The Redención del Campesino Valley Archaeological Survey

Site Hierarchy in the Redención del Campesino Valley

The information gathered during the archaeological survey of the Redención del Campesino Valley, and the Proyecto Atlas Arqueológico constitutes the basis of the site hierarchy scheme that we present. This takes into account number of structures, and quality of architecture (see Table 1 below), as well as the actual location of the sites within the valley. In this context three sites dominate the landscape: Redención del Campesino, Álvaro Obregón, and El Tigre. We consider the first two to be equivalent to secondary sites such as Panhalé, La Pasadita, or La Mar, while El Tigre may represent an outlier of Álvaro Obregón and may have been exclusively an administrative center.

Albeit several sites within the Valley are recorded as having 10 or more structures, for the most part these are low mounds and platforms built with undressed stones and packed dirt. Only San Arturo warrants its consideration as a Third level site (Figure 17). Outside the valley, El Camino, El Milagro and San Fernando also fall within this class. The remaining sites were classed as fourth or fifth order sites that more likely represent rural outliers of the bigger centers.

In order to define the territory that could efficiently be serviced by the higher echelon sites, a location/allocation model was applied. This model took into consideration the characteristics of the terrain in terms of cost of movement, and is similar to the one applied to estimate the boundary between Pomoná and Piedras Negras (see section on Landscape and Political Geography). The resulting allocated areas are presented in Figure 18.

It becomes apparent that the central location of Redención del Campesino offers a definite advantage in terms of access and control of the main communication routes. Interestingly, although Redención del Campesino is the biggest center in the valley and contains the greatest amount of masonry structures, no clear evidence of vaulted buildings (an expected feature in a political/ceremonial center of any relevance) was observed. It’s pertinent to point out that our initial assessment of the ceramics observed at the site reflects a longer occupation history, suggesting a site growth from west to east (Figure 9: Group D to A), thus the actual limits of the site are likely to have varied through time.

As mentioned above, Álvaro Obregón 2 albeit being smaller in extent compared to Redención del Campesino, represents the only site surveyed in the valley with unmistakable evidence of vaulted buildings and monumental platforms constructed with massive well-dressed blocks (see Plate 26, Plate 27 and Plate 28). The location of Álvaro Obregón provides a commanding view of the valley; potentially Redención del Campesino would be within visual reach (Figure 19). Furthermore, the very steep slopes surrounding this center, gives it a definitive military advantage particularly during the belligerent times that characterized the Late Classic.

Although Álvaro Obregón was definitely an important center within the valley, access to it was considerably hindered by its location. Thus the possibility that this site constituted the administrative hub of the valley is unlikely. Redención del Campesino is in a much better position to claim this status. Nevertheless, it is on the basis of its very location that we propose that this site was indeed the seat of the local ruler, especially in troubled times when a center of this nature may have offered safe haven to besieged nobility.

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