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Michael W Spence

Biographic Data

ID217257
NAMEMichael W Spence
GIVEN NAMESMichael W
FAMILY NAMESpence
SIGNATURESPENCE M W
AFFILIATIONSWestern University
ORCID0000-0003-2180-6436
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS34
TOTAL CITATIONS636
AUTHOR COUNT34
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR1967
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2024
H-INDEX12
  • Teotihuacan site 19

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Sergio Gómez Chávez et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2024•Cited by: 1•References: 44

    Site E19 (19:N1W5), near Tlailotlacan, the “Zapotec Barrio” of Teotihuacan, contains evidence of both Tlailotlacan and Michoacan affiliation. To verify and better understand the Michoacan relationship, 22 enamel and 19 bone samples from five E19-affiliated burials were analyzed to determine their oxygen isotope compositions, which provide an indication of an individual's area of residence when that particular tissue was forming. Because prismatic…

  • The Skinner Burial of Ontario, Canada, and the Question of Paget’s Disease in the Americas

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, William A Fox et al.•ARTICLE•International Journal of…•2021

  • The Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Teotihuacan

    Open Access•T D Price, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2021•Cited by: 4•References: 39

    Continuing isotopic investigation of the sacrificial burials and trophies beneath the Feathered Serpent Pyramid (Temple of Quetzalcoatl) in ancient Teotihuacan, Mexico, has produced new results. Isotopic proveniencing using bioapatite strontium and structural carbonate oxygen isotopes in tooth enamel was applied to 39 samples, 24 from the sacrificial victims and 15 from the trophy jaws. Both the strontium and oxygen isotope ratios suggest that mo…

  • The Janulis Burial

    Michael W Spence, James R Keron•ARTICLE•Midcontinental Journal of…•2020•References: 52

    An amateur 1969 excavation at the Middle Archaic period Janulis site in Ontario unearthed the skeletal remains of three individuals and a dog. One of these, an adult female with an extensive offering, displayed several changes in the bones of her right arm and shoulder caused by the repetitive and intensive practice of an overhand throwing motion. The association of eight projectile points with her skeleton indicates that the activity was project…

  • San José 520

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Karyn C Olsen et al.•ARTICLE•Latin American Antiquity•2020•Cited by: 1•References: 33

    San José 520 is a Classic period hamlet of single-family residences in the urban periphery of Teotihuacan, just beyond the southeast edge of the city. Three burial features were associated with one of the residences, AF2. One of the features contained the burial of a single adult, another the successive burials of eight adults and one neonate, and the third held a neonate. We analyzed 29 bone and enamel samples from the adults for bioapatite phos…

  • The Identification and Assessment of Mortuary Features

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•Advances in Archaeological Practice•2017•References: 3

    The decision as to whether or not to excavate ancient Native mortuary features will require information on their extent and nature. This raises the question of how reliably these aspects can be assessed from the initial exposure of the feature, at its uppermost undisturbed level. In three Ontario cases in which the negotiators decided on full excavation of the features, it is possible to compare the initial assessments to the excavation results. …

  • Personal Art in Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2015•Cited by: 2•References: 15

    In the Classic period Teotihuacan imported large quantities of Thin Orange ware from the Tepexi de Rodríguez area of Puebla. Thin Orange bowls were widely distributed in the city, many of them with post-firing graffiti inscribed on their walls or bases. Although not highly visible, the graffiti seem to have served as owner's marks. Some of the images, particularly in the city's central zone with its high concentration of elite residences and publ…

  • Death and Disability in a Younge Phase Community

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Lana J Williams et al.•ARTICLE•American Antiquity•2014•References: 23

    Roffelsen is an early Younge phase mortuary component in southwestern Ontario. The single burial feature is a pit containing the articulated skeletons of seven successively buried individuals, ranging in age from a few months to late middle age. All had been stripped of soft tissues, except for the connecting tissues that maintained their articulation. Most also had a disk cut from the cranium and a hole drilled near bregma. All but the infant di…

