chapter five

Excavations in Mound 195 Sub: Structures 195-6, 195-5, and 195-4

The objectives of the Lambityeco excavations combined a problem orientation with salvage work and a commitment to public awareness. The problem orientation concerned the chronological position of the ruins that John Paddock had determined from surface remains to be Monte Albán IIIB-IV (Xoo phase). Paddock pointed out that, prior to 1961, excavations in the Tlacolula arm of the valley had uncovered remains of Monte Albán II (Nisa phase) at Caballito Blanco, Transición II-IIIA (Tani phase) at Loma Larga, and Monte Albán V (Liobaa and Chila phases) at Yagul and Mitla. The Lambityeco excavations, therefore, would provide important information on a previously unexcavated site that belonged within an as yet unexplored time period, the Xoo phase (Monte Albán IIIB-IV), in the Tlacolula arm of the valley.

Although any one of many mounds might have been selected at Lambityeco, Paddock chose Mound 195 for salvage purposes. It is about 30 m south of the Pan-American Highway (Fig. 5.1a). In the 1940s, when the highway was built, treasure-seeking S.O.P. (Secretaría de Obras Públicas) road builders purposely gouged into the northeast corner of the mound on the pretext of obtaining road fill (Fig. 5.1b). “They found no treasure, we may be confident; but they destroyed the northeast corner of the pyramid inside the mound, leaving some adobe walls exposed” (Paddock, Mogor, and Lind 1968:3). The proximity of Mound 195 to the Pan-American Highway invited future looting and the exposed adobe structures were being damaged by rains. Therefore, Paddock decided to excavate and consolidate Mound 195 to halt looting and transform it from a potentially pockmarked eyesore into an attractive public resource providing educational insights into Mexico’s past (Fig. 5.1c).

5.1. Mound 195 at Lambityeco

Before excavations in 1961, photos were taken of Mound 195 both before (Fig. 5.2a) and after (Fig. 5.2b) the mound was cleared of brush. It was evident from the beginning that Mound 195 was a 6 m high mound with a plaza surrounded by three low platforms attached to its west side. The plaza and associated platforms were designated System 195. Also, during the 1961 excavations Dr. Eduardo Noguera visited the site for several days and, with some of the students, excavated a stratigraphic test pit into Mound 190, a 3 m high mound located 10 m directly south of Mound 195 (Fig. 5.1a).

5.2. Mound 195 before excavations

The 1961 explorations had succeeded in uncovering the uppermost or last structure, an elite house, built atop Mound 195 with its associated tomb, Tomb 1. Later, the plaza surrounded by low platforms (System 195) attached to the west side of Mound 195 was fully exposed. These structures were designated Structure 195-1. A stratigraphically older structure under Structure 195-1 was also uncovered atop Mound 195 and named Structure 195-2. Continued excavation within Mound 195, at a depth of about 4 m, revealed an older platform that contained an elite house built atop it. The older platform was called Mound 195 Sub and the elite house built on it, Structure 195-3. This structure was associated with Tomb 6, which had two portrait busts attached to its façade. The tomb had an altar with friezes above it. Two elite houses predating Structure 195-3, Structure 195-4 and the stratigraphically older Structure 195-5, were also associated with Tomb 6, but not with the portrait busts or altar with friezes. Finally, the oldest elite house in Mound 195 Sub, Structure 195-6, which was associated with Tomb 5, was found stratigraphically beneath Structure 195-5.

Excavations in Mound 190 revealed a series of five superimposed elite structures. The four oldest structures were associated with Tomb 2 (Paddock, Mogor, and Lind 1968) and may have been occupied by several successive generations of priests dedicated to Cociyo. Five nearly identical Cociyo urns were found in Tomb 2 (Fig. 5.3a) and two large plaster busts of Cociyo (Figs. 5.3b and c) were attached to the walls on either side of a stairway that ascended to a room in one of the houses. Although Mound 190 will be referred to on occasion, the current study focuses on the stratified elite houses in Mound 195.

THE SEQUENCE OF STRUCTURES IN MOUND 195

Mound 195 embodies six successive elite structures. Structure 195-6, the oldest, probably dates to ca. 700–725 CE and includes Tomb 5. The east room floor was resurfaced once before Structure 195-6 was covered by Structure 195-5 construction. Structure 195-5 probably dates to ca. 725–750 CE and includes Tomb 6, which, with modifications, formed part and was continuously used by the residents of two subsequent structures. Structure 195-5, in turn, was covered by Structure 195-4, which incorporated Tomb 6 and included the construction of an “Annex” (Structure 195-4NE). Structure 195-4 dates to ca. 750–775.

