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Pocitos and Registros: Comments on Water-Control Features at Hierve el Agua, Oaxaca

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

William E. Doolittle
William E. Doolittle*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712
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Abstract

Salt production has been proffered recently as an alternative explanation to irrigation agriculture for the existence of canals and terraces at the Hierve el Agua site in Oaxaca, Mexico. This argument is based in part on new interpretations of the functions of two types of water-control features. Hewitt et al. (1987) consider the so-called "pocitos" to be natural, and the "registros" to be water tanks or collecting basins. Evidence that contradicts these interpretations is presented here. Pocitos, it is argued, were constructed intentionally in order to facilitate manual irrigation, and registros are drop structures built to regulate the flow of water after the arrival of the Spaniards. Salt making might have been carried out to some extent at the site, but only in late prehistoric and historic times. Hierve el Agua was principally an agricultural site throughout most of its occupation.

Résumé

Résumé

Recientemente, se ha ofrecido la producción de la sal, como una alternativa a la agricultura de irrigación, para explicar la existencia de los canales y las terrazas en el sitio de Hierve el Agua en Oaxaca, México. Este argumento se basa, en parte, sobre las interpretaciónes de las funciónes de dos tipos defactores en el control del agua. Hewitt et al. (1987) consideran los llamados "pocitos" como naturales, y los "registros" como tinacos de agua o cuencas colectivas. Aquí se presentarán pruebas que contradicen estas interpretaciónes. Los "pocitos," se alega, fueron construídos intencionalmente para facilitar la irrigación manual, y los "registros" son estructuras pendientes construídas para regular la corriente del agua después de la llegada de los españoles. Hasta cierto punto, la producción de la sal se puede haber llevado a cabo en el sitio mismo pero solamente en los tiempos históricos y los prehistóricos tardíos. Hierve el Agua fue principalmente un sitio agrícola durante la mayoria del tiempo en que estuvo ocupado.

Type
Comments
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 54 , Issue 4 , October 1989 , pp. 841 - 847
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1989

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