Editing Sierra Gorda

Aracheology in the Sierra Gorda began just before the second half of the 19th century, when mine engineers reported archeological finds in the mountains. Several of these engineers organized expeditions, some with state support, which resulted in the mapping of sites such as Las Ranas and Toluquillo. These expeditions also include the first photographs of these sites. The discovery of these two cities generated academic interest, but they were not further explored until 1931, when archeologist [[Eduardo Noguera]] and architect [[Emilio Cuevas]] went to evaluate the sites for the Direction of Pre Hispanic Monuments. By 1939, twenty seven sites had been identified in Querétaro, with twenty three in the Sierra Gorda.<ref name="mundoarqueo"/> There are over 400 archeological sites,<ref name="restrepo"/> with twenty six primary ones, Ahuacatlán, Arroyo Seco, Arquitos, Canoas, Cerro de la Campana, Cerro del Sapo, Concá, Deconí, Ecatitlán, El Doctor, La Colonia, La Plazuela, Lobo, Los Moctezumas, Pueblo Viejo, Purísima, Ranas, Sabino, San Juan, Soyatal, Tancama, Tancoyol, Tilaco, Toluquilla, Tonatico and Vigas.<ref name="reseña"/>

Las Ranas and Toluquilla were the two largest prehispanic cities to develop in the Sierra Gorda area. Las Ranas was the most developed city from the 7th to the 11th century, with Toluquilla somewhat smaller and reaching its height in the 11th century. Both cities are near to each other and both controlled the active trade routes of the area as well as the mining of cinnabar, highly prized as a red pigment in Mesoamerica. The trade that passed through the area linked the Gulf of Mexico to the central Mexican Plateau and some areas north as well.<ref name="arqueomex"/> Extensive mining was done at both Toluquilla and Las Ranas beginning between 200 and 300 CE, extracting cinnabar, mercury and sulfur. Cinnabar was the most prized used in funerals.<ref name="enlainah">{{cite web |url= http://www.inah.gob.mx/index.php/boletines/16-antropologia/3209-en-la-sierra-gorda |title= En la Sierra Gorda |date=May 18, 2009 |publisher=[[INAH]] |location=Mexico |language=es |trans-title=In the Sierra Gorda |access-date=March 29, 2011 }}</ref> The structures at the sites indicate a stratified society and built with stone slabs and mud and covered in stucco in some places. At Toluquilla, many structures were built on terraces cut into the mountain to create more space. Las Ranas was taken over by the [[Chichimeca Jonaz people|Chichimeca Jonaz]] late in its history but by the time the Spanish arrived, both cities were abandoned.<ref name="arqueomex"/> In 2009, [[INAH]] and other institutions carried out research at Toluquilla on thirty skeletons from the pre Hispanic era in order to determine the importance of mining in the south of the Sierra Gorda. The objective of the study was to determine the amount of accumulation of mercury in the bones to find out who was most involved in the mining and how it affected the health of the population. It also studies patterns of mercury contamination in the surrounding environment as well. There have been over eighty extraction sites for cinnabar found around Las Ranas and Toluquilla, which lie on one of the largest deposits of the mineral in Mexico.<ref name="enlainah"/>