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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



When the first energetic friars moved into a new 

 town they laid out plans for the church, atrium, 

 and convent, and then ran streets at right angles 

 in four directions from the new religious center, 

 giving to each family room for a house, patio, 

 and small orchard. Thus, the orderly and rec- 

 tangular arrangement of streets in modern Mi- 

 choacan towns appears to be due to Spanish in- 

 fluence. 



Houses frequently were occupied by more 

 than one family, a pattern surviving to the 

 present day. The Relacion mentions as types 

 of households two or three men with their wives 

 and relatives, others with a single husband and 

 wife, and in still others merely a woman and her 

 children. Outside of the village, agricultural 

 lands were recognized to have definite owners; 

 one official was charged with knowing all of the 

 facts of ownership, and settling all disputes 

 which might arise. Maize, beans, and squash, 

 planted after the first rains in early June, were 

 the basic crops, and chiles, chayotes, and small 

 tomatoes were also grown. In the absence of a 

 plow and draft animals, a simple digging stick 

 was used for all agriculture. A variety of fruit 

 trees, both wild and domesticated, were exploit- 

 ed, among them the cherimoya, guava, mamey, 

 cacao, chicozapote, capulin, and tejocote. 



Deer and rabbits abounded in the hills, and 

 were hunted, in addition to small mammals, 

 with bows and slings. The turkey was common, 

 and may have been domesticated in Michoacan. 

 Other than this bird, and a small dog, there were 

 no domesticated animals, though eagles were 

 kept in cages in the royal enclosure, and hum- 

 ming birds, parrots, and other brightly plumed 

 birds were kept by the feather workers. In the 

 court of the King, pumas, wolves, and coyotes 

 were kept, which, upon growing up, were killed 

 and replaced with younger ones. Tortillas, a 

 wide variety of tamales, maize gruels known as 

 atole, boiled beans, squash, chayote, meat, and 

 fruits formed the basic diet. The earth oven was 

 used to bake meat and bread. The maguey was 

 exploited for pulque, the traditional fermented 

 drink of the Mexican peon, but the maize beer 

 spoken of by Beaumont seems likely to be an 

 error (Beaumont, 19.32, vol. 2, p. 51). In the 

 island of the lakes fishing was of great import- 

 ance, and in some places such as Janitzio and 

 Jaracuaro in Lake Patzcuaro it surpassed all 



other occupations in importance. Nets of a va- 

 riety of types and sizes were used, both from 

 the shore and from canoes made of hollowed 

 cedar logs. Fishhooks likewise were important. 

 Ducks were hunted from the water with the 

 spear-thrower or atlatl, propelling a long reed 

 dart. 



The modern craft specialization of Michoa- 

 can, popularly credited to Don Vasco de Qui- 

 roga, actually has its roots deep in history. The 

 list of special mayordomos, or king's overseers 

 of the various trades, gives the best possible idea 

 of the extent to which this specialization had 

 developed. Pottery, today one of the principal 

 industries, was made in a number of towns, and, 

 as today, some families specialized in ollas 

 ("pots") while others made plates and casse- 

 roles. Gold, silver, and copper were mined and 

 worked by a variety of techniques, though recent 

 archeological studies prove that the precious 

 metals were less common than the chronicles 

 suggest. Many of the "jewels" of gold which 

 the Spaniards carried away with them actually 

 were gilded copper pieces (Rubin de la Borbo- 

 11a, 1944, p. 134). Cold hammering, laminat- 

 ing, and casting with the cire-perdue technique 

 were known. 



Precious stones, especially turquoise, were cut 

 by professional lapidaries, using a special sand. 

 Obsidian was inlaid with precious stones for 

 lip plugs and earrings, and also used for knives. 

 Masons cut and carved stone to build pyramids 

 and temples. Carpenters worked wood with cop- 

 per tools, making canoes, paddles, wooden trays, 

 small benches, and other articles. Maguey 

 leaves were used to make cloth or paper to which 

 combinations of colored feathers were applied 

 to form capes and mantles which, according to 

 all contemporary reports, were of astonishing 

 beauty and technical perfection. Cotton was 

 grown, spun, dyed in many colors, and woven 

 by women into cloth for garments, and also to 

 serve as tribute and offerings to friends among 

 the nobles. Palm and tule mats were woven for 

 floors and to sleep on. Lacquer work, famed to 

 this day, was done in a number of pueblos, with 

 Periban either the center of the industry or the 

 chief market place. Some men were profes- 

 sional hunters, specializing in deer and rabbits, 

 while others devoted their talents to ducks and 

 quail. Still others were drum makers, others 



