Investigating Public Spaces at the Urban Center of Cerro Jazmín, Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Checking the Pulse: Current Research in Oaxaca Part I" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The paper presents recently recovered information from excavations conducted in public spaces and open areas in the Late to Terminal Formative city of Cerro Jazmín in the Mixteca Alta region of Oaxaca. An area thought to be a plaza located directly south to a three-mound complex (Tres Cerritos) revealed a series of constructions and enclosures that contained oven features, middens, and funerary constructions and deposits that suggest that these spaces served multiple functions, some of which pertained to funerary rites, foundational rituals, and public food preparation and consumption events. In addition, the results of an analysis of ceramic and lithic materials associated with the ovens and nearby middens are presented to propose that the area also served as a place of production. But, what kind of production is still to be seen? By integrating artifact, architectural, and mortuary data the paper will discuss what activities and functions took place in this centrally located place. Finally, by comparing the Cerro Jazmín findings with what is known from other contemporary Mesoamerican urban centers, the paper will discuss how public spaces are built, used, and transformed to support or redirect sociopolitical strategies aimed at establishing or solidifying cities and their social fabric.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Checking the Pulse: Current Research in Oaxaca Part I   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36347.0