SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY 
VOLUME 3 [Whole Volume] 
T * . . -%**? 
$ 
IS****--*-"&* ^???**r**g*~ 
a 
Microenvironments in the Ocos area, Guatemala, a, View of beach sand and scrub, looking north toward the village of Ocos. b, The 
lagoon-estuary system just north and east of Ocos. c, Stilt-rooted red mangrove forest, d, The riverine habitat, looking upstream on 
the Rio Naranjo toward Salinas La Blanca. e, A tidal stream running through the savannas of the Pampa La Morena. / , The 
Naranjo River, looking downstream from Salinas La Blanca. 
i 
Early Cultures and 
Human Ecology in 
South Coastal Guatemala 
* % 
I -r* 
Michael D. Coe and Kent V. Flannery 
SMITHSONIAN PRESS 
Washington 1967 
A Publication of the 
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
United States National Museum 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CARD 65-62172 
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON, 1967 
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 
Washington, D.C. 20402 ? Price $3.50 
Preface 
The program "Interrelationships of New World Cultures" was initiated in 1960 by the Insti?
tute of Andean Research and continued for 3 years with the support of the National Science 
Foundation. The investigations described in this report were carried out as Project C of the pro?
gram's third year. 
We wish to gratefully acknowledge the advice and encouragement of the formulator of the 
program, Dr. Clifford Evans, of the Smithsonian Institution, and the support of the treasurer of 
the Institute of Andean Research, Dr. Gordon F. Ekholm, of the American Museum of Natural 
History. 
Our colleagues and friends in Guatemala again provided the same generous aid which they 
had shown to the senior author during his previous field season of 1958. Our profound thanks 
go once more to Sr. Don Carlos Samayoa Chinchilla, director of the Instituto de Antropologia 
e Historia, and to Sr. Don Antonio Tejeda Fonseca, director of the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia 
y Etnologia. Dr. Francis Gall, of the Direction de Cartografia, furnished us with maps and 
excellent advice drawn from his extensive knowledge of Guatemalan geography and history. 
Our stay in the village of Ocos was made pleasant by the willing cooperation of the mayor, 
Sr. Don J u a n Reyes. We feel deeply grateful to Sr. Don Vicente Cuadros and his family, who 
are the present occupants of the Salinas La Blanca site; many of the insights which we have had 
into human ecology in the Ocos area were gained from conversations with our friend Don "Chente." 
This report would have been an impossibility without the identifications so kindly furnished 
us by colleagues in the natural sciences. In particular, we owe debts of gratitude to Dr. Paul C. 
Mangelsdorf, of the Botanical Museum, Harvard University, for his report on ancient maize 
specimens; to Dr. Willard D. Hartman, of Yale University, and Dr. Fenner Chace, of the Smith?
sonian Institution, for aid in identifying crab fragments and modern crabs; to Dr. W. I. Follett, 
of the California Academy of Sciences, for reporting on fish remains; to Dr. Raymond A. Paynter, 
J r . , of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, who identified bird bones; 
to Dr. William J . Clench and Dr. Ruth Turner, also of Harvard, for establishing the species desig?
nation of some difficult mollusk specimens; to Dr. Matt Walton and Dr. George H. Myer, of the 
Department of Geology, Yale University, for their identifications of the raw materials used in 
stone artifacts and the analysis of pottery thin sections; to Dr. B. Francis Kukachka, of the Wood 
Identification Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Madison, Wis. for his report on 
charcoal samples; and to Dr. Matsuo Tsukada of the Department of Biology, Yale University, for 
his analysis of pollen samples from Salinas La Blanca. 
The four radiocarbon samples from Salinas La Blanca were analyzed in the Yale Geochrono-
metric Laboratory by Dr. Minze Stuiver. 
We have benefited from conversations with archeological colleagues working on problems 
similar to ours, especially with Dr. Richard S. MacNeish and Fredrick Peterson, then with the 
Tehuacan Archaeological-Botanical Project; Gareth W. Lowe and Dee F. Green, of the New 
World Archaeological Foundation, and Dr. Stephan F. de Borhegyi and Dr. Lee Parsons, of the 
Milwaukee Public Museum. 
Our thanks go also to Sophie D. Coe, who oversaw the washing of the potsherds and was 
responsible for the cataloging of all specimens. 
All of the pottery drawings in this report are the work of Carl Wester, of the Peabody Museum 
of Natural History, Yale University. We thank Nancy H. Flannery for the preparation of figures 
3, 8, and 42. 
Tale University M D C 
New Haven, Conn. K V F 
Smithsonian Institution 
Washington, D.C. 
April 1, 1965 
Contents 
Page 
PREFACE m 
INTRODUCTION 3 
Problems in the study of the Formative period 3 
Previous investigations in the Ocos area 5 
Aims of the 1962 project in the Ocos area 6 
T H E NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE OCOS REGION 9 
General remarks 9 
Microenvironments 11 
Beach sand and low beach scrub 11 
Marine estuary and lagoon system 11 
Mangrove forest 11 
Riverine 12 
Salt play as and madresalar 12 
Mixed tropical forest 14 
Tropical savanna 15 
Cleared fields and second growth 15 
EXCAVATIONS AT SALINAS L A BLANCA 17 
Location and general features 17 
Excavations 17 
Reconstructed depositional history 20 
T H E FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE ON THE GUATEMALAN COAST: A REVISION AND SYN?
THESIS 21 
Introduction 21 
The pottery of Salinas La Blanca: study and classification 22 
The stratigraphic succession at Salinas La Blanca 23 
Cuadros Phase 23 
Jocotal Phase 23 
Crucero Phase 24 
Other pottery 24 
The Formative pottery sequence viewed as a whole 24 
Major pottery types and traditions of the coastal Formative 25 
Types restricted to the Ocos Phase 25 
Red-rimmed tecomate tradition 25 
"Brushed" or "striated" tecomate tradition 28 
Incised black ware tradition 32 
Red monochrome tradition 35 
Red and white bichrome tradition 37 
Incised white ware tradition 42 
Incised gray monochrome pottery 46 
Zoned red-on-buff pottery 47 
Orange monochrome and bichrome traditions 47 
Streaky brown-black pottery 49 
Minor pottery types and traditions of the coastal Formative 55 
Ocos Phase 55 
Cuadros Phase 55 
Conchas Phase 56 
Crucero Phase 56 
Phase uncertain 57 
VII 
VII I CONTENTS VOLUME 3 
Page 
Miscellaneous coarse wares from Salinas La Blanca 58 
Cuadros Phase 58 
Jocotal Phase 58 
Cerro del Tiestal Complex 59 
Marcos Phase 59 
Rare sherds or trade sherds from Salinas La Blanca 59 
Cuadros Phase 59 
Jocotal Phase 60 
Crucero Phase 61 
T H E ARTIFACTS OF SALINAS L A BLANCA 63 
General remarks 63 
Cuadros Phase 63 
Jocotal Phase 64 
Crucero Phase 65 
DATING THE ARCHEOLOGICAL SEQUENCE 67 
Cultural stratigraphy in the Ocos area 67 
Cultural affiliations of the Cuadros Phase 68 
Cultural affiliations of the Jocotal Phase 69 
Cultural affiliations of the Crucero Phase 70 
Cultural affiliations of the Ocos Phase 70 
SUBSISTENCE IN THE CUADROS AND JOCOTAL PHASES 71 
Plant foods 71 
Maize 71 
Other cultigens 72 
Animal foods 73 
White-tailed deer 73 
Homo sapiens 74 
Birds 74 
Reptiles 74 
Fish 76 
Crabs 77 
Mollusks 80 
Food preparation 80 
Summary 82 
SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE Oc6s AREA 84 
Early Formative sites 85 
Archeological criteria 85 
Sites 85 
Discussion 87 
Middle Formative sites 87 
Archeological criteria 87 
Sites 87 
Discussion 89 
Late Formative sites 89 
Archeological criteria 89 
Sites 89 
Discussion 89 
Sites of the Cerro del Tiestal complex 91 
Archeological criteria 91 
Sites 91 
Discussion 92 
Late Classic sites 93 
Archeological criteria 93 
Sites. 95 
Discussion 95 
Post-Classic sites 97 
Archeological criteria 97 
Sites 97 
Discussion 97 
WHOLE VOLUME CONTENTS IX 
Page 
Sites of unknown affiliation 99 
CONCLUSIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS 100 
Summary of the Salinas La Blanca sequence 100 
Ancient life in the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases 101 
Patterns of land use in coastal Guatemala 102 
Salinas La Blanca and the establishment of village life in Mesoamerica 102 
The highland and coastal traditions 104 
Village life and potterymaking 105 
LITERATURE CITED 106 
APPENDIX 1: Larger mammals and reptiles known from the Ocos transect 113 
APPENDIX 2: Tables 11-13 118 
APPENDIX 3: Report on mineralized corncobs and other prehistoric specimens from Salinas 
La Blanca, by Paul C Mangelsdorf 127 
APPENDIX 4: Fish remains from Salinas La Blanca, an archeological site on the Pacific coast 
of Guatemala, by W. I. Follett 129 
APPENDIX 5: Petrography of pottery thin sections from Salinas La Blanca, by George H. 
Myer 135 
Tables 
TEXT 
Page 
1. Chronology of the Guatemalan coast in 1961 6 
2. Relationship of the stratigraphic cuts at La Victoria and Salinas La Blanca 67 
3. Chronology of the Guatemalan coast 70 
4. Maize cob remains from Salinas La Blanca 72 
5. Impressions of fruit seeds from Salinas La Blanca 73 
6. Mammal, bird, and reptile remains from Salinas La Blanca 76 
7. Fish remains from Salinas La Blanca 76 
8. Crab remains from Salinas La Blanca 77 
9. Mollusks from Salinas La Blanca 78 
10. Charcoal from hearths at Salinas La Blanca 82 
APPENDIX 2 
11. Distribution of pottery types by sherd count in Cuts 1 and 2, Salinas La Blanca 118 
12. Decorative modes, Salinas La Blanca 122 
13. Distribution of artifacts, Salinas La Blanca 126 
APPENDIX 3 
14. Characteristics of Salinas La Blanca mineralized cobs compared with those of modern 
Nal-Tel and Chapalote 127 
15. Measurements and observations on mineralized cobs from Salinas La Blanca 128 
Illustrations 
FIGURES 
Page 
1. Map of southeastern Mesoamerica, showing the location of Salinas La Blanca and other 
sites mentioned in the text 2 
2. Map of the Ocos area on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, with Salinas La Blanca and 
La Victoria located in relationship to some important microenvironments 10 
CONTENTS VOLUME 3 
3. Northeast-southwest transection of the Ocos area, showing microenvironments 13 
4. Map of the Salinas La Blanca site, with excavations and modern houses as indicated. . 16 
5. Profile of all four faces of Cut 1, Salinas La Blanca (facing) 18 
6. Profile of all four faces of Gut 2, Salinas La Blanca (facing) 20 
7. Graph of pottery type percentages by level in Cuts 1 and 2, Salinas La Blanca (facing). . 22 
8. Graph showing the major pottery types and traditions of the Formative period in south 
coastal Guatemala (facing) 24 
9. Rim profiles of Mapache Red-rimmed tecomates, Cuadros Phase 26 
10. Rim profiles of Mendez Red-rimmed tecomates, Cuadros Phase 27 
11. Reconstructed Guamuchal Brushed tecomate, Cuadros Phase 29 
12. Rim profiles of Guamuchal Brushed tecomates, Cuadros Phase 30 
13. Rim profiles of Suchiate Brushed tecomates, Jocotal Phase 31 
14. Pampas Black-and-white pottery, Cuadros and Jocotal Phases 33 
15. Pampas Black-and-white pottery, Cuadros and Jocotal Phases 34 
16. Pacaya Red pottery, Cuadros and Jocotal Phases 37 
17. Tilapa Red-on-white flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides, Cuadros Phase 38 
18. Tilapa Red-on-white pottery, Cuadros Phase 39 
19. Tilapa Red-on-white pottery, Cuadros Phase 40 
20. Conchas Red-and-white pottery, late Jocotal Phase 41 
21. Conchas White-to-buff pottery, Cuadros and Jocotal Phases 43 
22. Temblor White pottery, Jocotal Phase 45 
23. California White pottery, Jocotal Phase 45 
24. Ocos Gray pottery, Jocotal Phase 46 
25. Conchas Orange pottery, Crucero Phase 48 
26. Crucero Red-on-orange pottery, Crucero Phase 49 
27. Conchas Streaky Brown-black, simple unconstricted orifice bowls with convex sides, 
Crucero Phase 50 
28. Conchas Streaky Brown-black, simple unconstricted orifice bowl with everted, scalloped 
rim, Crucero Phase 50 
29. Conchas Streaky Brown-black, deep bowls, Crucero Phase 51 
30. Conchas Streaky Brown-black, Crucero Phase, composite silhouette bowls with vertical 
or restricted walls 51 
31. Conchas Streaky Brown-black, Crucero Phase, composite silhouette bowls with everted 
or flanged rims 52 
32. Conchas Streaky Brown-black, Crucero Phase, composite silhouette bowls with out-
slanting sides 53 
33. Conchas Streaky Brown-black, Crucero Phase, constricted orifice jars with composite 
silhouette 53 
34. Conchas Streaky Brown-black pottery, Crucero Phase 54 
35. Fragments of Julain Coarse pottery incense burners, Crucero Phase 57 
36. Encuentros Orange pottery, Crucero Phase 57 
37. Violeta Plain and Manchuria Plain pottery from the surface and upper levels of Salinas 
La Blanca 58 
38. Miscellaneous coarse pottery, Cuadros Phase 59 
39. Rare or minor pottery types from the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases 60 
40. Rare pottery elements of the Crucero and Jocotal Phases 61 
41. Pottery of the Crucero Phase 62 
42. Archeological chronology of Mesoamerica and the Ocos area 66 
43. Animal remains, exclusive of mollusks, found in Cuadros and Jocotal Phase levels at 
Salinas La Blanca 73 
44. Population trends in the Ocos area, as indicated by the number of components of 
each period found by the 1962 site survey 84 
45. Distribution of sites in the Ocos area during the Early Formative period 86 
46. Distribution of sites during the Middle Formative period in the Ocos area 88 
47. Late Formative and Cerro del Tiestal complex sites in the Ocos area 90 
48. Embossed gold plaques from Guatemala 93 
49. Distribution of Late Classic sites in the Ocos area 94 
50. Distribution of Post-Classic sites and sites of unknown affiliation in the Oc6s a r e a . . . . 98 
WHOLE VOLUME CONTENTS XI 
PLATES 
1. Frontispiece. Microenvironments in the Ocos area, Guatemala. 
2. The collection of modern animal specimens from the Ocos area. 
3. The present-day inhabitants of Salinas La Blanca. 
4. Excavations at Salinas La Blanca. 
5. Impressions found in clay during excavations at Salinas La Blanca. 
6. Guamuchal Brushed sherds, Cuadros Phase. 
7. Guamuchal Brushed sherds, Cuadros Phase. 
8. Guamuchal Brushed sherds, Cuadros Phase. 
9. Guamuchal Brushed sherds, Cuadros Phase. 
10. Mendez Red-rimmed sherds, Cuadros and Jocotal Phases. 
11. Mendez Red-rimmed sherds, Cuadros and Jocotal Phases. 
12. Mapache Red-rimmed and Teofilo Punctate sherds, Cuadros Phase. 
13. Tilapa Red-on-white sherds, Cuadros Phase. 
14. Interior and exterior of a Pampas Black-and-white bowl, Cuadros Phase. 
15. Pampas Black-and-white sherds and unusual striated sherds, Cuadros Phase. 
16. Morena Black and Suchiate Brushed sherds, Jocotal Phase. 
17. Suchiate Brushed tecomate sherds, Jocotal Phase. 
18. Conchas Red-on-buff, Julain Coarse, and Conchas Streaky Brown-black sherds, Jocotal and 
Crucero Phases. 
19. Conchas Streaky Brown-black vessels from pits of the Crucero Phase. 
20. Various pottery types, Salinas La Blanca. 
21. Stone, shell, and pottery artifacts of the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases. 
22. Stone and pottery artifacts, Crucero Phase. 
23. Matting and shells, Cuadros Phase. 
24. Mineralized corncobs and other parts of the maize plant from deposits of the Cuadros Phase, 
Salinas La Blanca. 
25. Ancient crab claw fragment, Cuadros Phase, and modern mouthless crab, Salinas La Blanca. 
26. Molluskan and fish remains from the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases. 
27. Projectile point from survey, and pottery and stone artifacts of the Conchas Phase from the site 
survey. 
28. Pottery of the Cerro del Tiestal complex. 
29. A possible Early Classic vessel support, and Marcos Phase pottery and other artifacts from the 
Ocos area. 
30. Pottery of the Marcos Phase from sites in the Ocos area. 
31. Fish remains from Salinas La Blanca (Appendix 4). 
32. Fish remains from Salinas La Blanca (Appendix 4). 
Early Cultures and Human Ecology 
in South Coastal Guatemala 
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
Introduction 
The present report is concerned with investigations 
carried out on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, in a 
region very close to the Mexican border, during the 
months of January through March of 1962 (see maps, 
figs. 1 and 2). This research centered on Salinas La 
Blanca, a small village site of the Formative period, 
situated on the east bank of the Naranjo River, about 
1.5 km. north of Oc6s (Department of San Marcos). 
It was our intention to throw further light on the 
earliest village-farming occupation of this region, as 
a followup to investigations carried out at the nearby 
site of La Victoria during 1958 (Coe, 1961). 
P R O B L E M S I N T H E STUDY O F T H E F O R M A T I V E P E R I O D 
The outstanding problems in the study of the Forma?
tive or Pre-Classic period in Mesoamerica are: (1) 
the actual sequence of cultures in the various regions 
of Mesoamerica, and their absolute dating; (2) the 
rise of civilizations in Mesoamerica, civilizations which 
are characterized by ceremonial centers, monumental 
art styles, calendrical sciences, and writing; (3) the 
interrelationships of New World cultures in this 
period; and (4) the ultimate origins of settled village-
farming life and the arts dependent upon it, such as 
pottery, figurine-making, loom-weaving, and so forth. 
In the last 10 years, there has been a great acceleration 
in our understanding of these problems because there 
has been more actual excavation in Formative arche?
ological sites in this time than in the five decades which 
have passed since stratigraphic work first began in 
Mesoamerica. What is most significant is that arche?
ologists have begun to extend their interests to regions 
away from those in which the most spectacular remains 
of the Classic and Post-Classic periods are found?to 
areas which may have been "marginal" in later times 
but which probably were critical in earlier epochs. 
One of these hitherto little-known regions is the 
dry Central Depression of Chiapas, the valley of 
the Grijalva River, in which particularly important 
advances in the field of Formative research have 
been made by the New World Archaeological 
Foundation. These have resulted in what is one 
of the longest and most detailed successions of strati?
fied cultures thus far known for the Formative period. 
I t is often not realized how long and complex the 
Formative development was, or that most areal 
"sequences" for the period are not only incomplete 
but usually rest on alarmingly weak stratigraphic 
foundations (Coe, 1961, pp. 120-123). For this 
reason, the Chiapa sequence must serve as a reliable 
yardstick against which other sequences can be 
measured. 
Few if any attempts to arrange the known Forma?
tive cultures of Mesoamerica into some sort of overall 
scheme (whether into developmental stages or into 
chronological periods) have met with general ac?
ceptance (Wauchope, 1964, p . 335). The trouble 
with developmental schemes has been that very few 
data have been available from which to determine 
the criteria used to group or rank Formative cultures? 
for instance, the trait of building temple mounds can 
hardly be used as a criterion at present, when we have 
no idea of when and where temple mounds first 
appeared in Mesoamerica. On the division of the 
sequence into periods there is somewhat more 
agreement, particularly among those who have 
actually been digging in stratified Formative sites 
in recent years, and especially since the establish?
ment of the Chiapa de Corzo sequence. In this 
report, we will adhere to the scheme of Early, Middle, 
and Late Formative defined in Coe (1961, pp. 
133-134), although we do not assume that all workers 
in this field would fully subscribe to it. 
Because of the general rarity of radiocarbon dates 
for the Formative period, there has been a 
continued dispute over the absolute dating of the 
cultures within it. Not only are there few dates, 
but only a tiny handful of these are based upon 
reliable samples; and by "reliable" we mean charcoal, 
from twigs or young trees, that is definitely contem?
porary with the deposit in which it was found. "Mid?
den" charcoal found mixed in a sherd dump is suspect; 
so is charcoal from burned house beams formed from 
trees that were old when cut. Shell, bone, and antler 
continue to be dubious as sources for radiocarbon 
dates. On the other hand, charcoal from stratified 
hearths or from burned offerings is generally to be 
relied upon, especially when collected under controlled 
conditions. Thus, the date of the oldest pottery-
using and village-living cultures in Mesoamerica 
remains in doubt. A rough estimate of 1500 B.C. 
for the beginning of the Early Formative has been 
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
made (ibid., p . 131), but the true date could well 
be several centuries earlier or later than this. The 
upper terminus of the Formative depends closely 
upon the correct correlation of the Maya and 
Christian calendars, since the beginning of the 
Classic is defined as the point at which the Maya 
began erecting dated stone monuments. In the 
Thompson correlation, accepted by most students, 
this would be about A.D. 300, but the rival Spinden 
correlation would put this back about 260 years. 
Nevertheless, within this span of time most archeol?
ogists concerned with Formative problems are fairly 
well agreed on the "relative" dating of various 
cultures, as well as convinced that many more radio?
carbon tests must be made. 
It was not so many years ago that the Maya civiliza?
tion was thought to be the oldest in the New World, 
and the possible source for all other high cultures in 
this hemisphere. This belief made the search for its 
origins imperative, and when no such origins could 
be found in the lowland Maya area, the mystery 
deepened. Although many Mayanists refused to ad?
mit the possibility that the Olmec culture of lowland 
Veracruz and Tabasco predated the Classic Maya 
period, the Olmec culture is now generally accepted 
as of Middle Formative date (ca. 800^100 B. C.) 
(Drucker, Heizer, and Squier, 1959) and as the prob?
able originator of many of the traits considered 
typical of the Maya. Several Late Formative cultures 
of southeastern Mesoamerica, such as Monte Alban 
I, Tres Zapotes, Izapa, the Miraflores culture of 
Kaminaljuyu, and Chicanel, brought many of these 
traits to a high degree of refinement and apparently 
played a major role in the transmittal of Olmec 
civilization to the Classic Maya of the Peten lowlands. 
But from what and how did the Olmec civilization 
arise? At the present moment, little can be said to 
answer this most important and disturbing question. 
When the oldest of all Mesoamerican high cultures 
seems to have no local roots, it is a great temptation 
to look elsewhere, even overseas (Ekholm, 1964), 
but the answers most likely are to be encountered 
right in Olmec country itself, where excavation in 
Olmec dwelling sites is sorely needed. 
The 1958 excavations at La Victoria reopened a 
question that has long intrigued New World archeol?
ogists: were the Formative peoples of Mesoamerica 
and the Andean area in contact with each other? 
If so, what was the nature of the contact, and how 
much did one area influence the development of the 
other? Spinden's "Archaic Hypothesis" of 1917 
was the first attempt to deal with some very convinc?
ing resemblances between Formative manifestations 
in both areas, although conceived on the basis of 
extremely fragmentary data. Others who have 
carried this idea further are Strong (1943), Willey 
(1955 a, 1955 b, 1960), Porter (1953), de Borhegyi 
(1959), Kidder I I et al. (1963), and Meggers (1963, 
1964). In spite of vigorous objections raised by some 
Peruvianists (Lanning, 1963), there has accumulated 
a considerable body of evidence to support the view 
that there was a two-way movement of some impor?
tant culture traits between Mesoamerica and north?
western South America during the Formative period, 
most likely via sea voyages along the Pacific coast, 
and that Mesoamerica probably played the dominant 
role in the invention and transmission of many of 
these traits. For this reason, the discovery at La 
Victoria of an Early Formative Phase, Ocos, which 
could be demonstrated to show signs of contact with 
a specific phase in South America, namely the For?
mative Chorrera Phase of coastal Ecuador, moved 
us away from generalities and enabled at least two 
termini of this maritime contact to be pinned down. 
Far from being moribund, Spinden's "Archaic Hy?
pothesis" is as lively an issue today as it was half a 
century ago, although it is now conceived in more 
complex terms. The issue is important; the two 
civilized areas of the Pre-Columbian New World 
were Mesoamerica and the Andes?were these de?
velopments independent of each other, or did they 
arise from a commonly shared Formative base? 
Was there a New World oikoumene comparable to that 
of the Old World (Willey, 1955 b)? 
Regarding the fourth major problem in the study 
of the Formative period, a virtual revolution has taken 
place in our understanding of the events leading to the 
adoption of agriculture in Mesoamerica. Earlier 
researches of MacNeish in northeastern Mexico had 
shown that maize cultivation began there at least by 
2500 B.C., well back in preceramic times (MacNeish, 
1958). The discovery of fossil maize pollen in deposits 
underneath Mexico City that may be 80,000 years 
old indicated that the central highlands of Mexico 
were the natural habitat of wild maize (Mangelsdorf, 
1958). In the light of these and other discoveries, 
MacNeish in 1960 turned his attention to the ex?
tremely dry caves and rock shelters of the Tehuacan 
Valley, in Puebla, Mexico. The successive field 
seasons in Tehuaca'n have resulted in the definition 
of a remarkably long sequence, extending from the 
initial occupation of the valley, perhaps 11,000 years 
ago, through the Spanish Conquest. 
It is the discoveries, in preceramic context, of the 
beginnings of plant domestication that are most 
significant among the findings of the Tehuacan project 
(MacNeish, 1961, 1962, 1964). The aborigines of 
Mesoamerica have always been primarily herbivorous 
rather than carnivorous, and it is apparent from the 
new Tehuacan data that this pattern goes back to the 
WHOLE VOLUME INTRODUCTION 
"Paleo-Indian" Ajuereado Phase (prior to 7200 
B.C.), when about half the diet already consisted of 
wild plant food. By El Riego times (6800-5200 B.C.), 
an extremely primitive wild maize with tiny ears may 
have been among the grasses collected, while squash 
and chile peppers were actually cultivated. Cox-
catlan (5200-3400 B.C.) is the critical phase for the 
prehistory of Tehuacan and, by extension, of the rest 
of the New World, for it was within this span of time 
and in or very close to this area that the American 
Indian made the first steps in the domestication of 
maize. During the succeeding Abejas Phase (3400-
2500 B.C.), which is also preceramic, remains of 
cultivated food plants are almost as abundant as those 
of wild species, and maize had now evolved under 
domestication to a pop-pod type rather similar to the 
Bat Cave race. 
As a result of the slow increase in food supply with 
the adoption of a primitive agriculture, the latest 
phases prior to the Formative in the Tehuacan region 
show indications of a somewhat more settled life. A 
small village of pit houses is of Abejas date, although 
it is doubtful that it was occupied the year round. 
The Abejas people were fashioning ground stone con?
tainers: neckless globular jars and flat-bottomed 
bowls with outslanting sides. Crude, plain, gravel-
tempered pottery appears in the succeeding Purron 
Phase (2500-1900 B.C.), and it is significant that the 
shapes of these earliest known Mesoamerican ceramics 
exactly conform to those of the Abejas stone vessels. 
The general picture given us by the Tehuacan exca?
vations is one of gradual plant domestication taking 
place in a cultural and environmental context not 
very different from that of the "Desert Culture" of 
arid North America (Jennings, 1956). The pre?
requisite to fully settled village life in Mesoamerica 
is the possession of an effective maize-beans-squash 
agriculture, and it would seem that we have here 
encountered the first stage in the origins of the 
Formative. The second stage?the appearance of 
settled, permanently occupied villages?appears to 
be better documented in some of the tropical lowland 
areas of Mesoamerica than in the Tehuacan Valley. 
The number of Early Formative villages per square 
kilometer on the lagoon-estuary system of the Guate?
malan Pacific coast, to give one example, would seem 
far to exceed the number of permanent villages per 
square kilometer in the Tehuacan Valley during the 
Ajalpan Phase; moreover, the year-round stability of 
the coastal settlements appears to have been greater 
(Coe and Flannery, 1964). Until well into the 
Formative, the pattern in the arid Tehuacan Valley 
involved the seasonal exploitation of widely scattered 
natural resource areas as a supplement to agriculture, 
and it has been reasoned (ibid.) that this mitigated 
against an abundance of permanent villages. In 
contrast, the coastal farmers specialized in one 
productive resource area, the lagoon-estuary system, 
which encouraged the growth of abundant, although 
localized, permanent villages. 
We are not attempting to paint a simple, black-
and-white contrast between coast and highlands. 
Both areas went into the making of Mesoamerica. 
We note with interest only that while agriculture 
began in the arid uplands, population growth during 
the Early Formative was probably higher on the 
coast. In the Late Formative, sophisticated irrigation 
systems appear in the Tehuacan Valley (personal 
communication, Richard B. Woodbury and James A. 
Neely), indicative of a new and more effective adapta?
tion on the part of the highland peoples. From that 
point on, population in the highlands grew at a rate 
that far outstripped the Guatemalan coast until Late 
Classic times. 
PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS I N T H E OCOS A R E A 
That portion of the Pacific coast plain of Guatemala 
lying closest to the border of Chiapas, Mexico, was 
first reconnoitered by Edwin M. Shook in the field 
season of 1946-47. Shook discovered a large number 
of archeological sites, principally of the Formative 
and Late Classic periods, the latter marked by 
abundant San J u a n Plumbate pottery (Shook, 1947, 
pp. 180-182). One of these, El Sitio, some 18 km. 
north of Ayutla, is a Formative and Late Classic 
ceremonial site, and was excavated by Shook. El 
Jobo, just east of Ayutla, is a sizable mound group 
principally of Late Formative age, with which an 
Izapa-style stela was associated. Unfortunately, no 
reports on either of these two sites have yet appeared. 
La Victoria was among the sites encountered by 
Shook that season. In the winter of 1958, Coe and 
his wife undertook a 3-months' excavation program 
at La Victoria, with the intention of finding the 
earliest Formative occupation of this part of Meso?
america. The site is located 3 km. north of the 
fishing village of Ocos, between the Naranjo and 
Suchiate Rivers, and consists of 10 to 12 very low, 
flat mounds which represent platforms for ancient 
houses. Two well-stratified Formative components 
were found to be abundantly represented; the upper?
most deposits consisted of mixed Late Formative 
and Late Classic (San Juan Plumbate) remains which 
could only be separated from each other on typologi-
210-980r?67-
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS T O ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
cal grounds. At the time of writing of the 1961 final 
report on the site, the sequence at La Victoria with 
estimated dates stood as shown in table 1. 
