2018 Urban Research Award: Ancient Teotihuacan and Modern Mexico City

Community Archeology on the Urban Periphery: The Tlajinga District at the Nexus of Ancient Teotihuacan and Modern Mexico City

Associate Professor David Carballo, who holds a joint appointment in Anthropology and Latin American Studies, will pioneer a new initiative of community-based archaeology at Teotihuacan, Mexico. Teotihuacan is an ancient Mesoamerican city and UNESCO World Heritage site whose urban periphery is being impacted by new construction associated with the sprawl of contemporary Mexico City. Professor Carballo seeks to introduce community members to the history and value of Teotihuacan and inspire them to become stewards in preservation efforts. This effort would help mitigate the community’s interests in expanding homes for their families with national and international interests in preservation and continued scientific investigation.

Professor Carballo will host interactive presentations and workshops for community members to highlight and contextualize results of previous research at Teotihuacan and conduct group and individual meetings with community members and stakeholders, including land owners and site archaeologists, to listen to their concerns and discuss future plans for research and preservation. His research will illuminate the successes and failures in community-based archaeology.

Publications

Blancas, Jorge, Luis Barba, Agustín Ortiz, Guillermo Acosta, Andrés G. Mejía Ramón, and David M. Carballo. 2019. “Estudio de conjuntos departamentales y organización de barrios utilizando sensores remotos y geofísica en el distrito de Tlajinga, Teotihuacan.” Ancient Mesoamerica 30, no. 1. Cambridge University Press: 115–28. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536118000470.

Buckley, G. M., Storey, R., Longstaffe, F. J., Carballo, D. M., Hirth, K. G., & Renson, V. (2021). New Perspectives on Migration into the Tlajinga District of Teotihuacan: A Dual-Isotope Approach. Latin American Antiquity, 1-21.

Carballo, David (2020). ”Power, Politics, and Governance at Teotihuacan”. In Teotihuacan: The World Beyond the City, edited by Kenneth G. Hirth, David M. Carballo, and Barbara Arroyo, pp. 57-96. Dumbarton Oaks and Trustees of Harvard University, Washington, D.C.

Carballo, D. M., Barba, L., Ortiz, A., Blancas, J., Sariñana, D. H., Codlin, M. C., … & Rodríguez, G. D. T. (2021). Excavations at the Southern Neighborhood Center of the Tlajinga District, Teotihuacan, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity, 1-20.

Carballo, David M. 2019. “Urban life on Teotihuacan’s periphery – new research at the Tlajinga district.” Ancient Mesoamerica 30, no. 1. Cambridge University Press: 91–94. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536118000500.

Carballo, David M., Jennifer Carballo, and Richard G. Lesure. 2014. “Houses of Style: Consumption, Adornment, and Identity in Formative Tlaxcalan Households.” Ancient Mesoamerica 25, no. 2. Cambridge University Press: 459–76. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536114000261.

Carballo, David M., Kenneth G. Hirth, Daniela Hernández Sariñana, Gina M. Buckley, Andrés G. Mejía Ramón, and Douglas J. Kennett. 2019. “New research at Teotihuacan’s Tlajinga district, 2012–2015.” Ancient Mesoamerica 30, no. 1. Cambridge University Press: 95–113. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536118000159.

De León, Jason P., Kenneth G. Hirth, and David M. Carballo. 2009. “Exploring Formative Period Obsidian Blade Trade: Three Distribution Models.” Ancient Mesoamerica 20, no. 1. Cambridge University Press: 113–28. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536109000091.

Hirth, Kenneth G., David M. Carballo, Mark Dennison, Sean Carr, Sarah Imfeld, and Eric Dyrdahl. 2019. “Excavation of an obsidian craft workshop at Teotihuacan, Mexico.” Ancient Mesoamerica 30, no. 1. Cambridge University Press: 163–79. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536118000561.

Walton, David P., and David M. Carballo. 2016. “Lithic Economies and Community Organization at La Laguna, Tlaxcala.” Ancient Mesoamerica 27, no. 1. Cambridge University Press: 109–32. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536116000055.

Media Coverage

“Teotihuacán.” Interview. Seven Ages (audio blog), March 2019. https://sevenages.org/podcasts/seven-ages-audio-journal-episode-23-teotihuacan/.

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