Epi-Classic Cultural Dynamics in the Mezquital Valley

The Septentrional Network of the Plateau

After Porter’s typology (1948:187), the Mezquital is rich in angular pipes with plain or zoomorphic platform supports; the little furnace or cazoleta has the shape of a funnel, and like the tube, the walls are thin. In general, these pieces show a cover of red polished slip, though there are also samples in brown, black or unslipped. Frequently, the decoration has been applied with the technique of pastillaje, a narrow strip that embraces the bowl with endings that continue along the upper portion of the tube, in a straight or curled shape, or with a design of motifs; occasionally, the platform exhibits a zoomorphic design (Figure 12). As stated before, similar objects were recovered by Acosta during the explorations of the Burnt Palace in Tula (Figure 11b).⁷⁵  We have referred as well to the amazing similarity of the pipe (a unique object in that region) recovered at the Temple of the Warriors in Chichén Itzá (Morris et al., 1931:177-179, illus. 21), the origin of which was thought to be Toltec (Porter, 1948:210; Cobean, 1978:73), or Michoacán (Thompson, 1966, in Cobean, idem) (Figure 11a). In the Xajay sites from El Mezquital (and surrounding areas), abundant samples of these pipes have been recovered on the surface and in excavations (Morett, 1992:24; 1996:8), while among the sites that shared wares with Tula, there was a complete sample from Sabina Grande (Carrasco et al., 2001:61, 68, 70), and in Sabina and Chapantongo several fragments were recovered on the surface (Fournier, 1995:382, chart 8; Cervantes and Fournier, 1996:111, 112, 125, fig. 13).

In general, there are reports on pipe fragments from the sites south of Querétaro, for example El Palacio (Brambila and Castañeda, 1991:153), La Joya (Crespo, 1991a:123, fig. 10a), La Magdalena (Crespo, 1991a, fig. 14c), La Griega (Flores and Crespo, 1988:214), El Cerrito (Flores and Crespo 1988:214; Crespo, 1991a:104), the valley of San Juan del Río (Nalda, 1991:37, 41), and Barrio de la Cruz (Saint-Charles, 1991a:9; Crespo and Saint-Charles, 1996:125). Although sometimes there are no illustrations available or the fragments are too small, it is feasible that most of them correspond to the same type we have described, as is the case with samples from Tequisquiapan, a quite nearby place (see Porter, 1948:203, illus. 17).⁷⁶  In Guanajuato, close to the border with Querétaro, two pipes have been reported from the site of Morales (Braniff, 1999:92), one of them being very similar to the ones from Tequisquiapan (ibid.:fig. 52d), while the other one is different than all of which we have described so far (ibid.:fig. 52e).

Some pipes from Guanajuato are also angular and have a platform support, a furnace in the shape of a funnel and a frequently zoomorphic decoration in pastillaje. They occasionally present a pair of bulges in the platform, but in most cases these could not be taken for supports, as they extend to the sides and do not get to alter the angle of the body. Several complete pieces are from Tierra Blanca (Braniff, 1972:283, illus. 8; 1999:146) and some others are exhibited at the San Miguel de Allende Museum, while a number of them resemble our pieces. Also from central Guanajuato, fragments of pipes have been reported in Cañada de la Virgen (Nieto, 1997:101), and north of the state in Cerrito de Rayas (Ramos et al., 1988:314) and Carabino (Diehl, 1976:271; Flores and Crespo, 1988:214), but none of them have been illustrated.⁷⁷

As to the states of Querétaro, Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí, Beatriz Braniff considers that the use of pipes began around the Late Classic (1972:292-293; 1974:43). We know now that the state of Hidalgo should be included, and as we shall later see, the state of Michoacán is in the same situation.

Going deeper into the temporality of these objects, it would be advisable to keep in mind that the Sabina Grande context, where one complete pipe was recovered, has been placed through ceramic correlation within the Terminal Corral phase of Tula (A.D. 900-950). The fragments recovered in Chapantongo, classified under the name of Cerritos al Pastillaje, are related to elements of the Prado-Corral complexes (Fournier, 1995:382, chart 8; Cervantes and Fournier, 1996:111, 112, 125, fig. 13), which according to Cobean’s sequence fall between A.D. 700 and 900.⁷⁸  In the case of Cerrito de Rayas, Guanajuato, the identified ceramic types suggest that the occupation of the site did not extend beyond that time (see Ramos et al., 1988).⁷⁹

