An Unexplored Realm in the Heartland of the Southern Gulf ... - Famsi

site surveys’ spatial data with locational data obtained from other regional and site
surveys; and (3) enhance comprehension of the site by understanding the site formation
processes and changes in the landscape through time. The various mapping techniques
employed at El Marquesillo permit the site to be examined from multiple perspectives.
The earliest contemporary map depicting the site was made by Espinoza-García (1998)
(see Figure 4.2). These sketch maps, which were included in his 1998 report on the
condition of the site (see Chapter 3, The Archaeology of El Marquesillo), were
essentially hand-drawn maps that are not to scale and are not completely accurate. These
sketches do, however, illustrate a 0.15 km² architectural complex that was destroyed by a
change in the flow of the San Juan River between 1994 and 1998. They provide an
indication of the extent of the land loss during this period caused by the natural
movement of the river.
Figure 4.2. Sketch maps of a portion of El Marquesillo in 1994 and in 1998. The broken
line in the 1998 map marks a 0.15 km² architectural complex lost during a collapse of the
embankment over a four-year period (after Espinoza-García 1998).
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