Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257 282

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990 and 1100 Ma Grenvillian tectonothermal events in the northern

Oaxacan Complex, southern Mexico: roots of an orogen
L.A. Solari a,*, J.D. Keppie a, F. Ortega-Gutierrez a, K.L. Cameron b,
R. Lopez c, W.E. Hames d
a
Instituto de Geologa, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 04510 Mexico, D.F., Mexico
b
Earth Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
c
Geology Department, West Valley College, Saratoga, CA 95070, USA
d
Department of Geology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
Received 14 February 2002; accepted 13 June 2002

Abstract

Inliers of f 1.0 1.3 Ga rocks occur throughout Mexico and form the basement of the Oaxaquia microcontinent. In the
northern part of the largest inlier in southern Mexico, rocks of the Oaxacan Complex consist of the following structural
sequence of units (from bottom to top), which protolith ages are: (1) Huitzo unit: a 1012 F 12 Ma anorthosite mangerite
charnockite granite (AMCG) suite; (2) El Catrn unit: z 1350 Ma orthogneiss migmatized at 1106 F 6 Ma; and (3) El
Marquez unit: z 1140 Ma para- and orthogneisses. These rocks were affected by two major tectonothermal events that are
dated using U Pb isotopic analyses of zircon: (a) the 1106 F 6 Ma Olmecan event produced a migmatitic or metamorphic
differentiation banding folded by isoclinal folds; and (b) the 1004 978 F 3 Ma Zapotecan event produced at least two sets of
structures: (Z1) recumbent, isoclinal, Class 1C/3 folds with gently NW-plunging fold axes that are parallel to mineral and
stretched quartz lineations under granulite facies metamorphism; and (Z2) tight, upright, subhorizontal WNW- to NNE-trending
folds accompanied by development of brown hornblende at upper amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions. Cooling through
500 jC at 977 F 12 Ma is documented by 40Ar/39Ar analyses of hornblende. Fold mechanisms operating in the northern
Oaxacan Complex under Zapotecan granulite facies metamorphism include flexural and tangential longitudinal strain
accompanied by intense flattening and stretching parallel to the fold axes. Subsequent Phanerozoic deformation includes
thrusting and upright folding under lower-grade metamorphic conditions. The Zapotecan event is widespread throughout
Oaxaquia, and took crustal rocks to a depth of f 25 30 km by orogenic crustal thickening, and is here designated as
Zapotecan Orogeny. Modern analogues for Zapotecan granulite facies metamorphism and deformation occur in middle to lower
crustal portion of subduction and collisional orogens. Contemporaneous tectonothermal events took place throughout Oaxaquia,
and in various parts of the Genvillian orogen in Laurentia and Amazonia.
D 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Oaxaquia; Mexico; Grenville; U Pb geochronology; Granulite metamorphism

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +52-55-5622-4263x113; fax: +52-55-5622-4289.

E-mail address: solari@servidor.unam.mx (L.A. Solari).

0040-1951/03/$ - see front matter D 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(03)00025-8
258 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282
1. Introduction
The Oaxacan Complex (OC) is the largest inlier
of f 1 Ga rocks in Mexico and underlies more than
10,000 km2 of southern Mexico (Fig. 1A). Other
similar smaller inliers, borehole samples and xeno-
liths in Tertiary lavas led Ortega-Gutierrez et al.
(1995) to conclude that the backbone of Mexico is
underlain by a similar f 1.0 Ga basement, which
they named Oaxaquia (Fig. 1A). It may continue into
the Chortis Block of Guatemala and Honduras
(Donnelly et al., 1990; Manton, 1996; Nelson et
al., 1997), which is inferred to have lain along the
Pacific margin of Mexico before being sinistrally
displaced in the Oligocene (Schaaf et al., 1995). As
such, Oaxaquia and the Chortis block constitute
major pieces that need to be considered in recon-
structing f 1 Ga Rodinia. However, their inferred
location in recent reconstructions of Rodinia differs
widely. For example, Karlstrom et al. (1999) and
Burrett and Berry (2000) infer that Oaxaquia is the
southern extension of the Laurentian Grenville Oro-
gen, and represents a connecting segment to the
f 1.0 Ga orogens of eastern Australia. On the other
hand, other authors have proposed that Oaxaquia is
an exotic terrane of either Amazonian or northeastern
Laurentian provenance (Keppie, 1977; Ballard et al.,
1989; Yanez et al., 1991; Keppie and Ortega-Gutier-
rez, 1995, 1999; Ortega-Gutierrez et al., 1999). The
presence of Ordovician and Silurian fauna with
Gondwanan affinity in rocks unconformably above
the 1 Ga rocks in Mexico (Robinson and Pantoja-
Alor, 1968; Boucot et al., 1997) is consistent with an
Amazonian location during the lower Paleozoic. As
no Neoproterozoic tectonic event has been recorded
in Oaxaquia, it is probably fair to assume that this
same location also applies to its f 1 Ga position.
Ruz et al. (1999) divided Oaxaquia into two pieces
along the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (Fig. 1A),
and suggested that the northern piece was continuous
with southern Laurentia, and the southern one was
derived from Gondwana. In this paper, we document
that the northern Oaxacan Complex has undergone a
complex structural and metamorphic history that
involved two high-grade tectonothermal events at
f 1100 and f 990 Ma (named Olmecan and Zapo-
tecan, respectively). These are tentatively interpreted
as extensional and either Andean, arc continent or
continent continent collision events, respectively,
which occurred along the margin of Amazonia.
2. Geological setting
The Oaxacan Complex consists of para- and
orthogneisses, the latter having protolith U Pb zircon
ages ranging from z 1134 to 1150 and f 1012 Ma
(Keppie et al., 2003), which were affected by granulite
facies metamorphism (700 750 jC and 7.2 8.2 kb,
Mora et al., 1986) at about 990 Ma (Keppie et al.,
2001, 2003). Previous structural studies of the Oax-
acan Complex by Kesler and Heath (1970) and Kesler
(1973) conclude that it was only affected by one phase
of deformation.
In several other areas in Mexico, f 1.0 Ga rocks
are also exposed (Fig. 1A): near Ciudad Victoria
(Novillo Gneiss, Silver et al., 1994), at Molango
(Huiznopala Gneiss, Lawlor et al., 1999), and around
La Mixtequita in eastern Oaxaca State (Guichicovi
Complex, Weber and Kohler, 1999; Ruz et al., 1999).
Published U Pb igneous protolith ages are f 1000
and 1150 1200 Ma in Huiznopala (Lawlor et al.,
1999) and 1231 F 43 Ma (upper intercept) in the
Guichicovi Complex (Weber and Kohler, 1999).
Granulite facies metamorphism was also dated by
U Pb at f 1000 Ma in Huiznopala (Lawlor et al.,
1999), at f 986 Ma (Ruz et al., 1999) and 975 F 36
Ma (Weber and Kohler, 1999) in the Guichicovi
Complex, and is poorly constrained between 928 F
18 Ma (K Ar on phlogopite, Denison et al., 1971)
and 1018 F 3 Ma (U Pb on concordant zircon, Silver
et al., 1994) in the Novillo Gneiss.
Available major, trace and REE geochemistry, as
well as Nd and common Pb isotopic data suggest that
these f 1.0 1.2 Ga igneous protoliths constitute a
magmatic arc intruded by two series of intraplate and
AMCG (anorthosite mangerite charnockite gran-
ite) suites (Patchett and Ruz, 1987; Ruz et al.,
1988, 1999; Lawlor et al., 1999; Weber and Kohler,
1999; Lopez et al., 2001; Keppie et al., 2001a,b). The
absence of a Paleoproterozoic or Archean rocks
beneath Oaxaquia is suggested by the fact that no
U Pb upper intercept ages older than f 1400 Ma
have been recorded and Nd model ages range
between f 1.3 and f 1.6 Ga (Patchett and Ruz,
1987; Lawlor et al., 1999).
 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282
Fig. 1. (A) Oaxaquia and the main outcrops of Grenvillian-age rocks in Mexico. The box shows the location of the area studied in this work; TMVB is the Trans-Mexican Volcanic
Belt. P M fault is the Polochic Motagua system, SE of which crops out the Chortis block. (B) Geological map of the studied area, northern Oaxacan Complex. (C) Reconstructed

259
structural column for the studied area. Both figures contain U Pb and Ar Ar sample locations.
260 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282
3. Lithologies of structural units
Mapping of the northern Oaxacan Complex reveals
that it consists of a series of thrust slices composed of
(from bottom to top) (Fig. 1B,C): (1) the Huitzo
structural unit; (2) the El Catrn migmatite structural
unit; and (3) the El Marquez structural unit.
The Huitzo structural unit is made up of a f 3-km-
thick AMCG suite consisting of meta-anorthosite and
intercalated Fe-metadiorite, metagabbro, mafic cumu-
lates and garnet-bearing charnockite with protolith
ages of 1012 F 12 Ma (Keppie et al., 2003). The Fe-
metadiorites and anorthosites are intimately inter-
leaved as a result of intense deformation that reor-
iented primary, magmatic contacts parallel to the
foliation. The Fe-metadiorites are dark grey in colour,
and vary from massive to intensely lineated in shear
zones. Granulite facies metamorphism is indicated by
mineralogy composed of plagioclase (An 30 45%),
orthopyroxene, augitic clinopyroxene, brown horn-
blende, rare titaniferous biotite, magnetite and ilmen-
ite, with abundant accessory apatite, and granoblastic
textures, with the typical triple junctions at 120j in the
more massive units. Clinopyroxene is replaced by
amphibole ranging from tremolite actinolite to antho-
phyllite pseudomorphs, whereas magnetite and ilmen-
ite are often surrounded by coronas of garnet, which
are typical of isobaric cooling conditions (Harley,
1989). Low-grade, late coronas of actinolite, biotite
and/or epidote indicate hydration and retrograde meta-
morphism under upper greenschist to amphibolite
facies. The metagabbros are dark green to black, and
composed of augite, plagioclase, brown to green
hornblende, rare biotite and relict hypersthene. Pres-
ence of this last mineral, together with textural
relationships between hornblende, biotite and clino-
pyroxene, suggest these metagabbros also underwent
granulite metamorphism. The anorthosite is white
and massive in the middle of the pluton, becoming
more foliated towards its margins. It is made up of
plagioclase (An 20 30%), magnetite and ilme-
nite F K-feldspar and quartz, and secondary calcite
and epidote. Nelsonites in the anorthosites are com-
posed of apatite, ilmenite and minor amounts of
magnetite. In the Adirondack Highlands of the
Laurentian Grenville Province, the nelsonites are
considered to be immiscible liquids, comagmatic
with the anorthosites (Darling and Florence, 1995).
The anorthosite gabbro Fe metadiorite is in tec-
tonic contact with the overlying dark green, weakly
foliated mafic gneiss and garnet-bearing charnockite.
The tectonic contact is characterized by a 15-m-thick
greenschist to lower amphibolite shear zone (Fig.
1B,C) with top-to-the-SE kinematics (Solari, 2001).
The mafic gneisses are composed of plagioclase (An
25%), hypersthene, augite, hornblende, magnetite,
garnet, zircon and minor amount of alkalic feldspar
and quartz, which indicate that they also underwent
granulite facies metamorphism. One of the studied
samples belonging to this unit contains magmatic
pigeonite, with hypersthene exolutions. The chemistry
of these mafic gneisses suggests that they represent
cumulates (Keppie et al., 2003). A 200-m-thick slice
of pale gray, foliated charnockite is intercalated with
these gneisses. Its contacts are parallel to the banding,
and do not show any shearing. The charnockite is
composed of perthitic feldspar, quartz, augite, hyper-
sthene, garnet, plagioclase (An 30%) and accessory
apatite and zircon, an assemblage indicative of gran-
ulite facies metamorphism.
The El Catrn Migmatite structural unit comprises
migmatitic gneisses (about 2-km thick) that lie struc-
turally above the charnockites and the mafic gneisses.
Field relationships show that the mafic gneisses and
anorthosites of the Huitzo structural unit intruded these
migmatites (Solari, 2001, p.26). Migmatite in the type
locality is represented by a stromatic to nebulitic, light
grey leucosome in a dark gray to bluish mesosome.
The leucosome consists of quartz, alkali feldspar,
plagioclase (An 20 45%), secondary epidote, calcite
and chloritized biotite. The mesosome, in addition to
those minerals characterizing the leucosome, contains
augitic clinopyroxene, hypersthene, rare hornblende
and, in few samples, scapolite. This mineral assem-
blage was produced by granulite facies metamor-
phism, whereas secondary minerals were produced
by retrograde metamorphism. The mesosome, leuco-
some and the migmatitic fabric are only preserved in
the middle of a low-strain window. Outside this, the
migmatitic gneisses grade into striped gneiss, in which
subsequent deformation is stronger and generally
associated with a granulite metamorphic foliation
defined by augite and hypersthene. Although geo-
chemical data are not available, the petrography sug-
gests that the protolith of the migmatite was gabbroic
dioritic in composition.
 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282
Intercalated paragneiss and orthogneiss of the El
Marquez structural unit immediately overlie the mig-
matite (Fig. 1B,C). The contact between the two is
characterized by a 150-m-thick biotite- and musco-
vite-bearing paragneiss, mylonitized under greenschist
facies, with a top-to-the-E sense of shear (Solari,
2001). The paragneisses are represented by a variety
of lithologies ranging from quartz feldspar garnet
(pyrope-almandine) gneiss, through two pyroxene
quartz feldspar gneiss, and mica graphite silliman-
ite rutile gneiss to marbles and calcsilicates. Textures
are generally granoblastic. The impure marbles are
generally composed of calcite with abundant acces-
sory minerals such as diopside, olivine, purple fas-
saite, graphite, quartz, wollastonite and phlogopite.
The calcsilicates are composed of scapolite, micro-
cline, diopside, titanite, graphite, phlogopite and ac-
cessory calcite. Although some of these marbles and
calcsilicates are foliated and concordant with the
regional banding, others cut across the structures
and are massive. Pinnitized cordierite and sapphirine
rarely occur in the northern OC paragneisses. These
different parageneses and the textures indicate that the
paragneisses also underwent granulite facies meta-
morphism. Based upon the abundance of sulphur-
and chlorine-rich scapolite, alkali feldspar F gypsum
and anhydrite within this structural unit, Ortega-
Gutierrez (1984) proposed that the calcsilicates were
originally evaporites interbedded with carbonates,
arkoses, felsic igneous rocks (now quartzo-feldspathic
gneiss), marls, alkali basalt/dolerite (now amphibolite)
and magnesian clays (now ultramafic rocks). He
inferred that this association was deposited in a
continental rift environment. Minor igneous bodies
such as amphibolites and pegmatites, as well as major
charnockitic, meta-syenitic and meta gabbroic bands,
up to 500-m thick, intrude these paragneisses. The
charnockites are characterized by quartz, perthitic
feldspar, plagioclase (An 35%), hypersthene, augite
and hornblende. Metasyenite is mainly composed of
abundant meso-perthitic feldspar, quartz, hornblende,
biotite, clinopyroxene and relict hypersthene, whereas
meta-gabbros are composed of augite, plagioclase,
hornblende and magnetite. Zircon, Fe Ti ore and
apatite are particularly abundant accessory minerals.
Their parageneses indicate that these rocks were
affected by granulite facies metamorphism that over-
printed the original, magmatic fabric. Previous U Pb
261
zircon analyses carried on metasyenite, charnockite
and metagabbros indicate their crystallization ages
range between f 1134 and f 1230 Ma (Keppie et
al., 2003).
4. Structures and age constraints
The tectonic history of the three main structural
units of the northern Oaxacan Complex is as follows:
(i) in the f 1012 Ma Huitzo unit, two sets of structures
developed under granulite facies metamorphic condi-
tions; (ii) in the El Catrn unit, two sets of structures
associated with migmatization are preserved in a strain
window, and these are overprinted by two sets of struc-
tures formed under granulite and amphibolite facies
metamorphic conditions, respectively; and (iii) the
z 1134 Ma El Marquez unit records four sets of
structures, the first three of which are associated with
granulite facies minerals, whereas the last set devel-
oped under amphibolite facies conditions. On the basis
of age constraints (see below), the granulite upper
amphibolite facies structures affecting the Huitzo unit
and their correlatives in the other units are assigned to
the Zapotecan tectonothermal event dated at f 978
1004 F 3 Ma, whereas the structures associated with
migmatization in the El Catrn unit are assigned to the
Olmecan tectonothermal event, dated at F 1100 Ma.
These names are derived from the pre-Hispanic cul-
tures that inhabited the Oaxacan region. Structures
associated with these two tectonothermal events are
overprinted by other structures developed at lower
amphibolite subgreenschist facies metamorphic con-
ditions, such as thrusts, shear zones, and upright, NW-
trending open folds, which are Phanerozoic in age
(Solari, 2001). This paper is limited to the Zapotecan
and Olmecan events, which are designated by Z and u
subscripts, respectively, to constrain planar (S), and
linear (L) structures, and folds (F). In each structural
unit, these events are further distinguished by the
subscripts h (Huitzo structural unit), c (El Catrn
structural unit), or m (El Marquez structural unit). A
justification for the correlation between the structures
observed in each of these three structural unit and their
assignment to Olmecan or Zapotecan will be proposed
in the Summary section, but rather than introduce two
numbering schemes, the conclusions are used through-
out the paper.
 262
Table 1
U Pb geochronology for the selected samples, northern Oaxacan Complex, southern Mexico
Fraction Weight U Total Pb Com. 206 206 206 207 207 207 207 206 207 207 Disc.
Pb/204Pb Pba/238U Pba/238U Pba/235U Pba/235U Pba/206Pba Pba/206Pba Pba/238U Pba/235U Pba/206Pba
(mg) (ppm) (ppm) Pb (pg) (%)
(% err.) (% err.) (% err.)
Raw datab Atomic ratiosc Age (Ma)d

El Catrn migmatite, neosome, sample 67B98

(1) sng, elong, abr 0.015 78 18 22 695 0.19890 0.25 2.1821 0.32 0.07956 0.19 1169 1175 1186 F 4 1.4
(2) sng, rnd, abr 0.029 67 12 9 2473 0.17978 0.14 1.8613 0.19 0.07509 0.13 1066 1067 1071 F 3 0.5
(3) eq, abr, 11 grn 0.125 67 12 8 11,602 0.18524 0.09 1.9586 0.10 0.07668 0.04 1096 1101 1113 F 1 1.6
(4) 2 grns, irg 0.012 91 16 10 11,539 0.17607 0.10 1.8084 0.11 0.07449 0.05 1045 1048 1055 F 1 0.9
(5) eq, abr, sng 0.052 68 14 18 475 0.18387 0.24 1.9276 0.31 0.07603 0.20 1088 1091 1096 F 4 0.7
(6) pnk, sng, abr, cir 0.015 527 112 31 3135 0.19536 0.25 2.1265 0.26 0.07895 0.06 1150 1157 1171 F 2 1.8
(7) abr, sng, tip 0.020 26 5 4 1507 0.18726 0.58 1.9733 0.65 0.07643 0.28 1107 1106 1106 F 6 0.0
(8) CL, plkd, abr, sng 0.040 84 18 25 1663 0.19438 0.39 2.1044 0.42 0.07852 0.15 1145 1150 1160 F 3 1.3
(9) sng, pnk, abr, eq 0.010 262 57 21 1511 0.19633 0.19 2.1541 0.42 0.07957 0.35 1156 1166 1187 F 7 2.6

El Catrn migmatite, paleosome, sample 67A98

(10) sng, prsm, fr 0.009 688 154 31 2784 0.21850 0.25 2.5355 0.28 0.08416 0.12 1274 1282 1296 F 2 1.7
(11) 4 grns, elong, pnk, crk 0.013 524 120 22 4278 0.21689 0.51 2.5059 0.54 0.08380 0.18 1265 1274 1288 F 4 1.8
(12) lbc, abr, sng 0.013 650 138 21 5300 0.21050 0.10 2.3793 0.11 0.08198 0.04 1231 1236 1245 F 1 1.1
(13) eq, rnd, abr, sng 0.008 178 52 20 556 0.18044 0.60 1.9009 0.69 0.07640 0.34 1069 1081 1106 F 7 3.3
(14) eq, rnd, abr, sng 0.007 745 156 8 9108 0.21084 0.13 2.4214 0.13 0.08329 0.04 1233 1249 1276 F 1 3.3
(15) irg, abr, sng 0.008 818 179 10 9107 0.21567 0.09 2.4859 0.10 0.08360 0.04 1259 1268 1283 F 1 1.9
(16) irg, abr, 2 grn 0.008 649 139 8 8440 0.20859 0.09 2.3659 0.10 0.08226 0.04 1221 1232 1252 F 1 2.5

Folded pegmatite El Cuajilote, sample 6898

(17) elong, abr, sng 0.052 41 8 9 2097 0.18846 0.35 2.0025 0.38 0.07706 0.15 1113 1116 1123 F 3 0.9
(18) elong, abr, 5 grn 0.060 45 9 3 5546 0.18468 0.28 1.9584 0.31 0.07691 0.14 1092 1101 1119 F 3 2.4

Semipelitic metasediment, sample 7098

(19) eq, abr, sng 0.021 683 111 21 6611 0.16672 0.39 1.6613 0.41 0.07227 0.12 994 994 994 F 3 0.0
(20) abr, sph, multif, 2 grn 0.014 220 39 9 3859 0.18016 0.20 1.8807 0.25 0.07571 0.16 1068 1074 1087 F 3 1.8
(21) abr, sph, multif, sng 0.010 283 51 14 2364 0.18392 0.34 1.9460 0.40 0.07674 0.21 1088 1097 1114 F 4 2.3

Pre-tectonic pegmatite, sample 66B98

(22) abr, lbc, sng 0.047 96 20 38 1416 0.19083 0.11 2.0287 0.14 0.07710 0.08 1126 1125 1124 F 2 0.2
(23) abr, fr, 3 grn 0.071 92 19 11 7155 0.19425 0.16 2.0857 0.18 0.07787 0.07 1144 1144 1144 F 2 0.0
(24) abr, fr, 2 grn 0.051 106 22 11 6451 0.19582 0.34 2.1069 0.37 0.07804 0.14 1153 1151 1148 F 3 0.4
(25) abr, lbc, sng 0.035 147 31 11 18,544 0.19183 0.07 2.0566 0.08 0.07776 0.04 1131 1134 1141 F 2 0.9
(26) abr,sng, rnd to prsm 0.158 124 24 101 2143 0.17928 0.15 1.8582 0.16 0.07517 0.05 1063 1066 1073 F 2 0.9
L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282

(27) abr, fr, sng 0.031 71 14 16 1654 0.18484 0.39 1.9535 0.43 0.07665 0.19 1093 1100 1112 F 4 1.7

Flattened axial planar pegmatite, sample 66C98

(28) lbc, flat, abr, mg 0.025 724 122 11 14,104 0.16213 0.21 1.6000 0.22 0.07157 0.07 969 970 974 F 2 0.6
(29) lbc, mg 0.112 563 96 25 15,261 0.16258 0.18 1.6065 0.19 0.07167 0.06 971 973 977 F 2 0.6
(30) stby, srp.edges, clear, 7 grn 0.086 450 81 100 2949 0.16370 0.19 1.6188 0.25 0.07172 0.16 977 978 978 F 3 0.1
(31) lbc, abr, mg 0.124 406 75 32 8535 0.16416 0.18 1.6278 0.21 0.07192 0.09 980 981 984 F 2 0.4
(32) stby, srp.edges, abr, mg 0.028 912 149 55 4566 0.15984 0.13 1.5750 0.14 0.07147 0.04 956 960 971 F 2 1.6

