essay

The basin of Mexico: ecological processes in the evolution of a civilization

Academic Press • New York • Published In 1979 • Pages: xiv, 561

By: Sanders, William T., Parsons, Jeffrey R., Santley, Robert S..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This monograph represents the results of field research conducted over a period of 15 years (1960-1975), in the Basin of Mexico. Although Sanders covers a wide range of archaeological periods from the Early Horizon to the Late Horizon (ca. 1500 BC to 1519 AD), the major focus of this document is on the period from 600 BC to 300 AD which he refers to in the text as the First Intermediate division, phases two to five. This study is divided into five major parts. Chapters 1-3 essentially deal with the methodology of the Basin of Mexico Survey Project. Chapters 4-7 are primarily data chapters, with a focus on geography, settlements, demography, and resource utilization, with a minimum of interpretation. Chapter 8 reconstructs the history of socioeconomic systems based on a combination of the data from survey and excavation. Chapter 9 discusses the implications of the Survey Project in terms of broad theoretical concepts in anthropology. Chapter 10 is mostly a plea for future research to expand the considerable data base produced by the Survey. A series of appendices conclude the work containing topics of a more specialized nature (pp. xiii-xiv).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Historical reconstruction
Archaeological survey methods
Chronologies and culture sequences
Diet
Tillage
Land use
Tests and schedules administered in the field
Ceramic technology
Typologies and classifications
traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Highland Mesoamerican Late Preclassic
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2010
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Middle America and the Caribbean
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
General Middle America and the Caribbean
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Archaeologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle; 2008
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1960-1975
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
2600-1700 BP (600 BC-AD 300)
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Basin of Mexico
NotesAdditional notes
William T. Sanders, Jeffrey R. Parsons, and Robert S. Santley
Includes bibliographical references (p. 533-549) and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
79011697
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Indians of Mexico--Mexico--Mexico, Valley of--Antiquities/Land settlement patterns, Prehistoric--Mexico--Mexico, Valley of/Human ecology--Mexico--Mexico, Valley of/Mexico, Valley of (Mexico)--Antiquities/ Mexico--Antiquities