Received: 9 December 2022 | Revised: 12 November 2023 | Accepted: 13 November 2023

DOI: 10.1002/gea.21987

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Reconstruction of fluvio‐lacustrine landscapes

and settlement history in the Texcoco region,
Mexico, using a modern geomorphic analog

Kurt H. Wogau1,2,3 | Carlos E. Cordova4 | Luis Morett‐Alatorre5 |

Guillermo Acosta Ochoa1

1
Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas,
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Abstract
Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México,
Located in the Basin of Mexico, the eastern shore of former Lake Texcoco sustained
México
2
SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour
a variety of human occupations throughout the Holocene, including preceramic
(SapienCE), University of Bergen, Bergen, hunter‐gatherers, incipient agriculturalists, and a variety of settlements in the
Norway
ceramic periods. Nonetheless, the environmental dynamics of occupations on the
3
Department of Earth Science, University of
Bergen, Bergen, Norway lakeshore have not been fully addressed. The Archaic preagricultural Texcoco Man
4
Department of Geography, Oklahoma State site (>5000 B.C.E.) and the Late Formative TX‐LF‐14 site (c. 550‐200 B.C.E.), among
University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA others, occupy this fluvio‐lacustrine transitional environment. Few stratigraphic
5
Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Texcoco,
works in and around the sites have been performed. Consequently, it is difficult to
Mexico
understand the dynamics of the sedimentary system in space and time. This work
Correspondence highlights and describes the fluvio‐lacustrine sedimentary dynamics and the resulting
Kurt H. Wogau, Instituto de Investigaciones
Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional
landscape that past societies inhabited on the eastern shore of Texcoco Lake.
Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Because the study area has been altered by historic and modern draining, our work
Ciudad de México 04510, México.
Email: kurtwogau@gmail.com
employs Lake Santiaguillo and its main tributary, the Tejamen River in the Durango
state, as a modern analog to study their sedimentary dynamics. The analyses of
Scientific editing by Gary Huckleberry
surface geomorphology in the Texcoco study area were employed to corroborate the
Funding information modern analog interpretation. To achieve these goals, we conducted a GIS‐based
College of Arts and Sciences Research (ASR) morphometric analysis and LANDSAT‐8 imagery to study the variations in landforms
Program, College of Arts & Sciences,
Oklahoma State University; UNAM PAPPIT; through wet and dry events. The results indicate an increase in the lake volume, low
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología bifurcation in the active fluvial channels, few inundated surfaces, and the presence
of bird‐foot deltaic channels during high precipitation events. In contrast, low
precipitation events are characterized by reduced lake volume, increased fluvial
channel bifurcation, and expanded floodplains. This heterogeneous landscape thus
provided a rich source of diverse natural resources of saline and freshwater aquatic
habitats. Simultaneously, constant or recurring flooding events generated a
challenging landscape for prehistoric settlers who implemented diverse technolo-
gies, such as the construction of tlateles, on the levees of deltaic channels to reduce
the risk and impact of flooding events.

KEYWORDS
Basin of Mexico, fluvio‐lacustrine environments, Lake Texcoco, modern analogs, settlement
patterns

Geoarchaeology. 2023;1–15. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/gea © 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC. | 1


2 |
1 | INTRODUCTION
The Basin of Mexico (BM) is an endorheic basin in central Mexico
bordered by major volcanic structures with drainages terminating
in diverse lake systems (Figure 1). Lake Texcoco was an alkaline
water body located in the BM central region. Its fluvio‐lacustrine
realm was home to diverse human groups, such as hunter‐
gatherers during the Archaic (>5000 B.C.E.), farming societies
(5000‐1500 B.C.E.), and advanced rural and urban civilizations
such as those of Teotihuacan (200‐550 C.E.) and Aztec Tenoch-
titlan (1300‐1520 C.E.) (Cordova, 2022; Cowgill, 2015; Frederick &
Cordova, 2019; Niederberger, 1979; Parsons, 2015; Sanders
et al., 1979; Smith, 1986).
Artificial desiccation of the BM's lakes and the transformation
of the landscape by modern agriculture and urbanization have
completely obscured the landforms associated with the fluvial
and lacustrine landscape (Cordova, 2022). However, the Lake
Texcoco fluvio‐lacustrine realm has been less affected by
urbanization, thus providing more opportunities to recover
F I G U R E 1 The Basin of Mexico, its former lakes, urban areas, and study area (Chapingo and San Bernardino catchment areas). Modified from
Cordova (2022).
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WOGAU ET AL.
information on the landscape occupied by prehistoric settlers
(Figures 1 and 2a).
Of particular interest in the Texcoco region are the lower
reaches of the Chapingo and San Bernardino rivers, as they contain
numerous archaeological sites in fluvial and fluvio‐lacustrine
geomorphic settings (Figure 2). Notably, among the sites of
archaeological interest in this area is Texcoco Man, an individual
with anatomical characteristics of occupants of the Archaic in the
BM (>5000 B.C.E.) (Acosta‐Ochoa et al., 2021; Morett‐
Alatorre, 2004) (Figure 2b). Surrounding the site are other
occupations also associated with fluvial and lacustrine landforms,
of which excavated site Tx‐LF‐14 (also known as Tlatel of
Tequexquinahuac) represents an occupation of a levee of a deltaic
channel of the Chapingo River during the Late Formative Period
(550‐200 B.C.E.) (Cordova et al., 2022; Morett‐Alatorre, 2004;
Parsons et al., 1983) (Figure 2b).
This study is part of an ongoing effort to understand the
dynamic fluvio‐lacustrine landscape where hunter‐gatherers and
agricultural societies inhabited. The authors initiated a study of

