While the archaeology of the Northern Frontier of Mesoamerica is poorly understood, Pedro Armillas' hypothesis that climatically induced environmental change was the limiting factor for cultural change has become the ruling theory. In order to test this hypothesis original lacustrine pollen profiles were compared with a detailed inspection of the known archaeological record and the previously published paleoecological record. The archaeological evidence suggests that there was a dense human occupation in the northern reaches of Mesoamerica between about AD 600-900. The first indications of human settlements are related to the Chupicuaro culture that reached its apogee about 2000 years ago located along the Rio Lerma. A rustic variant of the Chupicuaro culture spread north and is associated with scattered hamlets. About AD 600 the sedentary population expanded considerably in conjunction with the development of regional centers and the Coyotlatelco red-on-buff ceramic tradition. This expansion can be seen all along the Northern Frontier of Mesoamerica from Alta Vista south to Tula. Between AD 900-1000 there was a dramatic change in settlement patterns and by about AD 1000 most of the northern reaches of Mesoamerica were once again under the control of semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers. A suite of four cores was collected in a transect that crosses the Northern Frontier of Mesoamerica. The goal of selecting sites that minimized human impact was not altogether successful since these cores identify the impact of agriculture. Within the limits of the dating and material available, the pollen profiles from these cores suggest an environmental change between AD 1000 and 1500. From the data available it is not clear if this change, or changes, was the result of changes in human settlement patterns or climatic change. As such Armillas' hypothesis remains unproven.

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This preliminary typology of Aztec formal chipped stone tools was created taking into account the context in which the lithics were recovered, their morphology, and manufacturing processes. The typology defines six categories of stone tools: ornately decorated bifaces (this includes ceremonial lithic artifacts), projectile points, scrapers, perforators, denticulates, and other. The thesis also includes an analysis of 10 previously unanalyzed Aztec lithic assemblages. When taken together the typology and lithic analysis provide a summary description of the Aztec lithic industry. / by Timothy J. Guyah. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Thesis (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics; and, (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1979. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE. / Bibliography: leaves 53-55. / by Timothy John Carroll. / B.S.

This thesis provides the first formal and phenomenological analysis of the architecture in Paquimé, otherwise known as Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. The eastern and western halves of the city are divided by a stone wall and reservoirs. The monuments on the east are rectilinear, puddled adobe structures used primarily for domestic and manufacturing purposes. The buildings on the west, on the other hand, are open earth mounds lined in stone for public displays. This thesis analyzes each building individually, the relationship of the structures to one another, and the entire layout of Paquimé in order to better understand Paquimian visual culture.

This paper presents an investigation of sedimentary deposition, soil formation, and pedoturbation in the Animas River Valley to determine the provenience of archaeological deposits in an open field at Aztec Ruins National Monument, NM outside of the Greathouse complex. Four stratigraphic pedounits correlated with active fan deposition have been proposed for the lower terrace in the project area with only one of these units retaining strong potential for buried archaeological deposits from the Anasazi late Pueblo II/Pueblo III period. The distal fan on the lower terrace and the Animas River floodplain appear to show poor potential for archaeological deposits either due to shallow sediment overburden with historic disturbance or alluvial activity during or after occupation. Based on these findings, four other zones of similar fan development have been identified throughout the Animas Valley and are recommended for subsurface testing during future cultural resource investigations.

En l’absence de sources écrites teotihuacaines, la religion que pratiquaient les anciens Teotihuacains ne peut être appréhendée que par les traces archéologiques laissées par certains rites, par une analyse des sources écrites (mayas et aztèques) relatives à Teotihuacan, et surtout par une étude iconographique des principales figures divines de son panthéon. Après avoir détaillé les rites que pratiquaient les Teotihuacains et qui sont connus par ailleurs en Mésoamérique, la première partie de ma thèse propose une étude systématique des sources relatives à Teotihuacan (et notamment de la Relación de Teotihuacan). La seconde partie est consacrée à l’étude de l’iconographie et du symbolisme de Tlaloc, du Jaguar réticulé, de Xipe Totec, du Vieux dieu du feu, du Dieu papillon, et du Serpent à plumes. / Doctorat en philosophie et lettres, Orientation histoire de l'art et archéologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished