Alluvial History of Central Mexico

Nature ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 227 (5258) ◽  
pp. 596-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. VITA-FINZI
Keyword(s):  
Central Mexico ◽  
History Of

AGENCY, ALTERITY, APPROPRIATION: POSTCLASSIC LOWLAND MAYA USES AND MODIFICATIONS OF THE “MIXTECA-PUEBLA” OR “INTERNATIONAL” STYLE

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-428
Author(s):  
Keith Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Previous History ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Local Elites ◽  
Prestige Goods ◽  
International Style ◽  
Early Postclassic ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
History Of ◽  
Manuscript Painting ◽  
Lowland Maya

AbstractMaya participation in the Postclassic Mixteca-Puebla or International Style has long been recognized in murals and manuscript painting. Recent explanations for Maya adoptions/modifications of this central Mexican style have shifted from invasion or “influence” to emphasize the active and selective participation of the Maya. I examine two examples, the solar murals of Mayapan and Flores Stela 4, to elucidate how they reflect Maya uses of the Mexican Other in service of local political and religious power. I argue that these works represent a Late Postclassic continuation of a long Maya tradition of using central Mexican forms and iconography as exotic ideological “prestige goods” reinforcing the legitimacy of local elites. They cannot be understood apart from the previous history of interactions between the Maya and central Mexico, particularly in the Early Postclassic, and some of the “Mexican” elements in these examples may derive from Maya-Mexican interactions during this earlier time.For Eloise Quiñones Keber, and in memory of H.B. Nicholson

scholarly journals Environmental History of Mangrove Vegetation in Pacific West-Central Mexico during the Last 1300 Years

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanca L. Figueroa-Rangel ◽  
Adelina Valle-Martínez ◽  
Miguel Olvera-Vargas ◽  
Kam-biu Liu
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
West Central ◽  
Mangrove Vegetation ◽  
History Of

scholarly journals Descriptions of the cult of the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca in sources of Spanish origin

2020 ◽  
pp. 68-73
Author(s):  
Oleksii Otkydach
Keyword(s):  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
The World ◽  
Problematic Issue ◽  
History Of ◽  
Autochthonous Population ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Different Sources

The author of the article aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of sources of Spanish origin, since they constitute the most significant category of documents used by Amerindologists. At the same time, it draws attention to the historiography of the topic. Conditionally, it is divided into two groups: works that highlight the general features of the entire pantheon of Aztecs and those that analyze the cult of Tezcatlipoca itself and its characteristics. The use of the linguistic method in connection with the names of Tezcatlipoca allows us to understand the functions that the Aztecs bestowed on this god and more accurately interpret the mentioned deity. Particular attention is paid to the translation of Nahuatl names and the explanations given by the authors of the sources. Comparing the names of the god and the descriptions of his cult, created after the conquest, allows us to trace how the Europeans could at their own discretion treat Tezcatlipoca as an individual representative of the pantheon and how the autochthonous population of central Mexico saw it. In addition to the analysis of names, the paper reviews the main holidays in honor of Tezcatlipoca, compares the testimony of different sources on this occasion. In this context, the prayers and typical sacrifices of the worship of this god are analyzed. This allows to expand the range of ideas about the essence and functions of Tezcatlipoca, as well as to trace the various local variants of his cult within central Mexico The article also explores the legends that cite sources of Spanish descent about Tezcatlipoca. Because of this, two different traditions of mythological tradition about the mentioned god were distinguished. One is likely to relay events in the history of Tollan in the form of a legend, while the other reflects representations of the creating of the world and the role of Tezcatlipoca in this. Moreover, the first variant of the myth of the mentioned god has differences in different sources of Spanish origin, which allows for a more thorough analysis of these testimonies. Further development of the problematic issue is to attract sources of pre-colonial age, which will help to create a more thorough understanding of this cult.

scholarly journals Rapid and recent allopatric speciation in firs from central Mexico: evidence for reinforcement?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Giles-Pérez ◽  
Erika Aguirre-Planter ◽  
Luis Eguiarte ◽  
Juan Jaramillo-Correa
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Volcanic Belt ◽  
Secondary Contact ◽  
Reproductive Phenology ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Sky Islands ◽  
Hybrid Fitness ◽  
Mexican Volcanic Belt ◽  
History Of ◽  
Self Fertilization

