H O U S E H O L D A N D STATUS I N F O R M A T I V E C E N T R A L M E X I C O :

D O M E S T I C S T R U C T U R E S , A S S E M B L A G E S , A N D P R A C T I C E S AT L A
LAGUNA, TLAXCALA

David M. Carballo

Two Terminal Formative (ca. 100 B.C.-A.D. 100) domestic areas of La Laguna, Tlaxcala, are compared to exam
ability in residential structures, assemblages, and practices, and their correlation to status differences at this m
regional center during the period of initial central Mexican urbanization and state formation. Combining multiple
evidence, the study assesses the applicability of previous frameworks for investigating household status to this par
community. It demonstrates significant differences between elite and commoner residences in architectural elab
labor mobilization, access to certain foreign goods, and particular ritual practices, but general similarities in d
economies and more restrained differentiation informs ofpersonal adornment and domestic ritual. These conclus
consistent with demarcated lineage ranking but relatively minor wealth accumulation by a more rural elite locate
erally to larger cities and polities.

Dos zonas residenciales del sitio La Laguna, Tlaxcala, correspondiendo al Formativo terminal (c. 100 a. C.-100 d
paran para entender la variabilidad en estructuras, conjuntos y prdcticas domesticas en este centro regional de tam
durante la fase inicial de urbanizacion y de evolucion del Estado en el Altiplano Central mexicano. Juntando line
dencia multiples—incluso arquitectura, herramientas utilitarias, adornos personates e implementos de uso ritual
evaliia trabajos previos acerca del tenia con respecto a la comunidad particular de La Laguna. Demuestra difere
ficativas entre familias de elite y del comiin en la elaboracion arquitectonica, la movilizacion del mano de obra, e
ciertos recursos fordneos y en ciertas prdcticas rituales, pero semejanzas generates en sus economias domesticas
cias mas sutiles en tipos de adorno personal y en otros rituales cotidianos. Las conclusiones son consistentes con
cia de demarcaciones bien establecidas entre los rangosfamiliares pero relativamente bajos niveles de acumulacion d
por parte de una elite rural situada de manera periferica a ciudades y centros de poder mas grandes.

A
s the most fundamental social unit, the ing forms of institutionalized inequality or coercive

household represents a major organiza- authority, and the impacts that urbanization and
tional framework underlying the diverse state formation had on the domestic practices of
beliefs and practices that constitute human soci- such societies. These issues are effectively
eties. Archaeologists reconstruct past household addressed by recognizing that the physical house
composition and activities through a fragmentary often serves as an important setting for political
yet unique record of diachronic transformations in action and the strategic negotiation of social hier-
the physical spaces and accouterments of domes- archy (e.g., Bowser and Patton 2004; Lyons 2007),
tic life. Understanding the complex social arrange- rather than existing wholly outside the public
; ments of any particular society requires an domain. Houses are the most authentic represen-
appreciation of the heterogeneity in the economic tation of household status in traditional societies—
pursuits and biocultural reproduction that charac- including those studied by archaeologists—
terize its households (Hirth 1993a). Principal con- because they possess indexical qualities that
cerns in household archaeology include evaluating express and reproduce all dimensions of human
how status differences were materially articulated social relations, making them a particularly valu-
by families living in early complex societies lack- able unit of analysis (Blanton 1994).
David M. Carballo • Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Post Office Box 870210, Tuscaloosa, AL
35487-0210 (david.m.carballo@ua.edu).
Latin American Antiquity 20(3), 2009, pp. 473-501
Copyright ©2009 by the Society for American Archaeology

473

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 474 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009
the prevalence of social differentiation among
Year Period Phase households within more rural communities con-
(Basin of Mexico) (Northern Tlaxcala)
temporaneous with the first cities and states in the
1500 Late region, the manner in which such differentiation
1400 Postclassic was materially expressed, and changes in house-
1300 Middle hold strategies in response to local and regional
1200 Postclassic Tlaxco developments of the time.
1100 Early Ethnographic and ethnohistoric records provide
1000 Postclassic excellent detail on aspects of native household orga-
900 nization in more rural portions of central Mexico
800 Epiclassic L. Acopinalco
during the first few decades following the Spanish i
700 E. Acopinalco conquest (e.g., Carrasco 1964, 1976; Cline 1993;
600 Harvey 1986; McCaa 2003; Offner 1984; Williams
500 and Harvey 1997). And the households of con-
400 Classic Teotihuacan temporary Nahua communities in Tlaxcala exhibit
300 continuity with prehispanic societies, despite sev-
200
eral important points of divergence (Nutini 1968,
ArJOO
Terminal 1996; Robichaux 1997). The general flexibility
oS 1 characteristic of household organization in central
BC
100 Formative
Tezoquipan Mexico makes the physical aspect of cohabitation
200
Late their fundamental organizing principle and domes-
300
Formative tic structures a particularly meaningful unit of
400
Texoloc archaeological analysis. Lockhart (1992:59-60)
500
600 identifies in quiahuatl, in ithualli ("the exit, the
700 Middle patio") as the nearest original Nahuatl equivalent
800 Formative Tlatempa for the English terms "family" or "household,"
900 highlighting the embededness of the native con-
1000 ceptualization of the social unit within an anthro-
Early pogenically bounded, physical space (see also
1100 Formative Sullivan's 1987:211 similar translation for the term
1200
cemithualtia as "se hace el patio juntamente"; and
Figure 1. Chronology for the Basin of Mexico and north- discussions by Kellogg 1993; Smith 1993).
ern Tlaxcala (following Merino Carrion 1989).
When viewed cross-culturally, house size may
This article examines variability in household reflect a wide range of social factors other than sta-
status through domestic assemblages and the index- tus (Blanton 1994; Coupland and Banning 1996;
ical qualities of house construction at La Laguna, Ember 1973; Joyce and Gillespie 2000; Rapoport
a midsized regional center in Tlaxcala that was 1969; Whiting and Ayres 1968; Wilk and Ashmore
occupied during the later Formative period (ca. 600 1988). However, records from central Mexico doc-
B.C.-A.D. 100). It was during this period that soci- ument that higher-status households tended to own
eties developed urban centers in areas surrounding larger residences and a greater number of associ-
La Laguna, with large portions of central Mexico ated structures because they included more depen-
being incorporated into Teotihuacan's political dent non-kin, children who were less likely to move
sphere during the subsequent Classic period (ca. away than was the case in lower-status households,
A.D. 100 - 650; Figure 1, Figure 2). Among world and a slight tendency for polygamy (Carrasco 1964,
regions, central Mexican households are one of the 1971,1976; Chance 2000; Cline 1993; Evans 1989,
better understood archaeological, ethnohistoric, 1991; Smith 1993; Smith etal. 1999; see also Net-
and ethnographic cases (e.g., contributions in Har- ting 1982). A rural Nahua perspective on house
vey 1991; Manzanilla 1986; Plunket 2002; Sant- size and elaboration is provided by a sixteenth-
ley and Hirth 1993). Nevertheless, many century Tlaxcalan, who distinguished between a
fundamental issues remain unresolved, including calpolli ("big house," here referring to a physical

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 Carballo] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO 475

Figure 2. Central Mexico, depicting location of La Laguna, sites mentioned in text, and other Tezoquipan-phase sites doc-
umented by the PANT survey (Merino Carrion 1989).

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 476 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
structure, not the social unit) and axacalli (a small
wattle-and-daub house that is the origin of the Eng-
lish word "shack"; Sullivan 1987:194-195). This
native conceptual division provides a useful start-
ing point for archaeological classifications that seek
to distinguish a greater number of residence forms
in order to encompass the synchronic (particularly
rural/urban) and diachronic variability observable
in central Mexico.
Households possess enduring qualities as well
as the ability to adapt to and actively shape their
physical and social surroundings to meet the goals
of their members (Rapoport 1969). Throughout the
prehispanic sequence, the three most typical types
of central Mexican domestic units were (1) isolated
residences, (2) clusters of several residences around
a patio and/or walled enclosure (usually referred to
as a patio-group), and (3) very large agglutinated
multifamily compounds (with the largest examples
including the apartment blocks that housed much
of the population atTeotihuacan). Hirth (1993a) has
charted the morphological evolution of house types
in central Mexico and emphasizes the major change
represented by the growth of elite households dur-
ing the Formative period (see also Flannery 2002;
Grove and Gillespie 1992).
Although extensive domestic excavations at La
Laguna have only been undertaken in two areas of
the site—with five others having been explored
through fewer, contiguous test units—they demon-
strate that families could be strongly differentiated
by the size and elaboration of their houses, but
more homogeneous in activities associated with
portable artifacts commonly linked to status by
archaeologists, including ceramic serving wares,
evidence of craft production, and burial offerings.
The trajectory of community differentiation likely
accelerated during the process of early urbaniza-
tion elsewhere in central Mexico, before being trun-
cated by the dramatic regional restructuring during
the first two centuries A.D., which included cata-
strophic volcanic eruptions to the south, mass
migrations, and the formation and expansion of the
Teotihuacan state (Carballo and Pluckhahn 2007;
Cowgill 1997; Garcia Cook 1981; Garcia Cook
and Merino Carrion 1996; Manzanilla 1999a,
1999b; Millon 1988; Plunket and Urunuela 2006,
2008; Sanders et al. 1979; Sugiyama 2004). I now
turn to these Formative developments to frame La
Laguna's place within the regional landscape.
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
[Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009
Polity Formation, Urbanization, and
Households in the Later Formative Period
The later Formative period in central Mexico (ca.
600 B.C.-A.D. 100) is of interest to comparative
perspectives on the origins of regional polities with
proto-urban centers (i.e., chiefdoms), cities, terri-
torially expansionistic states, and the growth and
intensification of the economic and ideological
exchanges that accompanied and contributed to the
development of such institutions. The largest For-;
mative centers in central Mexico evolved in south-
ern portions of the region, which is generally more
advantageous for maize agriculture than the north.
Among these were the dominant urban or proto-
urban centers of Cuicuilco, Tlapacoya, Tlalan-
caleca, and Xochitecatl (Gamez Eternod 1993;
Garcia Cook 1981;Sandersetal. 1979;SerraPuche
1998). Cuicuilco's monumental constructions and
estimated population of 10,000-20,000 (Sanders et
al. 1979), and Tlalancaleca's 500 ha occupation
(Garcia Cook 1981) could be classified as urban
following more inclusive frameworks (e.g., Pauke-
tat 2007; Yoffee 2005), though the extent and orga-
nization of their associated settlements and political
domains are poorly understood (see Spencer and
Redmond 2004). These communities appear to
have been virtually abandoned during the first cen-
tury A.D., and Teotihuacan, located farther north,
became the largest city in the Americas, politically
consolidating much of central Mexico and influ-
encing societies in other regions of Mesoamerica
(Millon 1988). Cholula and Cantona also urban-
ized rapidly at this time and likely maintained inde-
pendent polities from Teotihuacan (Garcia Cook
2003; Plunket and Urunuela 2005). Volcanic erup-
tions in the south appear to have been a major stim-
ulus for mass-migrations and the restructuring of
central Mexican society, including the rise of Teoti-
huacan as the preeminent Mesoamerican city (Pas-
trana 1997; Plunket and Urunuela 2003, 2005,
2006; Serra Puche 2005; Siebe 2000).
Following earlier investigations of the largest
Formative centers, which placed greater emphasis
on nondomestic architecture and chronology,
archaeologists have undertaken detailed studies of
Formative households based on extensive, hori-
zontal excavations (e.g., Grove and Cyphers 1987;
Manzanilla 1985; Plunket and Urunuela 1998;
Sanders et al. 1975a, 1975b; Santley 1993; Serra
 Carballo] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO 477

