Lisa Overholtzer
Biographic Data
| ID | 149659 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Lisa Overholtzer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Lisa |
| FAMILY NAME | Overholtzer |
| SIGNATURE | OVERHOLTZER L |
| AFFILIATIONS | McGill University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5079-8394 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 211 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 9 |
Changing the Landscape of Archaeological Publishing
Disseminating research is a key component of scholarly labor, but the costs and benefits of the current structure of academic publishing are underexamined within anthropology. This paper brings together a range of authors from across archaeology and cultural anthropology to summarize current issues in archaeological publishing and offer potential interventions at multiple scales. The paper is divided into five core topics. “Ideology” discusses th…
A 'Leaky' Pipeline and Chilly Climate in Archaeology in Canada - Corrigendum
A 'Leaky' Pipeline and Chilly Climate in Archaeology in Canada
This article quantifies the rate at which women archaeologists are present and retained in university departments. Drawing on publicly available data, we examine gender representation in (1) doctorates earned between 2002-2003 and 2016-2017; (2) Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant applications and awards at the doctoral to senior levels between 2003 and 2017; (3) tenure-stream faculty at Canadian universities in 2019; an…
Aztec black-on-orange and redware pottery production from the Middle Postclassic to early Colonial period
Commodity Chains in Archaeological Research
Letting skeletons out of the closet
In the wake of Native North American activism and moves to decolonize archaeology, some academics have begun to avoid displaying human remains. Though recent World Archaeological Congress accords detail a consent process for ethical display, some journals, museums, and individual scholars have blanket policies covering even those remains whose descendants favour display. This article examines one context affected by these policies: the central Me…
The Archaeology of Commoner Social Memories and Legitimizing Histories
A Multiscalar Approach to Migration and Social Change at Middle Postclassic Xaltocan
Ethnohistoric documents characterize the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in central Mexico as an era of endemic warfare and mass migration, processes that archaeologists have causally related to the development of the Aztec Empire. In this paper, we explore a striking transition in this dynamic, but poorly understood period at the Otomi capital of Xaltocan. The archaeological record reveals that with the adoption of Aztec II Black-on-Orange p…
Abstracts ‐ AAPA Presentations
Spanish colonialism had profound genetic effects on native populations in central Mexico. Previous studies have shown that gene flow from Spanish colonists and African slaves introduced new genetic variants into indigenous populations, but the magnitude of this genetic impact likely varied across communities. While Spanish colonists interacted extensively with some indigenous communities, other communities had much less direct contact. Spanish co…
The Field Crew Symposium
In recent years, scholars have convincingly argued, on both ethical and epistemic grounds, for the need for archaeological research “with, for, and by” descendant communities. Realizing such collaborative projects, however, is often challenging, and the prospect of beginning such an endeavor intimidating. This article shares a successful methodology implemented in the Xaltocan Archaeological Project (PAX) carried out in 2009–2011 in Mexico. This …
The Materiality of Everyday Life
This volume explores the analytical productivity of the convergence of two bodies of theory: materiality, defined here as the mutually constitutive relationships between people and the material world, and everyday life, conceived of as the ordinary practices that comprise most of human existence. An engagement with materiality and everyday life reveals three interventions critical to archaeological research. First, archaeological studies of the s…
Dwelling on the Past
This chapter explores the materiality of dwelling on the remains of the past at Postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico, using household archaeology evidence. Such continued occupation in place evinced not only practical concerns of flood control, but also materialized an ethos of repetition and duplication in which reiterative practices created a ritually charged place, an ethos also seen at monumental sites such as the Aztec Templo Mayor. Dwelling on the …
Agency, practice, and chronological context
A New Bayesian Chronology for Postclassic and Colonial Occupation at Xaltocan, Mexico
This article proposes a new four-phase chronology for Postclassic and colonial occupation at Xaltocan, Mexico, using Bayesian statistical modeling of a suite of 54 radiometric dates. Of these, 46 samples come from recent extensive excavations of sealed, stratified household deposits, facilitating improved understanding of sample context and resulting in a more accurate chronology. The timing of the adoption of major ceramic wares at the site and …
Everyday Action and the Rise and Decline of Ancient Polities
Household archaeology conducted at the site of Xaltocan, an important regional center in the northern Basin of Mexico, illustrates how the everyday actions of ordinary people contribute to the rise and decline of ancient polities. Through a study of long-term change and variation from multiple household contexts, this article reconstructs how the economic and political activities of ordinary households were central to the construction and reprodu…
