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

from El Marquesillo. The significance of these repeated eruptive events, their visual
spectacle, and the possible impact on El Marquesillo due to ashfall or population
movements suggest that this landmark could become a deeply embedded feature in the
ideology of the inhabitants. The sociopolitical and ideological importance of the San
Martín Volcano may be demonstrated in the importation of volcanic ash apparently used
in the construction of Structure 111.
Alignment E
A single axis line cleanly bisects Structures 83, 84, and 86. The direction of the
axis is 47º east of magnetic north, and its extension aligns with the 1,700 m high peaks of
Cerro Santa Martha (see Figure 6.10). Santa Martha is an extinct volcano whose igneous
stone was known and evidently revered by inhabitants of the Southern Gulf Lowlands
(Coe and Diehl 1980a:390-391). On the southern slopes of this volcano is Cerro
Cintepec, considered a primary source of the basalt used by the San Lorenzo and La
Venta Olmec for the production of their monumental sculpture (Coe and Diehl 1980a:16,
390-391; Williams and Heizer 1965).
Directional Alignment Summary
All of the projected alignments and axes are the products of the intersection of
three or more architectural or artifact features or they are explicitly repeated in multiple
discrete alignments. These recurring factors significantly lessen the possibility of chance
or coincidental arrangements. The fact that these patterns are found in Formative and
Classic period structures (c. 1150 BC to AD 900) suggests the landscape played a role in
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