Late tectonic pegmatite, sample 66D98

(33) abr, sng, stubby to rnd 0.082 288 50 19 12,196 0.16339 0.17 1.6145 0.17 0.07167 0.04 976 976 976 F 1 0.0
(34) abr, sng, stubby to rnd 0.045 937 168 22 19,279 0.16263 0.18 1.6081 0.19 0.07171 0.05 971 973 978 F 1 0.7
(35) abr, sng, elg 0.032 498 88 29 5530 0.16349 0.60 1.6164 0.62 0.07171 0.16 976 977 978 F 3 0.2
(36) abr, sng, elg 0.032 365 65 37 3202 0.16403 0.25 1.6222 0.26 0.07173 0.07 979 979 978 F 2 0.1

El Tecolote pegmatite, sample 6998

(37) fr, abr 0.188 123 20 23 9933 0.16241 0.20 1.6032 0.23 0.07159 0.12 970 971 975 F 1 0.5
(38) fr, abr 0.019 159 28 4 14,039 0.16434 0.44 1.6256 0.44 0.07174 0.04 980 980 979 F 3 0.1
 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282 263

Table 2
40
Ar 39Ar geochronology for sample OC 9901, northern Oaxacan Complex, southern Mexico
39
Analysis Ar/40Ar 36
Ar/40Ar 38
Ar/40Ar 37
Ar/40Ar K/Ca K/Cl Ca/Cl %40Ar* Agesa
(  10 2) (  10 5) (  10 4)
1 1.48 F 0.0093 2.00 F 1.06 2.31 F 0.0630 0.0401 F 0.0003 0.192 6.8 35.5 99.4 1021.9 F 6.4
2 1.56 F 0.0094 1.60 F 0.984 2.06 F 0.0672 0.0403 F 0.0002 0.201 8.1 40 99.5 981.3 F 5.9
3 1.60 F 0.0110 2.00 F 0.776 2.12 F 0.0605 0.0402 F 0.0003 0.208 8.1 38.8 99.4 959.3 F 6.6 Mean Age:
977 F 12 Ma
4 1.64 F 0.0136 1.07 F 30.47 2.89 F 0.204 0.0429 F 0.0003 0.199 6 30.4 100.3 948.2 F 7.8
5 1.58 F 0.0137 0.35 F 0.367 2.38 F 0.0588 0.0410 F 0.0003 0.201 7.1 35.2 99.9 973.2 F 8.5 Regression:
987 F 6
6 1.53 F 0.0117 1.54 F 0.775 2.20 F 0.0508 0.0403 F 0.0002 0.198 7.4 37.5 99.5 995.4 F 7.6 Initial 40/36:
36 F 28
7 1.55 F 0.0123 2.82 F 1.22 2.25 F 0.0715 0.0407 F 0.0003 0.198 7.3 36.9 99.2 982 F 7.8
8 1.56 F 0.0176 0.82 F 7.44 2.97 F 0.138 0.0413 F 0.0003 0.196 5.6 28.4 100.2 987.1 F 11.2
9 1.63 F 0.0172 1.91 F 1.67 2.54 F 0.0970 0.0400 F 0.0005 0.212 6.8 32.2 99.4 946.2 F 10
10 1.56 F 0.0158 1.65 F 0.952 2.32 F 0.0561 0.0407 F 0.0003 0.2 7.2 36 99.5 978.4 F 9.9
Mean age calculated with all data (n = 10), as the mean of air-corrected data, with error expressed as the standard error of the mean.
Regression result is based on the methods of York (1969).
All uncertainties are 2r. The uncertainty in the statistical ages include uncertainties arising from the J-value (0.01132 F 0.00006), which
corresponds to an additional 0.5%.
%40Ar*: percentage of radiogenic 40Ar from total 40Ar.
a
Ages are calculated for each analysis on the basis of analytical precision only.

Several samples were collected for zircon U Pb
isotopic analysis to bracket the age of the observed
tectonothermal events: two samples of migmatite
(67A98 paleosome and 67B98 neosome) of the El
Catrn unit, three pegmatites from one locality in the
El Marquez unit (66B98, 66C98, 66D98 that are
early, middle and late with respect to the local
fabrics), a pegmatite in the El Catrn unit that is
folded and sheared together with its host rock (6898),
a late-tectonic, high-grade pegmatite as well as a
metasediment (7098), both belonging to El Marquez
unit (6998), and finally a hornblende-bearing meta-
gabbro (OC9901) in the Huitzo unit for 40Ar/39Ar
isotopic analysis (Fig. 1b,c). Zircon separation,
chemistry and mass spectrometry were performed at
University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) follow-
ing the analytical procedures described in Lopez et
al. (2001). Isotopic ratios were reduced, and the
errors assessed, using the program PbDat (Ludwig,
1991) (Table 1) and the concordia diagrams plotted
using Isoplot for Excel v. 2.49 (Ludwig, 2001). The
40
Ar/39Ar laser fusion analyses of hand-picked horn-
blende crystals (Table 2) were performed at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology using the
methodology outlined in Hames and Bowring
(1994).

Notes to Table 1:
abr = abraded; grn = grains; rnd = round; sng = single; prsm = prismatic; cir = circular; pnk = pink; fr = fragment; crk = with cracks; irg = irregular
elg = elongate; sph = spherical; multif = multifaceted; brk xls = broken crystals; CL = imaged by cathodoluminescence; plkd = plucked off from
the CL mount; mg = multigrain; eq = equant.
a
Denotes radiogenic Pb. Zircon sample dissolution and ion exchange chemistry modified after Krogh (1973) and Mattinson (1987) in
Parrish (1987)-type microcapsules.
b
Observed isotopic ratios are corrected for mass fractionation of 1x for both 208Pb and 205Pb spiked fractions. Fractions spiked with the
mixed 235U/205Pb tracer are also corrected for spike and blank relative contributions. Uncertainties in the 206Pb/204Pb ratio vary from 0.1% to
2.4%.
c
Decay constants used: 238U=1.5512510 10; 235U=9.4848510 10; 238U/235U=137.88. Estimated uncertainties of the U/Pb ratio are
F0.4 based on replicate analyses of a single zircon standard fraction (see Lopez et al., 2001).
d 207
Pb*/206Pb* age uncertainties are 2r and from the data reduction program PBDAT of K. Ludwig (1991). Total processing Pb blank
amount varied between 2 and 30 pg, generally averaging <10 pg. Initial Pb composition are from isotopic analysis of feldspar separates or from
the two-stage Pb evolution curve of Stacey and Kramers (1975). Isotopic data were measured on a VG 54-30 sector multicollector mass
spectrometer with a pulse counting Daly detector at UC Santa Cruz.
264 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282

4.1. Analysis of Zapotecan structures in the Huitzo
unit (magmatic bands, S0, and Z1h)
4.1.1. S0 and Z1h
The anorthosite of the Huitzo unit is weakly
foliated-massive in the middle of the body where a
banding defined by thin ilmenite and apatite bands
may be observed, and was probably produced by
liquid immiscibility and is therefore magmatic in
origin. This S0 banding is deformed by close to
isoclinal, FZ1h intrafolial folds that plunge gently to
moderately towards NW (Fig. 2). They are generally

Fig. 2. Stereoplots obtained for foliations, mineral and stretching lineations and fold axes in the studied area, divided for each structural unit
discussed in the text.
 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282 265

less than 20 cm in amplitude and plot in the Class 3
field, close to Class 2 (Fig. 3a), which suggests they
formed by a buckling mechanism, possibly a combi-
nation of flexural and tangential longitudinal strain
that was accompanied by flattening. A poorly devel-
oped axial plane foliation defined by rare ortho- and
clinopyroxenes, as well as hornblende is parallel to
the FZ1h axial planes in the FZ1h hinges. In the
margins of the body, the S0 banding is transposed
into the SZ1h foliation represented by dimensionally