  • An Archaeology of Cerro Portezuelo Bioarchaeology

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Christine D White et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2013•Cited by: 3•References: 25

    Only about 19 of the 70 or so skeletons excavated at Cerro Portezuelo were brought back to UCLA, and adequate information is lacking for most of these. A detailed analysis of the excavation and curation records, as well as of the skeletons, was conducted in an attempt to identify their contexts and to evaluate their potential for contribution to our knowledge of the Cerro Portezuelo community. Although subadult dental health was good, adult level…

  • Interaction among the Complex Societies of Classic-Period Mesoamerica

    Sergio Gómez Chávez, Michael W Spence•CHAPTER•The Oxford Handbook of…•2012

    This article reviews archaeological evidence of interactions among the complex societies of Mesoamerica in the Classic period. All of the Classic-period (250–900 ad) societies of Mesoamerica carried on trade and diplomatic exchanges with their neighbors, but some were also involved in direct contacts over much greater distances. Long-distance exchange was structured to a considerable degree by the diversity of natural environments and the variety…

  • Finding a Balance

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2012•References: 13

    The invitation to do this autobiographical article reached me on my seventieth birthday, catching me in an unusually reflective mood, so I decided to take a stab at it. If nothing else, I could honor my mentors, especially James Anderson and René Millon. Without them I might still be doing archaeology but it would be a very different sort of archaeology, probably not as good and certainly not as much fun. But I don't find this kind of writing eas…

  • Mesoamerican Bioarchaeology

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Christine D White•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2009•Cited by: 12

    Despite a long history of contributions by physical anthropologists to our understanding of the Mesoamerican past, it has only been over the past few decades that a closer relationship has developed between bioarchaeology and archaeology in the region. The next step should be the integration of bioarchaeologists in the planning as well as the execution of projects. In this review of the present status of bioarchaeology in Mesoamerica we examine i…

  • The Human Skeletal Remains of the Moon Pyramid, Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, G Pereira•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2007•Cited by: 13•References: 21

    Beginning with Building 4, each new version of the Moon Pyramid in Teotihuacan was initiated with a major sacrificial event. These events invariably included human victims, males ranging in age from about 14 to 60 or more years (Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) = 37). Many display cranial modification and dental decoration. In the earliest offering, Burial 2, the lone human was merely one element in a complex tableau. In subsequent sacrifices,…

  • Past Lives in Different Places

    Michael W Spence, Christine D White et al.•CHAPTER•Settlement, Subsistence, and…•2006

  • Demography and ethnic continuity in the Tlailotlacan enclave of Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Christine D White, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Anthropological…•2004

  • Victims of the Victims

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Christine D White et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2004•Cited by: 16•References: 43

    The large series of sacrificial victims excavated from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid (ca.a.d.200) includes 72 males identified as soldiers. Although most of these wore pendants of imitation human maxillae, four soldiers each had between seven and eleven real human maxillae. Dental dimensions indicate that most, and perhaps all, of these trophies were from males. Dental attrition levels suggest a broader and flatter age profile for the pendants th…

  • Immigration, Assimilation, and Status in the Ancient City of Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Christine D White, Rebecca Storey et al.•ARTICLE•Latin American Antiquity•2004•Cited by: 45•References: 53

    Stable carbon isotope ratios in bone collagen and oxygen isotope ratios in bone and enamel phosphate from 25 individuals from the residential compound of Tlajinga 33 were used to examine the possibility that the inhabitants, who were craft producers, may have accepted immigrants to maintain either their ability to reproduce themselves as a social group or their level of economic productivity. Bone δ18O and δ13C values provide a long-term picture …

  • Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica

    Linda A Brown, Susan D Gillepsie et al.•BOOK•Domestic Ritual in Ancient…•2002

  • Domestic Ritual in Tlailotlacan, Teotihuacan

    Michael W Spence•CHAPTER•2002

  • Geographic Identities of the Sacrificial Victims from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Christine D White, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Latin American Antiquity•2002•Cited by: 79•References: 42

