Early Mixtec Urbanization at Etlatongo, Oaxaca, Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Past studies of early urbanism in Formative Oaxaca, Mexico, have highlighted evidence of the construction of monumental architecture, increased population densities, and the expansion of Middle to Late Formative period occupations onto defensive hilltops. In the Mixteca Alta of Oaxaca, investigations at urban centers, such as Cerro Jazmín, Monte Negro, and Huamelulpan, have provided evidence of Mixtec urbanization during the Early Ramos phase (300-100 BCE). We argue that at Etlatongo in the Nochixtlán Valley of the Mixteca Alta, urbanism began in the preceding Yucuita phase (500-300 BCE), and is contemporaneous with urbanism at Monte Albán in the Valley of Oaxaca based on settlement data, architectural transformations, including the construction of a low platform on the Etlatongo hill, and the changing nature of ceramic crafting. The relative close proximity of early urban centers in the Mixteca suggests the great antiquity of the different nature of Mixtec urbanization compared to that of Monte Albán in the Valley of Oaxaca.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24883