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Trade on the Mesoamerican frontier : evaluating the significance of blue-green stones at La Quemada, Zacatecas, Mexico Berney, Christine
Abstract
The movement of Pre-Columbian turquoise from the American Southwest to Mesoamerica has long been considered an important factor in the emergence of complex societies in North and Northwest Mexico, including the one at La Quemada. This movement is often interpreted as an expansionary process involving the acquisition o f rare resources by Central Mexican empires. I evaluated the proposition that turquoise was an important item for exchange and o f personal wealth and status at La Quemada by examining the intrasite distribution of blue-green stones from excavated contexts. My analysis suggests that although turquoise was a precious and restricted good at the site, it was not valued locally for reasons associated with large-scale political economy. This study does not minimize the importance of turquoise exchange, but raises doubts about the turquoise trade as a primary factor in the development of some northern sites, and is a step toward understanding why blue-green stones may have circulated.
Item Metadata
Title |
Trade on the Mesoamerican frontier : evaluating the significance of blue-green stones at La Quemada, Zacatecas, Mexico
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
2002
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Description |
The movement of Pre-Columbian turquoise from the American Southwest to
Mesoamerica has long been considered an important factor in the emergence of complex
societies in North and Northwest Mexico, including the one at La Quemada. This movement is
often interpreted as an expansionary process involving the acquisition o f rare resources by
Central Mexican empires. I evaluated the proposition that turquoise was an important item for
exchange and o f personal wealth and status at La Quemada by examining the intrasite
distribution of blue-green stones from excavated contexts. My analysis suggests that although
turquoise was a precious and restricted good at the site, it was not valued locally for reasons
associated with large-scale political economy. This study does not minimize the importance of
turquoise exchange, but raises doubts about the turquoise trade as a primary factor in the
development of some northern sites, and is a step toward understanding why blue-green stones
may have circulated.
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Extent |
3312048 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-08-17
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0058368
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2002-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.