Exploring High-Elevation Mobility in the Sierra Sur Mountains Past and Present

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Checking the Pulse II, Current Research in Oaxaca Part 1" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Much like their ancestors did in the past, people in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains still travel largely on foot to reach places, such as milpas or grazing land, that are completely inaccessible by car. These trips can take hours, following trails that easily cover 500 – 1000 km of vertical movement over rugged terrain. However, the Least Cost Path (LCP) analyses used to model travel both in the present and the past frequently fail in mountainous landscapes because of built-in biases against high elevations. This presentation explores the spatial data collected during walking tours with local guides and what these results tell us about how people actually move through rugged, high-elevation mountain landscapes. Ultimately, the spatial and ethnographic data together will provide a more holistic picture of movement in mountain landscapes and help archaeologists understand more in-depth the history of occupation and movement in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Checking the Pulse II, Current Research in Oaxaca Part 1   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38632.0