Questioning the Status Quo: From a Western Archaeometallurgy to a Mesoamerican Archaeometallurgy
Metallurgy developed relatively late in Mesoamerica (approximately post-650 A.D.). The existing consensus holds that this technology originated in the south and was most likely brought to western Mexico along maritime routes that followed the Pacific coast. The ancient tradition of copper-based metallurgy in the west and the high degree of development that it achieved, especially in the Tarascan culture during the Post-Classic period in Michoacán, seem to support this theory, as this zone has come to be considered the center of metallurgical production in Mesoamerica. However, while the importance of metallurgy in western Mexico is an unquestioned reality, this area does not seem to have been the only productive region in the Late Post-Classic. Recent studies of a collection of copper bells from Templo Mayor using portable X-ray fluorescence equipment (XRF for its initials in English) succeeded in demonstrating that significant production of metal objects in Central Mexico was highly probable. In this paper I discuss some aspects of the history of archaeometallurgical research in western Mexico to explore this possibility or even, perhaps, question the status quo of the “Ex Occidente Lux” theory of Mesoamerican metallurgy. I also examine the Western Mexican Metalworking Zone and varying opinions on the introduction of metallurgy into this region, as well as the established explanation of its development. Some salient points are then contrasted to the data that is emerging from Central Mexico, before returning to evaluate the question, Ex Occidente Lux? Regional comparisons help us to better our knowledge of change and persistence as they relate to copper metallurgy in Mesoamerica, and allow us to posit new questions.
