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

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Figure 1.1. El Marquesillo’s monumental Olmec throne. Major discoveries relating to the Formative period Southern Gulf Lowlands are rare; therefore, recovery of a monumental “Olmec-related” artifact can generate substantial new information to the limited corpus of data. This particular artifact, along with knowledge of its depositional context, could provide insight into a little known and unexplored region of the Southern Gulf Lowlands. This throne has also created new questions that require a re-evaluation of aspects of the conventional wisdom regarding the extent and degree of the Olmec phenomenon and its related sociopolitical complexity. This project began with questions that were slightly less lofty than those asked by Diehl in the introductory quote. As the investigation progressed, the initial inquiries that related to the details of the throne and its presence at El Marquesillo broadened to include consideration of settlement patterns, coeval development of nearby sites, residential and ceremonial activities, and iconographic and symbolic expression. As the examination continued other issues arose. The evidence from El Marquesillo, along with other recent 2
esearch being conducted along the Southern Gulf Coast (e.g. Arnold 2003, 2005; Borstein 2001; Cyphers 2003; Killion and Urcid 2001; Pool 2005, 2006; Pope et al. 2001; VanDerwarker 2006), demonstrate that the perception and models of the “Olmec,” as used by social theorists and as they are portrayed to the general public, need to be revisited and possibly revised. Upman (1990a:98) maintains that social and political complexity is a mosaic process in which variables (i.e., environmental, social, political, economic, ideological, and demographic) may act independently or in differential collaboration to affect change. In this dissertation, I use diverse lines of evidence from El Marquesillo (e.g., spatial analysis, remote sensing, anthropogenic soil survey, ethnohistoric and ethnological accounts, geomorphology, landscape archaeology, and artifact analysis) to examine those variables. I argue that these data do not fit many of the prototypical models that have been put forth to explain the Olmec sociopolitical phenomenon that occurred in the Formative period Southern Gulf Lowlands. The investigation of El Marquesillo was designed to examine the site from various perspectives and multiple scales of analysis. It was through this type of approach that the analyses of the natural and built environments, along with the material record, suggested that a different social trajectory was followed by the people of El Marquesillo from what has been postulated for other contemporary regional settlements. There are distinctive physical expressions that relate to ancestor veneration, occupational and cultural continuity, interaction of the ancient people with their landscape, and the manifestation of their worldview. Equivalent displays of continuity and social practice were either not present or remain unidentified at other Southern Gulf Lowlands sites. 3
Page 1 and 2: An Unexplored Realm in the Heartlan
Page 3 and 4: “Note to Reader” The original o
Page 5 and 6: Confederacy Model 39 Feudalistic Mo
Page 7 and 8: Elemental Analysis of the Soils fro
Page 9 and 10: The Initial Occupation of El Marque
Page 11 and 12: List of Tables Table 5.1. Ceramic C
Page 13 and 14: Figure 3.14. Plan view of the Olmec
Page 15 and 16: Figure 5.7. Site map illustrating l
Page 17 and 18: Figure 5.53. El Marquesillo throne
Page 19 and 20: the resulting data do not fit many
Page 21 and 22: Furtherance of my academic career w
Page 23: Introduction Chapter 1. Archaeology
Page 27 and 28: its introduction to Mesoamerican ar
Page 29 and 30: participants. It is especially crit
Page 31 and 32: interpretations. Finally, I compare
Page 33 and 34: analogy (Diehl 1989:25; VanDerwarke
Page 35 and 36: change, fluctuates according to “
Page 37 and 38: embedded misconceptions about these
Page 39 and 40: The “Heartland” has been deline
Page 41 and 42: than a century after their occurren
Page 43 and 44: inference as opposed to evidence. T
Page 45 and 46: Sanders and Webster (1988:544) argu
Page 47 and 48: Park (1992:90) presents the Olmec a
Page 49 and 50: lowland subsistence economy until a
Page 51 and 52: Maya are lineal descendents of the
Page 53 and 54: continued to inhibit scientific inq
Page 55 and 56: describes this attempted conformanc
Page 57 and 58: The models used for evaluation of t
Page 59 and 60: number of archaeological correlates
Page 61 and 62: Confederacy Model Pool (2000:150;20
Page 63 and 64: Limitations and Cautions in the Use
Page 65 and 66: Lorenzo is considered the earliest
Page 67 and 68: Several lines of evidence suggest a
Page 69 and 70: turn, gave budding Olmec leaders co
Page 71 and 72: apid growth of settlements and thei
Page 73 and 74: 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
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as listed in these records, include
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community members had to work the l
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The 1944 flood was a momentous even
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of ancient structures, including Ce
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to recover as much information as p
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Figure 3.17. Photograph of El Seño
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collection along the cut bank was a
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its termination line (Borstein 2001
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Figure 3.18. Illustration of San Lo
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is seated transitionally between th
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Introduction Chapter 4. El Marquesi
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Grove 1997; Tolstoy 1989). Landscap
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Determination of the Survey Area Th
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Surface Mapping and Terrain Modelin
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Global Positioning System (GPS) Map
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Figure 4.4. Map of El Marquesillo g
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have the potential to record points
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The topographic images and terrain
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Figure 4.8. Digital Terrain Model o
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Figure 4.11. View to the east of lo
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The western third of the platform h
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Figure 4.15. Elevated view of Field
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Figure 4.17. Topographic map of El
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Figure 4.19. Northwest view of spri
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Information Systems (GIS) approach
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Figure 4.21. Illustration of docume
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Magnetic Properties of Basalt The m
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Magnetic Data Collection, Condition
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The magnetometer was set to the bas
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Figure 4.23. Topographical base map
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of basalt, but instead, a body of s
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Figure 4.25. Topographic contour ma
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mercuric sulfide in the soil. There
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Coyote, Honduras (Terry et al. 2000
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intersection on the numbered rows a
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The results were reported in parts
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Figure 4.28b. Box plot summaries of
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Elemental Analysis of the Soils fro
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Summary of the Soil Analyses When t
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Figure 4.31a. Potassium distributio
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estriction prohibiting further exca
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The average depth of any observed a
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Figure 5.7. Site map illustrating l
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Figure 5.8. River cut profile 1A Le
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Figure 5.9. River cut profile 1B in
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Figure 5.10. River cut profile 2A L
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Figure 5.11. River cut profile 6B o
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Formative to Protoclassic ceramics
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fabrication methods, technologies,
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some of the Formative period wares
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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
Page 417 and 418:
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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