Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the role of caches, burials, and mortuary offerings as forms of inalienable wealth in the lower Río Verde valley of Pacific coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. Interred in socially meaningful places, bodies and objects were removed from circulation but remained integral to interactions among the living, acquiring “situational” inalienability. Tracing the history of caching and burial practices over the course of the later Formative period (400 B.C.E.–C.E. 250), we argue that these buried inalienable possessions were important elements of identity creation and also served both to establish and to undermine hierarchical social relations during the process of political centralization.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.