The Nahua calli of ancient Mexico: household, family, and gender

1. The Nahua calliof ancient Mexico: household, family, and gender “It is simply untrue as far as we can yet tell that there was ever a time or place where the complex family was the universal background to the ordinary lives of ordinary people.”—Peter Laslett, Family & Household in Past Time, 1972

2. Simplyan old widow Married Married Marriedhead of household Female, 20 years old, not yet married Marriedoneyear ago Married Married Married Married Married one year ago Male10 years of age, not married Married A neolithic, complex household from Ancient Mexico (1540): 13 people, 4 generations, 5 marital units

3. Competing theories of family history (regarding co-residence) • Evolutionary, 4 stages: • Foragers: co-residence not limited to family or kin • Neolithic, agriculturalists: compound multi-family • Ancient to early modern: complex, extended family • Modern: nuclear family • High mortality simplified family structures in the past (Peter Laslett, 1972): “It is simply untrue as far as we can yet tell that there was ever a time or place where the complex family was the universal background to the ordinary lives of ordinary people.”

4. There once was a place, where the complex family, “the classical family of Western nostalgia,” was the rule. • Nahua agrarian villages, early 16th centuryuniversal early marriage (<13 years female)high mortality (e0 <20 years) • Household system: joint, complex, or compound? • Gender relations: parallelism & symmetry or hierarchy & subordination?

5. Source: The Book of Tributes S. L. Cline (1993) • Census listings made by Aztec scribes, writing in Nahuatl, according to prehispanic conventions (translated by Cline).

7. Museo de Antropología, Mexico City: “Here is the home of one named...” …translated …microdata ...transcribed

8. Nahua population and land register Darkened faces = dead Lines are used to connect kin rather than to separate households Codex Santa María de Asunción, ~1550

9. Cemithualtin (those around a patio): the importance of kin • Nahua households (cemithualtin): “those who live in a house” “people who live in only one house” “those from a patio,” etc. • 99% live with kin: 47% as spouse or children of head; 52% as extended kin of head. • 1% have no kin ties with the head (3 orphans, 20 servants and 1 [Indian] slave).

10. Table 1. Explicit and inferred kin relationships with 19+ occurrencesHuitzillan and Quauhchichinollan villages, circa 1540 RelationshipFrequency (total n = 2,486) child 596 mother-in-law 40 spouse 316 brother-in-law’s spouse 38 head 315 sister-in-law 37 brother 158 daughter-in-law 36 brother’s spouse 88 nephew 34 son-in-law 77 brother-in-law’s child 33 brother-in-law 76 sister’s child 33 sister 67 mother 26 grandchild 56 cousin 19 brother’s child 51 niece 19

11. Household and family definitions • Household classes with only 1 conjugal family:nuclear: pa, ma, &/or childextended: some non-nuclear, unmarried kin • Household classifications for 2+ conjugal families:Joint - families connected by kin of same sex, under single headComplex - tangled, intricate, diverse, multipleCompound - fusion, blending or amalgam of parts; hierarchy

12. Simplyan old widow Married Married Marriedhead of household Female, 20 years old, not yet married Marriedoneyear ago Married Married Married Married Married one year ago Male10 years of age, not married Married 5 conjugal families, 4 generations, 3 married brothers, 2 widows, 1 unmarried woman and a boy

13. Table 2. Multiple households were the norm among rural Nahua Household typeHouseholds (Percent) Individuals Simple 13.4 7.2 No children 1.9 0.5 Children 11.5 6.7 Extended 13.4 10.1 Upward 1.9 1.0 Downward 0.3 0.2 Lateral 6.7 4.9 Combinations 4.5 3.9 Multiple 72.1 81.1 Upward 0.3 0.3 Downward 15.1 14.6 Lateral 26.3 26.6 Combinations 30.4 39.5 Polygamous 1.0 1.6 Total (n) 312 2,486 Illegible (n) 3 17

14. Nahuatl sense of “joint”differs from classic definition of family historians: “Joint - families connected by kin of same sex, under single head” “They pay the tribute jointly.” “They all produce what they eat jointly”. “Their wives make it jointly.” “They just do their tribute together.” “They just share the tribute.” “They just do it jointly.” “He just feeds them all as a unit.” “All of them do the tribute jointly.” “They just produce his tribute jointly.”

