A Preclassic Water Distribution System in Amalucan, Mexico

A Preclassic Water Distribution System in Amalucan, Mexico Author(s): MELVIN L. FOWLER Source: Archaeology, Vol. 22, No. 3 (JUNE 1969), pp. 208-215 Published by: Archaeological Institute of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41667999 . Accessed: 27/06/2014 22:52 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Archaeological Institute of America is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Archaeology. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 205.155.154.122 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 22:52:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aia http://www.jstor.org/stable/41667999?origin=JSTOR-pdf http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp View oř Amalucan, Mexico, taken from the top of Cerro Amalucan looking east. A Preclassic Water Distribution System in Amalucan, Mexico By MELVIN L. FOWLER The visitor driving east from the city of Puebla toward Tehucan in the state of Puebla, Mexico, will 'notice on the north side of the highway a large hill topped by a pyramid group and another group of im- posing pyramids on the ground near the highway. This hill and mounds are just east of the intersection of the new super highway and the old Puebla- Vera Cruz highway, about seven kilometers east of Puebla just before the village of Chachapa. The site takes its name from the Hacienda Amalucan on the lower slopes of the larger of the two hills that dominate the area: the larger is called Cerro Amalucan; the smaller, to the south, is known locally as Amaluquillo. The remaining part of the archaeological zone is flat and 208 This content downloaded from 205.155.154.122 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 22:52:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp Figurine heads from the excavations at the Amalucan site dating from the Preclassic period (ca. 500 B.c.). slopes gently towards the north. Groups of pyramids on the level plain and on top of Cerro Amalucan distinguish the cultural features of the archaeological zone. Two large mounds and several small mounds around a plaza form the largest group near the old Puebla-Vera Cruz highway. The group on top of Cerro Amalucan contains one very large conical shaped mound surrounded by three clearly defined smaller structures. The entire hilltop seems to have been leveled and the sides of the hill, particularly the northeast side facing the volcanic peak of Malinche, has been extensively terraced in a series of platforms. At least twenty pyramids can be counted through- out the entire area. The largest pyramid (number 1) is built up of a large platform with a pyramidal super- structure set at the south end of the main platform. The form is very similar to the main structure at Telpalcayo or Totimehuacan of the Puebla district. The other structures of the site vary in shape from elongated platforms to conical appearing mounds. The extent of the cultural debris has not as yet been definitely determined for every milpa (maize- field) examined in the vicinity had on its surface pottery, flint chips, figurine fragments and other signs of habitation. At the present time, I estimate that the archaeological zone covers an area of ten to fifteen square kilometers with the largest mound group as the center. Investigations are under way to determine the limits of the site - a problem made complex and difficult by the fact that the valley to the east of Puebla is almost literally one large site and every milpa yields evidence of ancient occupation. Man- zanilla, Chachapa, San Hippolito and Tepalcayo are examples of the many sites occupied in Preclassic times. The period in which Amalucan flourished can be defined on the basis of the pottery and artifacts found there. So far the surface collections have yielded an overwhelming preponderance of Preclassic ceramics. These are largely composed of pottery of orange to red paste with a well polished slip of red color. Vessel forms are largely confined to ollas (jars), shallow bowls, with but a few tecomates (seed jars) . Figurines so far recovered are most nearly like Vallianťs type E series. Studies are being carried out which will more precisely define this ceramic complex. The present conclusion is that Amalucan is a Formative or Pre- classic site. The Compañía Mexicana de Aerofoto had for- tunately made two good sets of aerial photographs of the archaeological zone. When we examined these photos we saw many interesting features about the 209 This content downloaded from 205.155.154.122 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 22:52:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp Aerial photograph of the Amalucan archaeological zone taken in February 1955. Photograph, Compania Mexicana Aerofoto. AMALUCAN continued site and problems for field investigation. One of the features, the subject of this report, was a long, straight, dark line visible on all the aerial photographs and ex- tending from the large mound (number 1) of the central group northeast for approximately 1500 me- ters. At that point, it blends into a dark irregular line that appears to have been an old stream bed. A closer look at the aerial photographs