Technology and Tradition in Mesoamerica After the Spanish Invasion - by Rani T Alexander (Hardcover)

About the Book

This impressive collection features the work of archaeologists who systematically explore the material and social consequences of new technological systems introduced after the sixteenth-century Spanish invasion in Mesoamerica.

Book Synopsis

This impressive collection features the work of archaeologists who systematically explore the material and social consequences of new technological systems introduced after the sixteenth-century Spanish invasion in Mesoamerica. It is the first collection to present case studies that show how both commonplace and capital-intensive technologies were intertwined with indigenous knowledge systems to reshape local, regional, and transoceanic ecologies, commodity chains, and political, social, and religious institutions across Mexico and Central America.

Review Quotes

"A worthy accompaniment to recent collections on the postcolonial archaeology of Mesoamerica. . . . The works presented in Technology and Tradition are a testament to how attention to things and contexts undervalued can inform not only the questions specific to a given site, but what we understand about the materiality--and experience--of longer-term and larger-scale processes such as settler colonialism and racial capitalism."--Tiffany C. Cain, Historical Archaeology

"The innovative archaeological histories of technology presented [in this volume] will position Mesoamerican historical archaeology as an emerging contributor to broader theoretical and methodological conversations in anthropology and archaeology, while speaking to themes in the archaeology of the contemporary past, industrial archaeology, archaeologies of capitalism and colonialism, and more."--Guido Pezzarossi, contributor to Archaeology of Culture Contact and Colonialism in Spanish and Portuguese America

"The volume represents an important contribution to a more sophisticated understanding of technological change in the Americas. It is of interest across the disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, art history, history, Latin American studies, and technology studies."--Deborah L. Nichols, Hispanic American Historical Review

"This fascinating edited volume offers a set of nine superbly focused studies by a talented group of archeologists examining the history of technology in Mesoamerica."--Edward (Ted) Beatty, Technology and Culture