Papers by Joseph Mountjoy
Contributions to the Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Greater Mesoamerica, 1985
Description of a patolli design found on a rock in the Tomatlán river valley, along with an analy... more Description of a patolli design found on a rock in the Tomatlán river valley, along with an analysis of the design from a comparative and ethnographic perspective.
Arte rupestre en Jalisco, 2012
Una interpretación del arte rupestre investigado por el autor hasta 2012 en nueve municipios de l... more Una interpretación del arte rupestre investigado por el autor hasta 2012 en nueve municipios de la sierra occidental, pie de monte y costa de Jalisco. Se trata de una interpretación basada en el registro de aproximadamente 800 piedras grabadas o pintadas, y el análisis de aproximadamente 20,000 glifos individuales, utilizando, sobre todo, el arte, simbolismo y la etnografía de los huicholes como base de la interpretación.
Proyecto Tomatlán de salvamento arqueológico r, 1987
Fotos y dibujos de petroglifos y pictografías que acompañan el texto de la monografía.
Proyecto Tomatlán de savamento arqueológico: el arte rupestre, 1987
El Apéndice A de la monografía: descripción de sitios y tabulación de los petroglifos registrados.
Proyecto Tomatlán de salvamento arqueológico: el arte rupestre, 1987
Descripción e análisis de 338 piedras con 11,931 petroglifos, y una gran pintura rupestre, en el ... more Descripción e análisis de 338 piedras con 11,931 petroglifos, y una gran pintura rupestre, en el valle de Tomatlán, Jalisco (México). Parte #1: el texto.
Antiquity, Interpretation, and Stylistic Evolution of Petroglyphs in West Mexico, 1987
Data from two sites in-the.municipality of San Blas, Nayarit, indicate that the practice of pecki... more Data from two sites in-the.municipality of San Blas, Nayarit, indicate that the practice of pecking petroglyphs in West Mexico is older than it has been possible to esiablish in previouiLs studies. petrogiyphs at the , La Coba site appear firmly dated to the Los Cocos phase (A.D. 200-600), and petroglyphs at the Ei Coichal site seem attributable to the Early Ixtlán phase (300 B.C.-A.D. 200) occupation. Hypotheses are offered regarding stylistic evolution of the pecked designs and their interpretation.
New World Figurine Project: Volume 1, 1991
Analysis of 922 figurine fragments from stratified trash deposits at a cemetery and refuse midden... more Analysis of 922 figurine fragments from stratified trash deposits at a cemetery and refuse midden in the same Preclassic habitation area, and dated by radiocarbon to between 90 B.C and 170 A.D. There is evidence of minor stylistic changes through time, but the primary use of the figurines seems to have been to protect the individuals from problems related to their health. Once the figurines were no longer of use, they were broken and discarded into the trash.
Investigaciones Recientes en el Área Maya, 1981
Información histórica/etnográfica del siglo XVII indica una relación entre el grabar petroglifos ... more Información histórica/etnográfica del siglo XVII indica una relación entre el grabar petroglifos en Jalisco y ritos al empiezo de la estación de lluvias, así como el uso de un grabado en forma de pie humano para marcar el lugar en dónde un cháman llevaba a cabos estos ritos.
Mamology Notes, 2022
El valle de Mascota es una región del centro occidente de México, donde se han registrado 4.042 p... more El valle de Mascota es una región del centro occidente de México, donde se han registrado 4.042 petroglifos individuales, de los que aproximadamente 305 han sido denominados genéricamente como "animales". Los glifos datan del año 1 al 1.600 d.C. Se seleccionaron 38 petroglifos zoomorfos para, con base en sus características morfológicas, identificar las especies de mamíferos representadas. Se inventariaron al menos seis especies: coatí Nasua narica, venado cola blanca Odocoileus virginianus, felino (huellas de puma Puma concolor o jaguar Panthera onca), coyote Canis latrans, perro doméstico Canis lupus familiaris, zorra gris Urocyon cinereoargenteus y armadillo de nueve bandas Dasypus novemcinctus. Se comenta el significado etnográfico de los mamíferos representados en el arte rupestre del valle de Mascota (presas, deidades, como parte de ritos). Asimismo, algunos petroglifos probablemente representen eventos específicos de comportamiento e historia natural de los mamíferos de la región.
Ancient Mesoamerica , 2016
This article reports on the discovery of an unusual type of secondary burial found at two Middle ... more This article reports on the discovery of an unusual type of secondary burial found at two Middle Formative sites in the Mascota valley of Jalisco, West Mexico. We examine these burials within a Middle and Late Formative period context as well as a broader temporal context of funerary customs and mortuary programs involving secondary-type burials. Tightly wrapped, elaborately processed bundled burials were recovered at the cemeteries of El Embocadero II and Los Tanques. We report on the human remains from both sites and examine burial context and biological identity to seek explanations. The individuals selected for this burial treatment are not associated with any markers of high status. These burials may represent a different ethnic, familial, community or ancestral identity, and we consider the broader secondary burial phenomenon as the possible expression of a ritual of seasonal interment associated with the use of a mortuary hut to curate and process the bodies.
Science, 1972
Samples of marine shell from archeological context on the coast of Nayarit, Mexico, have given ra... more Samples of marine shell from archeological context on the coast of Nayarit, Mexico, have given radiocarbon determinations of 1810 +/- 80 B.C., 2000 +/- 100 B.C., and 2100 +/- 100 B.C. Even with maximum correction for upwelling these are the earliest dates for coastal occupation in West Mexico north of Acapulco, Guerrero. Analysis of the midden contents has provided new insights regarding early coastal adaptation.
Peintures el Gravures Rupestres des Ameriques, 2020
Chapter pp. 29-41 is a description and analysis of petroglyphs found in four caves in different m... more Chapter pp. 29-41 is a description and analysis of petroglyphs found in four caves in different municipalities in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. The petroglyphs indicate an association of the caves with the Mesoamerican idea of such natural features as places that "swallow" the sun, both through the seasonal entrance of the sun's rays and the pecking of sun petroglyphs at the entrance and within the caves.
American Antiquity, 1982
The analysis of the approximately 200 pictographs located on the back wall and the ceiling of a r... more The analysis of the approximately 200 pictographs located on the back wall and the ceiling of a rock scar situated 40 meters above the Tomatlán river, using symbolism of the Huichol Indians and archaeoastronomical concepts indicates the pictographs form a unitary composition related to the use of the sun's position on the eastern horizon as a rustic calendar for predicting the onset of the rainy season and the benefit of the rains to the plants and animals on which the local natives depended during the Late Postclassic period.
The Archaeology of West and Northwest Mesoamerica, 1985
Description and analysis of 206 metal objects recovered during archaeological explorations in the... more Description and analysis of 206 metal objects recovered during archaeological explorations in the valley of Tomatlán in the central coastal area of the state of Jalisco (Mexico) during a 1975-1977 salvage archaeology project. Most of these objects were recovered from the interior of circular houses that were inhabited during the Late Postclassic period, and some of the objects and associated stone tools indicate a household activity of hammering pieces of copper into thin sheets that were rolled into rings to be deposited as offerings with the deceased who were buried in the floor of the house.
Huitzil, Revista Mexicana de Ornitología, Apr 2, 2017
La identificación y el análisis de los restos de aves de los sitios arqueológicos pueden proporci... more La identificación y el análisis de los restos de aves de los sitios arqueológicos pueden proporcionar información sobre qué significaron y cómo fueron usados. En el México prehispánico las aves sirvieron como alimento, materia prima para la elaboración de herramientas y en rituales religiosos. En esta nota comentamos el hallazgo de la ulna izquierda de un águila real adulta, Aquila chrysaetos, en el yacimiento arqueológico de Los Tanques (ca. 800 a.C.) en Mascota, Jalisco, México. La ulna se encontró dentro del bulto bien envuelto del entierro de un hombre joven de entre 19 y 25 años de edad. Su presencia en el entierro indica el alto estatus social del individuo y es parte de un código ritual mortuorio.
Contributions to the Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Greater Mesoamerica, 1985
Description and analysis of one patolli petroglyph discovered during salvage archaeology in the v... more Description and analysis of one patolli petroglyph discovered during salvage archaeology in the valley of Tomatlan, Jalisco, 1975-1977.
Latin American Antiquity
Se han encontrado tumbas prehispánicas de tipo tiro y cámara en muchos países de América Latina, ... more Se han encontrado tumbas prehispánicas de tipo tiro y cámara en muchos países de América Latina, sobre todo a lo largo del litoral Pacífico. En el Occidente de México las primeras interpretaciones de estas tumbas, los entierros y las ofrendas asociadas son de poca confianza dado el uso de información principalmente de saqueadores, inspección de tumbas ya saqueadas y estudios de ofrendas removidas de su contexto original. Afortunadamente, excavaciones recientes de tumbas de tiro y cámara en los estados de Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacán y Colima han proporcionado información de contextos mortuorios no saqueados. Nosotros presentamos información que hemos obtenido durante los últimos 22 años acerca del uso de tumbas de tiro y cámara durante por lo menos 1.260 años en tres municipios en el extremo noroeste de Jalisco. Esta información indica que la interpretación de este tipo de tumba y su contenido es compleja en varios aspectos, notablemente: dilatación, forma, profundidad, tratamiento d...
Ancient Mesoamerica, 2016
This article reports on the discovery of an unusual type of secondary burial found at two Middle ... more This article reports on the discovery of an unusual type of secondary burial found at two Middle Formative sites in the Mascota valley of Jalisco, West Mexico. We examine these burials within a Middle and Late Formative period context as well as a broader temporal context of funerary customs and mortuary programs involving secondary-type burials. Tightly wrapped, elaborately processed bundled burials were recovered at the cemeteries of El Embocadero II and Los Tanques. We report on the human remains from both sites and examine burial context and biological identity to seek explanations. The individuals selected for this burial treatment are not associated with any markers of high status. These burials may represent a different ethnic, familial, community or ancestral identity, and we consider the broader secondary burial phenomenon as the possible expression of a ritual of seasonal interment associated with the use of a mortuary hut to curate and process the bodies.
Mammalogy Notes
En esta nota, documentamos el hallazgo de fragmentos mandibulares de un Perro Canis lupus familia... more En esta nota, documentamos el hallazgo de fragmentos mandibulares de un Perro Canis lupus familiaris Linnaeus, 1758 (Carnivora: Canidae) y un Venado Cola Blanca Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780) (Artiodactyla: Cervidae), así como de fémures y tibia del Conejo Mexicano De Monte Sylvilagus cunicularius (Waterhouse, 1848) (Lagomorpha: Leporidae), recolectados durante el año 2015, dentro del depósito cultural “Arroyo Piedras Azules” en México.
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Papers by Joseph Mountjoy