC in terms of both proximate historical factors as well as ultimate adaptive causes to produce a fuller understanding of changing Mesoamerican food production practices.

The development of food production in Mesoamerica was a complex and protracted process. We argue that while maize had been cultivated for many millennia, this cereal grain assumed a markedly more important role in the political economy of the Soconusco (and elsewhere in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize) only after 1000. cal BC. Macrobotanical data from the long-occupied village of Cuauhtémoc document low-level maize production from 1900 to 1400. cal BC with a significant increase during the final centuries of the site's occupation after 1000. cal BC. Botanical evidence of increased maize consumption at this time occurred with evidence for changing groundstone use, intensified exploitation of dog and deer as well as iconography linking maize with rulership. This was also when monumental architecture was first built to mark a regional hierarchy of political centers. Changes evident in the Soconusco at 1000. cal BC parallel transformations in both highland and lowland regions of Mesoamerica when ceramic-using villagers expanded into new environments, farther away from the permanent water sources favored by Late Archaic and Early Formative peoples. We interpret the changes evident at 1000. cal BC in terms of both proximate historical factors as well as ultimate adaptive causes to produce a fuller understanding of changing Mesoamerican food production practices.

This article explores a Mesoamerican topology based on the figure of the fold. It argues that the operation of folding represents a crucial concept for understanding indigenous cosmology and ontology. The fold is what allows the separation and articulation of the two domains into which the indigenous cosmos is divided: the solar state, extensive and discrete, which humans and other ordinary beings inhabit, and the intensive, virtual sphere, where spirits dwell. In turn, the fold refers to textiles, which likely represent a basic model for invention and transformation in Mesoamerican cultures. The article examines certain classical themes in Mesoamerican anthropology in light of this topology: a human being's make-up, ritual operations, folding of the body, the sacred bundles, and the substance of time. At a more general level, this work is an attempt to contribute to what could be called an Amerindian transformational topology, a kind of imagination where certain "forms" or "figures" reappear in different domains of the world as transformations one of another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology the most reliable skeletal element for sex estimation is the pelvis; nevertheless, when it is missing, other postcranial elements must be used. The main goal of this research is to provide sectioning points for sex assessment from humeral and femoral head diameters for three prehispanic and two contemporary Mexican populations. Using a sliding caliper, a total of 386 (45.3% female and 54.6% male) humeral and femoral head diameters were recorded. The sectioning point was calculated as the mean between sexes, and univariate independent sample t-tests were performed to test significant differences between sexes. The results demonstrate significant sexual differences in all populations and high percentages of correct sex classification (90%-94%). We conclude that the proposed cut-off points can be used as an alternative for sex estimation in Mexican populations, in contexts with incomplete skeletons and/or fragmented bones.

Our contribution focuses on revisiting the theme of maize and the regenerative traditional agricultural system called milpa (corn-beans-squash) in its cosmogonic, cognitive, and practical context within the Mesoamerican agricultural tradition. The milpa crop fields are seen as a historical and current result of ten thousand years of civilization during which biocultural efforts have been revolving around agriculture. This extensive territory where maize – which today constitutes the staple food in Mexican and Central American kitchens – finds its origin has become a symbolic point of reference, forming the core nucleus of a cosmic matrix. Growing maize has unceasingly sculpted heterogeneous landscapes, providing meaning to the systems of knowledge about non-human living beings and their intricate cycles. The study of a Purhépecha community from Central Mexico, focusing on the study of their way of thinking and knowledge associated with maize cultivation practices, demonstrates the biocultural existence, adaptation, and resilience of this sacred-plant. It also reveals the meanings it acquires within the complex interpretation of its multiple relationships with other life entities within the community’s ontology. Through an ethnoecological approach, this example - along with many others - reveals the inseparable relationships between existing beings from the Mesoamerican world (Kosmos), the cognitive systems that organize reality (Corpus), and practices resulting from a thousand-year-old experience surrounding corn cultivation (Praxis). This active and concentrated biocultural memory belongs to the peoples who are made of maize.

