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Looming Deficits: Textile Production Specialization in Postclassic Mesoamerica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2019

Angela C. Huster Open the ORCID record for Angela C. Huster [Opens in a new window]
Angela C. Huster*
Affiliation:
School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 872402, Tempe, AZ85287-2402, USA (ahuster@asu.edu)
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Abstract

Using textile production in Postclassic Western Mesoamerica as a case study, this article explores how to differentiate low levels of craft production caused by household provisioning from low levels of craft production due to market reliance and regional specialization. I use a sample of 52 excavated site/phase components to establish baselines for the intensity of production and to evaluate whether participation in the market allowed craftspeople in some regions to underproduce textiles relative to local needs. Highland and lowland sites have comparable low frequencies of spindle whorls during the Early Postclassic, which I interpret as characteristic of household self-sufficiency. Whorl frequencies increase above this baseline earlier and to a higher degree in lowland sites than in highland sites. During the Late Postclassic, some regions may have formed pairs of over- and underproduction zones linked by the market. Because of changes in spinning technology, it is not possible to extrapolate the results of this study to earlier time periods. I then present data from Calixtlahuaca as an example of how macroregional data can be used to interpret craft production at a particular site. Textile production at Calixtlahuaca was generally low, but this was more likely a function of a strong dependence on maguey fiber, rather than underproduction caused by a reliance on the market.

En este trabajo, a través del análisis de la producción textil en el oeste de Mesoamérica durante el Posclásico, se busca diferenciar los bajos niveles de producción artesanal como resultado del autoabastecimiento doméstico por la dependencia del mercado y la especialización regional. Se emplea una muestra de 52 contextos excavados (de una fase en un sitio) para establecer líneas de base para la intensidad de la producción textil y para evaluar si el desarrollo del sistema de mercado permitió que la gente de ciertas regiones subprodujera textiles en relación con las necesidades locales. Los sitios de las tierras altas y bajas presentan bajas frecuencias de malacates durante el Posclásico temprano, lo que se interpreta como una característica del autoabastecimiento doméstico. Los sitios de las tierras bajas muestran una intensificación de la producción textil con anterioridad, y a un nivel más amplio, que los sitios de las tierras altas. Durante el Postclásico tardío, algunas regiones pudieron haber formado pares de zonas de sobre y subproducción de textiles, vinculadas por el mercado. Debido a los cambios tecnológicos en las herramientas de hilado, los métodos presentados aquí no se pueden aplicar para los periodos anteriores al Posclásico. Se presentan los datos del sitio de Calixtlahuaca a modo de ejemplo de cómo los datos macrorregionales se pueden utilizar para interpretar la producción artesanal en sitios individuales. La producción textil en Calixtlahuaca fue baja, en general, pero probablemente esto responde a una fuerte dependencia de la fibra de maguey, más que a la subproducción debido a la dependencia del mercado.

Keywords

PostclassicWestern Mesoamericatextilescraft productionintensificationPosclásicoMesoamérica Occidentaltextilesproducción artesanalintensificación
Type
Article
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , December 2019 , pp. 780 - 797
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by the Society for American Archaeology

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