Biskowski (1997)
The Adaptive Origins of Prehispanic Markets in Central Mexico: The Role of Maize-Grinding Tools and Related Staple Products in Early State Economies
Abstract
The development of markets is an important step in the evolution of complex societies. Because politically-oriented influences promoting the origins of markets are more visible to archaeologists, the role of other, less visible forces embedded in the subsistence economy are often overlooked. Obtaining a clearer picture of the respective forces at work requires the development of new avenues for studying early subsistence economies. This dissertation accomplishes this goal by focusing on the production, exchange, and use of prehispanic maize-grinding equipment (manos and metates).
Using the study of market origins as the principal goal, the initial step in this research was the identification of artifact attributes potentially relevant to this goal. Analyses of these attributes provided the basis for organizing the artifacts into useful taxonomic groups. Also, artifacts were linked to stone sources via geochemical analysis in order to study patterns of production and exchange.
Analyses of the grinding tools indicate that early markets in the Teotihuacan Valley probably served several important adaptive roles, including (1) distributing the output of skilled craftsmen; (2) providing consumers with increased ability to obtain grinding equipment suitable to their needs; and (3) allowing specialists in food preparation to vend tortillas and other maize products on a large scale.
Number of samples in dataset: 425
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