Puche 1986,1988; Serra Puche et al. 2001). Their substantially smaller than contemporary regional
work has documented the three major central Mex- centers in southern Puebla-Tlaxcala, all three were
ican residential arrangements known from later situated along an important natural communication
periods: isolated houses; patio-groups consisting of corridor extending from the northern Basin of Mex-
three houses facing an open space; and enclosed ico toward the Gulf of Mexico (Borejsza 2006;
house compounds with multiple dwellings—the Carballo and Pluckhahn 2007; Garcia Cook 1981;
latter two forms serving as the templates for the Garcia Cook and Merino Carrion 1996; Garcia
three-structure complexes and apartment com- Cook and Rodriguez 1975; Merino Carrion 1989;
pounds at Teotihuacan (Plunket and Urunuela Snow 1969,1972). La Laguna's size (100 ha) and
1998; Santley 1993; Urunuela and Plunket 2007). quantity of ceremonial architecture relative to adja-
The over two-dozen houses excavated at Tetimpa cent settlements suggest that the community con-
by Plunket, Urunuela, and colleagues—excellently trolled a modest polity during the later Formative
preserved under volcanic eruption layers—are far period (Carballo and Pluckhahn 2007:619-621).
and away the most data-rich cases of later Forma- The same may apply to the other two sites, or
tive residences for central Mexico (Plunket and Guadalupita Las Dalias may have been a subordi-
Urunuela 1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008; Plunket nate center to Tlalancaleca (Garcia Cook 1981;
et al. 2005; Urunuela and Plunket 1998, 2001, Garcia Cook and Rodriguez 1975).
2007). Accordingly, this study frequently draws
comparisons with Tetimpa to help illuminate sim-
ilarities and differences between the two residen- Domestic Excavations at La Laguna
tial areas at La Laguna. La Laguna (19.50°N / 98.00°W) was documented
An increase in the number of communities with as the largest Formative community in north-central
larger and more elaborate houses is suggestive of Tlaxcala by the surveys undertaken by Snow (1966,
escalating social inequality and elite differentia- 1969) and Garcia Cook and Merino Carrion (1991;
tion, and is clearly discernable during later phases Merino Carrion 1989). Excavations were first ini-
of the Formative (Charlton 1969; Grove and Gille- tiated at the site by Borejsza (2006) who focused
spie 1992; Hirth 1993a; Plunket et al. 2005; Serra on its land-use history as part of the UCLA For-
Puche 1986). Hirth has attributed the significant mative Apizaco Project directed by Lesure. Project
increase in large residential structures to the devel- excavations at three other Formative sites in cen-
opment of social ranking and eventual class strat- tral and northern Tlaxcala failed to uncover clear
ification, which restructured and diversified residential architecture due to their thin soils and
household economies and created new social roles severe erosion, but were able to identify household
for the domestic spaces occupied by elite families. units (sensu Flannery 2003 [1983]) through the dis-
He reasons that the enlargement of houses and tribution of preserved subterranean features (Lesure
households was linked to elite domestic practices et al. 2006). Excavation of test units and trenches
requiring more space, greater disparity in the dis- at La Laguna in 2004 documented preserved
tribution of resources, and the effects that prestige domestic architecture worthy of future explorations
would have had in discouraging residential fis- in excavation areas designated Area F and Area H
. sioning within the families of incipient elites (Hirth (Figure 3). Seventeen radiocarbon dates trace the
' 1993a:31). site's initial occupation ca. 600-400 B.C., a possi-
Communities in northern Tlaxcala were part of ble hiatus lasting as long as three centuries, and a
this macroregional process of elite differentiation, second occupation of ca. 100 B.C.-A.D. 150 (see
with the inhabitants of larger settlements likely Borejsza 2006:Appendix E). The community
organized by individuals possessing increasingly apparently reached its greatest extent during this
formalized authority to coordinate group action on later Formative occupation before being abandoned
a large scale, such as the labor necessary to con- sometime during the second century A.D. Follow-
struct public ceremonial precincts. Guadalupita Las ing this abandonment only isolated homesteads
Dalias (northwest), La Laguna (center), and Cer- were established within the boundaries of the for-
ritos de Huamantla (southeast) were the largest set- mer Formative community during the Epiclassic to
tlements in their respective subregions. Although Late Postclassic periods.

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 478 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009

La Laguna
PALL Excavations Cerro Las PalmOS'
• 2005-2006
Reconstructions
100 200 %
meters 15M-1
Area F §.

AreaH
14M3

^5?5

2600

Cerro La Gasca Cerro Las Ardillas

Figure 3. La Laguna depicting 2005-2006 excavation areas. Architectural reconstructions for Area F and Area H are
based on excavations, while all others are extrapolations based on poor surface visibility. Map is oriented to magnetic
North; arrow points to true North.

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 Carballo] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO
The first two seasons of the Proyecto Arque-
oldgico La Laguna (PALL) were designed to inves-
tigate household variability through horizontal
excavations permitting comparison of domestic
structures and assemblages, and focusing primar-
ily on Areas F and H. La Laguna's complex land-
scape history (detailed by Borejsza 2006; Borejsza
et al. 2008) and location in a saddle between three
surrounding hills combine for preservation and vis-
ibility conditions that are unusual for central Mex-
ico. Colluviation of the site center and the retention
of slope sediments through metepantles (a bancal-
type or ditch-and-berm terracing system secured
with maguey [Agave spp.] plants) on the sur-
rounding hills have served to obscure all architec-
ture from the surface except for the tallest structures
(over approximately 1.5 m). Visible mounds in the
flat site center correspond to civic-ceremonial struc-
tures, but others on the lower slopes ringing the site
served as residences, which became apparent in
Area H through the preliminary surface collections
and test excavations. The conditions at the site dic-
tate that household comparisons be made exclu-
sively through extensive excavation rather than
surface architecture and artifacts, as is often possi-
ble at other highland Mexican sites. While these
conditions make for laborious recovery methods
and small comparative samples—in this case, only
two domestic areas—they allow for the possibility
of comparing well-preserved domestic structures
with subsurface contexts such as living surfaces and
domestic features.
Research Questions
Excavation and analytical methods were planned,
undertaken, and refined to answer the following
"esearch questions. How did the members of house-
lolds physically modify the landscapes they occu-
)ied to serve their residential needs through the
ionstruction of structures, plazas, terraces, and
>ther features? How were status differences fos-
ered and maintained through the social uses of
naterial culture, and what is an approximate range
if variation in household status at the site? What
;vel of access did households have to interregional
xchange goods, and did this access vary in rela-
ion to their status? What domestic activities,
icluding craft production and rituals, did house-
olds engage in? Where did such activities take
lace, and may their practice and/or constituents
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
479
have also varied in relation to individual or collec-
tive identities? Finally, how did these dimensions
of domestic life change over time during a span of
approximately seven centuries?
Methods
The comparative excavation of a domestic area
near the periphery of the site with no architecture
visible from the surface and one ringing the site cen-
ter possessing visible structures was planned as a
means of addressing the above research questions.
The initial objectives for each area were developed
with some underestimation of the depth of cultural
deposits and an overestimation of the likelihood of
encountering preserved floors with artifacts located
in situ. Excavation strategies and lines of reason-
ing were therefore modified in response to the con-
texts encountered below the surface. Excavations
at Areas F and H were similar in being a mix of
broad horizontal exposures and more narrow con-
tiguous excavations to define domestic architecture.
They were nearly identical in volume: roughly 128
m3 for Area F and 130 m3 for Area H. This simi-
larity in sample size, the general contemporaneity
of the residential structures in both areas, and the
presence of earlier cultural features truncated by
later constructions and living surfaces make for
complementary contexts on which to base social
comparisons.
Excavations in Area F
Domestic excavations in Area F uncovered a resi-
dential platform with a surface covering approxi-
mately 120 m2 that once supported a small (ca. 4
x 3 m) wattle-and-daub house, several pit features
extending from the floor into the fill of the plat-
form, and earlier underlying and adjacent pit fea-
tures (Structure 15M-1; Figure 4). The platform
served as a residential terrace, its inhabitants hav-
ing artificially flattened their living surface by
building a sloped (talud) stone wall on two sides
to retain an anthropogenic fill they deposited over
a prior occupation surface and the natural slope of
Cerro Las Palmas. Similar residential terraces were
also constructed during the Formative at Ecatepec,
in the northern Basin of Mexico (Lopez Wario
1993), and at Tetimpa (Plunket and Urunuela 1998).
A small staircase provided a formal access to
the platform from down slope, but the surface of
the platform also met the natural contours of the
 480 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009

EXCAVATION AREA F
><2>
STRUCTURE 15M-1

B burial
rock
# pit or posthole

limit of excavations

Figure 4. Excavation Area F, Structure 15M-1.

hill on two of its four sides. Postholes delineating
a concentration of rocks, small daub fragments,
and a rectangular block that served as a single
entrance step are all that remain of the house crown-
ing the platform. Flannery and Marcus
(2005:31-34) detail the construction of wattle-and-
daub houses in highland Mesoamerica as frequently
involving the use of maguey-fiber rope to lash canes
together and connect them to weight-bearing posts.
Daub tends to be made from the same clay that is
used for pottery, but can be mixed with lime to pro-
duce a finer finishing coat that is often burnished
in higher-status residences, rather than being left
to crack in the sun. Field-stone foundations and
door sills or steps, like those in Area F, help to ori-
ent the house plan archaeologically. These obser-
vations are all consistent with the remains
excavated in Area F, which likely supported only

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 Carballo]
HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO
V**i:,mf
LA LAOUNA
M
27 VII 06
Figure 5. Cranium and vessel deposited in front of house on Stnirtnre 1 m i TK„
was uncovered in an adjacent unit and was lifted prior to pho^o
the single structure on its platform, though some
uncertainty exists because a second could have fit
on the unexcavated portion to the east.
No complete, in situ artifacts were encountered
on the packed earthen living surface except for an
enigmatic deposit of two human crania with a thin
black ceramic cup or vase placed between them.
The deposit was located in front of the entrance to
the house, only 10 cm below the modern ground
surface. Its proximity to the surface resulted in post-
depositional disturbance that crushed much of one
skull, damaged the top of the second, and truncated
the neck and rim of the vessel. The lower portions
of all three objects were articulated, however, and
the positioning of the mandible of the more com-
plete skull in front of its face indicates that the indi-
viduals had decomposed prior to their skulls being
redeposited in front of the house (Figure 5). The
arrangement is suggestive of a secondary usage of
the previously interred skulls for a termination rit-
ual. Together with the lack of other in situ artifacts,
it is consistent with a relatively slow abandonment
of the residential area in Area F1.
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
481
J
* S e C ° n d CramUm fla king t h e vessel
"
The inhabitants of the platform built atop an
earlier occupation that included pit features dug into
tepetate. Two small hearths and the walls of the plat-
form cover and truncate three earlier bell-shaped
pits and one larger, irregularly shaped pit, the mouth
of which was reused for a flexed burial covered by
a small rock alignment. A single radiocarbon sam-
ple recovered from the anthropogenic fill of the
platform dates to the Middle Formative at 2400 +
40 B.P. or l a cal 520^100 B.C. (Beta-216423;
charred C4 plant; 813C = -10.4%c). It was likely
redeposited from the earlier occupation, as ceram-
ics from features within the platform are diagnos-
tic of the Tezoquipan and early Teotihuacan phases,
including two complete vessels that served as the
receptacle and lid for the burial of a neonate within
the floor near the house. The two small hearths and
intrusive burial surrounding the platform and eight
pit features in the platform fill were all contempo-
raneous with its occupation. A hearth on the plat-
form was filled with burnt rocks, fine ash, and
carbon, including pieces of maguey plants that were
roasted in front of the house (Popper 2007). The
 482 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009

