JAHRBUCH
FÜR GESCHICHTE
VON STAAT, WIRTSCHAFT UND GESELLSCHAFT
LATEINAMERIKAS
Begründet von
R I C H A R D K O N E T Z K E (t) und H E R M A N N K E L L E N B E N Z Herausgegeben von
G Ü N T E R K A H L E , H E R M A N N K E L L E N B E N Z , H O R S T P I E T S C H M A N N und H A N S P O H L
B A N D 2 0
Sonderdruck
Im Buchhandel nicht erhältlich
1 9 8 3
BÜHLAU VERLAG KÖLN WIEN
E R W I N W A L T E R P A L M Z U M 7 0 . G E B U R T S T A G Homenaje a Erwin Walter Palm
herausgegeben von coordinado y preparado por
H E L G A V O N K Ü G E L G E N K R O P F I N G E R
I N H A L T I n d i c e
Prologo X V I I Tabula Gratulatoria X X I
E r w i n W a l t e r P a l m : V i t a X X V I I Bibliografia de las publicaciones de E r w i n Walter Palm,
recopilada por Helga von Kügelgen Kropfinger X X X V W o l f g a n g T r e u e , E r w i n Walter Palm y el Proyecto
M e x i c o de la Fundacion Alemana para la Investigacion
Cientifica L I
A U F S Ä T Z E A r t i c u l o s
I . A R C H Ä O L O G I E U N D G E O W I S S E N S C H A F T E N A r q u e o l o g i a y G e o c i e n c i a s
A n g e l G a r c i a C o o k , Capulac-Concepcion (P — 211):
U n Juego de Pelota temprano en el Altiplano Central de
M e x i c o 1 E d u a r d o M a t o s M o c t e z u m a , Notas sobre algunas
urnas funerarias del Templo M a y o r 17 I g n a c i o B e r n a l , U n tipo de pectorales de Oaxaca. . . . 33
H o r s t H ä r t u n g , L a estructuracion de los alzados en la
arquitectura precolombina de M i t l a 41 F r a n z T i c h y , E l patron de asentamientos con sistema
radial en la Meseta Central de M e x i c o : c^«sistemas ceque»
en Mesoamerica? 61 D i e t e r K l a u s u n d W i l h e l m L a u e r , Humanöko-
logische Aspekte der vorspanischen Besiedlungsgeschichte, Bevölkerungsentwicklung u n d Gesellschaftsstruktur im
mexikanischen Hochland 85
Inhalt
K l a u s H e i n e , Outline of Man's Impact on the Natural
Environment in Central Mexico 121 K l a u s K n o b l i c h , Grundwasserneubildung und Grund-
wassererschließungsmöglichkeiten im R a u m Puebla —
Tlaxcala 133 G e r d W e r n e r , Bodenkartierung im zentralen Hochland
von Puebla — Tlaxcala 151 K o n r a d T y r a k o w s k i , A d o b e — un material de
construccion tradicional del Altiplano Mexicano: Resulta-
dos de un examen de laboratorio 165
II. E T H N O H I S T O R I E - G E S C H I C H T E L I T E R A T U R E t n o h i s t o r i a - - H i s t o r i a — L i t e r a t u r a
M i g u e l L e o n - P o r t i l l a, Conciencia de clase en los
textos de los pipiltin, (nobles) del Mexico antiguo 175 W o 1 f g a n g T r a u t m a n n , Morphologie des kolonial-
zeitlichen Verkehrsnetzes in Tlaxcala 187 J a c q u e s L a f a y e , Virtudes y vicios del Indio oriental
y el Indio occidental. U n caso de fricciön interetnica en
Filipinos: siglo X V I I 209 H o r s t P i e t s c h m a n n , L a poblacion de Tlaxcala a
fines del siglo X V I I I 223 B o d o S p r a n z , Berichte über die im 18. Jahrhundert
entdeckten Ruinen von Palenque, M e x i k o , in einer deut-
schen Veröffentlichung von 1832 239 G i s e l a B e u t l e r , Floripes, la princesa pagana en los
bailes de «Moros y Cristianos» de M e x i c o : Algunas
observaciones sobre las fucntes literarias 257
Inhalt V I I I I I . A R C H I T E K T U R U N D D E N K M A L P F L E G E
A r q u i t e c t u r a y C o n s e r v a c i o n