TABLE 1.?CHRONOLOGY OF THE GUATEMALAN COAST IN 1961 
Period 
Late Classic 
Early Classic 
Late Formative 
Middle Formative 
Early Formative 
Phase 
Marcos 
(Absent) 
Crucero 
Conchas 2 
Conchas 1 
Ocos 
Estimated date 
A.D. 750-900 
-
300 B.C.-A.D. 100 
700-300 B.C. 
1000-700 B.C. 
1500-1000 B.C. 
The Ocos Phase proved to be of the greatest interest. 
Formerly, the Las Charcas Phase at Kaminaljuyu, 
in highland Guatemala, was the most ancient Forma?
tive culture known for southeastern Mesoamerica 
(Shook, 1957, p. 67). However, the closest ties of 
Las Charcas with the succession at La Victoria 
proved to be with the demonstrably Middle Formative 
Subphase of Conchas 2. This placed the very complex 
Ocos Phase as one of the earliest, if not the most 
ancient, ceramic-using cultures in southeastern Meso?
america. Certain specific resemblances seemed to 
aline it closely with the Chiapa I (Cotorra) Phase 
at Chiapa de Corzo, although the traits shared were 
few in number, centering mainly on ways of decorat?
ing the rims of neckless globular jars {tecomates). 
Ocos ceramics were quite sophisticated, including 
many plastic decoration techniques, such as rocker 
stamping of various sorts, textile impressions, and 
even cord marking, unique thus far for this period 
in Mesoamerica. A peculiar technique of striping 
vessels with a thinly applied iridescent paint having 
an almost metallic luster proved to be a trait shared 
with early cultures on the coast of Ecuador, but 
otherwise unknown in Mesoamerica. 
The Ocos economy was mixed. Part of it was 
based upon the products, such as mollusks and fish, 
to be found in the then flourishing brackish water 
estuary system. Part was based on plant foods, or 
so we infer from the grinding tools found; some of 
these plant foods were almost certainly domestic. 
Well made clay figurines and the possible presence of 
a temple mound of Ocos age at a nearby site suggested 
that while very early, the Ocos people may have had 
an advanced ceremonial life. 
I t was then assumed that Conchas 1, with intimate 
ties to Chiapa I I and to early cultures of the Gulf 
Coast, developed in situ directly out of Ocos, although 
it was recognized that there were some additions, 
such as abundant hard white pottery with new forms 
and decorative techniques. O n this assumption, 
several of the pottery types of the Conchas 1 and 2 
Subphases were considered as mere extensions in 
time of Ocos types and so named. Tha t this assump?
tion was wrong is shown in the present report. At 
any rate, Conchas marks the most important occupa?
tion of La Victoria. It is "typically" Middle Forma?
tive, closely allied in pottery and figurine styles to 
such sites as Zacatenco and El Arbolillo of the 
Valley of Mexico, La Venta and other Olmec sites 
on the Gulf Coast, the Mamom Phase in the Pet6n, 
and the Las Charcas Phase in the Guatemala high?
lands. There is no evidence for any significant 
change in the subsistence base from Ocos times. 
Away from the village of La Victoria, several sites 
with large platform mounds indicate that ceremonial 
construction was carried out. 
No Pro to-Classic or Early Classic occupation was 
found at La Victoria, and Shook (1947) in his survey 
encountered a similar lack of Early Classic sites in the 
area. La Victoria was settled once more toward the 
close of the Classic, when considerable amounts of 
San Juan Plumbate pottery were deposited. 
A I M S O F T H E 1962 PROJECT I N T H E OCOS A R E A 
It became increasingly apparent to Coe after the 
publication of the 1961 report that more research 
was needed in the Ocos area, particularly on the 
Early Formative. 
Apart from investigating extra-Mesoamerican cul?
tural relationships, we most wanted to determine the 
origins of the Ocos culture and of the Early Formative 
occupation in general. The Ocos Phase had ad?
vanced and sophisticated ceramics. Because of the 
presence of such decorative ceramic features as cord 
marking, a derivation from the Early Woodland cul?
tures of the north had been argued (Coe, 1960). 
However, the earliest pottery of northeastern North 
America now seems to be considerably later than was 
once estimated, so that diffusion from there to coastal 
Guatemala would be an untenable proposition (Bul-
len, 1961; Griffin, 1964). Briefly, we wanted to find 
what lay beneath Ocos. Would it be a simple and 
early ceramic phase like Monagrillo of Panama 
(Willey and McGimsey, 1954), or would it be pre-
WHOLE V O L U M E INTRODUCTION 
ceramic? If the latter, the mystery of Ocos origins 
would remain. 
As all archeologists know from experience, while it 
is all very well to pose such questions, it is often diffi?
cult to answer them. Kidder once compared arche?
ological digging to deep sea fishing off the New 
England coast (Kidder, Jennings, and Shook, 1946, 
p . 1). One must never be confident that the expected 
will be found, and must be prepared for the unex?
pected. We discovered an entirely new Early Forma?
tive Phase, Cuadros, characterized by many of the 
same ceramic forms as was Ocos, but much simpler 
and less varied than the latter. At first, we thought 
that we might have uncovered the ancestor of Ocos, 
but once the ceramic analysis had been carried out 
we realized that we had a later complex, one that was 
in many respects the progenitor of Conchas 1. So we 
neither shed any new light on the roots of the Ocos 
culture, nor did we add anything to the subject of 
interareal diffusion in the New World. 
Actually, our interests and aims changed while in 
the field. We had fully intended, as part of our 
project, to undertake a more intensive study of the 
natural resources, particularly animal, that would 
have been available to the early inhabitants of the 
zone, and to make a sizable skeletal collection of the 
local fauna for purposes of archeological identification. 
These goals were achieved. At the same time, in our 
excavations at Salinas La Blanca it was becoming 
apparent that through some extraordinarily lucky 
circumstances of preservation, we were fortunate in 
gaining a view of the ecological adjustment of a 
Formative village community in the lowland tropics, 
and an early one at that, a view which was more or 
less unique to Mesoamerican archeology. 