other pits on the platform likely served for storage least two major construction phases, with a slightly
prior to their secondary usage for trash disposal and smaller substructure (Structure 14M-l-sub) built
the neonate burial. approximately one century earlier than Structure
14M-1. This earlier version was also impressively
Excavations in Area H large—with walls covered in multiple smoothed
The structures of a residential complex in Area H mud layers rather than concrete—and indicates that
proved to be considerably larger than could be the family who organized constructions in Area H
determined from the surface. After encountering a was capable of mobilizing substantial labor projects
stone-faced talud platform in the 2004 test exca- for multiple generations. Moreover, landscape
vations, our working hypothesis became that it rep- modifications in Area H were extensive, involving
resented the subplatform supporting a residence the artificial flattening and terracing of an area of
comparable to the house arrangements documented hill slope that covers more than 1 ha, and the lat-
at Tetimpa (Plunket and Urunuela 1998). Excava- est Formative occupation was terminated by the
tions demonstrated it to be a smaller, independent conflagration of the structures, involving afirethat
platform (Structure 14M-3) possibly used as a reached temperatures high enough to preserve large
kitchen or for storage and adjacent to two very segments of daub walls and corner posts and to vit-
large (ca. 25 x 25 x 2.4 m) residential platforms rify the daub adhering to several posts (Figure 8).
with talud faces that were coated with layers of The burnt northern corner post of the later struc-
smoothed concrete (aplanado), and which once ture was conventionally dated to 1920 ± 40 B.P. or
supported substantial wattle-and-daub structures lo- cal A.D. 10 - 140 (Beta-227413; wood char-
that were smoothed and painted with vibrant poly- coal; 813C = -24.7%o), while carbon within the
chrome geometric motifs (Structures 14M-1 and northern corner post-hole of the substructure was
14M-2; Figure 6, Figure 7). The depth and extent AMS dated to 2090 ± 40 B.P. or lo- cal 170 - 50
of the excavations, and size and elaboration of the B.C. (Beta-227414; wood charcoal; 813C =
structures, led us to wonder whether the area may -19.6%o). Assuming that Structure 14M-1 was
have served more communal functions rather than occupied for a generation prior to its destruction,
as residences. Yet the abundant materials recovered
the abandonment of Area H can be dated to the early
during excavations were exclusively compatible
second century A.D., and occupation of the large
with the structures being residential—indeed, they
residences spanned approximately two centuries
are remarkably similar to those recovered from
prior to that event.
Area F, as is discussed below—and associated
The crushed-tepetate floors of the structures in
domestic features included hearths and subfloor
Area H were regrettably eroded away except for a
burials. The structures are on the larger end of the
segment in the center of Structure 14M-1, which
spectrum for currently documented residences from
did not have in situ artifacts on it but contained an
Formative central Mexico, but share a precedent
with and are similar in form to a large (ca. 13x13 extended burial excavated within it. The 2
floor
x 2.5 m) house excavated by Sanders at Tezoyuca, apparently once covered the entire 400 m surface
in the northern Basin of Mexico (Charlton of the platform, as broken floor fragments were
1969:285-286; Sanders et al. 1975a:89-90, abundant in structural collapse layers on all sides.
1975b:489; Serra Puche 1986:174-175). They are A second burial was encountered in a flexed posi-
also similar in size to a residence excavated at Cerro tion and partially covered with an orange vessel
del Tepalcate, in the western basin (Serra Puche within a subfloor pit where the crushed-tepetate had
1986:1980-1981, 1983). eroded. An infant burial containing a miniature ves-
sel and surrounded by fragmentary textile remains
As in Area F, construction in Area H truncates was encountered in one of the bell-shaped pits dat-
an earlier occupation surface, including three bell- ing to the occupation prior to the large structures.
shaped pits directly under the most extensively Carbon from a large olla fragment placed directly
excavated structure (Structure 14M-1). Materials above the infant, possibly burnt as part of a mor-
from these contexts provide points of chronologi- tuary rite, was AMS dated to the early Middle For-
cal comparison with later occupation. In contrast mative at 2580 ± 40 B.P. or lo- cal 800-770 B.C.
to Area F, the structures in Area H underwent at (Beta-227412; wood charcoal; 813C = -25.3%c). It

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 Carballo] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO 483

EXCAVATION AREA H
STRUCTURES 14M-1,14M-2,14M-3

B burial
rock
• crushed tepetate
0 pit or posthole

Figure 6. Excavation Area H, Structures 14M-1,14M-2, and 14M-3.

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 484 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009

14M-1 SOUTHERN CROSS-SECTION

14M-1 WESTERN CROSS-SECTION

location of trots-sections
16J
160 16J 16EB

W ,

Figure 7. Cross sections of Structure 14M-1 showing collapse layers with burnt daub abovefinalFormative living sur-
faces.

seems likely that old wood was used in this case, While the scale and elaboration of construction
as the ceramics from La Laguna do not support such is very different in the two domestic areas at La
an early occupation at the site. However, the date Laguna, their associated artifact assemblages are
is consistent with the three bell-shaped pits dug into not, save for some illuminating points of compar-
tepetate underneath Structure 14M-1 as corre- ison discussed below. One broad difference with
sponding to the early occupation of ca. 600-400 important implications is the higher density of all
B.C. artifact classes associated with the structures in
Area H except for bone tools (Table 1). This pat-
tern is consistent with Area H having served as the
Structures, Assemblages, and
residence of a larger household than the one that
Household Status
inhabited the platform in Area F, as is also implied
Analytical frameworks for assessing household sta- by the great differences in scale of the construc-
tus through structures and assemblages have been tions. Hirth (1993b) and Smith (1987) both corre-
developed by Smith (1987), Hirth (1989, 1993b), late higher densities of possessions with higher
and Blanton (1994). Although these studies are status, particularly items associated with dress,
applicable to other world regions, they have been adornment, and food service, when preserved
informed by their authors' experiences in the remains or residues are detectable.
archaeology of central Mexico and are directly rel- A significant difference in depositional contexts
evant to drawing household comparisons at La exists between the two areas, however. Whereas the
Laguna. All three emphasize the need to combine family in Area F discarded some of their trash
multiple lines of evidence in evaluating household directly into pits within the earthen surface they
status and the primacy of structure size and elabo- inhabited or over the side of the platform, the fam-
ration as an authentic indication of the occupant ily in Area H inhabited structures with formal,
family's status—since the requisite labor is com- crushed-tepetate floors and disposed their refuse
paratively costly and less subject to falsification in elsewhere. Their solid floors were only broken for
traditional societies lacking large lending institu- placing subfloor burials within them. Nevertheless,
tions (Blanton 1994:16). Preserved domestic shallow pits filled with trash were excavated into
assemblages provide alternate lines of evidence for the earthen surface of the smaller adjacent platform
reconstructing differential social identities and (Structure 14M-3), and a portion of the occupation
practices along this primary axis of household sta- surface northeast of Structure 14M-1 contained
tus (see also Kamp 2000). materials that accumulated next to the structure over

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 Carballo]
HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO
485

1 enC Untered
a ^ a S S l S E ^ ° " ^ c t u r e 14M-1 (left), a n d p T T o S I * ! - ^

its approximately two-century occupation. Further

In the case of pottery and chipped-stone tools—
the structures in Area H appear to have been aban-
the two most abundant artifact c l a s s e s -
doned more hastily than Area F, likely associated
comparative contexts have been divided between
with the burning event terminating occupation of
secure early deposits, predating the house con-
the large structures. Although complete pots or other
structions by a few centuries, and deposits associ-
large items were not encountered on floors in Area
ated principally with the occupation of the
H, fragmented semicomplete vessels and smaller
structures. The pottery analysis is based on sherds
possessions were recovered primarily from struc-
originating solely from living surfaces, pit features
tural collapse matrix containing abundant burnt
and construction nuclei, and only includes the rims
daub and carbon, suggesting they were carried from
and few complete vessels from these contexts. The
floors into collapse layers.
chipped-stone analysis includes materials origi-
Below I review five categories of household nating from features predating the structures sep-
practices and assess their associated material impli- arated from the later features, living surfaces
cations in greater detail. The categories include (1) construction fill, and overburden layers. Although
craft production, viewed primarily through evi- it is certain that the latter two contexts contain an
dence of lithic production and tool types; (2) food admixture of materials dating to the earlier occu-
service, viewed primarily through pottery forms pation, they are included to provide a large sample
and decoration; (3) personal adornment, viewed originating from Area H, which lacks the quantity
through earspools, beads, and access to nonlocal of subfloor pit features excavated in Area F, but
resources used for ornamentation; (4) ritual activ- whose overburden is primarily structural collapse
ities, viewed through obsidian lancets potentially that can be confidently associated with the Late-
used for bloodletting and effigy vessels used for Terminal Formative occupation—much more so
burning incense; and (5) the themes of house con- than surface materials, for instance, but not as ideal
struction, decoration, and destruction that physi- as materials exclusively from living surfaces and
cally situate the activities involving the above pit features. Less-abundant artifact classes are
materials. divided exclusively by their area of origin.

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 486 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009

Table 1. Artifact Densities from All Contexts at Areas F & H.

Area F Area H Ratio H:F

Excavation volume (m3) 127.7 130
Bone tools (#/m3) .047 .038 .82
Lithic: chipped stone (#/m3) 35.9 40.3 1.12
Green obsidian (#/m3) .8 1.9 2.38
Ceramics (kg/m3) 2.72 6.47 2.38
3
Lithic: groundstone/other (kg/m ) .24 .60 2.47
Earspools (#/m3) .16 .42 2.63
Shell (#/m3) .02 .11 5.50
Perforated ceramic discs (#/m3) .008 .069 8.65
Greenstone (#/m3) .008 0.210 26.25
Notes: Ceramic densities are expressed as weight per cubic meter rather than pieces per cubic meter to avoid potential bias
based on differential breakage rates between areas. Lithic materials in Row 2 consists of chipped-stone tools and associ-
ated debitage (e.g., obsidian and chert flakes), while materials in Row 5 consist primarily of groundstone tools combined
with miscellaneous basaltic artifacts; they are expressed weight per cubic meter in order to emphasize large grinding tools
rather than ecofacts and smaller artifacts.

Craft Production from obsidian imported from a minimum of 58 km

Smith (1987) considered the complex relationship
between household craft production and status.
While certain production activities may serve as a
means of increasing household wealth or as a reflec-
tion of status, many others may be indicative of
impoverished resources and/or landholdings and
the necessity of crafting as viable but less desirable
means of household provisioning (see also Santley
2007:211-213). Accordingly, he divided house-
hold tools and equipment into categories of house-
hold maintenance items, tools used in domestic
production for use, agricultural implements, and
tools for specialized artisan production—
illustrating that cross-culturally most artifacts under
these categories are not reliable indicators of house-
hold wealth, and that domestic and specialized-
production tools are often inversely associated with
wealth except in certain cases of attached produc-
tion (Smith 1987:309-310). Among the materials
from La Laguna's Areas F and H, chipped-stone
tool production, chipped-stone tool use in other
production activities, and fiber/textile production
involving bone tools and perforated ceramic discs
are all potentially representative of household pro-
duction for its own use. Any could also represent
specialized artisan production if the output were to
significantly exceed household consumption needs.
The assemblages from both areas are largely sim-
ilar and are supportive of diversified production for
household consumption, with the possibility of only
low levels of production directed toward exchange.
Stone tools at La Laguna were made primarily
away, and secondarily from more locally available
microcrystalline, basaltic, and felsic stones (sum-
marized in Table 2). In general, obsidian was used
for formal and informal cutting, piercing, and scrap-
ing tools; microcrystalline stones (i.e., chert) were
used for informal cutting tools and formal scrap-
ing tools; and basaltic/felsic stones (i.e., basalt,
andesite, rhyolite) were used for formal scraping
and grinding tools. A difference is discernable
between the frequency of green obsidian in the two
areas, which originated primarily from the Pachuca
source and is roughly twice as dense in late con-
texts at Area H compared with Area F or with ear-
lier contexts at Area H2. Nevertheless, green
obsidian was a minor component in the lithic
assemblages—never exceeding five percent—and
the inhabitants of both areas appear to have enjoyed
ready access to obsidian, obtaining it primarily
from the Paredon source (see also Carballo 2006;
Carballo et al. 2007).
The technological analyses (summarized in
Table 3) are more informative regarding produc-
tion activities and the differential usage of lithic
materials. They draw on previous frameworks
developed by Clark and Bryant (1997) and Hirth
and Flenniken (2006). Production activities repre-
sented by tools and byproducts (debitage) are
broadly similar between the two areas and occu-
pation phases but contain informative differences.
The general debitage category groups byproducts
that exhibit few diagnostic attributes and cannot be
confidently assigned to a type of production activ-

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 Carballo] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO 487

Table 2. General Attributes of the Chipped-Stone Assemblages.

