Quarrying volcanic landscapes: territory and strategies of metate production in Turícuaro (Michoacan)

Abstract

In the Michoacán region of central-western Mexico, the village of Turícuaro has for centuries been a center for metate production based on andesites exploited on the slopes of Hoya Urutzen and 'El Metate' volcanoes. Surveys have been conducted in this volcanic landscape, with the invaluable help of one of the last metateros (craftsmen) family of the village, the Vidalès, in order to reconstruct the strategies adopted through time to extract this andesite over a large territory. It has been possible to propose a first mapping as well as a relative dating of the various quarrying areas. Different types of exploitations have been described, from ancient quarries, associated with archaeological occupations, to current extraction sites. The morphology of the outcrops (walls, isolated blocks) partly conditioned the organization of the quarries (flat, organized on terraces, etc). It has also been possible to observe the different strategies and organization of work associated with this activity, through the observation of the abandoned blocks, waste and roughouts. Finally, this work offers a new perspective on Mesoamerican metate quarrying strategies.