Thread Production in Early Postclassic Coastal Oaxaca, Mexico: Technology, Intensity, and Gender

Abstract

Excavations at the site of Río Viejo in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico, yielded evidence of intensive cotton thread production during the Early Postclassic (a.d.975–1220). Spindle whorls were recovered in relatively large quantities in and around houses at Río Viejo, indicating that thread production was interspersed with other household activities and residents likely produced enough thread for local use and for export. Measurements of coastal spindle whorls show that the Río Viejo thread was unique compared to other coastal and highland sites in Oaxaca and Mesoamerica beyond. I argue that this uniqueness may in part stem from the particular variety of cotton that they were spinning, but also might reflect an interregional demand for their thread. The whorl data are presented in multiple ways to compare to other sites where intensive thread production has been proposed. Here, I discuss the problems inherent in whorl calculations and make a call for more standardized recording, ideally with volumetric density measures. In the final section of the paper, I use mortuary data and other lines of evidence to re-evaluate the ethnohistorically-documented relationship between women and textile production. In coastal Oaxaca, the evidence suggests that thread production was not linked to specific gender identities in a way that is marked archaeologically. Instead, adult members of households in coastal Oaxaca materially emphasized a shared group identity over any specific gender-based identities. The production of thread was a broadly shared household-level practice that involved multiple producers, which both created and reinforced social bonds between residents and provided Early Postclassic residents with secure and comfortable access to highland goods, paving the way for the more developed thread production industry in the Late Postclassic period.

The Artisan and the Tool: a Technological–Functional Analysis of Tlaxcallan Spindle Whorls

“…We have seen artisans from communities of the Sierra Norte de Puebla, Mexico, using this type of whorls for spinning wool with the supported technique. Other similar examples were photographed in Oaxaca by Irmgard Weitlaner-Johnson (1914-2011, and the images are available online from the Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova digital archive (see Weitlaner-Johnson n.d.).…”

“…These artefacts are commonly recovered in excavations and represent the most direct evidence of ancient textile manufacturing. Previous studies have analysed whorl attributes, mainly weight and size, associating them with particular fibre processing (e.g., Parsons 1972;Smith and Hirth 1988;Parsons and Parsons 1990;Brumfiel 1996;Nichols et al 2000;Ardren et al 2010;King 2011;Álvarez and May 2012;Carpenter et al 2012). Others (McCafferty and McCafferty 2000) have proposed typologies based on a more sophisticated analysis, using height to diameter ratio, weight and orifice diameter to explore possible different types of products spun with each type of whorl.…”

Political Transformations and the Everyday in Postclassic Oaxaca

“…The excavations at Río Viejo along with the regional survey data suggest little variation in wealth and status during the Early Postclassic period, although additional sampling is needed to confirm this pattern. Artifacts and features associated with the buildings indicate everyday domestic practices such as food processing and consumption, working of lithics, thread manufacture, ceramic production, bodily ornamentation, and domestic rituals (Arnaud et al 2009; Hedgepeth 2009; Joyce et al 2001; King 2003, 2011; Williams 2012). The evidence also shows that people participated in long-distance trade.…”

4 Remembering One and All: Early Postclassic Residential Burial in Coastal Oaxaca, Mexico

“…In these clustered neighborhoods, residents established a stable and enduring community based in part on the success of household social relationships, community‐wide religious rituals, and craft production focused on cloth, figurines, jewelry, musical instruments, and costume ornaments. Early Postclassic residents participated in interregional exchange networks that supplied coastal cotton thread to highland Oaxaca (King in press). In return, Río Viejo residents received obsidian from several different highland sources, which was manufactured into blade tools and used by every household in the community.…”