    This study addresses the political and military structure of early Teotihuacan through the analysis of oxygen-isotope ratios in skeletal phosphate from 41 victims of a sacrifice associated with the Feathered Serpent Pyramid. Oxygen-isotope ratios are markers of geographic identity. A comparison of bone and enamel values, which provides a contrast between environments experienced during growth and those of adulthood, illustrates that at least four…

  • Testing the Nature of Teotihuacán Imperialism at Kaminaljuyú Using Phosphate Oxygen-Isotope Ratios

    Christine D White, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Anthropological Research•2000•Cited by: 49

    Oxygen-isotope ratios of enamel phosphate from a sample of first and third molars from burials in the important state of Kaminalijuyú, Guatemala, have been used to identify individuals who were born in foreign regions or who relocated during late childhood. The goal of this research is to clarify the nature of the influence exercised by the larger Mesoamerican state of Teotihuacán, Mexico. A baseline that is isotopically distinct from the Valley …

  • Oxygen Isotopes and the Identification of Geographical Origins

    Open Access•Christine D White, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Archaeological Science•1998•Cited by: 111•References: 2

  • Commodity or Gift

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•Latin American Antiquity•1996•Cited by: 50•References: 30

    Archaeologists have long noted the presence of green obsidian artifacts in a number of Maya sites and have recognized that they were manufactured from the obsidian of the Pachuca source in central Mexico. Viewed as evidence of Teotihuacán influence, these finds were initially explained in economic terms as commodities in an exchange of goods that had a substantial impact on the economies of the Maya and on the development of the obsidian industry…

  • Watering the Fields of Teotihuacan

    Open Access•D L Nichols, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•1991•Cited by: 9•References: 8

    Recent excavations in Tlailotlacan, the “Oaxaca barrio,” near the western periphery of the ancient city of Teotihuacan, revealed remains of irrigation features associated with the early history of the city. Small floodwater irrigation canals were found underneath a residential structure that had been occupied by Zapotec immigrants from Oaxaca. Radiocarbon dating, corroborated by ceramic evidence, places the earliest architecture in the Early Tlam…

  • The Economic Systems of Ancient Oaxaca

    A Kowalewski, Stephen A Kowalewski et al.•ARTICLE•Current Anthropology•1983•Cited by: 11

    Archaeological data from a regional settlement pattern survey of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, are used to monitor how scarce goods and resources were allocated to members of society through eight phases from 600 B.C. to A.D. 1520. The goal is to determine how distinct historical social structures performed economically in terms of the goods and resources recoverable archaeologically. Measures utilized include land use and settlement characterist…

Next
  • Oxygen Isotopes and the Identification of Geographical Origins

    Open Access•Christine D White, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Archaeological Science•1998•Cited by: 111•References: 2

  • Geographic Identities of the Sacrificial Victims from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Christine D White, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Latin American Antiquity•2002•Cited by: 79•References: 42

    This study addresses the political and military structure of early Teotihuacan through the analysis of oxygen-isotope ratios in skeletal phosphate from 41 victims of a sacrifice associated with the Feathered Serpent Pyramid. Oxygen-isotope ratios are markers of geographic identity. A comparison of bone and enamel values, which provides a contrast between environments experienced during growth and those of adulthood, illustrates that at least four…

  • Obsidian Production and the State in Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•American Antiquity•1981•Cited by: 56•References: 9

    Obsidian production was a major component of Classic period Teotihuacan's economy, with hundreds of workshops producing cores and blades of green obsidian and bifaces of grey obsidian for distribution throughout central Mexico. Although green obsidian was evidently obtained through a state network, grey obsidian procurement was conducted independently by most workshop groups. Most production took place in residential areas beyond the major public…

