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Adjacent to structures that were dedicated sites of ceremonies and rituals, in villages, towns, and cities, other groups of buildings formed residential spaces, household compounds with associated exterior spaces, courtyards, or patios. Mesoamerican archaeologists in the 1970s and 1980s developed a new focus on life in such settings: household archaeology (Wilk and Ashmore 1988; see Chapters 5, 6, 12, and 14). Residential compounds were the workplaces of the population, not just their private dwellings. Here, people carried out the activities necessary for their subsistence and also engaged in more specialized craft production.

Agriculture was the basis of Mesoamerican society. Farming depended on human labor; there were no large domestic animals. People improved production through irrigation, the construction of terraces on slopes, and raised fields in swampy areas, all based on human labor. They cultivated a variety of plants that left behind burned seeds, pollen, and other detectable residues, including maize (corn), beans, squash, chili peppers, fruits, and tubers. In the dry highlands other seed-bearing plants, amaranth and chenopods, were important. In some parts of the humid lowlands root crops, particularly manioc (or yuca) were important. The primary sources of animal protein suggested by animal bones recovered by archaeologists include land animals such as deer and peccary, hunted with blowguns, snares, and nets. Birds, especially waterfowl such as ducks, and fish were important as well. Domesticated dogs and turkeys provided protein in certain places and times.

Foods and beverages prepared from specific plants were widely used in religious rituals and social ceremonies. Chia, a seed plant, was used by the Mexica (the proper name for the group often called Aztecs) to make images of supernatural beings displayed and consumed in ritual. Cacao drinks were made from the seeds from pods of a tree growing in wet lowlands. An alcoholic drink the Mexica called pulque was made from fermented hearts of maguey, a succulent plant cultivated in drier areas. Honey from native stingless bees was used by the lowland Maya to brew another alcoholic drink, balche, consumed in ritual. Cultivation of these plants and distinctive techniques of food processing, preparation, and serving constituted a distinctive Mesoamerican cuisine (Coe 1994). Through their preparation and consumption, residents in these places reproduced their historical connections to ancestors and nonhuman forces.

Household compounds were also the site of craft production. Production and circulation of goods has been reconstructed using techniques that create a chemical profile of the raw materials used, such as obsidian, iron ore, and jade or the mixtures of clay and other materials that characterize pottery workshops. As a result, scholars know that craft products such as pottery, stone tools, and woven textiles were redistributed within the local community and beyond through a combination of social ties and markets.

Participation in craft production was more than simply a source of economic wealth. Throughout the history of Mesoamerica, it was intimately related to the constitution of personhood. Practice of a craft helped define a person’s place within their society (Hendon 2010). In the most highly stratified Mesoamerican societies, craft specializations were shared by residents of neighboring house compounds or whole communities, contributing to their identification as a group.