Settlement and agricultural land use in ancient Mixtequilla, Veracruz, Mexico
Description
This study uses settlement and landscape data from the Mixtequilla region of Veracruz, Mexico, to investigate the practice of agriculture during the Classic and Postcassic periods. The settlement data were gathered during archaeological surveys conducted by the Proyecto Arqueologico La Mixtequilla in 1984--88 and the author in 1989. The landscape data derive from the author's fieldwork in 1989 The primary finding of the study is that ancient farming practices in the Mixtequilla were adapted to the varied microgeographic conditions in the region. Settlement was especially dense and stable in areas that were subject to annual flooding during the rainy season. In the seasonally flooded areas, farmers practiced recessional agriculture which allowed them to produce two crops each year by using residual soil moisture in the dry season. The increased diversity of agricultural options formed the basis for a large and stable regional population from the Preclassic through the Postclassic The variation of socioeconomic status between ancient households is also explored through the study of the ceramic assemblages in individual households. Pottery found on housemounds was scored using the Production Step Method, which provides a rough measure of the economic resources used to create the vessels in an assemblage. From this measure households can be compared. The patterns in these data are examined on regional and subregional basis, and are used to compare the settlement on different portions of the landscape