C a r l o s C h a n f o n O l m o s , E l Castillo-Palacio de D o n
Hernando Cortes en Cuernavaca 299 S i l v i o Z a v a l a , U n a etapa en la construccion de la cate-
dral de M e x i c o , alrededor de 1585 321 S o n i a L o m b a r d o d e R u i z , Arquitectura religiosa
marginada en el siglo X V I : U n estudio de caso 331 M a r c o D f a z, L a arquitectura domestica en A t l i x c o . . . . 377
M a r i a C o n c e p c i o n A m e r l i n c k d e C o r s i ,
Arquitectos y plazas de toros en Nueva Espana 393 U r s u l a D y c k e r h o f f , L a reedificacion de las
«Casas Reales» de Huejotzingo, 1640 409 O l i v a C a s t r o M o r a l e s , L a Casa de Mangino en la
ciudad de Puebla 437 E l i s a G a r c i a B a r r a g a n , L a arquitectura neo-indi-
genista mexicana del siglo X I X 449 E d u a r d o T e j e i r a D a v i s , Raices novohispänicas de
la arquitectura en los Estados Unidos a principios del
siglo X X 459 J o s e L u i s L o r e n z o, Salvar el arte 493
S e r g i o Z a l d i v a r G u e r r a , «El Caballito» 501 H a n s H a u f e , E l sueno del progreso. L a arquitectura
poblana del siglo X I X como catalizador 511 M i g u e l M e s s m a c h e r , L a historia en el conocimiento
y explicacion de los problemas de la ciudad de M e x i c o . . 531
VIII Inhalt
I V . I K O N O L O G I E - M A L E R E I K U N S T G E W E R B E I c o n o l o g i a - P i n t u r a — A r t e s an 1 a
M a r t a F o n c e r r a d a d e M o 1 i n a, Los murales de
Cacaxtla: Muerte en la guerra 537 H u g u e t t e J o r i s d e Z a v a l a , L'allegorie de l ' A m e -
rique dans l'art europeen 563 H e l g a v o n K ü g e l g e n K r o p f i n g e r , E l frontis-
picio de Franc.ois Gerard para la obra de viaje de H u m -
boldt y Bonpland 575 C l e m e n t i n a D i a z y d e O v a n d o , Primicias de la
iconologia en Mexico (1865) 617 C o n s t a n t i n o R e y e s - V a l e r i o , L a pintura mural
del siglo X V I en M e x i c o 629 M a r i a E l e n a L a n d a A b r e g o , Presencia de
simbologia indigena en una Capilla Posa del siglo X V I . . 637 E l e n a E s t r a d a d e G e r l e r o, E l programa
pasionario en el convento franciscano de Huejotzingo. . . 643 M a n u e l G o n z a l e z G a l v ä n , Epifania Guada-
lupana 663 E f r a i n C a s t r o M o r a l e s , Los Cuadros de Castas de
la Nueva Espana 671 E l i s a V a r g a s L u g o , U n a pintura desconocida del
siglo X V I I 691 X a v i e r M o y s s e n , L a pintura flamenca, Rubens y la
Nueva Espana 699 M a r i a J o s e f a M a r t i n e z d e l R i o d e R e d o ,
Los botones de la Condesa-Duquesa 707
O U T L I N E O F M A N ' S I M P A C T O N T H E
N A T U R A L E N V I R O N M E N T I N C E N T R A L M E X I C O
B y K l a u s H e i n e *
I.
Düring the Ice Age, when the sea level was lowered (submerg- ed sea levels lay 17,000 years before present -130 m to -170 m in Australia and -90 m to -130 m o f f north east A m e r i c a )1, Asian people could pass the Bering strait between Asia and Alaska.
From there they spread all over N o r t h , Central, and South A m e - rica. A t some sites in Mexico bones of mammoth and other early- -dated extinct Pleistocene faunal assemblages were found associa- ted w i t h human artefacts. The Tepexpan skull of the Basin of Mexico was thought to be the first Mexican for many years, but nowadays we have evidence of much older human sites.