Fig. 3. (a d) tVvs. a diagrams for studied folds associated with different phases of deformation, according to Ramsay (1967). tVis defined as the
ratio between the value ta (thickness between the tangents to two folded surfaces at an angle a p 0), and t0 (thickness between the tangents to
two folded surfaces at the angle a = 0, generally in the hinge zone). a is the angle of dip of the tangents. See Ramsay (1967, p. 358 372), for
further explanations on the dip-isogons classification of folds.
266 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282
oriented orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene (augite),
brown hornblende F titaniferous biotite, in the mafic
gneiss and metagabbro. Orthopyroxene constitutes a
relict phase, surrounded by brown hornblende coro-
nas. The gently to moderately NW plunging LZ1h
lineation is defined by oriented hornblende that is
generally parallel to the long axes of quartz ribbons,
which have aspect ratios of up to 15:1. This mineral
association orthopyroxene clinopyroxene brown
hornblende indicates that these fabrics formed under
granulite facies conditions. Some of the gabbros show
retrogression at upper amphibolite conditions. Alman-
dine garnet, when present, shows poikilitic textures
and is in textural equilibrium with both pyroxenes and
hornblende. SZ1h poles are distributed along a great
circle whose gently NNW-plunging pole is approxi-
mately parallel to both the FZ1h fold axes, the NW
plunging LZ1h lineations and the Phanerozoic fold axes
(Fig. 2).
4.1.2. Age constraints on the Zapotecan structures in
the Huitzo unit
Ten 40Ar/39Ar laser fusion analyses were per-
formed on hornblende separated from a 100-m-thick
gabbro (sample OC9901) interleaved with the anor-
thosites within the Huitzo unit (Fig. 1b,c). The horn-
blende is in stable contact with augite, plagioclase and
biotite. The analyses are characterized by very high
radiogenic yields (about 99.5% or higher) and there is
no evidence of extraneous, nonatmospheric argon.
Regression of all the data yields an age of 987 F 6
Ma, whereas air-corrected data give a mean age of
977 F 12 Ma (Table 2). The latter is viewed as
preferable because there is no clear evidence of an
extraneous argon component. This age is interpreted
to date cooling through the argon blocking of f 500
jC temperature in hornblende (Harrison, 1981), and
provides a younger limit on the granulite facies meta-
morphism.
4.2. Analysis of Olmecan (h1c and h2c) and Zapo-
tecan (Z1c and Z2c) structures in the El Catrn unit
4.2.1. h1c
The oldest structures in the El Catrn unit were
only discerned in a strain window (about 500-m
wide) located at the type locality along the Federal
Road 190 (Fig. 1b). Here, migmatitic structures are
preserved, which are progressively transformed in
granulite facies, striped gneisses toward the mar-
gins. Subsequent intense reequilibration under green-
schist facies conditions affected the entire migmatitic
unit. The first recognizable structure in the El Catrn
unit is represented by the stromatic to nebulitic,
centimetric banding of mesosome and leucosome,
Su1c (Fig. 4a,b). We interpret the thin Su1c banding
as the product of metamorphic differentiation and
migmatization that overprinted an original, banded
magmatic feature. The gently NNW plunging nor-
mal to the great circle distribution of the Su1c
foliation poles in the stereonet of Fig. 2 is coinci-
dent with the axes of Fu2c folds and Phanerozoic
fold axes.
4.2.2. h2c
The Su1c banding in El Catrn unit is deformed by
isoclinal, ghostly looking, gently moderately N-dip-
ping folds (Fu2c) (Fig. 4a,b). These < 15-cm-ampli-
tude folds have gently N plunging hinges that are
parallel to a lineation (stereonet in Fig. 2), which is
constituted by moderately NNW-plunging stretched
quartz ribbons with elongation of up to 8:1. This
lineation probably reflects composite finite strain
accumulated during the Olmecan deformation and
the Z1c event.
4.2.3. Z1c
FZ1c folds deform both Su1c migmatitic banding
and Fu2c folds (Fig. 4a). FZ1c folds are up to 20 cm in
size, open to close, gently to moderately N NNE
plunging, with moderately to gently NE-dipping axial
planes (Fig. 2). Clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene
crystals in the limbs of these folds are aligned
parallel to the FZ1c axial plane, indicating that they
formed under granulite facies conditions but no axial
plane foliation was observed in the hinges of these
folds.
4.2.4. Z2c
A SZ2c foliation, which is oblique to the migma-
titic banding (Su1c) and to the FZ1c axial trace, is
microscopically defined by green hornblende that
coexists with quartz and plagioclase (Fig. 4b). It is
parallel to the axial planes of V 40-cm amplitude,
gently W-plunging, gently NW-dipping, open to iso-
clinal, FZ2c folds (Fig. 4b and stereonet of Fig. 2).
 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282 267

Fig. 4. (a) Picture illustrating the classic aspect of El Catrn migmatite in the type locality. Two phases of high-grade folding, marked by long
(Fu2c) and short (FZ1c) white arrows, affect the Su1c migmatitic banding. (b) Z-shaped, close to recumbent, amphibolite facies FZ2c fold in El
Catrn migmatite. White lines underline the SZ2c foliation in the outcrop.

The presence of axial planar green hornblende, not 4.2.5. Age constraints on structures in the El Catrn
associated with pyroxenes, suggests that FZ2c folds unit
formed under amphibolite facies metamorphic con- A total of 16 analyses were performed by U Pb
ditions. geochronology, seven on single or few zircon grains
268 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282

separated from the paleosome (67A98), and nine from
the neosome (67B98) (Table 1). All but one yielded
slightly discordant results, a reflection of the internal
complexity of these zircons (Fig. 5, images a, b and
c). The only concordant point yielded an age of
1106 F 6 Ma (analysis 7 in Table 1), and was obtained
from a single, abraded tip broken off from a prismatic,
euhedral zircon from the neosome. Its internal cath-
odoluminescence image (image d in Fig. 5) shows a
thin, oscillatory zoning, which suggests magmatic
growth. We interpret this concordant age of 1106 F 6
Ma as the best estimate of the time of migmatization. A
high luminescent overgrowth (possibly metamorphic
in origin) was removed by abrasion, performed after
the zircon was plucked off from the CL mount. Several
chords may be drawn: (i) through all the data, yielding
intercepts of 1358 F 43 and 1048 F 31 Ma, with an
MSWD of 10.6; (ii) through the concordant point at
1106 Ma and the older data, yielding intercepts of
1399 F 58 and 1092 F 38 Ma, with an MSWD of 7.3
(shown in Fig. 6a); and (iii) through the concordant
point at 1106 Ma and the younger data, yielding inter-
cepts at 1116 + 50/ 27 and 937 F 100 Ma. The upper
intercepts in (i) and (ii) of 1358 F 43 and 1399 F 58
Ma, respectively, are inferred to provide a minimum
age for the protolith. On the other hand, the lower
intercepts in (i) and (iii) of 1048 F 31 and 937 F 100
Ma, respectively, may provide a rough estimate of the
age of the granulite metamorphism in the El Catrn
unit.
In the upper part of the El Catrn unit, a pegmatite
(6898) folded by a FZ1c fold (Fig. 1b) is composed of
quartz, plagioclase (An 20%) and alkalic feldspar, with
accessory zircon, apatite and secondary epidote and
chlorite. Zircons separated from this pegmatite are
elongated, clear, light pink coloured. Cathodolumines-
cence images reveal internal homogeneity and thin,
low luminescent overgrowths in the elongate zircons
(image e in Fig. 5), and thin, oscillatory zoning in the
stubby to elongate zircons, which suggests magmatic
crystallization. A chord through two slightly discordant
analyses (Table 1) yields an upper intercept at 1126 +
11/ 6 Ma (Fig. 6b), which is tentatively interpreted as
a minimum crystallization age for this pegmatite.

