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

shamanistic ritual and rulership (Freidel 1995; Reilly 1994; Scarborough 1998). Here,
individuals could pass between the natural world and the underworld to contact ancestors
and deities (Reilly 1999; Stark 1993; Tate 1999a). In my opinion, all of these examples of
ideological representation and elite practices are present at El Marquesillo.
Structure 77
This u-shaped structure is identified in Figure 6.5 as Structures 77a, b, c, and d, to
clarify descriptions. The inclusive structure delineates the western end of the basal
platform, and its form and enclosed space is highly suggestive of the court in La Venta
Complex A (see Drucker et al. 1959:frontispiece; Reilly 1994, 1999, 2002). The
enclosing arms of the construction surround a restricted area that includes Structures 78
and 110, which are analogous to La Venta Complex A Mound A-2 and South-Central
Platform Feature A-1-c (Drucker et al. 1959:Figure 4).
Reilly (1994) perceives Complex A at La Venta as a constructed sacred landscape
based on the concept of a watery underworld, a world of the ancestors and seat of
supernatural power. A pool of “primordial water” was the terrestrial entrance to this
otherworld, and at La Venta this earthly portal was symbolized by massive mosaic
offerings of serpentine stone. At El Marquesillo, however, the sacred portal was not an
artificial facsimile but an actual pool of water. Reilly adds that the form and function of
the La Venta complex and its associated features was indicative of the cosmic view held
by the “heartland” Olmec. It is possible that the natural features along with architectural
constructions may indicate a similar representation by the inhabitants at El Marquesillo.
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