Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T01:34:02.907Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Low-Intensity Investigations at Three Small Sites Along Lake Xaltocan in the Northern Basin of Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Christopher T. Morehart  and
Destiny L. Crider
Christopher T. Morehart*
Affiliation:
School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Destiny L. Crider
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa (cridde01@luther.edu)
*
1(christopher.morehart@asu.edu) (corresponding author)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This report describes recent low-intensity archaeological investigations conducted at three small sites in the northern Basin of Mexico. The sites are represented by surface artifact scatters and are located on the former shoreline of the now-drained Lake Xaltocan, originally one of the principal lakes in this region. Fieldwork included mapping surface concentrations and site dimensions, conducting test excavations, and recovering surface collections. The analysis of surface artifacts focused on determining site function and chronology. Based on fieldwork and analysis, we propose that Michpilco likely was a habitation site with a substantial occupation during the Classic period. The smaller Non-Grid 5 site was occupied during the Epiclassic period, and site Non-Grid 6 was occupied during the Late Postclassic to colonial periods. These sites reflect occupations in a lacustrine landscape throughout different periods. They also exemplify the rapid disappearance and threat of destruction that looting, infrastructural development, and agriculture pose to archaeological sites in the region.

Resumen

Resumen

Este reporte describe las investigaciones de baja intensidad que se han llevado a cabo para caracterizar a tres sitios pequeños en el norte de la Cuenca de México, representados por una dispersión superficial de artefactos. Cada sitio se ubica en las orillas antiguas del Lago de Xaltocan, uno de los principales de la Cuenca. El trabajo de campo se restringió al mapeo de las concentraciones en superficie, excavaciones de sondeos y recolecciones de los artefactos en superficie. El análisis de los artefactos se enfocó en determinar la función y la cronología de los sitios. Esta investigación nos permite localizar temporalmente cada sitio, así como interpretar su función. Michpilco representa a un sitio con una ocupación sustancial durante el periodo clásico. El sitio No-Cuadrícula 5 consiste en una ocupación del periodo epiclásico. El sitio No-Cuadrícula 6 representa a una aldea lacustre ocupada durante los periodos posclásico tardío y colonial. Estos tres sitios demuestran la ocupación de un paisaje lacustre durante períodos diferentes. Los sitios pequeños como estos están desapareciendo rápidamente debido a los saqueos, el desarrollo de infraestructura y la agricultura.

