---

This monograph examines the domestic economy of commoner households at Rio Viejo during the Early Postclassic period (A.D. 800-1100) in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. At the end of the Late Classic period (A.D. 500-800) an administrative collapse occurred at Río Viejo, the capital of a polity that had ruled the lower Río Verde Valley. Hedgepeth conducts an archaeological analysis of domestic artifacts such as ceramics, lithics, and imports in order to examine the array of local productive, consumptive, and exchange practices. This analysis focuses on the frequencies of different artifact types from two trash middens which were likely deposited at separate times during the Early Postclassic. Hedgepeth examines possible diachronic trends in domestic economy as well as potential surplus production through comparison to other Mesoamerican domestic assemblages. The analysis concludes by exploring how households at Río Viejo may have used material culture to respond to the social changes linked to the Late Classic collapse. Evidence indicates that commoners maintained far-reaching ties to other archaeological sites outside of Oaxaca and incorporated outside ideas into everyday life.

---

Ph.D. student in Anthropology, University of Colorado; MA, University of Colorado (2009); BA, Brandeis University (2003); Field Director, Río Viejo Acropolis Project, Oaxaca, Mexico (2009); Excavation Supervisor, Teozacoalco Archaeological Project, Oaxaca, Mexico (2008); Presenter, 2003 and 2007 Society for American Archaeology conventions

---