Isla Agaltepec: Postclassic Occupation in the Tuxtla Mountains, Veracruz, México
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Research Year:  2002
Culture:  Veracruz
Chronology:  Post Classic
Location:  Lake Catemaco, Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, México
Site:  Isla Agaltepec

Table of Contents

Abstract
Overview
Fieldwork on Isla Agaltepec
Surface Survey and Artifact Analysis
Evidence from Looters’ Trenches
Summary and Significance
Acknowledgments
List of Figures and Tables
Sources Cited

Abstract

Preliminary archaeological fieldwork at Isla Agaltepec provides the first unambiguous evidence for Postclassic (A.D. 1000-1521) occupation within the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, México. The nature of this occupation has been the subject of some debate, especially given recent reconsiderations of the political geography of the Tochtepec province of the Triple Alliance (e.g., Esquivias 2002; Smith and Berdan 2003). Our research as Isla Agaltepec, located in Lake Catemaco, includes systematic surface survey and profiling of looters’ trenches. This fieldwork reveals two probable periods of Postclassic occupation. The first, and earlier, presence is associated with an architectural complex (the Valenzuela Complex) whose configuration suggests a fortification. The latter use of the site is associated with a more humble residential occupation that apparently dates to the second half of the Postclassic Period.

Submitted 04/21/2003 by:
Philip J. Arnold III
Loyola University Chicago
parnold@luc.edu

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