Taken with a Grain of Salt
Archaeological Interpretation and the Rewriting of History
In this case study of the Aztec imperial transition at Xaltocan, Mexico, I argue that the same rewriting of history and misrepresentation of subjugated peoples that postcolonial scholars attribute to Western colonialism also happened in non-Western imperial contexts. Moreover, I suggest that a focus on historically documented transitions has obscured other more significant social changes; our research questions have been structured by the very ex…
The genetic impact of aztec imperialism
In AD 1428, the city‐states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan formed the Triple Alliance, laying the foundations of the Aztec empire. Although it is well documented that the Aztecs annexed numerous polities in the Basin of Mexico over the following years, the demographic consequences of this expansion remain unclear. At the city‐state capital of Xaltocan, 16th century documents suggest that the site's conquest and subsequent incorporation in…
So That the Baby Not Be Formed Like a Pottery Rattle
This paper examines the materiality—or the mutually constitutive relationships between people and things—of Aztec rattle figurines in order to shed light on household ritual life in Postclassic central Mexico. By examining iconographic, archaeological, and ethnohistoric evidence, I argue that these figurines were actively used in household healing rituals concerning successful biological and social reproduction, comprised of the work, relationshi…
Bonds of Blood
Tlaxcallan
Arguing from the overall settlement plan and the form of buildings, the authors present a persuasive case that the Late Postclassic city of Tlaxcallan and its near neighbour Tizatlan constitute the central elements of a republican state. This is an unusual political prescription, not only in Mesoamerica but further afield
Merging the social and the material
This article proposes a way to bridge the chasm dividing archaeological studies of material properties and materials analyses from those of materiality, i.e. the mutually constitutive relationships between people and objects. This approach is demonstrated through the reconstruction of the life histories of curated figurines from Xaltocan, Mexico. Critical to this inquiry is an understanding of the material properties of the figurines - including …
Tlaxcallan
Arguing from the overall settlement plan and the form of buildings, the authors present a persuasive case that the Late Postclassic city of Tlaxcallan and its near neighbour Tizatlan constitute the central elements of a republican state. This is an unusual political prescription, not only in Mesoamerica but further afield
Archaeological Interpretation and the Rewriting of History
In this case study of the Aztec imperial transition at Xaltocan, Mexico, I argue that the same rewriting of history and misrepresentation of subjugated peoples that postcolonial scholars attribute to Western colonialism also happened in non-Western imperial contexts. Moreover, I suggest that a focus on historically documented transitions has obscured other more significant social changes; our research questions have been structured by the very ex…
The genetic impact of aztec imperialism
In AD 1428, the city‐states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan formed the Triple Alliance, laying the foundations of the Aztec empire. Although it is well documented that the Aztecs annexed numerous polities in the Basin of Mexico over the following years, the demographic consequences of this expansion remain unclear. At the city‐state capital of Xaltocan, 16th century documents suggest that the site's conquest and subsequent incorporation in…
Everyday Action and the Rise and Decline of Ancient Polities
Household archaeology conducted at the site of Xaltocan, an important regional center in the northern Basin of Mexico, illustrates how the everyday actions of ordinary people contribute to the rise and decline of ancient polities. Through a study of long-term change and variation from multiple household contexts, this article reconstructs how the economic and political activities of ordinary households were central to the construction and reprodu…
Agency, practice, and chronological context
Taken with a Grain of Salt
A 'Leaky' Pipeline and Chilly Climate in Archaeology in Canada
This article quantifies the rate at which women archaeologists are present and retained in university departments. Drawing on publicly available data, we examine gender representation in (1) doctorates earned between 2002-2003 and 2016-2017; (2) Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant applications and awards at the doctoral to senior levels between 2003 and 2017; (3) tenure-stream faculty at Canadian universities in 2019; an…
A New Bayesian Chronology for Postclassic and Colonial Occupation at Xaltocan, Mexico
This article proposes a new four-phase chronology for Postclassic and colonial occupation at Xaltocan, Mexico, using Bayesian statistical modeling of a suite of 54 radiometric dates. Of these, 46 samples come from recent extensive excavations of sealed, stratified household deposits, facilitating improved understanding of sample context and resulting in a more accurate chronology. The timing of the adoption of major ceramic wares at the site and …
Merging the social and the material
This article proposes a way to bridge the chasm dividing archaeological studies of material properties and materials analyses from those of materiality, i.e. the mutually constitutive relationships between people and objects. This approach is demonstrated through the reconstruction of the life histories of curated figurines from Xaltocan, Mexico. Critical to this inquiry is an understanding of the material properties of the figurines - including …
