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

de Agua, and the famous, iconographically rich greenstone figure was found at Las
Limas (Figure 2.4). Mounds constructed at the latter site were assumed to be the result of
Formative period activities (Diehl 2004:57-58). The ascription of significant architectural
construction to the Formative period along with the Las Limas figure has led to the
assumption that this was a major center, lying along the southernmost boundary of the
presumed Olmec Heartland (see Figure 1.1).
The only investigation of Las Limas was conducted by Gomez Rueda (1989,
1996), and the majority of his work dealt with surface collection and mapping. Although
the San Lorenzo Horizon ceramics indicate an Early Formative period occupation, the
site’s size and significance cannot be established. Further, as at Laguna de los Cerros, the
Figure 2.4. The Las Limas Figure (Clark 1993)
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