essay

Continuity and change in public architecture: periods I through V of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico

Monte Albán's hinterland, part. 2: Prehispanic settlement patterns in Tlacolula, Etla, and Ocotlan, the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, by Stephen A. Kowalewski ... [et al • (23) • Published In 1989 • Pages: 409-447

By: Blanton, Richard E..

Abstract
Blanton analyzes the data on public architecture in the Valley of Oaxaca. Using only the data on the surviving platforms that he can place to a single ceramic period, he creates a sample that includes 86 Monte Albán Late I structures and 59 Monte Albán II structures. Structures from Monte Albán Early I were not included in the analyses because there were only 19 of them. The goal of the study was to examine changes in scale, integration, and complexity in the structures within the survey region. Blanton found 'the data pertaining to orientation, plaza group configuration, and whole-site architectural assemblages ...' (page 444) provided the most nonrandom data. Also, his analysis reaffirms Kowalewski's findings that Periods II and IV were periods of relative regional fragmentation and decentralization.
Subjects
Public structures
Religious and educational structures
Settlement patterns
tradition
Highland Mesoamerican Late Preclassic
HRAF PubDate
2010
Region
Middle America and the Caribbean
Sub Region
General Middle America and the Caribbean
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Type
Archaeologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Sarah Berry; 2008
Field Date
1970-1974, 1977, 1980
Coverage Date
2500-500 BP (500 BC-AD 1500)
Coverage Place
Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico
Notes
by Richard E. Blanton
LCCN
90620264
LCSH
Indians of Mexico--Mexico--Oaxaca Valley--Antiquities/Land settlement patterns--Mexico--Oaxaca Valley/Demographic archaeology--Mexico--Oaxaca Valley/Monte Albán Site (Mexico)/Oaxaca Valley (Mexico)--Antiquities