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Contributed by Elsa M. Redmond, February 22, 2017 (sent for review January 26, 2017; reviewed by Joyce Marcus and Stephen Plog)
Significance
The emergence of the earliest states is a major research problem in anthropology. A key archaeological manifestation of states is the royal palace. Excavations at the site of El Palenque have recovered the oldest-known palace in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. The palace displays similarities to the royal palaces of historically documented Mesoamerican states. It was a multifunctional palace, composed of courts and buildings where government officials assembled to conduct state affairs, as well as the ruler's residential quarters. We propose that the palace complex was built in a single large-scale construction effort. A series of radiocarbon dates indicates that the El Palenque palace complex was in use during the 300–100 BC period of archaic state emergence in Oaxaca.
Abstract
Recently completed excavations at the site of El Palenque in Mexico’s Valley of Oaxaca have recovered the well-preserved remains of a palace complex dated by associated radiocarbon samples and ceramics to the Late Formative period or Late Monte Albán I phase (300–100 BC), the period of archaic state emergence in the region. The El Palenque palace exhibits certain architectural and organizational features similar to the royal palaces of much later Mesoamerican states described by Colonial-period sources. The excavation data document a multifunctional palace complex covering a maximum estimated area of 2,790 m2 on the north side of the site’s plaza and consisting of both governmental and residential components. The data indicate that the palace complex was designed and built as a single construction. The palace complex at El Palenque is the oldest multifunctional palace excavated thus far in the Valley of Oaxaca.
Footnotes
- ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: eredmond{at}amnh.org.
This contribution is part of the special series of Inaugural Articles by members of the National Academy of Sciences elected in 2014.
Author contributions: E.M.R. and C.S.S. designed research, performed research, analyzed data, and wrote the paper.
Reviewers: J.M., University of Michigan; and S.P., University of Virginia.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1701336114/-/DCSupplemental.
Ancient palace complex discovered in Oaxaca
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