In this talk, I take a deep history perspective spanning 3,000 years in Oaxaca. The focus of this work is the house, its design, and construction. This expansive approach allows for the identification of moments of rupture and change and contextualize contact and conquest in relation to major developments in Oaxaca’s past. In this eventful history, the Spanish conquest can be more accurately assessed as a historical process. I evaluate this history from an archaeological and household perspective. This analysis demonstrates that all major socio-political developments in the Valley of Oaxaca coincided with significant changes to the construction techniques and floorplans of houses except the Spanish Conquest. This continuity was likely linked to the importance of the house and its maintenance as a way to continue to demonstrate land and house ownership.
Lacey Carpenter is an anthropological archaeologist studying daily life during a time of political transformation in the Oaxaca Valley, Mexico. More broadly, she is interested in examining households as political spaces where ordinary people participated in and reacted to major changes during a time of urbanization and political conflict in the region. Carpenter works closely with the community in the contemporary town of San Martín Tilcajete where archaeologists and artisans collaborate to find new ways to celebrate Zapotec cultural traditions and innovations. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Northwestern University (2010) and her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan (2019). She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology.