Cerro Portezuelo Research Articles

Transformations in Representations of Gender During the Emergence of the Teotihuacan State: A Regional Case Study of Ceramic Figurines from the Basin of Mexico

This paper investigates transformations in the construction and expression of gender ideologies in the Basin of Mexico from the late Middle Formative through Classic periods (approx. 800bc–ad600). Ceramic figurines from the sites of Teotihuacan, Axotlan, Cerro Portezuelo and Huixtoco are used to explore how elements of gender were constructed and communicated in the region over the course of a millennium, and how these practices underwent a transformation during the emergence and expansion of the Teotihuacan state. During the Formative periods, the selection, combination, or omission of sexual attributes in association with decorative elements such as jewellery formed a flexible strategy for depicting a variety of social identities across the Basin of Mexico. The emergence of the Teotihuacan figurine style in the Terminal Formative period brought with it significant changes to the way figurine bodies were formed—sexual attributes disappeared and were replaced with increasingly elaborate clothing and jewellery as the figurine corpus diversified into multiple types. Although relative rates of depictions of feminine and masculine figurines shifted over time, in no period were figurines limited to a binary set of depictions, indicating diverse social identities and gender ideologies in the Basin of Mexico over time.

SHIFTING ALLIANCES: EPICLASSIC AND EARLY POSTCLASSIC INTERACTIONS AT CERRO PORTEZUELO

AbstractThis analysis takes a diachronic view of Epiclassic and Early Postclassic period production and consumption patterns of diagnostic pottery complexes at Cerro Portezuelo. Stylistic and chemical characterization studies indicate a dramatic shift in the directionality and participation in pottery complexes through time throughout the Basin of Mexico. In the Epiclassic period, Cerro Portezuelo was a participant in a southern basin cultural complex. Early Postclassic pottery at Cerro Portezuelo indicates full participation in the Mazapan/Tollan pottery complex extending from Tula, through Teotihuacan, and into the southern Texcoco region. This study expands upon a previous compositional study of Cerro Portezuelo materials that indicate that Epiclassic and Early Postclassic pottery consumption was predominantly from local sources in the southeastern basin. The current study further identifies stylistic affiliations in decorated pottery types with neighboring areas within the basin and significantly increases the sample size for Epiclassic and Early Postclassic compositional data at Cerro Portezuelo.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND POTTERY EXCHANGE UNDER AZTEC AND SPANISH RULE IN CERRO PORTEZUELO

AbstractInstrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of Middle and Late Postclassic and Early Colonial period decorated and plain ware ceramic sherds from Brainerd's excavation collections at Cerro Portezuelo highlight diachronic changes in commercial pottery exchange prior to and during the Aztec empire and during the first century of Spanish colonial rule. The INAA results show that before the Aztec empire (Middle Postclassic period;a.d.1150–1350), most pottery used at Cerro Portezuelo was made locally or imported from various sources in the southern Basin of Mexico. After the empire formed (Late Postclassic period;a.d.1350–1521), local pottery exchange continued, but Tenochtitlan became the primary source of imported pottery in Cerro Portezuelo, despite its location within Texcoco's domain, which was likely attributable to Tenochtitlan merchants' successful exploitation of lake trafficking. After the Spanish Conquest (Early Colonial period;a.d.1521–1625), Texcoco became the principal supplier of pottery in Cerro Portezuelo. Tenochtitlan persisted as a commercial exporter of pottery after the conquest but on a smaller scale, probably because of the degradation and infilling of the lakes, especially Lake Texcoco.

OBSIDIAN BLADES FROM CERRO PORTEZUELO: SOURCING ARTIFACTS FROM A LONG-DURATION SITE

AbstractThis paper reports source identifications for a sample of obsidian prismatic blades from the site of Cerro Portezuelo, Mexico. Although the sample is highly biased and stratigraphically mixed, some interesting results were obtained. Compared to contemporary sites in the region, the frequency of green Pachuca obsidian was unusually low (65%), while obsidian from the distant Ucareo source was unusually abundant (14%). This pattern appears to hold for both the Classic and the Postclassic periods and differs from Classic Teotihuacan. This contrast implies that Cerro Portezuelo was not importing all of its obsidian directly from Teotihuacan during the Classic period but, rather, was obtaining some quantity of Ucareo obsidian from other sites, most likely located to the west. This trade pattern would eventually spread throughout the Basin of Mexico, after the fall of Teotihuacan, but it is foreshadowed during the Classic period at Cerro Portezuelo.

CHANGING APPROACHES TO MAIZE PREPARATION AT CERRO PORTEZUELO

AbstractAnalyses of grinding tools at Cerro Portezuelo provide an unusual opportunity to study changing subsistence priorities. Evidence in the Teotihuacan and Mezquital Valley indicates that established patterns of dependence on maize may have been interrupted during the Epiclassic and Early Postclassic periods. Grinding tool collections in both locations contain unusually high frequencies of closed-surface grinding tools (trough metates and mortars), which are less efficient for intensive maize grinding than the open-surface tools commonly used during both the Classic and Late Postclassic periods. While analyzing the Cerro Portezuelo grinding tool collection presents many problems because of imprecise chronology, this collection also contains an unusually high frequency of closed-surface tools that can be attributed to its Epiclassic and Early Postclassic inhabitants. Thus, Cerro Portezuelo contributes to a growing picture of subsistence after the collapse of Teotihuacan in which maize was deemphasized and may have been replaced by amaranth and other foods.