The stone age hunter did not influence his natural environ- ment in M e x i c o . Y e t , as early as 5,000 years before Christ the people of Mexico began to cultivate different p l a n t s2. Primitive irrigation schemes were built more than 4,000 years before pre- sent. Therefore, we must be aware of the influence of men on the natural environment — o n purpose or unintentionally. Düring thousands of years civilizations developed and declined, migrat- ing people reached the Central Mexican Highland; breakdowns of civilizations occurred, new ones rose. The population density varied, although through the times the number o f human beings
*) Acknowledgement: Financial support for this research was received through the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
1) David B o w e n, Quaternary Geology, a Stratigraphic Framework for Multidisciplinary Work, Oxford — New York — Toronto — Sydney — Paris - Frankfurt 1978, pp. 1 - 2 2 1 .
2) Frederic J o h n s o n , Chronology and Irrigation, T h e Prehistory of the Tehuacan Valley, vol. IV, ed. Richard S. M a c N e i s h, Austin &: Lon- don 1972, pp. 1 - 2 9 0 . Christine N i e d e r b e r g e r, ,, Early Sedentary Economy in the Basin of Mexico. New data suggest significant variants in early post-PIeistocene human occupations in Middle A m e r i c a " , in: Science, vol. 203, 1979, pp. 131-142.
increased. The settlement or colonization of the antecedents of the modern agrarian societies led to distinct changes of the natu- ral environment. The natural Vegetation of the high plateaus was replaced by succesive plant communities that were used to poorer soils and less water. Düring the mid-Holocene an oak woodland flourished where today a thorn-thicket Covers the slopes. Erosion has destroyed the soils where 2,500 years ago the ancient people for the first time cleared the woodland. Soil ero- sion — in connection with other environmental damages (e.g.
lowering of the ground water table) — is due to human influence in Mexico. In the Puebla/Tlaxcala area soil erosion started at 800 years before Christ together with an extensive acquisition of land. Soil erosion has played an important role in history.
In this article I give a brief report on the role of soil erosion in the evolution of the cultural landscape of the Puebla/Tlaxcala area.
II.
A scheme of the three-dimensional development of the natural environment of the Central Mexican Highland during the late Quaternary is given in Figure L Füll details regarding the Inter- pretation of the scheme are given elsewhere3. Periods of normal or catastrophic processes, stability, and erosion during the past 36,000 years are immediately recognizable. The processes (Fig. 1), which are controlled by the bioclimatic milieu, create distinctive soils and landforms. However, before the processes are considered, the climatic criteria which determine the nature of processes need to be considered. During the past 36,000 years thrce major periods with high erosion intensities can be distin- guished: (a) 36,000 t o > 32,000 years before present, (b) circa
3) Klaus H e i n e , Quartäre Pluvialzeiten und klimamorphologischer Formenwandel in den Randtropen (Mexiko, Kalahari), Arbeiten aus dem Geographischen Institut der Universität des Saarlandes, vol. 29, Saarbrücken
1980, pp. 1 3 5 - 1 5 7 .
12,000 years before present, and (c) 10,000 to 8,500 years be- fore present These periods with high erosion intensities coincide with climatic changes from relative aridity to greater humidity.
Figure 1 shows that there is no synchroneous development of the trend of the temperature on the one hand and of the trend of the humidity on the other hand. The temperature curve for the last 36,000 years before present is marked i n the tropics of the Cen- tral Mexican Highland b y an increase between 36,000 and
>26,000 years before present, a decrease between ca. 26,000 and ca. 16,000 years before present (with the last glacial temperature minimum around 17,000—16,000 years before present), and an increase of the temperature with minor fluctuations during the period <16,000 to 8,000 years before present. T h e postglacial climatic o p t i m u m is reached 8,000 to 5,000 years before pre- sent. Some minor temperature oscillations are recognizable after 5,000 years before present. Under warm but not extremely humid conditions, e.g. the period between ca. 30,000 and 25,000 years before present (Fig. 1), the geomorphic processes are main- ly restricted to the preparation of the material b y weathering, whereas the movement o f the material and its export from the catchment is confined to short periods of activity during which considerable work is done. Extremely climatological events, especially i n mountain areas, played the essential role in land- form development during the late Quaternary i n the Central Mexican H i g h l a n d4.
The Holocene portion of Figure 1 shows that the periods of slow or fast Sedimentation, stability, and erosion during the past 8,000 years before present are not exclusively controlled b y cli- matic causes. Relatively abrupt environmental changes, such as that caused b y the ,12,000 years before present event'5, did not occur during the Holocene, but human clearance of forests and woodland led to sudden changes i n the amount of denudation.
Since 800 years before Christ soil erosion in the Central Mexican Highland is considered to be a serious problem.
4) H e i n e , Quartäre Pluvialzeiten.
5) Klaus H e i n e , "Sintflutartige Niederschläge in Mexiko vor 12 000 Jahren", i n : Ibero-Amerikanisches Archiv, N E , J g . 7, Heft 1/2 (1981), pp. 6 9 - 7 6 .
III.
The State of our current knowledge on the erosion processes of the Puebla/Tlaxcala area is given in Figure 2. This synthesis Stresses the difficulty of understanding the Holocene erosion pro- cesses that led to the impact on the natural environment in Cen- tral Mexico. Some questions w i l l be discussed here in brief:
(a) Were the geomorphic processes controlled by the climatic milieu during the last 3,000 years? (b) Were the late Holocene processes controlled by man's activity? (c) Or must we think of several processes with varying periodicities that may occasionally coincide, reinforcing one another and creating an overall tenden- cy that is strongly unfavorable or favorable to the geomorphic processes?
More h u m i d periods compared with today occurred between ca. 1300 years before Christ and ca. 100 A . D . and between ca.
1100 A . D . and 1890 A . D . according to the data I obtained in connection with observations on glacial and periglacial land- f o r m s6. Higher and/or more accentuated precipitations and higher erosion rates are not correlated unless there are modifica- tions of Vegetation cover. Relatively rapid precipitation changes may cause an accelerated development of the barrancas of the gorges, the debris accumulation at the end of these gorges, the debris flows, the landslides, and the solifluction processes of the ,periglacial' belt of the high volcanoes. Figure 2 shows that the erosional processes did not increase in intensity at the beginning of the period w i t h a higher effectiveness of precipitation. Soil erosion started only when the population growth made possible improved irrigation Systems and the cultivation of marginal areas of the Puebla/Tlaxcala basin. The Tlatempa Phase ( 1 2 0 0 - 8 0 0 years before Christ)7 was characterized by 66 Settlements with
6) Klaus H e i n e , Studien zur jungquartären Glazialmorphologie mexikanischer Vulkane mit einem Ausblick auf die Klimaentwicklung. Das Mexiko-Projekt der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft, vol. VII, ed. Wil- helm L a u e r , Wiesbaden 1975, pp. 1 — 178. H e i n e , Quartäre Pluvialzei- ten.
7) Angel G a r c i ' a C o o k , " U n a secuencia cultural para Tlaxcala", in:
Comunicaciones Proyecto Puebla-Tlaxcala 10, Fundacion Alemana para la Investigacion Cientffica (fortan: Comunicaciones), Puebla 1974, pp. 5—22.
50 to >350 inhabitants. During the Tlatempa Phase no soil dete- rioration occurred. With the growing population density soil erosion stated during the Texoloc Phase and culminated during the Tezoquipan Phase (ca. 300 years before Christ — 100 A . D . ) . Studies of rates of erosion s h o w8 that relatively abrupt environ- mental changes, such as that caused b y human clearance o f forests and woodlands can lead to sudden changes in the amount of erosion. In Central Mexico the natural Vegetation cover was removed rapidly more than 2500 years ago during the Texoloc Phase. The result was accelerated soil erosion which then occur- red for the first time during the Holocene.
A second period of accelerated soil erosion started during the Texcalac Phase. After the Tenanyecac Phase of Stagnation and of decreasing population, the Texcalac Phase reached another apex in the demographic expansion i n pre-Spanish times. The erosion processes responded relatively rapidly to the impact o n the natural environment that was caused again b y the expansion of the rural population and the human clearance of the Vegetation.
Direct rainfall impact o n the exposed soils washed much more material downslope than would have been eroded under the natu- ral Vegetation cover. This erosion period between ca. 650 A . D . and 1100 A . D . did not coincide with a period of higher precipita- tion; the soil damage occurred under the impact of the Texcalac agricultural technology and i n response to growing food de- mands. There is evidence that during the Texcalac Phase the slopes of the volcanoes were intensively cultivated up to 3,000 m altitude.
The second destructive period which set in at the beginning of the Texcalac Phase continued until the colonial epoch. According to a rapid decrease i n population after the Spanish Conquest9 soil erosion damages diminished slightly. Although several minor climatic fluctuations are recorded for the Central Mexican High-
8) Klaus H e i n e , "Mensch und geomorphodynamische Prozesse in Raum und Zeit im randtropischen Hochbecken von Puebla/Tlaxcala, Mexi- k o " , in: 41. Deutscher Geographentag Mainz, Tagungsberichte und wissen- schaftliche Abhandlungen, Wiesbaden 1978, pp. 3 9 0 - 4 0 6 .
9) Wolfgang T r a u t m a n n , "Ergebnisse der Wüstungsforschung in Tlaxcala (Mexiko)", in: Erdkunde, vol. 28 (1974), pp. 115-124.
land during the last 2,000 years1 0, no response of rates of erosion to climatic changes could be observed.
I V .
Figure 2 provides an opportunity to discuss the reasons for accelerated soil erosion. It is illustrated b y the figure which shows not only the periods of soil erosion i n relation to the different cultural phases but also i n combination to some social (e.g. irrigation) and environmental (e.g. effectiveness of precipita- tion, Vegetation history) factors, that we need multidisciplinary information in order to comprehend the multiplicity of processes involved in resolving and understanding soil erosion problems.
During the last 3,000 years before present, the geomorphic processes of the Central Mexican Highland up to about 3,000 m altitude were not controlled b y the climatic milieu but b y man's activity. It is possible to view civilizations as ecosystems that emerge i n response to sets of ecological opportunities, that is, econiches to be e x p l o i t e d1 1. The study of soil erosion in Central Mexico makes clear that the responsible processes of the Tenan- yecac period of decline involved at least three major factors, namely a decrease i n precipitation, rural depopulation, and i n - security due to political instability. T h e same denominators of periods of decline are described from ancient Egypt where each retrograde phase coincided with negative social developments within, as well as negative environmental or social interventions from w i t h o u t1 2.
In the Puebla/Tlaxcala area the rates of soil erosion demon- strate that periods of strong human impact on the natural envi- ronment coincided with phases of cultural and demographic
1 0) Dieter O h n g e m a c h and Herbert S t r a k a, " L a historia de la vegetaciön en la region Puebla-Tlaxcala durante el cuaternario tardi'o", i n : Comunicaciones 15, 1978, pp. 189—204. H e i n e , Mensch und geomor- phodynamische Prozesse.
1 !) Karl W. B u t z e r , "Civilizations: Organisms or Systems?", i n : American Scientist, vol. 68, no. 5, 1980, pp. 5 1 7 - 5 2 3 .
1 2 ) B u t z e r , Civilizations.
growth when land use was intensified and many new villages were founded. Periods of decline w i t h rural depopulation led to a minor human impact on the natural environment. We cannot decide yet, whether the periods of decline were mainly caused by damages of the natural environment and/or fluctuations of some climatic elements (e.g. precipitation), because we cannot deter- mine lags in the response of geomorphic processes at short time scales. Four possibilities are shown in Figure 3: (1) The maxi- mum rate of soil erosion was reached at the beginning of a colo- nization phase and continued until the end of the period with dense rural population, (2) the m a x i m u m rate of soil erosion coincided w i t h the rapid extension of the rural population but diminished soon, because of the adaptation to the new para- meters, (3) the m a x i m u m rate of soil erosion was reached only at the end of the colonization period, (4) the m a x i m u m rate of soil erosion was due to several catastrophic events. The examples of Figure 3 demonstrate that soil erosion may have occurred in the beginning or the falling phase or throughout it; even individual catastrophic events may have caused the soil erosion. However, although the amount of change by soil erosion is k n o w n , the relative speed (rate) of change is not.
If there were severe damages of the environment caused by soil erosion throughout the Texoloc and Tezoquipan Phases, the decline of Tenanyecac Phase might be seen in connection with man's impact on the environment. The observed sedimentary records favor the idea that high rates of soil erosion occurred between ca. 600 years before Christ and 100 A . D . , i.e. during 700 years. The widespread damage of the natural environment and the diminishing effectiveness of precipitation around 100 A . D . in connection with negative social developments might have been caused the decline of the Tenanyecac Phase.
V .
Man's impact on the soil environment is feit and registered in the form of increasing S e d i m e n t a t i o n rates in the basin of Puebla /Tlaxcala over the past 2,500—3,000 vears. During the last
decades it appears that agricultural activities have accelerated soil erosion in a great e x t e n t1 3. The montane forests of the volcanoes in altitudes between 3,000 and 3,600 m are being steadily de- pleted in all areas of the Central Mexican Highland. If present rates of misuse and clearance of the forests persist — and they are likely to accelerate —, the biome, now covering the slopes up to 4,000 m altitude, could be reduced to remnant fragments within less than half a Century. This would represent one of the greatest environmental impoverishments in the foreseeable future, and a biological debacle with dimensions that did not occur at any time of the Holocene. If Central Mexico's montane forests disappear within a few decades, the Mexicans will suffer by way of envi- ronmental degradation, decline of watershed Services, and the l i k e1 4. Already the Valsequillo dam is rapidly being silted up, and Mexico's mountain areas near the G u l f of M e x i c o have undergone excessive hurricane damage due to loss of mountain forest cover1 5. If we agree with the postulation that civilizations behave as adaptive Systems1 6, then the unexpected coincidence of envi- ronmental perturbation, poor leadership, social pathology, and external political stress can trigger a catastrophic train of mutual- ly reinforcing events that Mexico's civilization is unable to absorb. If we were able to understand better the long history of the ups and downs of the Mexican civilization, we could call for relevant proposals to resolve the recent environmental prob- lems.
1 3) H e i n e , Mensch und geomorphodynamische Prozesse.
1 4) Klaus H e i n e , ö k o l o g i s c h e Katastrophe in M e x i k o ? " , in: Umschau in Wissenschaft und Technik, vol. 78, 1978, pp. 491 496.
1 5) Klaus H e i n e , "Photo der Woche — G e o ö k o l o g i e " , in: Umschau in Wissenschaft und Technik, vol. 76, 1976, p. 202. Hartmut E m , "Be- deutung und Gefährdung zentralmexikanischer Gebirgsnadelwälder", in:
Umschau in Wissenschaft und Technik, vol. 73, 1973, pp. 85—86.
1 6) B u t z e r , Civilizations.
W A R M
Fig. 1: Scheme of the three-dimensional development of the natural environment of the Central Mexican Highland during the late Quaternary.
TO •-
U o>
Basin of Mexico
IXTAPALUCA ZACATENCO
Basin of Puebla/Tlaxcala
TZOMPAN - TEPEC Number of
Settlements x) Inhabitants per settlement *)
14 40 - 100
TLATEMPA
66
TICOMANj TEOTIHUACAN II III TEXOLOC
186
TEZOQUI - PAN 207
TENANYECAC
185
50 - >350 -100 - >1200 150->2000 150->1000 200->2000 100-1500 TULA A Z T E C A
I II III IV TEXCALAC
253
O
TLAXCALA
136
MODERNO (COLONIAL)
2400 BC 2000 1600 _l I 1 1 1 I I I I I L
800 600 400 200 _l I , I, , l , , l , , l „
0 100 300 500 700 900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900 AD J I I I L_
*) in a r e a s of the a r c h a e o l o g i c a l project of the D F G w h i c h c o m p n s e a part of the P u e b l a T l a x c a l a b a s i n .
H E I N E 1977
big. 2: Scheme of the soil erosion. The data of the cultural evolution after Angel Garcia Cook, ct. note 7.
Relative precipitation
more arid
m a x i m u m d e n s i t y
Relative Vegetation cover
minimum d e n s i t y
minimum d e n s i t y
Relative changes in the size of population
m a x i m u m d e n s i t y
m i n i m u m m a x i m u m
m i n i m u m m a x i m u m
minimum m a x i m u m
©
©
©
®
Ii
Fig. 3: Explanation in the text.
