ABSTRACT
The massive fortified ruins of La Quemada have been the object of romantic speculation and scholarly conjecture since they were discovered already abandoned and in ruins by a Spanish army led by Peralmindez Chirinos around A.D. 1530. The ruins of La Quemada lie in the south-central portion of the state of Zacatecas, near the middle of the northernmost reaches of a high basin that forms the Malpaso-Juchipila drainage. The geographical region in which La Quemada is situated is on a major ecotone, or ecological transition area between two distinct, yet intergrading cultural and ecological realms. Pitifully little is known of the chronology of the immediate La Quemada region. Major ceremonial compounds such as are found at La Quemada and Pilarillos often have pyramids associated with the sunken courts--usually, but not always, located on the north side with the stairs facing south. A variety of handmade figurines are represented in the La Quemada region.