Objetivo/contexto: en este artículo propongo analizar los bultos sagrados y el concepto de envoltura entre los mayas, a partir del uso del marco teórico ontológico presente en la antropología y la arqueología. Se presentan dos ejemplos de una posibilidad de tal enfoque para el estudio de los envoltorios de tejido presentes en los territorios maya y mesoamericano, desde el concepto de ontologías relacionales y por medio de concepciones y teorías nativas. Con esto, se busca definir conceptualmente los envoltorios ceremoniales a partir de nociones del propio pensamiento maya. Metodología: con un análisis de datos etnográficos, se reflexionará sobre las nociones pixan (ánimas, esencias) y pix (envolver algo) para poder acercarse al concepto de envoltura que define a los bultos ceremoniales. Así, los dos casos que ejemplifican tales reflexiones son el bulto Martín, patrono y protector de una comunidad tz’utujil del lago Santiago Atitlán en Guatemala, y la imagen de un bulto ceremonial en una escena de entronización en el Tablero del Palacio de Palenque en Chiapas, México. Conclusiones: con los ejemplos presentados, se propone pensar las envolturas como elementos que protegen y dan una materialidad a los pixanes del mundo del más allá cuando están presentes en el mundo ordinario. De esta manera, los envoltorios funcionan como un cuerpo para otra forma de existencia, en el primer caso, y como un elemento de protección a objetos poderosos que origina un campo relacional entre los artefactos en conjunto, en el segundo. Originalidad: se espera con esta reflexión inicial contribuir a la discusión sobre el uso del marco teórico ontológico en el estudio de materiales arqueológicos y etnográficos en el territorio maya, a partir de reflexiones sobre conceptos propios de estos pueblos.

The three books under review are collective monographs that consist of interdisciplinary approaches (archaeology, ethnohistory, cultural anthropology, anthropology of religion) and divided into sections according to discipline or more specific common topic. A leitmotif of all of them is ritual landscape, sacred mountains, the agricultural cycle and rainmaking rituals in Mesoamerica (mostly in its Mexican part) which have been present in this cultural area since pre-Hispanic times until the present day. The authors of particular contributions point out archaeological, historical and ethnographic evidence of these religious beliefs and ritual practices across the centuries and emphasize not only their antiquity but also their uninterrupted continuity. This tradition was incorporated into Christianity, thanks to which it survived missionary activities of the Spaniards as well as pitfalls of modern era and represents the core of popular religion in native Mexican communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este trabajo se presenta información acerca de la institución legal comunitaria de “la ronda campesina”, su trayectoria histórica y sus conflictos con el aparato legal del Estado. Se acerca a una primera comparación doble: se compara la región andina central con su ronda campesina con la región de Mesoamérica y su institución predilecta, el sistema de cargos, y se plantea hipotéticamente que la ronda campesina (de la cual están surgiendo réplicas en México, en Mesoamérica) ha surgido históricamente del sistema de cargos (que existe también en la región andina, menos estudiado pero conocido bajo el nombre de “el sistema de fiestas”) bajo la presión de la política neoliberal. Luego se realiza una reflexión acerca del trabajo de campo y la etnografía, y de la importancia de los métodos y técnicas de la Escuela de Manchester, resumiendo en la conclusión algunos de los resultados de la investigación de la ronda campesina y planteando una segunda etapa de esta investigación, que invoca una comparación con la región de Mesoamérica y el sistema de cargos

