See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/257155076

3D electrical prospection in the archaeological

site of El Pah, Hidalgo State, Central Mexico
ARTICLE in JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE FEBRUARY 2013
Impact Factor: 2.14 DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2012.08.034

CITATIONS

7 AUTHORS, INCLUDING:
Denisse Argote-Espino

Andres Andrade

Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Histori

Universidad del Valle (Colombia)

8 PUBLICATIONS 8 CITATIONS

61 PUBLICATIONS 358 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

SEE PROFILE

Gerardo Cifuentes-Nava
Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico
34 PUBLICATIONS 51 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE

Available from: Gerardo Cifuentes-Nava

Retrieved on: 01 September 2015

Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 1213e1223

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Journal of Archaeological Science

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas

3D electrical prospection in the archaeological site of El Pah, Hidalgo State,

Central Mexico
Denisse Argote-Espino a, *, Andrs Tejero-Andrade c, Gerardo Cifuentes-Nava a, Lizbeth Iriarte a,
Sabrina Faras b, Ren E. Chvez a, Fernando Lpez b
a
b
c

Instituto de Geofsica, Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico, Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Mxico D.F., C.P. 04510, Mexico
Escuela Nacional de Antropologa e Historia, Perifrico Sur esq. calle Zapote, Col. Isidro Fabela, Mxico D.F., Mexico
Facultad de Ingeniera, Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico, Circuito Escolar, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacn, Mxico D.F., C.P. 04510, Mexico

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 3 June 2012
Received in revised form
9 August 2012
Accepted 22 August 2012

The implementation of a 3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT-3D) survey was carried out in El
Pah archaeological site, Hidalgo State, Central Mexico. A combination of a new ERT arrays allowed
studying the subsoil beneath the Main Pyramid built near the edge of a plateau, along with another
important structure (the Tecpan), which was a smaller structure that lodged the governmental council in
pre-Hispanic times. The recorded information was acquired through the combination of several electrodic designs: L-Corner (LC), Equatorial (Eq), and Minimum Coupling (MC). For the Main Pyramid, the
electrodes were set up around the perimeter of the structure, since they were not permitted to be
inserted over the edice, thus preventing damages to the architectonic elements. The second structure
allowed inserting electrodes on selected spots within the architectonic space. The combination of the
different arrays made possible the acquisition of 1204 apparent resistivities beneath the Main Pyramid
and 2460 resistivity data beneath the Tecpan. The apparent resistivity data were inverted to obtain
a three dimensional display of the subsoil electrical resistivity beneath the archaeological structure. The
interpreted resistivity model under the Main Pyramid displayed a highly resistive structure towards its
northern face that could be associated with inll. Such material was employed by the ancient
constructors to level the terrain close to the edge of the cliff. Another interesting anomaly was found
towards the central portion of the structure that could be associated to a foundation offer. The interpretation of data beneath the Tecpan identied the structural foundations and other interesting
anomalies related to the different occupational times. The investigation supported the archaeological
investigation of the site, suggesting areas of potential geological risk and of archaeological interest. For
example, the Main Pyramid presents serious stability problems, indicating that the inll has weakened,
producing cracks threatening long-term pyramid integrity.
! 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
3D ERT
Geophysical survey
El Pah archaeological site
Central Mexico

1. Introduction
The archaeological site of El Pah is located within the Mezquital Valley (Fig. 1, inset), in Tecozautla municipality, Hidalgo State.
The Mezquital Valley covers more than 7000 m2 of the northern
Mesoamerican limit, and includes the western side of Hidalgo State,
the northern portion of the Mexico State and a limited area of the
southern limits of Queretaro State (Lpez Aguilar and Fournier,
2009). The region forms part of the Central Mexico highlands,
within the physiographic province of the Central Volcanic Belt
(CVB).
* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: 52 5556750029.
E-mail address: efen@gmail.com (D. Argote-Espino).
0305-4403/$ e see front matter ! 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.08.034

El Pah forms part of a complex system of pre-Hispanic

settlements called Las Mesas Culture. The principal characteristic
of these communities is the construction of their ceremonial
centers near the edge of high plateaus that can reach elevations of
200 m above the surrounding valley. The discovery of this site
occurred in the 1990s during the prospection labors of the Valle del
Mezquital Archaeological Project, and was carried out by
researchers and students from the Escuela Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (ENAH). The other sites discovered, besides El
Pah, included: Zeth, Zidad, Taxang and El Cerrito. These ve
sites create part of the regional development recently named
Xajay.
Several eldworks campaigns occurred in different seasons
(1995, 2001, 2007-1, 2007-2 and 2011), which have focused on

1214

D. Argote-Espino et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 1213e1223

Fig. 1. Topographic model of the archaeological site of El Pahu is shown (A). The archaeological site of El Pah is located at the northern edge of a plateau. The Main Pyramid (B)
and the Tecpan (C) are also depicted.