Letting skeletons out of the closet
In the wake of Native North American activism and moves to decolonize archaeology, some academics have begun to avoid displaying human remains. Though recent World Archaeological Congress accords detail a consent process for ethical display, some journals, museums, and individual scholars have blanket policies covering even those remains whose descendants favour display. This article examines one context affected by these policies: the central Me…
The Archaeology of Commoner Social Memories and Legitimizing Histories
A Multiscalar Approach to Migration and Social Change at Middle Postclassic Xaltocan
Ethnohistoric documents characterize the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in central Mexico as an era of endemic warfare and mass migration, processes that archaeologists have causally related to the development of the Aztec Empire. In this paper, we explore a striking transition in this dynamic, but poorly understood period at the Otomi capital of Xaltocan. The archaeological record reveals that with the adoption of Aztec II Black-on-Orange p…
The Field Crew Symposium
In recent years, scholars have convincingly argued, on both ethical and epistemic grounds, for the need for archaeological research “with, for, and by” descendant communities. Realizing such collaborative projects, however, is often challenging, and the prospect of beginning such an endeavor intimidating. This article shares a successful methodology implemented in the Xaltocan Archaeological Project (PAX) carried out in 2009–2011 in Mexico. This …
The Materiality of Everyday Life
This volume explores the analytical productivity of the convergence of two bodies of theory: materiality, defined here as the mutually constitutive relationships between people and the material world, and everyday life, conceived of as the ordinary practices that comprise most of human existence. An engagement with materiality and everyday life reveals three interventions critical to archaeological research. First, archaeological studies of the s…
Commodity Chains in Archaeological Research
Dwelling on the Past
This chapter explores the materiality of dwelling on the remains of the past at Postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico, using household archaeology evidence. Such continued occupation in place evinced not only practical concerns of flood control, but also materialized an ethos of repetition and duplication in which reiterative practices created a ritually charged place, an ethos also seen at monumental sites such as the Aztec Templo Mayor. Dwelling on the …
So That the Baby Not Be Formed Like a Pottery Rattle
This paper examines the materiality—or the mutually constitutive relationships between people and things—of Aztec rattle figurines in order to shed light on household ritual life in Postclassic central Mexico. By examining iconographic, archaeological, and ethnohistoric evidence, I argue that these figurines were actively used in household healing rituals concerning successful biological and social reproduction, comprised of the work, relationshi…
A 'Leaky' Pipeline and Chilly Climate in Archaeology in Canada - Corrigendum
Bonds of Blood
Tlaxcallan
Arguing from the overall settlement plan and the form of buildings, the authors present a persuasive case that the Late Postclassic city of Tlaxcallan and its near neighbour Tizatlan constitute the central elements of a republican state. This is an unusual political prescription, not only in Mesoamerica but further afield
Merging the social and the material
This article proposes a way to bridge the chasm dividing archaeological studies of material properties and materials analyses from those of materiality, i.e. the mutually constitutive relationships between people and objects. This approach is demonstrated through the reconstruction of the life histories of curated figurines from Xaltocan, Mexico. Critical to this inquiry is an understanding of the material properties of the figurines - including …
The genetic impact of aztec imperialism
In AD 1428, the city‐states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan formed the Triple Alliance, laying the foundations of the Aztec empire. Although it is well documented that the Aztecs annexed numerous polities in the Basin of Mexico over the following years, the demographic consequences of this expansion remain unclear. At the city‐state capital of Xaltocan, 16th century documents suggest that the site's conquest and subsequent incorporation in…
So That the Baby Not Be Formed Like a Pottery Rattle
This paper examines the materiality—or the mutually constitutive relationships between people and things—of Aztec rattle figurines in order to shed light on household ritual life in Postclassic central Mexico. By examining iconographic, archaeological, and ethnohistoric evidence, I argue that these figurines were actively used in household healing rituals concerning successful biological and social reproduction, comprised of the work, relationshi…
Taken with a Grain of Salt
Archaeological Interpretation and the Rewriting of History
In this case study of the Aztec imperial transition at Xaltocan, Mexico, I argue that the same rewriting of history and misrepresentation of subjugated peoples that postcolonial scholars attribute to Western colonialism also happened in non-Western imperial contexts. Moreover, I suggest that a focus on historically documented transitions has obscured other more significant social changes; our research questions have been structured by the very ex…
