Cooperation and tensions in multiethnic corporate societies using Teotihuacan, Central Mexico, as a case study
Abstract
Teotihuacan was born as a complex multiethnic settlement that originally accommodated populations displaced by volcanic eruptions that devastated the southern Basin of Mexico. Soon, the city became an inclusive society where people from other regions of Mesoamerica could work mainly as qualified craftspeople (particularly garment makers and lapidary specialists), as well as builders, musicians, and military personnel. This society capitalized on the knowledge, technical expertise, and experience that foreigners brought to the city. Each neighborhood competed with the others in displaying the finest crafts, the rarest raw materials, and the most diverse sumptuary goods. This competition gave rise to a highly complex society, but one with inherent contradictions.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- July 2015
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1419881112
- Bibcode:
- 2015PNAS..112.9210M