Fig. 5. Cathodoluminescence images for some of the dated zircons. The white bar close to each image represents 100-Am scale. (a d) Zircons
from the El Catrn migmatite 6798; (e g) zircons from the pegmatite 6898; (h) zircon from the pegmatite 66D98.
 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282 269

Fig. 6. U Pb concordia plots. (a) El Catrn migmatite, 67A98 and 67B98; (b) El Cuajilote folded pegmatite, 6898; (c) semipelitic metasediment,
7098; (d) pre-tectonic pegmatite, 66B98; (e) flattened, axial planar pegmatite, 66C98; (f) Late tectonic pegmatite, 66D98; (g) El Tecolote
pegmatite, 6998. Errors are quoted at F 2r.
270 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282
4.3. Analysis of Olmecan (h1m and h2m) and
Zapotecan (Z1m and Z2m) structures in the El
Marquez unit
4.3.1. h1m
The V 5 mm Su1m banding consists of alternating
leucocratic and mafic horizons that could have formed
by metamorphic differentiation that may, or may not,
have enhanced an original fabric in the rocks. In the
orthogneisses, the leucocratic bands are made up of
various proportions of quartz, plagioclase, potassic
feldspar and, sometimes, almandine garnet. The mafic
horizons are composed of orthopyroxene, clinopyrox-
ene, hornblende, biotite, plagioclase and opaque min-
erals. In the paragneisses, the leucocratic bands also
contain sillimanite, rutile and graphite. The foliation,
Su1m, is defined by planar distribution of aligned
hornblende and/or titaniferous biotite, and stretched
quartz, whereas in the meta-syenite and charnockite, it
is defined by aligned orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene
and hornblende aggregates, which are parallel to
stretched quartz ribbons. Only one mineral lineation
was observed in the foliation and because the rocks
have been deformed several times at high grade
during the Olmecan and Zapotecan events, it is
inferred that the lineation is the finite result of several
increments of strain. This composite, NW to N
plunging Lu1 2m Z1m mineral lineation in the orthog-
neisses is defined by the long axes of pyroxene, mica
and hornblende, and in the paragneisses by mica and
orthopyroxene is parallel to a stretched quartz line-
ation. The Su1m foliation poles are generally distrib-
uted along a great circle, whose axis is parallel to the
Fu2m isoclinal folds axes, the FZ1m fold axes and
Phanerozoic fold axes (Fig. 2).
4.3.2. h2m
The Su1m foliation and banding is deformed by
close to isoclinal, gently to moderately NNW to N
plunging, gently NNW dipping, S and Z asymmetric
folds (Fig. 2). The folds are common in paragneisses,
and only a few were observed in the orthogneisses.
Rootless fold hinges in quartz-feldspar veins were
also observed in mica-rich bands. The Fu2m folds are
Class 1B 1C in the charnockites, 1C in mafic
horizons and 1C close to 2 in metasediments (exam-
ples in Fig. 3b). These data may be interpreted in
terms of a combination of flexural and tangential
longitudinal strain mechanisms, with superposed flat-
tening. There is no a well-developed axial plane
foliation and pyroxene and hornblende are stable in
the fold hinges.
4.3.3. Z1m
Gently NNW plunging, gently N dipping, FZ1m
close folds up to V 10 m are common in paragneisses
(stereonet in Fig. 2). They range from Class 1C to 3,
close to Class 2 (Fig. 3c). This can be interpreted as a
combination of flexural and tangential longitudinal
strain mechanism, affected by flattening perpendicular
to the axial plane. At one location, a gently folded
pegmatite cuts across both limbs of a nearly isoclinal
fold and allows the strain to be partitioned into pre-
and post-intrusion components (Fig. 7). The pegma-
tite contains flattened discs of quartz, whereas the host
gneisses contain high-stretched quartz. The flattening
component can be estimated using the methods pro-
posed by Lisle (1992) or Weger (1993). An oriented
sample of this pegmatite was cut perpendicular to the
fold axis, polished to expose the SZ1m surface, then
photographed and finally restored to allow the flat-
tened quartz to recover a quasi-equidimensional shape.
Both methods give a two-dimensional ratio of 1:3.3,
which corresponds to the strain component due to
flattening superimposed on FZ1m folding. Quartz
plagioclase garnet F orthopyroxene association
observed along the axial plane of one of these folds,
as well as the paragenesis garnet sillimanite rutile
quartz, suggest FZ1m folds formed under granulite
facies metamorphism.
4.3.4. Z2m
These structures consist of gently N-plunging,
steeply inclined FZ2m folds (Fig. 2). They show a
well-developed axial plane foliation in the hinge zone
defined by hornblende crystals that crosscut the Su1m
banding (Fig. 8a). The outer arc of one of these folds
is intruded along its axial plane by a pegmatite
(sample 66C98) that displays flattened quartz in the
margins, whereas its centre is not foliated (Fig. 9b).
The shape of the outer arc of the fold changes from
Class 1A to 1C with the increasing of curvature,
whereas the inner arc of this fold is Class 3 close to
2 (Fig. 3d). These data suggest a tangential longitu-
dinal strain mechanism, where the outer arc of the fold
hinge was stretched parallel to the banding facilitating
 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282 271

Fig. 7. Granulite facies, mesoscale recumbent FZ1m fold, which limbs are cut across by a 15-cm-thick pegmatite, unfolded but affected by
flattening perpendicular to the fold axis. The estimated flattening corresponds to an S1/S2 ratio of f 3.3:1. White lines in the detail (b) marks
the axial plane foliation in both pegmatite and folded host rock. Scale in picture (b) is 5-cm large. See text for further explanations.
272 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282

Fig. 8. (a) Photomicrograph taken in an oriented thin section, showing the SZ2m hornblende retrogression foliation, cutting across the previous
hornblende (Hbl1, basal sections) + augite (Cpx) + plagioclase (Pl) banding of the hosting folded metagabbros. The dark, new hornblende (Hbl2)
grows in the SZ2m planes, roughly oriented NW SE in the picture. The black arrows indicate the triple joints in the plagioclase matrix. Parallel
polars. The long side of the picture corresponds to 2.5 mm. (b) Photomicrograph of the flattened quartz in the margins of the pegmatite 66C98,
which shows microstructures such as subgrains with domino-like shape and 90j angles, with undulose extinction and internal, oblique
deformation lamellae (white arrows). The flattened quartz grains make an angle of f 10j with respect of the pegmatite margins. Crossed
polars. The long side of the picture corresponds to a 2.5-mm field.
 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282 273

Fig. 9. (a) Picture of the outcrop at km 199.2 of the Highway Mexico City-Oaxaca, where the samples 66A98, 66B98, 66C98 and 66D98 were
collected. Each sample, together with the U Pb interpreted age, is indicated. Sample 66A98 is dated and discussed in Keppie et al. (2003). (b)
Schematic of the 66C98 pegmatite field relationships with respect to the hosting FZ2m fold. See text for further explanations.

intrusion of the pegmatite. It is inferred that continued
deformation led to flattening of the quartz in the
margins of the pegmatite, which shows ductile micro-
structures such as (a) formation of subgrains with
domino-like shape and 90j angles, (b) undulose
extinction and (c) internal, oblique deformation lamel-
lae (Fig. 8b). The hornblende parallel to the axial
plane foliation and adjacent to the pegmatite suggest
that the fold formed under amphibolite facies con-
ditions, and that fluids necessary to hydrate the
274 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282
clinopyroxene, stable far from the pegmatite intrusive
contacts, were probably provided by the pegmatite.
4.3.5. Age constraints on structures in the El Marquez
unit
A sample of metasediment in the El Marquez-type
locality (sample 7098) was analysed to constrain its
protolith and granulite metamorphism age. The
selected sample has a semipelitic composition, being
made up of quartz, plagioclase, graphite, biotite, relict
pyroxene, opaque minerals, and accessory zircon and
apatite. Three analyses were performed on selected
grains. Analysis 19 on an equant and abraded single
crystal yielded a concordant age of 994 F 3 Ma (Table
1), which is interpreted as recording the granulite
facies metamorphism. Analyses 20 and 21 yielded
discordant data (Table 1). A chord drawn through all
three analyses in the concordia diagram of Fig. 6c
yields a lower intercept of 996 + 18/ 22 Ma and an
upper intercept of 1300 + 69/ 61 Ma, which is
possibly a mixing of detrital zircons and the f 1106
Ma Olmecan event.
In order to bracket the structural fabrics in the El
Marquez unit, several samples (66B98, 66C98,
66D98) were collected from early-, middle- and late-
stage pegmatites cutting a metagabbro on the Federal
Highway at 199.2 km (Fig. 9a). Zircons in the
metagabbro yielded discordant analyses that fall on
a chord between 1257 F 71 and 1021 F 39 Ma, which
are interpreted as the minimum protolith age and as a
rough estimate of the age of granulite facies meta-
morphism, respectively (Keppie et al., 2003). Sample
66B98 is a 2-m-thick, foliated pegmatite that is nearly
concordant with the foliation in the surrounding
metagabbro. It is composed of quartz, alkalic feldspar,
plagioclase, hornblende, magnetite and apatite. U Pb
analyses yielded one concordant result with an age of
1144 F 2 Ma on an abraded three-grain fraction inter-
preted as a minimum for the time of intrusion (Table
1, analysis 23), and several 0.4% to + 1.7% dis-
cordant points. All of these analyses fall on a chord
with a MSWD of 5.9, with upper and lower intercepts
of 1144 F 36 and 925 F 200 Ma; the latter is within
error of the time of granulite facies metamorphism.
The 1144 F 2 Ma age is similar to the 1131 F 10 Ma
upper intercept U/Pb age determined for the meta-
syenite in the El Marquez unit (Keppie et al., 2003). It
is also within error of the minimum crystallization age
of 1126 + 11/ 6 Ma calculated on the pegmatite
6898 in the El Catrn structural unit, suggesting that
they may be related intrusions.
The pegmatite 66C98 intruding the outer arc of the
FZ2m fold described above (Fig. 9b) is made up of
quartz, pink perthitic feldspar, plagioclase (An 25%),
rare hornblende, magnetite and ilmenite. Zircons from
this pegmatite vary from pink to red, stubby to broken,
clear, with rounded tips and no visible cores. Five
analyses were performed on unabraded/abraded multi-
grain fractions and yielded concordant to slightly
discordant ages with 207Pb/206Pb between 971 and
984 Ma (Table 1). Analysis 30 was performed on
seven unabraded stubby grains with sharp edges
between the facets, and yielded a concordant age of
978 F 3 Ma, which is inferred to represent the time
of intrusion. Because this pegmatite intrudes the
stretched, outer arc of a FZ2m fold and is itself ductilely
deformed during the last increment of flattening, we
interpret the concordant age of 978 F 3 Ma as provid-
ing the best estimate of the age of the FZ2m folding
event formed under amphibolite facies conditions.
An undeformed, massive, 50-cm-thick pegmatite
(66D98) that cuts across the foliation in the metagab-
bro host rock and the foliated 66B98 pegmatite (Fig.
9a) was sampled for U/Pb geochronology. It consists
of quartz, pink perthitic feldspar, microcline, plagio-
clase (An 25%), magnetite, retrogressed hornblende,
and apatite and zircon as accessory minerals. Four,
abraded, single zircons were analysed for U Pb
isotopes and yielded concordant to slightly discordant
data (Table 1), with the weighted mean giving an age
of 977 F 2 Ma (Fig. 6f). Analyses 33 and 34 in Table
1 were performed on stubby to rounded grains. A
similar, stubby zircon was imaged by cathodolumi-
nescence (image h in Fig. 5) and its internal morphol-
ogy is characterized by thin concentric oscillatory
zoning, suggesting a magmatic origin.
A 2-m-thick pegmatite (6998) intrudes quartz
feldspar garnet paragneisses and cuts across the
Su1m foliation. Thin pegmatitic dikes emanating from
the main body contain a C S fabric of stretched
quartz with top to SE sense of shearing, which are
inferred to have formed at lower amphibolite upper
greenschist facies metamorphic conditions (Passchier
and Trouw, 1996). This pegmatite is composed of
bluish quartz, plagioclase, perthitic feldspar and very
large zircons, up to 2 cm in size. The intense blue
 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282
Fig. 10. Summary of the tectonic events recognized in the three tectonic units of the northern Oaxacan Complex, and discussed in the text. The intrusive events reported by Keppie et
al. (2003) are shown in italic.

275
276 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282
colour in the quartz is probably due to microscopic
inclusions of Ti Fe oxides, such as rutile or ilmenite.
This scattering phenomenon has been described else-
where in high-grade gneiss terrains (e.g., Herz and
Force, 1984), and it is inferred to be due to a high-
grade ilmenite exolution. Thus, although the pegmatite
was probably intruded under granulite facies condi-
tion, it was deformed at a much lower grade of meta-
morphism. Zircons occur as big, dark purple euhedral
prismatic crystals. One large zircon was broken into
fragments, which were intensely abraded, and then two
of them were chosen for U Pb geochronology. The
first yielded a 0.5% discordant data with 207Pb/206Pb
age of 975 F 1 Ma (Table 1, analysis 37). The second
fragment yielded an almost concordant age ( 0.1%
reverse discordance) at 979 F 3 Ma (Table 1, analysis
38), which is interpreted as the time of pegmatite
crystallization. If the blue quartz formed under gran-
ulite facies conditions, then the 979 F 3 Ma age
records the last stage of this grade of metamorphism.
4.4. Summary
Using these data together with that in Keppie et al.
(2003), all the Zapotecan granulite and upper amphib-
olite fabrics are bracketed between the 1012 F 12 Ma
protolith age in the Huitzo unit and the 977 F 2 Ma
age of the post-tectonic pegmatite (66D98). Granulite
facies metamorphic ages range between the concord-
ant 1004 F 3 Ma age in charnockite of the Huitzo unit
(Keppie et al., 2003) and the concordant 979 F 3 Ma
age on the post-tectonic, blue quartz pegmatite
(6998). Using all the data, the transition from gran-
ulite to amphibolite facies conditions took place
between 981 and 976 Ma: the overlap between
979 F 3 Ma (sample 6998: pegmatite intruded during
granulite facies metamorphism) and 978 F 3 Ma
(sample 66C98: pegmatite intruded during upper
amphibolite facies of metamorphism), respectively.
Following the Zapotecan tectonothermal event, cool-
ing through f 500 jC occurred quickly, as indicated
by the 977 F 12 Ma age on the hornblende.
4.5. Correlation of structures in the three units
Intrusion of the AMCG units at f 1012 Ma of the
Huitzo unit clearly separates the f 1100 Ma Olme-
can and f 1004 980 Ma Zapotecan tectonothermal
events, and makes identification of the Zapotecan
structures relatively clear. Thus, we correlate the
Zapotecan structures in the Huitzo unit (Z1h: NW-
plunging lineation, a generally NW-dipping foliation,
and NW-plunging, northerly inclined folds) with sim-
ilarly oriented structures in the El Catrn (Z1c) and El
Marquez units (Z1m) (Figs. 2 and 10). This is con-
sistent with their formation under granulite facies
metamorphic conditions. The structures formed under
upper amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions in
the El Catrn (Z2c) and El Marquez (Z2m) units have
distinctly different orientations from the Z1 structures:
W-plunging nearly recumbent folds in the El Catrn
unit, and NNE-plunging, upright folds in the El
Marquez unit (Figs. 2 and 10).
This leaves two earlier sets of structures in the El
Catrn and El Marquez units, which are assigned to
the Olmecan tectonothermal event. Thus, the mig-
matization in the El Catrn unit (u1c) may be broadly
synchronous with metamorphic differentiation in the
El Marquez unit that produced the banding (u1m)
(Figs. 2 and 10). This allows the similarly oriented
isoclinal folds (u2) in these two units to be corre-
lated (Figs. 2 and 10). The metamorphic assemb-
lages formed during the Olmecan event were
overprinted by the Zapotecan granulite facies meta-
morphism.
5. Discussion
Data presented here indicate that two main tecto-
nothermal events occurred in the northern Oaxacan
Complex of southern Mexico: 1106 F 6 Ma Olmecan
event and f 1004 978 F 3 Ma Zapotecan event.
The significance of the Olmecan migmatization and
deformation is uncertain, and it has yet to be recorded
elsewhere in the f 1.1 Ga rocks of Mexico. The
Olmecan event is approximately contemporaneous
with a rift-related granite dated at 1117 F 4 Ma in
the southern Oaxacan Complex, and follows rift-
related magmatism at f 1140 Ma (Keppie et al.,
2001, 2003). Thus, it is possible that the Olmecan
event is related to rifting, in which case it may be
extensional rather than compressional. Assuming a rift
model, partial melting could have been triggered by a
rise in the isotherms caused by rifting. Clearly, more
data are required, such as kinematic data and more
 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282 277

