Catchment Area Analysis in the Valley of Oaxaca

The final project for applications in archaeology involved a research project, the default being a catchment area analysis for a portion of the Oaxaca Valley. Estimates were made of collection unit populations for various periods in a given set of (digitized) grids from the Valley of Oaxaca Settlement Pattern Project performed by Blanton et al. in the late 1970s. From these, an estimated target yield for maize production needed to satisfy food security for these populations was arrived at and compared to an estimate of the maximum maize yield from a catchment area of 1 kilometer around each collection unit as generated by a buffer in ArcGIS.

Catchment Areas for Guadalupe Period

Catchment Areas for Early Monte Albán I

Catchment Areas for Late Monte Alán I

Catchment Areas for Monte Albán II