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

El Vergel

Cerro Encantado and El Vergel are found at about 8 km apart from each other. El Vergel extends for about 30.25 hectares, and its civic-ceremonial architecture is very complex. The site has two main architectural areas, one to the North and one to the South. The Northern architectural sector is composed of an enclosed four mound plaza group (Figure 6). The largest of the mounds measures about 25m by 25m at its base and about 5m high (Figure 6). To the south, the architecture is much more complex and it is composed of a series of platform mounds, a ballcourt (Plate 24, shown below), two sunken patios, and 129 terraces (Figure 6). There are also two lama-bordos, one in the north and one to the south (Plate 25) The southern side of the site was probably constructed during the Postclassic. The site dates to both the Classic and Postclassic periods.

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