Formative-period Izapa Kingdom at Its Neighbors

Summary

Mesoamerica is one of the cradles of civilization where the first kingdoms and states emerged during the latter part of the first millennium BCE. Recent lidar mapping and pedestrian survey documents the extent and internal political structure of the Izapa kingdom from its emergence at 700 BCE through its collapse after 100 BCE. At its peak, a four-tiered political hierarchy maintained internal cohesion and the distribution of large centers around the kingdom’s perimeter established external sovereignty. The largest of a network of early kingdoms on the Pacific coast of southern Mesoamerica, the Izapa polity provides insight to the origins of urban life and hierarchical political relations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Maya Highland and Pacific Coast Archaeology: New Data, Debates, and Directions Part 1

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14581