INTEGRATING MULTIPLE PROXIES -SOILS, STRATIGRAPHY, PLANTS, AND CHRONOLOGY – TO UNDERSTAND LANDSCAPE CHANGE IN THE TEOTIHUACAN VALLEY, MÉXICO

Between 1992-2017, over thirty stratigraphic profiles were excavated in different sectors of the Teotihuacan Valley, from which macrobotanical remains, pollen and phytoliths were recovered. In addition, a total of 106 radiocarbon determinations from soil organic material (SOM) or, charcoal when possible, were obtained. As profiles and associated plant remains were analyzed over the years, radiocarbon and stable carbon isotope determinations became available, stimulating different hypotheses concerning landscape and soil development in the region. This presentation focuses on two profiles situated in the alluvial plain: Río San Pablo (NE of the prehispanic urban center of Teotihuacan) and Tlajinga IV (S of the archaeological zone). A methodological approach is described that was developed to incorporate soil characteristics, plant evidence, and chronological data to facilitate detection and interpretation of apparent trends. Bayesian analysis of the AMS determinations on SOM from both profiles, employed to refine the chronology of alternating periods of landscape stability (soil development) vs. instability (erosion/deposition), is considered. These recent results are briefly compared with sequences proposed in earlier publications in order to better characterize landscape formation in the region and relate changes to cultural and environmental processes during the prehispanic and colonial periods in the Teotihuacan Valley.