Olmec Manifestations and Ongoing Societal Transformations in the Tuxtlas Uplands: A View from Matacanela

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Olmec Manifestations and Ongoing Societal Transformations in the Tuxtlas Uplands: A View from Matacanela," at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This session presents the results of specialized analyses and syntheses of information recovered during the Matacanela Archaeological Project, initiated in 2014. The original intention of the project was to augment our comprehension of the transformation of Gulf lowland society from the Classic period to the Postclassic period. In the process, we documented a long and resilient settlement that spanned the Middle Formative through Late Classic periods. Settlement persistence despite disruptions, as well as participation in diverse networks appear to have been the norm for this settlement. Shifts in external contacts, political strategies, as well as resource production and procurement strategies characterize the settlement's long history. We specifically review data recovered during the 2015 season and subsequent salvage excavations; situate Matacanela within broader regional context along a natural and apparent cultural boundary; and, explore the adaptations that contributed to its persistence.

Other Keywords
Olmec • Paleoethnobotany • Ceramic Analysis • Highland Mesoamerica: Classic • Political economy • Architecture • Chronology • Classic Period • Tuxtlas • Social and Political Organization

Geographic Keywords
Puebla (State / Territory) • Tlaxcala (State / Territory) • Veracruz (State / Territory) • United Mexican States (Country) • North America (Continent) • Yucatan (State / Territory) • Corozal (State / Territory) • Quintana Roo (State / Territory) • Campeche (State / Territory) • Mesoamerica: Gulf Coast

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-8 of 8)

  • Documents (8)
Documents
  • Carbonized Wood Remains from the Matacanela Site, Veracruz, Mexico (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Renee Bonzani.

    This is an abstract from the "Olmec Manifestations and Ongoing Societal Transformations in the Tuxtlas Uplands: A View from Matacanela" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper describes the carbonized wood remains recovered from fifty-five heavy fractions of flotation from seven units and fifty light fractions of flotation from six units collected during the excavations of the Matacanela Site in Veracruz, Mexico. Environmental comparisons are...

  • Changing Patterns of Plant Use at Formative and Classic Period Matacanela (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Dana Bardolph. Amber VanDerwarker. Marcie Venter.

    This is an abstract from the "Olmec Manifestations and Ongoing Societal Transformations in the Tuxtlas Uplands: A View from Matacanela" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Although there has been much speculation about the nature of agriculture along the Formative and Classic period Gulf Coast of Mexico, the local and regional subsistence economies of these periods remain poorly understood, particularly for Classic-period sites. In this paper, we...

  • El contexto arqueológico del Complejo Escultórico de La Victoria-Matacanela, Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz. (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Mauricio Cuevas. Lourdes Budar.

    This is an abstract from the "Olmec Manifestations and Ongoing Societal Transformations in the Tuxtlas Uplands: A View from Matacanela" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. En 1907 Eduard y Caecilie Seler, visitaron la Finca de Matacanela, ubicada en la porción sureste de la orilla del Lago de Catemaco en Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz. En los terrenos de esta finca, la pareja de alemanes recuperó una serie de monumentos que fueron trasladados a la entrada de la...

  • An Examination of Middle Formative through Early Classic Ceramic Attributes from Stratified Contexts at Matacanela, Veracruz (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kevin Wann. Lacy Risner. Marcie Venter.

    This is an abstract from the "Olmec Manifestations and Ongoing Societal Transformations in the Tuxtlas Uplands: A View from Matacanela" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This study compares Middle Formative through Early Classic period ceramic attributes, including temper size, type, and abundance, from stratified deposits at Matacanela Site in Veracruz, Mexico to other contemporaneous sites located in the Tuxtla Mountains and riverine bottomlands in...

  • Matacanela in Its Regional and Cultural Context (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Marcie Venter.

    This is an abstract from the "Olmec Manifestations and Ongoing Societal Transformations in the Tuxtlas Uplands: A View from Matacanela" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In this presentation I synthesize recent studies that the Matacanela Archaeological Project has produced as a way of situating the presentations in this session within their broader temporal and spatial contexts, both with the Tuxtlas and the broader Gulf lowlands. One notable aspect...

  • Obsidian Production and Consumption Practices at Matacanela (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Shayna Lindquist.

    This is an abstract from the "Olmec Manifestations and Ongoing Societal Transformations in the Tuxtlas Uplands: A View from Matacanela" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Matacanela’s chipped stone assemblage overwhelmingly is dominated by nonlocal obsidian, including both products and by-products of multiple reductive technologies. Overarching temporal trends and classification of Matacanela’s obsidian assemblage have previously been discussed within...

  • Técnica y secuencia constructiva de la arquitectura prehispánica de Matacanela, Los Tuxtlas, Ver. (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Marimar Becerra Alvarez. Marcie Venter.

    This is an abstract from the "Olmec Manifestations and Ongoing Societal Transformations in the Tuxtlas Uplands: A View from Matacanela" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Matacanela es componente esencia de la historia regional de Los Tuxtlas, su estudio es fundamental para la comprensión de la dinámica social diacrónica y sincrónica que se dio en la región. El sitio cuenta con una secuencia ocupacional desde el Formativo Medio hasta el Clásico Tardío...

  • Vestigios de lo olmeca en la montaña. Contexto y contraste del depósito de hachas de piedra verde de Matacanela. (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Gibránn Becerra. Marcie Venter.

    This is an abstract from the "Olmec Manifestations and Ongoing Societal Transformations in the Tuxtlas Uplands: A View from Matacanela" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. En el año 2015, Venter dirigió un programa de excavación arqueológica en Matacanela. En la unidad 2, realizada al oriente del conjunto arquitectónico principal, se registró una secuencia estratigráfica que permitió documentar y distinguir dos momentos de ocupación en el área del...