Excavations at Los Mogotes, San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca:
A Terminal Formative Subregional Center in the Valley of Oaxaca
Vea este informe en Español.

Research Year:  2000
Culture:  Zapotec
Chronology:  Terminal Pre-Classic
Location:  San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca, México
Site:  Los Mogotes

The site of Los Mogotes, located near the modern town of San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca, was identified by the Oaxaca survey team (Kowalewski et al., 1989) as a regional center for the Zapotec state in Period Monte Albán II (100 B.C. - A.D. 200). Los Mogotes predecessors, El Mogote (a chiefly center occupied from 700-300 B.C.) and El Palenque (established ca. 300 B.C.) have been the focus of investigations by Charles S. Spencer and Elsa M. Redmond of the American Museum of Natural History (Figure 1). Their project includes mapping, surface collections, and excavations (Spencer, 1999). At El Mogote and El Palenque, Spencer and Redmond have excavated residential and public buildings. They note that when the administrative core shifted from El Mogote to El Palenque, the residents invested a great deal of energy in building elite residences and public buildings around the new plaza. Yet, El Palenque’s occupation was short-lived. By 100 B.C., Los Mogotes took over regional center status from El Palenque. Located on a ridge above El Palenque, Los Mogotes is 18 km away from and has a direct line of sight to the state capital, Monte Albán.

Click to download the report in PDF format:

Excavations at Los Mogotes, San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca:
A Terminal Formative Subregional Center in the Valley of Oaxaca  (227 KB)

The PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader.
To download the latest version, click the Get Acrobat Reader button below.

Submitted 03/19/2001 by:
Entregado el 9 de marzo del 2001 por:

For related information see the report submitted to FAMSI by Elsa M. Redmond: Excavations at El Palenque, San Martín Tilcajete: A Late Formative Subregional Center in the Oaxaca Valley, México.