Water Folk: Reconstructing an Ancient Aquatic Lifeway in Michoacán, Western Mexico

Description

This study of subsistence activities (fishing, hunting, gathering, and manufacture) in the Cuitzeo and Pátzcuaro lake basins (Michoacán, Western Mexico) underscores the value of ethnoarchaeology as a tool for reconstructing the ancient aquatic lifeway in the territory of the Protohistoric Tarascan state (ca. AD 1450-1530), which flourished in an environment dominated by lakes, rivers, swamps and marshes. Mesoamerica was the only civilization in the ancient world that lacked major domesticated sources of animal protein; therefore, abundant wild aquatic species (fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects and plants, etc.) all played strategic roles in the diet and economy of most Mesoamerican cultures, including the Tarascans. Front Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgements Chapter I. Introduction Chapter II. Reconstructing an Ancient Aquatic Lifeway in Michoacán Chapter III. Aquatic Resources in the Economy of the Tarascan State Chapter IV. Summary and General Conclusions References