Archaeologist Susana Poleth Sánchez Ramírez said that the vestiges left by the former inhabitants of the municipality of Rayón allow researchers to deepen their knowledge of specialized activities carried out by the societies of that time. The author of the research work “Historical Development of a Community in the Valley of Toluca” said that this was particularly the case for the site “El Calvario” (The Calvary) in Santa María Rayón.
She explained that the results obtained from the investigation suggest that “El Calvario” integrated one of sites controlled by Teotihuacán during its apogee. These people, from the Valley of Toluca, maintained an important link with the great city, which archaeologists say manifested itself through material culture, being observed through the pottery.
Sánchez Ramírez, a graduate of Archeology from the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEM) Tenancingo campus, stressed that the analysis of ceramics aims to examine the behavior of a tradition that participated in the development of the great city.
She said that the research is relevant because it is the first study carried out in Rayón and also because of the use of an innovative methodology, based on the analysis of the attributes of ceramic materials.
The classification of the ceramic materials at “El Calvario” made the ordering of information and consequent interpretation of the data possible.
Archaeologists also focused on recognizing aspects related to the ceramic groups identified from Teotihuacán. Their similarities and differences made it possible to identify foreign materials and propose possible exchanges and relations with other regions.
Sánchez Ramírez considered the main contribution of this research to be the resulting data, which constitutes an important source for future research in the Valley of Toluca and in the surrounding areas, with which the site maintained ties of interaction.
She concluded that Mexican archaeological history has a long trajectory because the knowledge we currently have of past cultures is preceded by the study of the material evidence of our ancestors.
She said that thanks to these works there is a panorama of cultural development that continues to be updated.
