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Formation Processes of Large Earthen Residential Mounds in La Mixtequilla, Veracruz, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Barbara Ann Hall
Barbara Ann Hall*
Affiliation:
Department of Behavioral Sciences, Riverside Community College, Riverside, CA 92506
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Abstract

Residential mounds are basic units of archaeological analysis, yet their formation rarely is considered systematically. Large earthen residential mounds, classified by Tourtellot (1983:43, 50) as “tells,” are characteristic of Veracruz and of many Preclassic sites. These low, broad mounds are larger than a house mound, commonly the size of a Maya plazuela group (Stark 1991a:45), and represent the remains of one or more structures. Data on the stratification and artifact characteristics of a Classic-period mound in La Mixtequilla, Veracruz, permit reconstruction of six major formation processes that contribute to the growth of earthern residential mounds. The formation processes of these "tells in miniature" and the relative quantity of fill vs. accretionary growth have important implications for the interpretation of household size, status, and other demographic and social variables.

Los montículos residenciales son unidades elementales de análisis arqueológico, pero no es común que su formación sea tenida en cuenta de manera sistemática. Los montículos residenciales de tamaño grande, calificados por Tourtellot (1983:43, 50) como tells, son característicos de los montículos hallados en el estado de Veracruz y en muchos sitios preclásicos. Estos montículos bajos y anchos son de mayor tamaño que los montículos habitacionales; comúnmente son del tamaño de una plazuela maya (Stark 1991a:45), que agrupa los restos de una o más estructuras. La información recogida sobre la estratificación y características de los artefactos du un montículo en La Mixtequilla, Veracruz, ha servido para reconstruir el proceso de formación de los montículos residenciales. El proceso de formación de estos tells pequeños, y la cantidad relativa de los diferentes sedimentos encontrados, tiene implicaciones importantes en cuanto a la determinación del tamaño de las familias o el número de individuos que ocuparon el sitio, y en el estudio de la demografía y del orden social de Mesoamérica.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , March 1994 , pp. 31 - 50
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1994

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