Commoner Power: A Case Study from the Classic Period Collapse on the Oaxaca Coast

Authors: Joyce A.A.¹; Bustamante L.A.²; Levine M.N.¹

Source: Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 8, Number 4, December 2001 , pp. 343-385(43)

Publisher: Springer

Abstract:

This article argues that the agency of commoners has not been adequately theorized in archaeological studies of the political dynamics of complex societies. Recent developments in social theory emphasize that political relations are produced through social negotiations involving commoners as well as elites. This paper considers the role of commoners in the Classic period collapse in the lower Río Verde Valley, Oaxaca, Mexico. Regional survey and excavation data demonstrate that the Classic-to-Postclassic transition was marked by dramatic changes in settlement patterns and sociopolitical organization, including the decline of the Late Classic regional center of Río Viejo. The research indicates that rather than passively reacting to the sociopolitical developments of the Classic-to-Postclassic transition, commoners actively rejected many of the ruling institutions and symbols that were central to the dominant ideology of the Late Classic state. Early Postclassic people reused and reinterpreted the sacred spaces and objects of the Río Viejo state such as carved stone monuments and public buildings. The evidence from the lower Verde is examined in the context of an emerging theoretical perspective in archaeology that considers commoner power. We argue that commoners contribute to the social negotiation of dominant discourses through three overlapping forms of social interaction: engagement, avoidance, and resistance.

Keywords: social theory; commoners; resistance; collapse

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 2: Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Periférico Sur y Zapote s/n, Col. Isidro Fabela, D.F., México

Publication date: 2001-12-01

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Anthropology & Archeology
• By this author: Joyce A.A. ;  Bustamante L.A. ;  Levine M.N.

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers