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Teotihuacan was founded in a side valley of the Basin of Mexico during the first centuries of the common era and at its height reached a size of approximately 20 square kilometers. During A. D. 400-700, the Middle Classic period, architecture and portable artifacts in the Teotihuacan style are distributed throughout Mesoamerica. The distribution of Teotihuacan style material culture is often cited as evidence that Teotihuacan had the social and political complexity characteristic of early expansionistic states, and was in fact the first empire of highland Mexico. This study traces patterns of Teotihuacan influence in Gulf Coast ceramic assemblages in order to reconstruct relationships between Teotihuacan and various Classic period Gulf Coast polities. Here influence is defined as all archaeological indications of contact between two culturally or ethnically distinct populations. Variation in the timing and patterning of influence indicates variation in the nature of the relationships sustained between the two populations. To control for temporal and geographic variation, ceramic sequences and assemblage descriptions currently in use both at Teotihuacan and on the Gulf Coast are discussed and evaluated. Patterns of Teotihuacan influence in the ceramic assemblages of the Gulf Coast are shown to vary considerably from area to area and reflect clear differences in the timing and duration of Teotihuacan contact. Variation also occurs in the fidelity with which local imitations adhere to Teotihuacan stylistic conventions, the depositional context in which Teotihuacan imitations occur, and the range and types of Teotihuacan ceramic artifacts copied. The resulting patterns are interpreted to be meaningful in terms of past relationships between Teotihuacan and various Gulf Coast polities. The existence of Teotihuacan imperial control over part of the Gulf Coast is suggested.

This study investigates prehistoric West Mexican mortuary activities as technological systems. That is, the production, distribution, and use of mortuary ceramics are considered within a social context. Changes in technology are related to social and ideational changes in the society. In the past, interest in West Mexico has been stimulated by the large number of Pre-columbian ceramic figurines found in museums and private collections worldwide. Lacking more specific information, the art world created a "cult of the dead" to describe the people who made these figurines. Today, evidence on mortuary behavior and lifeways clearly demonstrates that these people were involved in many kinds of activities. This study aims to define mortuary activity within a context of technological, social, and ideational structures. Within this framework, technological changes occurring between the late Formative and the Classic period (200 B.C. to A.D. 700) at two small sites in the Valley of Atemajac were compared to changes occurring at the center of the region, 50 kilometers away. Technical analysis of the artifacts using optical, electron optical, and x-ray techniques was carried out. When combined with grosser archaeological categories regarding the treatment of the interred, and the distribution of artifacts within and between tombs, this resulted in a technological reconstruction of the production, distribution, and use of the mortuary ceramics. This technological reconstruction was placed within a regional context, based on inferences built from settlement pattern and architectural data as well as ethnohistoric records. Technological reconstruction resulted in the unconditional conclusion that the technical, social and ideational changes seen in the Valley of Atemajac could only be due to a discontinuity in site occupation, and later resettlement by outsiders.

This study presents the results of an analysis of the archaeological ceramics recovered from Maya sites on the island of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The field work was conducted in 1972-1973 by the Harvard University-University of Arizona Cozumel Archaeological Project which had as it focus the investigation of several aspects of long distance trade in Postclassic Maya society. The objectives of the study were (1) to analyze, classify, and describe the Cozumel ceramic remains, (2) to further clarify the island's prehistory through interpretation of ceramic data and relationships, and (3) to evaluate the Cozumel Archaeological Project's port of trade model from the standpoint of the ceramic evidence. Chapter 1 provides background information on the setting, history, and archaeology of Cozumel and adjacent coastal areas and summarizes the Cozumel Archaeological Project's research design and field investigations. This is followed in Chapter 2 by a discussion of the techniques of ceramic analysis employed in the study, including a brief summary of the type-variety system of ceramic classification. Chapters 3 through 10 present detailed descriptions of the ceramic complexes, arranged chronologically. Each variety of each ceramic type is described, including paste characteristics, surface finish, decoration, form, and comparative data. The Cozumel ceramic record indicates settlement on the island from Late Preclassic (ca. 300 B.C.-A.D. 300) through Late Postclassic (ca. A.D. 1250-1500/1550) times. An overview of the prehistory of Cozumel is presented in Chapter eleven. Chapter twelve presents the results of an attribute analysis of slipped serving dishes and unslipped jars which was undertaken to test the port of trade model. The model hypothesizes that Cozumel underwent a shift from a decentralized port of trade in the Early Postclassic, characterized by heterogeneity in archaeological remains, to a centralized trading center in the Late Postclassic, characterized by homogeneity. While the attribute analysis demonstrated an increase in intersite similarity and ceramic homogeneity in the Late Postclassic, results for the Early Postclassic were inconclusive. Chapter fourteen briefly summarizes the study's results and conclusions. Although the port of trade model was not verified by the ceramic evidence, there is considerable evidence that Cozumel may have been the site of a Toltec trade outpost in Early Postclassic times.

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The unimpressive archaeological record of the last Mayan pre-Hispanic period has been traditionally interpreted as one of a society in decadence. However, archaeological remains evidencing stylistic homogenization across regions and documentary accounts written during the conquest describing thriving markets and entrepreneurial people have indicated to some a mercantile society linked by extensive networks of communication. Under the weaker political environment of this period, it is expected that a mercantile environment presented more competition and more ceramic producers. This research used petrographic analysis and XRD of the pottery of Mayapan the last Maya capital, to detect ceramic compositional groups, which research has associated with the number of pottery producers. The number of producers is usually taken as a reflection of the degree of competition. This research found multiple compositional groups and the use of fewer ceramic materials that nonetheless are technologically advantageous, suggesting a more competitive and pragmatic society. / by Carmen Giomar Sanchez Fortoul. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.