Nuevos Conocimientos Sobre la Metalurgia Antigua del Occidente de México: Filiación Cultural y Cronología en la Cuenca de Sayula, Jalisco

New data from four archaeological sites in the Sayula Basin, Jalisco, provide new insight into prehispanic metallurgy in western Mexico. This unique, large assemblage of contextualized data enables us to link different technical complexes with specific cultural traditions within a well-established chronological sequence. The artifact assemblage consists of nearly 400 objects with ritual, domestic, and funerary contexts. The metal artifacts displayed characteristics from two technological complexes known as Period 1 and 2 (Hosler 1986, 1988a, 1994, 2005). The two complexes were associated with four distinctive cultural traditions (Aztatlán, Southern Jalisco, Amacueca, and Tarasco) over a period of seven centuries (A.D. 800–1532). For nearly 200 years, the two technological complexes existed contemporaneously at the sites of La Peña and Caseta, suggesting the possibility of parallel technological developments. Furthermore, the site of Caseta presents one of the earliest dates associated with metallic alloys in the Mesoamerican area (cal A.D. 1040–1290). All the metal objects recovered from Caseta belonged to the Period 2 complex, strengthening the evidence for a pre-Tarascan development of this specific technical complex in western Mexico. Based on the ceramic materials associated with the metallurgical evidence, we propose that the Period 2 complex could have its origins in the area of southern Jalisco and Colima.