reveals that nearly per- pendicular to this straight line and at intervals of about ninety meters is another series of lines. These perpendicular lines are largely on the northwest of the long straight line, although some can be observed on the southeast side as well. Ground reconnaissance of the area where these lines were visible on the aerial photographs revealed two things. One, the lines could be followed by observing 210 This content downloaded from 205.155.154.122 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 22:52:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp Map of the Amalucan site based on the aerial photograph illustrated on page 210. The lines apparent on the photograph are indicated with stippling. closely the differences in the soil color in plowed fields and by studying the differences in vegetation growth. Two, wherever these lines crossed modern milpa borders, the ground had a slightly higher elevation. Since we had found no pottery other than that of the Preclassic epoch, we proposed the hypothesis that these lines represented some cultural features of that period. A further check with the current owner of the Hacienda Amalucan, Sr. Hugo Pederson, indicated that the field boundaries had been much the same as they are today for many, many years. We decided that excavations should be made to test what culture and epoch the lines stemmed from and to find out what the lines were. Excavation began in January of 1965 with the generous support of the American Philo- sophical Society and the Office of Research and Proj- 211 This content downloaded from 205.155.154.122 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 22:52:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp ects of the Graduate School of Southern Illinois Uni- versity. Field work was carried out under a Carta Concesión of the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia of Mexico. After laying out a grid over the area to be ex- cavated (Area B), we began to strip off the disturbed area (mixed by plowing) in three meter square units. Thus we exposed large areas of the soil below the plow zone and could examine the soil color and tex- ture variation. An area thirty by three meters was stripped this way which was perpendicular to and crossed over the mysterious lines of the aerial photo- graphs. After the stripping operation, one-meter test squares were excavated at each end and in the center of the area to determine the depth of deposits down to the base clay and to examine the physical stratigraphy. The test squares at each end of the area reached base clay at depths of less than one meter whereas the square in the center was extended to over two and a half meters before the undisturbed clay was reached. Once the physical stratigraphy of the area was exam- ined through these test squares, the test squares were expanded and the excavations carried out by follow- ing each individual stratum meter by meter until a trench one meter wide and thirty meters long had been excavated crossing the line first revealed on the aerial photograph. This thirty-meter trench showed that a ditch had been dug into the base clay and had probably served as a water canal - conclusions drawn from the fact that the base clay was stepped down in several ter- races from a depth of less than a half meter at the western limits of the excavation to a depth of over two meters in the center. Furthermore, there appeared to be a well shaped ditch in the central and deepest portion. The stratigraphie sequence of the earth above the canal or central ditch also indicated its man-made nature. Divided into four stratigraphie series, eight well-defined strata and three sub-strata could be ob- served in the sections and have been summarized on the section drawing. These strata in turn can be dis- tributed into four series on the basis of differences both in texture and in the nature of deposition: Se- ries A contains strata 1 and 2 which are sandy and loose in texture and were found distributed over the entire area excavated. They appear to be redeposited material, for the potsherds within the strata are all badly eroded and mixed. Series B consists of strata 3, 4 and 5 which are also sandy and loose in texture and are found over almost all of the entire area ex- cavated. They appear to be built up deposits rather than redistributed materials for the potsherds within them are not eroded and apparently represent in situ deposition. Series C is a group of strata all com- posed of heavy clay materials and found only within the limits of the "aboriginal" (as we can call the 212 This content downloaded from 205.155.154.122 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 22:52:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp Schematic sections of the Area B excavations showing the episodes of use of the water canal. AMALUCAN continued digging for the ancient canal) excavations into the subsoil, stratum 8. Strata 6 and 7 are confined solely to the central area of the ancient canals and probably represent water deposited materials which were re-ex- cavated to provide new water channels in place of the silted in channels. For example, stratum 7 appears to be re-deposited subsoil (stratum 8) that