Classic Period Dune Settlement in the Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin (ELPB), Southern Veracruz, Mexico

Summary

The Tres Zapotes polity flourished in the Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin (ELPB) between 400 BC and 300 AD. As Tres Zapotes’ economic and political power waned in the Early Classic, the ELPB became a political frontier (Stark 1997). Sites in the contested political landscape of the ELPB and Tuxtla Mountains strengthened their ties to both Classic Veracruz and Central Mexico (Stoner 2011; Loughlin 2012; Santley 2007). This paper broadly explores how the political and economic landscape of the ELPB evolved in relation to the resilience of the Tres Zapotes polity (ca. 1250 BC – AD 900). More specifically, I examine 17 square kilometers of coastal paleodune occupation in the northern ELPB. Through systematic pedestrian survey, surface artifacts were collected and analyzed over the course of two seasons. This paper presents the results of two seasons of research and explores the processes that account for the primarily Classic period dune occupation. I will shed light on the demographic, economic, and political changes occurring in the region at this time.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Impacts, Articulations and Innovations in the Archaeological Study of the Mesoamerican Gulf Coast: Spatio-Temporal, Economic and Demographic Organization

Keywords

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