
H 290 x W 205 mm
234 pages
88 figures, 2 tables (colour throughout)
Published Feb 2026
ISBN
Hardback: 9781805832195
Digital: 9781805832201
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Archaeopress Pre-Columbian Archaeology 21
Edited by Claudia I. Alvarado Le?n, Christophe Helmke
This volume reassesses Central Mexico?s Epiclassic period, challenging old views of crisis and fragmentation. Using archaeological, iconographic, and linguistic evidence, it highlights regional diversity, new institutions, shifting identities, and Teotihuacan?s legacy, offering a nuanced view of this pivotal era.
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introducing the Copenhagen Roundtable on the Epiclassic Period in Mesoamerica ? Claudia I. Alvarado Le?n and Christophe Helmke
Chapter 1: Disentangling the Epiclassic ? Claudia I. Alvarado Le?n
Chapter 2: Closing a Cycle: Rethinking the Epiclassic for Teotihuacan ? Natalia Moragas Segura
Chapter 3: Diverse Approaches to the post-Teotihuacan World: The Epiclassic in the Toluca Valley, Central Mexican Highlands ? Yoko Sugiura and Rub?n Nieto Hern?ndez
Chapter 4: New Approaches to the Epiclassic Period in the Tula Region, Mexico ? Patricia Fournier G. and Ferm?n S?nchez-Aldana
Chapter 5: Conflict and Community during the Epiclassic Period in the Basin of Mexico and Southern Mezquital Valley ? Christopher Morehart
Chapter 6: The Epiclassic in the San Juan River Region, Queretaro, Mexico: A Kaleidoscope of Possibilities ? Fiorella Fenoglio Lim?n
Chapter 7: Epiclassic in South Central Michoacan ? Jos? Luis Punzo D?az
Chapter 8: The Monumental Architecture of Rinc?n de Las Flores (Zacapu, Michoacan) in the Context of the Epiclassic Period in West-Central and Central Mexico ? Gr?gory Pereira
Chapter 9: The Linguistic Panorama of the Epiclassic: Placing Nahuan among the Languages of Western Mesoamerica ? Magnus Pharao Hansen
Chapter 10: The Identification of Exogenous Models in the Visual Culture of the Central Highlands: Approaches to Emulation Processes in the Figurative Systems of Cacaxtla-Xochitecatl and Xochicalco ? Juliette Testard
Chapter 11: From the East: Reflections on the Nature, Origin and Timing of Maya Traits at Central Mexican Epiclassic Sites
Christophe Helmke, Jesper Nielsen, Claudia I. Alvarado Le?n and Silvia Garza Tarazona
Chapter 12: Redefining the Epiclassic: Synthesis, Summary and Future Prospects ? C. I. Alvarado Le?n, F. Fenoglio Lim?n, C. Helmke, C. Morehart, M. Pharao Hansen and J. Testard
Res?menes
Author Biographies
Claudia I. Alvarado Le?n obtained her PhD in Mesoamerican Studies from the Universidad Nacional Aut?noma de M?xico. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Copenhagen in the Central Mexican Writing Systems and Calendars project. With over fifteen years as researcher in the Xochicalco project, she focuses on socio-political development processes and their impact on the built environment. Currently, she teaches at the Escuela Nacional de Antropolog?a e Historia and El Colegio de Morelos.
Christophe Helmke is Associate Professor of American Indian Languages and Cultures at the Institute of Cross-cultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 1996, he has participated in and led excavations, archaeological reconnaissance and epigraphic documentation at a variety of sites in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. Between 2019 and 2024 he served as co-Principal Investigator of the Central Mexican Writing Systems and Calendars project, funded by the Velux Foundations.