Negotiating Political Economy at Late Postclassic Tututepec (Yucu Dzaa), Oaxaca, Mexico

Scholarship of ancient Mesoamerica has traditionally focused on ruling institutions and elite culture, contributing to the often-unchallenged assumption that elites dominated their unwitting commoner subjects. Similarly, the political economy is typically conceived of as an exclusive product of elit...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:American Anthropologist. - American Anthropological Association, 1888. - 113(2011), 1, Seite 22-39
1. Verfasser: Levine, Marc N. (VerfasserIn)
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2011
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:American Anthropologist
Schlagworte:Economics Applied sciences Social sciences History Biological sciences Physical sciences Business
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Scholarship of ancient Mesoamerica has traditionally focused on ruling institutions and elite culture, contributing to the often-unchallenged assumption that elites dominated their unwitting commoner subjects. Similarly, the political economy is typically conceived of as an exclusive product of elite strategies. Researchers are now paying greater attention to commoner lives, yet many continue to think of social relationships dichotomously, in terms of elite domination and commoner resistance. I argue that an analysis of political economy through the lens of social negotiation, as informed by postructural theory, encourages more dynamic characterizations of commoner— elite social relationships. I utilize this approach to examine the political economy of Late Postclassic Tututepec (Oaxaca), drawing on the results of household excavations and ethnohistoric data. I argue that commoners may have negotiated a favorable position with Tututepec elites by offering their support in return for a range of benefits, including a measure of economic autonomy and wealth. Estudios de Mesoamérica antigua se han enfocado en las instituciones de gobernantes y cultura elitista. Esta mentalidad ha contribuido a la presunción que las élites dominan a los sujetos inconscientemente. Típicamente se concibe la economía política como un producto exclusivo de estrategias de las élites, investigadores han empezado a prestar atención a la vida plebeya, pero muchos siguen pensando en relaciones sociales dicotómicamente, en términos de dominación elitista y resistencia plebeya. Sostengo que el análisis de economía política con una mirada de negociación social, inspirado en la teoría posestructuralista, promueve caracterizaciones más dinámicas en los relatos entre plebeyos y elites. Utilizo este método al examinar la economía política posclásica tardía de Tututepec basada en resultados de excavaciones de habitaciones e información etnohistórica. Sostengo que los plebeyos pudieron haber negociado una posición favorable con las élites de Tututepec ofreciendo apoyo a cambio de beneficios, incluyendo medidas de autonomía económica y riqueza.
ISSN:15481433