Oaxaca - Tierras Largas

  General Description   The Tierras Largas phase refers to the period from 1400 to 1150 BCE. It was named for an archaeological site in the Etla subregion of the Valley of Oaxaca, Southern Mexico. ^[1]
Population and political organization
There is no evidence for a widespread unified polity during the Tierras Largas phase, and very little indication of social differentiation between or within communities. The period has therefore been characterized as one of egalitarian social organization, in which status could perhaps be achieved but not inherited. ^[2] The population, estimated at 500-1000, was dispersed throughout the valley with settlements clustered on the most fertile land in the Etla arm. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]} Most of these settlements were small (between one and three hectares), except for San José Mogote, which was larger (seven hectares), had a defensive palisade and featured larger buildings that could have been used as public spaces. ^[7] However, there is no evidence that the influence of San José Mogote extended beyond the village to other settlements. ^[7] The ’type site’, Tierras Largas, covered around 1.6-2.2 ha and consisted of 5-10 households with nearby storage pits. ^[8] The inhabitants of the valley cultivated domestic crops and supplemented their diet by gathering wild fruits and hunting animals. More intensive forms of agriculture had not yet developed. ^[9]

[1]: (Hodges 1989, 26) Denise C. Hodges. 1989. Agricultural Intensification and Prehistoric Health in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca, Vol. 9. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology.

[2]: (Flannery and Marcus 2005, 6) Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus. 2005. Excavations at San José Mogote 1: The Household Archaeology. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology.

[3]: (Marcus and Flannery 1996, 88) Joyce Marcus and Kent V. Flannery. 1996. Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. London: Thames and Hudson.

[4]: (Joyce 2009, 74-75) Arthur A. Joyce. 2009. Mixtecs, Zapotecs, and Chatinos: Ancient Peoples of Southern Mexico. Malden, MA: Wiley‐Blackwell.

[5]: (Flannery and Marcus 2005, 7) Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus. 2005. Excavations at San José Mogote 1: The Household Archaeology. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology.

[6]: (Feinman et al. 1985, 337) Gary M. Feinman, Stephen A. Kowalewski, Laura Finsten, Richard E. Blanton and Linda Nicholas. 1985. ’Long-term Demographic Change: A Perspective from the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico’. Journal of Field Archaeology 12 (3): 333-62.

[7]: (Joyce 2009, 74) Arthur A. Joyce. 2009. Mixtecs, Zapotecs, and Chatinos: Ancient Peoples of Southern Mexico. Malden, MA: Wiley‐Blackwell.

[8]: (Marcus and Flannery 1996, 84) Joyce Marcus and Kent V. Flannery. 1996. Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. London: Thames and Hudson.

[9]: (Hodges 1989, 28) Denise C. Hodges. 1989. Agricultural Intensification and Prehistoric Health in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca, Vol. 9. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology.