The Nature of Governance in Secondary Centers of the Classic Period, Mixteca Alta, México

Cerro Encantado

The archaeological site known as Cerro Encantado is located on two hills, one of which is Cerro Encantado and Cerro de la Manzanita. The two are joined by a saddle with continuous archaeological debris. The site’s total occupation area was estimated at 45 hectares, but due to internal conflict and urbanization in the area, I was able to map only 33 hectares.

The main civic-ceremonial architecture is found at the summit of Cerro Encantado (Figure 3). At the top, the main plaza (Pz 1) is enclosed by four structures; structure 1 to the north, is the main mound, and it measures 40m by 40m at its base and 4.5 meters high (Plate 5). The other mounds around Plaza 1 are rectangular and they measure approximately one meter in height. To south of the main civic-ceremonial area is another open area with a small mound on the south west corner; this area is known as Plaza 2 (Figure 3, Plate 6). To the north of Structure 1 is a large flat, enclosed area restricted from all sides by a wall and Structure 1.

The site has 82 terrace walls (both agricultural and residential) plus a number of defensive walls (Plate 7, shown above). Cerro de la Manzanita has no remaining public architectural features, but I was informed that some walls have been found. Cerro de la Manzanita has been leveled to plant corn and to build houses, it was only partially mapped due the urbanization in the area (Plate 8, shown below).

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