5 Scaling Centers and Commerce in Preclassic and Late Classic Settlements in South-Central Veracruz

Previous research in the Mixtequilla region of south-central Veracruz documented commercial market exchange centered on the Middle Postclassic period (1200–1350 CE) center of Sauce. However, residential evidence and the spatial articulation of exchange (commercial or not) with centers has not been evaluated systematically for both the Preclassic (600 BCE – 300 CE) and Late Classic (600–900 CE) periods. These periods are of particular interest in evaluating the association of political centers with commerce because they are marked by the formation of a large capital and state (Cerro de las Mesas) during the Preclassic, and the breakdown of this state into several likely competing polities (Nopiloa, Azuzules, and Zapotal) in the Late Classic. Density collections of ceramics at residential mounds made by Stark's Proyecto Arqueológico La Mixtequilla provide evidence for changes in the scale and network distributions of exchange over time.[Veracruz, quantitative methods, markets, Preclassic, Late Classic]