ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on the specific archaeological sites used to reconstruct the Archaic lifeway in the Valley of Oaxaca, most importantly Guilá Naquitz Cave. It begins with an overview of the valley, gradually focusing down on its eastern, or Tlacolula arm, and the 16-km2 area surrounding the Precolumbian “Fortress of Mitla.” The Valley of Oaxaca lies in the southern highlands of Mexico, between 16°40’ to 17°20’Nand 96°15’ to 96°55’W. It is drained by two rivers: the upper Rio Atoyac, which flows from north to south, and its tributary, the Rio Salado, or Tlacolula, which flows westward to join the Atoyac near the present city of Oaxaca. Processes of Quaternary erosion and alluviation have sculptured these parent materials into four main physiographic zones: mountains, piedmont, high alluvium, and low alluvium.
