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Development of an early city in Central Mexico: the Tlalancaleca Archaeological Project

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 April 2017

Tatsuya Murakami ,
Shigeru Kabata ,
Julieta M. López J.  and
José Juan Chávez V.
Tatsuya Murakami*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, 6823 St Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA
Shigeru Kabata
Affiliation:
Departamento de Antropología, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Santa Catarina Mártir, Cholula, PueblaCP 72810, Mexico Institute of Latin-American Studies of Kyoto, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, 6 Kasame-cho, Saiin, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto615–8558, Japan
Julieta M. López J.
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito de Posgrados, Edificio H, Número 105, 113 y 114, México D.F.CP 04510, Mexico
José Juan Chávez V.
Affiliation:
Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Periférico Sur y Zapote s/n, Colonia Isidro Fabela, Tlalpan, Isidro Fabela, México, D.F.CP 14030, Mexico
*
*Author for correspondence (Email: tmurakam@tulane.edu)
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Abstract

The origins of the large Classic and Postclassic urban centres of Central Mexico remain poorly understood. Archaeological investigations at the Formative site of Tlalancaleca in Puebla (Mexico) provide the first detailed study of a large-scale urban centre of that period. Preliminary results suggest that the growth and development of this particular site may have influenced the subsequent growth of Teotihuacan itself. This study explores how urbanisation can be identified archaeologically by tracing the expansion of population and the emergence of monumental architecture.

Keywords

MesoamericaTlalancalecaTeotihuacanFormative Periodurbanisation
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 91 , Issue 356 , April 2017 , pp. 455 - 473
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2017 

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