Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4hhp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-24T12:45:44.265Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Middle Archaic Archaeological Site on the West Coast of Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Barbar Voorhies ,
Douglas J. Kennett ,
John G. Jones  and
Thomas A. Wake
Barbar Voorhies
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Douglas J. Kennett
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403
John G. Jones
Affiliation:
Palynology Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, Texas A & M University, College Station. TX 77843-4352
Thomas A. Wake
Affiliation:
Zooarchaeology Laboratory, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, A-210 Fowler, University of California. Los Angeles, CA 90095-1510
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Cerro de las Conchas shell mound, located on Mexico's south Pacific coast, was formed between 7,500 and 6,000/5,500 years ago, during the Middle Archaic period. Few Mesoamerican coastal sites are as early or have been studied so intensively. Limited diversity in the artifact assemblage and faunal origins, the presence of bedded strata, and the absence of features associated with permanent residency indicate that the site was used intermittently as a processing station for aquatic foods. Seasonality studies on clam shells suggest that this occurred year round. The site likely was situated initially adjacent to a brackish water lagoon near a tropical rainforest because faunal studies indicate a strong focus on lagoonal taxa, whereas a forested environment is indicated by phytoliths. Toward the end of the Middle Archaic, however, an increase in faunal and artifact richness, an emphasis on fauna with a tolerance for marine conditions, and phytolith evidence for more disturbance vegetation compared to earlier times, may be due to marine transgression. Later, pottery-using agricultural peoples used the site for farming and possibly residency. This example of early human adaptation to a coastal environment of Mesoamerica permits a corrective to previous research that is weighted heavily in favor of upland settings.

En este estudio se presentan los resultados de investigaciones arqueologicas recientes en el sitio de Cerro de las Conchas, un conchero que se ubica en la costa del Pacífico, en Chiapas, México. Se centra en la ocupación del Periodo Arcaico Medio (7500-6000/5500 a. P.), cuando dos estratos de conchas se formaron en el núcleo del conchero. El estrato más bajo contiene conchas y huesos de fauna propios de las lagunas costeras, y en el mismo estrato la mayoría de los fitolitos son de árboles selváticos. Con estas bases, inferimos que al principio el sitio se formó cerca de una laguna en la parte interior de un sistema laguna-estuario, y no muy lejos de una selva tropical. Los pocos tipos de artefactos, las evidencias estratigráficas de capas quemadas y no quemadas, y la ausencia de elementos materiales que indiquen un modo de vida sendentario, nos permiten interpretar que el sitio corresponde a un campamento donde se procesaban recursos lacustres exclusivamente. El estudio de isótopos de oxígeno en las conchas de almejas, indica que el sitio fue usado esporádicamente a lo largo del año. En cambio, el estrato superior que también data del Arcaico Medio, contiene una diversidad más amplia de artefactos, moluscos y vertebrados, con especies tolerantes a hábitats marinos. Al mismo tiempo, los fitolitos indican que había una menor presencia de plantas selváticas en comparación con del la selva y más vegetación secundaria. Posiblemente estos cambios se asocian con modificaciones de la transgresíon marina. En épocas más recientes, los grupos agrícolos con cerámicos usaron el sitio para cultivo y posiblemente como zona habitacional, por lo que se depositó una capa de suelo negra encima del conchero. Este ejemplo de adaptación humana en un ambiente costero en Mesoamérica durante el Arcaico Medio, permite balancear el énfasis que se ha dado en investigaciones previas enfocadas a las tierras altas.

Type
Reports
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , June 2002 , pp. 179 - 200
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Alvarez del Toro, Miguel 1983 Los reptiles de Chiapas, Tercer editión. Publicatión del Instituto de Historia Natural, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, México.Google Scholar
Amezcua Linares, Felipe 1996 Peces demersales de la plataforma continental del Pacifico central de México. Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México. México D. F.Google Scholar
Barnes, Richard S. K. 1980 Coastal Lagoons: The Natural History of a Neglected Habitat. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Blake, Michael 1999 Introduction to the Archaeology of Pacific Latin America. In Pacific Latin America in Prehistory: The Evolution of Archaic and Formative Cultures, edited by Michael Blake, pp. 3–10. Washington State University Press, Pullman.Google Scholar
Blake, Michael, Clark, John E., Voorhies, Barbara, Michaels, George H., Love, Michael W., Pye, Mary E., Demarest, Arthur A., and Arroyo, Barbara 1995 A New Radiocarbon Chronology for the Archaic and Formative Periods along the Pacific Coast of Southeastern Mesoamerica. Ancient Mesoamerica 6:161–184.Google Scholar
Brush, Charles F. 1965 Pox Pottery: Earliest Identified Mexican Ceramic. Science 149:194–195.Google Scholar
Brush, Charles F. 1969 A Contribution to the Archaeology of Coastal Guerrero, Mexico. Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Bussing, William A. 1998 Peces de las aguas continentales de Costa Rica, Edición segunda. International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation 46 (Supplement 2).Google Scholar
Byers, Douglas S. (editor) 1967 The Prehistory of the Tehuacán Valley, Volume 1, Environment and Subsistence. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Campbell, Jonathan A., and Vannini, Jay P. 1989 Distribution of Amphibians and Reptiles in Guatemala and Belize. Proceedings of the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology 4:1–21.Google Scholar
Clark, John E. 1994 The Development of Early Formative Rank Societies in the Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Drucker, Philip 1948 Preliminary Notes on an Archaeological Survey of the Chiapas Coast. Middle American Research Records 1:151–169.Google Scholar
Epstein, Samuel, Buchsbaum, Ralph, Lowenstam, Heinz, and Urey, Harold 1951 Carbonate-Water Isotopic Temperature Scale. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 62:417–426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epstein, Samuel, Buchsbaum, Ralph, Lowenstam, Heinz, and Urey, Harold 1953 Revised Carbonate-Water Isotopic Temperature Scale. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 62:1315–1326.Google Scholar
Fischer, Walter, Krupp, Friedhelm, Schneider, Wolfgang, Sommer, Corinna, Carpenter, Kent E., and Niem, Volker H. 1995a Guia FAO para la identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca: Pacifieá centro-oriental, Vol. II, Vertebrados - Parte I. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentatión, Roma.Google Scholar
Fischer, Walter, Krupp, Friedhelm, Schneider, Wolfgang, Sommer, Corinna, Carpenter, Kent E., and Niem, Volker H. 1995b Guia FAO para la identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca: Pacifieó centro-oriental, Vol. II, Vertebrados - Parte 11. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentatión, Roma.Google Scholar
Flannery, Kent V. 1986 Guilá Naquitz: Archaic Foraging and Early Agriculture in Oaxaca, Mexico. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Flannery, Kent V., and Marcus, Joyce (editors) 1983 The Cloud People: Divergent Evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec Civilizations. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Flannery, Kent V., Marcus, Joyce, and Kowalewski, Stephen 1981 The Preceramic and Formative of the Valley of Oaxaca. In Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 1, edited by Jeremy A. Sabloff, pp. 48–93. V. R. Bricker, general editor, University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
García-Bárcena, Joaquin, and Santamaria, Diana 1982 La cueva de Santa Marta Ocozocoautla, Chiapas. Colección Científica 111, Departamento de Prehistoria, INAH, México.Google Scholar
