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

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.