The Inalienable in the Archaeology of Mesoamerica

The Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association (AP3A) are original books on a wide range of subjects generally considered to fall within the purview of anthropological archeology. Each book is focused around a specific topic and recent subjects have included housework, gender, and craft specialization. The books are intended to foster the results of archaeological research and interpretations to anthropologists, to other scholars, and to the general public. Books in the AP3A series are available for course adoption.

Table of Contents iii

Chapter 1. Introduction: Inalienability, Value, and the Construction of Social Difference 1
Brigitte Kovacevich and Michael G. Callaghan

Chapter 2. Olmec Things and Identity: A Reassessment of Offerings and Burials at La Venta, Tabasco 14
John E. Clark and Arlene Colman

Chapter 3. Situational Inalienability and Social Change in Formative Period Coastal Oaxaca 38
Sarah B. Barber, Andrew Workinger, and Arthur A. Joyce

Chapter 4. The Bones of the Ancestors as Inalienable Possessions: A Bioarchaeological Perspective 54
Anna C. Novotny

Chapter 5. Cultivated Landscapes as Inalienable Wealth in Southeastern Mesoamerica 66
E. Christian Wells

Chapter 6. Alienating Ancient Maya Commoners 81
Jon C. Lohse

Chapter 7. The Inalienability of Jades in Mesoamerica 95
Brigitte Kovacevich

Chapter 8. Maya Polychrome Vessels as Inalienable Possessions 112
Michael G. Callaghan

Chapter 9. Negotiation of Inalienability and Meanings at the Classic Maya Center of Aguateca, Guatemala 128
Takeshi Inomata

Chapter 10. Land, Labor, Bodies, and Objects: Comments on Inalienability and Mesoamerican Social Life 142
Barbara J. Mills

List of Contributors 150

Erratum 152

Brigitte Kovacevich is assistant professor of anthropology at Southern Methodist University. Her research focuses on the complex interplay between technology, power, social action, and culture change in the past and present, and she is interested in Mesoamerican archaeology, lithic analysis, household archaeology, gender, identity, and preindustrial economic systems. She is currently codirector of the Holt´un Archaeological Project, Guatemala, and has conducted research in Mexico, Arizona, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Michael G. Callaghan is visiting assistant professor of anthropology at Southern Methodist University. He specializes in complex societies of Mesoamerica, with a specific emphasis on prehistoric economy and its articulation with politics and ritual. His research interests include Mesoamerican archaeology, the origins of social complexity, prehistoric economies, the archaeology of ritual, gender in archaeology, and ceramic analysis. He is currently codirector of the Holt´un Archaeological Project, Guatemala.