In the Shadow of Quetzalcoatl

This chapter investigates how the rise of Chichen Itza impacted small towns and villages in the vicinity. An analysis of ceramics, architecture, obsidian, and other classes of data at these communities suggests that the degree to which they embraced the Feathered Serpent ideology and its associated political economy prevalent at Chichen was highly variable. In some cases, towns were tightly integrated into the Chichen political economy, but others appear to have been only indirectly connected. The data indicates that Chichen Itza had different strategies in dealing with its smaller neighbors, and it is likely that some local leaders chose to interact with Chichen because of opportunities to obtain trade goods like obsidian that this city provided.