Household Archaeology in Coastal Oaxaca, México
Arthur A. Joyce and Stacie M. King

Río Viejo Operation RV00 A

The Op. RV00 A excavations show that by the Early Postclassic Mound 1-Structure 2 was occupied by people living in relatively modest houses. Mound 1-Structure 2 is an L-shaped monumental substructure that rises approximately 8 meters above the surface of the acropolis plaza and 15 meters above the surrounding floodplain (Figure 2). The structure was first built during the late Terminal Formative (A.D. 100-250) and was reoccupied in the Late Classic (A.D. 500-800) after its apparent abandonment in the Early Classic. The top of the substructure had an area of approximately 1400 m², which supported probable public buildings during the late Terminal Formative and Late Classic periods. Excavations on Mound 1-Structure 2 during the 2000 field season exposed the remains of five low (ca. 0.5 m) platforms dating to the Early Postclassic.

The five platforms excavated in Op. RV00 A were densely packed often with less than two meters separating structures (Figure 3). All of the structures were built in similar fashion with platform fill retained by oval or rectangular slabs, including reutilized metates, set upright on their long axis. Smaller horizontally set slabs capped the edge of the fill, thereby stabilizing the platform (Figure 4). Other than several post holes, no other features were found intruding into the occupational surfaces of the platforms. The deposits that overlay occupational surfaces included concentrations of adobe fragments, daub, and charcoal apparently from the decay of wattle-and-daub superstructures. Sherds from jars, bowls, and comales were found on the platform surfaces.

Three of the platforms excavated in Op. RV00 A surrounded a patio (Mound 1-Structures 2-1, 2-2, and 2-4; see Figure 5). Structure 2-1 defined the eastern edge of the patio and measured 11 m x 5 m with its long axis orientated 20^o/200^o. Two burials (RV-B38 and RV-B39), each containing a single child without offerings, were excavated outside of the southwest corner of Structure 2-1.  Both burials were disturbed by rodent activity. Burial RV-B38 was an infant, flexed on its right side. Burial RV-B39 was a young child, although its position and orientation could not be determined. The northern end of the patio was bounded by Structure 2-2, which measured 10 m x 5 m with its long axis oriented 110^o/290^o. Most of the occupational surface of Structure 2-2 was exposed by erosion on the current surface so that, even though the entire floor area was exposed, only the southeastern corner was actually excavated (Figure 3). Flotation and soil chemistry samples were removed only from the floor area that had been covered with sediment (i.e., the floor area subsequently exposed by excavation). The western end of the patio was bounded by Structure 2-4, although only a 1.25 m long section of the north wall of this building was exposed.

A monumental stone was found laying on the surface of the patio. The stone was worked into an oval shape, measuring approximately 1.42 m x 1.09 m x 0.48 m, and resembled in form a plain stela or altar (Figure 6). On the upper surface of the stone were two ground depressions measuring 15 to 23 cm in diameter and about 8 to 10 cm deep. There were also 13 shallow (1-3 mm) pecked depressions measuring between 1 and 3 cm in diameter. Two similar stones have been found on Mound 8 approximately 50 m east of Mound 1 (Urcid and Joyce, 1999:24-25) and several boulders at the site exhibited the small shallow pecked depressions. The function of these stones is unclear. They were not metates since numerous manos and metates have been found in Early Postclassic deposits, although they may have been milling stones for the processing of some unknown material. The pecked depressions on these stones resemble those on stones recorded by Mountjoy (1987) at Tomatlán, Jalisco. The stones from Tomatlán are usually accompanied by more elaborate petróglyphs, however. Mountjoy (1987:41-47) suggests that these stones represent the eye or face of the sun god and may have been used in rituals petitioning the deities for rain.

