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

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occupation of the site. The types and placements of Classic period offerings into Formative period structures and the presence and apparent termination rituals associated with the Olmec throne further bolster the idea of ancestor veneration and its link to land and resource rights. In order for the process of social change that is under consideration to occur, sufficient occupational time depth is required along with residential stability and the economic and demographic ascendancy of the lineage. At El Marquesillo, the available evidence indicates the initial, archaeologically visible occupation occurred around 1500 BC. The distribution of pre-Olmec ceramics (c. 1500-1150 BC) is restricted to a single residential area. San Lorenzo Olmec period ceramics (c. 1150-900) show a slightly broader distribution, but only in areas adjoining the original residential locality. This presumed 600 year occupation of the same location at El Marquesillo is suggestive of descent group traditions. The presence of a continuous sequence of chronologically diagnostic ceramics appears to indicate that they practiced successful subsistence strategies and experienced demographic growth to the point where food surpluses allowed specialized craft production or their acquisition. Geographically and environmentally, ancient El Marquesillo possessed components conducive to extended human habitation. The location of the site on the San Juan River provided various resources for communication and transportation, clays, and river gravel for building constructions. The site also contained natural springs for potable water, a rich biotic diversity that could provide diverse comestibles, and the elevated embankments protected inhabitants from the annual inundations. 320
Early architectural units, specifically low basal platforms that could provide foundations for perishable structures, are possibly diagnostic of descent group residence (Ashmore 1991; McAnany 1995:102). This type of structure is present at El Marquesillo at the location of the earliest ceramic deposits in Field 6. Other similar platforms are present in Fields 5 (Structure 83) and Field 7 (Structure 111) as well. River cut bank Profiles 6B and 7A illustrate sequential floor constructions suggesting continuous and spatially consistent occupation along the east edge of Fields 6 and 7. The differential orientation of basal platforms and other structures is also associated with lineage groupings and related activities. Two complexes with differing orientations are present and are delineated by Alignments A and B, both possibly associated with celestial events. Structure 109, Linear Anomaly 1, and Structure 84 compose the complex immediately to the north of the original Early Formative residence, and the Olmec Throne Complex is directly adjacent to the south. The architectural features that create Alignments C, D, and E may also be demonstrations or delineations of land and resource boundaries and their inherited proprietary rights. The effort, coordination, and motivation (i.e., economic, ideological, coercive, or other form of exploitation) required to accomplish these large-scale labor projects suggests some level of organizational authority, possibly a result of real or fictitious ancestral inheritance issues. Symbolic allusions to ancestor veneration are present at El Marquesillo as well as other Formative period sites in the Southern Gulf Lowlands discussed in Chapter 2. In Chapter 6, El Marquesillo’s standing pools of water and the symbolic representation of a cave entrance on the monumental throne were detailed and interpreted as portals to the 321
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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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Figure 5.58. Illustration of magnet
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Modifications to this pattern occur
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class occurred only in the presence
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appearance of ceramics occurred dur
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series of interrelated residential,
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The Early Formative period appearan
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Evidence of these constructions is
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and the excavated pit is not known,
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For the Gulf Olmec, monumental exhi
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precisely. This method would also m
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An earlier discussion suggested sty
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approximately 100 cm to 120 cm belo
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Page 329 and 330: Through the integration of a sequen
Page 331 and 332: experienced an upward trend in popu
Page 333 and 334: prehispanic occupation would have b
Page 335 and 336: Assmann (2006) argues that prehisto
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Page 341: Analysis of these three components
Page 345 and 346: activities and that these activitie
Page 347 and 348: political structure. Was it an inde
Page 349 and 350: subordinate to a nearby primary cen
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
Page 359 and 360: to illustrate their power and wealt
Page 361 and 362: emains is striking. This disproport
Page 363 and 364: the earliest detectable occupation
Page 365 and 366: and Uxpanapa River Basins, I wonder
Page 367 and 368: Arnaiz-Villena, A., G. Vargas-Alarc
Page 369 and 370: Bassie, K. 2006 The Fire and Water
Page 371 and 372: Blake, M. and J. E. Clark 1999 The
Page 373 and 374: Butler, R. F. 1992 Paleomagnetism:
Page 375 and 376: 2001 Gulf Lowlands: South Region. I
Page 377 and 378: Coe, M. D., D. Snow and E. Benson 1
Page 379 and 380: 2003 Laguna de los Cerros: Una Capi
Page 381 and 382: 2003 Analysis of Formative Period O
Page 383 and 384: Elachi, C. 1987 Introduction to the
Page 385 and 386: Foster, G. M. 1940 Notes on the Pop
Page 387 and 388: 2001 La Venta, Tabasco, Mexico. In
Page 389 and 390: Halbwachs, M. 1992 On Collective Me
Page 391 and 392: 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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