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

Level VI is a layer of sand and gravel that was mixed and modified. Contained in
a portion of this level is a quantity of burned clay that acted as a floor with small amounts
of ceramics scattered on its surface. All diagnostic material recovered in the ceramic
specimens from this level are Early Formative (11.4).
The Ceramics of El Marquesillo
In the area of study, newly tilled fields continually reveal potsherds, and the upper
portions of the exposed river cut contains 0.5 to 1.5 m deep layers of ceramic pieces that,
in some cases, extend for hundreds of meters. The ubiquity of ceramics within specific,
albeit sizable, areas of the site suggest possible long term production. On the contrary to
this prominence of pottery is the absence of other types of associated artifacts or
materials. Occasionally, 5 to 10 cm pieces of river gravel are noted that, after
macroscopic examination (10x magnification), may have been used as polishing or
burnishing stones based on their form and wear.
Ceramic artifacts were recovered through a surface collection, a collection along
the base of the river cut bank, the 2002 Olmec throne excavations, the 2003 test unit
excavations, and the stratigraphic cut bank profiles. For comparison, 1.3 obsidian
artifacts were recovered per cubic meter of excavated soil. Ceramics, on the other hand,
were recovered at a rate of 264.4 pieces per cubic meter. Unquestionably, the elimination
of sampling bias would lessen the disparity, but the overwhelming prominence of
potsherds would probably be little diminished.
The analysis of El Marquesillo’s ceramic assemblage provided chronological
cross-ties to well-established contemporaneous regional ceramics through comparison of
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