ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the continuum between more collective social networks in which power and voice tend to be more distributed and less collective relations that are characterized by the concentration of power and clout. It examines theoretical constructs derived from collective action to aid and amplify the understanding of major changes in political organization and ritual practices at the large, pre-Hispanic settlement of Lambityeco, situated in the eastern or Tlacolula arm of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Lambityeco’s ties to knowledge and resources previously accessed from powerful neighbors, in particular Monte Alban, appear to have been weakened, if not ruptured, a process that was most apparent at the edges of the Valley of Oaxaca. The Lambityeco ballcourt, when built, matched closely the plan of the main ballcourt at Monte Alban. The most significant remodeling occurred roughly midway during the history of occupation when major changes occurred in the use and configuration of civic-ceremonial space.