  • Behavioral Analysis and the Structure of a Prehistoric Industry [and Comments and Reply]

    Payson D Sheets, Payson Sheets et al.•ARTICLE•Current Anthropology•1975•Cited by: 53•References: 6

    Assuming that aboriginal behavior was recorded on chipped-stone implements and debitage, and assuming that the analyst can train himself to recognize and interpret that record, then a classification of lithic artifacts based on manufacturing behavior may be considered an inherent classification. Lithic behavioral classification is examined from the perspective of other archaeological classifications as well as from general taxonomic theory. Advan…

  • Commodity or Gift

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•Latin American Antiquity•1996•Cited by: 50•References: 30

    Archaeologists have long noted the presence of green obsidian artifacts in a number of Maya sites and have recognized that they were manufactured from the obsidian of the Pachuca source in central Mexico. Viewed as evidence of Teotihuacán influence, these finds were initially explained in economic terms as commodities in an exchange of goods that had a substantial impact on the economies of the Maya and on the development of the obsidian industry…

  • Testing the Nature of Teotihuacán Imperialism at Kaminaljuyú Using Phosphate Oxygen-Isotope Ratios

    Christine D White, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Anthropological Research•2000•Cited by: 49

    Oxygen-isotope ratios of enamel phosphate from a sample of first and third molars from burials in the important state of Kaminalijuyú, Guatemala, have been used to identify individuals who were born in foreign regions or who relocated during late childhood. The goal of this research is to clarify the nature of the influence exercised by the larger Mesoamerican state of Teotihuacán, Mexico. A baseline that is isotopically distinct from the Valley …

  • Immigration, Assimilation, and Status in the Ancient City of Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Christine D White, Rebecca Storey et al.•ARTICLE•Latin American Antiquity•2004•Cited by: 45•References: 53

    Stable carbon isotope ratios in bone collagen and oxygen isotope ratios in bone and enamel phosphate from 25 individuals from the residential compound of Tlajinga 33 were used to examine the possibility that the inhabitants, who were craft producers, may have accepted immigrants to maintain either their ability to reproduce themselves as a social group or their level of economic productivity. Bone δ18O and δ13C values provide a long-term picture …

  • Residential Practices and the Distribution of Skeletal Traits in Teotihuacan, Mexico

    Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•Man•1974•Cited by: 45

  • Miscellaneous Studies in Mexican Prehistory

    Michael W Spence, George Fraunfelter et al.•BOOK•Miscellaneous Studies in Mexican…•1972•Cited by: 28

    In this volume, the authors present research on three important classes of artifacts from Mexico: Michael W. Spence and Jeffrey R. Parsons report on prehispanic obsidian exploitation in Central Mexico and Mary Hrones Parsons writes about Aztec figurines and spindle whorls from the Teotihuacán Valley

  • The Obsidian Industry of Teotihuacán

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•American Antiquity•1967•Cited by: 27•References: 1

    Several areas with extensive obsidian-working debris on the surface have been found in Teotihuacán. These date from the Late Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic periods. During the Late Preclassic and Classic periods there seems to have been a continuous expansion of the city's obsidian industry, accompanied by an increasing trend toward specialization in certain of its aspects. It is probable that the introduction of some new markets, for examp…

  • Victims of the Victims

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Christine D White et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2004•Cited by: 16•References: 43

    The large series of sacrificial victims excavated from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid (ca.a.d.200) includes 72 males identified as soldiers. Although most of these wore pendants of imitation human maxillae, four soldiers each had between seven and eleven real human maxillae. Dental dimensions indicate that most, and perhaps all, of these trophies were from males. Dental attrition levels suggest a broader and flatter age profile for the pendants th…

  • The Human Skeletal Remains of the Moon Pyramid, Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, G Pereira•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2007•Cited by: 13•References: 21

