A New Postclassic Chronology for Yautepec, Morelos

Abstract

We describe the derivation of a new archaeological chronology for the Postclassic period at Yautepec, Morelos. We first apply cluster analysis to ceramic type frequencies for 47 excavated contexts to identify groups of related ceramic collections. This classification is then extended to several hundred additional collections using discriminant-function analysis. The groups are evaluated successfully against stratigraphy and radiocarbon dates, resulting in their designation as chronological phases. Radiocarbon determinations are then used to assign calendar dates to the phases. The new chronology consists of one Middle Postclassic phase (Pochtla), two Late Postclassic phases (Atlan, Molotla), and one Early Colonial phase (Santiago). We also explore issues concerning the extension of this chronology to other Postclassic sites in the Yautepec Valley.

Surveys and Mesoamerican Archaeology: The Emerging Macroregional Paradigm

“…17-19). This project was conjoined with an earlier intensive site survey of the city of Yautepec (Smith et al, 1994) as well as excavations aimed at refining the Postclassic chronology (Hare and Smith, 1996). Hare's (2001) analysis of the Postclassic settlement pattern data uses Geographic Information Systems and spatial statistical methods.…”

A New Bayesian Chronology for Postclassic and Colonial Occupation at Xaltocan, Mexico

“…The Tlalli phase, therefore, does not correspond only to the period of Aztec rule at Xaltocan, but rather also includes several decades of pre-conquest life. Distinguishing between pre-and post-conquest practices at Xaltocan must rely on other methods, such as Bayesian statistical modeling of specific stratigraphic sequences, as was done for particular household contexts (Overholtzer 2012), or perhaps seriation of whole contexts using multiple statistical techniques, as Smith has done for sites outside the Basin of Mexico (Smith 1987;Smith and Doershuk 1991;Hare and Smith 1996;Smith et al 2013). Unfortunately, existing data are insufficient to characterize fully the chronology of Aztec IV use at Xaltocan, but preliminary evidence suggests that Aztec IV pottery was consumed in low frequencies during the pre-Hispanic period, and early colonial residents used mainly Aztec III and IV pottery until nearly the end of the 17th century, if not later.…”

Aztec period houses and terraces at Calixtlahuaca: The changing morphology of a Mesoamerican hilltop urban center

“…The deposits in one cluster are consistently located stratigraphically above the deposits of the other cluster, while imported ceramics of known date suggest strongly that the two clusters correspond to the Middle and Late Postclassic periods, respectively. These periods are dated at Yautepec, Morelos, which has the best documented Aztec period chronology in central Mexico, to A.D. 1100-1300 and 1300-1520, respectively (Hare and Smith 1996). Further, we were able to subdivide the Late Postclassic cluster into two chronological phases based on stratigraphy.…”