CERRO PORTEZUELO: STATES AND HINTERLANDS IN THE PRE-HISPANIC BASIN OF MEXICO

AbstractGeorge Brainerd directed excavations at Cerro Portezuelo in the mid-1950s to understand the Classic to Postclassic transition and the questions he asked are still salient. We have undertaken a reanalysis of the artifacts, survey, and excavation data from Brainerd's project to better understand the nature of relations between the Early Classic period city of Teotihuacan, its immediate hinterlands, and the change from the Teotihuacan state system to Postclassic period city-state organization. Because of Cerro Portezuelo's long occupation that began in the Late/Terminal Formative period and continued beyond the Spanish Conquest, it is a strategic site to investigate the dynamics of state formation and episodes of centralization and fragmentation over this long span. Here we review the history of research concerning Cerro Portezuelo, discuss the current research project reported in the articles that comprise this Special Section, and highlight some of the major findings.

AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF CERRO PORTEZUELO BIOARCHAEOLOGY: BURIAL ANALYSIS AND THE (RE)EXCAVATION OF CONTEXTS FROM A 1950s PROJECT

AbstractOnly about 19 of the 70 or so skeletons excavated at Cerro Portezuelo were brought back to UCLA, and adequate information is lacking for most of these. A detailed analysis of the excavation and curation records, as well as of the skeletons, was conducted in an attempt to identify their contexts and to evaluate their potential for contribution to our knowledge of the Cerro Portezuelo community. Although subadult dental health was good, adult levels of caries and antemortem loss were comparable to those of other Mesoamerican populations. Oxygen-isotope data suggest only limited long-distance immigration into the area. Further interpretation, however, is hampered by poor contextual data and the inability to assign most individuals to a specific period.

MEASURING THE LONG ARM OF THE STATE: TEOTIHUACAN'S RELATIONS IN THE BASIN OF MEXICO

AbstractThe city of Teotihuacan has long been viewed as a primate center, dominating surrounding settlements in the Basin of Mexico politically and economically, but its specific relationships with subordinate polities are not well understood. In this article I consider the diverse roles that two rural settlements played in the intraregional structure of the Teotihuacan state. Specifically, I investigate differences in architecture and ceramic assemblages at Axotlan, in the Cuauhtitlan region to the west, and Cerro Portezuelo, in the Texcoco region to the south. Results of this research demonstrate that Teotihuacan's relationships with smaller settlements in the Basin of Mexico differed considerably in intensity and changed through time. This variation reflects specific administrative and economic strategies crafted by the state as well as varying degrees of political and economic autonomy among rural settlements.

CERRO PORTEZUELO FAUNAL REMAINS AND WORKED BONE: WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM EARLY EXCAVATED COLLECTIONS

AbstractAnalyses of the faunal remains from Cerro Portezuelo indicate that the site's pre-Hispanic residents made use of both wild and domesticated animals commonly found near lakeshores and agricultural fields. Most of the faunal assemblage examined comes from a Postclassic period residential structure, providing information regarding the animal species utilized by the early inhabitants of the area and the types of household activities they engaged in using tools made from worked bone. Examination of the collections from another part of the site shows intriguing similarities to the animal selection practices previously identified in the Epiclassic period collections from Oztoyahualco, Teotihuacan.

THE ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF CERRO PORTEZUELO

AbstractExcavations at the site of Cerro Portezuelo, located on the lower slopes of a hill in Chimalhuacan, State of México, were begun by George Brainerd in 1954 and continued in 1955, but he died suddenly, before a projected third season could take place. With the exception of a few small structures higher on the hill, no signs of significant structures were visible on the surface. Architectural features revealed through excavation, however, included a platform with associated caches of the Middle Classic period, a platform and a burial area of the Epiclassic period, and a residential complex that appears to have spanned the Early and Late Postclassic periods. This complex included a sunken patio, a freestanding shrine, habitational rooms, and other features. Construction materials included stone, adobe brick, and tepetate.

Neutrons, Markets, Cities, and Empires: A 1000-Year Perspective on Ceramic Production and Distribution in the Postclassic Basin of Mexico

We use instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of ceramics from three centers, Cerro Portezuelo, Chalco, and Xaltocan, in the Basin of Mexico, whose occupations span the Postclassic to examine the changing role of markets and evaluate models of political economy. Our results suggest that production and distribution of Epiclassic serving wares was highly localized conforming closely to a solar market model. Ceramic exchange within the Basin increased during the Early and Middle Postclassic, in some cases paralleling political alliance networks. The Late Postclassic marketing pattern incorporated both increased regionalism and increased exchange between hinterlands and imperial cities. These patterns are probably not unique to the Basin of Mexico. INAA is a fruitful means to explore the development of preindustrial markets related to fluctuating economic, demographic, and political processes.

A Brief Progress Report on the Excavations at Cerro Portezuelo, Valley of Mexico

AbstractWork at this Classic-Postclassic site, begun by George W. Brainerd and interrupted by his untimely death, is being completed by Nicholson and Hicks. While analysis of much of the archaeological material is well underway, work on the ceramic typology has not yet proceeded to the point where “functional” interpretations can be made. Certain misunderstandings in the use of Cerro Portezuelo material by Mayer-Oakes are noted.