In this Book

  • The Neighborhood as a Social and Spatial Unit in Mesoamerican Cities
  • Book
  • Edited by M. Charlotte Arnauld, Linda R. Manzanilla, and Michael E. Smith
  • 2012
  • Published by: University of Arizona Press
summary
Recent realizations that prehispanic cities in Mesoamerica were fundamentally different from western cities of the same period have led to increasing examination of the neighborhood as an intermediate unit at the heart of prehispanic urbanization. This book addresses the subject of neighborhoods in archaeology as analytical units between households and whole settlements.

The contributions gathered here provide fieldwork data to document the existence of sociopolitically distinct neighborhoods within ancient Mesoamerican settlements, building upon recent advances in multi-scale archaeological studies of these communities. Chapters illustrate the cultural variation across Mesoamerica, including data and interpretations on several different cities with a thematic focus on regional contrasts. This topic is relatively new and complex, and this book is a strong contribution for three interwoven reasons. First, the long history of research on the “Teotihuacan barrios” is scrutinized and withstands the test of new evidence and comparison with other Mesoamerican cities. Second, Maya studies of dense settlement patterns are now mature enough to provide substantial case studies. Third, theoretical investigation of ancient urbanization all over the world is now more complex and open than it was before, giving relevance to Mesoamerican perspectives on ancient and modern societies in time and space.

This volume will be of interest not only to scholars and student specialists of the Mesoamerican past but also to social scientists and urbanists looking to contrast ancient cultures worldwide.

Table of Contents

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  1. Cover
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  1. Title Page, Copyright
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  1. Contents
  2. pp. v-vi
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  1. Preface
  2. pp. 8-13
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  1. 1. Introduction: Neighborhoods and Districts in Ancient Mesoamerica
  2. pp. 1-26
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  1. 2. Neighborhoods and the Civic Constitutions of Premodern Cities as Seen from the Perspective of Collective Action
  2. pp. 27-52
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  1. I: The Central Highlands
  1. 3. Neighborhoods and Elite “Houses” at Teotihuacan, Central Mexico
  2. pp. 55-73
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  1. 4. Structure and Organization of Neighborhoods in the Ancient City of Teotihuacan
  2. pp. 74-101
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  1. 5. The “Tlajinga Barrio” A Distinctive Cluster of Neighborhoods in Teotihuacan
  2. pp. 102-116
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  1. 6. Teotihuacan Neighborhoods and the Health of Residents The Risks of Preindustrial Urban Living
  2. pp. 117-131
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  1. 7. Compact Versus Dispersed Settlement in Pre-Hispanic MesoamericaThe Role of Neighborhood Organization and Collective Action
  2. pp. 132-155
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  1. II: The Maya Area
  1. 8. Neighborhoods in Pre-Hispanic Honduras Settlement Patterns and Social Groupings Within Sites or Regions
  2. pp. 159-180
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  1. 9. Neighborhoods in Classic Lowland Maya Societies Their Identification and Definition from the La Joyanca Case Study (Northwestern Petén, Guatemala)
  2. pp. 181-201
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  1. 10. Houses, Emulation, and Cooperation Among the Río Bec Groups
  2. pp. 202-228
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  1. 11. Intermediate-Scale Patterns in the Urban Environment of Postclassic Mayapan
  2. pp. 229-260
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  1. 12. Intermediate Settlement Units in Late Postclassic Maya Sites in the Highlands An Assessment from Archaeology and Ethnohistory
  2. pp. 261-285
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  1. 13. Postclassic Maya “Barrios” in Yucatán An Historical Approach
  2. pp. 286-303
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  1. 14. Neighborhoods and Intermediate Units of Spatial and Social Analysis in Ancient Mesoamerica
  2. pp. 304-320
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  1. About the Authors
  2. pp. 321-329
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  1. Index
  2. pp. 331-344
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