This work analyses the technological–functional performance of 283 archaeological spindle whorls from the site of Tepeticpac, Tlaxcala, Mexico, a Late Postclassic (ad 1250/1300–1519) state‐level political entity from highland Mesoamerica. We evaluate spindle whorl morphology and their performance associated with different fibre processing and thread quality production. Statistical analysis, in conjunction with an experimental study, supports the existence of two large groups of archaeological whorls, which can be correlated with two spinning techniques. Also, we found an association between thread quality and artisan's skill. The methodology developed here is applicable and comparable to samples from Mesoamerican and worldwide archaeological sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the study of needles made of long human bones ( Homo sapiens ) from the region of Xochimilco, now a quarter in Mexico City, which in pre-Hispanic times was one of the cities conquered by the Aztec empire. We shall discuss the development and use of these needles, as well as the identification of the raw material they are made of and a proposal about what people these bones were obtained from: captives or craftsmen's relatives? The archaeological household at San Pedro, in Xochimilco, presents in its early stages (12th century–15th century) stone technology, and in its final stages (16th century, around the time of arrival of the Spanish conquerors) the possible use of metal. Therefore, it is important to study the technology produced by these different tools. In order to achieve this goal, we have used experimental archaeology with obsidian cutting tools and abrasives (igneous rocks) as well as metal tools and other abrasives (emery). Thus, we have analyzed the use trace, the operational chain ( chaîne opératoire ) and the effort and time spent when applying each of these techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a conundrum of the 21st Century that there is much left to discover and yet never before has our cultural and ecological patrimony been so threatened. This is especially true in tropical regions where heavy vegetation, inaccessibility, and rugged topography hamper investigation. Here we present two case studies that add to a growing body of literature demonstrating the utility of airborne mapping LiDAR (a.k.a. Airborne Laser Scanning) for rapid archaeological assessments in poorly documented regions. The first outlines a program of LiDAR scanning to better understand the urban center of Angamuco in the Mexican State of Michoacán. This work shows that (1) large urban centers with complex spatial organization were present centuries prior to the formation of the Purépecha Empire; (2) the settlement incorporates gardens and other landscape features within and around the settlement demonstrating a high degree of human environmental modification; and (3) current models for the evolution of social complexity in the region cannot account for the presence of Angamuco. The second presents the results of a LiDAR survey of a remote valley in the Mosquitia tropical wilderness of Honduras which has seen little archaeological research. Here we demonstrate that (1) though today the valley is a wilderness it was densely inhabited in the past; (2) this population was organized into a three-tiered system composed of 19 settlements dominated by a city; and (3) this occupation was embedded within a human engineered landscape. For both, LiDAR data fundamentally changed the understanding of coupled human/natural systems in these areas while providing critical baseline data for conservation and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexico is the scene of at least 40,000 deaths and an estimated 120,000 enforced disappearances of migrants in transit. In this context of violence my analysis asks the question: What forms of collective action are particular to migrant organizations that develop in such areas of transit migration? I reflect upon forms of collective action, the repertoire of demands, normative ideals, strategic alliances, and mobilization cycles that the activists of the Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano have employed. As a paper that combines the sociology of migration with the sociology of social movements, this paper frames the case study within a disciplinary understanding of the sociology of immigrant protest and struggle.

Os trompetes rituais do noroeste amazônico, quando tocados no momento da iniciação, fazem morrer os adolescentes, fazendo nascer homens adultos. A encenação ritual busca na metamorfose dos insetos uma analogia da troca de pele social a que os iniciados serão sujeitados. Um dos trompetes é construído à imagem da figura da crisálida de borboletas. Tidos como larvas, os adolescentes são “parasitados” pelos homens adultos para que eles os tornem guerreiros, fazendo com que eles se identifiquem às vespas que infestam esses locais de transformação. Ao retomar esses desenlaces rituais contemporâneos e as imagens que os acompanham, este artigo propõe-se analisar o caracol feito em uma concha marinha na Mesoamérica pré-hispânica, um artefato presente nos baixos relevos dos templos de Teotihuacán, e que aparece ligado tanto a Quetzalcoatl como a Tlaloc, o deus da chuva e das tempestades. Ao mostrar que as civilizações desta área cultural têm recursos às mesmas imagens que no noroeste amazônico, é possível realizar uma análise de várias de suas figuras que permanecem enigmáticas até o presente para mostrar que a mesma referência ao parasitismo esteve aí presente.

