The Sayula Basin : Ancient Settlements and Resources
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i THE SAYULABASIN ANCIENT S-ETTLEMENTS AND RESOURCES c The asof ancient West Mexico has tradi- basin between Sayula and Zacoalco, located tionally been treated in terms of a group of in southern Jalisco. Despite Kelly's efforts, beautiful but enigmatic objects. Because of however, archaeological examinations of the insufficient knowledge, however, the various surface of this intermediate zone did not pro- regional styles have generally been classified duce the evidence necessary to identify inter- according to their geographical location.' In regional contacts during the early periods. spite of the unquestionable aesthetic quality Kelly herself pointed out the apparent ab- inherent in these works, few specialists have sence of surface evidence of early dwellings, attempted to trace the origins of their social, and, therefore, affirmed that the Sayula cultural, and symbolic functions, or of the region was the weakest link in the assumed societies that created this art. The lack of cultural chain that joined the neighboring archaeological information on cultural con- provinces of Ameca in Jalisco in the north texts has made it difficult to distinguish with Colima to the south.3 Now, fifty years regional boundaries or to determine the eras after Kelly placed the Sayula basin on the during which different groups flourished. archaeological map, the Sayula Basin Ar- While enormous progress has been made in chaeological Project has been able to identify Mesoamerican archaeology as a whole, rela- and excavate residential areas that date to tively little attention has been paid to West what we believe is the early horizon of civili- Mexico, which is frequently seen as a region zation in this region, by which we mean that marginal to the cultural processes that took period of time during which the archaeologi- place elsewhere in central and southern cal cultures across a broad region appeared to Mexico. Fortunately, this situation has been share certain defining characteristics, ranging gradually changing. For the past thirty years, from architecture and other material remains regional studies have established a basis for to identifiable economic, religious, and politi- defining the archaeological characteristics of cal concerns. West Mexican societies at different historical In the following pages, I will outline periods. new data regarding the type of society that It has been many years since Isabel Kelly, inhabited the Sayula region. Recent archaeo- the grande dame of West Mexican archaeol- logical findings enable us to trace certain ogy, proposed the existence of fourteen ce- phases in the lives of these people, leading ramic provinces extending from Sinaloa into towards a more developed understanding of Jalisco, Colima, Nayant, and Michoacán.z certain aspects of the social and economic Fig. 1 The Sayula basil Agricultural fields bor- Among these provinces, she identified one organization of settlements in this area. The dered by mesquite anci of particular interest where interactions Sayula basin begins to emerge as a distinct . acacias lead into the . apparently took'place among the peoples of area, differing in several important respects shallow lake bed at thi the interior of Nayant, the uplands of Jalisco, from the core Teuchitlán tradition area in the height of the Decembc June dry season. Voka . ' and adjacent areas of Colima. She defined Ameca-Magdalena basins to the north. de Colima rises in the , this intermediate area as the marshy lake Fonds distance. 5 Documentaire ORSTOM Ev 9. Fi:. 2 ßy rhe cnd ol .luly. rains have covered (flC lakc hCd Wit11 ;I thin slicer (11waicr and rhc liclds in ihc southern part tit ihc basin have iiramaiically turned green. The Natural Environmenr different ecological strata: 2) the seasonal The Sayula basin is located approximately presence of a mineral element, salt, which ir. 70 kilometers (42 miles) south 01 the city scarce, valuable, and strategic for the devel- of Guadalajara, between latitudes 19'5' and opment of any sociery; and 3) a stable popu- y 20"11' north and longitudes 103'20' and la ti o n t lia t comp I etc 1 ( )cc11p i ed tli e terri t oq 103'40' west (see the maps on pp. 12-13). It sharing the same sociocultural idenLity. The is indeed part of a natural corridor that joins ability to function as a coherent, articulated the southern coast o1 Colinia with rhe central social system is characteristic of groups that highlands of .Jalisco, and it has played a stra- have developed a broad political organization tegic role in the interaction between t~icse such as rhat of' a chieldom. Perhaps at first, two regicins. The archaeological records of regional authority among scattered groups this basin offer abundant evidence of long, was carried out in an almost inconspicuous co n ti n u o us setI I em ents , Th e ea rl i est sed