    Beginning with Building 4, each new version of the Moon Pyramid in Teotihuacan was initiated with a major sacrificial event. These events invariably included human victims, males ranging in age from about 14 to 60 or more years (Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) = 37). Many display cranial modification and dental decoration. In the earliest offering, Burial 2, the lone human was merely one element in a complex tableau. In subsequent sacrifices,…

  • Mesoamerican Bioarchaeology

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Christine D White•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2009•Cited by: 12

    Despite a long history of contributions by physical anthropologists to our understanding of the Mesoamerican past, it has only been over the past few decades that a closer relationship has developed between bioarchaeology and archaeology in the region. The next step should be the integration of bioarchaeologists in the planning as well as the execution of projects. In this review of the present status of bioarchaeology in Mesoamerica we examine i…

  • The Economic Systems of Ancient Oaxaca

    A Kowalewski, Stephen A Kowalewski et al.•ARTICLE•Current Anthropology•1983•Cited by: 11

    Archaeological data from a regional settlement pattern survey of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, are used to monitor how scarce goods and resources were allocated to members of society through eight phases from 600 B.C. to A.D. 1520. The goal is to determine how distinct historical social structures performed economically in terms of the goods and resources recoverable archaeologically. Measures utilized include land use and settlement characterist…

  • Watering the Fields of Teotihuacan

    Open Access•D L Nichols, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•1991•Cited by: 9•References: 8

    Recent excavations in Tlailotlacan, the “Oaxaca barrio,” near the western periphery of the ancient city of Teotihuacan, revealed remains of irrigation features associated with the early history of the city. Small floodwater irrigation canals were found underneath a residential structure that had been occupied by Zapotec immigrants from Oaxaca. Radiocarbon dating, corroborated by ceramic evidence, places the earliest architecture in the Early Tlam…

  • Prehispanic Obsidian Mines in Southern Hidalgo

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Jeffrey R Parsons et al.•ARTICLE•American Antiquity•1967•Cited by: 9•References: 2

    The writers recently examined the famous Cerro de las Navajas obsidian mines described by William H. Holmes. Evidence was found there of extensive Aztec period working. The high proportion of mines to workshops suggests that the obsidian was only roughly processed at the mines, most of it having been carried elsewhere to be worked into final form

  • The study of residential practices among prehistoric hunters and gatherers

    Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•World Archaeology•1974•Cited by: 8•References: 13

    The post‐nuptial residential practices of hunting and gathering peoples have recently been the subject of some controversy. While some have maintained that prehistoric hunters and gatherers were probably virilocal for the most part, other investigators believe that a more flexible approach to residence would have been adaptively favourable. Because of the contact period disruption of these societies, the answers to such questions will depend larg…

  • The Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Teotihuacan

    Open Access•T D Price, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2021•Cited by: 4•References: 39

    Continuing isotopic investigation of the sacrificial burials and trophies beneath the Feathered Serpent Pyramid (Temple of Quetzalcoatl) in ancient Teotihuacan, Mexico, has produced new results. Isotopic proveniencing using bioapatite strontium and structural carbonate oxygen isotopes in tooth enamel was applied to 39 samples, 24 from the sacrificial victims and 15 from the trophy jaws. Both the strontium and oxygen isotope ratios suggest that mo…

  • Trilobal Eccentrics at Teotihuacan and Tula

    Open Access•Terrance L Stocker, Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•American Antiquity•1973•Cited by: 4•References: 5

    M-shaped eccentrics at Teotihuacan and Tula are interpreted as being the trilobal element, a symbol for water and blood. This element, represented in chipped stone, mural art, and low relief carving at both sites, argues for considerable cultural continuity between Teotihuacan and Tula. Not only the symbol, but to some degree its socio-ideological context, must have persisted from Teotihuacan times into the late Toltec period

  • An Archaeology of Cerro Portezuelo Bioarchaeology

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Christine D White et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2013•Cited by: 3•References: 25