Area F Area H
Early Late Early Late
Number of pieces 245 4352 192 5041
Blade Segment Ratios
Proximal to distal (e&l series pres) 1:1.3 1:1 1:1 1:1
Medial to distal (e&l series pres) 2.6:1 2.9:1 2.8:1 2.6:1
Visual Classification
Obsidian 218(89%) 3782 (87%) 155 (80.7%) 4621 (89%)
Paredon 200(81.6%) 3474 (80%) 137 (71.3%) 3783 (75.5%)
Otumba 7 (2.9%) 95 (2.2%) 7 (3.6%) 153 (3.1%)
Jet Black (Zacualtipan?) -- 27 (0.6%) - 34 (0.7%)
Gray (Oyameles/Zaragoza?) 4(1.6%) 92(2.1%) 7 (3.6%) 293 (5.8%)
Green (Pachuca & Tulancingo) 7 (2.9%) 94 (2.2%) 4(2.1%) 245 (4.8%)
Microcrystalline stone (e.g., chert) 16 (6.5%) 344 (7.9%) 36 (18.7%) 483 (10%)
Basaltic/Felsic stone 11 (4.5%) 224(5.1%) 1 (0.5%) 50 (1%)
Notes: Blade segment ratios follow De Leon et al. (2009).
Snap segments were registered as medial sections.
Complete specimens include early- and late-series pressure blades plus hinged blades. Percentages
ades. Percentaj are rounded.
;es are r

ity. Through inference to other categories, it is likely
that debitage in this category relates primarily to
uniface and biface production, expedient-flake
technologies, and core shaping associated with
pressure-blade production (i.e., "prismatic"
blades).
Although the frequency of scraping tools is
nearly identical in both areas, the approximately
five-times higher frequency of basaltic/felsic stone
from Area F suggests that more trapezoidal maguey
scrapers ("desfibradores"; Figure 9j) were made
there compared with Area H3, though smaller
"spoon" or "turtle-backed" unifacial scrapers (Fig-
ure 9i) made from obsidian and microcrystalline
stones were produced and used similarly in both
areas (see Evans 2005; Parsons and Parsons 1990;
Serra Puche 1988:145-187; Tesch and Abascal
1974). The densest concentration of basaltic/felsic
flakes originated from the roasting pit with remains
of carbonized maguey plants on the platform in
Area F. Debitage in this deposit is consistent with
the production of trapezoidal implements for
removing maguey fibers rather than grinding tools
because the flakes are primarily small (ca. 3 cm),
many are consistent with the transformation of a
blocky edge into a serrated one (as is necessary in
making such tools from local lajas), and certain
flakes exhibit polish consistent with the repolish-
ing of a spalled scraper edge. The difference in the
frequencies of basaltic flakes together with the evi-
dence of roasting maguey and manufacturing trape-
zoidal scrapers on the platform in Area F suggests
that its inhabitants were more involved in process-
ing the plant for food and fiber, while those from
both areas may have used small scrapers equally
for extracting sap (aguamiel) from the plants and/or
other domestic scraping activities such as of wood
and hides.
Prismatic blades and blade-production byprod-
ucts are the largest category of diagnostic lithic
remains from all contexts. The quantities of
exhausted bladecores, core preparation and main-
tenance items, and blade-segment ratios (see
DeLeon et al. 2009) provide compelling evidence
for blade production during the later occupation
associated with the excavated structures in both
areas. Though samples are much smaller for the ear-
lier occupations, the same attributes more tenu-
ously suggest that whole blades were acquired
through exchange in Area F, but were produced by
the inhabitants of Area H themselves. The later
local blade production in both areas included the
reduction of very wide blades from large Paredon
percussion cores (macrocores)—potentially
acquired directly from the source or from individ-
uals living near it—and the reduction of narrower
blades from previously formed pressure cores orig-
inating from other sources. As an example, random
samples of 100 Paredon blades and 100 Pachuca
blades demonstrate the much greater width
(Paredon mean = 1.38 cm; Pachuca mean = 1.00
cm; t = 6.84, p < .001) and variability (Paredon s

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 488 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009

Table 3. Chipped Stone Technological Analysis.

Area F Area H
Technology Early Late Early Late
General debitage 155 (63%) 2048 (47%) 92 (48%) 2220 (44%)
chunk — 12 1 40
shatter 22 208 15 329
multidirectional flake-core 1 6 — 15
flake fragment 20 259 3 255
flake without platform 71 1002 39 865
flake with natural platform — — — 3
flake with single-facet platform 12 261 18 257
flake with multi-facet platform 22 177 10 272
blocky edge removal flake — 1 — 2
edge-preparation flake 5 65 2 83
alternate flake 2 53 4 71
bulb-removal flake — 2 — 14
undulation-removal flake — 2 — 4
Unifacial — 47(1%) — 53(1%)
piece with unifacial retouch — 18 — 28
scraper — 28 — 25
scraper-resharpening flake — 1 — —
Bifacial 3 (1%) 27 (0.5%) 1 (0.5%) 75(1.5%)
early phase percussion flake — 1 — 10
late phase percussion flake — 2 — 1
bifacial edge-preparation flake — 2 — 9
bifacial alternate flake — 2 — 2
bifacial margin-removal flake — — — —
bifacial overshot flake — — — —
early phase pressure flake — 1 — 4
late phase pressure flake — 4 — 15
piece with bifacial retouch — 6 — 11
notching flake — — 1 4
bifacial tool fragment 2 — — 2
complete bifacial tool — 2 — 1
dart-point fragment — 2 — 11
complete dart-point 1 5 — 5
Implements with retouch — — — 8
drill — — — 5
lancet ("bloodletter") — — — 3
eccentric — — — —
Bipolar 8 (3%) 134(3%) 1 (0.5%) 203 (4%)
bipolar core 3 46 — 75
bipolar flake 5 88 1 128
Blades 79 (32%) 2096 (48%) 98(51%) 2492 (49.5%)
percussion blades
complete — 15 2 22
proximal — 42 2 35
medial — 14 1 14
distal — 14 — 15
early-series pressure blades
complete — 4 — 1
proximal 3 54 3 73
medial 1 64 3 81

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 Carballo] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO 489

Table 3. Chipped Stone Technological Analysis (continued).

Area F Area H
Technology Early Late Early Late

distal 3 51 6 49
w/ hinge termination — 1 — —
late-series pressure blades
complete 1 2 1 3
proximal 8 287 14 352
medial 29 721 35 889
distal 11 276 9 362
snapped at ends 7 157 4 107
w/ hinge termination — 2 — 7
short blades
complete 2 6 — 4
proximal 1 7 — 23
medial — 7 — 48
distal — 1 — 7
bidirectional blades
complete — — — 1
proximal —
medial — — — 1
distal —
other blades — — 1
strongly overshot —
bipolar smashed 4 21 1 22
retouched 1 126 2 123
notched — 104 4 51
burinated — 12 — 12
blade corrections — — 3
proximal — 1 — 8
medial — — — 1
distal — 4 — 2
direct — — — 2
lateral — 1 — 4
platform — — — 1
core-preparation flake 7 94 3 38
platform-preparation flake — — 1 —
platform-isolation element — 32 5 66
crested blade 1 19 1 23
blade-core fragment — 6 1 7
bipolar smashed blade-core — 6 — • 11
blade-core recycling flake — — — 3
blade-core maintenance flake — 4 — —
blade-core distal reorientation — 2 — 4
I blade-core platform rejuvenation — 18 1 12
' split-platform flake — — — 2
Total ; 245 4352 192 5041
Notes: Categories follow those described by Clark and Bryant (1997), Hirth and Flenniken (2006), and Carballo (2007b).
The bipolar category does not include blade-cores and blades that were smashed following bipolar reduction, which are
included as blade categories instead.
Percentages are rounded.

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 490 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009

M •,* ' , * --.,1*1 „ ) (

vkMU&tM

<*»*
4g (®)

Figure 9. Domestic artifacts from Area F and Area H including (a-c) ceramic earspools, (d) greenstone beads, (e) bone
needle), (f) perforated ceramic disc, (g) Old God of Fire figurine fragment, (h) obsidian lancet, (i) unifacial scraper, (j)
fragment or trapezoidal scraper with ground edge.

= .51; Pachuca s = .22) of Paredon blades, consis-
tent with a more complete reduction sequence of
Paredon obsidian at the site beginning with larger
cores.4 A similar distinction characterizes house-
holds at Tetimpa, but that community appears to
have acquired pressure cores primarily from the
Otumba source, rather than percussion cores from
Paredon, and Pachuca blades were acquired as fin-
ished products (Plunket et al. 2005). These later
reduction stages are likely reflective of Tetimpa's
greater distance from obsidian sources relative to
La Laguna (ca. 75 km and 51 km, respectively,
from their most represented sources).
Although certain tools were produced in both
areas and were used for other production activities,
the lithic data are inconsistent with specialized pro-
duction greatly exceeding household consumption.
Following the expectations of analysts for special-
ized blade production oriented toward exchange
(e.g., Clark 1997; Healan 2002; Santley et al. 1986),
the relative quantities of core fragments and
byproducts and/or early-series pressure blades rel-
ative to late-series pressure blades in both areas is
consistent with household consumption over a cou-
ple of centuries of late occupation or only low lev-
els of production for exchange.
An important but poorly represented implement
made from blades is the obsidian lancet, three of
which were recovered from Area H while none
were encountered in Area F (Figure 9h). Though

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 Carballo] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO
these are finely worked implements that would
require relatively high knapper skill to produce,
there is no satisfactory technological explanation
for why they should be in Area H and not in Area
F. Another possibility, discussed below, is that the
lancets implicate different ritual practices or usage
norms between the two residential areas.
Bone tools and perforated ceramic discs are
other durable artifact classes that relate to prehis-
panic central Mexican craft production, particu-
larly as tools used in spinning, sewing, and weaving
textiles. Perforated discs (Figure 9f) have been
observed ethnographically to serve as spindle
whorls in central Mexico (Parsons and Parsons
1990:314-315) and are often interpreted as such in
archaeological contexts (e.g., Hall 1997), though
some scholars argue for other uses including as lids
for jars or bottles (Flannery and Marcus 2005:77;
Niederberger 1976:234). The whorl identification
is supported for La Laguna since there are few
jars/bottles that could be successfully covered with
a disc of < 5 cm (none in the over 2000 rims sherds
analyzed to date). No formal spindle whorls, com-
mon during later periods (Garcia Cook and Merino
Carrion 1974), have been encountered from secure
Formative contexts at La Laguna. It would be
imprudent to interpret much from the differences
of perforated ceramic discs, bone needles (Figure
9e), and potential bone awls/shuttles between the
two areas because the sample sizes are so small
(1:2:4 for Area F, 9:3:2 for Area H, respectively).
The data can only be construed as indicative of low
levels of domestic spinning and weaving for house-
hold consumption. Overall, materials relating to
craft production are suggestive of diversified house-
hold economies with relatively low levels of inter-
dependence among households in production
activities.
' Food Service
A number of human social relations are mediated
through formalized consumption events involving
food, drink, and/or substances that are consumed
in forms, quantities, and/or vessels that designate
the event as being extraordinary. Archaeologists
recognize the utility of ceramic serving wares to
investigating household status competition and
alliance formation (e.g., contributions in Dietler
and Hayden 2001). Serving wares also figure
prominently in the frameworks by Smith (1987)
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
491
and Ffirth (1989,1993b) for assessing status. Hirth
(1993b:137—138) applied his model to houses at
Xochicalco, demonstrating that elite residences—
identified primarily by their size and architectural
elaboration—possessed greater quantities of all
ceramics and a higher proportion of decorated serv-
ing wares relative to other types and forms. While
the first pattern also obtains for La Laguna, the sec-
ond does not.
The total density of ceramics at Area H was over
twice that of Area F, very similar to the ratio of stone
tools primarily for grinding maize (Table 1, Rows
4—5). Both are consistent with the structures in Area
H having been the residence of a larger household
involved in more food production and consump-
tion than the household in Area F. But in isolating
serving-ware rims originating from contexts that
are more clearly associated with the structures and
earlier occupation—features, construction nuclei,
and living surfaces—a counterintuitive pattern
emerges. Within this sample, the size of serving
wares is equal between the two areas or is only
slightly larger in Area H; mean rim diameters are
similar, but Area H has proportionately more large
(diameter > 20 cm) vessels as a percentage of all
serving vessels (Table 4). However, after having
proportionally a greater number of large decorated
serving wares than Area F during its early occupa-
tion, the percentage in Area H drops sharply dur-
ing its late occupation to a low of five percent.
The reasons for this counterintuitive pattern
could be either chronological/stylistic or behav-
ioral. The ceramics from Area H appear to chrono-
logically straddle the boundary between the
Tezoquipan and Teotihuacan phases, identified by
Merino Carrion (1989), to a greater degree than
those from Area F. Teotihuacan phase ceramics in
the region include more monochrome vessels with-
out the characteristic red and white incised
bichromes of Tezoquipan assemblages (see also
Garcia Cook and Merino Carrion 1988; Rattray
2001; Sanders et al. 1975a, 1975b; West 1965). It
is possible that Area F was abandoned slightly ear-
lier than Area H, which could account for the dif-
ferences between the two based simply on the
phase-wide transition to more monochomes and
proportionally fewer decorated wares. Alterna-
tively, the higher frequencies of decorated serving
vessels at Area F and at Area H centuries prior to
the large structures could be representative of a
 492 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009
Table 4. Serving-Ware Analysis.