WOGAU ET AL.
F I G U R E 2 (a) Study area in the Texcoco region. (b) Chapingo and San Bernardino River catchment with target archaeological sites and
surface site scatters. The geographic grid is presented in UTM coordinates Zone 14N.
the stratigraphy and geomorphology of the entire plains of Lake
Texcoco focusing on the floodplain areas of Chapingo and San
Bernardino rivers. Ideally, studying modern analogs would be a
way to understand the short and long‐term surface morphology
processes. However, because none of the former lakes of the BM
exist, this study uses Lake Santiaguillo, Durango, as a modern
analog for explaining certain fluvial and fluvio‐lacustrine pro-
cesses that may have created similar landforms in Lake Texcoco.
Lake Santiaguillo, like Lake Texcoco, is a shallow endorheic lake in
a tectonic depression, fed by small intermittent streams of the
Tejamen River originating in a mountainous area and forming an
extensive alluvial plain (Figure 3). The morphologies of the
Tejamen River and the shallow Lake Santiaguillo bear some
geomorphic and hydrologic similarities with the Chapingo and San
Bernardino Rivers.
Here, we discuss the fluvio‐lacustrine sedimentary process that
shaped the landscape inhabited by hunter‐gatherers and agricultural
societies in the BM. Finally, we discuss the transformation and
adaptations that these societies made to the fluvio‐lacustrine realm.
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| 3
To achieve these aims, we compare the fluvio‐lacustrine system of
the San Bernardino and Chapingo rivers in the BM with the modern
analog of the Tejamen River in the Santiaguillo Basin (SB). Our study
was based on a geographical information system (GIS) employing
terrain, hydrological, morphometric analyses, and the study of
surface geomorphology. Additionally, this study uses LANDSAT 7‐8
imagery to record the fluvio‐lacustrine landscape changes of
Tejamen River and Lake Santiaguillo during high and low precipita-
tion events.
2 | GE OLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
BAC KG ROU ND
The BM is an endorheic basin of about 9560 km2 with the lowest
elevation around 2230 m and the highest elevations on the
surrounding mountains in the south and southwest, usually above
4000 m. The studied rivers, Chapingo and San Bernardino, drain the
lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada and drained into Lake Texcoco

4 |
F I G U R E 3 (a) Location of Santiaguillo Basin with respect to the Basin of Mexico. (b) Lake Santiaguillo Basin and (c) Tejamen River catchment.
The geographic grid is presented in UTM coordinates Zone 13N.
(Figure 2). The Sierra Nevada's highest elevations are Tlaloc Volcano
(4150 m), a structure with an estimated age of 1.82 and 0.68 Ma
(Cadoux et al., 2011) and Telapón (4000 m), with estimated ages of
0.27 Ma (García‐Tovar & Martínez‐Serrano, 2011) and ca. 0.31 Ma
(Macías et al., 2012). The Chapingo and San Bernardino, and their
tributaries, drain parts of the slopes of Tlaloc volcano and ample
piedmont formed by pyroclastic flows and lahars, and an alluvial plain
built by sediments deposited by the two streams (Arce et al., 2019;
Córdova & Parsons, 1997).
Located at a latitude around 19.4°N the area is influenced by
tropical systems with rainfall originating in the Gulf of Mexico and the
Pacific Ocean (Jáuregui‐Ostos, 2000). Furthermore, the basins
encompass an amplitude of elevations (2230–3850 m), creating a
considerable gradient of temperatures and precipitation. The climate
in the area is described as a cold subhumid temperate in the
mountain region, and subhumid temperate and dry temperate in the
alluvial and lacustrine plains (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y
Geografía, 2023a). The meteorological station at Chapingo recorded
maximum annual precipitation of 400–800 mm, maximum tempera-
ture of 10–26°C and minimum temperature of around 6–10°C for the
period 1952–2017 (Servicio Meteorológico Naciona [SMN], 2017a)
(Supporting Information S1: Figure 1a).
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WOGAU ET AL.
The SB is located in the northwest region of Mexico, Durango at
an approximate latitude of 24.9°N, with a minimum elevation of
1960 m. The structures surrounding the basin are high‐angle,
normally faulted blocks typical from the “Basin and Range”
geological province (Figure 3b). The SB is an endorheic basin,
oriented NW–SE with a total length of ∼75 km produced by tectonic
activity between 32.32 ± 0.8 and 38.8 ± 0.9 Ma (Nieto‐Samaniego
et al., 2012). The surrounding mountains are composed of volcano‐
sedimentary sequences ranging from Middle Eocene to Late
Oligocene, while the lower areas by alluvial and lacustrine deposits
of quaternary age (Nieto‐Samaniego et al., 2012). The fluvial and
fluvio‐lacustrine plains are formed by streams ending in Lake
Santiaguillo, which is a shallow lacustrine system covering an area of
approximately 2000 km2 at its maximum extent (Figure 3b,c). The
lake is fed by diverse medium to low‐order ephemeral fluvial
streams, one of which is the Tejamen River, the subject of this study
(Figure 3c).
The meteorological station at Guatimape recorded annual
maximum precipitation of around 100–700 mm, daily maximum
temperature ∼17–35°C and minimum temperature ∼2–10°C for the
period 1977–2018 (SMN, 2017b) (Supporting Information S1:
Figure 1b). The climate is classified as a cold subhumid temperate

