Characterizing Purépecha Urbanism

Summary

At the time of European contact the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin (LPB) was the geopolitical core of the Purépecha (Tarascan) Empire (A.D. 1350-1520), and has long been recognized as a Mesoamerican core region . Cities were an important component of Purépecha statecraft but comparatively little is known about their general characteristics, organization, and evolution. Here I explore the use and division of space within the ancient city of Angamuco to document the development of social complexity, complex societies, and urbanism in the Michoacán region. I rely heavily on airborne LiDAR data to document the ‘urban plan’ to show that 1) Angamuco is hierarchically organized in space; 2) These spatial arrangements are associated with commoner and elite residential sections, ceremonial zones, and large public spaces; 3) Angamucu is multi-noded and vertically organized on a distinctive malpaís landform.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21364