NAVIGATION PATHS AND URBANISM IN THE BASIN OF MEXICO BEFORE THE CONQUEST

The island nature of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, is an under-studied aspect in our understanding of this unique urban space, located in the Mexican highlands of Mesoamerica. The island location induces cross-links from aquatic and terrestrial paths to create connectivity and continuity within the lacustrine cultural landscape of the Basin of Mexico during the Postclassic period (a.d. 900–1521). Although Cortés described this city as the “Venice of the New World,” no specific and systematic investigation of facilities related to water transport has been carried out. In this article, I fill this gap through a study of navigation routes which were conceived to facilitate the continuous movement of people and goods through the numerous canals crisscrossing the Aztec capital, and which are identifiable by means of anthropic markers that respond to functional needs. Transition zones (piers, quays, shoreline areas), coordination zones (ports), and activity zones (customs facilities, warehouses, bridges, sacred sites) are all related to the practice of water transport and intimately related to terrestrial roads. I identify and locate these areas using a multidisciplinary methodology based on archaeological data, ethnohistorical testimonies, and pictographic and iconographic documents.

An interpretation of Cueva de la Huachizca, Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan, Mexico

Cueva de la Huachizca is located in the humid forests of the Municipio of Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán. During the Postclassic period (1300−1520 ad), Santa Clara del Cobre was a part of the Tarascan Señorio. Ethnographic accounts describe the use of Cueva de la Huachizca as a place of refuge during the Cristero Rebellion (1921−1926). Recent investigations suggest a long history of use including graffiti and inscriptions from the 1800s–1900s and a rock art panel. The panel consists of pecked petroglyphs depicting a man facing an eagle, above a spiral motif. Stylistic analysis of the panel suggests that the rock art was created during pre-Hispanic times, likely by the Postclassic Tarascans. As observed in several regions of Mesoamerica, for the Tarascans, caves were also liminal spaces and had an important role in Postclassic Tarascan cosmology. A ceramic resinera, a pine resin pot, an eagle’s feather, and charcoal were also recovered. The resinera age was estimated by researchers at Archaeomagnetic Services, Geophysics Institute at the National Autonomous University of México-Campus Morelia, Michoacán to between 1921 and 1980. Ethnographic and ethnohistoric accounts describe caves as houses of fertility and rain deities, an idea that while slightly transformed, has survived over 500 years of colonization, and remains in the communities’ social memories. These findings demonstrate the cave’s significance among the descendent communities and Cueva de la Huachizca as an important sacred site.

Migration of the Zoques to the Mountain Region of Tabasco, Mexico

The mountain region of Tabasco was a significant area in the interregional exchange network in pre-Hispanic times and during the colonial period. Additionally, the exchange of various regional products followed the intricate network of trade routes within the coastal plain and Chiapas. Therefore, the role played by the settlements of the Sierra Tabasqueña within the commercial chain that existed between pre-Hispanic times and the first half of the last century was undoubtedly reflected among these territories. Trade was an important part of the economy of the Zoque settlements established in the Tabasqueña mountain range. Linguistic evidence suggests that the Proto-Mixe-Zoque speakers from several centuries BC were among the first foreign groups to migrate to Tabasco, merging with the local inhabitants. The documents written by Spaniards in the first half of the 16th century state that the Province of the Sierra de Tabasqueña was occupied by Zoque-speaking inhabitants. Based on the analysis of pre-Hispanic pottery recovered in this region, a chronology can be proposed from the Early Preclassic to the Protoclassic period, continuing into the Late-Terminal-Classic through the Late-Postclassic period.

Aztec and Tlaxcalan Economic Interaction: Blockade or Interregional Exchange?

This study investigates the impact of the Aztec Triple Alliance on trade and economic activity in the region of Puebla-Tlaxcala during the Late Postclassic period (AD 1200–1519). Ethnohistorical sources describe the Aztec Triple Alliance as constantly at war with settlements in the Tlaxcala region. To weaken their Tlaxcalteca rivals, the Aztecs imposed a trade blockade to reduce the flow of resources into Puebla-Tlaxcala. This article uses archaeological evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of this blockade. It compares the types of obsidian used to manufacture lithic tools from Aztec-controlled sources with those used within Puebla-Tlaxcala. Information from the large center of Tepeticpac and the small obsidian workshop site of Cinco Santos II, both in the Tlaxcala domain, are compared to other sites in Central Mexico prior to and during the height of Aztec influence. The results show little difference in regional trade patterns: obsidian from Sierra de las Navajas and Otumba was used in proportions in the Tlaxcala region in the Late Postclassic similar to those used during earlier periods. If an embargo was attempted, it was largely unsuccessful in isolating Tlaxcala from broader regional distribution networks.

La historia de un expediente de litigio de tierra en Chiapas. Una propuesta metodológica

In Chiapas, and particularly in the Highland region, few colonial indigenous documents have been found that are similar to those produced by the neighboring Maya peoples of the Guatemala Highlands and the Yucatan Peninsula. The question of whether or not such sources exist is an legitimate one, considering the importance of these testimonies for linking Postclassic historical processes to the development of indigenous societies in the Colonial era. In this respect, the Chiapa Title is an exception. It is a record that gives us a glimpse of the dynamics and conflicts that unfolded between two large political centers: Chiapa and Zinacantan. Thus, the objective of this article is not to reexamine the content of the document, whose classification as a ''title'' is erroneous, but to analyze the nature and form of this fragment and contextualize it in the framework of the legal discourse of the era and the conflicts between the so-called ''pueblos indios''. To this end, we set forth the methodological guidelines used in our examination of the document, as well as reflections on its complex connection to the still fragmentary archeological corpus from the Postclassic period and its transition to the Colonial era.

El proclítico verbal a: el vínculo entre el Poqomchi’ y los idiomas mayas cholanos

Some missionary texts written during the Colonial period in the Poqomchi’ language (Mayan family, K’ichean subgroup) attest the verbal proclitic a, that is being lost in the modern language. It was added to verb forms in the completive aspect marked by the prefix x- and indicated, roughly speaking, the relevance of a past event at the moment of utterance. The same proclitic with similar meaning is also registered in two Mayan languages of the Cholan subgroup: Chontal of Tabasco and Chontal of Acalán. The Poqomchi’ people, despite their origin in the Guatemalan highlands, were neighbors of the Cholan groups for a considerable period of time. It is probable that the proclitic a was introduced to Poqomchi’ during the Postclassic period thanks to language contacts with some Cholan group, possibly the Acalá, who spoke a variety of Chontal, that is, a western Cholan language.

CERAMIC SEQUENCE, CHRONOLOGY, AND CULTURAL DYNAMICS OF THE UCAREO-ZINAPÉCUARO, MICHOACÁN OBSIDIAN SOURCE AREA

This article presents the ceramic sequence and chronology resulting from a multi-year program of survey, excavation, and analysis of pre-Hispanic settlement and exploitation within the Zinapécuaro-Ucareo (“U-Z”), Michoacan obsidian source area. Pottery analysis and classification aided by seriation analysis identified nine ceramic complexes and seven ceramic phases and sub-phases that both expand and refine the ceramic sequence previously established for the region by Gorenstein's (1985) investigations at nearby Acámbaro, Guanajuato. Initially established by ceramic cross-dating, the U-Z ceramic chronology has been largely confirmed by 30 radiocarbon dates and spans over 2,000 years of pre-Hispanic settlement, which included at least two notable episodes of trait-unit and site-unit intrusion from the eastern El Bajío and central Mexico. One of these episodes involved the appearance of two enclaves settled by individuals from the Acambay valley c. 90 km to the East, most likely from the site of Huamango, which our data indicate would have been occupied during the Middle Postclassic period.

Environmental DNA Reveals Arboreal Cityscapes at the Ancient Maya Center of Tikal

The city of Tikal, a major center of the ancient Maya world, has been the focus of archaeological research for over a century, yet the interactions between the Maya and the surrounding Neotropical forests remain largely enigmatic. To help fill that void, our study used a powerful new technology, environmental DNA analysis, which enabled us to characterize the site core vegetation associated with the artificial reservoirs that served as the city water supply. Because the area has no permanent water sources, these reservoirs were key to the survival of the city. In the absence of specific evidence, the nature of the vegetation surrounding the reservoirs has been the subject of scientific hypotheses for decades. To address these hypotheses we proceeded to capture homologous sequences of vascular plant DNA extracted from reservoir sediments using 120-bp genetic probes in a targeted enrichment approach. Samples date from the Early Preclassic period (1780 − 1620 BCE) to the Early Postclassic period (900–1100 CE), encompassing the time before, during and after the occupation of Tikal (1000 BCE-900 CE). Results indicate that during the Maya occupation the banks of the ancient reservoirs were primarily fringed with native tropical forest vegetation rather than domesticated species.

Las cresterías mayas

Pre-Hispanic Maya architecture had different features that highlighted its visual impact. Among them were the battlements, like those registered in the Puuc region, but also present at the Chenes area, Edzna, or Chichen Itza. Another relevant top ending was the roofcomb, whose origins belong to the first centuries of our era and are associated with the Peten architecture. These elements were decorated with stucco images and evolved for many centuries through the Postclassic period. Considering their composition, they can be classified in four different formats, whose iconography included rulers, deities and symbolic motives.

RADIOCARBON DATING APPLIED TO PREHISPANIC TERRITORIAL DYNAMICS AT EL MAYE, IXMIQUILPAN, HIDALGO, MEXICO

ABSTRACTEl Maye is a community located in the municipality of Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo, in the central region of Mexico. During the late Postclassic period (1350–1521 AD), the Aztecs controlled the area through the establishment of a dual-headed system, one part belonging to the Aztec government and the other to the local government. El Maye was the local government center for the Ixmiquilpan territory under the Aztec domain. The residential units of El Maye archaeological site were constructed in 6 different occupational phases, with the presence of large rooms, stucco floors and walls, offerings, and a variety of ceramics belonging to the late Aztec III ceramic period (1400–1520 AD). The Axis Project of the Mezquital Valley (PEVM-ENAH) and the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (LEMA-UNAM) have undertaken a collaborative study of the El Maye site by performing absolute radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (14C AMS) dating. For a better understanding of the emergence and development of El Maye, a series of AMS 14C dates of charcoal and bone samples recovered from different stratigraphic levels, was performed. This allowed us to locate the occupation of the site between 1320 and 1625 cal AD.