Iceland, Harry B. 1997 The Preceramic Origins of the Maya: The Results of the Colha Preceramic Project in Northern Belize. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin.Google Scholar
Iverson, John B. 1992 A Revised Checklist with Distribution Maps of the Turtles of the World. Green Nature Books, Homestead, Florida.Google Scholar
Jones, John G. 1991 Pollen Evidence for Early Settlement and Agriculture in Northern Belize. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology. Texas A&M University, College Station.Google Scholar
Jones, John G. 1994 Pollen Evidence for Early Settlement and Agriculture in Northern Belize. Palynology 18:205–211.Google Scholar
Kelly, Thomas C. 1993 Preceramic Projectile-Point Typology in Belize. Ancient Mesoamerica 4:205–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennett, Douglas J., and Voorhies, Barbara 1995 Middle Holocene Periodicities in Rainfall Inferred from Oxygen and Carbon Isotopic Fluctuations in Prehistoric Tropical Estuarine Mollusk Shells. Archaeometry 37:157–170.Google Scholar
Kennett, Douglas J., and Voorhies, Barbara 1996 Oxygen Isotopic Analysis of Archaeological Shells to Detect Seasonal Use of Wetlands on the Southern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Journal of Archaeological Science 23:689–704.Google Scholar
Lorenzo, José Luis 1955 Los concheros de la costa de Chiapas. Anales del Instituto Nacional de Antroplogía e Historia 7:41–50.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard S. 1981 Tehuacán’s Accomplishments. Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Volume 1, edited by Jeremy A. Sabloff, pp. 31–47. Victoria R. Bricker, general editor. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard S. 1986 The Preceramic of Middle America. In Advances in New World Archaeology, Vol. 5, edited by Fred Wendorf and Angela E. Close, pp. 93–129. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard S., Fowler, Melvin L., Cook, Angel García, Peterson, Frederick A., Nelken-Terner, Antoinette, and Neely, James A. (editors) 1972 The Prehistory of the Tehuacán Valley, Volume 5, Excavations and Reconnaissance. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard S., and Nelken-Turner, Antoinette 1983 The Preceramic of Mesoamerica, Journal of Field Archaeology 10:71–84.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard S., Nelken-Turner, Antoinette, and Johnson, Irmgard W. 1967 The Prehistory of the Tehuacán Valley. Volume 2, Nonceramic Artifacts. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
MacNeish Richard, S., and Peterson, Frederick A. 1962 The Santa Marta Rock Shelter Ocozocoautla, Chiapas, Mexico. Papers of the New World Archaeological Foundation 14, Brigham Young University, Provo.Google Scholar
Michaels, George H., and Voorhies, Barbara 1999 Late Archaic Period Coastal Collectors in Southern Mesoamerica: The Chantuto People Revisited. In Pacific Latin America in Prehistory: The Evolution of Archaic and Formative Cultures, edited by M. Blake, pp. 39–54. Washington State University Press, Pullman.Google Scholar
Mountjoy, Joseph B. 1971 Prehispanic Culture History and Cultural Contact on the Southern Coast of Nayarit, Mexico. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Anthropology Department, Southern Illinois University.Google Scholar
Mountjoy, Joseph B. 1974 San Bias Complex Ecology. In The Archaeology of West Mexico, edited by Betty Bell, pp. 106–119. Sociedad de Estudios Avanzados del Occidente de México, Ajijic, México.Google Scholar
Mountjoy, Joseph B., Taylor, Robert E., and Feldman, Lawrence H. 1972 Matanchen Complex: New Radiocarbon Dates on Early Coastal Adaptation in West Mexico. Science 175:1242–1243.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Navarrete, Carlos 1969 Resumen de las exploraciones del reconocimiento arqueológico de la costa de Chiapas (region del Soconusco), en la temporada de 1969. Manuscript on file, New World Archaeological Foundation, San Cristobal de las Casas, México.Google Scholar
Niederberger, Christine 1979 Early Sedentary Economy in the Basin of Mexico. Science 203:131–142.Google Scholar