5.3. Cociyo urns from Tomb 2 and Cociyo busts from Mound 190 (photo a after Paddock, Mogor, and Lind 1968:fig. 2)

Structure 195-3 represents the final house built on top of Mound 195 Sub. It dates to ca. 775–800 CE and incorporated Tomb 6 with the portrait busts attached to its façade and the altar complex with friezes above it. Around 800 CE, Structure 195-3SE was left unoccupied, but Structure 195-3NE remained occupied while the western half of Mound 195 and the plaza and platforms of System 195 were being constructed. Structure 195-3NE was abandoned when the western half of Mound 195 was completed and Structure 195-2, a temporary residence, was built on top of it.

Structure 195-1 was the final structure. It included an elite residence and Tomb 1 and was built on top of Mound 195, covering the earlier Structure 195-2 house. It also included the plaza of System 195 together with its surrounding platforms. Structure 195-1 was occupied beginning in ca. 830 CE and was probably deserted in ca. 850 CE at the same time Lambityeco was largely abandoned and ceased to be a functioning community (Fig. 5.4; Table 5.1).

5.4. The sequence of elite structures in Mound 195

TABLE 5.1. Absolute dates associated with the sequence of structures in Mound 195

Notes:

1. Midpoint of calibrated range (see Appendix 1 by Markens, Winter, and Martínez).

2. An anomalous date (Rabin 1970:14–15).

3. Archaeomagnetic date (Wolfman 1973:199, 232).

MOUND 195 SUB—STRUCTURES 195-6, 195-5, AND 195-4

The first three elite houses within Mound 195 Sub—Structure 195-6, Structure 195-5, and Structure 195-4—were only partially explored in excavations because of later constructions that covered them. Consequently, they will be treated together in this chapter. Although no absolute dates exist for these earlier structures, we assume that each elite house was occupied for one generation, or about twenty-five years. Because Structure 195-3, built over Structure 195-4, can be dated from ca. 775 to 800 CE, we estimate that the three elite houses that predate Structure 195-3 were occupied between ca. 700 and 775 CE.¹

Structure 195-6

Structure 195-6 is the original, or oldest, house within Mound 195 Sub for no other construction lies between it and sterile gravel (Fig. 5.5). It measured about 14.4 m north-south and 14.2 m east-west and covered approximately 205 m². In the area where Structure 195-6 was built, the natural terrain slopes downward from north to south. Consequently, it was necessary for the ancient architects to build up the lower-lying southern sector to provide a level area on which to construct the house. A test pit excavated down to sterile soil under the northwest corner of the patio revealed that 1.18 m of Xoo phase deposits underlie Structure 195-6. Whether or not this construction fill was contained within a low platform faced with stone, as occurred in Structure 195-5 and later structures of Mound 195 Sub, is not known but certainly possible.

The few data available from the deepest excavations into Mound 195 Sub indicate that the floor plan of Structure 195-6 follows the pattern that Caso (1938:69, 83–84) referred to as typical of Monte Albán style houses; that is, four rooms arranged around the sides of a central patio with three smaller rooms and an entryway in the corners. Fig. 5.5 illustrates the sections of Structure 195-6 exposed in excavations and the reconstruction of the floor plan and profiles across the house.

Sections of the patio floor and the floors of the rooms east and west of it were uncovered in excavations. The rooms were 50 cm above the level of the patio floor, suggesting that raised walkways about 25 cm high encircled the patio in front of the rooms. The east room manifested two superimposed floors, indicating that it had been resurfaced once before Structure 195-6 was covered by the next house. This remodeling was minor because the later floor was placed directly on top of the earlier floor. The patio may have been rectangular, judging from the locations of the east and west rooms, and probably measured 6.6 m north-south and 4.6 m east-west.

5.5. Plan and profiles of Structure 195-6

No pits were dug through the north and south rooms or through any of the corner rooms of Structure 195-3SE to search for the earlier rooms relating to Structure 195-6. Likewise, no excavation was done beneath the L-shaped entryway of Structure 195-4SE to locate any earlier entryway for Structure 195-6. Therefore, these features have been hypothetically reconstructed in Fig. 5.5. The L-shaped entryway has been reconstructed based on the known L-shaped entryways of Structures 195-3 and 195-4.

Tomb 5 in Structure 195-6

The resurfacing of the east room of Structure 195-6 relates to the placement of a burial in Tomb 5. The tomb was located beneath the front center of the east room at 20 cm under the level of the original room floor and 25 cm under the level of the later room floor. Unfortunately, Tomb 5 was mostly destroyed by two subsequent cuts made through it—the first to build the main chamber of Tomb 6 in association with Structure 195-4 and the second to place a burial in association with Structure 195-3. However, the ancient cuts failed to obliterate the western (front) and eastern (rear) walls of the tomb. The east wall was sealed beneath the original floor of the east room, indicating that Tomb 5 had been built into Structure 195-6 from its inception (Fig. 5.6).

The tomb consisted of a single chamber with its long axis oriented east-west.² It measured 2.10 m long, east-west, and 65 cm wide, north-south. There is no evidence for a door to the tomb; therefore, it might be assumed that it was entered through the roof, although it is probable that the door was replaced by a wall during subsequent construction activities. Remnants of its stone walls and plaster floor were preserved in the eastern and western extremes, but the roof was totally dismantled. The plaster floor of the tomb was placed on top of a cobblestone base. The extant walls were preserved to a height of 55 cm, which may have been the original height of the tomb (Fig. 5.7).

No skeletal remains were found in the small sections of Tomb 5 that remained intact. Any skeletal remains that might have occurred were probably removed when subsequent cuts destroyed the tomb floor. Yet, several objects were found in its northwest corner (Fig. 5.6; Table 5.2), including four small gray ceramic bowls of the ubiquitous G-35 type described by Caso, Bernal, and Acosta (1967:385) as characteristic of the Xoo phase (Monte Albán IIIB-IV). A fifth large G-35 bowl was also found in the fill of the ancient cut outside and above the probable limits of the tomb roof. Isolated sherds from three other G-35 bowls were found within the fill in the northwest corner of the tomb, but there is no reason to believe that these isolated sherds formed part of the offering because such sherds are common in virtually all excavation contexts in Mound 195 and elsewhere at Lambityeco.

5.6. Plan and profile of Tomb 5

It seems highly unlikely that these G-35 bowls formed part of the original Tomb 5 offering. Their locations suggest that they were removed from Tomb 6 when one of the ancient intrusions was made and then tossed into and above Tomb 5 when the cut was filled. The presence of hardened plaster in two of the bowls suggests that they might have been reused from older offerings as containers for wet plaster. Any original offering that might have been in Tomb 5 was probably removed, like the skeletal remains, when the ancient holes were dug through it. The married couple who headed the Structure 195-6 noble household between ca. 700 and 725 CE were almost certainly buried in Tomb 5.

5.7. Tomb 5 beneath altar

TABLE 5.2. Objects from Tomb 5¹

Notes:

1. These objects probably did not form part of the original Tomb 5 offering but may have come from Tomb 6.

2. For base designs see Figure 7.14.

Structure 195-5

Structure 195-5 was constructed atop a low platform. The northwest corner of the platform was detected in a stratigraphic context (beneath Structure 195-4 construction) that clearly relates to Structure 195-5. The west wall of the platform, which corresponds to the front of the house, and the north wall were in the form of a talud with an outset vertical molding at its base. The wall was preserved to a height of 40 cm and retained its original plaster covering (Fig. 5.8). The construction overburden made it impossible to expose the wall all around the platform or obtain a complete floor plan of the Structure 195-5 house on top of the platform. Figure 5.9 illustrates the sections of Structure 195-5 uncovered in excavations and the reconstruction of the floor plan and profiles across the house.

5.8. West talud of the Structure 195-5 platform

The Structure 195-5 house atop the platform, which measured about 15.1 m north-south and 15.7 m east-west and covered approximately 237 m², was built directly over Structure 195-6. A 25 cm layer of construction fill was placed over the patio and room floors of Structure 195-6, and the patio and rooms of Structure 195-5 were built directly above their Structure 195-6 counterparts. Sections of the Structure 195-5 patio floor, a raised walkway east of it, and rooms to the east and west of the patio were uncovered in excavations. The east walkway, situated between the patio and the east room, was 25 cm above the level of the patio floor. The walkway probably encircled the patio, fronting the remaining rooms as well. The east and west rooms were 50 cm above the level of the patio floor. The patio was rectangular and probably measured 6.6 m north-south and 4.6 m east-west.

5.9. Plan and profiles of Structure 195-5

No pits were dug through the north and south rooms or through any of the corner rooms of Structure 195-3SE to search for the earlier rooms relating to Structure 195-5. Likewise, no excavation was done beneath the L-shaped entryway of Structure 195-4SE to locate any earlier entryway for Structure 195-5. Therefore, these features have been hypothetically reconstructed in Figure 5.9.

5.10. Plan and profiles of Tomb 6 in Structure 195-5

Tomb 6 in Structure 195-5

Tomb 6 was located at the center of the eastern edge and 20 cm below the Structure 195-5 patio floor and extended eastward beneath the east walkway and part of the east room (Fig. 5.9). The presence of the patio floor and east walkway above the top of Tomb 6 is solid evidence that it was built into Structure 195-5 from its inception. Although Tomb 6, as seen today, has two chambers and elaborate plaster heads decorating the façade, when originally built as part of Structure 195-5 it was simpler. It had only a single chamber with niches in three of its walls and lacked the stucco heads on the façade (Fig. 5.10).

The long axis of Tomb 6 is oriented east-west with the door and the façade facing west. The single chamber (later to become the antechamber) was 2.02 m long, east-west, and 90 cm wide, north-south, with walls built of stone covered with white plaster. The flat roof, 95 cm above the plaster floor of the tomb, was formed by three large stones. Niches occurred in the north, south, and east (rear) walls of the tomb. The tomb doorway, 60 cm wide and 70 cm high, was sealed by a large stone. The façade, built of well-cut stones covered with white plaster, was decorated with twin panels painted red and framed by double cornices.

The married couple who headed the Structure 195-5 household between ca. 725 and 750 CE were buried in Tomb 6. Their probable skeletal remains occur in the single chamber that was later to become the antechamber of Tomb 6. However, Tomb 6, with modifications, served as the burial place for later married couples who headed the Structure 195-4 and 195-3 households. An analysis of the skeletal remains and offerings contained within Tomb 6 will be postponed until Chapter 7.

Structure 195-4³

This house was built over Structure 195-5, as Structure 195-4SE, and as an “Annex” (Structure 195-4NE) along the north side of Structure 195-5. The entire house covered about 460 m². Its construction involved changes in the platform on top of which Structure 195-5 had been built. A test pit, excavated through the Structure 195-4SE patio floor, exposed an adobe retaining wall that had been built over the Structure 195-5 patio floor to raise the level of the platform on top of which the SE sector of Structure 195-4 was built. The platform was raised 65 cm higher by placing construction fill within numerous contiguous cells or bins formed by the adobe retaining walls built over the floors of the Structure 195-5 house.

Apart from being raised above its Structure 195-5 counterpart, the platform was extended eastward to conform to the expanded floor plan of the SE sector of Structure 195-4. The sloping stone walls that must have occurred along the east, south, and west sides of the Structure 195-4SE platform may have been covered by the later construction of the Structure 195-3SE platform. Therefore, it is uncertain whether or not the taludes at the southwest corner and along the east side of the Structure 195-3SE platform, which were fully exposed in excavations, were also present in the Structure 195-4SE platform. It is possible that older sloping stone walls formed the east, south, and west sides of a more ancient Structure 195-4SE platform.

Construction of the Structure 195-4NE “Annex” along the north side of Structure 195-4SE resulted in leveling the area with about 90 cm of construction fill. The north wall and northwest corner of the Structure 195-5 platform were buried beneath this construction fill. There is no evidence that a platform was built to contain the fill. Although it seems likely that a platform with sloping stone walls would have been necessary at least on the north and east sides of Structure 195-4NE, none was found. It is possible that the stones forming the platform walls were removed and reused when the later Structure 195-1 was built.

Because it was not feasible to expose Structure 195-4 completely, the areas of the house uncovered in explorations and the reconstruction of it are presented in Figure 5.11. Structure 195-4 includes two separate patios—southeast (SE) and northeast (NE)—each with rooms arranged around it. Each of these separate sectors of the house will be discussed in turn, beginning with the SE sector.

Structure 195-4SE

Structure 195-4SE measured approximately 14.7 m north-south and 18.9 m east-west and covered about 277 m². The patio floor was fully exposed in excavations. It was raised 65 cm higher than the Structure 195-5 patio, making it possible to expand the Structure 195-4SE patio floor eastward above the east walkway and part of the east room of Structure 195-5. The Structure 195-4SE patio measured 6.6 m on a side and had a tubular ceramic drainpipe in its southwest corner.

The room on the west side of the patio was completely uncovered in excavations (Fig. 5.12a). A test pit, excavated through the room floor, revealed that it had been raised 60 cm with construction fill and built directly above its Structure 195-5 counterpart. The room’s interior measured 5.4 m long, north-south, and 2.35 m wide, east-west, and was enclosed on three sides by adobe walls 50 cm thick with its remaining side open, facing on the patio. It had a ceramic pan 35 cm in diameter and 10 cm deep, which served as a hearth, placed in the center of the room flush with the floor (Fig. 5.12b). A walkway, about 95 cm wide, ran along the west side of the patio in front of the room. The walkway was a step (30 cm) above the patio and a step (25 cm) below the room floor.

The north room was fully explored in excavations. It was a step (23 cm) above and fronted directly on the patio. Its interior dimensions were 4.9 m east-west and 2.3 m north-south, and it was enclosed on three sides by adobe walls 50 cm thick, leaving its remaining side open facing on the patio. A circular hole in the floor indicates that a ceramic pan, used as a hearth, had been set in the center of the room flush with the room floor.

The northwest vestibule, located between the north and west rooms at the northwest corner of the patio, was completely exposed in excavations. Its interior dimensions were 3.2 m east-west and 2.3 m north-south and its floor was a step (20 cm) above the walkway that ran along the west side of the patio. The vestibule shared its east wall with the north room and its south wall with the west room, both of which were made of adobe and 50 cm thick. Its north adobe wall was 50 cm thick and had a stone foundation covered with red plaster on its exterior (north side), which formed an outside (north) wall of the house. The west adobe wall of the vestibule was only 30 cm thick. This vestibule will be discussed further in a later section.

5.11. Plan and profiles of Structure 195-4

5.12. West room of Structure 195-4SE

A fragment of the walkway along the east side of the Structure 195-4SE patio was exposed in the ancient cut made through the altar and Tomb 5. It was about 25 cm above the patio floor. The east room floor was probably 25 cm above the walkway but it was not explored in excavations. The adobe core of a possible altar was found along the probable back (east) wall of the room.

The northeast corner room was covered by the south room of Structure 195-3NE and no pits were dug through it or through any of the rooms along the south side of Structure 195-3SE to search for the earlier rooms relating to Structure 195-4SE. Therefore, these features have been hypothetically reconstructed in Figure 5.11.

Tomb 6 in Structure 195-4SE

The construction of the main chamber of Tomb 6, converting it from the single-chambered tomb with three niches of Structure 195-5 to a double-chambered tomb, occurred coincident with the construction of Structure 195-4SE. A hole was dug through the center of the east room of Structure 195-5 behind the original tomb. This hole resulted in the near-total destruction of Tomb 5. The hole was dug to clip the rear (east) niche of the original tomb and convert it into a narrow passage between the antechamber (original tomb) and the newly constructed main chamber (Fig. 5.13).

Little precision was taken in adding the main chamber to Tomb 6. It was not aligned with the antechamber but slanted off toward the north. The south wall of the main chamber angles northward so that in its eastern extreme it is 15 cm north of where it should have been had it been aligned with the antechamber. The north wall is likewise misaligned. Unlike the antechamber floor, which was almost perfectly horizontal, the hard-packed earthen floor of the main chamber sloped downward from west to east so that the east end was 20 cm lower than the west end. The east end was somewhat irregularly rounded, instead of being squared off, in both its floor plan and its concave profile.

The walls of the main chamber were formed in part by stone and in part by the naturally compact sterile soil on the sides of the ancient cut made to build it. Unlike the antechamber, it lacked niches. The roof was built of adobes arranged to form a vault (Fig. 5.14). Vaulted roofs, but built of stone, are characteristic of Monte Albán tombs (Acosta 1965:819). Because of the sloping floor, the height of the roof above the floor varies from 75 cm in the west to 97 cm in the east. The main chamber was 2.5 m long and 65 cm wide, except in its eastern extreme where it expanded to a width of 90 cm. The married couple who headed the Structure 195-4 household between ca. 750 and 775 CE, were buried in the main chamber of Tomb 6. Their probable skeletal remains occur among those of the four persons buried there.

5.13. Plan and profiles of Tomb 6 in Structure 195-4SE

5.14. Vaulted roof of the main chamber of Tomb 6

Structure 195-4NE

The Structure 195-4NE “Annex” was built against the north side of Structure 195-4SE. It measured about 14.2 m north-south and 12.9 m east-west and covered approximately 183 m². A test pit, excavated to sterile soil beneath the patio floor, revealed that Structure 195-4NE was built over 90 cm of Xoo phase deposits. These deposits represent construction fill that was used to level the area before building Structure 195-4NE. The construction fill served to place the Structure 195-4NE patio floor 15 cm higher than the Structure 195-4SE patio floor (Fig. 5.11).

Because the northern half of the Structure 195-4NE patio was reused as the southern half of the Structure 195-3NE patio, it was fully exposed in excavations. Remnants of the northern half of the patio floor of Structure 195-4NE were also detected at the base of the hole dug by S.O.P. crews under the floor of the north room of Structure 195-3NE (Fig. 5.15a). Although this indicates that the Structure 195-4NE patio was farther north and west than the later Structure 195-3NE patio, it was not possible to determine its limits with certainty. However, it appears to have measured about 6.6 m north-south and 4.6 m east-west.

5.15. Some features of Structure 195-4NE

Also uncovered in the hole dug by S.O.P. road builders was a section of the floor of the northwest corner room of Structure 195-4NE (Fig. 5.15b). Because this room floor was 50 cm above the level of the patio floor, it seems likely that a 25 cm high walkway encircled the patio. Finally, another exposed portion is a section of the floor of the west room of Structure 195-4NE. This floor was also 50 cm above the level of the patio floor, once again indicating that a 25 cm high walkway must have encircled the patio.