    Only about 19 of the 70 or so skeletons excavated at Cerro Portezuelo were brought back to UCLA, and adequate information is lacking for most of these. A detailed analysis of the excavation and curation records, as well as of the skeletons, was conducted in an attempt to identify their contexts and to evaluate their potential for contribution to our knowledge of the Cerro Portezuelo community. Although subadult dental health was good, adult level…

  • Personal Art in Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2015•Cited by: 2•References: 15

    In the Classic period Teotihuacan imported large quantities of Thin Orange ware from the Tepexi de Rodríguez area of Puebla. Thin Orange bowls were widely distributed in the city, many of them with post-firing graffiti inscribed on their walls or bases. Although not highly visible, the graffiti seem to have served as owner's marks. Some of the images, particularly in the city's central zone with its high concentration of elite residences and publ…

  • Teotihuacan site 19

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Sergio Gómez Chávez et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2024•Cited by: 1•References: 44

    Site E19 (19:N1W5), near Tlailotlacan, the “Zapotec Barrio” of Teotihuacan, contains evidence of both Tlailotlacan and Michoacan affiliation. To verify and better understand the Michoacan relationship, 22 enamel and 19 bone samples from five E19-affiliated burials were analyzed to determine their oxygen isotope compositions, which provide an indication of an individual's area of residence when that particular tissue was forming. Because prismatic…

  • San José 520

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Karyn C Olsen et al.•ARTICLE•Latin American Antiquity•2020•Cited by: 1•References: 33

    San José 520 is a Classic period hamlet of single-family residences in the urban periphery of Teotihuacan, just beyond the southeast edge of the city. Three burial features were associated with one of the residences, AF2. One of the features contained the burial of a single adult, another the successive burials of eight adults and one neonate, and the third held a neonate. We analyzed 29 bone and enamel samples from the adults for bioapatite phos…

  • Prehispanic Obsidian Mines in Southern Hidalgo

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Jeffrey R Parsons et al.•ARTICLE•American Antiquity•1967•Cited by: 9•References: 2

    The writers recently examined the famous Cerro de las Navajas obsidian mines described by William H. Holmes. Evidence was found there of extensive Aztec period working. The high proportion of mines to workshops suggests that the obsidian was only roughly processed at the mines, most of it having been carried elsewhere to be worked into final form

  • The Obsidian Industry of Teotihuacán

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•American Antiquity•1967•Cited by: 27•References: 1

    Several areas with extensive obsidian-working debris on the surface have been found in Teotihuacán. These date from the Late Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic periods. During the Late Preclassic and Classic periods there seems to have been a continuous expansion of the city's obsidian industry, accompanied by an increasing trend toward specialization in certain of its aspects. It is probable that the introduction of some new markets, for examp…

  • Miscellaneous Studies in Mexican Prehistory

    Michael W Spence, George Fraunfelter et al.•BOOK•Miscellaneous Studies in Mexican…•1972•Cited by: 28

    In this volume, the authors present research on three important classes of artifacts from Mexico: Michael W. Spence and Jeffrey R. Parsons report on prehispanic obsidian exploitation in Central Mexico and Mary Hrones Parsons writes about Aztec figurines and spindle whorls from the Teotihuacán Valley

  • Trilobal Eccentrics at Teotihuacan and Tula

    Open Access•Terrance L Stocker, Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•American Antiquity•1973•Cited by: 4•References: 5

    M-shaped eccentrics at Teotihuacan and Tula are interpreted as being the trilobal element, a symbol for water and blood. This element, represented in chipped stone, mural art, and low relief carving at both sites, argues for considerable cultural continuity between Teotihuacan and Tula. Not only the symbol, but to some degree its socio-ideological context, must have persisted from Teotihuacan times into the late Toltec period

  • The study of residential practices among prehistoric hunters and gatherers

    Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•World Archaeology•1974•Cited by: 8•References: 13

    The post‐nuptial residential practices of hunting and gathering peoples have recently been the subject of some controversy. While some have maintained that prehistoric hunters and gatherers were probably virilocal for the most part, other investigators believe that a more flexible approach to residence would have been adaptively favourable. Because of the contact period disruption of these societies, the answers to such questions will depend larg…