investigating the origin of this cultural system, its transition from

the Classic Period to the Epiclassic (800e900 AD), the role that the
Coyotlatelco groups played and the rising of Tula site, as well as the
identication of the attributes of the Xajay territorial and politically
autonomous unity (Lpez Aguilar et al., 2006; Lpez Aguilar et al.,
2007; Lpez Aguilar and Vilanova de Allende, 2008; Lpez
Aguilar, 2011).
El Pah is considered the site with the highest hierarchical
status and comprises four ceremonial assemblies. The main
assembly is located at the northern edge of the plateau (Fig. 1A),
and consists of several buildings around a main square (some of
them are still unveiled). At this time, only two have been excavated:
the Main Pyramid (Fig. 1B) to the north and the Tecpan (Fig. 1C) to
the eastern side of the square. The position of each building
corresponds to the particular way that the Xajay society used to
consecrate ritual spaces.
Each building had two constructive phases. The rst substructures were related to the foundation of the site, around the year of
450 AD, and show a unique architectonic style for the region. A
simple ight of stairs at the south and a double ight to the north,
a dice style ending, and platforms and sloping surfaces (known as
talud-tablero) with proportions dissimilar to the predominant
Teotihuacan style of this period. Moreover, their eastern faade
present a distinctive element, an E glyph, which represents re and
water in bas-relief. The second constructive phase has been dated

around 621 AD, and implied several desacralization processes of

the substructures and the placing of offerings that marked the
beginning of the new period. The architecture lost its unique style
and took up the features present in contemporary sites along the
region oftenly found in Central Mexico. The Main Pyramid is the
core of a newer 9 m tall pyramid, composed of three stepped bodies
built in talud-tablero style (Fig. 1B).
In 2011, the investigation of Pah Special Project (Lpez
Aguilar, 2011) began. Among other concerns, there was the challenge of opening the archaeological site of El Pah for public
tourism. The objective was to show to the visitors a comprehensible
image of the two constructive phases and the ceremonial use of this
site. An important issue for the planning of the project was the little
time available for the excavation of the structures. One difculty the
project had to face was the structural instability of the Main
Pyramid due to the geological materials (tepetate). These support
the structure and the man-made lling over which the pyramid is
seated towards the edge of the cliff. Such inll was used to level the
terrain.
According to Gama-Castro et al. (2007) denition, the name
tepetate refers to indurated horizons, compacted or cemented,
that are very common in the pediments of Mexican volcanic
landscapes, with soft thin soil layers covering it or outcropping in
the surface. Tepetates exhibit a matrix composed by sands, silt and
minor proportions of clay. The United States Department of

D. Argote-Espino et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 1213e1223

Agriculture contemplates compacted or cemented soil layers,

exclusively by pedological processes, as paralithic materials
(similar to rocks), and considers tepetate similar to fragipans and
other duripans (SSS-USDA, 1998). But, due to the variability of their
physical and chemical properties, there is not yet a precise denition of tepetates (Velsquez-Rodrguez et al., 2001). Therefore, the
term tepetate remains applied without an exact English
equivalent.
Tepetate under soils can generate landslides and erosion
favoring lateral run off due to their low porosity and high impermeability. These type of materials compromised the stability of the
building presenting the risk of collapse, especially in the northern
half of the site nearest to the edge of the plateau. Furthermore, in
the 1940s, the pyramid suffered two lootings. The rst one broke
the structure, leaving a fragile substructure faade in its NW corner.
The second looting occurred directly in the core of the pyramid,
destroying part of the inner central portion of the pyramid.
Looking for a faster and effective way to investigate the site in
light of the time and stability constraints, a geophysical survey was
carried out between the months of August and October, 2011. A 3D
Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT-3D) in its galvanic mode was
applied within the site of El Pah. The main goals of the survey
were to: 1) identify the precise position, volume and morphology of
the man-made prehispanic inll beneath the Main Pyramid to
determine geological risks that could compromise the stability of
the structure, and 2) to determine the presence of anomalies that
could correlate to elements of archaeological interest of previous
construction phases in the Tecpan.
2. 3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT-3D)
The Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is a geophysical
method that allows the investigation of the horizontal and vertical
variations of the electric resistivity of the subsurface materials. The
subsoil is often studied as two-dimensional cross-sections
measured along lines in a predetermined direction. We refer to this
mode of acquisition as ERT-2D. Specically, the measurements are
conducted with an electric current injected into the ground at a set
of electrodes while a receiver device observes the response in the
electric eld. A perturbation in the eld will be due to the electrical
resistivity of the underground features. The ERT-2D geophysical
characterization allows detecting various objects like voids, faults
and fractures (Arango-Galvn et al., 2011), contaminated groundwater (Rucker et al., 2009a), and bedrock topography and archaeological targets (Cardarelli et al., 2008).
In the last three decades ERT-3D techniques have been developed, like the Roll-Along method to acquire data in three dimensions (Dahlin and Bernstone, 1997). Such methodology consists on
setting parallel lines that cover the study area. Observations are
made in the x and y directions, which commonly employ the
PoleePole array. A large amount of data can be obtained by using
this technique, however data processing is cumbersome and
sometimes data inversion takes too much time. Rucker et al.
(2009b) presents a list of large 3D resistivity studies over the past
20 years that outlines many strategies that have been taken to
acquire these data.
Loke and Barker (1996) designed a processing approach to
decrease the number of data maintaining resolution and quality of
modeled data. This technique was named cross-diagonal survey,
where the potential (V) observations are made in the lines of
electrodes lying along 0, 45 and 90" to the current electrode. The
amount of data is reduced to the half, while keeping signicant
quality and resolution. Aizebeokhai et al. (2009) recommend
a maximum separation between proles of 4a (with a being the
electrode separation) in designing the survey grids. Such rule

1215

grants good quality and resolution of the 3D resistive image of the

subsoil. These techniques are suitable to open areas in the search of
karstic zones (Dahlin et al., 2002; Ogilvy et al., 2002).
The above strategies for electrode placement assume no
administrative or physical restrictions. The geophysical exploration
faces then a great challenge when surveying sensitive areas that do
not allow positioning of geophysical proles in equidistant parallel
meshes, perhaps due to obstacles like houses, buildings or
archaeological and historical monuments (may damage the structures). Having this in mind, a new strategy was developed to survey
El Pahu site, since the Main Pyramid in particular suffers of serious
cracks and ssures in its structure that jeopardize its stability. The
new methodology avoided inserting the electrodes directly within
these archaeological structures.
3. Geoelectric survey
A geophysical survey was designed to study the two main
important structures within the archaeological site of El Pahu: the
Main Pyramid, and the Tecpan. A Syscal Pro Switch equipment,
manufactured by IRIS Instruments (France) with 10 m long electrode
connection cables, was employed. The design of the SyscalPro48
instrument allows a maximum of 48 electrodes used simultaneously. The electrodes (3/400 copper bars hydrated with a CuSO4
solution) were set in the ground a day before the data acquisition
started in order to provide more stable readings. Numerical
modeling of the acquired apparent resistivity data was performed
with EarthImager 3D software (Copyright 1999 Advanced Geosciences, Inc), through a numerical inversion process that transforms apparent resistivities to estimate the real resistivities at
a given depth. In addition, all data were topographically corrected.
The geophysical survey designs included multi-electrode arrays
of different types: L-Corner (LC) (Tejero-Andrade et al., submitted
for publication), Equatorial (Eq), and Minimum Coupling (MC).
These special electrode arrays were employed to study the
subsurface of both archaeological structures, i.e. the Main Pyramid
and the Tecpan.
3.1. The Main Pyramid
The ERT-3D survey of the Main Pyramid required the insertion
of a set of 44 electrodes in the ground with a 3 m equidistant
spacing between electrodes, forming a square of 33 # 33 m2 around
the studied buildings (Fig. 2). Circles indicate the position of each
electrode and numbers indicate how the electrodes were set. The
solid black square indicates the location of the acquisition console
(SYSCAL-Pro, between electrodes #24 and #25). The new methodology to acquire the subsoil apparent resistivity data were obtained by using different arrays that are explained below.
3.1.1. L-corner (LC) array
This ERT array is discussed in detail by Chavez et al. (2011) and
Tejero-Andrade et al. (submitted for publication). This set is based
in a traditional WennereSchlumberger (WS) array and is the most
complicated of the three proposed arrays. This technique is done in
three steps. In the rst step the L set is carried out (Fig. 3A) by
shifting simultaneously, one electrode at a time, the current electrodes, A and B (in black), and the potential electrodes, M and N (in
gray). The arrows dene the direction of movement. In this
conguration, the WS array moves along the square, starting with A
in the electrode #5 and ending when A reaches electrode #44. In
the next level of observation, data is taken with a WS array opened
by two positions. By this mean, the current electrodes start at
positions #5 and #10, whereas potential electrodes are now at
points #7 and #8; the process is repeated until electrode A reaches

1216

D. Argote-Espino et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 1213e1223

Fig. 2. The ERT-3D array employed in the Main Pyramid conformed by 40 electrodes
(numbered open circles) surrounding the structure. Numbers indicate the position
read by the SySCAL-Pro.

again position #44. This procedure can be repeated n times in order

to have different levels of observation. This process is very similar
to an ERT-2D if the electrodes were stretched out to form a straight
line.

For the second step, the Corner array is surveyed. The current
electrodes (black dots) are xed in two opposite corners of the
square (Fig. 3B), as well as the potential electrodes (gray dots).
These move one position in the direction of the arrows until they
reach the end of the line. For starting electrodes #5 and #6 end at
electrode positions #13 and #14, respectively, while starting electrodes #25 and #24 end at electrode #17 and #16 position. In the
next level of observation, the current electrodes move back to their
position in the opposite corners of the square (#5 and #25), but the
potential electrodes are now at #7 and #23. The array is moved one
position in the direction indicated by the arrows until electrode
positions in #14 and #16 are reached. All the procedures are iteratively repeated until just one observation can be done, that is
when current electrodes are in position #5 and #25 and potential
electrodes are in position #14 and #16.
The last step for the corner array (Fig. 3C) shows the same
position of the current electrodes as above. The difference now is
that the potential electrodes (gray dots) move together in a clockwise direction. For the rst level of observation, the current electrodes (black points) are in #5 and #25 and potential electrodes
(gray dots) are in #24 and #23. The entire array is moved in
direction of the arrow until electrodes positions #16 and #15 are
reached. The next level takes place by moving the current electrodes again to #5 and #25, the potential electrodes are now in #23
and #22 and the array is moved until electrodes #16 and #15 are
reached. The procedure is repeated until just one observation can
be completed, when the current electrodes are in #5 and #25 and
the potential electrodes are in #16 and #15.
The corner array is repeated for each corner of the square which
encloses the structure. The calculated position at depth of the

