Cerro Portezuelo: States and Hinterlands in the Pre-Hispanic Basin of Mexico

A reanalysis of Cerro Portezuelo's artifacts and excavation data reveals critical insights into the transition from Teotihuacan's Early Classic state system to Postclassic city-state organization, addressing long-standing questions posed by George Brainerd in the 1950s. This strategic site, occupied from the Late/Terminal Formative period through the Spanish Conquest, offers a unique lens for studying state formation, centralization, and fragmentation over millennia. The study combines survey and excavation data to reconstruct the dynamics of Teotihuacan's political and economic relations with its hinterlands, highlighting shifts in power structures that reshaped Mesoamerican societies.

Nichols, D. L., Neff, H., & Cowgill, G. L. (2013). CERRO PORTEZUELO: STATES AND HINTERLANDS IN THE PRE-HISPANIC BASIN OF MEXICO. Ancient Mesoamerica, 24(1), 47–71. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536113000035