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

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chronologically diagnostic ceramics along with detectable technological changes over time can account for most of this span of time, there are continuing questions regarding the transitional period between the Late Formative (c. 300 BC to AD 250) and the Early Classic (c. AD 250- 550) and a segment of the Post Classic period (c. AD 1100 to 1300). The scarcity of evidence demonstrating the Late Formative to Classic period transition in the Southern Gulf Lowlands has been due primarily to the absence of investigation (Diehl 2000b). Nevertheless, this perceived lack of evidence has led some to conclude that the Olmec Heartland was literally depopulated and uninhabited in the Late Formative period (Clark 2001:341). Evans (2003:184) asks how did a region that supported such a “vibrant” culture become and remain uninhabited between 400 BC to AD 200? Notably, Tres Zapotes is cited as the solitary example of the devolution of an Epi-Olmec social system into Early Classic with other areas of the region evidently being devoid of cultural activity (Evans 2003). Killion and Urcid (2001:3-4) discuss “perceptions of cultural failure” and the “conventional notion of Olmec collapse” at the end of the Formative period. A similar situation is perceived for the Post Classic period as well. Diehl (2000a:182) characterizes the Post Classic period along the Gulf Coast as one of “political fragmentation followed by the initial steps of reintegration, small-scale population movements, and renewed intrusions by central Mexican imperialists.” The primary determinate of chronology for the region remains diagnostic ceramic sequences, and here again, knowledge of the entire Southern Gulf Lowland region during this period continues to suffer from a scarcity of evidence. The region surrounding El Marquesillo appears to have entered another phase of homeostasis or a stable unchanging period 296
where new diagnostic ceramic types are not apparent. This seeming lack of change should not be interpreted as evidence for a landscape void of inhabitants, however. In the case of the Formative to Classic transition, newly attained evidence is clarifying, if not negating, many of these assumptions by demonstrating long-term cultural development and continuity (Diehl 2004; Killion and Urcid 2001; Stark and Arnold 1997). The continuity has been revealed in ceramic sequences in the Papaloapan Basin (Daneels 1988; Stark and Curet 1994) and at Tres Zapotes (Pool 2000, 2003). In these ceramic collections, the inclusion of a wider variety of slips, divergent designs, and finer pastes were noted during the terminal Formative period. Stark and Arnold (1997:25) argue that these modifications demonstrate not only technical continuity by their producers but a social continuum that permitted the “foundation of Classic period regional cultural developments…in south-central Veracruz.” At El Marquesillo further support for this continuity is demonstrated in its ceramic compilation. During analysis of this substantial quantity of material, Hernández distinguished a long-term persistence in ceramic traditions within the assemblage. Variations in Early and Middle Formative period differentially fired blackware continued into the Late Formative period, a technological convention that spanned more than a millennium. She also noted the appearance of a Late Formative Orange ware (Types 420.1 and 420.2) that does not appear related to later Teotihuacán wares introduced into the Tuxtla Mountains (Santley et al. 1989), but instead are possibly a precursor to the Classic period Fine Orange. These inferences correlate with findings at Bezuapan (Pool 1997:49) described in Chapter 5. 297
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An Unexplored Realm in the Heartlan
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“Note to Reader” The original o
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Confederacy Model 39 Feudalistic Mo
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Elemental Analysis of the Soils fro
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The Initial Occupation of El Marque
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List of Tables Table 5.1. Ceramic C
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Figure 3.14. Plan view of the Olmec
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Figure 5.7. Site map illustrating l
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Figure 5.53. El Marquesillo throne
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the resulting data do not fit many
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Furtherance of my academic career w
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Introduction Chapter 1. Archaeology
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esearch being conducted along the S
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its introduction to Mesoamerican ar
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participants. It is especially crit
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interpretations. Finally, I compare
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analogy (Diehl 1989:25; VanDerwarke
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change, fluctuates according to “
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embedded misconceptions about these
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The “Heartland” has been deline
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than a century after their occurren
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inference as opposed to evidence. T
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Sanders and Webster (1988:544) argu
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Park (1992:90) presents the Olmec a
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lowland subsistence economy until a
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Maya are lineal descendents of the
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continued to inhibit scientific inq
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describes this attempted conformanc
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The models used for evaluation of t
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number of archaeological correlates
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Confederacy Model Pool (2000:150;20
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Limitations and Cautions in the Use
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Lorenzo is considered the earliest
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Several lines of evidence suggest a
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turn, gave budding Olmec leaders co
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apid growth of settlements and thei
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techniques (Berger et al. 1967; Hei
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appear to characterize it as a “c
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iconographic detail, and appear to
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Formative period Southern Gulf Lowl
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Medellín-Zeníl (1960) found large
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de Agua, and the famous, iconograph
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egarding subsistence, settlement, p
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Introduction Chapter 3. El Marquesi
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300-900). Historical documentation
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The features of the San Juan are ch
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Figure 3.4. Aerial photograph of El
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At each of these three points of co
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El Marquesillo’s geographic locat
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of the location for more than 3,500
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The extensive Villa Alta architectu
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of constructions. This formal archi
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To achieve and maintain this elevat
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Figure 3.11. Map of the Southern Gu
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Teotihuacán and Aztec trade routes
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land was not in the form of gold an
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Huaspaltepec (Playa Vicente), betwe
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as listed in these records, include
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community members had to work the l
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The 1944 flood was a momentous even
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of ancient structures, including Ce
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to recover as much information as p
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Figure 3.17. Photograph of El Seño
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collection along the cut bank was a
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its termination line (Borstein 2001
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Figure 3.18. Illustration of San Lo
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is seated transitionally between th
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Introduction Chapter 4. El Marquesi
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Grove 1997; Tolstoy 1989). Landscap
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Determination of the Survey Area Th
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Surface Mapping and Terrain Modelin
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Global Positioning System (GPS) Map
