Description
The Cerro Portezuelo Archives is a result of excavations conducted by George Brainerd in
1954 and 1955 and by H. B. Nicholson in 1957. The site is located near the ancient shores of
Lake Texcoco in Central Mexico (now Mexico City) and spans the Classic to Post-Classic time
periods (A.D. 350 - 1500). The city began during the florescence of the larger nearby city
of Teotihuacan but survived long after Teotihuacan's fall and into the Aztec Empire. This
collection's ceramic objects represent the most complete and unbroken sequence for the
region, making it an invaluable research tool for understanding the turbulent political and
social climate during Mesoamerican times. The objects held in the Archaeology Collections
Facility includes ceramics, spindle whorls, figurines, stamps, chipped stone, ancestral
burials, and memorial objects. Collection documentation include an inventory, maps,
photographs and negatives, artifact descriptions and analysis, field notes, correspondence,
burial accession records, progress reports, and a published report co-authored by Frederic
Hicks and H.B. Nicholson.
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in
writing to the Registrar. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Fowler
Museum at UCLA as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.