The north room and northeast corner room of Structure 195-4NE were completely obliterated by the hole gouged by S.O.P. crews. Furthermore, no pits were dug beneath the east room of Structure 195-3NE to search for the east room floor of Structure 195-4NE. Finally, the construction of Structure 195-3NE involved the obliteration of all the rooms along the south side of Structure 195-4NE except for a small section of a flagstone floor corresponding to the southwest vestibule, which will be discussed shortly. Therefore, all of these rooms are hypothetically reconstructed in Figure 5.11.

BURIALS

Burial 73-10 was a six- to nine-month-old infant of undetermined sex who had been placed in a simple grave excavated into Xoo phase deposits underlying the Structure 195-4NE patio floor. Because the patio floor above the burial was intact, the baby was probably buried either before or while it was being constructed. The top of the skeleton was 49 cm beneath the level of the patio floor at a distance of 1.8 m north of the south side of the patio and 32 cm east of the west side of the patio (Fig. 5.11). The baby was buried in a flexed position, lying on its left side, with the head to the south and feet to the north. The remains were covered by a small inverted G-35 bowl that measured 18 cm in diameter and had a height of 5 cm and pattern burnished design I (see Fig. 7.14 for design).

Burial 68-19 was a six- to eight-year-old child of undetermined sex who had been placed in a simple grave dug into Xoo phase deposits underlying the floor of the northwest corner room of Structure 195-4NE. However, because of the destruction of part of this floor both by S.O.P. crews and by ancient construction activity, it is not possible to determine whether the burial was placed under an intact floor (Fig. 5.11). The top of the skeleton was at a depth of 70 cm beneath the level of the floor. The child was buried lying on its back with the head to the east and feet to the west. The legs were drawn up and flexed, and the right arm was placed behind the back and the left arm was parallel to the trunk. The skeleton was in primary deposition, but the cranium was missing and had been destroyed when a walkway was built at a later date along the west side of Structure 195-3NE. No offering was present with the burial (Fig. 5.15c).

STRUCTURE 195-4 ENTRYWAYS

The explorations of the west entry, corridor, and northwest vestibule of Structure 195-4SE have yielded important information concerning the main entry to the SE sector of Structure 195-4 and the connection between it and the Structure 195-4NE “Annex.” Although it was not possible to explore the main entry on the west side of Structure 195-4SE because of later structures that covered it, the L-shaped corridor that led from the main entry to a vestibule at the northwest corner of the Structure 195-4SE patio was fully excavated (Fig. 5.11).

5.16. Entryways between Structures 195-4SE and 195-4NE

The southwest corridor of Structure 195-4SE was blocked; however, the northwest corridor was open and wrapped around the exterior of the west room, providing the main entryway to the house. The west leg of the corridor (behind the west room) was 88 cm wide and extended northward for about 1.4 m before ending at a step that descended 17 cm to the north leg of the corridor. A rectangular slot was located in the adobe wall on the west side of the corridor at a point 65 cm above the top of the step (Fig. 5.16a). Potter (1974:61–62) suggested that this slot, and others like it in the structures of Mound 190, functioned to attach some type of door or gate that could be used to close the corridor. The north leg of the corridor was at a right angle to the west leg and extended along the north wall of the west room. The north leg was 1.05 m wide and extended eastward for about 2 m before terminating at a step that descended 15 cm into the northwest vestibule of Structure 195-4SE (Fig. 5.16a).

The northwest vestibule, as mentioned above, was 2.3 m wide, north-south, and 3.2 m long, east-west. An open doorway, about 90 cm wide, uncovered on the north side of the vestibule provided a small side entry to the SE sector of Structure 195-4. The doorway, whose threshold was 8 cm above the level of the vestibule floor, had its jambs on either side (east and west) preserved to a height of only a few centimeters above the threshold. It was not possible, therefore, to determine if any slots occurred on either side of the doorway (Fig. 5.16b).

The doorway opened onto a paved area outside the SE sector of Structure 195-4. This paved area, located a step below (20 cm) the threshold of the doorway, was simply surfaced with a thin plaster wash placed over hard-packed earth. The pavement measured 2.7 m east-west by 2.2 m north-south and extended to a second open doorway located on the west side of Structure 195-4NE. The existence of the second doorway is indicated by the presence of a large flat stone marking the threshold of the doorway, which was a step (30 cm) above the pavement. The doorway opened into the southwest corner room of Structure 195-4NE. The corner room, which functioned as a vestibule, had a flagstone floor (Fig. 5.16c).

The plaster pavement served as an access area between Structures 195-4NE and 195-4SE via the two doors—one leading to the southwest vestibule of Structure 195-4NE and the other leading to the northwest vestibule of Structure 195-4SE. It is possible that the paved area was enclosed by adobe walls on its north and west sides, although only the adobes along the north side of the paved area were uncovered in excavations (Fig. 5.16a). If the paved area was enclosed by adobe walls, then the only entrance to the Structure 195-4 house would have been through the main entryway on the west side of Structure 195-4SE.