Area F Area H
Early Late Early Late
Serving-ware diameter (cm)
mean 21 22 22 22
trimmed mean (5%) 21 22 23 23
median 20 22 23 22

Percentage of serving wares with 61 60 69 70

rim diameter >20 cm
Percentage of all vessels that are 10 11
decorated serving wares
with rim diameter >20 cm
Notes: Serving wares include forms classified as bowls, dishes, and plates (versus ollas and tecomates).
Only rim sherds > 5% of the complete rim and which originated from features, living surfaces, or the nuclei of residential
structures were included in the analysis.
Sample sizes are Area F early n = 46; Area F late n - 182; Area H early n = 48; Area H late n = 403.

more typical pattern associated with interhouse- two residential areas. Following Lesure (1999), I
hold consumption events, while the later occupa- consider these objects to have possessed gradations
tion involved larger, community-wide events at the of values to La Laguna's inhabitants, which fos-
center of die site. It is conceivable that the inhabi-tered and upheld social identities and inequalities
tants of Area H assumed a prominent role as com- by simultaneously asserting similarities and dif-
munity leaders during consumption events in the ferences between their owners (see also Wilk 2004).
ceremonial center, lessening the role of their resi- Greenstone represents the material type with
dence as an arena for such events in the process. A the greatest disparity in density between the two
refinement of the regional ceramic chronology, an areas—over 26 times higher in Area H. This con-
improved understanding regarding site abandon- trast is striking, but much of it is likely attributable
ment, and more investigations at the site center are to a greenstone bead necklace or bracelet having
necessary to satisfactorily resolve these issues. been on the floor on Structure 14M-1 where 20 disc
beads and bead fragments were washed down with
Personal Adornment structural collapse to the northern corner and
More notable differences between the household encountered in eight contiguous excavation units.
assemblages are discernable in the materials and Beads of an identical style (Figure 9d) were also
types of adornments used by their inhabitants. encountered within the construction fill and in a
Smith (1987:317) classified personal adornments post-hole of the structure, however, indicating that
under the category "nonutilitarian luxuries" and the inhabitants of Area H possessed other adorn-
noted how imported marine shell and jade were ments of this type. As a point of comparison, the
used by wealthy Mesoamerican households to density of greenstone recovered at Structure 14M-
index their status. Grove and Gillespie (1992) iden- 1 was 30 percent higher than that which was recov-
tified jade and iron ore as the materials that most ered from an elite residence at Chalcatzingo (cf.
clearly differentiated household status in Forma- Grove and Cyphers 1987:Table 4.1.; Lesure
tive central Mexican sites such as Tlatilco and Chal- 1999:Table 3-1; Thomson 1987:Table 17.2.). Yet
catzingo. Since only single pieces of iron ore and greenstone was not abundant everywhere at La
what visually appears to be true jadeite have been Laguna, and just a single bead fragment was uncov-
recovered from La Laguna to date, I focus on other ered from the residence in Area F.
varieties of greenstone (which may include ser- Differences in shell densities are less significant,
pentine and fuchsite), shell, and clay earspools in but the density in Area H is still over five times
exploring how status was expressed through greater than Area F, with a differential ratio over
durable ornaments worn by the inhabitants of the twice that of utilitarian items such as stone tools

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 Carballo] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO
Table 5. Earspool Analysis.
Type Area F
solid 7 11
hollow undecorated 14
hollow decorated
Percentage of hollow 67
Varieties of surface treatment
Mean dimensions (mm)
interior diameter 26.9
exterior diameter 32.9
Note: Sample sizes for measurable maximum diameters are as follows: Area F interior diameter n = 14, exterior diameter
n = 21; Area H interior diameter n = 43, exterior diameter n = 54.
and ceramics (Table 1, Row 7). Certain shell frag-
ments represent parts of tubular beads and sequin-
style ornaments, while other pieces cannot be
clearly attributed to personal adornments but may
have been from their manufacture or from complete
shells that were manipulated for household activi-
ties before being broken and discarded. In Struc-
ture 14M-1 they were concentrated in units at the
northern corner, with many of the greenstone beads,
but were also encountered in structural collapse
layers to the east and west of the platform.
A third type of personal adornment is earspools,
which were exclusively items to be worn in the ear-
lobe at La Laguna, rather than the larger examples
used as decorative elements on dress known from
other Mesoamerican contexts. La Laguna's ear-
spools possess interesting axes of variability that
permit an investigation of the gradations of value
within a single artifact class. These include: (1)
material type, with all examples from Areas F and
H being ceramic, but a single fragment of one made
from greenstone discovered at the site center (Fig-
ure lOg); (2) form, with a primary division between
solid and hollow ceramic (Figure 9a-c), but vari-
ants included flaring, fluted, and scalloped rims
(Figure 9b); (3) surface treatment, particularly
monochrome slips versus bichrome slips or exam-
ples with painted geometric decorations; and (4)
dimensions, such as the circumference that would
fit in one's ear and the size of the flaring portion,
if present.
Garcia Cook (1976) attributed formal variation
between solid and hollow earspools in Formative
Puebla-Tlaxcala as being either related to status or
to chronology. Grove (1987:271) interpreted solid
ceramic earspools as non-elite adornments at Chal-
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
493
Area H
41
3
80
10
31.8
36.6
catzingo, but did not designate hollow ones as
higher-status adornments due to a small sample.
Nevertheless, a patterned distribution of hollow
earspools being concentrated at the center of Chal-
catzingo is observable (Grove 1987:Table 16.1.).
A concentration of hollow earspools at the site cen-
ter is also observable at La Laguna, where they were
the exclusive type encountered in 30 m3 of exca-
vations there in 2005 (Carballo 2006:Table 2).
Hollow earspools are found more frequently in
Area H than in Area F, but they are the majority
type in both areas and this subtle distinction can
only be compellingly connected to status when
considered in conjunction with overall densities
and other attributes (Table 1, Row 6; Table 5). Ear-
spools are more abundant in Area H and are also
more variable than in Area F, including the pres-
ence of a few decorated examples (with fluting,
incising, and painting) and twice the number of
styles of surface treatment. They are also signifi-
cantly larger in Area H (interior diameter t - -1.86,
.1 <p <.05; exterior diameter t = 1.5, .2 <p < .1).
While none of these differences are over-
whelming, they are consistent with expectations for
artifacts with gradations in the values that were
socially ascribed to them by members of a com-
munity, whereby objects may be compared and
serve metaphorically for evaluating people in terms
of their social affiliation and status (Lesure 1999).
Although it is likely that earspools would have been
one medium by which the community's inhabi-
tants projected and negotiated vertical social rela-
tions such as status, it is also possible that
identification as to kinship, gender, and age were
also evaluated through earspools and other forms
of adornment. Nevertheless, the size continuum or
 494
earspools from La Laguna exhibits a relatively nor-
mal distribution that does not match neatly with
potential gender divisions or age grades. Perhaps
a larger sample or the discovery of adornments as
mortuary offerings will help refine our categories
of social identity in the future.
Domestic Ritual
Effigy vessels at La Laguna depicting identifiable
precursors to the Old God of Fire (Aztec Huehue-
teotl) and Storm God (Aztec Tlaloc) were used in
domestic rituals at the site, connecting households
to a much larger interaction sphere that generated
shared conceptualizations of these deities and the
natural and supernatural forces they were associ-
ated with (Carballo 2007a). Old God effigy vessels
had a clear usage as pedestaled incense burners, but
excavations in Area H reveal that the deity was also
depicted by figurines with small receptacles on
their heads that would not have made very effec-
tive incense burners (Figure 9g). His prevalence in
domestic contexts at La Laguna and elsewhere in
central Mexico demonstrates that the Old God was
a preeminent household deity during the Forma-
tive, providing a level of religious integration
among households. Fragments of at least eight Old
God effigies were recovered from Area H and at
least one was recovered from Area F. They appear
to have been used contemporaneously with, but
later supplant, a zoomorphic burner tradition in
Puebla-Tlaxcala, which may have been a local ver-
sion of a broader Mesoamerican mythological con-
nection between opossums and fire (see Lopez
Austin 1993; Ramirez 2008). The iconography,
media, and depositional contexts of the Storm God
were much more varied than the Old God, sug-
gesting a more multifaceted role for the Storm God
ranging from the household to large-scale cere-
monies held at public temple precincts (Barba de
Pifia Chan 2002; Carballo 2007a; Garcia Cook
1981). Fragments of at least two Storm God effi-
gies were recovered from Area F and at least one
was recovered from Area H.
Effigy incense burners are common in both res-
idential areas and do not appear to correspond to
household status. However, fine obsidian lancets,
likely used for ritual bloodletting, were found
exclusively in Area H. All three examples, one of
them still complete (Figure 9h), were found in the
northern corner of Structure 14M-1, where most of
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009
the greenstone beads originated as well. While the
sample is small, the association between obsidian
bloodletters and elite residences is consistent with
other areas of Formative highland Mesoamerica
(Flannery and Marcus 2005:96). One of the frag-
mented examples was broken during production,
suggesting that bloodletters were produced in Area
H. Although a soft touch is required for the deli-
cate pressure flaking of such a fine implement on
brittle obsidian, the quality of blademaking char-
acterized by the debitage from Area F indicates its ;
residents could have also produced their own
lancets. Perhaps only certain individuals living in
Area H engaged in auto-sacrifice, due to their social
roles in the community, or, alternatively, only they
may have been permitted to do so with an obsid-
ian lancet, while others made use of widely avail-
able maguey thorns.
House Construction
Behavioral variability between the two households
would appear to have been minor based solely on
their associated assemblages. Most important, how-
ever, were the physical environments constructed
as the settings for household activities and to
express and reproduce household status. Landscape
modifications in Area H were considerable, includ-
ing the artificial flattening of over one hectare of
natural hill slope and the construction of a sloping
retaining wall (ca. 3 m tall). At least three large
structures were built on this newly level surface,
the platforms of two primary residences combin-
ing for a construction volume of approximately
2500 m3 (Figure 10b). One of these (Structure 14M-
1) had an earlier incarnation, also of substantial pro-
portions and dating from perhaps 150 years earlier.
The northern corner of Structure 14M-l-sub was
excavated, revealing that it was at least 1.2 m tall
and likely also extends to tepetate, which would
make it nearly equal in height to the later structure.
An earlier version of Structure 14M-2 may also
have been built at this time, but excavations there
were more limited and did not probe the fill of the
platform for substructures. The size of the resi-
dences and continued elaboration of the living
space demonstrates the multigenerational ability of
the family in Area H to mobilize large-scale labor
projects, consistent with hereditary ranking. By
comparison, the family in Area F was also con-
cerned with flattening their living surface but
 Carballo] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO 495