As to southern Querétaro, Enrique Nalda believes the pipes are later than the year A.D. 900 (1996:269), though he notes they appeared for the first time in association with Xajay RIP (1975:97) which in our view may be situated between A.D. 750/800-950. This is consistent with pipe fragments recovered during the excavations carried out at Barrio de la Cruz, San Juan del Río, which stratigraphically coexisted with Garita Brown Polished Incised (Garita Café Inciso Pulido), Cantinas Red-Orange on Bay (Cantinas Rojo-Naranja sobre Bayo), El Mogote Red on Bay (El Mogote Rojo sobre Bayo) and Cañones type pots (Saint-Charles, 1991a:9; Crespo and Saint-Charles 1996:125), so that Saint-Charles places them within the El Mogote phase of Cerro de la Cruz, between A.D. 400 and 900 (Saint-Charles, ibid.:10). The samples from El Palacio are surface collections, but the materials that allow to chronologically situate the site, include Cantinas and El Bajío R/B, in addition to a ceramic that is considered to be very similar to Mazapa Undulating Lines (Mazapa Líneas Ondulantes) (Brambila and Castañeda, 1991:153). La Joya represents a similar case, with Cantinas and Paso Ancho Red Rim (Paso Ancho Borde Rojo) sherds, the latter one with a proposed existence from A.D. 600 to 900 (Saint-Charles, 1990), the same temporality suggested by Crespo for the pipes of this site (Crespo, 1991a:123, fig. 10a). As to La Magdalena and La Griega, the collections are also from the surface and therefore the temporal definition of the pipes is uncertain. Both places share elements with the Tula wares, and for sites such as these, pipes have been considered to be consistent with the Tollán phase (see Flores and Crespo, 1988:214, 217).⁸⁰  However, and interestingly, in La Magdalena, diagnostic types later then the Corral phase are not present (cf. Flores and Crespo, ibid.:210-215), with the exception of White Raised (Blanco Levantado), with a greater temporal depth in this region than in Tula (Braniff, 1992:105; Crespo, 1996:77). Besides, the settlement shows an occupational continuity from at least the preceding period, as evidenced by the presence of El Mogote R/B, Paso Ancho Red Rim, Cantinas, and San Miguel R/B (see Crespo, 1991a, figs. 14a-14c).

El Cerrito, in Querétaro, is an additional site connected with Tula during the final phases. In the excavations completed in this site, pipe fragments have been recorded, coexisting, in the upper levels, with materials from Terminal Corral and Tollán (Crespo 1989:12; 1991b:176). However, they are also said to be consistent with earlier types, such as Garita Black Brown and Valle de San Luis Polychrome in Level III of the sequence (see Crespo, 1989:12; Crespo 1991b, fig. 9), where two radiocarbon datings were obtained (676±77, and 805±113, Crespo, 1989:4; 1991b:165, 218). Regularly, Crespo places the pipes from El Cerrito between A.D. 600/650–900/950 (1989:20; 1991b:192), within the homonymous phase (A.D. 650-1100) (Crespo 1991a:104), a period when, in addition to the ceramics mentioned, Paso Ancho Red Rim (Paso Ancho Borde Rojo) is present. Given the frequency of types from southern Guanajuato, the author considers that the types originated in the region of the Laja River (1989:20; 1991b:192).

In the San Luis phase of Tunal Grande (A.D. 650-900), the use of pipes is reported in Villa de Reyes coexisting with Valle de San Luis Polychrome, the diagnostic type for that period (Crespo, 1976:43, 45, 56; Braniff, 1992:39, 61).⁸¹  The temporal distribution of this kind of ceramic is wide, but it is worth remembering that in El Cerrito, some pipe fragments occur in the same level as Valle de San Luis. They are also present in Guanajuato, where they have been placed in the hypothetical phase of Tierra Blanca, in the Late Classic, again together with the clay pipes (Braniff 1972:283).

If we were to suggest a filiation for the pipes mentioned (whenever we are familiar with the shapes) with pipes from other areas, our primary candidate would undoubtedly be northeast Michoacán, in the surroundings of the Cuitzeo lagoon (Figure 11c-e). This is where three of the nine samples illustrated by Porter come from, and they are truly similar (the others are the pipe from Chichén, one of the pipes recovered in Tula, another one from in Pánuco⁸²  and three fragments from Tequisquiapan, Querétaro) (1948:186-189, 197, 209, 210, 216, illus. 8k, 17b and 22). The author seems to assume that all pieces from Michoacán are Tarascan, but in her study, one may see that those from Cuitzeo, specifically, are quite different from the rest.⁸³  We ignore their precise temporality or provenience, but as seen, it may be considered that the type to which they corresponded became generalized prior to the year A.D. 1000.