SWEATBATH

During the 1961 excavations, a sweatbath (yaa in modern Mitla Zapotec) was uncovered in association with Xoo phase ceramics about 10 m north of the north wall of Structure 195-4NE (Fig. 5.17a). The sweatbath manifested three phases of construction (Fig. 5.17b). It appears likely that the innermost, or oldest, construction of the sweatbath was associated with Structure 195-4. Yet without a stratigraphic link connecting the sweatbath to the houses, we cannot dismiss the possibility that its first version had been continuously used without any modification since the earliest construction of Structure 195-6. Nevertheless, its proximity to Structure 195-4 (only 10 m away) and distance from Structures 195-5 and 195-6 (about 25 m away) favors its association with Structure 195-4.⁴

The sweatbath had the foundations of its walls and its flagstone floor preserved intact. It was nearly square, measuring 3.2 m north-south and 3.55 m east-west. In the center of the floor was a rectangular plaster-covered basin 93 cm wide, north-south, 1.08 m long, east-west, and 20 cm deep. A stone-lined water conduit began 40 cm outside (east of) the east wall of the sweatbath, passed beneath the flagstone floor, and opened into the northeast corner of the basin about 4 cm above the basin floor. Steam was probably produced by placing hot stones in the basin and pouring water into the conduit outside the sweatbath (Fig. 5.18).

5.17. Sweatbath north of Mound 195 with three phases of construction

5.18. Plan and profiles of the innermost or original sweatbath

5.19. Sweatbath in Mitla in 1980

This sweatbath is similar in form to a somewhat smaller one examined in Mitla in 1980 that measured 2.72 m north-south and 2.48 m east-west. However, the locus of steam production differs between the archaeological and modern examples. The modern example has a firebox (horno) along its north wall. The firebox is made of adobe and has an iron grate that held stones. A fire was lit beneath the grate to heat the stones. A small opening (ventanilla) in the north wall allowed steam from water poured on the heated stones to fill the sweatbath (Fig. 5.19).

Mitla Zapotecs report that they most frequently prescribe a sweatbath for women who have just given birth; however, male and female patients are also given sweatbaths to cure various ailments. A curer (curandera) enters the sweatbath with the patient and uses a leafy plant to swish water from a jar over the patient’s body. The water in the jar is prepared with orange peels, laurel leaves, and marigolds. The archaeological examples also may have been used for women who had just given birth and to cure ailments, although orange peels (an Old World fruit) certainly would not have been used to prepare the water.

THE STRUCTURE 195-6, 195-5, AND 195-4 HOUSEHOLDS

Assuming the reconstructions of Structures 195-6, 195-5, and 195-4 in Figure 5.20 are correct, the possible composition of the elite households that occupied them remains to be determined. Structures 195-6 and 195-5 manifest the same layout: four rooms and four corner rooms arranged around a single patio (Figs. 5.20a and b). We assume the entryways to the houses were in the west and L-shaped, like the known entryways of Structures 195-3 and 195-4. The probable entryways in Structures 195-6 and 195-5 led to a corner room of the house that served as an entry vestibule.

5.20. Isometric reconstructions of Structure 195-6, 195-5, and 195-4

The east rooms of Structures 195-6 and 195-5 were built over the household tomb, Tomb 5 and Tomb 6, respectively, and served as shrine rooms dedicated to the household ancestors buried in the tombs beneath them. Rituals honoring the deceased ancestors were probably performed in the rooms. The remaining three rooms around the patios of Structures 195-6 and 195-5 are probably living quarters, each associated with an adjacent corner room that may have functioned as a kitchen, storeroom, or sleeping quarters or was used for other activities. Several possibilities exist for the utilization of this complex of rooms. First, a joint family household consisting of a married couple and their married sons may have occupied the three living quarters and associated corner rooms. Second, the rooms might have been occupied by a polygynous family household composed of the married couple who headed the household and his secondary wives or concubines, as suggested by some of the ethnohistoric documents. Finally, one or more of the rooms may have been set aside for visitors. Combinations of the above, and even other possibilities, exist. However, it seems likely that upon marriage, the eldest son and presumed heir of the married couple who headed the household, occupied one of the living quarters and associated corner room.

The Structure 195-4 house has a more complex layout than that of Structures 195-6 and 195-5 (Fig. 5.20c). It contains eight rooms and eight corner rooms arranged around two patios—SE and NE. Excavations determined that the entryway to the SE patio was from the west along an L-shaped corridor. The end of the west leg of the corridor may have had a gate blocking it, preventing unauthorized entry to the house. The north leg of the corridor led to the northwest corner room of Structure 195-4SE. This corner room served as an entry vestibule off the patio.

