Altica: The Millennium before Teotihuacan

One of the big questions for archaeology is the origins of complex societies. Although one of the largest and most influential cities and states, Teotihuacan, developed in the northeastern Basin of Mexico, there has been little research in recent decades about the Formative period before the rise of Teotihuacan. The Altica Project that began in 2014 is an important step in addressing the limited problem-oriented research at Formative sites in the Basin of Mexico for over two decades. Altica is the earliest-known settled village in the Teotihuacan Valley and one of the only first-farming village sites in the Basin of Mexico that has not been engulfed by the urban sprawl of Mexico City. Despite its small size and remote location, Altica was an important piece in Early and Middle Formative exchange networks as it played a role in the early trade of Otumba obsidian and imported other goods from distant places in Mesoamerica. Papers in this session present findings from excavations and surveys at the site and studies of its artifacts and features. Contributors discuss topics ranging from diet, exchange/procurement networks focused on obsidian and ceramics, tool technologies, and the cultural and biological identities of its inhabitants.