A Tentative Model of the Organization of Copper Production in the Tarascan State

Abstract

At the time of the Spanish conquest, the main locus of metal production in Mesoamerica was the Tarascan region of western Mexico. Scholars have argued that mining and metallurgy evolved into a state industry, as metal adornments used as insignias of social status and public ritual became closely associated with political control. In spite of its importance, however, Tarascan metallurgy is poorly documented. The extractive processes involved and the organization of the different aspects of this production are virtually unknown. Numerous questions arise from the notion that metal items functioned as wealth finance in the economy of the Tarascan state of Late Postclassic period Michoacan. Foremost among these is whether and how wealth was produced and controlled by the central power. This paper combines archaeological and ethnohistorical data to propose a model for pre-Hispanic copper production among the Tarascans. The goal of this analysis is to gain insights into the nature of metal production and its role in the major state apparatus. This will also provide clues to a better understanding of the development of technology and political economy in ancient Mesoamerica.

Advances in the Household Archaeology of Highland Mesoamerica

“…Finally, recent work on the Tarascan empire is helping differentiate domestic economies from the political economy of one of the most centralized polities to have arisen in Mesoamerica. While strong political oversight appears to have characterized most of Tarascan metallurgy, pottery production was likely organized at the household and neighborhood levels, motivated more by market demands (Hirshman 2008;Maldonado 2008).…”

Specialization of ceramic production: A sherd assemblage based analytic perspective

“…The emergence of the Tarascan state is marked by increased centralized control over the organization of the production and distribution of key artifact and economic categories, including organization of agricultural production and access to agriculture products (Cahue, 2001;Fisher et al, 1999), metallurgy (Maldonado, 2008;Pollard, 1987), and obsidian from certain sources (Pollard, 2003;Pollard and Vogel, 1993). The ethnohistoric literature also includes tribute lists, particularly of items brought into the basin (Relaciónes Geográficas, 1985).…”

Blowpipes and their metalworking applications: New evidence from Mayapán, Yucatán, Mexico

“…Certain aspects of the production process are more archaeologically visible than others, due to their differential preservation. Despite this, numerous studies, including our own, are finding evidence for the production process in evidence from prills [1][2][3], miscast artifacts [2][3][4], ingots [3,5], metallographic sections [1,6], metallurgical ceramics [4,[7][8][9], compositional data [1,3,5,6,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18], evidence of mining and smelting [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26], and molds for lost-wax ceramic cores [27].…”