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

this method when applied to investigation of communal activity areas, households, and
subsistence systems (Barba 1986; Fernández et al. 2002; Linderholm and Lundberg 1994;
Manzanilla and Barba 1990; Wells 2004a; Wells et al. 2000). Spatial and quantitative
elemental patterns can imply activity area locations associated with eating and drinking
as well as where the processing, preparation, consumption, and deposition of food may
have occurred.
It has been demonstrated that the collection and analysis of soils from within and
around the perimeter of precolumbian plaza groups has consistently revealed evidence of
specific human activities (Wells 2004a; Wells et al. 2007; Wells et al. 2000). A caveat to
this methodology is the recognition that elemental concentrations alone are not
necessarily reliable indicators of human activities. The chemical data are used in
conjunction with other lines of archaeological evidence to provide support for the
understanding of the organization and spatial distribution of activities. Studying the
elemental composition of anthrosols can be conducted prior to, or in conjunction with,
field excavation and other investigative techniques, which are essential for inferring the
activities that generated chemical residues in soils. Only through an integration of these
methods, along with consideration of the archaeological and spatial contexts, can
inferences be proposed and evaluated concerning the type and location of activities.
The soil surveys conducted at El Marquesillo provide an opportunity to observe
and evaluate the effectiveness of this methodology over a significantly greater time depth
then has been previously attempted in Mesoamerica. Prior experiments have examined
Classic period sites (c. AD 200 to 900) including Piedras Negras, Guatemala and El
158