Ensayo introductorio: El tiempo en los estudios americanistas. Enfoques temáticos, conceptos y metodologías de análisis desde la perspectiva de la arqueología

Abstract

Archaeologists observe the development of humanity through changes in material culture in the archaeological context. The passage of time is measured, for example, based on changes in raw materials used (three-age system), on transformations in the shape of artifacts (type), on the relative position of objects in excavations (stratigraphy) or on physico-chemical changes in the materials themselves (e.g., carbon 14, thermoluminescence). The dates and chronologies generated in this way are, almost entirely, expressions of a linear conception of time that is unidirectional and static, while not necessarily adequately representing the cultural processes under investigation, and even less the perspective of people living in the past. The objective of this paper is to highlight some of the conceptual problems encountered and provide theoretical references for a discussion of time management and periodization in archaeology, using the example of Prehispanic Mesoamerican chronology.