Archaeological Patterns of Socio-Ethnic Difference in New Spain: Urban and Rural Contrasts

Abstract

The impact of Spanish colonial domination on the indigenous societies of Mesoamerica is reflected in the composition of towns and villages where new method, of economic, political and ideological control break, to some extent,, with prehispanic traditions. Historic archaeology gives us the opportunity of studying the processes of change and integration which took place during the colonial period, as reflected ln the use of space and in the pattern of distribution of consumer goods. In both urban centres and rural settlements, there are marked social and ethnic contrasts between the different sectors of the population. One way in which the archaeological record reflects the differences in the position of the indigenous  population, socially deprived as a result of the Spanish conquest, and their new masters, both Spanish and criollo is reflected in their diferential access both to pottery imported from Europe and to that made to Spanish specifications in central Mexico. The appearance in the virreinato of hybrid styles incorporating decoration, shapes and technology from the new and the old populations, testifies to the social interaction between the subject and the ruling populations as well as to the development of new styles peculiar to this society in formation.