Origins of Ancient Mesoamerican Civilizations: Early Formative Archaeology of the Soconusco Region of Mexico

FAIN: RZ-51422-12

UCLA; Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA 90024-4201)
Richard G. Lesure (Project Director: December 2011 to June 2017)
John Edward Clark (Co Project Director: December 2011 to June 2017)
Michael Blake (Co Project Director: October 2012 to June 2017)

The preparation for publication of two volumes (print and online) on pre-Olmec and Olmec archaeology (1900-900 BCE) in the Soconusco region of Mexico. (30 months)

In studies of the origins of ancient Mesoamerican civilization, the Formative period is the crucial era of interest, since it begins with the earliest settled villages and ends with fully developed urban societies. The work proposed here will lead to the publication of two data-rich monographs on the still-poorly-known Early Formative period (1900-900 BCE). The monographs will report on investigations concerning the pre-Olmec and Olmec archaeology in the Soconusco region of Mexico. Each monograph will be associated with a digital component, to be produced in conjunction with the paper publication. The web components will include comprehensive data at a level of detail beyond what can be included in the paper version, and the components will go online with open access at the time of publication of the relevant volume. Further, we are proposing to post the volumes themselves online, with open access, starting five years after initial publication.

Associated Products

Paso de la Amada: An Early Mesoamerican Ceremonial Center (Book)
Title: Paso de la Amada: An Early Mesoamerican Ceremonial Center
Editor: Richard G. Lesure
Abstract: Paso de la Amada, an archaeological site in the Soconusco region of the Pacific coast of Mexico, was among the earliest sedentary, ceramic-using villages of Mesoamerica. With an occupation that extended across 140 ha in 1600 BC, it was also one of the largest communities of its era. First settled around 1900 BC, the site was abandoned 600 years later during what appears to have been a period of local political turmoil. The decline of Paso de la Amada corresponded with a rupture in local traditions of material culture and local adoption of the Early Olmec style. Stylistically, the material culture of Paso de la Amada corresponds predominantly to the pre-Olmec Mokaya tradition. Excavations at the site have revealed significant earthen constructions from as early as 1700 BC. Those include the earliest known Mesoamerican ball court and traces of a series of high-status residences. This monograph reports on large-scale excavations in Mounds 1, 12, and 32, as well as soundings in other locations. The volume covers all aspects of excavations and artifacts and includes three lengthy interpretive chapters dealing with the main research questions, which concern subsistence, social inequality, and the organizational history of the site.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://ioa.ucla.edu/press/paso
Publisher: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press
Type: Multi-author monograph
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 978-1-950446-1
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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