Fig. 3. The L (A) and Corner (B and C) arrays designed to survey the subsoil beneath the Main Pyramid. The arrows indicate the direction of measurements that the SySCAL-Pro
must follow. Coordinates of each electrode are loaded into the SySCAL-Pro system and position of current (black) and potential (gray) electrodes are given. Then, automatically, the
ERT device will survey the area.

D. Argote-Espino et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 1213e1223

apparent resistivities obtained through the observation sequences

are displayed by the commercial software Electre-Pro (Copyright
2010 IRIS Instruments). This program estimates the depth of the
apparent resistivity following Edwards (1977) rule, where an
average depth is computed, according to the array employed
(Tejero-Andrade et al., submitted for publication). Coordinates of
each electrode as well as the observation sequences are introduced
into the program. The software automatically displays the position
of each apparent resistivity point at depth to be later measured in
the eld.
The estimated 3D distribution of resistivities at depth (empty
circles) is depicted in Fig. 4 for the Main Pyramid. The position of
each electrode is shown as small black dots forming a square. The
estimated depth of investigation was 8.25 m. The L array is shown
in (D) and the Corner setting is displayed in (E). Combining both
arrays, the total number of observation points was 640. Observing
the differences in both diagrams, the L array mostly covers an area
close to the edges of the square, whereas the corner array produces
a better coverage towards the deep central portion of the square. In
either case, no data are found near the surface of the cube. It means,
that if the combined dataset of D E data was inverted, the
resistivity cube will lack of resolution near the surface. Such process
was applied for the rest of the arrays employed.

1217

3.1.2. Equatorial (Eq) array

This method employs two parallel ERT lines in the square
(Fig. 5A), where the current electrodes (black dots) are kept xed at
the beginning of each line (current electrodes #25 and #35, for
example). The potential electrodes (gray dots) will then move in the
direction of the arrows (electrodes #24 and #36) until the total
number of electrodes in each line is completed (end electrodes #5
and #15). The current electrodes move one electrode up (to, say,
electrodes #24 and #36) and the potential electrodes shift one
place as the sequence continues. The procedure is also carried out
in the SoutheNorth parallel lines of the square, setting the current
and potential electrodes similarly as explained before.
A variation of the Eq array can be performed (Fig. 5B) by xing
again the current electrodes (black dots) at the opposite corners of
the square (electrodes #34 and #16). The potential electrodes will
be in positions #14 and #36. Such electrodes will move in the
direction shown by the arrows, while the current electrodes stay in
the same position. The rst set of observation ends when the
potential electrodes reach positions #6 and #44. The procedure
starts again by moving the current electrodes to position #33 and
#17 and returning the potential electrodes to position #36 and #14
and moving them in the direction indicated by the arrows. The
acquisition process is completed when the total number of possible
positions have all been occupied. Note that this methodology
possesses symmetry. The sequence can be continued by shifting the
electrodes to the opposite corner, repeating the process as
explained before.
The resulting subsurface resistivity observations, estimated by
the software Electre-Pro (Copyright 2010 IRIS Instruments), are
displayed in Fig. 5C and D. Diagram in Fig. 5A corresponds to the
resistivity observations for the array displayed in Fig. 5C. The
central portion of the square is well covered at depth, two
perpendicular series of observations are estimated. An interesting
set of observed resistivity points are provided by the diagram of
Fig. 5D corresponding to the array described in Fig. 5B. The set of
observations are given as a diagonal series of data points, which
cross at the center of the surveyed square. The combination of both
series of observations provided 912 measured points.
3.2. The Tecpan

Fig. 4. View of the attribution points for the disposition of the electrodes around the
Main Pyramid for the L (D) and Corner (E) arrays. The solid lines in the surface
represent the electrical tomography lines. The points at depth represent the position of
the resistivities observed in the subsoil. Such positions are calculated with the ElectrePro software (Copyright 2010 IRIS Instruments).

