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

Formative period material appears to be construction fill for Late Classic constructions
(personal communication, Ponciano Ortiz, Carmen Rodríguez, and Lourdes Hernández,
2005). Thus, the significance of the site may again be exaggerated by unsupported
claims.
Little is known about La Oaxaqueña and Ojo de Agua. Cobean (1996) conducted
preliminary investigations of the former, where he encountered large quantities of Early
Formative period ceramics. He also detected an unusual 10-m-deep by 15-m-wide ditch
of unknown significance. No sculptures were recovered there, but at nearby Ojo de Agua
a basalt monument was uncovered along with Formative period pottery. Although
locational data assist with settlement pattern analysis, the paucity of corroborative
evidence does not allow confident statements to be made in regard to site organization,
significance or the extent of cultural temporal associations.
Observations on Formative Period Southern Gulf Lowland Sites
The types of brief, preliminary investigations discussed in this chapter for the
latter four sites are the norm along much of the Southern Gulf Lowlands. These cursory-
type investigations provide clues of what might be present but, unfortunately, do not
supply the level of direct evidence required to reach conclusions regarding the degree of
participation of these sites in the Formative period interaction spheres. The meagerness of
satisfactory data from the region has been recognized and, although recent investigations
have generated a broader database, significant types of basic information regarding these
ancient people and their lifeways are lacking (see Diehl 2000b). There are multiple
factors that have created this condition. For example, essential and fundamental questions
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