Izapa’s industrial hinterland: the eastern Soconusco mangrove zone during Archaic and Formative times

Summary

LiDAR coverage of a portion of the eastern Soconusco mangrove zone due south of Izapa has identified nearly 300 archaeological mounds within an area of 56 sq km. The vast majority of these mounds contain Formative period deposits. Surface and subsurface investigation indicate a major movement of people into the zone around 1600 BC, followed by population growth through the Late Early Formative (Cuadros phase). Middle through Terminal Formative (900 BC through AD 200) deposits consist of superimposed firing features and abundant coarse pottery inferred to have been used in the production of salt. The Late and Terminal Formative peak in industrial activity within the mangrove zone coincides with the apogee of monumental activity and, presumably, population, at Izapa.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• New Perspectives on the Izapa State

Keywords

Spatial Coverage