Piperno, Dolores R. 1988 Phytolith Analysis: An Archaeological and Geological Perspective. Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
Pohl, Mary D., Pope, Kevin O., Jones, John G., Jacob, John S., Piperno, Dolores R., deFrance, Susan D., Lentz, David L., Gifford, John A., Danforth, Marie E., and Kathryn Josserand, J. 1996 Early Agriculture in the Maya Lowlands. Latin American Antiquity 7:355–372.Google Scholar
Scott, Stuart D. 1974 Archaeology and Estuary: Researching Prehistory and Paleoecology in the Marismas Nacionales, Sinaloa And Nayarit, Mexico. In The Archaeology of West Mexico, edited by Betty Bell, pp. 51–56. Sociedad de Estudios Avanzados del Occidente de México, Ajijic, México.Google Scholar
Scott, Stuart D. 1999 The Marismas Nacionales Project, Sinaloa and Nayarit, Mexico. In Pacific Latin America in Prehistory: The Evolution of Archaic and Formative Cultures, edited by Michael Blake, pp. 13–24. Washington State University Press, Pullman.Google Scholar
Shackleton, Nickolas J. 1969 Marine Mollusca in Archaeology. In Science in Archaeology, edited by Don Brothwell and Eric S. Higgs, pp. 407–414. Thames and Hudson, New York.Google Scholar
Stark, Barbara L. 1981 The Rise of Sedentary Life. In Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 1, edited by Jeremy Sabloff, pp. 345–372. Victoria R. Bricker, general editor, University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Stuiver, Minze, and Braziunas, Thomas F. 1993 Modeling Atmospheric 14C Influences and 14C Ages of Marine Samples to 10,000 BC. Radiocarbon 35:137–189.Google Scholar
Stuiver, Minze, and Reimer, Hermann A. 1993 Extended14C Data Base and Revised CALIB 3.0 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Program. Radiocarbon 35:215–230.Google Scholar
Taylor, Royal E. 1987 Radiocarbon Dating: An Archaeological Perspective. Academic Press, Orlando.Google Scholar
Voorhies, Barbara 1976 The Chantuto People: An Archaic Period Society of the Chiapas Littoral, Mexico. Papers of the New World Archaeological Foundation No. 41. Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.Google Scholar
Voorhies, Barbara 1978 Previous Research on Nearshore Coastal Adaptations in Middle America. In Prehistoric Coastal Adaptations: The Economy and Ecology of Maritime Middle America, edited by Barbara L. Stark and Barbara Voorhies, pp. 5–21. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Voorhies, Barbara 1996a Subsistence Strategies on the Eve of Complexity: The Late Archaic Period in South Coastal Chiapas, Mexico. The Colloquia of the XIII International Congress of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences, pp. 19–26. Forlí, Italy.Google Scholar
Voorhies, Barbara 1996b The Transformation from Foraging to Farming in the Tropical Lowlands of Mesoamerica. In The Managed Mosaic: Ancient Maya Agriculture and Resource Use, edited by Scott L. Fedick, pp. 17–29. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Voorhies, Barbara 2000 Reconstructing Mobility Patterns of Late Hunter-Gatherers in Coastal Chiapas, Mexico: The View from the Shell-mounds. Anais do IX Congresso da Sociedade de Arqueologia Brasiliera, Rio de Janeiro. Compact disk.Google Scholar
Voorhies, Barbara, Brown, Linda A., and Woodward, Michelle 2000 Informe final de las investigaciones en Cerro de las Conchas, Municipio de Huixtla, Chiapas. Submitted to the Institute Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México.Google Scholar
Wefer, Gerold, and Berger, Wolfgang H. 1991 Isotope Paleontology: Growth and Composition of Extant Calcareous Species. Marine Geology 100:207–248.Google Scholar
Wilkerson, S. Jeffrey K. 1975 Pre-agricultural Village Life: The Late Preceramic Period in Veracruz. Contributions of the University of California Research Facility 27:111–122.Google Scholar
Zeitlin, Robert N. 1984 A Summary Report on Three Seasons of Field Investigations into the Archaic Prehistory of Lowland Belize. American Anthropologist 86:358–369.Google Scholar
Zeitlin, Robert N., and Zeitlin, Judith F. 2000 The Paleoindian and Archaic Cultures of Mesoamerica. In The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the America, edited by Richard E. W. Adams and Murdo J. MacLeod, pp.45–121. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar