Interregional Relationships in Mesoamerica: Interpreting Maya Ceramics at Teotihuacan

Abstract Interaction between distant, culturally distinct, complex societies can significantly impact the sociopolitical development of the societies involved. In Classic period Mesoamerica, the urban center of Teotihuacan was a dominant force in the Valley of Mexico, and there is compelling evidence that its influence extended well beyond this region. The role of Teotihuacan in the political development of Maya cities has been debated for decades, though interaction may have also included exchange and the presence of Maya individuals at Teotihuacan. In this study I investigate interaction between Teotihuacan and several Maya polities through typological, spatial, and compositional analyses of Maya ceramics found at Teotihuacan. Data from instrumental neutron activation analysis are used to identify probable subregions from which Maya ceramics were imported to Teotihuacan. Results indicate that diverse Maya polities interacted with Teotihuacan over the course of five centuries, and that relationships involving polities in the central Petén region were particularly long-lived. This research has important implications for understanding the sociopolitical histories of Mesoamerican complex societies specifically, and interaction among complex societies in general.