  • Residential Practices and the Distribution of Skeletal Traits in Teotihuacan, Mexico

    Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•Man•1974•Cited by: 45

  • Behavioral Analysis and the Structure of a Prehistoric Industry [and Comments and Reply]

    Payson D Sheets, Payson Sheets et al.•ARTICLE•Current Anthropology•1975•Cited by: 53•References: 6

    Assuming that aboriginal behavior was recorded on chipped-stone implements and debitage, and assuming that the analyst can train himself to recognize and interpret that record, then a classification of lithic artifacts based on manufacturing behavior may be considered an inherent classification. Lithic behavioral classification is examined from the perspective of other archaeological classifications as well as from general taxonomic theory. Advan…

  • Obsidian Production and the State in Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•American Antiquity•1981•Cited by: 56•References: 9

    Obsidian production was a major component of Classic period Teotihuacan's economy, with hundreds of workshops producing cores and blades of green obsidian and bifaces of grey obsidian for distribution throughout central Mexico. Although green obsidian was evidently obtained through a state network, grey obsidian procurement was conducted independently by most workshop groups. Most production took place in residential areas beyond the major public…

  • On Aztec Specialization and Exchange

    Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•Current Anthropology•1981

  • The Economic Systems of Ancient Oaxaca

    A Kowalewski, Stephen A Kowalewski et al.•ARTICLE•Current Anthropology•1983•Cited by: 11

    Archaeological data from a regional settlement pattern survey of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, are used to monitor how scarce goods and resources were allocated to members of society through eight phases from 600 B.C. to A.D. 1520. The goal is to determine how distinct historical social structures performed economically in terms of the goods and resources recoverable archaeologically. Measures utilized include land use and settlement characterist…

  • Watering the Fields of Teotihuacan

    Open Access•D L Nichols, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•1991•Cited by: 9•References: 8

    Recent excavations in Tlailotlacan, the “Oaxaca barrio,” near the western periphery of the ancient city of Teotihuacan, revealed remains of irrigation features associated with the early history of the city. Small floodwater irrigation canals were found underneath a residential structure that had been occupied by Zapotec immigrants from Oaxaca. Radiocarbon dating, corroborated by ceramic evidence, places the earliest architecture in the Early Tlam…

  • Commodity or Gift

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•Latin American Antiquity•1996•Cited by: 50•References: 30

    Archaeologists have long noted the presence of green obsidian artifacts in a number of Maya sites and have recognized that they were manufactured from the obsidian of the Pachuca source in central Mexico. Viewed as evidence of Teotihuacán influence, these finds were initially explained in economic terms as commodities in an exchange of goods that had a substantial impact on the economies of the Maya and on the development of the obsidian industry…

  • Oxygen Isotopes and the Identification of Geographical Origins

    Open Access•Christine D White, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Archaeological Science•1998•Cited by: 111•References: 2

  • Testing the Nature of Teotihuacán Imperialism at Kaminaljuyú Using Phosphate Oxygen-Isotope Ratios

    Christine D White, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Anthropological Research•2000•Cited by: 49

    Oxygen-isotope ratios of enamel phosphate from a sample of first and third molars from burials in the important state of Kaminalijuyú, Guatemala, have been used to identify individuals who were born in foreign regions or who relocated during late childhood. The goal of this research is to clarify the nature of the influence exercised by the larger Mesoamerican state of Teotihuacán, Mexico. A baseline that is isotopically distinct from the Valley …

  • Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica

    Linda A Brown, Susan D Gillepsie et al.•BOOK•Domestic Ritual in Ancient…•2002

  • Domestic Ritual in Tlailotlacan, Teotihuacan

    Michael W Spence•CHAPTER•2002

  • Geographic Identities of the Sacrificial Victims from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Christine D White, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Latin American Antiquity•2002•Cited by: 79•References: 42

