essay
Formative period settlement patterns in the Río Amatzinac Valley
ancient chalcatzingo • Austin • Published In 1987 • Pages: 343-367
By: Hirth, Kenn.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Hirth provides analysis of the results of an intensive site survey of the Río Amatzinac Valley of Morelos State, Mexico, utilizing the Formative period data presented in Document 39. Early Formative period Amate phase (3500-3100 B.P.) occupation appears without evident precedent, and although oriented toward an agricultural economy it retains Archaic patterns of seasonal gathering-hunting camps. Although public architecture is evident at the Olmec-influenced site of Chalcatzingo, the dominance of this center truly becomes apparent during the early Middle Formative period Barranca phase (to 2700 B.P.), with large-scale terracing and irrigation works indicating direction and control over ceremony and intensified agricultural production by an elite, concurrent with decreased emphasis on the pre-existing broad-spectrum subsistence economy as indicated by abandonment of settlement in agriculturally marginal areas. With a near tripling of population during the Middle Formative period Cantera phase (to 2500 B.P.) Chalcatzingo emerges as a true regional center, and land use intensifies with settlement re-expanding into areas marginal for agriculture. Chalcatzingo loses its central importance in the Late Formative period during which evidence for ties with the Olmec core area on the Gulf Coast declines drastically. The document concludes with a consideration of evidence for revolutionary socioeconomic changes that appear to have taken place in the valley during the Formative period. The notably precocious rise of the highland regional center of Chalcatzingo with public/ceremonial architecture may be attributable in part to stimulus diffusion from the coastal Olmec core area.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Settlement patterns
- Land use
- Population
- Territorial hierarchy
- Architecture
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Olmec
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Middle America and the Caribbean
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Central Mexico
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Leon G. Doyon ; 2007
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1972-1976
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 3500 BP-1850 BP
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Río Amatzinac Valley, Morelos State, Mexico
- NotesAdditional notes
- Kenneth G. Hirth
- For bibliographical references see Grove: 1987 (Document 3)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 85022673
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Olmecs