Geophysical Studies in the Archaeological Site of Chicoloapan, Estado de Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Central Mexico after Teotihuacan: Everyday Life and the (Re)Making of Epiclassic Communities" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In this paper we present integrated archaeological and prospection data from Chicoloapan, in the Estado de Mexico, generated by drone aerial photo, topographic survey, electric, magnetic, and georadar techniques. These data result from three years of research by the Proyecto Arqueológico Chicoloapan Viejo, a collaboration between UNAM and University of Wisconsin-Madison that investigates the local impact of Teotihuacan’s decline and the growth of an Epiclassic town. The site includes several visible mounds that appear on the surface to be isolated, but we know now that they were part of large architectural complexes that include the mounds, sunken patios, plazas, and surrounding residences. Sunken patios are well preserved since they remained beneath the plow zone. Architectural remains located close to the surface have been altered by modern mechanized agriculture, but we have been able to detect the buried remnants of walls and plastered floors of large, multiroom structures. Some of these structures incorporated volcanic stones in walls, making it possible to detect them through magnetic studies. After covering 50,000 m2 with geophysical methods, we have a clearer understanding of the architecture present and can better characterize the relationship between visible mounds and other kind of buried civic and residential structures.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Central Mexico after Teotihuacan: Everyday Life and the (Re)Making of Epiclassic Communities

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32550