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

the traditional communal ideology. Architecture was designed and oriented to conform or
correspond with natural and celestial features. A long-term traditional knowledge of place
is implied by the ability of Classic period inhabitants to recognize and pinpoint the
pattern and layout of Formative period constructions.
Where the course of the meandering San Juan River was actually located in the
Formative and Classic periods is not known at this time. Without doubt, however, the
existing river cut at El Marquesillo has significantly altered the landscape since the
precolumbian era. The loss of an entire five-mound complex documented by Espinoza-
Garcia in 1998 (Figure 4.2) supports ethnohistoric and ethnographic accounts by long-
time residents that several buildings existed to the east of Fields 1 and 2. Structure 84 is
eroding down the embankment, and Structures 107 and 85, which probably comprised the
northern limits of a substantial complex, are all but gone. Figure 5.4 illustrates the
erosion of Platform 111, and the Campos-Lara and Marín-Inés map (Figure 4.3)
demonstrates the increasing loss of portions of the primary Villa Alta phase complex. The
portions of the site that do remain provide clues as to the planned structure and
arrangement of the site. Other buildings and monuments that have been destroyed may or
may not have provided further indications of directionality and the inhabitants’
recognition of their place on the landscape.
Cultural and Occupational Continuity at El Marquesillo
The evidence suggests that El Marquesillo was consistently occupied from the
Early Formative Pre-Olmec period (c. 1500 BC) into the Classic period. Occupation
extends into the present era as well, but by unrelated groups of people. Although
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