WOGAU ET AL.
in the mountain regions, subhumid temperate and dry temperate in
the basin area. Like in the BM, precipitation is also concentrated in
the summer months, thus making the streams intermittent, running
dry during the dry part of the year (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y
Geografía, 2023b).
3 | A R C H A E OL O G I C A L B A C K G R O U N D
Although Late Pleistocene sites have been reported on the eastern
shores of Lake Texcoco, the oldest archaeological site recorded in the
study area is the Texcoco Man burial, located between the two modern
channels of the Chapingo and San Bernardino rivers (Figure 2).
Texcoco Man is a dolichocephalic individual whose stratigraphic
position suggests that is early Holocene (Acosta‐Ochoa et al., 2021;
Cordova, 2022; Morett‐Alatorre, 2004) (Supporting Information S1:
Table 1). The remains of the individual were buried in an alluvial
deposit incised in Pleistocene lacustrine layers (Supporting Information
S1: Figure 2), which suggests that the lake had dried out and a stream
had carved a channel in the lacustrine deposits, which at the time of
the burial was aggrading (Cordova, 2022). Other preceramic Holocene
sites and human remains have been identified on the Lake Texcoco
shore, some of which are found in association with fluvial and fluvio‐
lacustrine deposits (Acosta‐Ochoa et al., 2021; González et al., 2015;
Sedov et al., 2010).
The ceramic archaeological periods represented in the study area
are the Formative (1500 B.C.E.‐200 C.E.), Classic (200‐550 C.E.),
Epiclassic (550‐900 C.E.), and Postclassic (900‐1521 C.E.). The
Formative, often referred to as Preclassic, is divided into four
subperiods: Early Formative (1500‐1050 B.C.E.), Middle Formative
(1050‐550 B.C.E.), Late Formative (550‐200 B.C.E.), and Terminal
Formative (200 B.C.E.‐200 C.E.) (Parsons et al., 1996) (Supporting
Information S1: Figure 3). The Formative in general is characterized
by the rise of agricultural villages and their process of integration into
larger polities in which large sites, often referred to as regional
centers, developed (Sanders et al., 1979). Although large administra-
tive or religious sites of the Formative periods exist in other parts of
the Basin, none have been identified in the Texcoco region
(Parsons, 1971).
The Classic period (200‐550 C.E.) comprises various ceramic
styles associated with the development of Teotihuacan (Sanders
et al., 1979). There are a few sites in the piedmont, but they are for
the most part absent in the fluvial and lacustrine plains. Nevertheless,
in the fluvial plain many Classic sites have appeared under layers of
alluvium (Cordova, 2017). Moreover, the absence of Classical sites on
the lacustrine plain seems to be associated with a transgression of
Lake Texcoco during that period (Cordova et al., 2022). The Epiclassic,
referred to in Parsons (1971) as Early Toltec, is dated 550‐900 C.E.,
and characterized by the Coyotlatelco ceramic style. The Postclassic
comprises the Toltec Period (900‐1150 C.E.), which is the Late Toltec
of Parsons (1971) (Supporting Information S1: Figure 3).
Subsequently, the Middle Postclassic comprises the so‐called
Early Aztec (1150‐1325), and the Late postclassic, comprising the
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Late Aztec (1325‐1520). The latter period corresponds to the rise of
the development of Tenochtitlan on the western side of Lake
Texcoco and the formation of the Triple Alliance, a.k.a., Aztec Empire,
which dominated large parts of central Mexico at the arrival of the
Spanish conquistadors in 1519.
Many of the sites in the alluvial plain and lacustrine plains are
known in the BM archaeological terminology as tlateles. A tlatel (from
the Nahuatl, tlalli, earth, and tetl, stone) is a mound built in a
seasonally or permanently flooded area (Cordova, 2022). Although
some of the tlatel mounds are artificially built by accumulating rock
and earth, many take advantage of elevated natural features such as
sand bars or channel levees (Cordova et al., 2022). In the lower
reaches of the Chapingo and San Bernarndino rivers, a typical tlatel is
site Tx‐LF‐14 of Late Formative age (Cordova et al., 2022; Morett‐
Alatorre, 2004; Parsons et al., 1983). Additionally, Toltec (900‐1150
C.E.) and Aztec sites (1150‐1521) appear to be built as tlateles
(Figure 2b). Unfortunately, many sites have been buried by recent
fluvial sedimentation or obliterated by urban and agricultural
development, though it is assumed that many more existed along
the floodplains (Cordova, 2017), as archaeological materials of
various ages appear in stratigraphic sections (Supporting Information
S1: Figure 5).
4 | METHODS
4.1 | Research strategy
We selected the western shore of Lake Santiaguillo as a modern
analog because of its geomorphic similarities with Lake Texcoco (see
Section 6). Like former Lake Texcoco, Lake Santiaguillo is a shallow
lake with incoming low‐ to medium‐order rivers, ample alluvial and
fluvio‐lacustrine plains, and nearby uplands.
4.2 | Terrain analysis
A digital elevation model (DEM) and satellite imagery served as a
background to perform terrain and hydrological analyses. The DEM
data were acquired from Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía
(2023b) with a spatial resolution of 5 m and were derived from a
LiDAR sensor. Terrain analyses such as slope and roughness were
calculated in Q‐GIS open software. Then, all the used data were
projected to the Universal Transverse Mercator and WGS84 datum.
Lastly, the main geomorphological units were delineated based on
terrain analysis and schematic geological sections.
4.3 | Hydrological analysis
The calculation of drainage basin area, stream order, and stream
pattern analyses were performed in Q‐GIS open software using the
SAGA toolbox. Before the hydrological analyses, the DEM was filled

