Despite a large and growing corpus of research, the Mesoamerican Formative period remains a contested topic for American archaeology. This condition describes multiple areas of research, not least of which is the nature and significance of interregional interaction. In this introductory essay, the editors present a condensed synopsis of the research on interaction that has been most influential in the study of Mesoamerica. Considering schools of thought as disparate as economic studies focused on energetics and obsidian exchange to agency models for the community dynamics and “unintended consequences” of the Formative period, the authors explore our own academic backgrounds, biases, and disagreements. By highlighting some of the negotiations involved in the production of this prospectus and in gathering together the chapters in this edited collection, the authors hope to present an introduction that is candid, informative, and also original. Many introductions to the Formative period exist in the literature, not a few of which are coauthored. Rarely do such essays openly explore areas of disagreement and tensions among the coauthors, and we intend for this chapter to use that strategy as a novel way to explore some of the diverse perspectives that exist today about the Mesoamerican Formative period.