Ancient West Mexicos

This introductory chapter provides a brief history of research on ancient west Mexico and outlines traditional archaeological conceptions of the region as exotic, unique, or “other.” It also provides a preliminary definition and spatial delimitation of the vast area known as “the west,” and a short discussion of regional chronology. In doing so, it contextualizes the constituent chapters of the volume within broader archaeological debates regarding the nature of pre-Hispanic societies in west Mexico and their role in larger, pan-Mesoamerican sociocultural processes. Like the volume itself, the introduction highlights the spatial, temporal, and cultural diversity evident throughout the region’s history. Finally, the introduction provides brief summaries of the chapters that comprise the volume, foregrounding the dialogue among the contributions and foreshadowing the synthesis presented in the conclusions, thus aiding in binding a diverse collection into a coherent whole.