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

prehispanic occupation would have been continuous, and if not, any interruptions must
have been sufficiently brief as to permit the maintenance and perpetuation of these
memories.
Landscapes, Ancestors, and the Memory of Place
In this dissertation, I have provided evidence that suggests an early and enduring
human occupation at El Marquesillo. I have also presented interpretations of evidence
from the Southern Gulf Lowlands that refer to ancestors, rulership, and landscape. These
three factors permeate the iconography and symbolism present at sites across the region
during the Formative period (Clark 2005; Cyphers 1993; Gillespie 1999; Grove 1973;
Grove and Gillespie 1992; Reilly 1994, 1999, 2002; Taube 1995, 2004). Significant areas
of social theory that have been based on, or derived from, the Olmec phenomenon were
presented in Chapter 1. One theoretical area concerning the Formative period along the
Southern Gulf Lowlands that has not received adequate consideration, however, is the
process through which socioeconomic and civic-ceremonial centers may have initially
emerged. What social factors may have been necessary to allow the establishment and
development of these core areas? The following is a discussion of these factors and their
manifestation and significance at El Marquesillo.
Theoretical Background
Anthropological-geographical studies have repeatedly demonstrated that
landscapes are not only a natural but a cultural phenomenon as well (Cosgrove 1989;
Naveh and Liebrman 1990; Tuan 1974). In fact, Ingold (1993) argues that the physical
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