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The Size of the Aztec City of Yautepec

Urban survey in central Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Michael E. Smith ,
Cynthia Heath-Smith ,
Ronald Kohler ,
Joan Odess ,
Sharon Spanogle  and
Timothy Sullivan
Michael E. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
Cynthia Heath-Smith
Affiliation:
Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
Ronald Kohler
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Joan Odess
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
Sharon Spanogle
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Timothy Sullivan
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
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Abstract

In 1992 we conducted an intensive archaeological surface survey in and around the modern town of Yautepec, Morelos, Mexico. Our goals were to determine the size and extent of the Aztec-period city of Yautepec, and to gather data on its spatial organization. This article describes the methods used and the results obtained toward achieving the first goal. Aztec Yautepec covered approximately 209 ha; this area is partly covered by the modern town and partly by open fields. Late Postclassic settlement was clustered around a structure that today is the largest known Aztec palace in central Mexico. We generate ethnohistoric and archaeological population estimates for Yautepec and discuss the city in relation to other Aztec urban settlements in Morelos and the Basin of Mexico.

Type
Articles
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , Spring 1994 , pp. 1 - 11
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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