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Moving the Study of Mobility and Migration to New and Better Places 

 
ARNAULD, CHARLOTTE M.; BEEKMAN, CHRISTOPHER; PEREIRA, GRÉGORY, 2021, 
Mobility and Migration in Ancient Mesoamerican Cities, Louisville: University Press of 
Colorado, 392 pp., ISBN 978-1-64642-072-8 
 
KEYWORDS: Mesoamerica, population movement, archaeology, Maya, urbanization 
 

Mobility and Migration in Ancient Mesoamerican Cities should be considered a seminal 

work for the topic of mobility and migration studies in Mesoamerica. This collection of research 

examines population movement in relation to the processes of urbanization and deurbanization 

using different methodological approaches. The main goal of the volume is to rethink the long-

standing separation between sedentism and mobility. This reconsideration propels the field of 

Mesoamerican studies forward as a whole because it allows researchers to see how the people 

and societies within Mesoamerica changed throughout time and space and how they interacted 

with each other in ways not previously acknowledged. The chapters include a variety of regions 

and time periods, and the body of the volume is divided into three sections. Each section deals 

primarily with either bioanthropological (Part 1), archaeological (Part 2), or ethnographic 

methods (Part 3). Each chapter in the book, however, goes beyond using a single methodological 

approach, often combining at least two different methods to arrive at the final conclusions.  

The introduction by Charlotte Arnauld, Christopher Beekman, and Grégory Pereira 

provides an overview of previous research on population movements, including methods and 

influential theories and concepts. The introduction also briefly details what each chapter will 

cover and gives the first definitions for “mobility” and “migration.” The editors define 

“mobility” as encompassing “the broad range of habitual physical movements that facilitate (or 

complicate) social and cultural practices” (3) and “migration” as “a form of movement that takes 

place under unusual circumstances” (3). 



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In Chapter 1, Carolyn Freiwald details her work in the Belize River Valley using isotopic 

analyses to study migration patterns among the Maya. Her samples come from Barton Ramie, 

Belize and date to the Late and Terminal Classic period. The Barton Ramie samples reflect 

trends from the Belize Valley and elsewhere in the Maya area. In Chapter 2, Julie Hoggarth, 

Carolyn Freiwald, and Jaime Awe sample individuals from Baking Pot, Belize. Isotopic values 

reveal data on population movements but include archaeological data in the form of burial and 

settlement patterns and material culture to strengthen their study. Chapter 3, by Andrea Cucina, 

Thelma Sierra Sosa, and Vera Tiesler, describes population movements and economic changes at 

the coastal site of Xcambo, Mexico. Through bioarchaeological and archaeological evidence, the 

team explains that Xcambo experienced population growth at the beginning of the Late Classic, 

which in turn, caused extremely active economic interactions in the form of salt trade. In Chapter 

4, Meggan Bullock studies mobility and migration at the urban site of Cholula, Mexico during 

the Postclassic period through the health and biostatistics of a sample of 309 skeletons.  

In Part 2 of the volume, Elizabeth Graham and Linda Howie study the scale, direction, 

and causes of population mobility in Chapter 5. The authors use both archaeological and stable 

isotope analyses from Lamanai, Belize and Marco Gonzales, Belize. In Chapter 6, Nancy Gonlin 

and Kristin Landau examine the ways in which mobility is seen in the archaeological record at 

Copan, Honduras, specifically within the Copan Valley and the urban site of San Lucas. The 

authors introduce four definitions of certain types of migration: local, circular, chain, and career. 

In Chapter 7, by Nicholas Dunning, Michael Smyth, Eric Weaver, and Ortegón Zapata examines 

settlement patterns in the Puuc region, Yucatan, Mexico. Archaeological evidence such as 

changes in monumental and residential architecture suggest that the patterns of population 

movement and resource control changed as a result of the end of elite control within the urban 

areas. In Chapter 8, M. Charlotte Arnauld, Eva Lemonnier, Dominique Michelet, and Mélanie 

Forné investigate ancient Maya mobility in Lowland sites during the Terminal Classic. 

