A Place of Continued Importance the Abandonment of Epiclassic La Quemada
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The present research was a continuation of our previous 1998 NSF-funded research within a one-kilometer radius of the large fortified ceremonial center of La Quemada in Zacatecas, Mexico. The objective of this research was to determine the range of social responses ultimately tied to the failure of La Quemada as a complex Epiclassic (~AD 600-800) political entity and the associated processes of local level demographic changes. The framework for research consisted of testing two competing hypotheses to account for the evident intensification of agriculture: (1) risk reduction as a response to environmental deterioration, or (2) population pressure.
In order to evaluate these hypotheses, excavations were conducted on two habitation sites, MV-206 (Bosque Encantada), MV-266 (La Jabonera) and the major terracing system associated with La Quemada. Activities at MV-206 included 100% block excavations of 4 additional contiguous plaza compounds to determine variability in settlement layout and architectural detail, collection of over 12 additional AMS radiocarbon dates to refine ceramic and architectural chronology, collection of over 65 additional pollen/ macrobotanical samples from controlled stratigraphic contexts for paleoclimate reconstruction, and analyses of the d13N and d13C data from human bones for preliminary dietary reconstruction. Activities on MV-266 (La Jabonera), a small habitation site located contiguous to the La Quemada agricultural terraces, consisted of 100% block excavation of the main plaza precinct and 8 associated room platforms. Pollen and diatom samples were also taken from these stratigraphic excavations. As at site MV-206, excavations here were usually conducted in one meter square grid units to insure fine-grained provenience recordings. This strategy enables determination of activity areas specific to architectural and within-site locations. Activities on the nearby La Quemada agricultural terraces included sampling 9 of the 19 terrace levels. A total of 27 test units were excavated on these terraces and the 14-meter wide causeway that transects them. These units yielded 111 samples from controlled stratigraphic levels for studies of pollen, phytoliths, diatoms, soil chemistry composition and cultural artifacts. A website was established (http://artsci.wustl.edu/~trombold) as part of the data access plan.
Before research began, for heuristic purposes of selecting the most plausable hypotheses for this region's agricultural intensification (climatic stress vs. population pressure), we postulated that both the agricultural terraces and site MV-266 were somewhat later than La Quemada's major occupation (i.e., post AD 900) and that they reflected environmental deterioration. Results of excavations in the 3 areas indicate that MV-206, MV-266 and the agricultural terraces were all coeval during La Quemada's apogee (ca. AD 600-800). Moreover, the pollen profiles studied from these locations indicate that climate conditions had not changed remarkably from that of the present. Preliminary analyses of diatoms and sponge spicules found in various stratigraphic levels on the terraces suggest a general ubiquity. The latter indicates that these materials may be found naturally in the soil and, as such, could have limited use for climatic reconstruction.
Architectural variability was also present when comparing sites MV-206 (Bosque Encantado, MV-266 (La Jabonera) and the previously excavated (in 1986) site MV-138 (Las Adjuntas), even though these were all roughly coeval. The terraces also showed distinct construction styles. In general, site MV-138 in the Pilarillos site aggregate was composed of completely enclosed rectangular courtyards with square platforms. Sites MV-206 and MV-266 in the La Quemada site aggregate, however, were mostly composed of incompletely enclosed courtyards. Moreover, the...
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