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Figure 4.4. Map of El Marquesillo g
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have the potential to record points
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The topographic images and terrain
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Figure 4.8. Digital Terrain Model o
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Figure 4.11. View to the east of lo
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The western third of the platform h
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Figure 4.15. Elevated view of Field
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Figure 4.17. Topographic map of El
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Figure 4.19. Northwest view of spri
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Information Systems (GIS) approach
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Figure 4.21. Illustration of docume
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Magnetic Properties of Basalt The m
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Magnetic Data Collection, Condition
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The magnetometer was set to the bas
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Figure 4.23. Topographical base map
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of basalt, but instead, a body of s
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Figure 4.25. Topographic contour ma
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mercuric sulfide in the soil. There
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Coyote, Honduras (Terry et al. 2000
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intersection on the numbered rows a
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The results were reported in parts
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Figure 4.28b. Box plot summaries of
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Elemental Analysis of the Soils fro
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Summary of the Soil Analyses When t
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Figure 4.31a. Potassium distributio
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estriction prohibiting further exca
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The average depth of any observed a
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Figure 5.7. Site map illustrating l
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Figure 5.8. River cut profile 1A Le
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Figure 5.9. River cut profile 1B in
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Figure 5.10. River cut profile 2A L
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Figure 5.11. River cut profile 6B o
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Formative to Protoclassic ceramics
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fabrication methods, technologies,
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some of the Formative period wares
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The San Lorenzo Olmec Period (c. 11
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Figure 5.19. Examples of Middle For
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The Late Classic Period (c. AD 550-
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English annular ware (c. AD 1785-18
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Ceramic Collection Areas The identi
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Figure 5.26. Distribution of cerami
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Formative period accounted for 785
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The survey was conducted along the
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Figure 5.29. Diagram of Olmec thron
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Figure 5.30. Map illustrating the l
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Late Formative (263), Protoclassic
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demonstrates an analogous situation
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Offering I Figure 5.32. Locations o
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Figure 5.34. Offering I is at the c
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Figure 5.36. Two reconstructed plat
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crescent with its concave and conve
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The two figurine types are common t
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vessels that were deposited into a
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Figure 5.45. Two of three similar s
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Obsidian and Lithic Analyses The Ob
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Throne Units Test Units Offerings I
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inhabitants from other sites, or in
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Figure 5.50. Examples of stones tho
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Figure 5.51. El Marquesillo throne
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accomplished through violent blows
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Figure 5.56. Close-up of the figure
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Page 295 and 296: 6.3). At La Venta equivalent basalt
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Page 303 and 304: Also contributing to the ceramic pr
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Page 333 and 334: prehispanic occupation would have b
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Page 341 and 342: Analysis of these three components
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Page 347 and 348: political structure. Was it an inde
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Page 351 and 352: Explanation of Spatial Organization
Page 353 and 354: conjunction with other forms of arc
Page 355 and 356: Mesoamerican worldviews (Vogt 1981:
Page 357 and 358: Expanding the Boundaries and a Look
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Page 361 and 362: emains is striking. This disproport
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Page 365 and 366: and Uxpanapa River Basins, I wonder
Page 367 and 368: Arnaiz-Villena, A., G. Vargas-Alarc
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Bassie, K. 2006 The Fire and Water
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Blake, M. and J. E. Clark 1999 The
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Butler, R. F. 1992 Paleomagnetism:
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2001 Gulf Lowlands: South Region. I
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Coe, M. D., D. Snow and E. Benson 1
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2003 Laguna de los Cerros: Una Capi
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2003 Analysis of Formative Period O
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Elachi, C. 1987 Introduction to the
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Foster, G. M. 1940 Notes on the Pop
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2001 La Venta, Tabasco, Mexico. In
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Halbwachs, M. 1992 On Collective Me
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Hester, T. R., H. J. Shafer and K.
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Johnston, K. J. and N. Gonlin 1998
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Kruger, R. P. 1996 An Archaeologica
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Madry, S. L. H. 1987 A Multiscalar
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Middleton, W. D. 2004 Identifying C
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Ortíz, P. 1975 La Ceramica de los
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Plog, S. 1990 Agriculture, Sedentis
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Rapoport, A. 1990 History and Prece
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Rueda, H. G. 1989 Nuevas Exploracio
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Santley, R. S., S. A. Nelson, B. K.
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1989 Olmec Studies: A Status Report
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Stark, B. L. and P. J. Arnold 1997
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Tarling, D. H. 1983 Geomagnetism. C
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Tykot, R. H. 2004 Stable Isotopes a
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Wallerstein, I. 1974 The Modern Wor
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2003 The Role of Kinship and Demogr
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Appendix 1a. Ceramic Analysis: Type
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Appendix 1b. Ceramic Analysis: Type
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Appendix 2. Ceramic Types and Count
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Appendix 2 Ceramic Types and Counts
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Appendix 3a. Obsidian from Test Uni
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Appendix 3b. Obsidian from Throne E
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Appendix 4a. Lithics from Surface C
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Appendix 4b. Lithics from River Cut
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Appendix 5a. Soil Survey I Element
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Appendix 5a. Soil Survey I Element
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Appendix 5b. Soil Survey II Element
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Appendix 5b. Soil Survey II Element
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About the Author Travis F. Doering
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An Unexplored Realm in the Heartland of the Southern Gulf ... - Famsi

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