The Redención del Campesino Valley Archaeological Survey

Ejido Álvaro Obregón

Three sites were visited in Álvaro Obregón, the first of which I have already mentioned at the outset, Álvaro Obregón 1.  This is an isolated patio group located at the summit of a 40 m high hill situated behind the present-day village of Álvaro Obregón. The group may represent an elite domestic compound; the central patio measures around 20 m × 13 m and its enclosed on all four sides by low masonry mounds and platforms that range from 1.5 m to 4 m high (Figure 16). As mentioned before, this group has been seriously affected by the construction of the village water tank, as it was used as source of construction material. However, it is important to stress that the community of ejido Álvaro Obregón has taken an active role in protecting this mound group and other archaeological remains within their lands.

Álvaro Obregón 2: this is a new site that was not recorded by the Atlas Arqueológico project. It is the site that was mentioned to me during the last field season. Álvaro Obregón 2 is located in the close vicinity of the wooden box cave (Plate 25, shown above), and between 200 and 300 meters from where our probability model identified a high probability area (Figure 17). However, it is important to recognize that the site location is densely forested, thus faulty GPS readings are a possibility. Judging by the size and quality of its structures, the site seems to have been an important center within the valley’s political structure. Álvaro Obregón 2 is composed by a massive platform located on top of a steep hill that supports various masonry structures. The structures were built with big limestone blocks of about 1 m × .30 m × .30 m, which by comparison with the other sites are the biggest so far observed (Plate 26, shown above). Likewise, this is the only site in the valley that we visited that has unequivocal evidence of the presence of vaulted buildings. We observed a big well-dressed limestone slab lying amongst the rubble of a collapsed building that has the characteristic shape of a cornice (Plate 27, shown below). Unfortunately the site was covered by dense vegetation hampering our attempts to produce a more detailed field map, however, various waypoints were taken to delimit the core area of the site where monumental structures were observed (Plate 28, below).

Sites Outside the Valley

Due to their proximity to the natural access to the valley and a location identified as High potential by the Dempster-Shafer model, four sites outside the Redención del Campesino Valley were surveyed. These were: Francisco Ortiz, El Camino, La Antena, and El Milagro. Of these, only El Camino and El Milagro have remains of masonry architecture, albeit structures were constructed taking advantage of the terrain using undressed stone and packed dirt. Neither of these sites, however, suggests any strategic importance and may represent no more than rural outliers subsidiary to the main centers.

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