Specifically, the authors sought a better understanding of transformations during the Terminal 

Classic by studying different types of mobility and how they can be identified in the 

archaeological record.  

Part 3 begins with Sarah Clayton investigating migration at the site of Chicoloapan, 

Mexico. Clayton uses archaeological data covering the arrival of nonlocal populations at the site, 

resulting from the decentralization of power due to the breakdown of the Teotihuacan state. 



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Chapter 10, by Grégory Pereira, Marion Forest, Elsa Jadot, and Véronique Darras, explores the 

migration of populations to an ecologically and socially different environment. Using 

archaeological indicators, the authors investigate four site-formation processes: urban fabrique, 

waste discard, obsidian waste, and burials. In Chapter 11, Prudence Rice investigates Lowland 

Maya population movements of the Itzas of central Petén, Guatemala. Rice uses ethnohistorical 

and archaeological data to validate the Lowland Maya migrations mentioned in the Chilam 

Balam books. Chapter 12, by Christopher Beekman, examines one-way migrations that made 

certain enclaves in west-central Mexico easier to study through archaeological and historical 

data. Finally, Chapter 13, the discussion by Dominique Michelet in Part 4 of the volume, 

provides a summary of the chapters and addresses some inconsistencies throughout the book. 

While definitions are given for “mobility” and “migration” in the Introduction, each of 

the chapters provides a slightly modified version of one or both of the definitions. At first, the 

presence of so many definitions might be seen as problematic or a hindrance to the general 

understanding of the concept as a whole. However, the varying definitions can also be seen as a 

way to highlight the complexity of the concept. Additionally, the book underscores how integral 

the study of migration and mobility is to understanding an ancient culture in general. Each 

chapter discusses a slightly different aspect of ancient Mesoamerican society from other within 

the same section, from burial position and orientation, to architecture, ceramics, and even the 

environment and ecology. The various authors successfully linked mobility and migration with 

many different aspects of ancient activities, such as subsistence structures, political strategies, 

settlement planning, burial rituals, and economic activities. By the end of the volume, the reader 

understands that the questions of “how” and “why” populations and people moved in ancient 

times can be integral in discussions of modern migrations.  

Finally, the entire volume is easy to understand, without any unnecessary jargon or 

confusing concepts. While the book might be inappropriate for younger or introductory scholars 

without a basic background of Mesoamerica, archaeology, or bioarchaeology, any chapter within 

this volume is an acceptable reading for an upper-level college or graduate course. Additionally, 

professional Mesoamerican scholars can benefit from reading this book as it informs on many 

aspects of past Mesoamerican culture besides just population movements. The extensive 

reference list at the end of the volume is a valuable tool for students and professionals alike, 

encompassing over 70 pages.  



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Mobility and Migration in Ancient Mesoamerican Cities is an exceptional addition to the 

existing published work on mobility and migration studies. Each chapter in the book adds 

something new for the reader, both on the topic of mobility and migration studies and on 

Mesoamerican culture in general. The recent and current work by the authors provides 

compelling evidence for researchers to rethink the dichotomy of sedentism versus mobility. The 

fundamental value of this book lies in its ability to compel the reader to critically analyze the 

different, but still similar definitions being presented and come to their own conclusion of how 

and why the ancient Mesoamerican people moved around the landscape. This critical analyzation 

will ensure that the lessons of the past will be available for current and future discussions on 

mobility and migration. 

 

Cheryl Foster is currently a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography and Anthropology 
at Louisiana State University. She participated in archaeological projects in Belize, the Bahamas, 
and Italy. Her dissertation research focuses on human-environment interactions in Paynes Creek 
National Park in southern Belize, specifically on the relationship between sea-level rise and 
cultural activities at salt works sites. 
 
 

 

 

© 2021 Cheryl Foster 

 


