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A Prehispanic (Postclassic) Capital Center in Colonial Transition: Excavations at Yucundaa PuebloViejo de Teposcolula, Oaxaca, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Ronald Spores  and
Nelly Robles García
Ronald Spores
Affiliation:
Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, 68000, México (ronoaxaca@hotmail.com)
Nelly Robles García
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México, D.F., México (nellym_robles@yahoo.com.mx)
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Abstract

This report presents the results to date of a three-year archaeological investigation of the Postclassic and early Spanish Colonial Mixtec City of Yucundaa, PuebloViejo de Teposcolula, Oaxaca. It is the first project in Oaxaca to focus specifically on a major prehispanic city and its dramatic transformation during the first three decades of the colonial period. Given the dearth of conventional historical documentation relating to Yucundaa, the site itself serves as a “primary text,” the major source of information regarding its development and operation. The project attempts to define the major components of the settlement, and to examine each as comprehensively as possible in order to form a coherent view of the city's structure and function. At the conclusion of the third season, the encouraging results serve to demonstrate the utility of a well-planned excavation program that from its inception attempts to examine an entire Postclassic-Colonial settlement and the great transformation occurring there between A.D. 1521 and 1550. The research methods, as well as information and insights derived from the project, will provide stimulus and a useful model for the study of other Mesoamerican urban settlements.

Resumen

Resumen

Se presentan los resultados actuales de tres años de investigación en la ciudad posclásica y colonial temprana mixteca de Yucundaa, PuebloViejo de Teposcolula, Oaxaca. Este es el primer proyecto en Oaxaca que se concentra específicamente en una ciudad importante prehispánica y su dramática transformación durante las primeras tres décadas del periodo colonial. Dada la falta casi total de documentación histórica convencional referente a Yucundaa, el sitio de por sí sirve como “texto primario,” una fuente mayor de datos relevantes al desarrollo y funcionamiento del centro urbano. El proyecto intenta definir los mayores componentes del asentamiento y examinarlos de una manera comprensiva, con el objetivo de tener una idea coherente de la estructura y operación de la ciudad. A la conclusión de la tercera temporada del proyecto, la importancia de los resultados sirven a demostrar la utilidad de un programa bien planeado de excavación con el objetivo original de examinar un asentamiento posclásico-colonial completo y su gran transformación ocurrida entre 1521 y 1550 d.C. El método de investigación como la información y acercamiento del proyecto proporcionará estímulo y modelos útiles para el estudio de otros asentamientos urbanos de Mesoámerica.

Type
Reports
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , September 2007 , pp. 333 - 353
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2007

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