From recent works, we only know of a fragment which most certainly corresponds to the same type, illustrated by Moguel (1987 illus. 50) and collected during the surveys accomplished in the Yuriria-Uruapan stretch, together with Tarascan samples showing "coiled" or "twisted" mouthpieces (Moguel, ibid.:illus. 50-51). Specifically in the Cuitzeo Basin, pipes have been surface collected (Moguel and Sánchez, 1988:231), but we do not know whether they are of the type we have described or whether they are Tarascan. The same thing happens at the Zacapu Basin, where Brigitte Faugère has attributed them to the Milpillas phase (A.D. 1200-1450), based only on surface data, while there are pipes in places where in addition to materials from the Milpillas phase, there are some which correspond to La Joya (A.D. 850-900), such as the Hornos Group and Chirimoyo Rim (Borde Chirimoyo) (see Faugère, 1996:87-88).⁸⁴

The distribution of angular pipes with platform support, funnel-shaped bowl and pastillaje decoration, has clasped a number of spheres during the Epi-Classic (we shall refer to this later on). The Cuitzeo pieces illustrated by Porter are a fine indicator of the existence of a network linking at least northeast Michoacán, Guanajuato, southern Querétaro and the western portion of Hidalgo. Maybe these links, observed as well in relation with other archaeological materials at least since the end of the Classic, have facilitated the insertion of Tula in the networks through which the obsidian from Ucareo/Zinapécuaro and the turquoise have circulated, since the Epi-Classic and until the Early Post Classic.

The human presence in the territory of Michoacán is considerably old, but it has been suggested that the primary occupation in the northeast took place by the Epi-Classic.⁸⁵  Specifically, east of the Cuitzeo lagoon, the settlement was relatively insubstantial almost until the end of the Classic period, when sites connected with the exploitation of obsidian in Ucareo/Zinapécuaro were spotted, (Healan, 1997:94-96; 1998:106), and which, throughout the Epi-Classic proved to be a resource of Pan-Mesoamerican significance (Healan, 1997:77; 1998:107; Healan and Hernández, 1999:136).

The connections between El Mezquital and northeast Michoacán are also evident precisely because of this obsidian, as at least during the earlier phases of Tula (A.D. 700-950) they represented almost 90% (Cobean, 1982:80; Healan and Stoutamire, 1989:236; Healan et al., 1989:244, 248; Healan, 1997:77, 1998:101; Healan and Hernández, 1999:136, 141).⁸⁶  It is only logical to think that the relation between both regions was a secondary consequence of their participation in the same network (Healan and Hernández, 1999:141), and not that inevitably, it took place in a direct manner: "[…] the network may have had direct links (from settlement to settlement) or indirect links (chained) and multiple points of contact, which determines, to begin with, that the artifacts may have been transported along considerable distances" (Cervantes and Fournier, 1996:118).⁸⁷

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Endnotes

75. In Cerro de la Malinche, near Tula, Blanca Paredes has reported fragments of pipes that coexisted stratigraphically, and increased in proportion with Mazapa Red Undulating Lines (Mazapa Líneas Rojas Ondulantes) ceramics (1990:194). There are no illustrated examples, but according to the descriptions, these pieces are different from the ones we are studying here, as it has been noted that they present an incised postfire decoration (idem).

76. As to the fragments from Tequisquiapan, Porter notes similarities with the Guasave pipes (1948:203, illus. 17), though the first ones show platforms with applications of pastillaje, while the second have supports and exhibit a painted and postfired incised decoration. The figure illustrates the resemblance between the pieces from Querétaro and Hidalgo.

77. Very close to these sites is Villa de Reyes, in the territory of San Luis Potosí, where pipes have been also recovered (Crespo, 1976:43, 45, 56; Flores and Crespo, 1988:214; Braniff, 1992:39, 61; 1974:43), and described with a coating of polished red paint, conical bowls and a "crest" which "may have the shape of a fan or a spiral" (Crespo, ibid.:56), with occasional zoomorphic or anthropomorphic decorations (Braniff, ibid.:61). Pipes with "spiral crests" like the ones Crespo has described are exhibited at the San Luis Potosí Museum, at the North Hall of the National Museum, and several pieces from Tierra Blanca, Guanajuato, show this feature as well (see Braniff, 1999:146, illus. 11). The use of pipes was a habit that was shared, in those times, by southern San Luis Potosí and the places referred to above, but apparently, it is clear that the pipes from Tunal Grande presented greater similarities with those from the regions of Río Verde and Guadalcázar (Braniff, 1992:61; Braniff, 1999:146) and perhaps also with those of the Tamaulipas sierras, that are contemporary (Braniff, 1974:43). It is possible that the samples from northern Guanajuato (or at least some of them) are like these and not like the ones we have described for southern Querétaro and the west of Hidalgo.

