O'na Tök: A Zoque Center in Western Chiapas, México

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In June of 2016, the archaeological site designated O'na Tök was recorded as a primary center in the western portion of the Central Depression of Chiapas, Mexico. Preliminary studies of cultural material recovered on the surface and test pits suggest the Zoque of O'na Tök participated in an exchange network with contemporary centers during the Early Preclassic until the Postclassic, with a peak period during the Middle Preclassic and Late Classic. The public architecture seems to share similar features with other contemporaneous sites in the surrounding area such as Ocozocoautla-Cerro de Ombligo and Chiapa de Corzo. However, evidence suggests the center was not built based on the designed layout of La Venta, an architectural configuration theorized to have been emulated by other Middle Preclassic centers throughout the region, nor does the site reveal an E-Group pattern, possibly indicating the center played a distinct role in the region. Based on the layout of the center, the geographic position, the variety of obsidian sources recovered, and various types of pottery represented at the site, we propose that the occupants of O’na Tok played a significant role, possibly as a regional trade center during the Preclassic and Late Classic period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24306