(300–100 BC) Discovered in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico
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Ancient palace complex (300–100 BC) discovered in the INAUGURAL ARTICLE Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico Elsa M. Redmonda,1 and Charles S. Spencera aDivision of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024 This contribution is part of the special series of Inaugural Articles by members of the National Academy of Sciences elected in 2014. Contributed by Elsa M. Redmond, February 22, 2017 (sent for review January 26, 2017; reviewed by Joyce Marcus and Stephen Plog) Recently completed excavations at the site of El Palenque in concurrent with other archaeological indicators of a first- Mexico’s Valley of Oaxaca have recovered the well-preserved re- generation state in Oaxaca, now recognized as among the ear- mains of a palace complex dated by associated radiocarbon sam- liest archaic states to have emerged in Mesoamerica (4). ples and ceramics to the Late Formative period or Late Monte Palace Complexes of Later Mesoamerican States Albán I phase (300–100 BC), the period of archaic state emergence in the region. The El Palenque palace exhibits certain architectural Ethnohistoric descriptions of the palaces of later Mesoamerican and organizational features similar to the royal palaces of much states underscore the multifunctional nature of the royal palace. later Mesoamerican states described by Colonial-period sources. The most complete data pertain to the palaces of 15th and 16th The excavation data document a multifunctional palace complex century Aztec rulers in the Basin of Mexico (5). Upon ascending covering a maximum estimated area of 2,790 m2 on the north side the throne of Texcoco in 1431, Nezahualcoyotl built his monu- of the site’s plaza and consisting of both governmental and resi- mental palace (uei tecpan), depicted on a plan (Mapa Quinatzin) dential components. The data indicate that the palace complex drawn in 1542 and described by Alva Ixtlilxóchitl in ca. 1600 (6). Estimated to have extended some 1,037 × 821.5 m (ref. 5, p. 27), was designed and built as a single construction. The palace com- Nezahualcoyotl’s palace complex dominated Texcoco’s plaza. A plex at El Palenque is the oldest multifunctional palace excavated passageway led into an entry court, the palace’s largest space, where thus far in the Valley of Oaxaca. fires burned continually in braziers. Here Nezahualcoyotl’s lords and allies assembled in highly ranked order to deliberate con- ANTHROPOLOGY archaic states | royal palaces | Mesoamerican archaeology sequential matters. The court was flanked by differentiated halls and platforms reached by ascending one of three stairways and he palace is the seat of government where the ruler governs passing through colonnaded porticos, some hidden behind cur- Tand resides. It is a distinguishing and lasting characteristic of tains hanging at their entrances. These halls of varying sizes and state societies. State societies feature a centralized, hierarchical, degrees of exclusivity were designed for royal councils, where ad- and internally specialized administrative organization, whereas ministrative, judicial, and military decisions were made. A central ’ the centralized and hierarchical administrative organization of stairway led from the court to the ruler s dais and mat throne, from prestate societies is not internally specialized (1). When the first- which he presided over public audiences and performed official duties. A side door allowed councilors private access to the ruler. generation states evolved from prestate societies, the royal pal- ’ ace made its appearance in the archaeological record, along with Storerooms contained the ruler s insignia and a kettledrum, armor, weapons, and tribute items. Nezahualcoyotl’s living quarters were in other indicators of state organization. In a cross-cultural analysis, the palace’s interior, reached by a labyrinth of passageways and Sanders (2) noted the evolutionary significance of the palace as a ’ blind alleys. The royal residence consisted of multiple patios and measure of a state society s organization and the authority of its large, exquisitely decorated rooms. Here lay bedrooms for the ruler, ruler. He determined that although the chiefs of prestate soci- the queen, and other women, lavatories, and kitchens. East of the eties could summon a considerable workforce to construct palace extended the royal gardens with many water fountains and temples and other public buildings, they could not summon the manpower to construct their own residences. By contrast, the Significance rulers of large, socially stratified states comprised a specialized ruling class of men and women who had the authority and the The emergence of the earliest states is a major research prob- labor force to commission monumental palaces for themselves. In his study of the palaces associated with archaic states, lem in anthropology. A key archaeological manifestation of Flannery (3) identified several types of palaces. He interpreted states is the royal palace. Excavations at the site of El Palenque some palaces as places of