washed into the original canal. In Series D, the only stratum is the undisturbed subsoil, stratum 8. This hard packed, rela- tively impervious clay contains a series of stones rang- ing in size from a few centimeters in circumference up to large boulders a meter in diameter. While the geological origin of this clay awaits detailed study, it is certain that it is undisturbed by human agency. In terms of the history of the site represented by the excavations in Area B at Amalucan, the strata of Series A and B are post-canal episodes and the strata of Series C are from the period in which the canals were in use. Series D (stratum 8) dates the period before human use of the area. What is the significance of the strata for the interpretation of the lines of the aerial photographs ? We have assumed above that the data from the ex- cavations indicate that these lines represent an ancient water canal system. The evidence for this is as fol- lows: the lines on the aerial photographs are straight and regular - a fact which suggests they are man- made. As can be seen on the aerial photograph, the main line connects with an irregular line which seems to be the scar of an old barranca or stream bed which is not man-made. Evidence from the stratigraphie cuts also supports this interpretation: the first excavation into the base clay made a well shaped ditch or channel which falls directly under the center of the dark line noted on the aerial photograph. This original ditch is filled with a series of strata of clays that appear to have been deposited by water. The strata also suggest a series of episodes in the use of the canal: the ditch silted in with clay and new channels had to be re-ex- cavated. The use of the canal system can best be analyzed through the series of idealized cross sections which illustrate the episodes in the history of the canal sys- tem. The idealized sections are based on the detailed section drawings and the physical stratigraphy. We do not intend to suggest through the idealized cross sec- tions that the water always flowed through the canal at the maximum level indicated. Indeed there may well have been a fluctuation of water level at periods of maximum and minimum use of the canal. At any rate, a new channel had to be cleaned out when the canal was essentially clogged and thus a new episode would begin. This content downloaded from 205.155.154.122 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 22:52:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp AMALUCAN continued Episode 1 began when the canal was first dug into the base clay by excavating an area about fifteen meters wide, stepped down in several levels to a depth of about two meters. Only the central portion of this was intended as the actual water channel. In effect, a canal slightly more than five meters wide and nearly a meter deep may have been the first canal intended (suggested by the dotted lines on the drawing). The right edge (and perhaps the left) of this canal and the steps that lead down to it are not clear because later small channels were dug in that area and de- stroyed the surface of the original channel. This is represented by the broken lines on the drawing. A sub-episode of this channel may be represented by the stepped section on the left edge of the channel (the area is marked by broken diagonal lines). The suggested water level represents the maximum height to which stratum 7b is found. My interpretation is that stratum 7 represents the silting and clogging of the first channel and ends episode 1. In episode 2, a new channel was dug into the silts that form stratum 7. This new channel, smaller than the original, was about three and a half meters wide and seventy-five centimeters deep. At the same time, a smaller parallel channel was dug three meters to the right of the channel. This small channel was slightly more than two meters wide and a third of a meter deep. Since stratum 6b is spread over both of these channels and the intervening area, I assume that the water ultimately reached the level shown on the draw- ing. Possibly in the later stages of clogging, the two channels were in a sense fused. At present, I can offer no explanation for the smaller parallel channel. Was it to divert water from the main channel? Does it lead to one of the lines perpendicular to the main line on the aerial photograph ? More excavation is needed to clarify this point. Episode 3 came after the clogging of the channels of episode 2 by the material which forms stratum 6b. Two new channels, one in the center of the main canal and the other in the parallel side canal, were formed, but not by digging to judge from the fact that they were not as regular in cross section as the canals of episodes 1 and 2. They appear to be the re- sult of natural action of water flowing through the ditch. This may be the reason that the deepest parts of the channels are in slightly different locations in the sixty-one and sixty-two meter sections, suggesting a somewhat meandering water course. Stratum 6a is banded multicolor clay material deposited by water. Perhaps in the later stages of filling, the main channel and the side channel may have been fused. Episode 4 appears to have resulted from erosion rather