Lidar and DepthmapX: Spatial Analysis of the Archaeological Site Malpaís de Tacámbaro, La Garita Sector

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Looking to the West: New insights into Postclassic Archaeology in Michoacán" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In the municipality of Tacámbaro, Michoacán, is located the archaeological site Malpaís de Tacámbaro, La Garita sector. It is an arm of lava spill where the presence of prehispanic structures that seem to be part of the first urban centers of the Middle Postclassic (AD 1200–1350) stands out. According to the Relación de Michoacán, it is known that between AD 1400 and 1450, Tacanbaro was conquered by the Uacúsechas who governed Tzintzuntzan; little is known about the population prior to the conquest by the Tarascans. Since it is located in the Malpaís, the La Garita sector has a high degree of architectural preservation, so it has been possible to generate a plan of the structures, identifying three main types: quadrangular, circular, and special. In the specific case of the quadrangular plan structures (mainly), they have been related to housing units, so the use of the agent simulator offered by the DepthmapX software was proposed in order to begin the characterization of the term quahta (house) on which the political, social, and territorial relations throughout Michoacán are based.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Looking to the West: New insights into Postclassic Archaeology in Michoacán   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38570.0