Mobility and Migration in Ancient Mesoamerican Cities. AN INTRODUCTION
Résumé
. In this volume we draw upon multiple disciplines but we particularly emphasize urban archaeology and biological anthropology in order to develop a body of method and theory that can be drawn upon in the absence of, or to question an historical record.
Why the emphasis on population movement? Demographic shifts lie at the nexus of several theoretically important topics in Mesoamerica, including economic strategies, religious worship, and political reorganization, which frequently involved physical relocation into new nucleated settlements. Mesoamericanists have never been brought together previously to consider the range of systemic through unique movements that run through urban activity. The ongoing physical destruction of archaeological sites in Mesoamerica brings an urgency to our research, since the habitation areas that provide the best data on changing population are the least protected and the most vulnerable to modern development. And certainly population movements and urbanization are a real concern in the modern context of globalization.