Type
Report
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , June 2016 , pp. 257 - 263
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Barbour, Warren 1998 Figurine chronology of Teotihuacan, Mexico. In Los Ritmos de cambio en Teotihuacán: reflexiones y discusiones de su cronología, edited by Brambilla, Rosa and Cabrera, Ruben, pp. 243–255. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico, D.F. Google Scholar
Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. 1998 Introducción. In Unidades domésticas en Xaltocan Posclásico: Informe annual de 1997, edited by Brumfiel, Elizabeth, pp. 1–5. Report on file, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México D.F. Google Scholar
Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. 2005 Conclusions: Production and Power at Xaltocan. In Production and Power at Postclassic Xaltocan, edited by Brumfiel, Elizabeth M., pp. 349–360. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México D.F. Google Scholar
Cobean, Robert H. 1990 La cerámica de Tula, Hidalgo. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México D.F. Google Scholar
Cowgill, George L. 2015 Ancient Teotihuacan: Early Urbanism in Central Mexico. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crider, Destiny 2011 Epiclassic and Early Postclassic Interaction in Central Mexico as Evidenced by Decorated Pottery. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe.Google Scholar
Crider, Destiny 2015 Las cerámicas de Michpilco. In Proyecto de la ecologia histórica del norte de la Cuenca de México: Informe de la temporada del campo 2012, edited by Morehart, Christopher T., pp. 103–151. Report on File, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, México D.F. Google Scholar
Frederick, Charles D., Winsborough, Barbara, and Popper, Virginia 2005 Geoarchaeological Investigations in the Northern Basin of Mexico. In Production and Power at Postclassic Xaltocan, edited by Brumfiel, Elizabeth M., pp. 71–116. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México D.F. Google Scholar
Garraty, Christopher P. 2006 The Politics of Commerce: Ceramic Production and Exchange in the Basin of Mexico, A.D. 1200–1650. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe.Google Scholar
Gibson, Charles 1964 The Aztecs under Spanish Rule: A History of the Valley of Mexico, 1519-1810. Stanford University Press, Stanford.Google Scholar
Mastache, Alba Guadalupe, Cobean, Robert, and Healan, Dan 2002 Ancient Tollan: Tula and the Toltec Heartland. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Millhauser, John 1998 El Sitio ET, Operación A. In Unidades domésticas en Xaltocan Posclásico: Informe annual de 1997, edited by Brumfiel, Elizabeth, pp. 6–10. Informe remitido al Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México D.F. Google Scholar
Morehart, Christopher T. 2009 Otros sitios registrados. In Proyecto Chinampero Xaltocan: Informe de la temporada de campo 2007-2008, edited by Morehart, Christopher T., pp. 212–231. Report on File, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México D.F. Google Scholar
Morehart, Christopher T. 2012 Mapping Ancient Chinampa Landscapes in the Basin of Mexico: A Remote Sensing and GIS Approach. Journal of Archaeological Science 39:2541–2551.Google Scholar
Parsons, Jeffrey R. 1971 Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in the Texcoco Region, Mexico. Memoirs No. 3. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Parsons, Jeffrey R. 2008 Prehispanic Settlement Patterns in the Northwest Valley of Mexico: The Zumpango Region. Memoirs No. 45. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Rattray, Evelyn C. 1966 An Archaeological and Stylistic Study of Coyotlatelco Pottery. Mesoamerican Notes 7–8:87–211. Department of Anthropology, University of the Americas, México D.F.Google Scholar
Rattray, Evelyn C. 2001 Teotihuacan: Cerámica, Cronología y Tendencias Culturales. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México D.F. Google Scholar
Rodríguez Alegría, Enrique 1998 El Sitio ET, Operación B. In Unidades domésticas en Xaltocan Posclásico: Informe annual de 1997, edited by Brumfiel, Elizabeth, pp. 11–14. Report on file, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México D.F. Google Scholar
Rodríguez Alegría, Enrique 2010 Incumbents and Challengers: Indigenous Politics and the Adoption of Spanish Material Culture in Colonial Xaltocan, Mexico. Historical Archaeology 44: 51–71.Google Scholar
Sanchez, Hazel, Morehart, Christopher T., and Crider, Destiny L. 2015 Excavaciones de Michpilco. In Proyecto de la ecología histórica del norte de la Cuenca de México: Informe de la temporada del campo 2012, edited by Morehart, Christopher T., pp. 83–102. Report on File, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, México D.F. Google Scholar
Sanders, William T. 1966 Life in a Classic Village. In Teotihuacán: Onceava Mesa Redonda, pp. 123–143. Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, México.Google Scholar
Sanders, William T., Parsons, Jeffrey, and Santley, Robert S. 1979 The Basin of Mexico: Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material

Download Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 5.6 MB
Supplementary material: PDF

Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material

Figure S9

Download Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 950.8 KB
Supplementary material: PDF

Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material

Figure S1

Download Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 14.7 MB
Supplementary material: PDF

Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material

Figure S2

Download Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 5.8 MB
Supplementary material: PDF

Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material

Figure S3

Download Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 3.1 MB
Supplementary material: PDF

Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material

Figure S4

Download Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 3.5 MB
Supplementary material: PDF

Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material

Figure S5

Download Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 2.5 MB
Supplementary material: PDF

Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material

Figure S6

Download Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 3.8 MB
Supplementary material: PDF

Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material

Figure S7

Download Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 2.3 MB
Supplementary material: PDF

Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material

Figure S8

Download Morehart and Crider Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 2.7 MB