    This study addresses the political and military structure of early Teotihuacan through the analysis of oxygen-isotope ratios in skeletal phosphate from 41 victims of a sacrifice associated with the Feathered Serpent Pyramid. Oxygen-isotope ratios are markers of geographic identity. A comparison of bone and enamel values, which provides a contrast between environments experienced during growth and those of adulthood, illustrates that at least four…

  • Demography and ethnic continuity in the Tlailotlacan enclave of Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Christine D White, Michael W Spence et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Anthropological…•2004

  • Victims of the Victims

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Christine D White et al.•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2004•Cited by: 16•References: 43

    The large series of sacrificial victims excavated from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid (ca.a.d.200) includes 72 males identified as soldiers. Although most of these wore pendants of imitation human maxillae, four soldiers each had between seven and eleven real human maxillae. Dental dimensions indicate that most, and perhaps all, of these trophies were from males. Dental attrition levels suggest a broader and flatter age profile for the pendants th…

  • Immigration, Assimilation, and Status in the Ancient City of Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Christine D White, Rebecca Storey et al.•ARTICLE•Latin American Antiquity•2004•Cited by: 45•References: 53

    Stable carbon isotope ratios in bone collagen and oxygen isotope ratios in bone and enamel phosphate from 25 individuals from the residential compound of Tlajinga 33 were used to examine the possibility that the inhabitants, who were craft producers, may have accepted immigrants to maintain either their ability to reproduce themselves as a social group or their level of economic productivity. Bone δ18O and δ13C values provide a long-term picture …

  • Past Lives in Different Places

    Michael W Spence, Christine D White et al.•CHAPTER•Settlement, Subsistence, and…•2006

  • The Human Skeletal Remains of the Moon Pyramid, Teotihuacan

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, G Pereira•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2007•Cited by: 13•References: 21

    Beginning with Building 4, each new version of the Moon Pyramid in Teotihuacan was initiated with a major sacrificial event. These events invariably included human victims, males ranging in age from about 14 to 60 or more years (Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) = 37). Many display cranial modification and dental decoration. In the earliest offering, Burial 2, the lone human was merely one element in a complex tableau. In subsequent sacrifices,…

  • Mesoamerican Bioarchaeology

    Open Access•Michael W Spence, Christine D White•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2009•Cited by: 12

    Despite a long history of contributions by physical anthropologists to our understanding of the Mesoamerican past, it has only been over the past few decades that a closer relationship has developed between bioarchaeology and archaeology in the region. The next step should be the integration of bioarchaeologists in the planning as well as the execution of projects. In this review of the present status of bioarchaeology in Mesoamerica we examine i…

  • Interaction among the Complex Societies of Classic-Period Mesoamerica

    Sergio Gómez Chávez, Michael W Spence•CHAPTER•The Oxford Handbook of…•2012

    This article reviews archaeological evidence of interactions among the complex societies of Mesoamerica in the Classic period. All of the Classic-period (250–900 ad) societies of Mesoamerica carried on trade and diplomatic exchanges with their neighbors, but some were also involved in direct contacts over much greater distances. Long-distance exchange was structured to a considerable degree by the diversity of natural environments and the variety…

  • Finding a Balance

    Open Access•Michael W Spence•ARTICLE•Ancient Mesoamerica•2012•References: 13

    The invitation to do this autobiographical article reached me on my seventieth birthday, catching me in an unusually reflective mood, so I decided to take a stab at it. If nothing else, I could honor my mentors, especially James Anderson and René Millon. Without them I might still be doing archaeology but it would be a very different sort of archaeology, probably not as good and certainly not as much fun. But I don't find this kind of writing eas…

Archaeology (29 works) · Geography (28 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (26 works) · History (22 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (13 works) · Latin American history and culture (13 works) · Art (10 works) · History (10 works) · Political science (8 works) · Demography (7 works)

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