On the Edge of Empire? Settlement Changes in Chacalapan, Southern Veracruz, Mexico, during the Classic and Postclassic Periods

Description

The primary objective of this research, conducted in the area of Chacalapan, southern Veracruz, Mexico, was to address the social and political development of the region during the Classic and Postclassic periods (AD 300-1520). One of the main goals was to study the relations between Chacalapan and the Mexica Empire during Late Postclassic times (AD 1400-1520), and to define the extent of imperial control in these borderlands. Although Early Colonial period documents attest to native population of the area at the time of Spanish contact ca. 1522, no appreciable Postclassic occupation was discovered archaeologically. There is, however, ample archaeological evidence for extensive occupation during the earlier Classic period, which implies a regional population decrease during the Postclassic. As a result, this study is a hybrid of ethnohistorical research relevant to the Postclassic period and archaeological research pertaining to the Classic period.