The Tecpan is a much smaller edice, with approximate

dimensions of 22 # 22 m2. The archaeologists were interested on
surveying a larger area around the edice for a better characterization of the subsoil beneath the Tecpan, and to dene the
extension of this pyramid at depth as well as to nd resistivity
anomalies of archaeological interest. Therefore, an area of
33 # 33 m2 was covered, which allowed the placement of two
different sets of ERT arrays (Fig. 6).
The rst array employed was the square (Fig. 6A), deploying 44
electrodes in the ground. The second ERT set was formed with four
proles comprising 12 electrodes each (a total of 48) forming a grid
(Fig. 6B), crossing the archaeological structure. In both arrays,
electrodes were inserted carefully on specic spots dened by the
archaeologists. Therefore, the edice did not suffer any major
damage. In both cases, a 3 m separation between electrodes was
kept during the whole survey. It is important to note that the
second array accomplishes a maximum separation of 10 m between
parallel lines of electrodes, a proposal set forth by Aizebeokhai et al.
(2009).
The surveying process for the square array was exactly the same
as the procedure followed for the Main Pyramid, employing the
arrays explained before. In the second conguration, we employed
the traditional ERT-2D WennereSchlumberger, Eq and MC arrays.
Fig. 7A depicts the 3D view of the estimated locations of apparent

1218

D. Argote-Espino et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 1213e1223

Fig. 5. Electrode observations carried out for the Eq parallel (A) and Diagonal (B) arrays. Arrows depict the direction of electrode shifting. Position of the electrodes around the Main
Pyramid for the Equatorial (Eq) parallel (C) and diagonal (D) arrays.

resistivities at depth for the WS array (Electre-Pro software,

Copyright 2010 IRIS Instruments). These four proles depict a serial
set of 2D earth resistivity models. Fig. 7B shows the result of
applying the Eq array. This technique was carried out in parts,
starting with the closest parallel lines and proceeding as explained
above, then taking the rst line with the third and the second with
the fourth prole, and nally with the rst and last line. That is the
reason that Fig. 7B depicts ve series of observed resistivity points.

The closest lines will produce shallower data points, and as the
distance between parallel lines increase, deeper estimated locations for the resistivities are calculated. The last array employed
was the MC described below.
3.2.1. Minimum Coupling (MC) array
Two parallel lines are also needed to carry out the apparent
resistivity observations. The current electrodes are set at the

Fig. 6. Location of the electrodes around the Tecpan is depicted. 44 electrodes surround the structure (A) similarly to the methodology explained for Fig. 2. It was possible to have
electrodes within the structure at selected positions (B) to carry on a traditional ERT-3D survey.

D. Argote-Espino et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 1213e1223

1219

the last electrode is reached. Then, the current electrodes move one
electrode space up and the process start again, moving the potential electrodes once more. The sequence is complete when the last
electrode is reached. Then, the same procedure follows by shifting
the potential electrodes to the contiguous line (Fig. 8B) and the
process is repeated in a similar way. Fig. 8C shows the apparent
resistivity distribution at depth obtained with this process. The
sequence is done between closest lines and then for the farther
lines. In total, six patterns of resistivity positions are estimated by
the Electre-Pro software (Copyright 2010 IRIS Instruments).
The nal observed resistivities at depth are obtained by
combining all the arrays discussed previously. Fig. 9A depicts the
total resistivity points measured at depth for the Main Pyramid, and
Fig. 9B shows the location at depth of the total observation points
for the Tecpan. These diagrams display the total points (1552 points
for the Main Pyramid and 2358 points for the Tecpan) employed to
compute the 3D resistivity models.
4. Results

Fig. 7. WennereSchlumberger (A) and Eq parallel (B) arrays are depicted. Such
a distribution of resistivities at depth was obtained with the second array (Fig. 7B).

corners of each ERT prole (Fig. 8), as done in the previous array. In
this setting (Fig. 8A), the current electrodes are xed (A, B), whereas
the potential (M, N) electrodes move along the ERT prole
following the direction of the arrow. Such process continues until

Data measured in the SySCAL-Pro console were downloaded

into a PC and analyzed for noisy measurements. Input les were
then prepared the output le to be inverse modeled with the
commercial software EarthImager 3D, which was originally based
on the smooth model inversion algorithm of Constable et al. (1987)
and DeGroot-Hedlin and Constable (1990). The interpretation of
the resistivity data was displayed in a 3D working cube, where
colors represent the variations of the real resistivity at depth. The
constructive materials used by the ancient dwellers of El Pah
were recollected from the surrounding areas. Therefore, the resistivity variations dened by the models will be of the same order of
the geological material found in the site, and the geometry of the
inverted models will play an important role in the detection of the
patterns of archaeological interest. The discussion will focus on the
results obtained for the Main Pyramid and the edice known as
Tecpan.

Fig. 8. Electrode shifting method is shown (A and B) to estimate the resistivity distribution at depth (C) for the Minimum Coupling (MC) array.

1220

D. Argote-Espino et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 1213e1223

4.1. The Main Pyramid

Fig. 9. Disposition of the total number of apparent resistivities to be measured at

depth combining the methods presented, for the Main Pyramid (A) and the Tecpan (B).

