Defending Hilltops: Terraced Landscape Creation during Periods of Prehispanic Warfare

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Terraced landscapes are the geomorphic remains of dynamic cultural processes. Terraces were constructed in a range of environmental conditions to serve a variety of ecological and social functions. In Mesoamerica, terrace use spans thousands of years and is often associated with agricultural production. This study investigates the utilization of terraced landscapes during periods of increased regional violence and political instability. I analyzed various environmental characteristics and material assemblages associated with terraced hill sites in Northwestern Mexico to achieve this. Previous analysis of these sites has resulted in their classification as primarily defensive or ritual in purpose. Using a network approach, I attempt to understand how interactions between the social and ecological landscape shaped the land use decisions that determined the specialized functions of these terraced hillslopes. A comparison with terraced sites in Central Mexico was conducted to determine how variations in ecological and social landscapes impact the physical characteristics and material assemblages associated with terraced hilltop sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37556.0