15. Icnocalli (casa humilde)humble house Coloti calli (choça)hut or hovel Totecujo calli (hermita)hermitage Xacalli (casa paxija)Straw house Çaça ie xacalli (choça) another kind of hut The different houses Sahagún, Códice Florentino, ~1580

16. Colotic calli: “It means it is unpretentious, a lowly house.” Commoner’s house(choça o cabaña) 14 meters square Sahagún, Códice Florentino, ~1580

17. Icnocalli (casa humilde)“the unpretentious house, or the house of the humble or…the poor.” Sahagún, Códice Florentino, ~1580

18. Excavated residences “those of one patio…” M.E. Smith, Archaeological Research (1992)

19. “those of one patio…” note grouped ground-level houses M.E. Smith, Archaeological Research (1992)

20. Table 3a. Headship designation by frequency of occurrence.District identities of households and head freq Key Explanation 165 H “Here is the home of ...”; “Here is ....'s home.” 47 R “Here is the householder named ...” 39 S “Here is the home of some people...” “ The household head is named...” or “The head of the household is named...” or “The householder is named...” 25 T “The tribute payer is named...” 20 . illegible 6 m migrant (“Here are some people who...came from afar”) 6 G “one who governs” (tlatoani); “one named ... is in charge” 1 b “one who belongs to the tlatoani” 1 g “Here is the one who guards things for the tlatoani” 1 n “Here is a nephew...” 2 C “Here is a tribute collector...”; “...tribute boss” 1 a “Here is a goodly maiden...”

21. Table 3b. Headship designation by order of appearance in district: • “Here is an altepetl named Huitzillan” (H1-H41): • GbH.HHHHHH.HHH.HHH.HHHHHHHmHmH.HHHHm.HHHH • Quauhchichinollan people (Q1-Q66): • GgRSSSSSSSSTSSSSSHHHHHSSSSRSSSSSSSHSTTTTSSTT.TTTTTT.TTTTTTTT.T.TTT • District illegible (Q67-Q135): • GHRRRRRHHRR.RRRRRR.RRRHHRRRRRRRR.RSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHn.HHHH.mHHHHHHHHH • Tlacochcalco (H#1-H#18): • HHHHHHHHHHCHHHHHHH • Coloteopan (H#19-H #35): • GHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH • District illegible (H#36-H#62): • GHHHHHHHHHHH.HHHHHmHHHH.HHm • Xanyacac (H#63-H#72): • CHHHHHHHH • ...cenhuitzco (H#73-H#139): • SSSSRRRRRRRRRRRRR.RRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH.HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.HHHHHHa Key: Here is...H - HomeR - HouseholderS - Some people; household headT - Tribute payerm - migrant

22. Gender relations: parallelism & symmetry or hierarchy & subordination? • Situs: Tenochitlan (Mex. City) or the countryside? • Parallelism, symmetry and complementarity with less hierarchy? • Or patriarchy: subordination, domination, and submission? • Evidence: • Widows, “just a little old woman”. • Married women in the household (Table 4).

23. Widow4 years ago Widow 10 years ago Married Married Married Single15 years old Marriedhousehold head Boy7 years old Girl1 year old Household H-38: 9 people, 3 generations, 2 widows

24. Table 4. Position of married individuals in rural Nahua households was strongly structured by gender RelationshipMaleFemale Head 306 1 Spouse 1 309 Son/daughter 36 75 Other kin: 323 285 Brother/sister 98 26 Brother/sister-in-law* 63 106 Son/daughter in law 75 36 Brother/sister-in-law’s spouse 14 38 Father/mother 3 3 Father/mother-in-law 8 8 Other 62 68 Not related: 11 11 Total married (includes 2nd wives) 677 681

25. Rules of household headship (inferred), the 3Ms: • 1. Male (311 of 315 households) • 2. Married (97%) or recently widowed (3%). • 3. Most sons resident (or the eldest son resident).

26. The Codex Mendoza: life at age 13 and 14 years Boys Girls 13: 14: married unmarried

27. Marriage (at 15) 15:

28. Child Brides and Patriarchy in Ancient Mexico Codex Mendoza, 1540

29. 1540 vs 1990Persistence of Mexico “profundo”? • Pre-hispanic survivals? • Virilocal stem families? • Residence around the paternal home? • Or transformations? • The world Mexico has lost: extended families are now rare • But family and kin ties remain important

30. Marriedhead of the household Single Male 20 years old Widowthis year Married Boyborn this year Married three years ago Widow,10 years ago Male, single 10 years old Girl, 1 year old Male,8 years old Married Male, already dead Female,single 15 years old 1540: 4 lateral extensions, Only 1 complete conjugal family 3 incomplete (2 widows+children)

