ARCHEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION IN COIXTLAHUACA, OAXACA

Summary

During field seasons 2008 – 2011 a large set of archaeological prospection techniques were applied in large areas surrounding present town of Coixtlahuaca, Oaxaca in a joint project carried on by University of Georgia and the National University of Mexico. This project attempted to put together the large experience of Kowalewski in archaeological survey in Oaxaca’s valleys and the experience of the Archaeological Prospection Laboratory using geophysical techniques in Mexico. These approaches are complementary because the scale of archaeological survey is in the order of 106 m2, the archaeological prospection is closer to104 m2, building in this way, a bridge to connect the archaeological excavation that covers areas around 102 m2 and in this way it was possible to take advantage of the data obtained during the 50 km2 survey carried on by Kowalewsky’s team, selecting some specific areas to perform geophysical studies that at the end of the process allowed to select areas for excavation. It was a unique project since there is no other example of such a combination of scales and techniques in an extensive archaeological site like Coixtlahuaca to detect not only the presence of buried structures but more important, occupation density in the area.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Staying Out of Small, Square Holes: The Contributions of Stephen Kowalewski to the Understanding of Human Societies at Regional and Global Scales

Keywords

Spatial Coverage