Figure 10. Reconstructions of (a) Area F Structure 15M-1 and (b)Area H Structures 14M-1,14M-2, and 14M-3.

achieved this through more modest means by con-
structing a partially open stone terrace, creating a
patio for cooking and other activities in front of their
simple house (Figure 10a).
Hirth (1989, 1993b) considered house size and
elaboration as the most important axis for deter-
mining household status at Xochicalco, augmented
and enriched by the consideration of multiple lines
of artifact data. The prioritization of residential
architecture is further borne out by recent eth-
noarchaeological studies that emphasize the formal
and stylistic attributes of houses in the reproduc-
tion of hierarchies and through serving as settings
for interpersonal action that radiates back into
community-level politics (Bowser and Patton 2004;
Kamp 2000; Lyons 2007). Through his cross-
cultural study of houses and household status, Blan-
ton (1994) isolated two essential indexical qualities
of the physical house: (1) size as an authentic indi-
cation of wealth, being impossible to fake in tradi-
tional societies, and (2) the visual impact of
coherent arrangements of decorative motifs. From
its elevated position overlooking but easily acces-
sible to the ceremonial center of the community,
the imposing structures in Area H and their painted
geometric motifs would have had a strong visual
impact appropriate for one of its ruling families.
Because the painted walls of the Area H struc-
tures were burned in an intensely hot fire, they were
preserved as large pieces of impressed daub that

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 496
were smoothed and decorated on their exteriors.
This Terminal Formative to Early Classic aban-
donment provides an additional perspective regard-
ing the upheavals of this period in central Mexican
prehistory, and the ensuing urban civilization cen-
tered at Teotihuacan. The conflagration of Struc-
ture 14-1 resulted in meter-deep accumulations of
burnt structural collapse in certain areas, and
involved temperatures that melted the daub coat-
ing thicker posts of the structure into iridescent
clumps of vitrified clay. Both strongly suggest
intentional burning (Shaffer 1993). Additional lines
of evidence are required for assessing whether the
destruction was due to internal processes (i.e., the
ritual termination of an important family's resi-
dence due to community unrest) or external factors
(i.e., raiding or warfare, the latter potentially involv-
ing Teotihuacan). However, all potential scenarios
provide another indication of the importance of the
residential complex within the context of the For-
mative community at La Laguna.
Conclusions
Household practices and status differentiation
within a rural community surrounded by early
urban centers are reflected in the domestic struc-
tures and assemblages from two areas of La
Laguna. The most substantial difference is observ-
able in the amount of labor involved in the land-
scape modifications and large house constructions
in Area H. Though the comparative sample pre-
sented here is small, the two contexts provide an
opportunity to evaluate expectations for variability
in practices through assemblages from two remark-
ably different forms of residential architecture.
Together with the apparently planned conflagration
of the structures in Area H, their size and elabora-
tion are consistent with having been inhabited by
one of the highest ranked families within the com-
munity, possibly corresponding to a chiefly lin-
eage. The marked contrast in the residences of the
two areas would have conspicuously signaled the
different statuses of their occupants and likely
would have formed a categorical division as stark
as the one cited by the sixteenth century Tlaxcalan
in the introduction between a "big house" and a
"jacal."
With a formalized ceremonial precinct orga-
nized around open public space, and continuity in
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009
the location and elaborateness of the residences of
chiefly families or similar political agents, the pat-
tern of settlement at La Laguna is consistent with
expectations for more institutionalized political
authority (e.g., Henderson and Ostler 2005). Yet the
lack of evidence for strong wealth differences in
burials and household assemblages is suggestive of
the limits of institutionalized differentiation within
the community. Assemblages from Areas F and H
illustrate more subtle gradations in the social prac-
tices of their inhabitants, and the distributions of;
certain objects may be used to evaluate categories
of residential architecture and to enrich our under-
standing of activities and identities. Lesure
(1999:32) proposes that intrasite patterning of arti-
facts relating to social identity may differ between
exclusive elite household distributions corre-
sponding to vertical (status) social relations, dis-
tributional patterning along other lines as indicative
of horizontal relations (kin, age, gender, or other
dimensions of identity), and a combination that
nevertheless favored elite households as a poten-
tial mix of vertical and horizontal signals.
Following these premises, status may be impli-
cated at La Laguna more through obsidian lancets
for auto-sacrifice and greenstone for personal
adornment, whereas shell adornments, earspools,
and green obsidian indexed a mix of vertical and
horizontal relations. In the case of greenstone, shell,
and green obsidian, status would have been
expressed primarily through the differential access
to desired foreign resources. Obsidian lancets and
hollow ceramic earspools were made from mate-
rials that were readily available to all households,
however, simply as finer or more elaborate ver-
sions of objects for which somewhat cheaper alter-
natives existed. The inhabitants of Area F were
capable of producing bloodletting implements from
obsidian blades and proportions of hollow ear-
spools similar to those found in Area H, but they
may have been impeded by social norms regard-
ing the identity of individuals who were deemed
appropriate users of such items—not necessarily
sumptuary laws, rather, less institutionalized norms
of conduct.
Wealth differences between households do not
appear to have been great at La Laguna, but the dif-
ferences in their potential social capital do. Elite
and commoner households engaged in similar
domestic craft activities, consistent with diversified
 Carbalio] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO
economic strategies that could buffer against agri-
cultural risk (e.g., Hirth 2006). Yet the elite house-
hold in Area H was more connected to
long-distance exchange networks that brought
greenstone, shell, and other materials to the com-
munity than were the lower status inhabitants of
Area F. It is possible that the community was orga-
nized similarly to Tetimpa, where senior and junior
houses are proposed to have been interdependent
but differentiated by their architecture and
exchange relations (Plunket and Urunuela 2002;
Plunket et al. 2005). At the moment, however, archi-
tectural differentiation appears to have been greater
at La Laguna than at Tetimpa.
Cross-culturally, "households of a rural periph-
ery elite stand in sharp contrast with poorer house-
holds of the same communities, households that are
less able to participate in the long-distance eco-
nomic strategies of the peripheries" (Blanton
1994:189). Blanton's observation fits well with La
Laguna's domestic areas and regional setting, since
the community was adjacent to three zones of con-
temporaneous urbanization, located along the most
important corridor of communication between
Teotihuacan and points south and east, and its aban-
donment coincides with Teotihuacano political
expansion through the region (Carbalio and Pluck-
hahn 2007). Under these new circumstances, the
strategies of affiliation and differentiation of elite
and common households in the region were swept
into a much larger system centered at Teotihuacan,
becoming transplanted into the macroregional hier-
archy of the Classic period.
Acknowledgments. I am grateful for the financial support 1964 Family Structure of Sixteenth-Century Tepoztlan. In
provided by the National Geographic Society and the
Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies,
Inc., funding the 2005 and 2006 seasons of the Proyecto
Arqueologico La Laguna, and for the institutional support
provided by Roberto Garcia Moll and the Consejo de
' Arqueologi'a, INAH. Jennifer Carbalio and Aleksander
Borejsza read earlier versions of this manuscript and pro-
vided valuable feedback. Angel Garcia Cook, Patricia
Plunket, and two anonymous reviewers helped me to clarify
and improve sections, though all errors remain my own. I
thank Helaine Silverman, Luis Jaime Castillo, and the edito-
rial staff for their assistance, and the de Haro Gonzalez fam-
ily for their tremendous hospitality at La Laguna.
References Cited
Barba de Pifia Chan, Beatriz
2002 Tlapacoya, probable centra de peregrinaciones a las
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
497
deidades del agua. In Pasado, presente yfuturo de la arque-
ologi'a en el Estado de Mexico: Homenaje a Roman Pifia
Chan, edited by Argelia Montes and Beatriz Ziiniga, pp.
27^10. Instituto National de Antropologia e Historia, Mex-
ico, D.F.
Blanton, Richard E.
1994 Houses and Households: A Comparative Study.
Plenum Press, New York.
Borejsza, Aleksander
2006 Agricultural Slope Management and Soil Erosion in
Tlaxcala, Mexico. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Department ofArchaeology, University of California, Los
Angeles.
Borejsza, Aleksander, Isabel Rodriguez Lopez, Charles D. Fred-
erick, and Mark D. Bateman
2008 Agricultural Slope Management and Soil Erosion at
La Laguna, Tlaxcala, Mexico. Journal ofArchaeological
Science 35:1854-1866.
Bowser, Brenda J., and John Q. Patton
2004 Domestic Spaces as Public Places: An Ethnoarchae-
ological Case Study of Houses, Gender, and Politics in the
Ecuadorian Amazon. Journal of Archaeological Method
and Theory \\{Z):\51-m.
Carbalio, David M.
2006 Proto-Urban Social Transformations and Community
Organization at La Laguna, Tlaxcala, During the Late Pre-
Classic. Internet report available at http://www.famsi.org/
reports/05018/index.html.
2007a Effigy Vessels, Religious Integration, and the Ori-
gins of the Central Mexican Pantheon. Ancient Mesoamer-
ica 18(l):53-67.
2007b Implements of State Power: Weaponry and Martially
Themed Obsidian Production near the Moon Pyramid,
Teotihuacan. Ancient Mesoamerica 18(1):173-190.
Carbalio, David M., Jennifer Carbalio, and Hector Neff
2007 Formative and Classic Period Obsidian Procurement
in Central Mexico: A Compositional Study Using Laser
Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrome-
try. Latin American Antiquity 18:27^3.
Carbalio, David M., and Thomas Pluckhahn
2007 Transportation Corridors and Political Evolution in
Highland Mesoamerica: Settlement Analyses Incorporat-
ing GIS for Northern Tlaxcala, Mexico. Journal of Anthro-
pological Archaeology 26(4):607-629.
Carrasco, Pedro
Process and Pattern in Culture: Essays in Honor ofJulian
H. Steward, edited by Robert A. Manners, pp. 185-210.
Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago.
1971 Social Organization of Ancient Mexico. In Handbook
of Middle American Indians, Vol. 10, edited by Gordon
Ekholm and Ignacio Bernal, pp. 349-375. University of
Texas Press, Austin.
1976 Estratificacion social indi'gina en Morelos durante el
siglo XVI. In Estratificacion Social en la Mesoamerica
Prehispdnica, edited by Pedro Carrasco and Johanna
Broda, pp. 102-117. Centra de Investigaciones Superiores
del Instituto National de Antropologia e Hostoria, Mex-
ico, D.F.
Chance, John K.
2000 The Noble House in Colonial Puebla, Mexico: Decent,
Inheritance, and the Nahua Tradition. American Anthro-
pologist 102:485-502.
Charlton, Thomas H.
1969 Sociocultural Implications of House Types in the
Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico. The Journal of the Society of
Architectural Historians 28(4):284-290.
 498 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009