than the digging of a man-made ditch. The main channel seems to have been over the central portion of the original canal. The side channel seems not to have been used during this episode. At this time, another ditch may have been dug - it is represented on the right hand side of the ideali2ed profile for episode 4. Field data on this point were not clear, but this, it appears, is only a small section through one of the perpendicular lines apparent on the aerial photo- graph. These may represent feeder ditches used to divert water from the main channel for distribution elsewhere. If this is the case - and much more exca- vation is needed to clarify the point - the feeder ditch may have been dug during episode 4. The fact that this small ditch on the right is at a slightly higher elevation than the main channel suggests that it leads off the main ditch upstream to divert the water at that elevation. Episode 4 was terminated by the de- posit of stratum 5 b, a yellow wet clay in both the main channel and the ancillary ditch. The stratigraphie data indicate that episode 5 was the concluding one in terms of the use of the area as a water distribution system with fairly regular canals. The sixty-one meter profile on which the idealized sections have been based for the most part shows the top of stratum 5 as a fairly uniform surface capped by stratum 4. However, the top of stratum 5a in the sixty-two meter profile is very irregular and gives the appearance of an eroded surface. Taken together with the fact that stratum 4b (a gravelly sand deposit) is present, the irregular profile of the top of 5a may possibly be caused by water still flowing in the chan- nel. This may well have been run-off from rainfall rather than the deliberate diversion of water. Cer- tainly the end of episode 6, marked by the beginning of stratum 4 (and 4a in the sixty-two meter profile) brings to a close the use of the canal system and be- gins new deposits. The lines of the aerial photographs are, then, water canals with a history of at least five different periods of use. There remains the question, "What was their purpose?" The first thought is irrigation and indeed the suggested layout - a main channel with perpendicular feeder canals - would fit in well with this suggestion. I doubt, however, that irrigation was needed for agriculture in the locality of Amalucan. The farmers of the district today do not use irrigation and grow a tremendous maize crop on this ground. The only water control system is one connected to the Hacienda Amalucan and is an underground Khanat system to bring water to a field southwest of Cerro Amalucan where grains are raised specifically for fodder. Possibly the climate may have been drier at the time of the canal's use. Also irrigation is not 214 This content downloaded from 205.155.154.122 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 22:52:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp always necessary just because of lack of rainfall. It is also helpful to space out the use of the water available and to distribute it when and where most needed. Another possibility is that this canal system dis- tributed water for other purposes such as drinking and sanitation. The fact is that this canal system ex- tends right into the heart of the Amalucan site and may have been utilized to distribute water to the resi- dents of what must have been a considerable town. At present, it seems best to label it a water distribu- tion system and leave the interpretation of its exact function until the time when more field data can be gathered and analyzed. The age of the system is well fixed by the strati- graphic and other data from the site. The area is "sealed off" by stratum 3, the black sandy deposit found in all of the three areas where field work was carried out. Furthermore, the ceramics from above and below stratum 3 indicate Preclassic affiliations. This stratigraphie fact suggests that the canal system could not have been caused by intrusive excavations by later peoples either Precolumbian or Colonial. Another factor argues for a Preclassic date: the line indicating the canal on the aerial photograph runs directly into the side of the main pyramid, mound 1. Some of the aerial photographs studied show that the line continues on the other side of the pyramid. This suggests that the canal system may have been in existence before mound 1 was constructed. The style of this structure is Preclassic both in terms of shape and method of surfacing. The strata of Series B, par- ticularly stratum 4, may possibly have accumulated as a fill to level off the area in preparation for the build- ing of the main pyramid. This land, in other words, may have been reclaimed from its use as a water dis- tribution system to one where the main ceremonial and political precinct of the town was built. Other evidence for the age of the system comes from the artifacts found in strata 3 and 4 above the canals. These are of Preclassic affiliations and suggest ties with the Valley of Mexico during this period. In my mind, the nearest similarities of these materials are with Zacatenco and the Preclassic phases for the Teotihuacan area of the Valley of Mexico. Further indication of the age of this system comes from the research of Dr. Bodo Sprantz at the site of Totimehuacan in Puebla, Mexico. The mound, Tepal- cayo I, which he has excavated there, is very nearly identical in shape to mound 1 of Amalucan also the ceramics from that site resemble the ceramics of Amalucan. In a stratum about two and a half meters below the top of the pyramid, Dr. Sprantz recovered organic materials which were used for radiocarbon dating. The dates he obtained were 200-500 B.c. Since mound 1 of Amalucan appears to be built over the water distribution system, the system would be earlier than 200 b.c. Whereas other irrigation or water distribution sys- tems have been found in Mexico in archaeological context, most of these date to late Classic or Post- Classic times. The exception to this is the recent work of Dr. MacNeish and his associates in the Tehuacan Valley where irrigation canals and dams have been located from the Preclassic or Formative horizon. At Cuicuilco in the Valley of Mexico there may be irriga- tion in the late Preclassic times and Dr. Kent Flannery has excavated what may be a Formative or Preclassic irrigation system in the Valley of Oaxaca. As more data are published on these discoveries, it will be possible to gain a better perspective on the Amalucan data. For the present, the significance of the Amalucan data is that they document in some detail the presence of a water distribution system in Preclassic times in central Mexico. The author is at present Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Among his specialties is American prehistory, especially in the Mississippi Valley area and Central Mexico. He has excavated material ranging from Archaic (in Modoc Rocksheiter, Illinois and Coxcatlan Rocksheiter, Puebla, Mexico) to the nineteenth century (Mormon Temple at Nauvoo, Illinois). Recently he has supervised field projects at Puebla, Mexico and at the Cahokia Site, East St. Louis, Illinois. For Further Reading: Eduardo S. Contreras, "La Zona Arqueológica de Manzanilla, Puebla," Boletín del Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia , 21 (1965) 18-24; Kent V. Flannery, et al., "Farming Sys- tems and Political Growth in Ancient Oaxaca/' Science, 158 (1967) no. 3800, 44 5-454; Melvin L. Fowler, Un Sistema Preclásico de Distribución de Agua en la Zona Arqueológica de Amalucan, Puebla, Instituto Poblano de Antropologia e Historia (Puebla 1968); Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, "Exploraciones en Totimehuacan, Puebla," Boletín del Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, 19 (1965) 1-4; Rene Millón, Bruce Drewitt, and James Bennyhoff, "The Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan: 1959 Investigations/' Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 55 (1965); Eduardo Noguera, "Totimehuacan, Famosa Zona Arqueologia del Estado de Puebla," Anales de Antropologia, 11 (1965) 137-151; Bodo Sprantz, Las Pirámides de Totimehuacan Excavaciones 1964/65, Instituto Poblano de Antropologia e Historia (Puetla 1966); "Descubri- mento en Totimehuacan, Puebla/' Boletín del Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, 28 (1967) 19-22; Michael West, "Transition from Preclassic to Classic at Teotihuacan," American Antiquity, 32 (1965) 193- 202; Eric Wolf and Angel Palerm, "Irrigation in the Old Acolhua Domain," Southwestern Journal of An- thropology, 11 (1965) 265-281. 215 This content downloaded from 205.155.154.122 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 22:52:08 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp Article Contents p. 208 p. 209 p. 210 p. 211 p. 212 p. [213] p. 214 p. 215 Issue Table of Contents Archaeology, Vol. 22, No. 3 (JUNE 1969), pp. 172-248 Front Matter KORAI: A REVIEW ARTICLE [pp. 172-176] THE PRIMA PORTA STATUE OF AUGUSTUS [pp. 177-187] Ancient Arabian Ancestor Idols: Part II: THE INTERPRETATION OF THE SANCTUARY AT RISQEH [pp. 188-195] THE DELUGE IN LOWER NUBIA [pp. 196-203] RESTORING THE POLYPHEMUS FROM SPERLONGA [pp. 204-207] A Preclassic Water Distribution System in Amalucan, Mexico [pp. 208-215] ANCIENT CORINTH: THE GYMNASIUM AREA [pp. 216-225] Ancient History: Does it Belong in a History or a Classics Department? [pp. 226-227] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS Obituary [pp. 228-228] Egyptian Temple Transported to New York [pp. 228-228] Computers Reconstruct the Appearance of an Egyptian Temple [pp. 229-230] A New Mosaic in the Royal Ontario Museum [pp. 231-231] Excavations at Glastonbury Somerset, England [pp. 232-233] British Museum Society [pp. 233-233] Etruscan Discoveries from Acqua Rossa Exhibited in Rome [pp. 233-234] Awards for the Summer Session at Athens [pp. 234-234] American Academy at Rome Announces Awards for 1969/70 [pp. 234-234] Michael Ventris Memorial Award [pp. 234-234] The Archaeologist's Bookshelf Review: untitled [pp. 235-236, 238] Review: untitled [pp. 238-239] Review: untitled [pp. 239-240] Review: untitled [pp. 240-240] Review: untitled [pp. 240-241] Review: untitled [pp. 241-242] Review: untitled [pp. 242-243] Review: untitled [pp. 243-244] Review: untitled [pp. 244-245] Review: untitled [pp. 245-246] Review: untitled [pp. 246-246] Review: untitled [pp. 246-246] Review: untitled [pp. 248-248] Review: untitled [pp. 248-248]