Este trabajo combina el estudio de los ritos sacrificiales y las reflexiones sobre el poder expresivo y la agentividad de ciertas imágenes del arte prehispánico de Mesoamérica. Se propone un enfoque que parte del estudio etnográfico de la complejidad relacional de los rituales. Se estudian casos donde se observa un “desdoblamiento de la representación” en el sentido de Boas y Lévi-Strauss: la estatua conocida como la Coatlicue de la Sala Mexica del Museo Nacional de Antropología y la página 32 del códice Borgia. En ambos casos el desdoblamiento de la representación aparece en contextos de decapitación ritual; aparece una nueva cabeza en face formada por dos serpientes de sangre o por dos cuchillos de sacrificio personificados en perfil. La ambigüedad de estas figuraciones expresa el estatus ontológico problemático de los seres creados en el sacrifici

Ainda que os trabalhos dedicados ao animismo tenham lançado importantes contribuições para a compreensão das sociedades ameríndias, nem sempre iluminaram a complexidade das teorias da vida que essas sociedades elaboraram. Independentemente da sua animação, os seres vivos caracterizam-se pela diversidade dos processos vitais – por exemplo, a reprodução, a regeneração, o envelhecimento ou as interações com o ambiente – que os humanos observam e buscam explicar. No quadro de uma antropologia da vida, que estuda as variações desses sistemas explicativos, no tempo e no espaço, os textos reunidos nesse dossiê propõem um exame das concepções de vida que podemos encontrar na Mesoamérica e nas Terras Baixas da América do Sul. Tomando por objeto a mitologia, a figuração ou a ação ritual, um dos desafios aqui é explorar as modalidades da imbricação entre processos vitais e técnicos.

Teotihuacan in the northeastern Basin of Mexico was an unusually large and influential early city and state. This article reviews recent research trends in Teotihuacan from its founding and explosive growth ca. 100 BC into the largest city in Mesoamerica. Biogenetics provide details of how immigration fueled the city's growth and shaped its multiethnic composition and link Teotihuacan to other parts of the central highlands and more distant regions. Urban theory highlights the importance of neighborhoods and how their composition changed. Collective aspects of irrigation, markets, warfare and the military, and ideology encouraged the development of Teotihuacan's corporate governance. Although Teotihuacan politically dominated central Mexico, its control over the regional economy was not as centralized. Beyond its hinterland, Teotihuacan's foreign relations were a mosaic of trade diasporas, diplomatic exchanges, pilgrimages, emulation, and strategic direct interventions of limited duration. As its foreign influence retracted, Teotihuacan faced challenges from its hinterlands and intermediate elites and factions that culminated in the burning and desecration of the urban center. The Epiclassic saw the change from Teotihuacan's regional state to city-states and confederations. Although much reduced in size, Postclassic Teotihuacan retained an enormous legacy that subsequent states sought for their historical validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This study investigates evidence of changes and continuities in ancient Maya violence and warfare in inland northwest Yucatan, Mexico from the Middle Preclassic (600-300 BC) to the Postclassic (AD 1050-1542) through bioarchaeological analysis of cranial and projectile trauma. It is hypothesized that the frequency of violence increases before the Classic Maya collapse and remains high during the Postclassic period. It is also hypothesized that the flat, open terrain was conducive to warfare and resulted in higher trauma frequencies than in other parts of the Maya area. Results show that the frequency of cranial trauma decreases before the Classic collapse and increases in the Postclassic, partially matching the expected chronological trends. The frequency of cranial trauma does not differ significantly from other Maya regions but the pattern does: for all periods, males have more healed injuries than females and they are concentrated on the left side of the anterior of the skull. Some injuries appear to be from small points hafted in wooden clubs. In addition, projectile trauma is evident in a scapula with an embedded arrowhead tip, the first such case reported in a Maya skeleton. Overall, these results suggest greater reliance on open combat and less on raids in this region compared with other parts of the Maya area, possibly due to the flat, open terrain, though the identification of perimortem trauma in both women and men indicates surprise raids on settlements were also practiced. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:140-151, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]