Social categories, ethnicity and the state in Yucatán, Mexico

authored by

W. Gabbert

Abstract

This article discusses the development of social categories and ethnicity in the peninsula of Yucatán, Mexico, since the Conquest in the sixteenth century. Based on the Yucatec case, it demonstrates that ethnicity is not a ubiquitous form of social organisation, but rather a historical process related to specific techniques of social distinction. It argues that the starting point for the analysis of ethnicity should not be ethnic collectives, but instead the ways in which individuals use ethnic categories in social interaction.

External Organisation(s)

Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin)

Type

Article

Journal

Journal of Latin American studies

Volume

33

Pages

459-484

No. of pages

26

ISSN

0022-216X

Publication date

2001

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geography, Planning and Development, Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous), Sociology and Political Science

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022216X01005983 (Access: Unknown)