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

Nevertheless, the structural design and specific features present within the complex may
offer clues as to its origin and purpose. To assess these clues it is necessary to observe the
archaeological features and landscape signatures within the context of El Marquesillo and
the setting of the Formative period Southern Gulf Lowlands.
Water Features
There are two natural water features associated with the Olmec Throne Complex.
One is an apparent spring located immediately outside the west perimeter of the complex
(Figure 6.4). This feature is notable because it is bisected by the longitudinal medial axis
line that divides the basal platform and its surface structures. The second water feature is
an almost perfectly spherical pool of standing water that is located in the northwest
corner of the basal platform. Present day inhabitants who have lived here since the 1940s
say the pool, which they refer to as the poza, has never been dry. Based on these
observations and the consistency in the level of the water noted in three-years of field
observations, this feature also may be the product of a natural spring. The depth and
position of the water table in the Southern Gulf Lowlands were irregular, and Cyphers
argues that elevated points in the table made them a “circumscribed resource” (Cyphers
1993:165).
There appears to be another water feature present atop the platform that is not
natural, but was produced through human planning and labor. Figure 6.4 is an elevational
contour map of Field 8 produced from the total station survey data, and the natural seep
spring and standing water feature are identified. In Plaza 1, in the northeast sector of the
platform, is an area of significant depression. This sunken area is clearly noticeable in the
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