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A Population Estimate for the Epiclassic Middle Malpaso Valley (La Quemada), Zacatecas, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Charles D. Trombold
Charles D. Trombold*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130 (trombold@artsci.wustl.edu)
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Abstract

Long-term excavations at two large La Quemada hinterland habitation sites provide data for developing population estimates based on ethnographic studies. Calculations based in part on ratio constants of roofed floor area to excavated space are applied to 183 habitation sites in the valley measured in 1974. These data reveal not only the range of population in the immediate valley, but also in major population aggregates around La Quemada during the period of major occupation (ca. A.D. 700). The mean population within the La Quemada core area is estimated as 6,867 (between 4,578 and 9,155) individuals, with an average population density of 38 persons per km2. Population density within three of the largest nearby settlement aggregates ranges around a mean of 209, 136, and 117 individuals respectively per square kilometer.

Las prolongadas excavaciones en dos grandes sitios de habitación de la zona de influencia de La Quemada proveen información y datos útiles para estimar el número de pobladores del valle Malpaso tomando en cuenta estudios etnográ. Loscálculos basados en parte en las relaciones proporcionales entre áreas de piso techado por espacio excavado se aplican a 183 sitios de habitación en el valle medidos a partir de 1974. Estos datos revelan no sólo el rango poblacional en las inmediaciones del valle, sino también en concentraciones importantes de poblaciones durante el momento de mayor ocupación de La Quemada, ca. 700 AD. El promedio de la población en el área central de La Quemada se estima en 6.867 (entre 4.578 y 9.155) individuos, con un promedio en la densidad poblacional de 38 individuos/km2. La densidad de la población entre los tres asentamientos cercanos más grandes se estima en un promedio de 209, 136 y 117 individuos respectivamente por kilómetro cuadrado.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , September 2005 , pp. 235 - 253
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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References

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