LISS.398A TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT and HUMAN ADAPTATION:
PART II PRE-EUROPEAN
MESOAMERICA
During
Monte Albán II
the
Main Plaza
begins to assume somewhat the form
suggested by its present appearance. The area (some 300 X 180 m)
was leveled and paved
with white stucco. Higher portions of the limestone bedrock projecting above the floor of the plaza were used as the nuclei for the
buildings along the
central structures
(G, H, I) , the
east side
I(P, Q, S) and the
west side
(K, L, M). The use of natural outcrops as nuclei possibly explains the asymmetry of the layout of the structures. The
central axis
is located about two-thirds of the way between the major structures (K, L, M) of
west side
and
east side
of the plaza. The presence of courtyard configurations (
System IV
and
System M
respectively) associated with
Structure K
and
Structure M
serves to compensate for this asymmetry.
Colorado School of Mines
Division of Liberal Arts and International Studies
Dr. Joseph D. Sneed
jsneed@mines.edu
