essay

Land use in prehispanic Oaxaca: 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: 449-505

By: Nicholas, Linda M..

Abstract
'Nicholas explores the nature of the relationship between the distribution of agricultural land and the prehispanic populations of the Valley. [She focuses] on how the actual population distributions differed from those that would have been expected if the environment was the key factor affecting settlement decisions.' (page 450). She finds that the environment accounts for very little of the specific patterns of settlement location. Once Monte Albán was established the population was no longer located to take advantage of the best agricultural land. Instead, it was the larger settlements that effected the placement of the smaller settlements. 'It appears that social, political, and economic considerations overrode exclusively environmental [settlement decisions] during much of the prehispanic era in the Valley of Oaxaca.' (page 505). Nicholas discusses the settlement patterns and land use from the Tierras Largas through the Monte Albán phases, but only the data from the Rosario through the Monte Albán IIIA phases were marked for OCM codes (Outline of Cultural Materials).
Subjects
Land use
Settlement patterns
Tillage
Population
Territorial hierarchy
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
3400-500 BP (1400 BC-AD 1500)
Coverage Place
Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico
Notes
by Linda M. Nicholas
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