78. It would seem that the findings from the Burnt Palace in Tula are an exception to the Epi-Classic assignation of these pipes, because they were found on the floor, coexisting with materials from the Tollán phase (Cobean, 1978:71).

79. Although the survey carried out at Cerrito de Rayas was superficial, the presence of diagnostic types of the Late Classic, such as Valle de San Luis and Garita, has been outlined. There is White Raised (Blanco Levantado), but this does not seem to correspond to an Early Post Classical occupation like in other sites, inasmuch as in Cerrito de Rayas, no Plumbate and no other elements of the Tollán complex seem to be present (see Ramos et al., 1988). There is a thick pasted pottery, but the authors believe it does not correspond to the well-known Late Thick Paste (Pasta Gruesa Tardío) (ibid.:313).

80. Flores and Crespo have not mentioned the presence of pipes in La Magdalena (see 1988:214), but in a later work, Crespo illustrates a pair of fragments from this place (1991a:fig. 14c). At the foot of the images, the dates A.D. 400-800 have been indicated.

81. Braniff outlines that pipes were common in the San Luis phase, and that there were three fragments in the San Juan phase (ca. 270 B.C.–A.D. 130, 1992:147). They were black and showed no decoration behind the bowl or cazoleta (ibid.:61, 117-118).

82. This is an interesting piece, as it is actually comparable to the ones we have described, and seems to be exceptional among the collections from the Huasteca, although this region features a great variety of types (Porter, 1948:191-193, illus. 8 and 9). Among the most frequent ones, the pipes with a platform support, but with rounded, thick rims and a cylindrical bowl in the middle may be mentioned (Porter, ibid., illus. 9b; Du Solier et al., 1947-48:21, illus. 3a and b, 24). As to their shape, these latter artifacts seem to be closely linked to those from the region of Caddo, in the American Southeast, where they were usually made of stone (Porter, ibid.:192, 227; Du Solier et al., ibid.:26-29; Armillas, 1999 [1964]:34). For El Mezquital, we know of only one fragment which perhaps corresponds to a clay pipe of this sort, surface collected and originated in Sabina Grande.

83. The most common Tarascan pipes are also angular, but have no platform; they regularly have supports and the decoration consists of painted, punched, or postfire incised designs (Porter, 1948:186-190, 193-199, illus. 12-15), sharing some of these attributes with the pipes from Sinaloa that are, to a certain extent, contemporary (see Porter, ibid.:199-203, illus. 16 and 17).

84. The only test pit where pipe fragments were recovered was carried out in a shallow cave. They were black, polished mouthpieces, and one of them was "twisted". Like the author, we also believe they "resemble" the Tarascan types (Faugère, 1996:94).

85. As a consequence of the analysis of materials recovered in the Yuriria-Uruapán stretch of the Gas Pipe Project, María Antonieta Moguel observed an occupational continuity that extended from the Upper Pre-Classic to the Late Post Classic in the Cuitzeo Basin, but with the greatest diversity and frequency of ceramic types occurring as of the Late Classic (1987:2, 5, 68, 115, 129). The town of Zacapu is located west of the lagoon, and between this town and the Lerma River, a continuity that began in the earlier times has also been observed, although again, the primary occupation took place during the final portion of the Lupe phase (A.D. 700-850), during La Joya (A.D. 850-900) (Faugère, 1992:41, 43, 45; 1996:84, 90, 95; Pollard, 1995:36; 2000a:63), and extending throughout the Palacio phase (A.D. 900-1200) (Faugère, 1996:84, 90-92, 95, 100).

86. Richard Diehl states that at least 80% of the obsidian from Tula comes from Pachuca, and maybe 10% from Zinapécuaro (1982:111), but it would seem this only applied to the Tollán phase (Cobean, 1978:117; Healan and Stoutamire, 1989:234, 236; Healan et al., 1989:248-249).

87. Most likely, other resources must have been involved, whose traces have not been clearly identified in the archaeological record; one such resource may have been salt, whose exploitation east of the Cuitzeo lagoon has been documented for the Late Post Classic (Moguel, 1987:12; Nalda, 1996: 261-262; Williams, 1999:164-165, 170-171).

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