6 |
by interpolation techniques using the sink‐fill algorithm to reduce the
error by missing data. Longitudinal elevation profiles were produced
for the San Bernardino and Chapingo Rivers in the BM and for the
Tejamen River in the SB.
4.4 | Morphometric parameters
Diverse morphometric parameters were calculated to assess geo-
morphological and hydrological features from the San Bernardino,
Chapingo, and Tejamen catchments. The basin relief (H) is the
difference between the highest and the lowest point in the basin
(Schumm, 1956). The relief ratio (Rh) is defined as the ratio between
the basin relief and the longest dimension of the basin. High Rh
values indicate a high steep slope, high surface run‐off, and
an increase in erosion effects (Schumm, 1956). The elongation ratio
is defined as the ratio of the diameter of a circle of the same area as
the basin's maximum length (Schumm, 1956). The Re value varies
from 0 to 1, higher values indicate circular shapes and lower values
suggest elongated shapes.
4.5 | LANDSAT and satellite imagery analysis
Two contrasting hydroclimatic events were selected to study the
fluvio‐lacustrine surface morphology evolution of the SB, result-
ing in two discreet fluvio‐lacustrine landscapes. Data were
obtained from the Guatimape meteorological station, where
2016 represents a wet event (Event 1) with annual precipitation
of 700 mm and 2003 with less than ∼100 mm represents a dry
event (Event 2). Multispectral LANDSAT 7 and 8 data acquired
from the US Geological Service (2023) were employed to produce
false‐color composite images. These images were useful for
delineating land/water landscape features during both climatic
events. Google Earth historical satellite imagery was used to
describe surface morphology near the Texcoco Man archaeologi-
cal site.
4.6 | Archaeological data
The sources of archaeological data used in this study are surface
surveys and excavation reports. Archaeological data were collected in
the 1960s (Parsons, 1971) and from additional archaeological and
geoarchaeological work (Cordova, 2017; Cordova et al., 2022;
Morett‐Alatorre, 2004; Parsons et al., 1983) including some ongoing
research associated with this study (Supporting Information S1:
Figure 5).
To analyze surface morphology and identify fluvial features and
tlateles, a high‐resolution digital terrain model was obtained using
photogrammetry analysis. Data were collected using a DJI Mavic Air
1 drone. The imagery was captured for approximately 250–220 m2
area with a flight around 50 m high. Flights took between 12 and
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WOGAU ET AL.
13 min. Drone imagery was processed using Metashape software.
The work was complemented with a stratigraphic description of
fluvial features described as a channel or channel levee (Supporting
Information S1: Figure 5 and Appendix 2).
5 | RESULTS
5.1 | Terrain characteristics
Elevation in the Chapingo and San Bernardino basins varies from highest
(3850 m) in the east and lowest (2230 m) in the west (Figure 4a). High
slope areas concentrate in the eastern sector, with values around 71°,
while the west has null values or near 0°. The surface roughness
parameters display higher values in the east, while high and low values
characterize the center, and lower values in the west (Figure 4a).
The SB has its highest elevation (3082 m) in the west and the
lowest (1937 m) in the east (Figure 4b). High slope areas with values
around 67° are in the west. Null or near 0° slopes are in the west. The
relief roughness shows higher values in the west, lowest in the east,
and variable values in the center (Figure 4b).
5.2 | Hydrological and morphometric analyses
The Chapingo River catchment area has an elongated shape, an area
of 13.68 km2, a basin length of 11.06 km, and a perimeter of 26 km
(Figures 5 and 6). The catchment has a dendritic pattern with low to
medium stream orders between 1 and 5, according to the Strahler
classification (Strahler, 1957) (Figure 5a‐1). The river's longitudinal
profile exhibits gradual slope change between the upland areas and
piedmont. A contrasting change in slope is revealed between the
upland and plain areas. Basin relief (H) is 743, relief ratio (Rh) is
0.0671, and elongation ratio is 0.377 (Figure 6 and Table 1).
The San Bernardino River catchment has an elongated shape, an
area of 13.76 km2, a basin length of 9.92 km2, and a perimeter of
26 km (Figures 5 and 6). Its drainage has a dendritic pattern with low
to medium stream orders between 1 and 5 (Figure 5a‐1). The river's
longitudinal profile exhibits a contrasting change in the slope
between the upland and plain areas. Basin relief (H) is 753, relief
ratio (Rh) 0.0759, and elongation ratio 0.4561 (Figure 6 and Table 1).
The Tejamen River catchment has an elongated shape, an area of
57.67 km2, a basin length of 11.8 km, and a perimeter of 35.69 km.
The drainage pattern is mainly dendritic and exhibits low‐ to medium‐
order currents between 1 and 5 (Figure 5b‐1). The river's longitudinal
profile displays a contrasting change in the slope between the
upland and plain areas. Basin relief (H) is 1004, relief ratio (Rh)
0.0850, and elongation ratio 0.7261 (Figure 6 and Table 1).
The hydrological and morphometric analyses reveal similarities
and differences between the study river basins. The similarities
include basin length, relief ratio, drainage pattern, and stream order
whereas differences are related to basin area, perimeter, basin relief,
and elongation ratio.
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WOGAU ET AL. | 7

F I G U R E 4 Terrain analyses hillshade, slope, texture and schematic geological section of (a) Basin of Mexico (b) and Santiaguillo Basin. The
texture describes the frequency of change and tone patterns on an image. This attribute is often used to describe the aggregate appearance of
the surface.

5.3 | Fluvio‐lacustrine landscape in the SB and
Lake Texcoco
Based on multispectral LANDSAT 7 and 8 false colors, surface
morphologies were classified into four types: lake, isolated wetland,
seasonal wetland, and active channels in the SB modern analog. In
2016, which was characterized by above‐average precipitation
conditions, the active Tejamen fluvial channel displayed low bifurca-
tion and a low number of inundation areas (Figure 7a). The fluvial
channel discharges into Lake Santiaguillo at high‐stand conditions
generating a bird‐foot delta with interdistributary bays. Small
seasonal pond areas are located in the southern region of the main
fluvial channel (Figure 7a).
During the dry event of 2003, the landscape appears more
heterogeneous (Figure 7b). The active Tejamen fluvial channel
bifurcated into several channels. Moreover, some bifurcated channels
drained into terminal splays and others into local depressions, thus
producing several small ponds (Figure 7b). Sand bars are displayed in
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ET AL.

drainage network patterns and stream order. (b) Hydrogeomorphology of the catchment area of Tejamen River, (b‐1) Tejamen River drainage
F I G U R E 5 (a) Hydrogeomorphology of the San Bernardino and Chapingo Rivers catchment areas, (a‐1) Chapingo and San Bernardino
WOGAU

network patterns and stream order. The geographic grid is presented in UTM coordinates Zone 14N.
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WOGAU ET AL. | 9

FIGURE 6 Longitudinal profiles for Chapingo, San Bernardino, and Tejamen rivers.

TABLE 1 Morphometric parameters for the Chapingo, San Bernardino, and Tejamen river catchments.

River name Basin area (km2) Basin perimeter (km2) Basin length Basin relief (H) Relief ratio (Rh) Elongation ratio

Santiaguillo 57.67 35.69 11.8 1004 0.0850 0.7261

Chapingo 13.7 26 11.06 743 0.0671 0.3776

San Bernardino 16.08 21.6 9.92 753 0.0759 0.4561

the bifurcated discharge areas (Figure 7b). Finally, Lake Santiaguillo
displays low stand conditions.
The analogs described during the wet and dry events in Lake
Santiaguillo may explain some of the geomorphic features in the area
where the Chapingo and San Bernardino rivers reach the former Lake
Texcoco, still visible despite modern disturbances in this area
(Figure 8a). First, a fan‐shaped landscape is observed in the lower
reaches of the San Bernardino and Chapingo rivers, suggesting that
this is a deltaic fan with an area of 6.30 km2 and a perimeter of 12 km
(Figure 8a). Secondary features within a fan‐shaped landform are
observed like desiccation cracks and elongated sand features
(Figure 8a). This low sand ridge has an area of 2416 m2 and a
perimeter of 0.250 km and is similar to the one containing the tlatel of
site Tx‐LF‐14 (see location on Figure 8b,c). The stratigraphy of this
feature reveals a channel ridge, probably a levee of a deltaic channel
(see Supporting Information S1: Figure 5 and description in
Supporting Information S1). This is consistent with a deltaic channel
levee, analogous to the channel ridges of the bird‐foot delta
described for Lake Santiaguillo during wet conditions in 2016
(Figure 7a). Interestingly, like the case of the deltaic channel ridge
at Site Tx‐LF‐14, it has archaeological material, suggesting a periodic
occupation (Supporting Information S1: Figure 5).
6 | D IS CU SS IO N
6.1 | Analogs between the two fluvial and
fluvio‐lacustrine systems
According to our terrain analyses, the BM and the SB study areas share
similar geomorphological settings and features. Both study sites reveal
upland areas with high slopes and roughness values in their upper
catchment reaches. In both study areas, the piedmont displays a
decrease in slope and ruggedness. This might indicate the presence of
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ET AL.

