"This thesis focuses on the archaeological site of Tzintzuntzan, a Prehispanic site located in West-Central Mexico. Situated within the Pátzcuaro Lake Basin, Tzintzuntzan was once the capital of the Tarascan Empire, a state-level, Mesoamerican society that emerged around AD 1350. In 1970, Helen Pollard completed an archaeological survey of Tzintzuntzan, forming the basis of her PhD dissertation in 1972. Central to Pollard's dissertation was the concept of urbanism in the formation of Tzintzuntzan. She tested the presence of urban planning and zoning, the function of Tzintzuntzan as the major Tarascan city, and whether it was political, ceremonial, or economic in nature. This thesis reanalyzes Pollard's Tzintzuntzan survey with focus on the ceramic artifacts collected, and provides a quantitative analysis for the classification of sites into zonal categories"--Abstract.
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