Research Year:  2003
Culture:  Michoacán
Chronology:  Prehispanic
Location:  Lake Cuitzeo Basin, Michoacán, México
Site:  Simirao and Araró

Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Salt Production in the Lake Cuitzeo Basin
Implications for Archaeology
Final Remarks
Acknowledgments
List of Figures
Sources Cited

Abstract

Salt has always been a strategic resource of primary importance. In Prehispanic times salt was used mainly for human consumption, and after the Spanish conquest, it became in addition an important commodity for silver processing and cattle raising. Salt production and trade in the Lake Cuitzeo Basin are analyzed from the perspective of ethnography, archaeology, and ethnohistory. Contemporary salt-producing sites and methods are described, including the amount of brine and earth used, and the average yield of each finca, or salt-producing unit. Modern and ancient techniques and processes are compared, and found to be similar. The "archaeological visibility" of these activities is assessed, to illustrate the archaeological features and artifacts connected with salt making.

Submitted 03/25/2004 by:
Eduardo Williams, Ph.D.
Centro de Estudios Arqueológicos
El Colegio de Michoacán, A.C.
williams@colmich.edu.mx

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