en- manner, promoting an eschange and reci- tary occupations found to datr can be traced procity of locally available products and back more than 2.000 years (see the essay by resources. A.varied and abundant natural Joseph Mouni,joy in this volume]. The latest environment brought about the developme,l- settlements thus far examined reveal the of a village life in which small, autonomous presence ol' the Tarascan state, which had its groups gradually began interacting until sear further south around Lake Pátzcuaro in they became organized into a broader sociel Michoacán, dating from the end of the fif- sharing the same cultural traits-though teenth century. Native history, of course, ends never submitting fully to a cenrralized powt in the year 1525 with the arrival of the Span- until roughly A.D. 200-400, the beginning ( iards. Yet, between these two chronological the Classic period. poles, there was a long sequence of interac- Throughout West I\/Iexico, vegetation tions between the area and the neighboring changes drastically according to the amoun1 regions. This is the evidence that Kelly liad of available moisture and the differences been looking for when she sought to identify in elevation. These variations give rise to a the Sayula basin as a zone of interaction.4 diversity of complementary environments, The particular character of Sayula is re- each of which offers a wide range of re- vealed by three complementary factors: 1) a sources. The distribution 'of human settle- . ricliness of iw!,uralTt$j_S'uq+js found in its ments over a given territory reflects the , '. , ,, ,I- . 1. -_ n of the productive skills of a the region has been continuously populated up ana, eventually, the success with for more than 2,000 years. ich they are able to adapt to a hostile A cross-section of the basin reveals three environment. zones (see fig. 4), each characterized by a In the Sayula basin, such differences are distinctive soil type and vegetation-differ- apparent as soon as one leaves the low-lying ences that produced a corresponding variety marshlands and gains elevation in the sur- of activities in ancient times.5 In the highest rounding hillsides. Fertile lands are found on zone, between approximately 2,700 and the first natural terraces on both sides of the 1,700 meters above sea level (8,900 and lake. Around the southern half of the basin, 5,600 feet), the ground is very steep, fre- a high water table provides constant mois- quently forming rugged slopes. Mountain ture to the subsoil and allows for stable agri- forests of pine (Pinus sp.) and oak (Quercus culture throughout almost the entire year sp.) predominate. The variety of fauna in- (see fig. 2). During the rainy season, the lake cludes deer, wild boar, coyotes, and a large bed overflows and many of the first terraces diversity of rodents. There is an abundance become completely flooded or turn into sea- of rocks and minerals that were used for sonal marshes (see fig. 3). The early inhabit- making tools and ornaments. In spite of the ants knew how to take advantage of this few traces of human settlements found in situation, however, and they transformed this area, the types of vegetation indicate their environment accordingly. In certain that agriculture was once practiced on the places one can still find traces of ancient less steep hillsides, probably in a very mar- drainage systems that were built in order to ginal manner. This area may very well have send excess amounts of water out into the been designated for hunting and gathering, lake. Even during the dry season, these areas and obtaining raw materials and minerals. maintain enough moisture to be cultivated. The middle area, located between 1,700 At higher elevations, the mountainsides have and 1,450 meters, has natural terraces, cov- permanent or seasonal streams at different ered with low mountainous forest with vari- elevations, allowing scattered settlements of ous types of trees such as the ìjuamuchiZî small populations. Given these environmen- (Phitecebolliunidulce), guavas (Psidium tal conditions, it is not surprising to find that guajaba), plums (Spondias and Prunus sp.), Fig. 3 Seasonal rains bnng out smaller organisms, shellfish, and small fish, amacring flocks of birds to the shallow basin. Cultivated fields are seen on alluvial slopes in the distance. THE SAYULA BASIN 219 t ozz zjaivA ic ___I__. - -.- - _. ... gradual transformation of the landscape formed sand dunes in various places around Fig. 6 Flocks appearing begins. The basin loses its green color, until the lakeshore. during the heighr ol the rainy season suggest the the brown and barren soil shows through From a cultural point of view, this sea- teeming wildlife that the dry vegetation (see fig. 1). Little by little, sonal change in the environment had once populated the en- the sides of the mountains lose their foliage a great impact on the development of the tire Jalisco lake-basin region.