Construction of prehispanic space: archaeological interpretation in Xajay Mezquital Valley area

Abstract

This text deals with the construction of Mesoamerican spatial dimensions through three observation scales from archaeological contexts: buried sacred offerings, the ceremonial center and the altepetl. For this purpose, a symbolic analysis of the material belonging to the three scales was chosen to show that pre-Hispanic spatial ordering has a property of self-similarity and the simultaneous coexistence of a set of multiple consecrations, which is not a random event, but a consequence of great sensitivity to ideological and religious systems. Moreover, all of this had a significant impact on the historical development of Mesoamerican altepetl social units. This paper takes the case study of the ceremonial center of Pahñú and the Xajay ceremonial sites located to the west of the Mezquital Valley.