31. Marriedhead of the household 50 years old Daughter 22, free union Daughter 14, free union Married48 years old Daughter10 years old Son 22,free union Daughtermonths of age 21, free union 29free union 16 free union Unión libre, 25años 25free union 19, free union Son 15 years old Daughter2 years old Son, 2 years old Daughter5 years old 1990, 450 years later: An example of a patrilateral household from rural Morelos (5 conjugal unions) (not kin)

32. Table 5. Household Composition in Rural Morelos, 1540 and 1990,and in the Federal Republic of Mexico, 1990 154019901990 Rural MorelosRepublic Relation to Head % % % Head 13 20 19 Spouse 13 16 16 Son or Daughter 24 54 53 Other kin 49 6 7 Not related 1 4 5 Total % 100 100 100 N (sample size) 2,503 1,633 801,981

33. Conclusions • 1. Nahua households were large (ave. = 8) and complex (75% contained two or more conjugal families) • 2. Mortality, rather than braking, accelerated the formation of complexfamilies. • 3. Of greater importance than mortality were social constraints: Nahua offspring formed new households after the birth of a child, not simply with marriage.

34. Conclusions, social flexibility: • 1. Marriage norms and family forms are social constructions and are highly plastic, even in ancient Mexico. • 2. Marriage age (including informal unions) has increased greatly over the centuries, from as little as 13 years in rural “Morelos” five centuries ago to as much as 22 years by 1930, and 24 by 1990. • 3. Likewise, complex families have declined from 75% to 15% in 1930, and 6% in 1990.

35. End

36. Museo de Antropología, Mexico City: “Here is the home of one named...” …translated …microdata ...transcribed

37. Table 1. Explicit and inferred kin relationships with 19+ occurrencesHuitzillan and Quauhchichinollan villages, circa 1540 RelationshipFrequency (total n = 2,486) child 596 mother-in-law 40 spouse 316 brother-in-law’s spouse 38 head 315 sister-in-law 37 brother 158 daughter-in-law 36 brother’s spouse 88 nephew 34 son-in-law 77 brother-in-law’s child 33 brother-in-law 76 sister’s child 33 sister 67 mother 26 grandchild 56 cousin 19 brother’s child 51 niece 19

38. Table 2. Multiple households were the norm among rural Nahua Household typeHouseholds (Percent) Individuals Simple 13.4 7.2 No children 1.9 0.5 Children 11.5 6.7 Extended 13.4 10.1 Upward 1.9 1.0 Downward 0.3 0.2 Lateral 6.7 4.9 Combinations 4.5 3.9 Multiple 72.1 81.1 Upward 0.3 0.3 Downward 15.1 14.6 Lateral 26.3 26.6 Combinations 30.4 39.5 Polygamous 1.0 1.6 Total (n) 312 2,486 Illegible (n) 3 17

39. Table 3a. Headship designation by frequency of occurrence.District identities of households and head freq Key Explanation 165 H “Here is the home of ...”; “Here is ....'s home.” 47 R “Here is the householder named ...” 39 S “Here is the home of some people...” “ The household head is named...” or “The head of the household is named...” or “The householder is named...” 25 T “The tribute payer is named...” 20 . illegible 6 m migrant (“Here are some people who...came from afar”) 6 G “one who governs” (tlatoani); “one named ... is in charge” 1 b “one who belongs to the tlatoani” 1 g “Here is the one who guards things for the tlatoani” 1 n “Here is a nephew...” 2 C “Here is a tribute collector...”; “...tribute boss” 1 a “Here is a goodly maiden...”

40. Table 4. Position of married individuals in rural Nahua households was strongly structured by gender RelationshipMaleFemale Head 306 1 Spouse 1 309 Son/daughter 36 75 Other kin: 323 285 Brother/sister 98 26 Brother/sister-in-law* 63 106 Son/daughter in law 75 36 Brother/sister-in-law’s spouse 14 38 Father/mother 3 3 Father/mother-in-law 8 8 Other 62 68 Not related: 11 11 Total married (includes 2nd wives) 677 681

41. Table 5. Household Composition in Rural Morelos, 1540 and 1990,and in the Federal Republic of Mexico, 1990 154019901990 Rural MorelosRepublic Relation to Head % % % Head 13 20 19 Spouse 13 16 16 Son or Daughter 24 54 53 Other kin 49 6 7 Not related 1 4 5 Total % 100 100 100 N (sample size) 2,503 1,633 801,981