Architectural Variation in the Tres Zapotes Region

Summary

A combined program of aerial LiDAR mapping and pedestrian survey is documenting significant intra-regional variation in pre-Hispanic architectural plans in the Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin of southern Veracruz, Mexico, reflecting the interplay of ecological adaptation, political integration, factionalism, and extra-regional influences. Consistent association of domestic mounds with small bajos in low-lying areas suggests intentional (as opposed to accretional) mounding and landscape modification to exploit aquatic resources. Preliminary assessments of temporal affiliation for civic-ceremonial complexes support a diachronic model in which Late Formative political affiliation expressed architecturally in the Tres Zapotes Plaza Group layout was succeeded by a proliferation of distinctive Protoclassic and Classic layouts, including Central Veracruz-inspired Standard Plans and Monumental Platforms, in the context of a fragmented political landscape. The Postclassic, in turn, witnessed the appearance of novel formal arrangements concentrated along a major east-west transportation route.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Incidencia, articulación e innovación del conocimiento arqueológico en la Costa del Golfo mesoamericano: Organización Ideológica, Política y Ritual.

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Spatial Coverage