Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 62 (2021) 101273 0278-4165/© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Household lake exploitation and aquatic lifeways in postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico Kristin De Lucia Colgate University, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346, USA A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Lake exploitation Aquatic lifeways Domestic economies Central Mexico ABSTRACT This article explores archaeological evidence for the exploitation of lacustrine resources at the island site of Xaltocan, in the northern Basin of Mexico. Parsons (2010) hypothesized that aquatic resources were key to the development of large populations and urbanism in the Mesoamerican highlands, as these resources provided protein, nutrients, calories, and a wide range of raw materials. However, lake exploitation is diffcult to docu- ment because these resources often do not preserve archaeologically. This article demonstrates that we can begin to study lake exploitation by integrating multiple lines of evidence such as micro-artifacts, exchemical signatures, fora and faunal remains, and by looking for the toolkits associated with the extraction and processing of these resources. This study fnds that households in Xaltocan were processing fsh, hunting waterfowl, engaging in mat production, and making fshing nets alongside other activities as early as the Early Postclassic ( CE 900–1250) period. Further, it demonstrates that aquatic lifeways provided fexibility and offered a wide range of resources for exploitation that were variably utilized by different households. However, people’s lake exploi- tation activities changed over time as they were shaped and constrained by outside processes, including regional political, economic, and environmental forces. 1. Introduction In the prehispanic Basin of Mexico, lacustrine resources were vital to the diet, economy and culture of this region, particularly given the lack of large domesticated animals (Parsons 1996, 2006, 2008, 2010; Parsons and Morett 2005, Ortiz de Montellano 1978). Harner (1977) and Harris (1977) famously argued that the lack of large animal domesticates in prehispanic Mexico created a dietary defciency in protein that resulted in the centrality of human sacrifce and cannibalism to Aztec ritual practices. Although the argument that human sacrifce in the Aztec Empire was fueled by widespread protein defciency is no longer accepted by most scholars, questions regarding the adequacy of the prehispanic Mesoamerican diet, especially in regions with high popu- lation size and density and such as central Mexico, persist (Parsons 2010). Parsons (2010:134) proposed that due to the lack of pastoral animals in central Mexico, aquatic resources, especially insects and algae, were much more extensively exploited here than in other ancient civilizations. Parsons (2010) argued that because Mesoamerica is the only region of the world to develop state-level civilizations without a pastoral component to the economy, aquatic resources (along with maguey) flled the niche ordinarily occupied by domesticated pastoral animals by providing protein, nutrients, calories, and a wide range of raw materials, thereby allowing the development of large populations and urbanism in the Mesoamerican highlands. Other scholars have also suggested that lake exploitation was a primary subsistence and eco- nomic base in lacustrine settings even where substantial agricultural resources were present (Aguilera 2010; Apenes 1943; Berres 2000; García S´ anchez, 2004, 2008; McClung de Tapia and Serra, 1986; Parsons 1996, 2006; Parsons and Morett 2005; P´ erez Espinoza 1985; Pollard and Fisher 2007; Rojas Rabiela 1985; S´ anchez Vald´ es 2003; Sanders et al. 1979:232; Serra Puche 1988; Sugiura Yamamoto 1998; Sugiura Yama- moto and Serra Puche 1983; Williams 2005, 2009, 2014a, 2014b:7). Thus, rather than protein defcient, people in prehispanic central Mexico likely exploited lacustrine resources to meet their nutritional requirements. Empirical support for the importance of aquatic resources to the diets and economies in prehispanic central Mexico is weak, however, because these resources often do not preserve archaeologically (except see Serra et al. 1981; Serra Puche 1988). Moreover, there are few artifacts that are specifcally and uniquely associated with the exploitation and use of aquatic resources (Parsons 2006:328; Williams 2014b:iii). Thus, we still have a fragmentary understanding of the role of aquatic resources in E-mail address: kdelucia@colgate.edu. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Anthropological Archaeology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jaa https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2021.101273 Received 6 September 2020; Received in revised form 18 January 2021;