An architectural energetics analysis of ceremonial architecture from the shaft tomb culture of the highland lakes region of Jalisco, Mexico

Summary

During the Late Formative to Classic period (300 BC – 550 AD) in the highland lakes region of Jalisco, Mexico, a number of concentric circular ceremonial monuments known as guachimontones were built by the shaft tomb culture. The largest site in the region is Los Guachimontones near the town of Teuchitlan. The site is thought to have been governed by competing familial groups within a corporate framework rather than a single powerful ruler. The platforms that are a part of a guachimonton are thought to correspond to one, or possibly more, of the ruling competing groups based on previous analysis of recovered material culture from excavations. Whether or not competition was evident based on the structures themselves was unknown. This study performed an architectural energetics analysis of one of the monuments at Los Guachimontones to address this issue. Based on the analysis, questions on quality of construction between platforms, significant difference in sizes of platforms, and how labor was organized between these competing groups were addressed and whether these answers fit with existing models for the site.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage