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. and xerophytic vegetation prevails. The early societies that settled on the basin. As change is not as drastic in the far southern part of the basin or around some of the cen- tral sectors on the east side, which receive Fig. 7 Duck Comala perennial spring water. The contrast with style; Colima; earthen- ware. Fowler Museum the barrenness of the exposed Iake bed is of Cultural History. striking. What was formerly an expanse of University of California, water becomes a harsh, dry plain, where Los Angeles. Cat. no. 60. reverberating heat produces Iocal whirlwinds Fig. 8 Heron; Comala and dust.storms. Years of this cycle have style; Colima; eanhen- ware. Los Angeles County Museum of An. the Proctor Stafford Collection, museum purchase with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Allan C. Balch. Cat. no. 59.
THE SAYULA BASIN 221
Y tura 1 coni pl exi r y and a well -pl a n n ed st ru c- PHASES OF CERAMIC PROVINCES ture within the larger saltworks complex. ' D ATE-PERIOD TEUCHITLAN SAYULA BASIN COLIMANALISCO
Next, there are smaller sites that seem to TRADITION ~ (KELLY 1Y4R (KELLY 1949. have had a more local function. The great (WEICAND 1985) REVISED 1996) MEICHAN 1972. MOUNTJOY 1996) majority of sites, however, are residential ~ areas, indicative of a type of village life with 1SOO-800-Early EI 0)ieliu Capacha Formative the primary seasonal activities that alternated 800 San Felipe between agriculture and salt production. 300-Lair Formative Arenal These patterns appear to have been estab- lislied from the earliest periods of occupation 200 Moreit O0 and were apparently maintained until the 1 O Spanish conquest. Tuxcacuesco (Jal./Col.) O0 Verdia Onices ' Chronology 1 ~Iieaccompanying chronological chart,' based 200-Early Classic Aiiualulco on seven years of excavation, indicates the 300 Coniala nia in cu I t u ra I transfo rni at i o ns that took 400-Middle Classic Teuchiil.%i I Early Sayula place within the Sayula basin, part of the soo larger archaeological picture of the Jalisco- 600 Colima region (see fig. lo). With information 700-Laie Classic Trucliiil6n II obtained from research published on the 800 southern part of Jalisco and adjacent areas 900-Early Posiclassic Laic Sayula O00 of Colima, this chronology is built upon the 1 A ceraniic sequence first presehted by Isabel 1100 Sania Cruz dc Earl y iiiacticca Kelly during the 1940s. Kelly based her own Barcenas pioneering study on surface materials she 1200-Laie Posiclassic collected during lier initial survey of the i300 Ei7i1~rlan Laic Aniacucca Sayula area, strengrhened with proven stratigraphic evidence írom the neighboring 1400 Autldn-Tuxcacuesco region." Kelly identified 1528-32 Spanish Conqucsi three ceramic groups that demonstrate the qualities of work from the Sayula'basin; un- fortunately, having described these ceramics, evidence present in the archaeological Fig. IO ChronoIo$y of Kelly never published her study.Lo record. Thus, the three phases not only con- basin in rclaiion 10 ilic Teuchi- Nevertheless, research carried out during Cern ceramics, they also reflect a sociocul- ilán area and rhe the 1990s has confirmed the validity of tural dimension. The chronology is based on Coiinia/southern Jalisco Kelly's sequence, and has also refined certain the stratigraphic sequence of well-defined seq LIe n ces. subdivisions she made within each archaeo- archaeological assemblages in their contexts, .. logical phase. The main contribution of our and it has all been confirmed by radiocarbon . .> present project has been to explain the chro- dates. nology of these ceramic groups, especially Evidence reveals that the region has been :. the earliest one, originally named Verdía, and continuously occupied for 2,300 years. To -..: now renamed Usmajac, which I A Usmajac Phase sites O Verdía Subphase sites -Modern town . Permanent freshwater spring known as Cerro del Agua EscondiGa (Hill of sides, flat spaces can be seen where partially the Hidden Water), located on the first group buried stone alignments suggesting ancient of terraces a short distance from the lake bed, structures are frequently found. displays evidence of occupation over an Shaft tombs have been found in three expanse larger than one square kilometer sectors of the site, and they all follow a simi- (see fig. 13). The density of such vestiges, lar architectural plan (fig. 12). To prepare the however, is not homogeneous, though they tomb, a deep pit was first excavated. At its tend to be concentrated in at least four well- bottom, a chamber was built with stone walls defined sectors. Each sector displays artificial held together by a mortar of soil, plant mat- rearrangements of the natural topography: ter, and fragments of ceramics to plug the steep terraces have been graded and small gaps. A roof was then erected over the cham- headlands have been leveled. On the hill- ber by means of an ingenious system of stone I!' . slabs placed as a type of self-supporting cor- % beled dome. At the entrance to the chamber, a rectangular foundation was made with small stones, so that the walls of the shaft could be built up to the surface level. Once the construction was finished, the space be- tween the corbeled dome and the ground above was filled, leaving the burial chamber at a depth between 2.5 and 3 meters. Corpses would be lowered through the shaft and the entrance sealed with small stones and large slabs. The dimensions of these chambers fluc- .,.. .,...... *.-... 1- ...... -"=.*..-:.II L' tuate between 2 and 3 meters long, and 1.8 to 2.5 meters wide. The height of the dome could reach 1.3 meters. This type of funerary construction is a variation on the type of tomb usually re- early village. The work centered on a small Fig. 12 Typical Usmajac- ported in West Mexico (see the essays by patio, delimited by a semi-oval-shaped wall. phase shaft lamb Of the type found at the Cerro Phil Weigand and Christopher Beekman and Areas for specific activities were exposed on del Agua Escondida site. by López and Ramos in this volume). Its the periphery. Vestiges of domestic architec- distinctiveness is interpreted as an adapta- ture were marked with stones and small tion required by the characteristics of the fragments of a mud wall. These constructions local soil, where a loose conglomerate of became more striking as we surveyed and volcanic tuff and gravel is not sufficiently explored the surrounding terrain. Under- solid to support the larger cavities that may neath the occupation level of the excavated be found elsewhere, especially in the core of area, clear evidence of the rearrangement of the Teuchitlán area. The three tombs studied natural topography was found. We discov- in the Sayula basin reveal the mastery of ered that, to grade the terraces, retaining construction techniques that the early vil- walls had been built at intervals and various lagers possessed. This knowledge is also layers of fill had been used. expressed on the ground. Although the The organization of the habitational dwellings themselves no longer survive, the space is evident in the patio that lies at the foundations can sometimes be seen, coincid- center of the terrace. This patio distinctly ing with areas that have a high density of marks the separation of three complexes: cultural remains. 1. a residential area distributed over both Our archaeological excavation was con- flat and steep parts of the ground; centrated on one part of sector 3 of the site, because it showed signs of residences and 2. a zone for communal activity toward contained a partially looted funerary struc- the northern end of the patio: and ture (see fig. Sector 3 is located on a 13). 3. an apparently sacred space, located hillside with a very irregular topography. in the middle.of the patio, where the The ground drops sharply and then gradually entrance to the shaft tomb was found. flattens to form a rolling plateau. Three ter- races have beep graded, gradually descend- The patio itself is marked by a line of ing toward the lake bed. A small, seasonal carefully chosen stones with regular shapes stream, now diverted to irrigate adjacent that served as a foundation. At one time, lands, descends on the far southern part of these stones, placed on top of one another, the site. To the north, the hillside is more were part of a small wall at least four rows abrupt with a rugged surface reaching down high, delimiting a surface of compacted soil. to the edge of the marshland. No surface In its present state, the foundation has an cultural material was found on this side. ovoid shape, running eight meters from We began excavating in the central part east to west, before curving north to south,' of the highest terrace, situated at 1,430 finally extending eleven meters on this meters above sea level. The area excavated, north-south axis. A buried ceramic vessel covering a surface of 160 square meters, re- was found under one of the curves where , vealed part of the occupational contexts of an the wall turns, fifty-six centimeters below Fig. 13 Plan of sector 3 the present surface. As in the case of the slabs blocked the entrance to the interior the Cerro del *gus offerings from the funerary chamber, the where the bodies were placed. Escondida sire. small earthenware bowl must have contained Although the tomb had been partially some type of organic material protected with looted several years before, excavation of the an inverted plate placed as a cover. The floor remaining debris allowed us to recover valu- of the interior patio showed no archaeologi- able first-hand information. One sector of cal remains, in contrast to the exterior of the the chamber had not been touched by the wall where the floors were covered with looters, and therefore, a general plan of how debris. The absence of material could be an the bodies were laid out could be sketched indication of the restricted character of this and part of the offerings rescued. At least space, or it could perhaps denote a concern five people (four adults and one child) were in keeping the area clean in order to carry laid out on the major axis of the chamber, out a particular activity. The possible sacred their heads towards the entrance. The offer- nature of this sector is suggested by the pres- ings surrounded the skulls in the space ence of the tomb, the offering beneath the between the wall and the door of the tomb. comer, and the contrast between the absence These objects, found in situ, were decorated and presence of debris in the interior patio earthenware bowls and jars, some of which and exterior floors, respectively. still had covers made from plates or inverted Lying beneath the patio, the tomb is small wide bowls. Among the bones were oriented on the same east-west axis. The various ornaments such as nose rings, entrance to the shaft is fixed to the base of a necklaces, and bracelets made from worked wall in the central part of the patio, and was seashells. Some pendants and beads for neck- sealed by four large stone slabs. The diam- laces were made from polished, cut green- eter of the shaft measures one meter and stones, and others from obsidian. The raw it descends slightly more than two meters to material for all these objects came from the door of the burial chamber. Two stone places far from the Sayula basin: they serve r' estimoyiy to the importance of commer- nary monochromatic buff or red ware, with Ir cial contacts maintained among the inhabit- fairly thin walls, and a carefully burnished ants of the various regions in West Mexico. surface. The second type, characteristic of the On the exterior, an activity area found early archaeological horizon, is a fine ware on the other side of the wall that delimits the with'a cream-colored slip, varying between patio is notable for the manner in which its buff and dark gray. The sides are always bur- large space is organized. It contains three nished and usually display some type of lin- ' ovens placed around a rectangular walkway ear decoration painted red or a combination made from flat stones. Between the ovens, of red and white. The third type, which is various concentrations of small stones that less common, is also monochromatic, dark could have served as bases or supports were brown or black, with an incised or engraved cleared. The ground displayed an important zonal decoration, similar to certain decorative density of debris, including ceramic sherds, Capacha motifs.2bAs Mountjoy has argued stone fragments, and bones. in regard to his finds of such wares on the The ovens are cone-shaped structures, coast of Jalisco, these ceramics may be a con- excavated in the subsoil, to a depth of one tinuation of the tradition in the Sayula re- meter. The diameter of the opening of the gion from the Middle Formative period.27 oven varies between 90 and 150 cm. Inside, The predominant forms in the three types of a thick stone filling mixed with abundant vessels are the shallow plate, the hemispheric ashes and charcoal was found. The form and earthenware bowl, the jar, and the medium- size of the structures remind one of the ov- sized pot. Composite contours predominate ens currently used in this region to roast the among jars and bowls used as offerings, their heart of the maguey or mescal cactus. The shape resembling that of a gourd. In addition nutritional importance of this plant among to these diagnostic vessels, we find solid an- societies in northwestern Mexico has re- thropomorphic figurines, of the type defined cently been emphasized by Ben Nelson. Its by Isabel Kelly as the "Ortices-Tuxcacuesco" presence in an area for communal activity is, (see also the essay by Jane Day in this vol- therefore, fully ~ndersrandable.'~Various Fragments of these figurines abound fragments of a broken ceramic vessel, prob- in domestic contexts that characterize this ably from some domestic activity, were re- early archaeological horizon in various states covered from one of the ovens in an adjacent of West Mexico. area. These fragments support the idea that Usually, the distance between the resi- different areas of the site were in use at the dential sites and the lake bed is less than four same time. Carbon samples for dating the kilometers. Easy access between both areas time of occupation of this site were also made it possible for various groups to keep taken from the ovens. permanent agricultural fields in the rich allu- A similar spatial organization was found vial lands next to the water. This can explain at another excavated village, located at the the presence of ceramic fragments in flooded extreme southeastern end of the basin (see areas that seem little suitable for human fig. 11). On the edge of a hillside at this site, settlements. Not far from these areas, on the known as Caseta, Usmajac-phase archaeo- swampy shore, we find salt-extraction sta- logical remains were also found. In addition, tions that were exploited during the dry sea- there is an early cemetery associated with son. Ceramics from the Usmajac phase have the other evidence of ovens and the levels been found in many of these stations, sug- of domestic occupation.2s Unfortunately, the gesting that salt was exploited as early as the stratigraphy of this site was greatly mixed first centuries B.C. In her work, Catherine with materials from later occupations, and it Liot has identified various steps in the ancient was not possible to obtain a clear idea of the method of salt e~traction.2~Several pertain to original layout of the early levels. Neverthe- the early phase; these appear most often in less, a comparison between the structures and the southern half of the basin. the materials recovered allowed us to mark At the La Motita site in the center of the the similarities and particularities of the dif- basin, Liot studied various circular structures, ferent early sites. buried at the bottom of the dry lake, that From these sites, three basic types of di- were used for concentrating and decanting agnostic ceramic vessels have been identified, the brine. She also identified the vessels used all of the Usmajac phase. The first is an ordi- for inducing evaporation of nitrate liquid at low heat to produce salt crystals. During the Conclusions Usmajac phase, such vessels have a character- The perspective presented by new regional'& istic form, distinguishing them from those information allows us to distinguish certain used in later phases. One group of vessels aspects of daily life during the Late Formative containing various forms related to salt period in southern Jalisco. Within the Sayula production includes the following: 1) semi- basin, the settlement pattern recorded during spherical bowls, with a diameter between 35 the Usmajac phase suggests a social organiza- and 50 cm, often decorated-inside or out- tion of clans, who may have been related side the bowl-with one or more red bands and were spread around the lake. Each close to the edge or in the upper middle part group, led by a cacique, was dedicated to of the vessel; 2) thick, well-fired cylindrical exploiting its local environment in a rela- vessels; and 3) ordinary pots (see fig. 14).3a tively autonomous manner. Their livelihood Usually, this type of specialized, utilitarian was based on growing corn, beans, squash, ware is the only one found at the stations, and probably maguey from the hillside (wild although some finer well-decorated frag- or cultivated), but the population dedicated ments, as well as pieces of solid anthropo- part of its time to activities related to salt morphic figurines, have also been found. extraction. The technology they employed Utilitarian material related to salt produc- and the organization of their work-as sug- tion rarely appears in domestic contexts. gested by the evidence of this first phase-do Some fragments of decorated vessels with not support the hypothesis of a centralized red bands, however, have been recorded in control of production, but rather suggest a few early sites located on the alluvial ter- artisan-type activities possibly carried out by races along the western border of the basin. various members of a domestic unit. Special- Toward the beginnings of the first millen- ization of labor and control of processes for nium A.D., a new type of fine ceramic mate- extraction seem to have emerged toward the rial-Kelly's Verdía-made its appearance, end of the phase, when shaft tombs were associated with certain stations on the north- abandoned in the basin. The transition to ern part of the Sayula basin. Compared to the Verdía subphase clearly marks this new the utilitarian material used for salt produc- arrangement in the region. tion, this finer example is relatively rare, its The evidence obtained from the residen- distribution throughout the area much more tial contexts of the Cerro del AguaIEscondida fragmented. The ,distinctiveness of this type site suggest a village life, centered around lies in its having been found also accompany- communal activity areas, which included ing surface burials from the Verdia subphase rituals in an internal sacred space. The mate- at sites on the shore.3iThese human burials, rials found at the site, above all the funerary accompanied by ceramic non-utilitarian of- paraphernalia, suggest the existence of vari- ferings at sites considered as specialized salt- ous spheres of regional interaction. The works, may indicate the presence of a distinct presence of seashells, obsidian, and exotic group of people who began to control pro- greenstones reveals connections to groups duction and distribution of salt within the established in the central regions with others basin. The new group apparently no longer farther south and east of Jalisco and Colima. made use of shaft tombs and preferred to Traces have not yet been found, however, of have their burials next to their sources of any extra-regional sociopolitical organization. wealth, without any need for a complex In the Sayula region, there is no evidence funerary architecture. Another, alternative found to date of the circular architecture that interpretation of this evidence is that those characterizes the Teuchitlán tradition in the who were buried in the saltworks might neighboring Ameca and Magdalena basins. have been sacrificed for propitiatory purposes There is also no evidence of a decrease in and that their elegant offerings may simply the local population that would suggest a represent implements used for the ritual. demographic implosion towards the nuclear Whatever the case may be, from this phase Teuchitlán area as Weigand has posited for on, the stations at the northern end of the this period.32Whatever ideological inclina- basin increased significantly and became tions may have existed are probably mani- the hallmark of a new cultural phase-the fested in the organization of space and in the Fig. 14 Representative selection of Usmajac- . Sayula phase-that appeared in the basin in symbolic representations 'present in the CUI- phase pottery. the sixth century A.D. tural material. Furthermore, nothing of what ' h& been discovered in the iconographic seem to be closer to those of the northern i . ,.:i, I 4 2s sphere reveals any particular influence upon highlands of Jalisco and the neighboring e 9: or from the Teuchitlán tradition. The prob- Ba j io .33 l,em may lie in the lack of information con- For several years, various authors have ceming the sphere of interaction between questioned the apparent lack of social com- these areas. In Weigand's outlook, it is gener- plexity in western Mesoamerica and have ally supposed that there should be centers proposed to change the "rural image" of the' with circular architecture that represent a early populations of this region. In this re- macroregional sociopolitical order in all gard, the work carried out by Weigand has areas surrounding the nuclear zone of Teu- established a solid basis in northwest-central chitlán. But this has not been demonstrated Jalisco and in Nayarit. Nonetheless, the infor- in the Sayula basin, and it may not actually mation recently obtained in Sayula does not be a necessary requirement even if we are always correspond with the guidelines of his to maintain the notion of a network of re- proposed model. Social complexity has vari- gional interaction. As a strategic resource, ous faces and not all correspond, at a given salt was undoubtedly important in the global moment, to the exact notion of a center and economy of West Mexico. Nevertheless, we periphery at a macroregional level. Socio- should bear in mind that we are dealing with politica1 systems operate in ways that adjust a seasonal resource that is present during the themselves to the particular conditions of dry season and is literally washed away with each group. Often, interaction does not lead the first rain. At present, we do nor know to dominance, but rather to complementarity much about the ways in which salt was among entities that are considered equal. In stored during the Usmajac phase, but we can spite of the fact that evidence of settlements assume from the lack of evidence that they during the Usmajac phase does not reveal a were not very significant. We must remem- centralized social structure of a Teuchitlán ber that the Teuchitlán core area had no lo- type, there is nothing to keep us from assum- cal salt sources. If salt seasonally appears ing that the chieftainships in Sayula might and disappears in Sayula as "a gift from the have participated in an independent manner gods," then we could infer that Teuchitlán's within the network of regional interaction interaction in the basin fluctuated corre- prevailing during this period. A similar distri- spondingly. If this were the case, perman- bution of wealth among the different groups ent administrative centers were not needed. may be seen in the distribution of sites with During periods of production, the interested equivalent shaft tombs in the central and communities renewed their contacts and southern part of the basin. Although this exchanged salt in theusual manner. On the information may be incomplete, it suggests other hand, we have not yet found any indi- a society based on relations of equity among carion showing that during this period salt the different groups of the region. The , distribution was specifically directed toward absence of major architectural vestiges in . the Teuchitlán region. Hypothetically, we the series of sites also tends to underscore might postulate that during the first centu- thjs point. ries A.D. (in the Verdía subphase) a change The strategic importance of Sayula dur- occurred and, with it, a significant increase ing the Late Formative period is documented in production. Perhaps, from then on, a new by the number of sites found in the survey, collective system for storing the product was although it is obvious that there should be established. This change might thus have many more. Although much remains to be permitted a gable circulation throughout the discerned regarding this phase, detailed stud- year. Following our hypothetical reasoning, ies of residential contexts are beginning 10 we might assume that there was an extemal bear their first fruit. Only from the evidence influence that produced this change, and that obtained from the various regions may we be able to confirm any hypotheses regarding I it may have issued from Teuchitlán. What we do know is that by the sixth century A.D., the social development of the cultures of when massive salt production began in the West Mexico. basin, during the Sayula phase, the height of the nuclear area in Teuchitlán seems to have begun its decline. The new architectural and ceramic styles that characterize this new stage t, 'I , .. ANCIEN-T WEST MEXICO ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNKNOWN PAST RICHARD F. TOWNSEND GENERAL EDITOR Patricia Rieff Anawalt, Christopher S. Beekman, Barbara Braun,'Kristi Butterwick, Mana Teresa Cabrero, Jane Stevenson Day, Peter T. Furst, Mark Miller Graham, Lorenza López Mestas Camberos, Joseph'B. Mountjoy, Robert B. Pickering, Jorge Ramos de la Vega, Otto Schöndube, Richard E Townsend, Francisco Valdez, Phil C. Weigand, and Christopher L. Witmore l. 323 THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO