Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (449 page)

 
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Zapotec capital set on a steep bluff in the middle of the Valley of Oaxaca which rose to prominence after about 400 bc. Four main phases in the development and occupation of the site have been recognized. In Period I (500–200 bc) the slopes of the hill were levelled off to form over 2000 terraces. An acropolis protected by stone walls lay at the centre. Inside was a stone platform surrounded by 140 carved stone slabs depicting contorted human figures. These were executed in Olmec style. In Period II (200 bc–ad 300) the first palaces were built, along with ball-courts, temples, and an arrow-shaped building in the main plaza. During this period there appears to have been extensive contact with Maya Lowland centres and the increasingly powerful Teotihuacán.
At its peak in Period III (ad 300–750), Monte Albán had an estimated population of 25–30000. Public buildings, terraces, and residences covered over 40 square kilometres. Period IV (ad 700–1000) was a time of decline as the main plaza was abandoned. Zapotec influence disappeared, although the site was partially reoccupied by the Mixtec.
[Rep.: R. Blanton , 1978,
Monte Alban: settlement patterns of the ancient Zapotec capital.
New York: Academic Press]

 
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Montelius , Gustaf Oscar Augustin
(1843–1921)
[Bi].

Foremost Swedish prehistorian well known for his typological studies of Bronze Age artefacts. Born in Stockholm, Montelius lived all his life in the same house in the town. He studied at Uppsala University from 1861, first studying natural science but later switching to history and the Scandinavian languages. In 1869 he was awarded a Ph.D. in history with a thesis in archaeology. By 1863 he was employed on a part-time basis at the Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm, moving to a permanent position in 1868. Between 1907 and 1913 he was state antiquarian and head of the Central Board of Antiquities and the Museum of National Antiquities.
Montelius's greatest achievement was in his work on the prehistoric chronology of northern Europe. In this he divided European prehistory into a series of numbered periods, three relating to the Neolithic, and six to the Bronze Age. Initially his analysis was done on the basis of artefact typology. However, he extended the principle of cross-dating, pioneered by Petrie for Egypt and the Aegean, to northern and western Europe, thus providing a chronological framework for his Bronze Age sequence. He was an exponent of the
ex oriente lux
theory that innovation in barbarian Europe was generated by impulses diffused from the more advanced civilizations of the Near East, as set out clearly in his book
Der Orient und Europe
(1899, Stockholm).
[Bio.: B. Gräslund , 1999, Gustaf Oscar Augustin Montelius (1943–1921). In T. Murray (ed.),
Encyclopedia of archaeology I: the great archaeologists
. Oxford: ABC-Clio, 155–64]

 
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Palaeo-Indian encampment in south central Chile with controversial evidence of earlier occupation. Excavated by Tim Dillehay , the site has two main layers. The upper one comprises the remains of twelve wooden structures, abundant plant remains (including wild potatoes), and the bones of butchered mastodon and guanaco. The houses, with external hearths, were of plank construction and are thought to have been covered with hides. Projectile points which resemble the El Jobo points of Venezuela have been found. This layer is sealed by a deposit of peat which has been dated to 11700–9800 bc. A second, lower layer, yielded broken stones and charcoal which have been claimed as evidence of occupation extending back to 30000 years ago. At present, these finds are unverified as being related to human settlement. Both layers at the site make important contributions to the debate about the spread of early settlement in the Americas.
[Rep.: T. Dillehay , 1989,
Monte Verde: A late Pleistocene settlement in Chile
, vol. I.
Palaeoenvironment and site context
. Washington: Smithsonian Institution]

 
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Earthen mound situated beside the Rivanna River excavated by Thomas Jefferson in 1782 and important as the first documented archaeological excavation in North America. Jefferson's investigation had the aim of shedding light on a then current controversy about who the ‘mound builders’ of the Mississippi area were: ancestors of the aboriginal Indians, Toltec Indians from Mexico, or even cultures from further afield (the Welsh and a variety of ‘lost races’ were seriously suggested). Jefferson confirmed that the mounds were repositories for the dead and that associated with the burials were artefacts similar to items of Indian origin.
[Rep.: T. Jefferson , 1797,
Notes on the State of Virginia
. London: Stockdale]

 
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