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

Figure 5.29. Diagram of Olmec throne excavation units. Shading indicates units where
diagnostic ceramics were recovered, and the dashed outline illustrates the throne’s
position.
recovered relative to the throne’s location. Each excavation unit is identified by its
northwest corner coordinates (e.g., N1W3, N2W3, N3W3). Included in the assemblage of
3,894 pieces identifiable by type were 1,517 Formative period pieces, 255 Protoclassic to
Late Classic pieces, and 1,920 pieces non-diagnostic domestic wares. Complete type
counts from these six units are presented in Appendix 2. Note that materials from
Offerings I or II are not included. Details of these offerings are discussed later.
The deposition of chronologically diagnostic pieces recovered near the throne is
notable. All ceramics were encountered below 0.4 m below the surface, and the profile
drawings illustrate that this upper layer is unbroken, effectively creating a sealed context
(see Hernández and Barrera 2002). Between the 0.4 to 1.1 m levels in each unit, the soils
and chronologically diagnostic ceramics are highly mixed. Early, Middle, and Late
Formative potsherds are intermingled with Protoclassic, Early, and Late Classic pieces. In
this stratum, the Formative period diagnostics account for 1,331 pieces and the Classic
pieces amount to 250 specimens. Below the 1.1 m level, however, only Formative period
pieces were recovered. The sole exception was Type 5103, a Fine Cream (Buff) ware that
previously was considered indicative of the Classic period. Pool (1997:49) has recently
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