El Triangulo del Sur: Izapa, Takalik Abaj, and El Ujuxte

Summary

The Pacific Coast borderlands of Chiapas and Guatemala were home to at least three major urban centers in the Late Preclassic Period: Izapa, Takalik Abaj, and El Ujuxte. How these sites were related to one another through intellectual exchanges and commerce tells us a great deal about the nature of urbanism in Mesomamerica during the Late Preclassic Period. These three sites were part of a broader southern "City-State Culture" that included Kaminaljuyu, Chalchuapa, and other early urban centers. The City-State Culture cut across ethnic boundaries, making a distinction between "Maya" and "Mixe-Zoquean" zones moot. Shared elite elements, such as ruler stelae, texts, calendrics, and ritual performance were present in most of the zone, indicating a strong class-based identity. However, economic patterns, including a multiplicity of long and short distance trade routes, show the complex nature of interactions. The regional political systems indicate a highly competitive and fragmented landscape.

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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