The northwest corner room of Structure 195-4SE had a doorway in its north wall that led to a paved area outside the house. The paved area may have been enclosed by an adobe wall and was directly west of the southwest corner room of Structure 195-4NE. This corner room, paved with a flagstone floor, also served as an entry vestibule and had a doorway in its west wall that provided access to Structure 195-4NE. An additional doorway in its north wall led to the west room of Structure 195-4NE. This long, narrow room served as an entrance hall within Structure 195-4NE.

The east room of Structure 195-4SE was the ancestral shrine room with Tomb 6 beneath it. This room was larger than its counterparts in Structures 195-6 and 195-5. Also, it appears to have had an altar, perhaps with friezes, along its back, or eastern, wall. However, although more elaborate than its Structure 195-6 and 195-5 counterparts, the east room of Structure 195-4SE was probably, as in those earlier structures, the locus of regularly placed offerings and rituals honoring the household ancestors buried in Tomb 6.

The remaining six rooms and six corresponding corner rooms and the patios of Structure 195-4SE and Structure 195-4NE manifest some significant differences. The patio of Structure 195-4SE is square and at 43.5 m² is significantly larger than the 30.3 m² rectangular patio of Structure 195-4NE. Likewise, the eastern corner rooms of Structure 195-4SE are much larger than the corner rooms of Structure 195-4NE. These differences, combined with the large Structure 195-4SE east ancestral shrine room containing an altar, suggest that Structure 195-4SE was a more public part of the house, whereas Structure 195-4NE was more private. Nevertheless, Structure 195-4SE does contain three possible living quarters and their associated corner rooms, and this layout presents problems with interpreting it as a strictly public and nonresidential part of the house.

Structure 195-4SE is the more accessible part of the house via the elaborate west entryway. The large east room with its possible altar was highly visible to all from the large patio where the married couple who headed the noble household may have provided feasts for other nobles. The large south room, which may have functioned as both a residence and a room in which daily business was conducted, and the associated southeast corner room were probably occupied by the married couple who headed the noble household. The north room and adjacent northeast corner room may have been occupied by their married son and heir, and the west room and associated southwest corner room may have been occupied by an aged relative, such as the male household head’s widowed mother, or used to host visiting dignitaries.

Structure 195-4NE is the least accessible part of the house. Like in Structures 195-6 and 195-5, the three rooms around the patio of Structure 195-4NE are probably living quarters, each associated with an adjacent corner room that may have functioned as a kitchen, storeroom, or sleeping quarters or was used for other activities. These rooms may have been occupied by the secondary wives or concubines of the male household head. This interpretation is based on data from documentary sources, cited in Chapters 1 and 4, that noble leaders had many secondary wives (Çarate 1581; Villagar 1580) and large households (Carrasco 1964).

Alternate interpretations of this complex of rooms in Structure 195-4 are, of course, possible. Structure 195-4SE may have been a strictly public part of the house where the married couple who headed the noble household conducted daily business, feasted other nobles, and quartered visiting dignitaries. Structure 195-4NE may have been the residential quarters occupied by the couple and their family.

NOTES

1. Our estimate is based on six minimum individuals buried in Tomb 6, which is associated with Structure 195-5, Structure 195-4, and Structure 195-3. This accounts for three married couples who would have occupied these structures over a period of seventy-five years, at twenty-five years per generation. A calibrated radiocarbon date of 800 CE is associated with the penultimate entrance into Tomb 6, indicating that Structure 195-3 was occupied from ca. 775 to 800 CE (Table 5.1). Therefore, Structure 195-4 was probably occupied from ca. 750 to 775 CE and Structure 195-5 from ca. 725 to 750 CE. We assume a married couple was buried in Tomb 5 of Structure 195-6 and had occupied Structure 195-6 from ca. 700 to 725 CE.

2. Virtually all tombs and burials at Lambityeco were oriented construction east-west or 16° 30’ east of north. Therefore, our description of the orientation of mortuary features is not in terms of magnetic east or west.

3. In a short article published on the elite houses of Mound 195 (Lind 2001), a somewhat different interpretation of Structure 195-4 was presented. The current interpretation corrects some misinterpretations made in the earlier article with regard to the rooms along the south side of Structure 195-4SE, the ancestral shrine and altar, and the entry to Structure 195-4NE.

4. A sweatbath that Lind examined in Mitla in 1980 was about 10 m away from the house with which it was associated. Lind wishes to thank Armando Hernández and Ofelia Bautista of Mitla for giving him permission to study their sweatbath and Felix Sosa of Mitla for directing him to it.