We were able not only to expand the Formative 
sequence of the Ocos region, but also to delve into 
matters of more note, namely, to attempt to determine 
some of the factors which had enabled the Indians 
living along the Pacific coast of Guatemala to achieve 
a fully settled life at a very early date. The problem 
was recast into somewhat different terms. Anthro?
pologists, including archeologists, have generally been 
concerned with adjustments of past human populations 
to large-scale changes in the environment, usually 
brought about by macroclimatological changes, such 
as the rise in temperatures following on the heels of 
the last glacial retreat in northern Europe. For ex?
ample, many attempts have been made to invoke 
macroclimatological factors to account for the shift 
from a hunting-gathering way of life to effective 
village-farming in the Near East, but many biologists 
and archeologists are becoming increasingly dubious 
of the validity of such explanations (Reed and 
Braidwood, 1960, p . 163). 
The large-scale environment, usually defined on the 
basis of differences in the climax type of vegetation 
is the biome (Kendeigh, 1961, pp. 276-279). Biomes 
include such very general environments as grasslands, 
tropical forest, mixed oak forest, and desert. It is the 
biome that has been the focus of attention for most 
anthropologists concerned with human ecology, and 
this concern has been mainly with the possibilities 
and/or limitations of these broad areas for cultural 
development. For instance, the often deficient soils 
of the tropical forest biome have led Meggers (1954) 
to view the tropical forest as an inhibiting environ?
ment for cultural growth among the New World 
peoples living within it. 
However, human communities do not react or 
interact with entire biomes (Forde, 1952, p . 464). 
The average lowland Maya, for instance, does not 
behave in relation to a broad and ill-defined "tropical 
forest"?he behaves in relation to small segments 
within it, and it is these that impinge on his life. The 
well-drained ridge of land where his village is located, 
the deep and darker soils of a certain place where he 
plants his maize, the stretch of forest where he hunts 
peccary and spotted cavy, the waterhole or stream in 
which the tapir wades: it is small microenvironments 
or biotopes such as these that determine the possibilities 
or limitations of culture change and population 
expansion. 
Like other animal populations, human communities 
occupy their own "niches," to which they are bio?
logically (and, in the case of man, culturally) adapted. 
Human groups, like other organisms, form links in 
a complex food chain, and human populations 
certainly fluctuate in response to changes in these 
food chains. But there are few other animals with 
such omnivorous habits as Homo sapiens, so that human 
populations can simultaneously occupy the end posi?
tions in many different kinds of food chains. The 
result of this is that the number of ecological niches 
exploited by any one human community may be 
extremely varied and complex, to a degree unknown 
in most other animals. The most varied sets of niches 
are often used not, as one would expect, by the most 
culturally advanced peoples, but by the least culturally 
advanced. Simple hunters and gatherers often live in 
biomes which are extremely restrictive, and a general 
lack of sustenance in any one segment of their habitat 
forces them to move seasonally through a whole series 
of microenvironments, as certain foods become avail?
able in different segments at different times. These 
most mobile of all people are also the most omnivorous, 
as seen in the witchetty grub feasts of the Australian 
aborigines or the grasshopper banquets of the Great 
Basin Shoshoneans. A strong stomach is an insurance 
policy in a poor biome. 
8 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
In contrast, it seems to us, successful settled life distant wild crops. What were the conditions under 
was the product of a strong reduction in the number which fully settled life was adopted in Mesoamerica? 
and in the spacing of the microenvironments needed Where were these conditions found? We have tried, 
to support a given community (Coe and Flannery, in our excavations at Salinas La Blanca, and in our 
1964, p . 651). Food production per se means very analysis of the ecology of the Ocos region, to throw 
little if a people still need to move away from the light on Early Formative period origins by viewing 
settlements at certain times of the year to exploit this as a process of microenvironmental reduction. 
The Natural Environment of the Ocos Region 
GENERAL REMARKS 
The political department of San Marcos lies in the 
southwestern corner of the Republic of Guatemala, 
resting against the Pacific Ocean and the Mexican 
frontier. It is an area of considerable environmental 
diversity, with altitude extremes from sea level to the 
4,600-meter Tajumulco volcano, and subregional 
differences in annual rainfall which exceed 3,000 mm. 
This chapter deals with a small portion of the depart?
ment, a transect 5 by 15 km. in extent, on both 
sides of the Naranjo River near the point where it 
enters the Pacific (figs. 1, 2). This coastal area lies 
within the region known by the conquering Aztecs as 
Soconusco {Xoconochco). 
Local residents distinguish two main subdivisions of 
the Guatemalan coast. The first is the piedmont or 
Boca Costa, at the base of the mountains. This is more 
rolling country, with a higher rainfall, where the 
streams run over pebbly or gravelly beds, and coffee 
is the main commercial crop. The second is the Costa 
proper, which extends from the piedmont to the sea. 
I t is a low-relief alluvial plain with lower rainfall, 
where the rivers have sandy or muddy bottoms, and 
corn or cotton farming replaces coffee. Our Ocos 
transect belongs to this latter subdivision. 
Even within the limited area belonging to the 
municipio of Ocos, environmental variation is notable. 
Under "opt imum" conditions, tropical forest of a 
mixed deciduous and evergreen type will grow to 
within 3 km. of the coast; elsewhere, factors of drain?
age and salinity have produced more specialized bio-
topes such as mangrove forest and tropical savanna. 
The vertebrate fauna of the transect has responded 
with an equally impressive show of diversity, but has 
been largely ignored with the exception of ornitho?
logical studies (e.g., Griscom, 1932). It is hoped 
that these notes, based on a brief field season whose 
main purpose was to define the natural resources 
available to the pre-Columbian Indians of the area, 
may also direct zoological interest to a region which 
would indeed reward more intensive investigation. 
The climate and geology of Guatemalan Soconusco 
have been discussed most recently by Coe (1961, pp. 
7-14), from whom most of the summary description 
given above has been adapted. Ocos is located at 
the very end of a 50-km. coastal plain, an extremely 
flat apron of alluvium which extends to the Pacific 
from the base of the volcanic Sierra Madre de Guate?
mala. Within the transect under consideration, the 
maximum altitude recorded is about 5 meters above 
sea level, 5 km. inland near Platanar. Since the 
slow-moving rivers of the coastal plain bring fresh 
volcanic alluvium to the area during each rainy 
season, soil fertility is high. 
