The Altica Project: Reframing the Formative Basin of Mexico

Abstract

The Altica Project that began in 2014 is an important step in addressing over two decades of limited problem-oriented research at Formative sites in the Basin of Mexico. Through this research, we demonstrate that Altica is the earliest known settled village in the Teotihuacan Valley and one of the only first-farming village sites in the Basin of Mexico that has not been engulfed by the urban sprawl of Mexico City. It represents the northward spread of settled village life in a time that people of the region were transitioning from a mobile foraging lifestyle to one more reliant on food production. Despite its small size and remote location, Altica was an important part of Early and Middle Formative exchange networks, as it imported multiple types of goods from distant places in Mesoamerica and may have played a role in the early trade of Otumba obsidian. This paper leads the Special Section by framing the research project and outlining its major goals. Survey and excavation results are introduced. Finally, we preface each of the presentations to situate them within the framework. Altica spans a transitional period in Mesoamerica that began around 1000 cal b.c. We establish Altica as a proxy to understand broader Mesoamerican processes at that time.

Early–middle Formative Period Subsistence in the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico: Pre-Hispanic Plant Remains From Altica

“…Radiocarbon dating of bone collagen of the four individuals in the burials discussed reflect occupation of the site during the transition from the Early to Middle Formative period that took place around 1000 cal b.c. (Nichols and Stoner 2019;Rosenswig 2015;), and the ceramic evidence is consistent with this appraisal (Stoner and Nichols 2019). This is a time when developed agricultural settlements with evidence of hierarchy and social differentiation were expanding in other sectors of the Basin of Mexico.…”

“…While the elevation and soils characteristic of the area suggest forest vegetation, likely pine-oak forest, carbonized macrobotanical plant remains recovered from excavation at the site indicate that agricultural practices were established by the Formative-period inhabitants. Stoner and Nichols (2019) propose Altica's position as a terminal node in the Formative exchange network in which small quantities of prestige goods imported from elsewhere were utilized, including imported ceramics from considerable distances (white wares, and others obtained from the southern Basin of Mexico). Altica was likely integrated into a system of settlements oriented towards the extraction of obsidian from the Otumba source to provision settlements in the southern Basin.…”

Altica's Obsidian Industries and Their Place in Early–middle Formative Obsidian Exploitation in Central Mexico

“…Comparative analysis showed little difference in the inventories of the survey and excavation lithic collections. This was not surprising given the extensive modern chisel plowing that left little of the soil cover intact, as noted by Stoner and Nichols (2019). Thus, the frequencies in Table 2 are those for survey and excavation combined.…”

Altica, Coapexco, and the Role of Middlemen in Formative Obsidian Exchange

“…Radiocarbon dates from the recent Altica Project excavations have confirmed the site's antiquity, dating it to between 1250 and 850 cal b.c. (Stoner and Nichols 2019).…”