THE CHRONOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF THE CENTRAL JALISCO SHAFT TOMBS

Abstract

The shaft tomb mortuary tradition is an archaeological construct that encompasses a diverse array of burial practices, many of which now seem to reflect local variations in specific treatments of the dead. Distinctive characteristics of shaft tombs in the Tequila valleys of central Jalisco include the high degree of labor invested in tomb construction, the wealth of offerings found within the tombs, and the occasional association of the tombs with the circular public architecture known as the Teuchitlan tradition. These characteristics have led some researchers to see the Tequila valleys as the “core” of the shaft tomb tradition, in which mortuary practices were most dramatically employed to demonstrate social distinctions. Weigand's survey beginning at the end of the 1960s was designed to understand the settlement system associated with the burial tradition. Various constraints led to the use of surface materials and materials found in looters' pits to associate ceramics with tombs and public architecture. This article discusses ongoing research on the ceramic chronology of the eastern Tequila valleys and specifically those phases that span the use of shaft tombs as a high-ranking form of burial. We can discern three phases across the period of the Late Formative through the Middle Classic.