Cynthia Heath-Smith’s research while affiliated with Arizona State University and other places

This is a brief descriptive reports on an ethnoarchaeological project to study modern adobe houses in the Mexican village of Tetlama.In Archaeological Research at Aztec-Period Rural Sites in Morelos, Mexico. Volume 1, Excavations and Architecture / Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Sitios Rurales de la Época Azteca en Morelos, Tomo 1, Excavaciones y Arquitectura, edited by Michael E. Smith, pp. 405-418. University of Pittsburgh Monographs in Latin American Archaeology, vol. 4. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh. (1992).

This is a brief descriptive reports on an ethnoarchaeological project to study modern adobe houses in the Mexican village of Tetlama.In Archaeological Research at Aztec-Period Rural Sites in Morelos, Mexico. Volume 1, Excavations and Architecture / Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Sitios Rurales de la Época Azteca en Morelos, Tomo 1, Excavaciones y Arquitectura, edited by Michael E. Smith, pp. 405-418. University of Pittsburgh Monographs in Latin American Archaeology, vol. 4. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh. (1992).

Calixtlahuaca, a Middle–Late Postclassic site in the Toluca Valley of central Mexico, was occupied ca. A.D. 1100–1530. Our excavations reveal some of the processes involved in the creation, functions, and decay of a large hilltop urban center. At its height, the majority of the site’s surface (264 ha) was covered with residential-agricultural terraces supported by a complex water management system. House construction techniques included the use of adobe brick, wattle-and-daub, and stone pavements. Our fieldwork contributes to a growing body of research on hilltop political capitals in Mesoamerica. Using a refined chronology, we illuminate the processes by which people constructed the residential zones of this ancient hilltop city.

[English] Our recent excavations at the site of Yautepec in the Mexican state of Morelos have uncovered a large set of residential structures from an Aztec city. We excavated seven houses with associated middens, as well as several middens without architecture. In this paper, we briefly review the excavations, describe each house, and summarize the nature of construction materials and methods employed. We compare the Yautepec houses with other known Aztec houses and make some preliminary inferences on the relationship between house size and wealth at the site. // [Spanish] En nuestras excavaciones recientes en el sitio de Yautepec en el estado mexicano de Morelos, encontramos un grupo grande de casas habitacionales en una ciudad azteca. Excavamos siete casas con sus basureros, tanto como otros basureros sin arquitectura. En este artículo revisamos las excavaciones, decribimos cada casa y discutimos los patrones de materiales y métodos de construcción. Hacemos comparaciones entre las casas de Yautepec y otras casas aztecas, y presentamos algunas conclusiones preliminares sobre la relación entre el tamaño de las casas y la riqueza.

In 1992 we conducted an intensive archaeological surface survey in and around the modern town of Yautepec, Morelos, Mexico. Our goals were to determine the size and extent of the Aztec-period city of Yautepec, and to gather data on its spatial organization. This article describes the methods used and the results obtained toward achieving the first goal. Aztec Yautepec covered approximately 209 ha; this area is partly covered by the modern town and partly by open fields. Late Postclassic settlement was clustered around a structure that today is the largest known Aztec palace in central Mexico. We generate ethnohistoric and archaeological population estimates for Yautepec and discuss the city in relation to other Aztec urban settlements in Morelos and the Basin of Mexico.

Excavations conducted by the Postclassic Morelos Archaeological Project in western Morelos, Mexico, have recovered data on stone architecture during the Late Postclassic, or Aztec, period at three sites: Cuexcomate (a town settlement); Capilco (a village); and Site 3 (a farmstead). Whereas the village site exhibits only one class of structures (ground-level houses), the town has a diversity of architectural classes including ground-level houses, platform houses, temple platforms, circular structures, and rock piles. These categories are described and the nature of inter-class and intra-class architectural variability is explored. Our results shed light on the nature of the Aztec peasantry, suggesting a high level of social complexity in rural provincial areas.

Texto en inglés y español Incluye bibliografía Contenido: v. 1. Excavations and architure = Excavaciones y arquitectura