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

Also contributing to the ceramic production hypothesis is the fact that quantities
of various colored clays and fine sand from alluvial sediments were and still are available
at the site. Ethnohistoric accounts from residents of today’s El Marquesillo detail
personal experiences of household ceramic production as late as the mid-20 th century.
Residents collected high quality clays from locations along the banks of the San Juan and
nearby Jimba Rivers. They also sifted the sandy deposits on the point bars of the San
Juan River to use as fine tempering agent. Based on examination of the geomorphology
of the terrain and the location of the San Juan River paleochannels, it appears that these
same resources would have been readily available to the ancient inhabitants as well.
Therefore, if these residents were concerned with the distance and effort required to
obtain high quality resources for ceramic production, the area immediately surrounding
El Marquesillo would have provided them an exceptional opportunity.
North Group Monumental Architecture and Causeway
Structure 84 is located on the east edge of Field 1 and has partially eroded down
the river cut bank. This conical earthen pyramid is constructed atop a slightly elevated
platform that extends north and south. At the north end of the platform are the last
remnants of Structure 107 and to the south are the slightly greater remains of Structure
85. Analysis of river cut Profile 1B indicates the platform was constructed sometime
during or after the Late Formative.
The magnetometer survey detected a major anomaly lying under the northwest
portion of Structure 84 (Figure 6.7). Based on interpretation of the magnetic signature,
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