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LACUSTRINE DYNAMICS AND TLATEL-TYPE SETTLEMENTS FROM MIDDLE FORMATIVE TO LATE AZTEC IN THE EASTERN PART OF LAKE TEXCOCO, MEXICO

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2021

Carlos E. Cordova Open the ORCID record for Carlos E. Cordova [Opens in a new window] ,
Luis Morett-Alatorre ,
Charles Frederick  and
Lorena Gámez-Eternod
Carlos E. Cordova*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, 337 Social Science and Humanities, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078
Luis Morett-Alatorre
Affiliation:
Museo de la Agricultura, Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, Municipio de Texcoco, Estado de México 56227, Mexico
Charles Frederick
Affiliation:
Geoarchaeology Consulting, 2901 FM 1496, Dublin, Texas 76446 Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
Lorena Gámez-Eternod
Affiliation:
Dirección de Salvamento Arqueológico-INAH, Calle Cordoba 45, Colonia Roma, Alcaldía Cuauhtémoc, Ciudad de México 06700, Mexico
*
E-mail correspondence to: carlos.cordova@okstate.edu
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Abstract

In the territories of the former lakes in the Basin of Mexico, a tlatel was an insular settlement associated with the exploitation of lacustrine resources. This study examines the stratigraphy and geomorphological context of three tlateles in the eastern part of the former Lake Texcoco and correlates their phases of development with regional paleoclimatic trends from the seventh century b.c. to the sixteenth century. The results of this research indicate that fluvio-lacustrine (i.e., deltaic) sedimentation and freshwater springs in the lake basin were important features for the establishment of tlatel settlements in the highly dynamic and saline lacustrine environment. The formation and abandonment of the studied tlateles correlate with changes in other settlements and developments recorded in other parts of Lake Texcoco. Sites and sediments in the eastern part of Lake Texcoco provide proxy information on the lacustrine changes that accompanied the development of Tenochtitlan and other lacustrine settlements in its western part.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , Summer 2022 , pp. 211 - 226
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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