The resulting model converged to an RMS of less than 10%. In

Fig.10A the results for the 3D inversion are depicted for the resistivities
distribution under the Main Pyramid. The working cube has
a 33 # 33 m2 dimension with an estimated depth of 10 m. The broken
line denes the footprint of the Main Pyramid. The image is viewed
from the top with SWeNE geographical orientation. The computed
mean resistivity value is around 1645 Ohm-m and can be associated to
the geological horizon (tepetate). Tepetate is an indurated soil horizon,
hardened by compaction or cementation, principally composed of
materials of volcanic origin of the Quaternary period. Due to its
physical properties (high densities ranging between 1.7 and 1.9 g/cm3,
a low porosity of 13e24%, poor fertility, water holding capacity and
hydraulic conductivity), tepetate layers block water inltration,
favoring lateral run off of soils deposited beneath it (Gama-Castro
et al., 2007). This is an issue for the archaeologist, since it compromises the stability of the main structure and its future conservation.
The high resistive elements (>3000 Ohm-m) correspond to
articial lling materials deposited by the ancient builders for
terrain leveling and burying of foundations. These high resistivities,
with respect to the tepetate, are due to a less compact and more
porous material. Fig. 10B shows the morphology, volume and
position of the articial lling (A). A resistivity interval of
3500 Ohm-m up to 6000 Ohm-m is displayed (broken square in the
color scale), showing the inll beneath the Main Pyramid. Such
a feature possesses an irregular shape and covers most of the
northern half of the base of the pyramid, with an approximate area
of 15 m wide (Y axis) and 25 m long (X axis). Arrows infer the
landslide surfaces of the lling material beneath the tepetate, just
beneath the foundations of the northern wall of the Main Pyramid,
which indicates a potential damage of the structure.
Fig. 10A also shows several smaller high resistivity bodies (B, C,
D, E, F and G) that are near the surface. Fig. 11C shows much clearly
anomaly B. This is an ellipsoidal body near the center of the cube, in

Fig. 10. 3-D display of the real resistivities distribution under the Main Pyramid (A). Dotted line depicts the limits of the Main Pyramid and the black dots mark the position of the
electrodes. Letters (AeF) indicate important detected features. A resistivity interval (marked in the color scale) is obtained; main resistivity anomalies can be clearly observed. View
from the northern face of the cube. The landslide surface of the articial lling (A) is marked with discontinuous lines (B and C). (For interpretation of the references to color in this
gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

D. Argote-Espino et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 1213e1223

1221

Fig. 11. The topographic model and the corresponding resistivity 3D model are superimposed on a 90" view. The inll material (A) affects the NW portion of the structure. An
interesting anomaly (B) can be associated to a foundation offer. Image to the right depict the subsidence effects on the main building, ssures and cracks are deteriorating the
stability of the edice.

the SE quadrant, with a maximum NeS diameter of 9 m, an EeW

diameter of 4 m, a depth to the top of 2 m, and an estimated
length of 4 m, approximately. This body could represent a natural or
articial void carved inside the tepetate and re-lled afterwards.
The content of this lling cannot be determined by resistivity alone.
Element D, in the center of the west wall, corresponds to an excavated offering box. Due to their similar characteristics, elements C,
E, F and G could also represent ceremonial deposits, past lootings or
non reported exploration labors.
Fig. 11A displays the topographic model of the Main Pyramid
from above. The inverted resistivity model is superimposed on it. It
is possible to observe the position of the unconsolidated inll (A)
with respect to the main edice. An image of the present-day
condition of this portion of the pyramid is shown in Fig. 11B
(right) taken 10 m away from the northern facade. The ssures and
cracks (shown in the photograph) detected in the structure are
clear evidence of the risk of collapse of this archaeological feature. A
couple of wooden poles were set to support part of the structure

preventing that section from falling down. The inll should be

hardened by pumping into the subsurface special materials that
help to make the subsoil more stable and capable to support the
Main Pyramid. Anomaly (B) could be associated with a buried
offering, found towards the SE section of the Main Pyramid.
Archaeologists believe that such an interesting resistivity feature
could be appealing for excavation. However, they should have to dig
more than 8 m to reach the ground level, destroying part of the
pyramid. Then, they should dig other 2 m to reach the top of the
resistive structure. Archaeologists think that such a procedure
cannot be done at this moment, due to the conditions of the Main
Pyramid. In the future, if the technology is available, a directional
well can be designed to reach such an anomaly to conrm its origin.
4.2. Tecpan
The distribution of true resistivities at depth for the Tecpan is
shown in Fig. 12. The limits of the Tecpan are represented by dashed

Fig. 12. A 3-D distribution for the inverted real resistivities of the Tecpan is depicted in two different views. Three important anomalies can be observed. A low resistive anomaly (A)
is found within the limits of the Tecpan. Anomaly B depicts an interesting morphology, suggesting the entrance of a cave. Anomaly C could be associated to a more consolidated tuff.
Finally, dotted lines dene a pre-Hispanic oor, located few centimeters deep from the surface.