Clark, John E. mativo, edited by Maria Teresa Castillo Mangas, pp. 11-32.
1997 Prismatic Blademaking, Craftsmanship, and Produc- Subdireccion de Salvamento Arqueologico, Institute
tion: An Analysis of Obsidian Refuse from Ojo de Agua, Nacional de Antropologfa e Historia, Mexico, D.F.
Chiapas, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 7:137-159. Garcia Cook, Angel
Clark, John E., and Douglas Bryant 1976 Notas sobre las orejeras de ceramica en Tlaxcala.
1997 A Technological Typology of Prismatic Blades and Comunicaciones 13:41—48. Fundacion Alemana para la
Debitage from Ojo de Agua, Chiapas, Mexico. Ancient Investigacion Cientifica, Puebla.
Mesoamerica 8:111-136. 1981 The Historical Importance of Tlaxcala in the Cultural
Cline, Sarah L. Development of the Central Highlands. In Supplement to
1993 The Book of Tributes: Early Sixteenth-Century Nahu- the Handbook ofMiddle American Indians, Vol. 1, Archae-
atl Censuses from Morelos. UCLA Latin American Cen- ology, edited by Jeremy A. Sabloff, pp. 244-276. Univer-
ter Publications, University of California, Los Angeles. sity of Texas Press, Austin.
Coupland, Gary, and E. B. Banning (editors) 2003 Cantona: la ciudad. In El urbanismo en Mesoamerica,
1996 People Who Lived in Big Houses: A rchaeologicalvolume Per- 1, edited by William T. Sanders, Alba Guadalupe
spectives on Large Domestic Structures. Prehistory Press, Mastache, and Robert H. Cobean, pp. 312-343. Institute
Madison, Wisconsin. Nacional de Antropologfa e Historia, Mexico, D.F., and
Cowgill, George L. Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
1992 Social Differentiation at Teotihuacan. In Mesoamer-Garcia Cook, Angel, and Beatriz Leonor Merino Carrion
ican Elites: An Archaeological Assessment, edited1974 by Malacates de Tlaxcala: intento de una secuencia evo-
Dianne Z. Chase and Arlen G. Chase, pp. 206-220. Uni- lutiva. Comunicaciones 11:27-36. Fundacion Alemana
versity of Oklahoma Press, Norman. para la Investigacion Cientifica, Puebla.
1997 State and Society at Teotihuacan. Annual Review of 1988 Notas sobre la ceramica prehispanica en Tlaxcala. In
Anthropology 26:126—161. Ensayos sobre alfareria prehispanica e historica: Home-
De Leon, Jason, Kenneth G. Hirth, and David M. Carballo naje a Eduardo Noguera, edited by Mari Carmen Serra
2009 Exploring Formative Period Obsidian Blade Trade: Puche and Carlos Navarette Caceres, pp. 275-342. Insti-
Three Distribution Models. Ancient Mesoamerica, in press. tute Nacional de Antropologfa e Historia, Mexico, D.F.
Dietler, Michael, and Brian Hayden (editors) 1991 Tlaxcala, una historia compartida, Volumen 3. Los
2001 Feasts: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspec- origenes: arqueologia. Gobierno del Estado de Tlaxcala,
tives on Food, Politics, and Power. Smithsonian Institu- Tlaxcala, and Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes,
tion Press, Washington, D.C. Mexico, D.F.
Ember, Melvin 1996 Situacion cultural en Tlaxcala durante el apogeo de
1973 An Archaeological Indicator of Matrilocal Versus Teotihuacan. In Arqueologia Mexicana: Homenaje a
Patrilocal Residence. American Antiquity 38:177-182. William T. Sanders, Vol. 1, edited by Alba Guadalupe Mas-
Evans, Susan T. tache, Jeffrey R. Parsons, Robert S. Santley, and Mari Car-
1989 House and Household in the Aztec World: The Vil- men Serra Puche, pp. 281-316. Institute Nacional de
lage of Cihuatecpan. In Households and Communities: Antropologfa e Historia, Mexico, D.F.
Proceedings of the Twenty-first Annual Conference Garcfa
of the
Cook, Angel, and Felipe Rodriguez
Archaeological Association of the University of Calgary, 1975 Excavaciones arqueologicos en "Guadalupita las
edited by Scott MacEachern, David J.W. Archer, and Dalias," Puebla. Comunicaciones 12:1-8. Fundacion Ale-
Richard D. Garvin, pp. 430-440. The University of Cal- mana para la Investigacion Cientifica, Puebla.
gary Archaeological Association, Calgary. Grove, David C.
1991 Architecture and Authority in an Aztec Village: Form 1987 Other Ceramic and Miscellaneous Artifacts. InAncient
and Function of the Tecpan. In Land and Politics in the Chalcatzingo, edited by David C. Grove, pp. 271-294. Uni-
Valley of Mexico: A Two-Thousand-Year Perspective, versity of Texas Press, Austin.
edited by Herbert R. Harvey, pp. 63-92. University of New Grove, David C, and Anne Cyphers Guillen
Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 1987 The Excavations. In Ancient Chalcatzingo, edited by
2005 Men, Women, and Maguey: The Household Division David C. Grove, pp. 21-55. University of Texas Press,
of Labor Among Aztec Farmers, in Settlement, Subsis- Austin.
tence, and Social Complexity: Essays Honoring the Legacy
Grove, David C, and Susan D. Gillespie
of Jeffrey R. Parsons, edited by Richard E. Blanton, pp. 1992 Archaeological Indicators of Formative Period Elites:
198-228. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of A Perspective from Central Mexico. In Mesoamerican
California, Los Angeles. Elites: An Archaeological Assessment, edited by Diane Z.
Flannery, Kent V. Chase, andArlen Chase, pp. 191-205. University of Okla-
2002 The Origins of the Village Revisited: From Nuclear homa Press, Norman.
to Extended Households. American Antiquity 67:417^-34. Hall, Barbara Ann
2003 [1983] The Tierras Largas Phase and the Analytical 1997 Spindle Whorls and Cotton Production at Middle Clas-
Units of the Early Oaxacan Village. In The Cloud People: sic Matacapan and in the Gulf Lowlands. In Olmec to
Divergent Evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec Civiliza- Aztec: Settlement Patterns in the Ancient Gulf Lowlands,
tions, edited by Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus, pp. edited by Barbara L. Stark and Philip J. Arnold III, pp.
43^15. Percheron Press, Clinton Corners. 115-135. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Flannery, Kent V, and Joyce Marcus Harvey, Herbert R.
2005 Excavations at San Jose Mogote I: The Household 1986 Household and Family Structure in Early Colonial
Archaeology. Museum of Anthropology, University of Tepetlaoztoc: An Analysis of the Codice de Sant Maria
Michigan, Ann Arbor. Asuncion. Estudios de Cultural Ndhuatl 18:275-294.
Gamez Eternod, Lorena Harvey, Herbert R. (editor)
1993 Crecimiento del sitio de Tlapacoya, Estado de Mex- 1991 Land and Politics in the Valley of Mexico: A Two-
ico, durante el Horizonte Formativo. In A proposito del For- Thousand-Year Perspective. University of New Mexico,

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 Carballo] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO 499
Albuquerque. of Central Tlaxcala, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity
Healan, Dan M. 17:474-492.
2002 Producer Versus Consumer: Prismatic Core-Blade Lockhart, James
Technology at Epiclassic/Early Postclassic Tula and 1992 The Nahuas After the Conquest: A Social and Cul-
Ucareo. In Pathways to Prismatic Blades: A Study intural History of the Indians of Central Mexico, Sixteenth
Mesoamerican Obsidian Core-Blade Technology, edited through Eighteenth Centuries. Stanford University, Stan-
by Kenneth Hirth and Bradford Andrews, pp. 27-35. Cot- ford.
sen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Lopez Austin, Alfredo
Angeles. 1993 The Myths of the Opossum: Pathways of Mesoamer-
Henderson, Hope, and Nicholas Ostler ican Mythology. University of New Mexico Press, Albu-
2005 Muisca Settlement Organization and Chiefly Author- querque.
ity at Suta, Valle de Ley va, Colombia: A Critical AppraisalL6pez Wario, Luis Alberto
of Native Concepts of House for Studies of Complex Soci- 1993 Ecatepec: hace 2600 afios. In A proposito del Forma-
eties. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology tivo, edited by Maria Teresa Castillo Mangas, pp. 85-92.
24(2):148-178. Subdireccion de Salvamento Arqueoldgico, Instituto
Hirth, Kenneth G. Nacional de Antropologfa e Historia, Mexico, D.F.
1989 Domestic Architecture and Social Rank in a Lyons, Diane E.
Mesoamerican Urban Center. In Households and Com- 2007 Building Power in Rural Hinterlands: An Ethnoar-
munities: Proceedings of the Twenty-first Annual Confer- chaeological Study of Vernacular Architecture in Tigray,
ence of the Archaeological Association of the University Ethiopia. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory
of Calgary, edited by Scott MacEachern, David J.W. 14(2): 179-207.
Archer, and Richard D. Garvin, pp. 441^149. The Uni- Manzanilla, Linda
versity of Calgary Archaeological Association, Calgary. 1985 El sitio de Cuanalan en el marco de las comunidades
1993a The Household as an Analytical Unit: Problems in pre-urbanas de valle de Teotihuacan. In Mesoamerica y el
Method and Theory. In Prehispanic Domestic Units in centro de Mexico: una antologia, edited by Jesus Mon-
Western Mesoamerica: Studies of the Household, Com- jaras Ruiz, Emma Perez Rocha, and Rosa Brambila, pp.
pound, and Residence, edited by Robert S. Santley and 133-178. Instituto Nacional de Antropologfa e Historia,
Kenneth G. Hirth, pp. 21-36. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Mexico, D.F.
Florida. 1999a The First Urban Developments in the Central High-
1993b Identifying Rank and Socioeconomic Status in lands of Mesoamerica. In The Archaeology ofMesoamer-
Domestic Contexts: An Example from Central Mexico. In ica: Mexican and European Perspectives, edited by
Prehispanic Domestic Units in Western Mesoamerica: Warrick Bray and Linda Manzanilla, pp. 13-31. British
Studies of the Household, Compound, and Residence, Museum Press, London.
edited by Robert S. Santley and Kenneth G. Hirth, pp. 1999b Emergence of Complex Urban Societies in Central
121-146. CRC Press, Boca Raton. Mexico: The Case of Teotihuacan. In Archaeology in Latin
2006 Modeling Domestic Craft Production at Xochicalco. America, edited by Gustavo G. Politis and Benjamin
In Obsidian Craft Production in Ancient Central Mexico, Alberti, pp. 93-129. Routledge, London.
by Kenneth G. Hirth, pp. 275-286. University of Utah, Salt 2006 Estados corporativos arcaicos: Organizaciones de
Lake City. excepcion en escenarios excluyentes. Cuicuilco
Hirth, Kenneth G., and J. Jeffrey Flenniken 13(36):13^15.
2006 Appendix A: The Analytical Categories for Xochi- Manzanilla, Linda (editor)
calco 's Lithic Terminology. In Obsidian Craft Production 1986 Unidades habitacionales mesoamericanas ysus areas
in Ancient Central Mexico, by Kenneth G. Hirth, pp. de actividad. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico,
301-314. University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Mexico, D.F.
Joyce, Rosemary A., and Susan D. Gillespie (editors) McCaa, Robert
2000 Beyond Kinship: Social and Material Reproduction 2003 The Nahua Calli of Ancient Mexico: Household, Fam-
in House Societies. University of Pennsylvania Press, ily, and Gender. Continuity and Change 18(1):23—28.
Philadelphia. Merino Carrion, Beatriz Leonor
Kamp, Kathryn 1989 La Cultura Tlaxco. Coleccion Cientifica 174. Insti-
2000 From Village to Tell: Household Ethnoarchaeology tuto Nacional de Antropologfa e Historia, Mexico, D.F.
in Syria. Near Eastern Archaeology 63(2): 84-93. Millon, Rene
;.Kellogg, Susan 1988 The Last Years ofTeotihuacan Dominance. In The Col-
1993 The Social Organization of Households Among the lapse ofAncient States and Civilizations, edited by Nor-
Tenocha Mexica Before and After the Conquest. In Pre- man Yoffee and George L.Cowgill.pp 102-164. University
hispanic Domestic Units in Western Mesoamerica: of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Stud-
ies of the Household, Compound, and Residence, Niederberger,
edited Christine
by Robert S. Santley and Kenneth G. Hirth, pp. 207-224. 1976 Zohapilco: cinco milenios de ocupacion humana en
CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. un sitio lacustre de la cuenca de Mexico. Instituto Nacional
Lesure, Richard G. de Antropologfa e Historia, Mexico, D.F.
1999 On the Genesis of Value in Early Hierarchical Soci- Netting, Robert McC.
eties. In Material Symbols: Culture and Economy in1982 Pre-Some Home Truths on Household Size and Wealth.
history, edited by John E. Robb, pp. 23-55. Center for American Behavioral Scientist 25(6):641-662.
Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois Univer- Nutini, Hugo G.
sity, Carbondale. 1968 San Bernardino Contla: Marriage and Family Struc-
Lesure, Richard G., Aleksander Borejsza, Jennifer Carballo, ture in a Tlaxcalan Municipio. University of Pittsburgh
Charles Frederick, Virginia Popper, and Thomas A. Wake Press, Pittsburgh.
2006 Chronology, Subsistence, and the Earliest Formative 1996 Mesoamerican Community Organization: Prelimi-

