Plaza of the Columns Complex

by Adriana Sánchez

It has been an intense week with the conclusion of the third field season (2017) of the PPCC. This includes putting the final touches on all pending fieldwork tasks: the last photo taken, the final line drawn, and the closing word of descriptions written in the notebook.

We have just three days left for filling in the last four open excavation areas. The first of them extends over an area of 12 meters long by 3 meters wide and reaches depths between 2 to 4 meters. The second area is not that wide but is certainly large and complex; it is a tunnel that runs over 10 meters long, 1 meter wide, and 1.5 meters high. The third one is located on one of the highest structures of the complex covering an area of approximately 9 meters long, 6 meters wide, and 3 meters deep. The last area revisits a tunnel previously excavated during the first fieldwork season in 2015 and continues to provide several interesting finds.

Upon finishing the last field details and closing out the season, the adrenaline runs high with a mixture of stress, anxiety, and emotions. All excavated areas must be cleaned and perfectly covered in backfill.

In order to accomplish these monumental tasks, we rely on local fieldworkers from neighboring communities near the “Zona de Monumentos Arqueológicos de Teotihuacan” (Teotihuacan Archaeological Monuments Area, ZMAT). These individuals are usually young men who recently turned 18 years old (legal working age in Mexico) and thus experience their first job with the project or, on the contrary, are mature men who each have more than 10 years of experience working for diverse archaeological research projects in the ZMAT.

These are the people who do all the hard and labor-intensive work: lifting heavy buckets filled with earth from excavation area to sifting station, carrying heavy stones out of excavation areas, finding out ways to protect excavations from rain by maneuvering a makeshift awning, among many others tasks. Although archaeologists lead the fieldwork and its activities, we acknowledge the hard and important labor our fieldworkers do to support us and the PPCC.

Often times, the fieldworkers have to endure when an archaeologist is in a bad mood during stressful situations due to lack of time particularly at the end of the field season. Despite this, they are supportive and encourage us to continue working on “that what we call archaeology.”

Not everyone can be a fieldworker in an archaeological project as this job demands a balance of finesse, precision, and strength. Finding the right combination and stamina may ultimately decide whether one returns for the next field season. However, we gladly welcome back most familiar faces who possess these characteristics and look forward to working together again out in the field, right until the inevitable stressful end of the season.

THANK YOU TO ALL who supported our PPCC team during this third field season! Muchas gracias!

During the 2017 field season, the Plaza of the Columns Project used a special type of investigative tool called LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to verify archaeological features out in the field. This method of remote sensing integrates GPS technologies, Inertial Measurement Unit, and lasers in order to collect altitudinal data. The combination of these sources help to define the surface of the terrain by generating digital elevation models (DEM) for us to further interpret and analyze.

In general terms, this technique allows us to recover traces of the past, either pre-Hispanic, colonial, or historical, which today are reflected in cultivated terraces, mounds or artificial elevations, and jagueyes or water reservoirs.

These features are blurred in what are now nopaleras (terrain covered in the nopal or cactus plant), agricultural fields, or even modern day villages. But thanks to this surveying method, one can outline the dimensions and proportions of architectural or hydraulic features of the past.

Coexistence with the settlers

While surveying the area, we have had the pleasure to interview landowners and gather historical information of past populations. They recalled early childhood stories told by their parents or grandparents about the foundation or organization of their communities since the beginning of the 20th century.

In addition to sharing their experiences, they provided information on the elements that we recognize today in LiDAR images. For example, in the town of Ixtlahuaca in the municipality of San Martin of the Pyramids, interviewees Juan Guillermo Castro, Pablo Rivero, Alejandro Hernández Ramirez, and Sebastián Medina shared stories when the only accessible water was from the water reservoir located in the center of the village. They also recalled the time when this part of the valley belonged to the Hacienda of Cerro Gordo. Other interviewees, Genoveva Diaz Alba with her daughters Lidia and Maria del Carmen Delgadillo Diaz, told us that her husband decided to modify the terrain in the 1970s in order to better cultivate it.

In addition to plentiful stories, some locals were highly generous and went over and beyond. Mr. Filemon Macías Juárez of San Lorenzo Tlamimilolpa not only granted us permission to visit his land but also donated a collection of ceramic materials that he collected throughout his lifetime. This allowed us to increase our comparative sample with late materials and correspond them to the Postclassic occupation of the region.

The enthusiasm and cooperation of the landowners are a result of the clear and transparent management of our objectives. Often times, the locals are contacted by other institutions with much less cordial terms. Therefore, we feel committed to establish clear communication and respect. We want them to feel informed and involved, whether by asking them to personally see the work we do, responding and explaining any personal doubts or observations, or adjusting to their needs and availability.

Acknowledgements 

It is important to highlight the support provided by the municipal and auxiliary authorities of Ixtlahuaca and Santa Maria Palapa in the municipality of San Martin of the Pyramids. We also thank San Juan Teotihuacan in the Barrio de Purificación, San Sebastián Xolalpan, San Francisco Mazapa, Santa Maria Coatlan, and San Lorenzo Tlamimilolpan. Lastly, we gives thanks to private organizations such as the Animal Kingdom Zoo.