1222

D. Argote-Espino et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 1213e1223

Fig. 13. A 90" view is presented for the Tecpan showing two resistivity intervals. Anomaly A possesses and interesting geometry suggesting a small gathering room or part of the
foundations of the rst constructive phase. Anomaly B might correspond to a Tuff more consolidated, and nally C suggest a cavity or tunnel probably partially collapsed. Anomaly C
possesses continuity towards the main stairway of the Tecpan.

lines. The central resistivity value is 1000 Ohm-m, approximately,

that can be associated to a healthy tuff (tepetate), suggesting that
lesser lling material was employed in this site for the construction
phases of this building. Probably, because the terrain in this part of
the area is almost at. Thus, terrain leveling for the foundations of
a smaller building was less demanding. Nevertheless, there are
some anomalies that seem to be important from the archaeological
point of view.
The image depicts a low resistivity anomaly A (100 Ohm-m,
observed in Figs. 12 and 13A), surrounded by a high resistivity
anomalies (w1000 Ohm-m), of rectangular shape with dimensions
of 20 # 15 m2. Such an effect might represent the inner open area of
a room while the high resistivity bodies correspond to the wall
foundations closing the room. Since this building had a politicaladministrative function, the size suits an adequate space for
people gathering. Feature B shows a high resistivity anomaly
(w10,000 Ohm-m) suggesting the entrance of a cavity of approximately 4 m wide and 6 m high. Tunnel entrances can be observed
on the very step walls of the tuffs walls of the cliffs around the
archaeological site. Thus, it is difcult to assure if such a feature
possesses a natural origin or it is a man-made structure. A high
resistivity expression is dened by C. This feature might correspond
to the presence of highly consolidated geological horizon. However,
archaeologists believe that might be part of the inll material
deployed by pre-Hispanic dwellers to level the terrain. The dotted
line shown in Fig. 12A and B suggest the presence of compacted
materials that could be associated to a oor or a platform, over
which the Tecpan was built. It is few centimeters deep and looks
uncontinuous around the pyramid. Previous archaeological excavations done on the site had found a hardened soil layer covered
with calcareous materials (stucco) over which the structures were
erected. This might correspond to a stucco oor of the rst
construction moment of the archaeological site.
The average resistivity media has been removed in Fig. 13, and
only selected resistivity intervals corresponding to a very low and

high resistivity values are left. The resistivity intervals of 96 Ohmme260 Ohm-m, and 3000 Ohm-me10,000 Ohm-m are displayed
in this image. The rst interval presented corresponds to
materials lesser consolidated, where feature A matches the limits
of the Tecpan. This could be an evidence of an inner room,
beneath this structure. On the other hand, anomaly C depicts
a high resistive bulk of more than 6000 Ohm-m that can be
associated to a well consolidated tuff. Anomaly C reects a high
resistive material, which can be interpreted as a cavity entrance.
The morphology of such resistive material suggests a tunnel
partially collapsed. This is due to the lack of continuity towards
the eastern section of the Tecpan (observe Fig. 12A and B). Such
a structure deepens up to 7 m deep.
Finally, Fig. 13 depicts the resistivity cube overlapped with the
topographic model of the Tecpan. Resistive feature A ts well over
the western portion of the Tecpan. The interpreted geometry of
such low resistive material seems to dene the foundations of the
rst constructive phase of this pyramid. Anomaly B is of great
extension and it is very likely that this material was employed to
level the terrain at this point, towards the SE of the structure. The
interesting resistivity element depicted by letter C shows an
evidence of the existence of a tunnel in the direction to the Tecpan.
It is interesting to note, that the resistive structure apparently ends
at the western stairway of the pyramid to an approximate 2 m deep.
5. Conclusions
The new ERT-3D methodology applied to survey two discovered
archaeological structures solved properly the questions involved in
this investigation with a few losses of shallow information. The
results provided useful data about the distribution of archaeological and geological elements, where interesting resistive features
were detected. In the Main Pyramid, the presence of an articial
lling deposited over the tepetate horizon was detected, warning
about the landslide planes and the lateral run off of soils

D. Argote-Espino et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 40 (2013) 1213e1223

underneath the northern portion of the pyramid. There were also

detected high resistivity anomalies of lower dimensions that can be
related to the position of articial voids due to ritual activities,
lootings or archaeological excavations.
\In the Tecpan, archaeological elements related to the rst
constructive phase of the site were identied. Findings in the
southern entrance mound show that a geophysical survey is more
successful when applied to non altered structures. The presence of
an elongated high resistive feature suggests the presence of a tunnel,
in the direction of the western stairway of this edice. This feature
might be partially collapsed. A low resistive anomaly detected
beneath the Tecpan suggests the presence of a buried room or the
foundations of the rst constructive phase of this edice.
The methodology applied in this research establishes new tools
for shallow underground investigation, especially when facing the
difculty of having buildings that cannot be altered by any means.
The method presented here is much lesser invasive and opens the
possibility to study both pre-Hispanic pyramids and Colonial
edices. Even if resolution at very shallow depths is not very good,
the resistivity distribution computed at depth provides of very
useful information to characterize the subsoil beneath affected
structures.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Dale Rucker, Jorge Gama-Castro and the
anonymous reviewers for their assertive comments on how to
clarify and improve the article.
References
Aizebeokhai, A.P., Olayinka, A.I., Singh, V.S., 2009. Numerical evaluation of 3D
geoelectrical resistivity imaging for environmental and engineering investigations using orthogonal proles. SEG Expanded Abstracts 1440. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.3255120.
Arango-Galvn, C., De la Torre-Gonzlez, B., Chvez-Segura, R.E., Tejero-Andrade, A.,
Cifuentes-Nava, G., Hernndez-Quintero, E., 2011. Structural pattern of subsidence in an urban area of the southeastern Mexico Basin inferred from electrical resistivity tomography. Geofsica Internacional 50 (4), 401e409.
Cardarelli, E., Fischanger, E., Piro, S., 2008. Integrated geophysical survey to detect
buried structures for archaeological prospecting. A case-history at Sabine
Necropolis (Rome, Italy). Near Surface Geophysics 6, 15e20.
Chavez, G., Tejero, A., Alcantara, M.A., Chavez, R.E., 2011. The L-Array, A Tool to
Characterize a Fracture Pattern in an Urban Zone. Extended Abstracts of the
Near Surface Geophysics, European Section Meeting (Printed in CD).