Secondary contact of species that have evolved partial reproductive isolation in allopatry may result in several outcomes, which range from rampant hybridization to barrier reinforcement. Reinforcement arises from reduced hybrid fitness, which promotes assortative mating and hence speciation. In plants, self-fertilization and disjunctions in reproductive-phenology are often invoked as evidence of reinforcement. However, local adaptation and pleiotropic effects during colonization can also lead to reproductive isolation without reinforcement. We explored these possibilities in a fir species complex (Abies flinckii - A. religiosa) distributed in ‘sky-islands’ along the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB), in central Mexico. Despite co-occurring in two independent sympatric regions (west and center), these two taxa seem to rarely interbreed because of disjunct reproductive phenologies. We genotyped 1,147 SNPs, generated by GBS across 23 populations, and compared multiple demographic scenarios, built based on the geological history of the TMVB. The best-fitting model suggested a recent species split (for a conifer), dating back to ~1.2 Ma, together with early asymmetric gene flow (mostly from A. flinckii into A. religiosa), limited to the central sympatric region. Coupled with the lack of support for colonization models, the summary statistics (f, Hobs, FST, θπ, etc.) and historical demographic inferences made herein point to a rapid speciation with an early development of reinforcement, as a putative mechanism for avoiding hybridization. The role of reinforcement should be thus further explored in the (sub)tropics, as likely explanation for how species diversity is generated and maintained.

scholarly journals Livestock and grassland interrelationship along five centuries of ranching the semiarid grasslands on the southern highlands of the Mexican Plateau

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Mellink ◽  
Mónica E. Riojas-López
Keyword(s):  
Central Mexico ◽  
Range Management ◽  
Grassland Degradation ◽  
Grass Cover ◽  
Invertebrate Species ◽  
Native Grasslands ◽  
Historical Archives ◽  
Buffalo Grass ◽  
History Of ◽  
Southern Section

Native grasslands worldwide have been degraded by grazing, but the processes involved have been studied insufficiently. Grasslands were a major habitat on the southern section of the Mexican Plateau when the Spaniards arrived 500 years ago. Since then, they have been impacted heavily through grazing, but the details and history of such impacts have not been established. We aimed at untangling almost 500 years of grazing of these grasslands, based on extensive searches of published information and of documents in historical archives. We identified three periods of ranching: Cattle, from the mid-16th to the mid-17th Centuries; sheep, reflecting a change from tall to short grasses; and, finally, goats and horses, along with sheep, asses and some cattle, after serious grassland degradation by the mid-20th Century. Overgrazing has impacted grassland composition in the region and its capacity to support livestock, but also, strongly affect some 20 species of native vertebrates and an unknown number of plant and invertebrate species. The current condition of some ranges and a livestock exclosure indicate that grassland improvement is possible, but realistic objectives based on biodiversity conservation and livestock production should be targeted, rather than utopic pre-livestock frameworks. Grasslands in the region at the time of Spanish arrival possibly had a mixture of grasses and herbs, but buffalo grass and the central Mexico tobosa grass are potential initial range management targets for grassland recovery of the ranges in worst condition, while blue gramma and the Mexican plateau gramma are good targets for ranges that still have some grass cover.

Migration and the Coyotlatelco Ceramic Tradition

2019 ◽  
pp. 88-108
Author(s):  
Christine Hernández ◽  
Dan M. Healan
Keyword(s):  
Source Area ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
West Mexico ◽  
Ceramic Chronology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Formative ◽  
Non Local ◽  
Geometric Designs

This chapter argues that the Late Classic/Epiclassic ceramic style known as Coyotlatelco has roots in the eastern El Bajío of Near West Mexico. Coyotlatelco became a widespread ceramic tradition in Epiclassic Central Mexico. Its chief defining characteristic is its suite of unsupported and tripod-supported vessels decorated with red-painted geometric designs on plain brown or cream slipped pottery. Ceramic data and radiocarbon dating produced from Tulane University’s Ucareo-Zinapecuaro (U-Z) Project (1989-1995) shed additional light on the ongoing debate regarding whether or not the Coyotlatelco style originates with the native population or if it shows evidence of the migration of non-local people into the central highlands of Mexico. The ceramic chronology for the U-Z source area throughout the Late Formative and Classic periods in NE Michoacan begins a discussion about shared decorative modes among red on brown ceramic types that connect Michoacan with societies in both the El Bajio and the Basin of Mexico regions, including Teotihuacan. The conclusions drawn suggest that the Coyotlatelco ceramic style has deep roots in the pottery traditions of the eastern El Bajio and, given the equally long history of various modes of regional and back migration, there seems little need to look beyond Central Mexico for the origins of Coyotlatleco.

scholarly journals INTRODUCTION

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Fowler ◽  
Geoffrey G. McCafferty ◽  
Amy J. Hirshman
Keyword(s):  
Special Section ◽  
World System ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Programs ◽  
History Of Research ◽  
West Mexico ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mexican Archaeology

One of the healthiest trends in Mesoamerican studies in the past two or thee decades has been the recognition that the pre-Columbian cultures of west Mexico were full participants in the Mesoamerican world-system. Long past are the days when west Mexico was excluded from consideration as part of Mesoamerica because of seemingly exotic features such as shaft tombs and round pyramids. Another problem that distanced west Mexico conceptually from greater Mesoamerica was the lack of good chronologies which precluded an understanding of interaction between west and central Mexico. In the introduction to another recent special section, more extensive comments were offered on the history of research in west Mexican archaeology and especially the tension between the fascination with the exotic and the need to develop archaeological research programs based on both chronological and anthropological concerns (Fowler et al. 2006).

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