conventional U Pb and SHRIMP dating, to better
define the nature and significance of the Olmecan
event.
The Zapotecan tectonothermal event in the north-
ern Oaxacan Complex is recorded by widespread
polyphase deformation and associated granulite facies
metamorphism. A contemporaneous tectonothermal
event has also been recorded in all the other Mexican
inliers that form Oaxaquia, such as in the Guichicovi
Complex ( f 986 Ma, Ruz et al., 1999; Weber and
Kohler, 1999), in the Huiznopala Gneiss ( f 1000
Ma, Lawlor et al., 1999), and in the Novillo Gneiss
( f 928 1018 Ma, Denison et al., 1971; Silver et al.,
1994). Although a contemporaneous event has not
been recorded in Texas (Mosher, 1998 and references
therein) or in most of the Grenville Province, the
Zapotecan event is contemporaneous with the 980
1000 Ma Rigolet event, which is restricted to amphib-
olite greenschist facies reactivation along the Gren-
ville Front (Scharer et al., 1986; Krogh, 1994;
Corrigan et al., 2000). Several Grenvillian massifs in
the southern Appalachians also record a f 990 1010
Ma tectonothermal event (references in Sinha et al.,
1996). Aleinikoff et al. (1996) reported a granulite

Fig. 11. 1 Ga Rodinia reconstruction (modified from Keppie et al., 2003) showing 990 1000 Ma tectonothermal events in the Grenville-aged
orogens (dark, diagonal pattern). Bold numbers 1 to 3 indicate the possible locations of Oaxaquia (OX) and Chortis Block (CH), as discussed by
Keppie et al. (2003). Abbreviations: SM = Santa Marta Massif; AA = Arequipa Antofalla Massif; R = Rockall Plateau (Goochland and Carolina
terranes); SN = Sveco Norwegian Orogen; CM = Coats Land/Maudheim/Grunehogna terrane; SO = Sunsas Orogen; WA BR = West
Avalonia Blair River; SF = Sao Francisco Craton.
278 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282

Fig. 12. Schematic cartoon illustrating the evolution of Oaxaquia during the Zapotecan orogeny ( f 990 Ma). (a) Andean-type orogen, in which
retro-arc thrusting places the Avalonian magmatic arc over the Oaxaquia backarc where rift-related AMCG magmatism occurred at f 1012 Ma:
the Andes would be the modern analogue; (b) arc continent collision model, where the overriding Avalonian arc collides with Oaxaquia, the
passive margin of the Amazonian craton: Australia Papua New Guinea would be the modern analogue; (c) continent continent collision
model, in which a continent (Laurentia?) overrides the passive margin of Amazonia constituted by Oaxaquia: the Alps can be viewed as modern
analogue.
 L.A. Solari et al. / Tectonophysics 365 (2003) 257282
facies metamorphism at f 1011 Ma of the f 1045
Ma Montpellier anorthosite in the Goochland terrane
of the southern Appalachians. Similarly, the upper
amphibolite facies metamorphism at f 996 Ma in the
Blair River Complex of the northern Appalachians is
synchronous with the Zapotecan event (Miller et al.,
1996; Miller and Barr, 2000), as well as the 980 960
Ma Sveconorwegian Orogeny of southwestern Baltica
(Soderlund et al., 2002). Restrepo-Pace (personal
communication, 2000) reported a tectonothermal
event at 981 F 85 Ma in the Colombian massifs of
the Andes. Wasteneys et al. (1995) reported a 970 F 23
Ma, granulite facies metamorphism and deformation in
the Mollendo Domain of the Arequipa Massif of Peru.
Although Litherland et al. (1986) reported a f 990
Ma tectonothermal event in the Sunsas Orogen of
Bolivia, recent U Pb data suggests that it is consid-
erably older (Tassinari et al., 2000). Thus, the distri-
bution of granulite facies metamorphism during the
f 1 Ga tectonothermal event appears to be restricted
to the central parts of the Grenville Orogen in a Rodi-
nia reconstruction (Fig. 11).
The Zapotecan granulite facies tectonothermal
event that occurred at depths of f 30 km probably
formed in the roots of an orogen produced during
subduction and/or collision (Jamieson et al., 1998).
We consider three models (Fig. 12): (1) fold-and-
thrust belt associated either with A-subduction (e.g.
the Andes: Ramos and Aleman, 2000), or with shal-
lowing of the subduction zone, subduction of young
oceanic lithosphere, and overriding of plumes (e.g.
Laramide Orogeny: Murphy et al., 1998); (2) arc
continent collision (e.g. Papua/New Guinea and Aus-
tralia: van Staal et al., 1998); and (3) continent
continent collision (e.g. Alps: Stampfli et al., 1998).
Although polyphase deformation is present in all these
tectonic settings, a contemporaneous association with
granulite facies metamorphism is perhaps more diag-
nostic. England and Richardson (1977) and Jamieson
et al. (1998) have shown that >25 40 million years is
required to reequilibrate the isotherms following crus-
tal thickening. This problem may be overcome by
delamination of the orogenic root, which is replaced
by upwelling hot asthenosphere associated with mag-
matism; however, the latter is not present in the
Zapotecan. Delamination has been proposed in sev-
eral tectonic settings including the Andes, arc con-
tinent and continent continent collisions and so
279
cannot be used to discriminate between them. Syn-
chroneity of granulite facies metamorphism and defor-
mation may also be overcome by overriding a plume
as occurred in the Laramide orogeny; however, here;
it is associated with widespread magmatism (Murphy
et al., 1998), a feature apparently absent in Oaxaquia
during the Zapotecan. On the other hand, is it possible
that intrusion of the f 1012 Ma AMCG suite pro-
vided a sufficiently large initial temperature increment
that survived into the Zapotecan deformation episode?
Even with a positive response to this question, one
cannot discriminate between the various tectonic set-
tings.
Thus, all three tectonic settings envisaged for the
Zapotecan are possible: (1) continent continent colli-
sion between two land masses that could be Laurentia
and Amazonia (Fig. 12a); (2) arc continent collision
between the Avalonia Carolinia juvenile arc and
Oaxaquia (Fig. 12b); or (3) an Andean-type orogen
adjacent to the northern margin of Amazon craton
(Fig. 12c).
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge funding for various
aspects of this project from CONACyT grants (0225P-
T9506 and 25705-T), PAPIIT-UNAM grants
(IN116999 and IN107999) to JDK and FOG, a UC-
MEXUS grant to KLC and FOG, NSF grant
EAR9909459 to KLC and UNAM-PAEP student grant
to LAS. We would also like to thank Pete Holden for
assistance with isotopic analyses at UCSC, and Kip
Hodges for access to the MIT 40Ar/39Ar facility. Care-
ful reviews of I. Fitzsimons, E. Johnson and P. Schaaf
greatly improved the clarity of the manuscript, and
helped to clarify some points. This work is a
contribution to the IGCP # 453 (Modern and Ancient
Orogens).
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