1223

Constable, S.C., Parker, R.L., Constable, C.G., 1987. Occams inversion; a practical
algorithm for generating smooth models from electromagnetic sounding data.
Geophysics 52, 289e300.
Dahlin, T., Bernstone, C., 1997. A roll-along technique for 3D resistivity data acquisition with multi-electrode arrays. In: Proc. SAGEEP97 (Symposium on the
Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems), Reno,
Nevada, vol. 2, pp. 927e935.
Dahlin, T., Bernstone, C., Loke, M.H., 2002. A 3-D resistivity investigation of
a contaminated site at Leernaken, Sweden. Geophysics 67, 1692e1700.
DeGroot-Hedlin, C., Constable, S.C., 1990. Occams inversion to generate smooth,
two-dimensional models from magnetotelluric data. Geophysics 55, 1613e
1624.
Edwards, L.S., 1977. A modied pseudosection for resistivity and induced polarization. Geophysics 42, 1020e1036.
Gama-Castro, J., Solleiro-Rebolledo, E., Flores-Romn, D., Sedow, S., CabadasBez, H., y Daz-Ortega, J., 2007. Los tepetates y su dinmica sobre la degradacin y el riesgo ambiental: el caso del Glacis de Buenavista, Morelos. Boletn
de la Sociedad Geolgica Mexicana 59 (1), 133e145.
Loke, M.H., Barker, R.D., 1996. Practical techniques for 3D resistivity surveys and
data inversion. Geophysical Prospecting 44, 449e523.
Lpez Aguilar, F., 2011. Proyecto Especial Pah. Temporada 2011. Proyecto al
Consejo de Arqueologa. Instituto Nacional de Antropologa e Historia, Mxico.
Lpez Aguilar, F., Cubero, Bez, Faras Pelayo, S., 2006. El Valle del Mezquital.
Arqueologa, etnografa y etnohistoria. Proyecto de investigacin. Proyecto al
Consejo de Arqueologa. Escuela Nacional de Antropologa e Historia, Mxico.
Lpez Aguilar, F., Vilanova de Allende, R., Guilliem Arroyo, S., 2007. Proyecto Valle
del Mezquital. Arqueologa, etnografa, etnohistoria. Proyecto Especco Pah.
Informe de la temporada 2007. Informe al Consejo de Arqueologa, Escuela
Nacional de Antropologa e Historia, Mxico.
Lpez Aguilar, F., Vilanova de Allende, R., 2008. Proyecto Eje Valle del Mezquital.
Proyecto Especco Pah. Informe de la temporada 2007-2. Volumen 2.
Informe indito. Archivo de la Coordinacin Nacional de Arqueologa del INAH,
Escuela Nacional de Antropologa e Historia, Mxico.
Lpez Aguilar, F., Fournier, P., 2009. Espacio, Tiempo y Asentamientos en el Valle del
Mezquital: un enfoque comparativo con los desarrollos de William T. Sanders.
Cuicuilco 47, 113e146.
Ogilvy, R., Meldrum, P., Chambers, J., Williams, G., 2002. The use of 3D electrical
resistivity tomography to characterize waste and leachate distributions within
a closed landll, Thriplow, UK. Journal of Environmental and Engineering
Geophysics 7, 11e18.
Rucker, D.F., Glaser, D.R., Osborne, T., Maehl, W.C., 2009a. Electrical resistivity
characterization of a reclaimed gold mine to delineate acid rock drainage
pathways. Mine Water and Environment 28, 146e157.
Rucker, D.F., Levitt, M.T., Greenwood, W.J., 2009b. Three-dimensional electrical
resistivity model of a nuclear waste disposal site. Journal of Applied Geophysics
69, 150e164.
SSS-USDA, 1998. Keys to Soil Taxonomy, eighth ed. USDA. Soil Conservation Service.
U.S. Government Printing Ofce, Washington, D.C.
Tejero-Andrade, A., Delgado Solorzano, C., Lpez Gonzlez, A., Chvez R.E. L and
Corner arrays for 3D electrical resistivity tomography: an alternative for
urban zones. Near Surface Geophysics, submitted for publication.
Velsquez-Rodrguez, A.S., Flores-Romn, D., Acevedo-Sandoval, O.A., 2001.
Aggregate formation in Tepetate by effect of plant species. Agrociencia 35-3,
311e320.