A New Bayesian Chronology for Postclassic and Colonial Occupation at Xaltocan, Mexico
This article proposes a new four-phase chronology for Postclassic and colonial occupation at Xaltocan, Mexico, using Bayesian statistical modeling of a suite of 54 radiometric dates. Of these, 46 samples come from recent extensive excavations of sealed, stratified household deposits, facilitating improved understanding of sample context and resulting in a more accurate chronology. The timing of the adoption of major ceramic wares at the site and …
Everyday Action and the Rise and Decline of Ancient Polities
Household archaeology conducted at the site of Xaltocan, an important regional center in the northern Basin of Mexico, illustrates how the everyday actions of ordinary people contribute to the rise and decline of ancient polities. Through a study of long-term change and variation from multiple household contexts, this article reconstructs how the economic and political activities of ordinary households were central to the construction and reprodu…
Abstracts ‐ AAPA Presentations
Spanish colonialism had profound genetic effects on native populations in central Mexico. Previous studies have shown that gene flow from Spanish colonists and African slaves introduced new genetic variants into indigenous populations, but the magnitude of this genetic impact likely varied across communities. While Spanish colonists interacted extensively with some indigenous communities, other communities had much less direct contact. Spanish co…
The Field Crew Symposium
In recent years, scholars have convincingly argued, on both ethical and epistemic grounds, for the need for archaeological research “with, for, and by” descendant communities. Realizing such collaborative projects, however, is often challenging, and the prospect of beginning such an endeavor intimidating. This article shares a successful methodology implemented in the Xaltocan Archaeological Project (PAX) carried out in 2009–2011 in Mexico. This …
The Materiality of Everyday Life
This volume explores the analytical productivity of the convergence of two bodies of theory: materiality, defined here as the mutually constitutive relationships between people and the material world, and everyday life, conceived of as the ordinary practices that comprise most of human existence. An engagement with materiality and everyday life reveals three interventions critical to archaeological research. First, archaeological studies of the s…
Dwelling on the Past
This chapter explores the materiality of dwelling on the remains of the past at Postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico, using household archaeology evidence. Such continued occupation in place evinced not only practical concerns of flood control, but also materialized an ethos of repetition and duplication in which reiterative practices created a ritually charged place, an ethos also seen at monumental sites such as the Aztec Templo Mayor. Dwelling on the …
Agency, practice, and chronological context
A Multiscalar Approach to Migration and Social Change at Middle Postclassic Xaltocan
Ethnohistoric documents characterize the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in central Mexico as an era of endemic warfare and mass migration, processes that archaeologists have causally related to the development of the Aztec Empire. In this paper, we explore a striking transition in this dynamic, but poorly understood period at the Otomi capital of Xaltocan. The archaeological record reveals that with the adoption of Aztec II Black-on-Orange p…
The Archaeology of Commoner Social Memories and Legitimizing Histories
Letting skeletons out of the closet
In the wake of Native North American activism and moves to decolonize archaeology, some academics have begun to avoid displaying human remains. Though recent World Archaeological Congress accords detail a consent process for ethical display, some journals, museums, and individual scholars have blanket policies covering even those remains whose descendants favour display. This article examines one context affected by these policies: the central Me…
Commodity Chains in Archaeological Research
Aztec black-on-orange and redware pottery production from the Middle Postclassic to early Colonial period
A 'Leaky' Pipeline and Chilly Climate in Archaeology in Canada - Corrigendum
A 'Leaky' Pipeline and Chilly Climate in Archaeology in Canada
This article quantifies the rate at which women archaeologists are present and retained in university departments. Drawing on publicly available data, we examine gender representation in (1) doctorates earned between 2002-2003 and 2016-2017; (2) Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant applications and awards at the doctoral to senior levels between 2003 and 2017; (3) tenure-stream faculty at Canadian universities in 2019; an…
Changing the Landscape of Archaeological Publishing
Disseminating research is a key component of scholarly labor, but the costs and benefits of the current structure of academic publishing are underexamined within anthropology. This paper brings together a range of authors from across archaeology and cultural anthropology to summarize current issues in archaeological publishing and offer potential interventions at multiple scales. The paper is divided into five core topics. “Ideology” discusses th…
Archaeology (17 works) · History (17 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (15 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Political science (12 works) · History (10 works) · Geography (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Politics (9 works) · Art (7 works)