O'na Tok: A Preclassic Zoque Center in Western Chiapas, Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Archaeology of Trade and Exchange" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Preliminary explorations at the previously unknown Zoque site of O’na Tök reveals within a mid-montane wet forest, a multifaceted archaeological landscape containing an early ceremonial center, an expansive area of long architectural platforms, and nearby caves used for ritual purposes. Artifacts recovered on the surface suggest occupation during the Early Preclassic until the Postclassic period. The site's architectural layout does not correspond with similar patterns often associated with other contemporary sites, specifically during the Middle Preclassic period, suggesting the center played a distinct role in the region. Test pits in the ceremonial center have revealed two distinct stratigraphic layers of occupation dating from the Early Preclassic and Middle Preclassic. The excavations also uncovered a Preclassic midden with large quantities of ceramics, suggesting distinct diacritical feasting events. Material cultural assemblages consist of high-quality cooking and serving vessels, food refuse, lithics, figurines, obsidian from several sources, and luxury trade goods. These data suggest that the occupants actively participated in interregional interactions and exchange between centers in the Gulf Coast, the Central Depression of Chiapas, extending as far as Central Mexico and Guatemala, with the site of O’na Tok functioning as a primary center along a previously unknown exchange corridor in Chiapas.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Archaeology of Trade and Exchange   •
• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32399