F I G U R E 7 Geomorphic features observed in Lake Santiaguillo and Tejamen River during (a) wet and (b) dry years. Dark (light) green colors
WOGAU

represent wet (dry) soil. Red color displays crop fields distribution. The geographic grid is presented in UTM coordinates Zone 13N.
|10
 15206548, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.21987 by Arizona State University Acq & Analysis, Lib Continuations, Wiley Online Library on [04/12/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
WOGAU ET AL. | 11

F I G U R E 8 (a) Area identified as deltaic plain in the lower reaches of the Chapingo and San Bernardino rivers, where sand ridges are
identified as deltaic channel levees. (b) Sand ridge on a Google Earth Image and (c) LiDAR image. The star shows the location of the test
pit PHTX‐08 (see Supporting Information Material for description and archaeological associations).

soft sediments, such as a series of pyroclastic flows interbedded with
fluvial channels, reworked sediments, or soil units (Arce et al., 2019;
Cordova, 1997) (Figure 8 and Supporting Information S1: Figure 6).
Both study areas have ample alluvial plains with low ruggedness and
low or null slopes (Figures 4, 8, and Supporting Information S1: Figure 6).
Both plains are formed by accumulation of fluvial, fluvio‐lacustrine, and
lacustrine deposits. For example, the SB alluvial plain comprises an active
river channel with medium sinuosity, oxbow lakes, and a series of active
and former deltas (Supporting Information S1: Figure 6 and Appendi-
ces 1–3). Although the BM study area is today disturbed by diverse
anthropic activities, relict delta features associated with former Lake
Texcoco are preserved (Figure 8a). This suggests that similar fluvio‐
lacustrine processes influenced landscape dynamics in both study areas.
6.2 | Hydrological differences
Despite many similarities in the alluvial and lacustrine plains in both
study areas, there are differences between the fluvial systems in their
upper reaches. The relatively small catchment areas of San Bernardino
and Chapingo fluvial systems reflect a young geomorphic development
state. This is supported by the volcanic chronostratigraphy evidence of
the study area (Figure 4a, bottom) (Arce et al., 2019; Macías et al., 2012;
Rueda et al., 2013). This sequence of relatively soft deposits led to the
formation of the typical dendritic pattern observed in the upper
reaches and parts of the piedmont (Figure 5a‐1). In contrast, the
Tejamen catchment area is larger. This could be clearly related to the
Coneto Andesite (35.0 ± 0.6 Ma) (Nieto‐Samaniego et al., 2012) and a
longer period of drainage development, resulting in a more mature
geomorphic stage (Figure 5b‐1). This is supported by the steep river
longitudinal profile, higher basin relief, higher relief ratio, and higher
elongation ratio with respect to the San Bernadino and Chapingo
catchment systems (Figure 6 and Table 1). Due to converging
tributaries, the rotund shape of the Tejamen catchment area increases
large peak discharge potential relative to the more elongated basins of
the San Bernardino and Chapingo rivers (Patton, 1988).
Another difference between the two studied fluvial systems is
the difference in stream order. The predominant presence of low‐ to

12 | WOGAU
medium‐order streams in the San Bernardino and Chapingo
catchment areas can be attributed mostly to the shorter erosional
history of the Late Pleistocene pyroclastic deposits in the area (Arce
et al., 2019). It is then possible that the system is still reaching
geomorphic stability. In contrast, in the Tejamen catchment area,
medium‐order streams can be attributed to landscape stability
reached during the Late Oligocene, which marked the end of SB
tectonism (Nieto‐Samaniego et al., 2012).
6.3 | Precipitation changes in shaping
fluvio‐lacustrine morphology
The geomorphic analyses of the Chapingo and San Bernardino fluvio‐
lacustrine systems and the SB modern analog suggest that abrupt
slope change between the piedmont and alluvial plain, ample low‐
gradient fluvial plain, climate conditions, and a rapidly changing
shallow lake were important factors in shaping the Holocene
landscape around the Texcoco Man and Tx‐LF‐14 sites. We also
hypothesize that changes in precipitation would have had important
geomorphic consequences in the fluvio‐lacustrine plain in the
Chapingo—San Bernardino fluvial system based on our analog
analysis of the Tejeman River during modern wet (2016) and dry
(2003) years, creating challenges and opportunities for past lakeshore
settlers.
Wet conditions in Lake SB in 2016 resulted in increased runoff
and sediment transport capacity in the Tejeman River. High‐energy
channelized flows were largely confined, as evidenced by low fluvial
channel bifurcation (Fisher & Nichols, 2013). The channel stability is
also reflected in the low presence of inundated areas, such as
floodplains, inter‐ridge ponds, and permanent swamp areas. Finally,
the high‐energy channelized flows of Event 1 directly drained into
the lake, thus producing a bird‐foot style delta with interdistributary
bays (Seybold et al., 2007).
The decrease in precipitation conditions produced a low capture
of water volume in the catchment area. The lake level was reduced,
increasing the longitudinal distance between the catchment area and
the lake's main body. The low or null slope in the lower plains areas
provokes a progressive reduction in the discharge downstream.
Consequently, the channel depth becomes progressively smaller, due
to the shallow scour surface process, with an order of centimeters to
tens of centimeters thick with sand deposits on lateral accretion
surfaces (Nichols & Fisher, 2007). Under this scenario, channel
bifurcation and avulsion can occur (Figure 7b).
The dynamics during the events described above suggest that
inter‐ridge seasonal ponds or swamp areas could be produced in
between or adjacent to the distributive fluvial channels network. The
formation of these ponds may occur when the flow exceeds the run‐
off or transport capacity of the channels (Li et al., 2014) (Figure 7b),
leading to water ponding in the depressions between channels
(Figure 7c). Furthermore, the reduced flow capacity of the bifurcated
channel in conjunction with the rise of precipitation conditions could
be an additionally triggered mechanism in this morphology type.
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ET AL.
Finally, isolated ponds without connection to active channels may be
a consequence of water ponding in a terrain depression during the
lake regression.
Various paleoclimatic records retrieved from the former shallow
lakes of the BM indicate high evaporative conditions and a rise in the
temperature between the early to middle Holocene (Caballero
et al., 2019; Chávez‐Lara et al., 2022; Ortega‐Guerrero et al., 2018).
This may have led to a postglacial lacustrine regressive phase in Lake
Texcoco, with bifurcated fluvial channel systems expanding across
the fluvial‐lacustrine plain (Cordova, 2022). This scenario is apparent
in some of the deposits near the lakeshore, where late Holocene
channel, overbank, and swamp deposits lie directly on Pleistocene
lacustrine clays (Supporting Information S1: Figure 4). Furthermore,
under such conditions, areas of the lakeshore plain gave rise to a
series of channels with levees, and with swamps between them.
In the millennial‐scale regression phase, pulses of high precipita-
tion led to an increase in lake level and pulses of fluvial sedimentation
into the lake, thus forming channels incised deep into the older
lacustrine deposits. This is the case of the excavation at the
elongated sand ridge referenced in Figure 8 and Supporting
Information S1: Figure 5. The stratigraphic section at test pit
PHTX‐8 shows that fluvial sedimentation occurred under subaquatic
conditions evidenced by iron and manganese redox features
(Supporting Information S1: Figure 5). Stratigraphic units around
the area like PHTX‐7, PHTX‐0, and the Texcoco Man sections
(Supporting Information S1: Figures 2 and 4) show laminated low‐
energy deposits corresponding to ponds formed in between sandy
ridges.
6.4 | Archaeological sites and fluvio‐lacustrine
landscapes
The implications of the dynamics of the fluvio‐lacustrine realm seem to
be not ideal for all types of settlements, but attractive for certain
activities, a matter that has been studied in Lake Texcoco
(Cordova, 2022; Cordova et al., 2022; Parsons, 1971, 2008). Parsons
(1971) proposed that during the ceramic periods, a symbiotic
relationship existed between lakeshore dwellers and inland farmers,
which consisted mainly of exchanging lacustrine products (fish,
amphibians, fowl, reeds, salt, and other products) with crops planted
inland, and wood from the forests in the mountains. This idea is based
on the impossibility of farming on the lakeshore given the high‐water
table, and permanent or intermittent flooding, which is a scenario‐
supported dynamic geomorphic model proposed in this study. In
contrast, hunter‐gatherers before the ceramic period would likely have
found the diversity of environments implied by the analog model ideal
for procuring a variety of biotic resources. On the one hand, the
preceramic contemporaries of the Texcoco Man would have found a
variety of resources that would complement those of areas inland. On
the other hand, the same resources would be available to groups
during the ceramic period, which would be used for exchange with
inland farming groups as proposed by Parsons (1971). This would be

