Teotihuacan and Middle Classic Mesoamerica: A Precolumbian World System?
Author(s)
Santley, Robert; Alexander, Rani
Abstract
Attempts to examine the degree of fit between the various world systems formulations (like Wallerstein’s model) and archaeological cases of interregional interactions have largely been approached by a mechanical “plugging in” of limited amounts of archaeological data to the model, but the necessary linkages between archaeological observations and political economic structures have not been subjected to rigorous scrutiny. The purpose of this paper is to apply various world systems models to Middle Classic Mesoamerica in an attempt to describe variation in core-periphery structure throughout the region during the period. The focal point of the study is Teotihuacan, the principal archaeological site in Mesoamerica during the Middle Classic Period. The conclusion of this study is that the world system that Teotihuacan dominated was probably organized as a dendritic political economy, but that it was much smaller in scale than previously supposed.
