Mauricio Gardu?o Ambriz
COASTAL TRADITION OF CONCHEROS: MATANCHaN COMPLEX
The oldest settlement found in the state of Nayarit is a camp at the base of a volcanic hill in the far north of Matanchan Bay. Data obtained from organic samples show that it was occupied between 2,200 and 1,700 BC. This group depended almost entirely on various types of mollusks that it collected from the bottom of the bay and to a lesser extent on other animals such as sea turtles, fish and pelicans.
SAN BLAS CERAMIC COMPLEX
The settlements in this cultural complex, located on the banks of the estuaries, have been carbon dated to between 900 and 350 BC. The ceramics associated with the site are of a high standard, with various decorative techniques. Archaeological data show that the economy of the groups in this complex was based on activities such as hunting, fishing and probably incipient horticultural practices (such as the cultivation of potatoes).
THE SHAFT TOMB TRADITION CULTURES
The period between 300 and 650 BC in the west of Mexico saw the development of various cultural groups that dug deep burial chambers of varying shapes and sizes, which they entered via a narrow well or vertical shaft.
These groups lived mainly from farming, which they practiced in the fertile valleys between the mountains of the high tableland or on the alluvial plains next to the rivers, their main crops being maize, beans, chili, tomato and squash. They complemented their diet by gathering wild fruits, fishing and hunting birds and mammals. Storing the surplus they obtained from each cycle enabled them to diversify their activities and refine their craft-making techniques.
THE AZTATLAN TRADITION
The crystallization of the Aztatlan technique constitutes the most widespread geographical and cultural phenomenon within the archaeological sequence of western Mexico. It is the stage that shows the greatest affinity with elements of the central tableland, at both the symbolic and the technological level. It developed between 850 and 1350 AD, although in some places, it persisted until the arrival of the Spaniards c. 1530. During this period, the intensification of agricultural production stimulated diversification and the development of new work processes linked to new crops (such as cotton, tobacco and probably cacao), the construction, extension and maintenance of buildings and public works (such as canals, dams, terraces, plazas, temples and palaces) and the adoption and innovation of new technologies (such as metallurgy and the manufacture of prismatic obsidian knives).
The nuclei of Aztatlan population are larger and more complex than all the previous settlements, with architectural spaces and monumental constructions where public activities were carried out (such as the redistribution and trading of products) and the worship of specific gods in the Mesoamerican pantheon such as
Tlaloc, Xipe-T?tec, Mictlantecuhtli and
Quetzalcoatl.
These villages formed part of an extensive network for the exchange of products and knowledge with cultural regions that were distant from both Mesoamerica and the American southwest, as shown by the decorative shapes and designs of Toltec and Mixtec origin in locally-manufactured ceramics or in the turquoise mosaic from New Mexico.
INDEPENDENT FIEFDOMS
During the last stage of pre-Hispanic occupation, the state comprised several fiefdoms of varying sizes, each with a central settlement or capital city where the authorities lived and the main social and administrative activities were carried out. It was also inhabited by various tributary peoples under the sphere of influence and direct control of these capital cities.
http://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/english/historia/prehispanica/detalle.cfm?idsec=1&idsub=11&idpag=2660
