Population and empire: a new demographic model for the Purépecha Imperial heartland

Abstract

This thesis investigates the demographic processes involved in Purépecha Imperial consolidation and administration in the Late Postclassic Period (1350-1520 CE) with respect to demographic scale and distribution. In doing so, I present a new regional demographic model for the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin (LPB), Michoacán, Mexico, which formed the heartland of the Purépecha Empire in the Late Postclassic period. This region was home to the imperial capital Tzintzuntzan, several other dense urban centers. In the last thirty years, researchers have discovered significant new settlements in this region, including the expansive urban zone of Angamuco, but published estimates for the size, distribution, and makeup of its population have not kept up with these discoveries. Key questions regarding state consolidation and administration in relation to demographic scale, distribution, and dynamics all rely on accurate information about population and therefore demand a new, systematic demographic study. This project synthesizes highly precise data on settlement size and density from recent LiDAR surveys of the LPB with ground survey and insights from settlement scaling theory to construct an up-to-date regional settlement demographic model for this understudied Mesoamerican region. The model shows that the LPB population existed on a much greater scale than previously imagined, clustered in a diverse array of highly developed urban settlements. This more accurate model of the scale and distribution of the Purépecha population provides insights into the conditions in which the empire arose, the political strategies employed by its rulers, and the devastating effects of Spanish colonization. This project contributes not only to all future Purépecha scholarship, but also broadly to our knowledge of the diverse forms of social organization and the relationship between population and the state in prehispanic Mesoamerica.