PREHISPANIC SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE VALLEY OF OAXACA, MEXICO Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Varner, Dudley M. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 11/10/2021 09:52:29 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/288287 INFORMATION TO USERS This dissertation was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction. 1. 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If necessary, sectioning is continued again — beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation. Silver prints of "photographs" may be ordered at additional charge by writing the Order Department, giving the catalog number, title, author and specific pages you wish reproduced. University Microfilms 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 A Xerox Education Company 75-4115 VARNER, Dudley Meriwether, 1938- PREHISPANIC SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE VALLEY OF QAXACA., MEXICO. The University o£ Arizona, Ph.D., 1974 Anthropology Xerox University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED. PREHISPANIC SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE VALLEY OF OAXACA, MEXICO by Dudley Meriwether Varner A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 19 7 4 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by Dudley Meriwether Varner . entitled PREHISPANIC SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE VALLEY OF OAXACA, MEXICO be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Dissertation Director ty&te {/ After inspection of the final copy of the dissertation, the following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in its approval and recommend its acceptance:-'* This approval and acceptance is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense of this dissertation at the final oral examination. The inclusion of this sheet bound into the library copy of the dissertation is evidence of satisfactory performance at the final examination. STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to bor­ rowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. R.equests for permission for extended quotation from or re­ production of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the in­ terests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. VLfl4'UJ~i— SIGNED ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The archaeological settlement pattern survey herein reported has resulted from an ongoing affiliation of two large projects in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Their Directors, Kent V. Flannery and Richard E. Blanton, may share much of the credit for whatever merits may be ascribed this paper. The Valley of Oaxaca Prehistoric Human Ecology Project was begun in 1966 by Flannery. Its general goals have been to investigate cultural-ecological processes contributing to the prehispanic importance of the Valley. National Science Foundation funds from Grant No. GS-2121 to Flannery were utilized during my 1970 survey as was a small grant from the Society of the Sigma Xi. The Valley of Oaxaca Prehispanic Settlement Survey Project was begun in 1971 by Blanton. Its goals have been to conduct systematic surveys of all archaeological sites in the Valley, including detailed mapping of the largest site, Monte Alban. Funds from NSF Grant No. GS-38030 to Blanton. The Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, provided Ford Foundation Travel Grants for field assistants during the summer of 1972. The Texas Memorial Museum, University of Texas, Austin, pro­ vided numerous funds and equipment without which I could not have undertaken the Oaxaca fieldwork. iii iv A Museum Program Fellowship CGrant No. A72-1-233) awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1972 allowed me to begin a sur­ vey of post-conquest settlements in the Valley of Oaxaca, with the special assistance of Anthony Crosby, architect, and Emily Umberger, art historian. My surveys were undertaken under the authority and supervision of the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, Concesiones No. 1/68 and 16/71 to the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michi­ gan, for Kent V. Flannery, and Concesion No. 5/71 to the Department of Anthropology, Rice University, for Richard E. Blanton. Considerable assistance, including the writing of many letters of introduction for us to municipal and other local authorities, was generously provided by the Oaxaca representatives of the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, Lorenzo Gamio and Manuel Esparza. The following individuals contributed immeasurably to various aspects of field and laboratory work during the summers of 1970, 1972 and 1973; they all have my long-lasting gratitude. Alphabetically, they are: Brenda Ray Allen, Paul Neil Allen, Richard N. Belding, Sharon Allen Belding, Betty A. Brown, Dick Drennan, Armando Jimenez, Carl Kuttruff, Virginia E. Miller, Janet I. Mitchell, Steve Plog, Elizabeth B. Shropshire, and Marcus C. Winter. A dozen or so others, here unnamed, participated in the survey for at least a day and earned their Corn Field Walker or Hill Climber badges. V Special thanks go to: 1. James A. Neely for originally introducing me to the Valley of Oaxaca and its seasonal-resident archaeologists. 2. Cecil R. Welte, unofficial consultant for all anthropological activities in the Valley of Oaxaca. 3. David S. Dibble, Director, Texas Archaeological Survey, for use of a 4x4 vehicle in 1970 and 1971. 4. The Lopez family for four summers of comfortable accommodations in their Rancho San Felipe. 5. Staff members at the Guelatao, "Globos", "Odd-Jobs", and "Blue Beach" for gastronomical and other treats. 6. The "San Felipe Rauncheros" for innumerable pickin' sessions. The Chairman of my Dissertation Committee at The University of Arizona, T. Patrick Culbert, provided counsel and criticism, as did other members of that Committee, William L. Rathje and Edwin N. Ferdon. Finally, my wife, Lynn A. Varner, deserves more than mere words of appreciation for enduring the travels and travails necessary to the completion of this dissertation. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ±X ABSTRACT xi 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. RESEARCH DESIGN: ASSUMPTIONS, OBJECTIVES AND PROCEDURES . 7 Processual Archaeology 7 Environmental Archaeology 13 Settlement Archaeology: Theory and Method 18 Settlement Archaeology in the Valley of Oaxaca .... 24 Settlement Archaeology in the Etla Arm 28 Models Toward a General Ekistical Theory 36 3. MODERN ENVIRONMENT, SETTLEMENT PATTERNS, AND LAND USE IN THE VALLEY OF OAXACA 45 Location and Size of the Valley of Oaxaca 45 Physiography, Vegetation, and Soils 45 Climate and Agricultural Potential 50 Hydrology and Precipitation 50 Irrigation Techniques 51 Subsistence and Economics 53 House Construction 56 Contemporary Settlement Patterns 58 Zonal Settlement Patterns 61 Community Settlement Patterns 62 Census Data and Maps 64 Modern Settlement Types; 66 Modern Land Use and the Kirkby Models 71 4. POST-CONQUEST AND COLONIAL SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE VALLEY OF OAXACA 77 Population Estimates at Conquest 77 Ethnohistory of the Zapotec at Conquest ... 79 Zapotec Settlement Patterns in the Colonial Period . 83 Spanish Settlements and Land Use 86 The Archaeology of Post-Conquest Sites 88 vi vii TABLE OF CONTENTS—Continued Page 5. PREHISPANIC SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE ETLA ARM 97 Prehispanic Settlement Types 97 Preceramic Settlements (Paleo-Indian and Archaic, 8,000H— 1,500 B.C.) 102 Tierras Largas Phase (Early Formative, 1,500 - 1,200 B.C. 104 San Jose'Phase (Early Formative, 1,200 - 900 B.C.) . 105 Guadalupe Phase (Middle Formative, 900 - 600 B.C.) . 109 Monte Alban Early I Phase (Late Formative, 600 — 300 B.C.) Ill Monte Alban Late I Phase (Terminal Formative, 300 - 100 B. C.) 113 Monte Alban II Phase(Proto-Classic, 100 B.C. - A.D.