Detecting Ethnicity at Teotihuacan through Archaeology

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to explore the complex issue of ethnic identity in the context of Classic period Mesoamerica at the urban center of Teotihuacan. Teothihuacan, located in the central highlands region of Mexico, has revealed invaluable information regarding the nature of the formation and maintainence of ethnicity and ethnic identity during the Classic period. During its peak, Teotihuacan housed a number of foreign populations, including groups with ties to Oaxaca, the Gulf Coast, the Maya region, and Michoacán. While evidence for the first three is well documented, the Michoacán presence at Teotihuacan has been for less straightforward. The major goal of this research was to explore the complex nature of this presence at Teotihuacan with regards to the N1W5:19 structure which was identified as having housed a potentially ethnic Michoacán presence between 350-650 CE. Based on excavations from 1991, this analysis uses both the household and burial assemblages as points of evidence for the formation and maintenance of a Michoacán identity at Teotihuacan.

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