A ceremonial use for the monumental stone in the patio on Mound 1-Structure 2 may be suggested by the presence of a multiple burial (RV-B41) interred 1.25 m east of the stone. The burial included two individuals placed in a pit partially lined with stones; neither was accompanied by offerings. The first individual to be interred was a secondary burial of an adult male, 20 to 25 years old at death. Several bones of this individual exhibited cut marks, possibly due to a violent death, perhaps human sacrifice, or to preparation of the body following death and prior to the first inhumation (Urcid, 2000). Prior to burial beneath the patio, which would have been the second inhumation of this individual, red pigment was added to some bones and some were burned at low temperatures. The fill in the burial pit also included ash and charcoal indicative of burning. The second individual was a primary interment of an adult female. She was seated and tightly flexed, probably indicative of a bundle burial, and placed directly on top of the first individual. After the burial was covered with sediment, a fire was set over the grave leaving a layer of burned earth. The evidence suggests a relatively elaborate mortuary ceremony, which may have involved the burial of an adult female accompanied by a male ancestor or sacrificial victim. In prehispanic Mesoamerica, human sacrifice was one way to petition the deities for fertility, including rain (Boone, 1984). This would support Mountjoy’s (1987:41-47) interpretation that these pecked monumental stones were associated with ritual activities. Since the rituals would have been carried out in a small, enclosed patio space, it is likely that they were household ceremonies rather than large-scale public performances. Conversely, since there was not a direct association between the burial and the stone in the patio on Mound 1-Structure 2, a utilitarian function for the stone is equally plausible.

While the evidence from the patio suggests ritual activities, data from the other two platforms (Structures 2-3 and 2-5) confirm the domestic use of this area (Figure 3). Structure 2-3 was located 2 m east of Structure 2-1 and was oriented with its long axis at 110^o/290^o, exactly perpendicular to Structure 2-1.  It is impossible to estimate precisely the surface area of Structure 2-3 since its eastern wall was not present, either due to minor erosion along the eastern edge of Mound 1-Structure 2 or from mining of building materials by later people. Since the eastern edge of Mound 1 appears to be generally intact, it is possible to estimate the length of the structure as ranging from a minimum of six meters to a maximum of eight. Since Structure 2-3 is 5.5 m wide, this yields an estimated surface area of 33 to 44 m², making this platform somewhat smaller than Structures 2-1 and 2-2.  Beneath the occupational surface immediately outside of the southwestern corner of Structure 2-3, the burial of an adult male was excavated (RV-B36). The individual was flexed on his left side and unaccompanied by offerings. In the western end of Structure 2-3 a feature of uncertain function was uncovered, consisting of a circular concentration of stones 1.3 m in diameter overlaying the building’s floor. Excavation beneath the stone feature did not reveal evidence of a hearth or pit. The smaller size of Structure 2-3, and the presence of a type of feature not found in any of the other excavated Early Postclassic buildings, opens the possibility that this structure may have differed in function from the others. Ongoing artifact, flotation, and soil chemical analyses will, hopefully, clarify the function of Structure 2-3.

Structure 2-5 was located only 1 m south of Structure 2-1.  Only short sections of three of the retaining walls of Structure 2-5 were exposed. The northern wall of Structure 2-5 differed from the typical platform retaining walls in that it consisted of three courses of unfaced stones without the horizontal capping stone over the edge of the platform. It is not clear why this wall differed architecturally from the others. The Structure 2-5 platform appears to have been 4.5 m wide with its long axis oriented 20^o/200^o; length could not be estimated. Overlaying the occupational surface of the 1 m wide passage between Structure 2-5 and Structure 2-1 was a 0.4 to 0.5 m thick midden deposit. A radiocarbon date of 997 +/- 47, or A.D. 953 (AA37669), was obtained from charcoal in the midden, which confirms the Early Postclassic date of the associated ceramics. The platform fill of Structure 2-5 also included dense deposits of Early Postclassic refuse, probably redeposited. The midden material in the fill of Structure 2-5 suggests that the Early Postclassic occupation in this area began prior to the construction of that structure.

Artifacts associated with the Early Postclassic occupation on Mound 1-Structure 2, especially those from middens, provide evidence for the domestic economy of this period. Typical Mesoamerican domestic items included obsidian blades, cores, and debitage; ground stone axes; hammerstones; mano and metate fragments; chert projectile points and debitage; heat altered rock; animal bone; shell; charred plant remains; ceramic sherds, figurines, whistles, earflares, stamps, and spindle whorls; bone needles; and carved bone. The diverse set of imported goods associated with the residences included greenstone beads, a turquoise pendant, obsidian, rock crystal, pumice, non-local ceramics, and fragments of at least one alabaster bowl. An almost identical set of domestic artifacts and imported goods was recovered from the residences excavated in Op. RV00 B (see below).

Previous Page  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Page

Return to top of page