abstract: There has been debate and uncertainty on two important issues in the Basin of Mexico: the formation of Epiclassic city-states following Teotihuacan state collapse (ca. A.D. 650), and the nature of the subsequent Early Postclassic Tula state expansion. I evaluate the Basin as a case of regeneration of socio-political complexity using stylistic and compositional pottery analysis to examine patterns of interaction from the Epiclassic (ca. A.D. 600/650-850) through the Early Postclassic (ca. A.D. 850-1150). I selected representative specimens of temporally diagnostic pottery from the three large settlement clusters in the northwestern Basin (Tula and the Zumpango region), the northeastern Basin (Teotihuacan Valley), and the southeastern Basin (Cerro Portezuelo, the Ixtapalapa and Chalco regions) to assess: 1) participation in regional cultural complexes, 2) direct exchange or local production of particular pottery types, 3) regional variation in the production of pottery. For certain time periods, ceramic patterns among smaller settlements clusters were distinguished. The combination of chemical and attribute analysis provided a robust method for identifying regional variation in pottery. Chemical characterization using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) was used to provide fine-scaled compositional reference groups to assess regional production and exchange. Stylistic and technological attributes were used to define highly visible decorative traditions that were easily copied and low visibility production steps that were learned. Teotihuacan withdrawal from the southeastern Basin prompted reorganization and adoption of a distinctive pottery complex. Epiclassic settlement patterns throughout the Basin were reorganized into nucleated settlement clusters with unoccupied areas between them. Results indicate regional participation in the Coyotlatelco pottery tradition and a strong pattern of consumption of locally produced pottery by settlement cluster. Tula underwent significant urban growth in the Early Postclassic, while the Basin was marked by a process of "ruralization" as the Epiclassic centers dispersed and settlements filled the previously unoccupied landscape. Tula expanded its influence into the Basin with varying degrees of integration. The closest settlements in the northwestern Basin acquired the most Tula-produced pottery. The Teotihuacan Valley and Cerro Portezuelo settlements consumed mostly locally produced Tula style pottery. The southeastern settlements were least connected to Tula and initiated interactions towards Puebla-Tlaxcala. / Dissertation/Thesis / Notes authorizing use of figures. Not to be posted to public or part of publication / Ph.D. Anthropology 2011

Lors de la période classique, entre 200 et 800 ap. J.-C., les centres urbains complexes se développèrent en sur l’ensemble de la Mixteca, en lien étroit avec les cités de Teotihuacan sur les hauts plateaux centraux et de Monte Alban dans les vallées centrales d'Oaxaca. La période plus tardive du Postclassique récent, à partir de 1200 apr. J.-C. et jusqu’à la conquête espagnole, est à nouveau documentée, par les codex peints et les vestiges archéologiques : la Mixteca était densément peuplée et très dynamique, et ses populations liées par une idéologie commune. Le Postclassique ancien, entre 800 et 1200 apr. J.-C., est mal connu. Aucun marqueur archéologique n'a été relevé et daté pour cette période, les Mixtecas Aira et Baja en particulier semblèrent désertées. Cependant, les codex peints plus tardifs témoignent de dynamiques importantes lors de cette période intermédiaire, période la plus ancienne peinte dans les codex. La présente recherche consiste en une synthèse éclairée des données publiées et d'archives, des collections de musées et de réserves archéologiques dans le but de mettre en évidence, dans un premier temps, les marqueurs archéologiques du Postclassique ancien dans la Mixteca, Alta en particulier, et de les dater fermement. Dans un second temps il s'agit de confronter ces données à celles issues des codes mixtèques concernant le Postclassique ancien, témoignant de corrélations évidentes. Ces données collectées, datées et organisées permettent de dresser un premier bilan concernant le Postclassique ancien, de la réorganisation politique, religieuse et spatiale des sociétés après les effondrements politiques classiques. / During the classical period, between A.D. 200-800, complex urban centers grew ail over the Mixteca, in close contact with the cities of Teotihuacan in the central highlands and of Monte Alban, in the central valley of Oaxaca. The later Late Postclassic, from A.D. 1200 to the Spanish Conquest, is documented by painted codex and archaeological remains : the Mixteca was densely populated and very dynamic, populations were united by a shared ideology. Early Postclassic, between A.D. 800 and 1200, is poorly known. No archaeological marker has been identified and precisely dated for this rime, Mixtecas Alta and Baja seemed uninhabited. However, late painted codex demonstrate important dynamics during this intermediary period, the older one painted in codex. This research includes an enlightened overview of published and unpublished data, of museum artefacts and of storage archaeological collections in order to, first, highlight and put a date on archaeological markers for the Early Postclassic in the Mixteca, especially the Mixteca Alta. Then, this research compares these archaeological data to the ethnohistorical ones from the mixtecan codex concerning the Early Postclassic period, showing obvious correlations. These collected, dated and organized data draw up a first report on the Early Postclassic, about political, religious and spatial reorganization of societies after the classical political collapses.