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

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Geophysical Magnetometer Survey At El Marquesillo, the recovery of a monumental basalt throne led to the reasonable assumption that more stone sculpture may be present at the site and could be detected by a magnetic survey. At contemporaneous Formative period Southern Gulf Lowlands sites such as Loma de Zapote, Tenochtitlán, Estero Rabón, El Remolino, Tres Zapotes, and Laguna de los Cerros, numerous monumental basalt sculptures have been found (Cyphers 2004; Lowe 1989). San Lorenzo and La Venta are sites where table-top thrones of a size and iconographic content comparable to El Marquesillo’s throne have been recovered. Magnetometer survey is one of the most productive methods of archaeological subsurface prospecting. The technique is used to measure minute variations, computed in nanoTeslas (nT), in the Earth’s magnetic field across an area. Its primary objective is to identify the location of changes in the Earth’s magnetic field (Breiner 1999; Reynolds 1997). These variations are caused by contrasts between the magnetic properties of an archaeological object or feature and the magnetic properties of the surrounding soil (Breiner and Coe 1972). Igneous rock such as basalt or andesite, dense deposits of fired ceramics, or burned material such as hearths or kilns, are detectable through magnetic survey (Breiner 1999; Weymouth 1986). The geophysical conditions present at El Marquesillo are conducive to magnetic prospection techniques and are detailed in the following section of this chapter. 144
Magnetic Properties of Basalt The magnetic properties of basalt are essential to the success of this survey. The sources of the basalt used in monumental sculpture in the Southern Gulf Lowlands are located in the Tuxtla Volcanic Ridge (Coe and Diehl 1980a; Heizer et al. 1965; Williams and Heizer 1965). These basalts are extruded, mafic igneous rock emitted as magmatic material at the earth's surface during volcanic eruptions in the form of lava rich in ferromagnesian minerals. As the molten material solidified, its iron-containing minerals aligned with the Earth’s magnetic field. More precisely, as the volcanic rock cooled past the Curie Point, a transition temperature that marks a change in the magnetic properties of the rock, it begins to produce an induced magnetic field (Dunlop and Özdemir 1997). Below the Curie Point, the blocking temperature is reached, a stage at which the ferromagnetic grains within the material are no longer free to move. It is at this point that the magnetic properties of the rock become stable and produce a permanent directional orientation, a property known as thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) (Butler 1992; Dunlop and Özdemir 1997). It is the alignment of the stone’s directional polarity that provides its magnetic coherence, and the level of amplitude demonstrated on the magnetic anomaly maps are produced by TRM. This formation process results in two primary magnetic attributes of basalt, magnetic susceptibility and remanant magnetization (Dobrin and Savit 1988; Dunlop and Özdemir 1997; Tarling and Hrouda 1993). The measure of magnetic strength of a mineral or rock is called magnetic susceptibility, which is a function of two factors: 1) the amount of iron, and to a lesser extent nickel or cobalt, present in the rock and particularly carried in magnetite, hematite, and related minerals; and 2) the measure of alignment occurring 145
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An Unexplored Realm in the Heartlan
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“Note to Reader” The original o
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Confederacy Model 39 Feudalistic Mo
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Elemental Analysis of the Soils fro
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The Initial Occupation of El Marque
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List of Tables Table 5.1. Ceramic C
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Figure 3.14. Plan view of the Olmec
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Figure 5.7. Site map illustrating l
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Figure 5.53. El Marquesillo throne
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the resulting data do not fit many
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Furtherance of my academic career w
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Introduction Chapter 1. Archaeology
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esearch being conducted along the S
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its introduction to Mesoamerican ar
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participants. It is especially crit
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interpretations. Finally, I compare
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analogy (Diehl 1989:25; VanDerwarke
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change, fluctuates according to “
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embedded misconceptions about these
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The “Heartland” has been deline
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than a century after their occurren
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inference as opposed to evidence. T
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Sanders and Webster (1988:544) argu
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Park (1992:90) presents the Olmec a
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lowland subsistence economy until a
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Maya are lineal descendents of the
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continued to inhibit scientific inq
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describes this attempted conformanc
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The models used for evaluation of t
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number of archaeological correlates
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Confederacy Model Pool (2000:150;20
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Limitations and Cautions in the Use
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Lorenzo is considered the earliest
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Several lines of evidence suggest a
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turn, gave budding Olmec leaders co
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apid growth of settlements and thei
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techniques (Berger et al. 1967; Hei
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appear to characterize it as a “c
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iconographic detail, and appear to
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Formative period Southern Gulf Lowl
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Medellín-Zeníl (1960) found large
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de Agua, and the famous, iconograph
