Teposcolula Yucundaa: The Next Monte Alban

Have you been talking to rocks lately? Didn't think so. But archaeologist Ron Spores has been doing that for many years already, and rocks have been telling him some interesting stories.

Late last month, Dr. Spores guided a small group of lucky visitors to the pre-Hispanic town of Pueblo Viejo Teposcolula Yucundaa, where excavations are currently taking place and seem to be in the process of uncovering what could, and quite possibly will, be a unique World Heritage Site. Spores is the leading archaeologist of the team that, with funds from the government and the Harp Helu foundation, is conducting the excavations.

Yucundaa is located in the hilltop near the present town of San Pedro y Pablo Teposcolula, in the Mixtec region of Oaxaca. For many years, the ruins of what once was a very important City-State were covered by tons of soil and the real grandiosity of the place had been gradually forgotten.

Much of what we know about ancient Mesoamerican civilizations is what archaeologists interpret by studying their settlements; documentary information in the form of codices is limited and, when available, subject to interpretation. Early colonial documents, despite being allegedly produced with the help of the locals, have sometimes proved to be inaccurate or completely spurious (like the Nican Mopohua, a saga that narrates Virgin Guadalupe's apparition, written in Nahuatl, by a local, but based on the popular recreations of that tale, which was already a popular legend by the time Nican Mopohua was written - see December's issue).

“We have a lot of documented information about the Mixtecs and their way of life, but we need to find archaeological information to support it,” said Dr. Spores in a conference prior to the visit. Archaeology works pretty much like forensics, if no physical evidence in support of a certain theory is found, then it can't be considered as proven fact.

Archaeology can provide both diachronic and synchronic analysis of old civilizations: When excavating, it is possible to find different layers and know then the successive stages of development. Also, by uncovering one specific layer, it is possible to know what kind of constructions were developed during one particular stage and to know how its inhabitants' lives were organised (In the case of Yucundaa, the remains of where once stood the centre of a City-State (the political form of organization of the Mixtecs) with all of its impressive religious and civic buildings).

Spores also emphasises that the excavations of Yucundaa include not only the site (the religious and civic buildings and the royal abodes), but actually the whole city. The project aims to uncover and preserve some of the common-class housing which is another unique feature of the place. “We have found remains in an area of 290 hectares but we think the whole city might cover up to 600 hectares.”

The Mixtec social class system had the form of a pyramid, pretty much like our societies, but their neighbourhoods, so to speak, reflected this condition. The higher classes lived on the hilltop and the lower classes lived on the slopes. But the team's interest is to further investigate the common class; Dr. Spores explains, “By investigating these houses, we expect to obtain more information of the whole social structure, and not only the ruling class.”

Already such investigations have brought about important findings. Stone-carved figurines were found in hearths inside the popular housing. This could suggest that the noble Mixtecs, afraid of being tried by the inquisition, hid them among common people and would escape the stake if the figurines were found. Of course this is interpretation and further investigation would confirm the theory or simply leave the question unanswered.

What is known through documents and proved in-situ is that the original city was abandoned around 1530 as a consequence of a terrible pestilence. The people, both locals and some Dominican friars, moved down to the ball of the hill abandoning forever the hilltop palaces and the housing on the slopes. Today, only one man, Don Carlos, and his family, live on the hill and practice the ancient farming techniques of the original inhabitants. Another unique factor of the site is that the team has managed to obtain permission from the authorities for Don Carlos and his family to continue living in the same place. In Dr. Spores' words, “We are dando vida, giving life, to the site.”

It is difficult to tell exactly when “the next Monte Alban” will be open to the public; thousands of archaeological working hours and equal amounts of bureaucratic paperwork are still needed, but the Pueblo Viejo Teposcolula Yucundaa is already an important source of new information about our past.