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Relict Plant Communities at Prehispanic Sites in Oaxaca, Mexico: Historical Implications

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Abstract

Coordinated with excavations at two prehispanic sites in the eastern arm of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, we documented a diversity of economically useful plants at both localities. Many plants that abound at El Palmillo and the Mitla Fortress are used locally as food, medicine, and in ritual activities. These hilltop settlements were abandoned during the prehispanic era and never resettled, leaving relict floral communities that were once tended by their prehispanic inhabitants. A comparison of plant communities at El Palmillo, the Mitla Fortress, and other locales in the Valley of Oaxaca illustrates the higher incidence of xerophytic plants in the drier eastern (Tlacolula) arm of the valley, with the greatest abundance in archaeological contexts. These findings affirm the importance of a broad array of succulents (especially Agave spp.), yucca, and cacti for the region’s inhabitants, thereby helping account for the dense prehispanic populations that resided there.

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The lists of identified plant species at El Palmillo and the Mitla Fortress are included as supplemental tables linked to this paper.

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Acknowledgments

This study was facilitated through the dedicated assistance of our Oaxacan and North American field crews, with special thanks to William Middleton, Helen Haines, Pablo Hernández, Rolando Raimundo, and Juan Martínez. We thank the curators and professional staff associated with the botany collections at the Field Museum of Natural History, and Women’s Board intern, Jessica Mohlman, for their generous help in plant identification.

Funding

The National Science Foundation provided the major funding for archaeological research at El Palmillo and the Mitla Fortress (SBR-9805288, BCS-0349668). Support for investigations at both sites also came from the National Geographic Society, the H. John Heinz III Fund of the Heinz Family Foundation, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Women’s Board at the Field Museum.

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  1. Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA

    Gary M. Feinman & Linda M. Nicholas

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  1. Gary M. Feinman
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GMF and LMN conducted the fieldwork and wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Gary M. Feinman.

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The research projects were approved by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia of Mexico and carried out with guidance of the Centro INAH Oaxaca. Permission to implement the field investigations was granted by local authorities of Santiago Matatlán and San Pablo Villa de Mitla. The study had no human subjects.

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Feinman, G.M., Nicholas, L.M. Relict Plant Communities at Prehispanic Sites in Oaxaca, Mexico: Historical Implications. Hum Ecol 48, 539–555 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-020-00177-x

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