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egarding subsistence, settlement, p
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Introduction Chapter 3. El Marquesi
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300-900). Historical documentation
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The features of the San Juan are ch
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Figure 3.4. Aerial photograph of El
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At each of these three points of co
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El Marquesillo’s geographic locat
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of the location for more than 3,500
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The extensive Villa Alta architectu
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of constructions. This formal archi
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To achieve and maintain this elevat
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Figure 3.11. Map of the Southern Gu
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Teotihuacán and Aztec trade routes
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land was not in the form of gold an
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Huaspaltepec (Playa Vicente), betwe
Page 115 and 116: as listed in these records, include
Page 117 and 118: community members had to work the l
Page 119 and 120: The 1944 flood was a momentous even
Page 121 and 122: of ancient structures, including Ce
Page 123 and 124: to recover as much information as p
Page 125 and 126: Figure 3.17. Photograph of El Seño
Page 127 and 128: collection along the cut bank was a
Page 129 and 130: its termination line (Borstein 2001
Page 131 and 132: Figure 3.18. Illustration of San Lo
Page 133 and 134: is seated transitionally between th
Page 135 and 136: Introduction Chapter 4. El Marquesi
Page 137 and 138: Grove 1997; Tolstoy 1989). Landscap
Page 139 and 140: Determination of the Survey Area Th
Page 141 and 142: Surface Mapping and Terrain Modelin
Page 143 and 144: Global Positioning System (GPS) Map
Page 145 and 146: Figure 4.4. Map of El Marquesillo g
Page 147 and 148: have the potential to record points
Page 149 and 150: The topographic images and terrain
Page 151 and 152: Figure 4.8. Digital Terrain Model o
Page 153 and 154: Figure 4.11. View to the east of lo
Page 155 and 156: The western third of the platform h
Page 157 and 158: Figure 4.15. Elevated view of Field
Page 159 and 160: Figure 4.17. Topographic map of El
Page 161 and 162: Figure 4.19. Northwest view of spri
Page 163 and 164: Information Systems (GIS) approach
Page 165: Figure 4.21. Illustration of docume
Page 169 and 170: Magnetic Data Collection, Condition
Page 171 and 172: The magnetometer was set to the bas
Page 173 and 174: Figure 4.23. Topographical base map
Page 175 and 176: of basalt, but instead, a body of s
Page 177 and 178: Figure 4.25. Topographic contour ma
Page 179 and 180: mercuric sulfide in the soil. There
Page 181 and 182: Coyote, Honduras (Terry et al. 2000
Page 183 and 184: intersection on the numbered rows a
Page 185 and 186: The results were reported in parts
Page 187 and 188: Figure 4.28b. Box plot summaries of
Page 189 and 190: Elemental Analysis of the Soils fro
Page 191 and 192: Summary of the Soil Analyses When t
Page 193 and 194: Figure 4.31a. Potassium distributio
Page 195 and 196: estriction prohibiting further exca
Page 197 and 198: The average depth of any observed a
Page 199 and 200: Figure 5.7. Site map illustrating l
Page 201 and 202: Figure 5.8. River cut profile 1A Le
Page 203 and 204: Figure 5.9. River cut profile 1B in
Page 205 and 206: Figure 5.10. River cut profile 2A L
Page 207 and 208: Figure 5.11. River cut profile 6B o
Page 209 and 210: Formative to Protoclassic ceramics
Page 211 and 212: fabrication methods, technologies,
Page 213 and 214: some of the Formative period wares
Page 215 and 216: The San Lorenzo Olmec Period (c. 11
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Figure 5.19. Examples of Middle For
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The Late Classic Period (c. AD 550-
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English annular ware (c. AD 1785-18
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Ceramic Collection Areas The identi
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Figure 5.26. Distribution of cerami
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Formative period accounted for 785
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The survey was conducted along the
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Figure 5.29. Diagram of Olmec thron
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Figure 5.30. Map illustrating the l
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Late Formative (263), Protoclassic
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demonstrates an analogous situation
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Offering I Figure 5.32. Locations o
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Figure 5.34. Offering I is at the c
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Figure 5.36. Two reconstructed plat
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crescent with its concave and conve
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The two figurine types are common t
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vessels that were deposited into a
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Figure 5.45. Two of three similar s
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Obsidian and Lithic Analyses The Ob
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Throne Units Test Units Offerings I
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inhabitants from other sites, or in
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Figure 5.50. Examples of stones tho
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Figure 5.51. El Marquesillo throne
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accomplished through violent blows
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Figure 5.56. Close-up of the figure
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Figure 5.58. Illustration of magnet
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Modifications to this pattern occur
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class occurred only in the presence
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appearance of ceramics occurred dur
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series of interrelated residential,
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The Early Formative period appearan
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Evidence of these constructions is
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and the excavated pit is not known,
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For the Gulf Olmec, monumental exhi
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precisely. This method would also m
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An earlier discussion suggested sty
