Early Mesoamerican Cities: Urbanism and Urbanization in the Formative Period

Cover
Half-title
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Contributors
Acknowledgments
Chapter One Introduction: Early Mesoamerican Cities, Urbanism, and Urbanization in the Formative Period
	Why Think about Urbanism and Urbanization?
		Definitions of Urbanism?
	A Brief History of Urbanism and Urbanization in Mesoamerica's Formative Period
	What Mesoamerica Can Show about Urbanism and Early Cities
		Theorizing Urbanization
		Diversity
		Materiality and the Generative Power of Place
		Connectedness
		Politics and the Early City
	Concluding Thoughts
	A Note on Chronologies
	Acknowledgments
Chapter Two Oaxaca's Formative Period Cities and Their Implications for Early Urbanism in Mesoamerica
	Monte Albán
	Mixtec Urban Centers
	Río Viejo
	Concluding Thoughts
	Acknowledgments
Chapter Three Early Urbanization in the Formative Gulf Lowlands, Mexico
	Early Urbanization in the Southern Gulf Lowlands
		San Lorenzo
		La Venta
	Making Later Urban Places in the Southern and Central Gulf Lowlands
		Cerro de las Mesas
		Tres Zapotes
	Concluding Thoughts
	Acknowledgments
Chapter Four Patterns of Early Urbanism in the Southern Maya Lowlands
	Urbanization and the ''Politics of Place''
	Alternative Urbanisms
	The ''Jungle Urbanism'' of the Lowland Maya
	Institutional Preconditioning
	Ch'een, a Maya View of Urbanism
	First Ch'een, First Principles
	The Birth of the Public Sphere
	The Standardization of Movement
	Concluding Thoughts: Urban Unanimity
Chapter Five The Role of Middle Preclassic Placemaking in the Creation of Late Preclassic Yucatecan Cities: The Foundations of Yaxuná
	The Early Maya City
	Yaxuná as a Late Preclassic City
	The Founding of Yaxuná
		The Establishment of the E Group
		The Enlargement of the E Group
		Expanding Performance
	The Transition to Late Preclassic Urbanism
	Terminal Preclassic Transformations
	Concluding Thoughts
	Acknowledgments
Chapter Six The City over the City: Kaminaljuyu and Urbanism
	Antecedents of Urbanism at Kaminaljuyu
	The Rise of Kaminaljuyu
	Aggregation, Trade, and Cultural Diversity
		Neighborhoods in Kaminaljuyu
	The Preclassic Landscape
		Water, Hydraulics, and Urbanism
		Altepetl and Urbanism: Local Concepts of Kaminaljuyu's Universe
	Concluding Thoughts
	Acknowledgments
Chapter Seven The New Normal: Formative Period Cities on the Pacific Coast of Southern Mesoamerica
	How Urbanism Grew
		The Early Middle Formative Watershed
		The City of La Blanca
		Districts and Neighborhoods in La Blanca
		Hierarchy and Heterarchy at La Blanca
	Hierarchy and Economy during the Conchas Phase
		La Blanca's Hinterland: Secondary Centers and Monumentality
		Distribution of Population
	Middle to Late Formative Period Urbanism
		The Izapa Capital
		The El Ujuxte Capital
	Urbanism beyond the Capitals
		The Izapa Polity
		The El Ujuxte Polity
	Urbanism as the Norm
	Economy, Ritual, and Urbanism
		Ideology, Art, and Ritual
		Economy
	Concluding Thoughts
	Acknowledgments
Chapter Eight The Nature of Early Urbanism at Teotihuacan
	The Growth of Early Cities in Central Mexico
	The Roots of Central Mexico's Urban Tradition
	The Late Formative Florescence
	Early Teotihuacan
	Cosmic City Planning
		The Orientation of the Teotihuacan City Grid
		The Teotihuacan Measurement System
		The Symbolism of Spatial Patterning during the Miccaotli Phase and Beyond
	The Symbolism of Major Monuments
		The Moon Pyramid
		The Sun Pyramid
		The Feathered Serpent Pyramid and the Ciudadela
	Concluding Thoughts
	Acknowledgements
Chapter Nine Art and Urbanity in Late Formative Mesoamerica
	Late Formative Urbanisms
		Urbanism and Urbanity
	Art and Privilege in Mesoamerica
		The Sculptural Innovations of Late Formative Urbanism: Narrative and Writing
		Urbanism and the Kingly Body
	Sculpture, Order, and Elite Social Reproduction
	Concluding Thoughts
	Acknowledgments
Chapter Ten Landscape and Leadership in Mesoamerican Cities: A Comparative View
	Landscape
	Leadership Paradigms
	Concluding Thoughts: Mesoamerican Urbanism at the Junction of Space and Time
Chapter Eleven Experimental Cities?
References
Index