WOGAU ET AL.
the case of the dwellers of the Tx‐LF site, who, although settling a sand
ridge in a permanent way, never engaged in farming.
However, the complete picture of settlement pattern changes and
fluvial processes is more complex, especially in the context of
bifurcated channel networks and lake‐level fluctuations in centennial
and millennial scales. Nevertheless, the wet and dry events in the Lake
Santiaguillo analog suggest some projections for reconstructing land-
scapes for settlement during the regression and transgression phases
of Lake Texcoco. During the regression phase (Event 2) channel
dynamics would have created a heterogenous landscape rich in natural
resources, especially with freshwater bodies of diverse flora and fauna.
This kind of landscape would have been attractive to hunter‐gatherers
as well as early farmers who complement their diet with aquatic flora
and fauna as suggested elsewhere in the peri lacustrine areas of the
Basin (Acosta‐Ochoa et al., 2021; Niederberger, 1979).
The fluvio‐lacustrine areas with sand ridges formed by deltaic bird‐
foot channels would create environments with a mixture of saline and
freshwater from streams and springs. Breaks in deltaic channel levees
and flooding of interchannel depressions would create areas of fresh
and brackish waters with enough sedimentation by organic silt, adding
to the diversity of flora and fauna (e.g., Figure 8c) (e.g., Event 1). Thus, a
diversity of vegetation as well as amphibians, fish, birds, and insects
would add biotic resources, at the time that products such as salt and
algae would be in areas of saline water. We hypothesized that abundant
hunting‐gathering opportunities in the swampy landscape could allow
the development of preceramic and stratified societies in BM.
Obsidian and ceramic fragments embedded in the low sand ridge at
section PHTX‐08 suggest nearby occupation as the artifacts have no sign
of reworking or transport. A similar emplacement of material appeared on
a ridge part of site Tx‐LF‐14, which occupied a slightly elevated landform
created by deposits of a deltaic channel of the Chapingo River during the
Formative period. The settlement was abandoned during a regression
phase of Lake Texcoco and never reoccupied, though similar fluvio‐
deltaic features were occupied in later periods (Cordova et al., 2022).
Ceramic scatters reported originally by Parsons (1971) in this area
and elsewhere along the lakeshore show elongated shapes on the
surface, suggesting a common pattern in all the fluvio‐lacustrine
environments of the eastern shore of Lake Texcoco. This suggests that
such sand ridges, given their relative elevation above the general level of
the lake and swamps, were ideal for habitation near the aquatic
resources. The tlatelel‐type settlements, seem to be ubiquitous in all
lakes of the BM (Apenes, 1943; Cordova et al., 2022; McClung de Tapia
& Acosta‐Ochoa, 2015; Parsons, 1971, 2008; Sanders et al., 1979).
Therefore, an understanding of the dynamics of fluvio‐deltaic systems is
essential in the study of lacustrine prehistoric settlements in the BM.
7 | C ONC LUS I ON S
The implementation of modern analogs using terrain, hydrological,
and morphometric analyses in the basin with a shallow lake (Lake
Santiaguillo) and its main tributary (Tejamen River) provides
information on the landforms and dynamics of the fluvio‐lacustrine
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| 13
environments at the interface of the Chapingo‐San Bernardino rivers
with former Lake Texcoco. Despite some differences between the
two regions, the changing environment in the fluvio‐lacustrine
interface of Lake Santiaguillo during wet and dry years suggests
clues to the landscape dynamics that settlers faced in the lakeshore
environment of Lake Texcoco in prehistoric times.
Modern analog analyses of historic geomorphic changes during
extreme hydroclimatic variability provided two scenarios of fluvio‐
lacustrine plain change under wet and dry conditions. High
precipitation conditions during scenario 1 produced low bifurcation
in the active fluvial channel and a few inundated areas of bird‐foot
deltaic channels. Extremely low precipitation shown by Event 2, and
low energy fluvial streams reveals a raising in the degree of
bifurcation/avulsion and increasing inundated areas.
These two scenarios suggest that in the analog environment of the
shores of Lake Texcoco, Archaic societies (e.g., Texcoco Man), faced a
highly changing landscape but with a variety of biotic resources created
by a mosaic of landforms, including sand ridges, and small bodies of
freshwater and open saline lacustrine plain. On the other hand, this
same landscape for the more permanent settlers of site Tx‐LF‐14 would
have also permitted the procurement of aquatic resources to exchange
for cultivated foods with farmers inland. In this case, the sand ridges
would have been ideal places to build more permanent dwellings to
form the tlatel‐type of settlements that characterize the archaeological
landscape of this part of the lake during the ceramic periods.
Across the globe, the use of modern analogs, though not perfect,
is a useful approach to envision key information about the main
geomorphology attributes involved in the shaping of past landscapes.
Consequently, this methodology could be applied before any
archaeological or geoarchaeological investigation related to the
comprehension of human landscape interaction. On the other hand,
caution should be taken during the interpretation. Many complex
geological and archaeological processes cannot be determined solely
through remote sensing and geographic analyses.
Although the analog studied here shows the fluvio‐lacustrine
landscapes under high and low lake stands in this part of the BM, it is
still necessary to pinpoint when these high and low periods existed at
least in the millennial and centennial scales, especially refining the
chronology of stratigraphic sequences along the landscape, a task
that is in progress.
A UT H O R C O N T R I B U TI O NS
Kurt H. Wogau: Conceptualization; methodology; data curation;
formal analysis; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing;
investigation. Carlos E. Cordova: Conceptualization; methodology;
supervision; formal analysis; funding acquisition; writing—original
draft; writing—review and editing; investigation. Luis Morett‐
Alatorre: Conceptualization; investigation. Guillermo Acosta Ochoa:
Conceptualization; investigation; funding acquisition.
ACKNOWLEDGME NT S
The authors thank the Programa de Becas Postdoctorales UNAM
DGAPA and Instituto de Investigaciones Antropologicas UNAM. This

14 | WOGAU
work was supported by the PAPPIT project (code 1N402622),
CONACYT project “Las Chinampas arqueológicas: Origen y cronolo-
gía.” Code: FOP16, and “Long and short‐term climate and socio‐
environmental change in Lake Texcoco, Mexico” project supported by
the Y23 College of Arts and Sciences Research (ASR) Program,
College of Arts & Sciences, Oklahoma State University. The authors
thank Gerardo Jiménez Delgado and Javier López Mejia for their
technical support in the Instituto de Investigaciones Antropologicas
UNAM. The authors thank the anonymous reviewers and Professor
Kevin Walsh for their careful reading of our manuscript and their
insightful comments and suggestions. This work is dedicated to the
memory of Dr. Roberto S. Molina.
D A TA A V A I L A B I L I T Y S T A T E M E N T
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the
corresponding author upon reasonable request.
ORCID
Kurt H. Wogau http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2406-8304
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SUPP ORTING INFO RM ATION
Additional supporting information can be found online in the
Supporting Information section at the end of this article.
How to cite this article: Wogau, K. H., Cordova, C. E., Morett‐
Alatorre, L., & Ochoa, G. A. (2023). Reconstruction of fluvio‐
lacustrine landscapes and settlement history in the Texcoco
region, Mexico, using a modern geomorphic analog.
Geoarchaeology, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21987