Mesoamerican plazas : arenas of community and power

Until now, archaeological and historical studies of Mesoamerican plazas have been scarce compared to studies of the surrounding monumental architecture such as pyramidal temples and palaces. Many scholars have assumed that ancient Mesoamericans invested their labor, wealth, and symbolic value in pyramids and other prominent buildings, viewing plazas as by-products of these buildings. Even when researchers have recognized the potential significance of plazas, they have thought that plazas as vacant spaces could offer few clues about their cultural and political roles. challenges both of these assumptions. The primary question that has motivated the contributors is how Mesoamerican plazas became arenas for the creation and negotiation of social relations and values in a community. The thirteen contributions stress the significance of interplay between power relations and embodied practices set in specific historical and material settings, as outlined by practice theory and performance theory. This approach allows the contributors to explore broader anthropological issues, such as the negotiation of power relations, community making, and the constitution of political authorities. The primary question that has motivated the contributors is how Mesoamerican plazas became arenas for the creation and negotiation of social relations and values in a community. The thirteen contributions stress the significance of interplay between power relations and embodied practices set in specific historical and material settings, as outlined by practice theory and performance theory. This approach allows the contributors to explore broader anthropological issues, such as the negotiation of power relations, community making, and the constitution of political authorities. Overall, the contributions establish that physical interactions among people in communal events were not the outcomes of political machinations held behind the scenes, but were the actual political processes through which people created, negotiated, and subverted social realities. If so, spacious plazas that were arguably designed for interactions among a large number of individuals must have also provided critical arenas for the constitution and transformation of society. This Is The First Book To Examine The Roles Of Plazas In Ancient Mesoamerica. It Argues Persuasively That Physical Interactions Among People In Communal Events Were Not The Outcomes Of Political Machinations Held Behind The Scenes, But Were The Actual Political Processes Through Which People Created, Negotiated, And Subverted Social Realities-- Gathering In An Open Space : Introduction To Mesoamerican Plazas / Takeshi Inomata And Kenichiro Tsukamoto -- Plaza Builders Of The Preclassic Maya Lowlands : The Construction Of A Public Space And A Community At Ceibal, Guatemala / Takeshi Inomata -- Social Identities, Power Relations, And Urban Transformations : Politics Of Plaza Construction At Teotihuacan / Tatsuya Murakami -- Multiple Identities On The Plazas : The Classic Maya Center Of El Palmar, Mexico / Kenichiro Tsukamoto -- Early Olmec Open Spaces At San Lorenzo, Veracruz / Ann Cyphers And Timothy Murtha -- Empty Space, Active Place : The Sociopolitical Role Of Plazas In The Mixteca Alta / Marijke Stoll -- The Social Construction Of Public Spaces At Palenque And Chinikihá, Mexico / Rodrigo Liendo Stuardo, Javier López Mejaía, And Arianna Campiani -- Interpreting Plaza Spaces Using Soil Chemistry : The View From Honduras / Kara A. Rothenberg -- Plazas In Comparative Perspective In South-central Veracruz From The Classic To The Postclassic Period (ad 300-1350) / Alanna Ossa -- Early Transformations Of Monte Alban's Main Plaza And Their Political Implications, 500 Bc-ad 200 / Javier Urcid And Arthur Joyce -- Plazas And The Patios Of The Feathered Serpent / William M. Ringle -- Plaza, Atrium, And Maya Social Memory In Sixteenth-century Itzmal / Amara Solari -- Ancient Plazas : Spaces Of Inquiry In Mesoamerica And Beyond / Jerry D. Moore. Edited By Kenichiro Tsukamoto And Takeshi Inomata. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 225-255) And Index. Until now, archaeological and historical studies of Mesoamerican plazas have been scarce compared to studies of the surrounding monumental architecture such as pyramidal temples and palaces. Many scholars have assumed that ancient Mesoamericans invested their labor, wealth, and symbolic value in pyramids and other prominent buildings, viewing plazas as by-products of these buildings. Even when researchers have recognized the potential significance of plazas, they have thought that plazas as vacant spaces could offer few clues about their cultural and political roles. Mesoamerican Plazas challenges both of these assumptions. The primary question that has motivated the contributors is how Mesoamerican plazas became arenas for the creation and negotiation of social relations and values in a community. The thirteen contributions stress the significance of interplay between power relations and embodied practices set in specific historical and material settings, as outlined by practice theory and performance theory. This approach allows the contributors to explore broader anthropological issues, such as the negotiation of power relations, community making, and the constitution of political authorities. Overall, the contributions establish that physical interactions among people in communal events were not the outcomes of political machinations held behind the scenes, but were the actual political processes through which people created, negotiated, and subverted social realities. If so, spacious plazas that were arguably designed for interactions among a large number of individuals must have also provided critical arenas for the constitution and transformation of society. Contents 6 Introduction. Gathering in an Open Space: Introduction to Mesoamerican Plazas / Takeshi Inomata and Kenichiro Tsukamoto 10 Part I. Plaza Constructions and Public Events 24 1. Plaza Builders of the Preclassic Maya Lowlands: The Construction of a Public Space and a Community at Ceibal, Guatemala / Takeshi Inomata 26 2. Social Identities, Power Relations, and Urban Transformations: Politics of Plaza Construction at Teotihuacan / Tatsuya Murakami 41 3. Multiple Identities on the Plazas: The Classic Maya Center of El Palmar, Mexico / Kenichiro Tsukamoto 57 Part II. Plazas in Broader Spatial Contexts 76 4. Early Olmec Open Spaces at San Lorenzo, Veracruz / Ann Cyphers and Timothy Murtha 78 5. Empty Space, Active Place: The Sociopolitical Role of Plazas in the Mixteca Alta / Marijke Stoll 97 6. The Social Construction of Public Spaces at Palenque and Chinikihá, Mexico / Rodrigo Liendo Stuardo, Javier López Mejía, and Arianna Campiani 115 7. Interpreting Plaza Spaces Using Soil Chemistry: The View from Honduras / Kara A. Rothenberg 128 8. Plazas in Comparative Perspective in South-Central Veracruz from the Classic to the Postclassic Period (AD 300–1350) / Alanna Ossa 137 Part III. Plazas and Images 154 9. Early Transformations of Monte Albán’s Main Plaza and Their Political Implications, 500 BC–AD 200 / Javier Urcid and Arthur Joyce 156 10. Plazas and the Patios of the Feathered Serpent / William M. Ringle 175 11. Plaza, Atrium, and Maya Social Memory in Sixteenth-Century Itzmal / Amara Solari 200 Part IV. Commentary 218 12. Ancient Plazas: Spaces of Inquiry in Mesoamerica and Beyond / Jerry D. Moore 220 References 232 Contributors 264 Index 268 "This is the first book to examine the roles of plazas in ancient Mesoamerica. It argues persuasively that physical interactions among people in communal events were not the outcomes of political machinations held behind the scenes, but were the actual political processes through which people created, negotiated, and subverted social realities"-- Provided by publisher "This is the first book to examine the roles of plazas in ancient Mesoamerica. It argues persuasively that physical interactions among people in communal events were not the outcomes of political machinations held behind the scenes, but were the actual political processes through which people created, negotiated, and subverted social realities."--Site de l'éditeur