New
perspectives on an important era in Mesoamerican history

This volume examines shifting social identities,
lived experiences, and networks of interaction in Mexico during the
Mesoamerican Formative period (2000 BCE–250 CE), an era that helped produce
some of the world’s most renowned complex civilizations. The chapters offer
significant data, innovative methodologies, and novel perspectives on Mexican
archaeology.

Using
diverse and non-traditional theoretical approaches, contributors discuss interregional
relationships and the exchange of ideas in contexts ranging from the Gulf Coast
Olmec region to the site of Tlatilco in Central Mexico to the often-overlooked
cultures of the far western states. Their essays explore identity formation,
cosmological perspectives, the first hints of social complexity, the
underpinnings of Formative period economies, and the sensorial implications of
sociocultural change.

Identities,
Experience, and Change in Early Mexican Villages is one of the first
volumes to address the entirety of this rich and complex era and region,
offering a new and holistic view.

Through a wealth of exciting interpretations from international senior
and emerging scholars, this volume shows the strong influence of cultural
exchange as well as the compelling individuality of local and regional contexts
over two thousand years of history.