Abstract

ROSALES DE LA ROSA, Edgar Ariel. Mica: uses and distribution of an alien resource in Teotihuacan. Cuicuilco. Rev. cienc. antropol. [online]. 2021, vol.28, n.82, pp.219-254.  Epub Aug 15, 2022. ISSN 2448-8488.

Mica, a mineral resource absent in the Teotihuacán valley, though abundant in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, was used as a lapidary material that was transformed by specialized pre-Hispanic artisans, thus revealing the complexity of the spheres that make up a socioeconomic unit: production, use-consumption and exchange. The results of the analysis that allowed the identification and description of the micas, and of the possible tools and techniques for their manufacture, are presented herein; as is the spatial distribution of the archaeological evidence discovered in Teotihuacán and in other regions. In conclusion, an explanation is proposed regarding the social dynamics that arose from these productive processes. The temporal parameter to which the analyzed evidences correspond is related to the emergence, the apogee and the collapse of this great city of the Mesoamerican Classic period, together with its links to, and influence on, the outside world.

Keywords : Mica; mineral resource; Teotihuacán; Monte Albán; specialization.

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