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 500 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009

nary Remarks. Ethnology 35(2):81-92. Robichaux, David Luke

Offner, Jerome A. 1997 Residence Rules and Ultimogeniture in Tlaxcala and
1984 Household Organization in the Texcocan Heartland: Mesoamerica. Ethnology 36{2): 149—171.
The Evidence in the Codex Vergara. In Explorations in Eth- Sanders, William T., Michael West, Charles Fletcher, and Joseph
nohistory: Indians of Central Mexico in the SixteenthMarino Cen-
tury, edited by H.R. Harvey and Hanns J. Prem, pp. 1975a The Formative Period Occupation of the Teotihua-
127-146. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. can Valley, Part I, Texts and Tables. Matson Museum of
Parsons, Jeffrey R., and Mary Parsons Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, Uni-
1990 Maguey Utilization in Highland Central Mexico:versity An Park.
Archaeological Ethnography. University of Michigan1975b The Formative Period Occupation of the Teotihua-
Museum of Anthropology, Ann Arbor. can Valley, Part II, Plates and Figures. Matson Museum
Pastrana, Alejandro of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, Uni-
1997 Nuevos datos acerca de la estratigrafia de Cuicuilco. versity Park.
Arqueologia 18:3-16. Sanders, William T, Jeffrey R. Parsons, and Robert S. Santley ',
Pauketat, Timothy R. 1979 The Basin of Mexico: Ecological Processes in the
2007 Chiefdoms and Other Archaeological Delusions. Evolution of a Civilization. Academic Press, New York.
AltaMira Press, Lanham, Maryland. Santley, Robert S.
Plunket, Patricia (editor) 1993 Late Formative Period Society at Loma Torremote: A
2002 Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica. The Cot- Consideration of the Redistribution vs. the Great Provider
sen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Models as a Basis for the Emergence of Complexity in the
Angeles. Basin of Mexico. In Prehispanic Domestic Units in West-
Plunket, Patricia, and Gabriela Urunuela ern Mesoamerica: Studies of the Household, Compound,
1998 Preclassic Household Patterns Preserved Under Vol- and Residence, edited by Robert S. Santley and Kenneth
canic Ash at Tetimpa, Puebla. Latin American Antiquity G. Hirth, pp. 67-86. CRC Press, Boca Raton.
9:287-309. 2007 The Prehistory of the Tuxtlas. University of New Mex-
2002 Shrines, Ancestors, and the Volcanic Landscape at ico Press, Albuquerque.
Tetimpa, Puebla. In Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamer- Santley, Robert, Janet Kerley, and Ronald Kneebone
ica, edited by Patricia Plunket, pp. 31^42. The Cotsen 1986 Obsidian Working, Long-Distance Exchange, and the
Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Politico-Economic Organization of Early States in Cen-
Angeles. tral Mexico. In Research in Economic Anthropology, Sup-
2003 From Episodic to Permanent Abandonment: plement 2. Economic Aspects of Prehispanic Highland
Responses to Volcanic Hazards at Tetimpa, Puebla, Mex- Mexico, edited by Barry Issac, pp. 101-132. JAI Press,
ico. In The Archaeology of Settlement Abandonment Greenwich. in
Middle America, edited by Takeshi Inomata and Ronald Santley, Robert S., and Kenneth G. Hirth (editors)
W. Webb, pp. 13-27. The University of Utah Press, Salt 1993 Prehispanic Domestic Units in Western Mesoamer-
Lake City. ica: Studies ofthe Household, Compound, and Residence.
2005 Recent Research in Puebla Prehistory. Journal of CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Archaeological Research 13(2):89-127. Schelach, Gideon
2006 Social and Cultural Consequences of a Late Holocene 2006 Economic Adaptation, Community Structure, and
Eruption of Popocatepetl in Central Mexico. Quaternary Sharing Strategies of Households at Early Sedentary Com-
International 151:19-28. munities in Northeast China. Journal of Anthropological
2008 Mountain of Sustenance, Mountain of Destruction: Archaeology 25:318-345.
The Prehispanic Experience with Popocatepetl Volcano. Serra Puche, Mari Carmen
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 1986 Unidades habitacionales del Formativo en la Cuenca
170:111-120. de Mexico. In Unidades Habitacionales Mesoamericanas
Plunket, Patricia, Gabriela Urunuela, Michael Glascock, and y sus Areas de Actividad, edited by Linda Manzanilla, pp.
Hector Neff 161-192. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico,
2005 A Rural Perspective on Mesoamerican Integration D.F.
during the Late and Terminal Formative. In New Perspec- 1988 Los recursos lacustres de la cuenca de Mexico durante
tives on Formative Mesoamerican Cultures, edited by Terry el Formativo. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mex-
G. Powis, pp. 183-194. BAR International Series 1377. ico, D.F.
British Archaeological Reports, Oxford. 1998 Xochitecatl. Gobierno del Estado de Tlaxcala, Tlax-
Popper, Virginia S. cala.
2007 Macrobotanical Analysis of Flotation and Screen Sam- 2005 Xochitecatl y sus volcanes: pasado y presente. In IV
ples from La Laguna, Tlaxcala, Mexico. Manuscript on Coloquio Pedro Bosh Gimpera: el occidente y centro de
file at Paleoethnobotany Laboratory, Cotsen Institute of Mexico, edited by Ernesto Vargas Pacheco, pp. 331-347.
Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, D.F.
Ramirez, Elisa Serra Puche, Mari Carmen, Jesus Carlos Lazcano Arce, and Lil-
2008 Origen del fuego. Arqueologia Mexicana iana Torres Sanders
XV(90):16-17. 2001 Actividades rituales en Xochitecatl-Cacaxtla, Tlax-
Rapoport, Amos cala. Arqueologia 25:71-88.
1969 House Form and Culture. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Shaffer, Gary D.
Cliffs, California. 1993 An Archaeomagnetic Study of a Wattle and Daub
Rattray, Evelyn Childs Building Collapse. Journal of Field Archaeology
2001 Teotihuacan: Ceramics, Chronology and Cultural 20(l):59-75.
Trends. Institute) Nacional de Antropologia e Historia and Siebe, Claus
University of Pittsburgh, Mexico, D.F., and Pittsburgh. 2000 Age and Archaeological Implications of Xitle Volcano,

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807
 Carballo] HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO 501
Southwestern Basin of Mexico-City. Journal ofVolcanol- Archaeology, edited by K.C. Chang, pp. 117-133. National
ogy and Geothermal Research 104:45-64. Press Books, Palo Alto, California.
Smith, Michael E. Wilk, Richard
1987 Household Possessions and Wealth in Agrarian States: 2004 Miss Universe, the Olmec and the Valley of Oaxaca.
Implications for Archaeology. Journal of Anthropological Journal of Social Archaeology 4(l):81-98.
Archaeology 6:297-335. Wilk, Richard R., and Wendy Ashmore (editors)
1993 Houses and the Settlement Hierarchy in Late Post- 1988 Household and Community in the Mesoamerican Past.
classic Morelos: A Comparison of Archaeology and Eth- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
nohistory. In Prehispanic Domestic Units in Western Williams, Barbara J., and Herbert R. Harvey
Mesoamerica: Studies of the Household, Compound, 1997andThe Codice de Santa Maria Asuncion: Facsimile and
Residence, edited by Robert S. Santley and Kenneth G. Commentary: Households and Lands in Sixteenth-Century
Hirth, pp. 191-206. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. Tepetlaoztoc. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
Smith, Michael E., Cynthia Heath-Smith, and Lisa Montiel Yoffee, Norman
1999 Excavations ofAztec Urban Houses at Yautepec, Mex- 2005 Myths of the Archaic State: Evolution of the Earliest
ico. Latin American Antiquity 10:133-150. Cities, States, and Civilization. Cambridge University
Snow, Dean Richard Press, Cambridge.
1966 A Seriation of Archaeological Collectionsfrom the Rio
Zahuapan Drainage, Tlaxcala, Mexico. University Micro-
films, 66-12, 984, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Notes
1969 Ceramic Sequence and Settlement Location in Pre-
Hispanic Tlaxcala. American Antiquity 34:131-145. 1. Urunuela and Plunket (2007:43^14) discuss a similar
1972 Influencias teotihuacanas clasicas en la region norte- burial from Tetimpa in which two crania were oriented facing
centro de Tlaxcala. In Teotihuacan, XI Mesa Redonda de
Popocatepetl when placed within thefillcovering the floor of
la Sociedad Mexicana de Antropologia, pp. 245-251. a house. Whereas I interpret the Area F deposit as a potential
Sociedad Mexicana de Antropologia, Mexico, D.F. terminationritual,the context of this Tetimpa burial—which
Spencer, Charles S., and Elsa M. Redmond
2004 Primary State Formation in Mesoamerica. Annual does not include a vessel offering, and was encountered
Review ofAnthropology 33:173-199. within the matrix of a structure that was purposefully
Sugiyama, Saburo destroyed—is more consistent with violent conflict.
2004 Governance and Polity at Classic Teotihuacan. In 2. The frequency of green obsidian from all contexts in
Mesoamerican Archaeology: Theory and Practice, Areaedited
H is also more than double that of Area F expressed as
by Julia A. Hendon and Rosemary A. Joyce, pp. 97-123.pieces per m3 (Area F = .8; Area H = 1.9).
Blackwell, Maiden, Massachusetts. 3. A feature excavated during the 2004 test excavations in
Sullivan, Thelma D. Area H contained a dense concentration of basaltic/felsic
1987 Documentos Tlaxcaltecas del Siglo XVI. Universidad flakes with diagnostic attributes of edge preparation associ-
Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, D.F.
Tesch K., Monika, and Rafael Abascal M. ated with the production of trapezoidal maguey scrapers.
1974 Azadas. Comunicaciones 11:37^13. Fundacion Ale- Although not included in this study, the feature dates to the
mana de Investigacion Cientffica, Puebla. earlier occupation, centuries prior to the large residences, and
Thomson, Charlotte W. does not affect the interpretation that the inhabitants of Area
1987 Chalcatzingo Jade and Fine Stone Objects. In AncientF were producing more of these tools than those of Area H
Chalcatzingo, edited by David C. Grove, pp. 295-304. Uni- during the later occupation associated with the structures dis-
versity of Texas Press, Austin. cussed here.
Urunuela, Gabriela, and Patricia Plunket 4. Material types were assessed visually informed by vis-
1998 Areas de actividad en unidades domesticas del For-
mativo Terminal enTetimpa, Puebla. Arqueologia 20:3-19. its to sources and compositional studies (Carballo 2006;
2001 "De piedra ha de ser la cama. . ." Las tumbas en el Carballo et al. 2007). Paredon blade size was particularly
Formativo de Puebla-Tlaxcala y la Cuenca de Mexico, a large in a feature dug into the platform in Area H (Structure
partir de la evidencia de Tetimpa, Puebla. Arqueologia 14M-1), with a mean width of 1.68 cm (n = 133; s = .36).
25:3-22.
2007 Tradition and Transformation: Village Ritual at
Tetimpa as a Template for Early Teotihuacan. In Com-
moner Ritual and Ideology in Ancient Mesoamerica, edited
by Nancy Gonlin and Jon C. Lohse, pp. 33-54. University
Press of Colorado, Boulder.
West, Michael
1965 Transition from Preclassic to Classic at Teotihuacan.
American Antiquity 31:193-202.
Whiting, John W. M., and Barbara Ayres Submitted July 7, 2008; Accepted August 18, 2008;
1968 Inferences from the Shape of Dwellings. In SettlementRevised September 6, 2008.

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 186.31.78.106, on 19 Jul 2018 at 02:59:52, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1045663500002807