Archeological Sites
At the end of the Pre Classic, most of the Sierra Gorda was populated by agricultural villages established by people who migrated here from the Mexican Plateau and Gulf of Mexico coast, mostly from the latter. Agriculture was concentrated in the lower valley areas, the few plains and some sides of mountains. This also included the cutting of forests to make more agricultural land. Most settlements are found near springs, ponds and small lakes as they were the most readily usable sources of water, instead of the rivers which ran deep inside narrow canyons. Settlements were ranked in importance according to their function, with Las Ranas and Toluquillo occupying the most important positions.
The height of settlement of the area came between the 6th and 10th centuries, with the largest number of successful human settlements, with an economy based on farming and mining. The pre Hispanic architecture of the area is best developed in the major urban centers. These cities are centered on a Mesoamerican ball court which then opens up to various plazas and monumental structures on pyramid bases. Other structures such as administrative buildings and residences are found in both squared and round forms, but most often with a talud topped by a cornice. As many cities were situation on top of hills, the leveling of terraces to create space is another distinctive feature. However, while stucco was used on some floors, there is no evidence of walls being covered in it, as seen further south. The mining of cinnabar required coordinated and hierarchical labor practices for the various tasks involved, which would led to the development of the cities of Las Ranas and Toluquilla. This area was the primary provider of this red pigment to Mesoamerica.
The pottery of the area was influenced by the mineral deposits of the area for coloring and Olmec based influences coming from the east of the area. One strong example of both is the production of what is called “black Olmec pottery.” There is little known about the religious beliefs of this area, as few symbols have been found to identify deities or religious calendar. Burials do indicate a belief in life after death, as interred individuals, sometimes sacrificed, are found in a fetal position. Grave goods include many objects used in life as well as containers which may have contained food.
Archeology in the Sierra Gorda began just before the second half of the 19th century, when mine engineers reported archeological finds in the mountains. Several of these engineers organized expeditions, some with state support, which resulted in the mapping of sites such as Las Ranas and Toluquillo. These expeditions also include the first photographs of these sites. The discovery of these two cities generated academic interest, but they were not further explored until 1931, when archeologist Eduardo Noguera and architect Emilio Cuevas went to evaluate the sites for the Direction of Pre Hispanic Monuments. By 1939, twenty seven sites had been identified in Querétaro, with twenty three in the Sierra Gorda. There are over 400 archeological sites, with twenty six primary ones, Ahuacatlán, Arroyo Seco, Arquitos, Canoas, Cerro de la Campana, Cerro del Sapo, Concá, Deconí, Ecatitlán, El Doctor, La Colonia, La Plazuela, Lobo, Los Moctezumas, Pueblo Viejo, Purísima, Ranas, Sabino, San Juan, Soyatal, Tancama, Tancoyol, Tilaco, Toluquilla, Tonatico and Vigas.
From an anthropological perspective, Querétaro, especially the northeast, is of great interest because of the cultures which developed and disappeared here as well as its connections with Mesoamerica and cultures to the north, but knowledge of the region is limited. It is possible that the peoples of the area had cultural and economic contact as far north as Casas Grandes, New Mexico and Arizona. The mummy of a girl was found in a cave near the community of Altamira in the municipality of Cadereyta de Montes which shows evidence of agricultural settlement in an area today does not support it. The semi desert conditions the currently prevail in most of the Sierra Gorda was the result of climate change at the end of the first millennia CE, which dried the area and probably put an end to city and dominion development.
Las Ranas and Toluquilla were the two largest pre Hispanic cities to develop in the Sierra Gorda area. Las Ranas was the most developed city from the 7th to the 11th century, with Toluquilla somewhat smaller and reaching its height in the 11th century. Both cities are near to each other and both controlled the active trade routes of the area as well as the mining of cinnabar, highly prized as a red pigment in Mesoamerica. The trade that passed through the area linked the Gulf of Mexico to the central Mexican Plateau and some areas north as well. Extensive mining was done at both Toluquilla and Las Ranas beginning between 200 and 300 CE, extracting cinnabar, mercury and sulfur. Cinnabar was the most prized used in funerals. The structures at the sites indicate a stratified society and built with stone slabs and mud and covered in stucco in some places. At Toluquilla, many structures were built on terraces cut into the mountain to create more space. Las Ranas was taken over by the Chichimeca Jonaz late in its history but by the time the Spanish arrived, both cities were abandoned. In 2009, INAH and other institutions carried out research at Toluquilla on thirty skeletons from the pre Hispanic era in order to determine the importance of mining in the south of the Sierra Gorda. The objective of the study was to determine the amount of accumulation of mercury in the bones to find out who was most involved in the mining and how it affected the health of the population. It also study patterns of mercury contamination in the surrounding environment as well. There have been over eighty extraction sites for cinnabar found around Las Ranas and Toluquilla, which lie on one of the largest deposits of the mineral in Mexico.
The Archeological-Mining of the Sierra Gorda Project was begun in the 1970s, based on an earlier interdisciplinary study carried out at the Sierra de Querétaro. The project was supported by the federal and state governments as well as UNAM. The project further mapped the cities of Las Ranas and Toluqillo. Further studies in the 1980s consolidated earlier findings and worked out settlement patterns in the wider area. Continued work at that time classified the ancient cultures and register more than 500 sites, encompassing all of northern Querétaro and into San Luis Potosí. The effect of mercury poisoning is not only an ancient problem but a modern one as well. These studies are also investigating the high levels of certain chronic diseases in the current population. The theory is that there is widespread mercury contamination in the environment because of it build up from mining for over hundreds of years.
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