The early Mesoamerican village
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The early Mesoamerican village
(Studies in archaeology)
Academic Press, c1976
- : pbk
Available at 4 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographies and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
A continuing dialogue on methods and goals between the Real Mesoamerican Archaeologist, the Great Synthesizer, and the Skeptical Graduate Student ties together chapters on methods and results in the archeology of Formative Mesoamerica to create a book that is as much about archeologists and archeology as about the culture they study. The dialogue, based on some of the real events of the last two decades in Mesoamerica, shows the Real Mesoamerica Archeologist's zest for life and archaeology, but also his suspicion of new methods and statistics, his love of operating by the seat of his pants; the Great Synthesizer's ability to see the forest, but also his humorlessness and addiction to mathematical techniques. The chapters explore analytical procedures for sampling and studying cultures, and test them on data from Formative Mesoamerica, so that the book also presents a model of Early Formative society based on substantive data, and subject to testing and refinementin the future.
Starting from the activity area, and moving through the house, barrio, village, and region to the interregional level, the volume questions and probes archeological methods, presuppositions, and attitudes, and at the same time lays the basis for comprehensive understanding of Mesoamerican society. It finds that all too often what archeologists actually do in the field bears little relation to what they want to do, or claim that they are doing. From this standpoint, it critically evaluates techniques for excavation, sampling of sites and regions, and stylistic analysis, as well as such theoretical factors of explanation as population pressure, trade, and religion. Since the three figures in the dialogue form facets of every archeologist's personality, this iconoclastic book is not for those who take themselves too seriously. But anyone devoted to the goal of understanding Mesoamerica, or ancient civilizations generally, will welcome its asking of fundamental, if sometimes uncomfortable and embarrassing, questions.
The book's attempt to heal the generation gap between the 'old' and the 'new' archeology will make it required reading for both generations of Mesoamerican and other archeologists, and its rare combination of scholarly objectivity, humor, and love for the field will do much to promote the survival of an endangered species-the archeologist as a complete and sometimes larger-than-life human being.
Table of Contents
Research Strategy and Formative mesoamerica. Analysis on the Household Level. Analysis on the Community Level. The Village and Its Catchment Area. Analysis on the Regional Level. Analyzing Patterns of Growth. Analysis of Stylistic Variation within and between Communities. Interregional Exchange Networks. Interregional Religious Networks. A Prayer for an Endangered Species.
by "Nielsen BookData"