Tierras Largas facts for kids

Tierras Largas is an ancient archaeological site in the Etla Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. It's known as one of the first places where people started living in permanent villages in the Oaxaca area. The name "Tierras Largas" comes from Spanish and means "Long Lands."

About Tierras Largas

Tierras Largas was a small village, like a tiny hamlet, in its region. It was built on very fertile soil, which was perfect for farming. The people of Tierras Largas grew food and other things to help support a bigger, more powerful group called a chiefdom. This main chiefdom was located at San José Mogote, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north.

This ancient village existed through seven different time periods, or "phases," during the Early and Middle Formative periods of Mesoamerican history. Even though it lasted a long time, Tierras Largas never grew much in size. Archaeologists who study the site often find groups of houses, which was common for smaller villages in the Oaxaca Valley back then.

Life in the Village

Tierras Largas was never a huge village in mesoamerica. For all seven of its phases, it was home to a small community of farmers. These farmers grew important crops like maize (corn), avocados, beans, and squash. They sent these crops to the larger village of San José Mogote nearby. The number of houses in Tierras Largas stayed about the same throughout its history. The village didn't get much bigger or smaller over time.

Art and Pottery

Archaeologists have found many interesting art pieces at Tierras Largas. People living there used shells brought from other places to make beautiful beads and pendants. Many small villages in the area had pottery with special designs, called motifs. These designs often showed things like earthquakes or lightning. At Tierras Largas, most of the pottery found had designs related to earthquakes and the earth.

Ancient Discoveries at Tierras Largas

Archaeologists have dug up many cool things at Tierras Largas. These finds help us understand what life was like for the people who lived there long ago.

• Avocado pits and beans show what they ate.
• Deer bones tell us they hunted deer.
• Finished mirrors have also been found.

In one special digging spot, called "feature 57a," they found:

• A complete mano and metate, which are tools for grinding corn.
• A large, complete jar.
• A broken figurine.
• A piece of burned wood that might have been used for mats.
• Part of another jar.

Inside one of the ancient houses, called "House 1," they discovered:

• Chert cores, which are pieces of stone used to make tools.
• Scrapers, which are tools for cleaning animal hides.
• Small flakes of stone from tool making.
• Round pieces of broken pottery called sherd discs.

About 20% of all the stone found at Tierras Largas was obsidian. Obsidian is a sharp, glass-like rock that was often used for tools and weapons.

The Tierras Largas Phase

The Tierras Largas Phase is a specific time period from about 1500 BC to 1150 BC. During this time, many farming villages like Tierras Largas existed across the Valley of Oaxaca. Most of these settlements were built on low, well-drained ridges or hills. These spots were close to both very fertile soil near rivers and the main river channels themselves.

Villages from the Tierras Largas Phase can be found in all three parts of the Oaxaca Valley. However, they are most common in the northern part, known as the Etla arm. The biggest community in the Etla arm during this time was San José Mogote. It was during this phase that people started building public buildings that were not just houses. Studies of burials, houses, and storage pits from the Tierras Largas phase show that people were generally equal. There weren't clear signs of different social classes or ranks back then.