governmental assembly, largely ad- have recovered the oldest-known palace in the Valley of ministrative in function. Other palaces were largely residential in Oaxaca, Mexico. The palace displays similarities to the royal nature. Most intriguing were multifunctional palace complexes palaces of historically documented Mesoamerican states. It was with large entry courts that controlled access to their differen- a multifunctional palace, composed of courts and buildings tiated sectors: audience halls, throne rooms, and shrines; kitch- where government officials assembled to conduct state affairs, ens, workshops, and storage facilities; and the private residential as well as the ruler’s residential quarters. We propose that the quarters for the royal family and their servants. palace complex was built in a single large-scale construction Here we address the antiquity of multifunctional palaces in effort. A series of radiocarbon dates indicates that the El Mesoamerica with a discussion of the results of our excavations Palenque palace complex was in use during the 300–100 BC at the archaeological site of El Palenque near San Martín Tilcajete period of archaic state emergence in Oaxaca. in Mexico’s Valley of Oaxaca, the Zapotec heartland (Fig. 1). This paper describes the palace complex that we excavated on Author contributions: E.M.R. and C.S.S. designed research, performed research, analyzed the north side of El Palenque’s plaza and reports the associated data, and wrote the paper. 14C dates that span the Late Formative period or Late Monte Reviewers: J.M., University of Michigan; and S.P., University of Virginia. Albán I phase (300−100 BC). We propose that this palace The authors declare no conflict of interest. complex comprised both governmental and residential compo- 1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: [email protected]. nents, where the ruler not only resided but also conducted the This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10. affairs of state. The evidence of such a multifunctional palace is 1073/pnas.1701336114/-/DCSupplemental. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1701336114 PNAS Early Edition | 1of10 Downloaded by guest on September 26, 2021 to the many adjoining, functionally differentiated, and ever more exclusive halls (tecutlatoloia). Raised above the court was the ruler’s dais, on which his throne (tlatoca icpalli) stood. The royal residence was located deep in the interior of the palace complex or at a higher elevation (13). The ruler’s residential quarters extended over multiple patios with bedrooms for the royal en- tourage, sacrificial altars, kitchen and dining facilities, servants’ quarters, and washrooms. The canals and reservoirs associated with the palaces of Aztec rulers also might be detected in the archaeological record of earlier prehistoric palace complexes. Overall, the royal palaces’ hierarchically differentiated compo- nents, specified by the Nahuatl terms used to describe them, reflect the centralized, hierarchical, and internally specialized administration of the state (11, 14, 15). Ethnohistoric data on 16th century Zapotec palaces in Oaxaca are not as detailed, but they share some of the architectural and organizational criteria of Aztec palaces. The palace of a supreme Fig. 1. Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley, with Monte Albán and the Tilcajete sites. Zapotec ruler was a quihuitào or “beautiful royal palace” (16). The Relaciones Geográficas that Spanish officials compiled for Zapotec towns between 1579 and 1581 offer some brief de- canal-fed pools and reservoirs, all enclosed by more than 2,000 bald scriptions. Like their Aztec counterparts, Zapotec rulers resided ’ cypress trees; the ruler s baths lay within garden mazes. and ruled in their palaces. One patio of the palace had a meeting − Early in his reign (1502 1520), Motecuhzoma Xocoyotl built hall where the ruler’s most trusted councilors received visitors, his palace in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. A plan of the officeholders, and petitioners bringing matters to the court. The palace appeared in the Codex Mendoza, drawn by native artists councilors presented the issues brought before them to the ruler and scribes and annotated by a Franciscan priest at the request in a separate patio of the palace. In those instances when the of Spanish viceroy Antonio de Mendoza in 1541 (7). Juan de ruler granted an audience in his throne room, the visitors ob- Torquemada’s description of the monumental palace was pub- ’ served strict rules of decorum as they addressed the ruler seated lished in 1615 (8). Motecuhzoma s palace fronted the main plaza on his mat. The ruler reached most decisions after practicing and covered an entire city block that is estimated to have mea- – ’ × divinatory rituals and offering sacrifices (17 19). Juan de Córdova s sured 200 200 m (5). Its entry courtyard was the largest of its dictionary lists the Zapotec terms for the royal court, the meeting three patios; there hundreds of lords arrived each day and sat on ’ ’ halls, the ruler s throne, and the many lords and diverse officials mat stools to await the day s deliberations.