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approximately 100 cm to 120 cm belo
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Nevertheless, the structural design
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discussion about the antiquity of t
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6.3). At La Venta equivalent basalt
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shamanistic ritual and rulership (F
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elevation provides an excellent ove
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further support to the idea that El
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Also contributing to the ceramic pr
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Another possible basalt deposition
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off is dramatic to say the least. T
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direction, a series of hills approx
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Finally, the selection and investig
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a metaphor for the movements of the
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plaza complex is also oriented to p
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the traditional communal ideology.
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where new diagnostic ceramic types
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Understanding of the early Postclas
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ceramics probably arrived at the en
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investigation before the direction
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Marquesillo, past and present. Fitt
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Through the integration of a sequen
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experienced an upward trend in popu
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prehispanic occupation would have b
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Assmann (2006) argues that prehisto
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1997:288). These changes in residen
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structures that could provide long-
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Analysis of these three components
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Early architectural units, specific
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activities and that these activitie
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political structure. Was it an inde
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subordinate to a nearby primary cen
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Explanation of Spatial Organization
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conjunction with other forms of arc
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Mesoamerican worldviews (Vogt 1981:
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Expanding the Boundaries and a Look
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to illustrate their power and wealt
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emains is striking. This disproport
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the earliest detectable occupation
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and Uxpanapa River Basins, I wonder
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Arnaiz-Villena, A., G. Vargas-Alarc
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Bassie, K. 2006 The Fire and Water
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Blake, M. and J. E. Clark 1999 The
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Butler, R. F. 1992 Paleomagnetism:
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2001 Gulf Lowlands: South Region. I
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Coe, M. D., D. Snow and E. Benson 1
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2003 Laguna de los Cerros: Una Capi
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2003 Analysis of Formative Period O
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Elachi, C. 1987 Introduction to the
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Foster, G. M. 1940 Notes on the Pop
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2001 La Venta, Tabasco, Mexico. In
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Halbwachs, M. 1992 On Collective Me
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Hester, T. R., H. J. Shafer and K.
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Johnston, K. J. and N. Gonlin 1998
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Kruger, R. P. 1996 An Archaeologica
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Madry, S. L. H. 1987 A Multiscalar
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Middleton, W. D. 2004 Identifying C
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Ortíz, P. 1975 La Ceramica de los
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Plog, S. 1990 Agriculture, Sedentis
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Rapoport, A. 1990 History and Prece
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Rueda, H. G. 1989 Nuevas Exploracio
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Santley, R. S., S. A. Nelson, B. K.
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1989 Olmec Studies: A Status Report
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Stark, B. L. and P. J. Arnold 1997
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Tarling, D. H. 1983 Geomagnetism. C
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Tykot, R. H. 2004 Stable Isotopes a
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Wallerstein, I. 1974 The Modern Wor
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2003 The Role of Kinship and Demogr
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Appendix 1a. Ceramic Analysis: Type
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Appendix 1b. Ceramic Analysis: Type
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Appendix 2. Ceramic Types and Count
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Appendix 2 Ceramic Types and Counts
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Appendix 3a. Obsidian from Test Uni
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Appendix 3b. Obsidian from Throne E
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Appendix 4a. Lithics from Surface C
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Appendix 4b. Lithics from River Cut
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Appendix 5a. Soil Survey I Element
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Appendix 5a. Soil Survey I Element
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Appendix 5b. Soil Survey II Element
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Appendix 5b. Soil Survey II Element
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About the Author Travis F. Doering
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An Unexplored Realm in the Heartland of the Southern Gulf ... - Famsi

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