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A Late Monte Albán I Phase (300–100 B.C.) Palace in the Valley of Oaxaca

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Charles S. Spencer  and
Elsa M. Redmond
Charles S. Spencer
Affiliation:
Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St., New York, NY 10024–5192 ([email protected])
Elsa M. Redmond
Affiliation:
Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St., New York, NY 10024–5192 ([email protected])
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Abstract

A masonry and adobe construction called the “Area I Palace” was excavated by the authors at the site of El Palenque (SMT-llb), located near San Martín Tilcajete in the Ocotlán district of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. The Area I Palace covered 850 m2 and consisted of nine interconnected structures, one of which was an elaborate residence that measured 16 m by 16 m and had eight rooms arranged around an interior patio. Several additional platforms and two paved courtyards were probably more ceremonial in nature. There is evidence that multiple work groups were involved in the construction of the palace. The associated ceramics and four radiocarbon samples indicate that the palace was built at the beginning of the Late Monte Albán I phase (300–100 B.C.) and abandoned in the first century B.C. It is argued that the Area I Palace is one of earliest known examples of a Zapotec quihuitào or royal palace.

Un conjunto arquitectónico designado el “Palacio del Area I” fue excavado por los autores en el sitio arqueológico de El Palenque (SMT-llb), ubicado cerca de San Martín Tilcajete, en el distrito de Ocotlán del Valle de Oaxaca, en México. El conjunto arquitectónico cubrió 850 m2 y consistió en nueve estructuras de mampostería y adobe, una siendo un edificio de carácter habitacional que midió 16 m por 16 m y que comprendió un patio abierto rodeado por ocho habitaciones. Asociados con esta estructura residencial hay varias plataformas y dos patios con pisos de lajas, que fueron más bien de carácter ceremonial. Hay indicaciones de que distintas fuerzas laborales participaron en la construcción del palacio. La cerámica asociada con el conjunto pertenece a la fase Monte Albán I Tardía (300–100 a.C). Este fechamiento ha sido comprobado por cuatro muestras radiocarbónicas provenientes. La fecha más temprana, 2300 ± 80 a.P. (350 a.C. ± 80) (Table 1), corresponde al primer episodio de construcción del conjunto arquitectónico; dos fechas intermedias, 2110 ± 60 a.P. y 2080 ± 60 a.P. (160 a.C. ± 60 y 130 a.C.± 60) (Table 1), pertenecen al período de ocupación; y la última fecha, 1970 ± 60 a.P. (20 a.C. ± 60) (Table 1), corresponde a su abandono. Sugerimos que el Palacio del Area I es uno de los ejemplos más tempranos de un palacio real, o quihuitào, zapoteco.

Type
Reports
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , December 2004 , pp. 441 - 455
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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