The geological dynamics of the transect are complex 
and poorly understood, but it is generally accepted 
that the coast is building out with each successive 
arrival of alluvium (see Shook, 1945, p . 201; Coe, 
1961). The extensive estuary system behind the 
beach undergoes corresponding alterations as the 
coast moves forward; new estuaries appear and old 
ones, growing shallower, become completely clogged 
with sediments caught in mangrove roots and even?
tually dry up. Coe (1961, p. I l l ) was able to dem?
onstrate archeologically that a number of now-dry 
estuaries, traces of which are discernible on aerial 
photographs, were functioning between 1500 B.C. and 
the beginning of the Christian Era. It is also appar?
ent, from the same photographs and from accounts 
of some of the older residents in the area, that local 
tidewater rivers such as the Suchiate and Naranjo 
have changed their courses often and in some cases 
even disappeared during periods of volcanic activity. 
From a study of rainfall figures for the Ocos area, 
three factors emerge: The "twin peak" nature 
of the rainy season; the intensity of the dry season 
(4 consecutive months with less than 10 mm. 
of rain); and the frequently torrential nature of 
the rain when it comes (822 mm. in June of 1960 
at La Blanca). The driest year on record for Ayutla 
was 1952, with 500 mm. (20 inches). La Blanca's 
figure of 1,945 mm. (78 inches) in 1960 is unusually 
high, but not without precedent on the coast; Shook 
(1945, p. 201) reports a 1942 rainfall for Puerto de 
San Jose" of 78.3 inches. Because of limited records 
and the erratic nature of the rainfall itself, it is 
difficult to pin down a reliable figure for the average 
10 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY V O L U M E 3 
INLAND LIMIT OF BEACH SAND AND SCRUB 
MANGROVE FOREST 
SALT PLAYAS 
MADRESAL GROVES 
TROPICAL SAVANNAH 
:?MS. 
FIGURE 2.?Map of the Oc6s area on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala, with Salinas La Blanca and La Victoria located in relationship to 
some important microenvironments. 
WHOLE VOLUME NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE OCOS REGION 11 
annual rainfall of the transect, but a good guess would 
be between 1,000 and 1,100 mm. (roughly 4 0 ^ 4 
inches). This would be enough to produce forest 
everywhere in the transect were it not for the factors 
of poor drainage or salinization mentioned above. 
Lastly, in areas where the forest will grow, its 
character is determined largely by (1) the severity of 
the December to March drought and (2) the con?
stancy of local temperatures. All of the Ocos region 
lies within the frost-free tropics, and mercury readings 
stay consistently between 17? C. (62? F.) and 38? C. 
(100? F.) month after month (Coe, 1961, p . 11). 
Thus, tropical fruit trees such as the sapodilla {Achras 
zapota) form part of the "upper story" of the forest. 
Yet the prolonged dry season prevents the taking-hold 
of a true evergreen forest, and deciduous species like 
the ceiba also flourish. Along watercourses, where 
humidity is high and morning fogs contribute mois?
ture, high evergreens are more pronounced, and 
epiphytic plants festoon their upper limbs. 
MICROENVIRONMENTS 
The diversity of mammalian forms in the Naranjo 
River plain is a product of the wide range of micro-
environments (or biotopes) offered by this 10-km. 
strip of coast. A northeast-southwest traverse drawn 
from the village of Ocos to the Pampa La Morena 
passes through most of the various microenviron?
ments found in the transect (see fig. 3). The area 
map (fig. 2) shows more clearly the spatial relation?
ships of each of these environments, which, for pur?
poses of convenience, are here presented under eight 
headings. 
Beach Sand and L o w Beach Scrub 
This narrow, infertile strip between the ocean and 
the estuary is one of the few local vegetation zones of 
truly arid appearance (frontispiece, a). However, 
some of the mollusks used by the prehistoric occupants 
of the area must have been gathered offshore here, 
among them Agaronia testacea and Strombus galeatus. 
A beach crab known locally as the chichimeco {Ocybode 
occidentalis) occurs out on the gray volcanic sand near 
the surf, where it is hunted at night or at dawn by 
the village children; scarcer nazareno crabs are 
hunted during the same period either on the sand or 
in the beach scrub. Presumably these small crus?
taceans also figure in the food chain of some of the 
shore birds. 
The black iguana {Ctenosaura similis) prowls the dry 
brush in back of the beach and excavates burrows 
in the sand under fallen palm trunks or driftwood; 
armadillos also take advantage of the soft digging in 
the scrub. An occasional visitor to the beach is the 
green sea turtle or parlama {Chelonia my das), whose 
flesh and eggs were once widely eaten at Ocos. 
Mar ine Es tuary and Lagoon System 
A short distance behind the beach begins a series 
of tide-controlled brackish water estuaries (frontis?
piece, b) which often extend inland many kilo meters, 
and some of which ultimately connect with streams 
or rivers coming down from the Sierra Madre. At 
one time these estuaries were full of crocodiles {Croco-
dylus astutus), now hunted virtually to extinction. 
Sciades troschelli, the marine catfish, is well represented 
in the lagoon-estuary system, as are red snapper 
{Lutjanus Colorado) and several species of snook {Centro-
pomus sp.). Nine genera were collected in the Ocos 
area in one night of fishing by Holloway (Saunders 
et al., 1950), and eleven were found at Salinas La 
Blanca. 
The pre-Columbian molluskan fauna of these estu?
aries is better known than its present-day equivalent 
(Coe, 1961, p. 143); such differences as may occur, 
however, are probably due to overpicking of the 
larger species rather than to climatic change. Oysters 
{Ostrea columbiensis), mussels {Mytella falcata), and 
marsh clams {Polymesoda radiata) were among the 20-
odd forms identified from archeological sites in the 
area (for complete list, see Coe, ibid.). The mud 
flats flanking the estuary also support an extensive 
population of fiddler and mud crabs. 
Mangrove Forest 
Along the marine estuaries, reaching as far inland 
as the effects of the tide will permit, are tremendous 
stands of stilt-rooted red mangrove {Rhizophora mangle) 
(frontispiece, c). In its purest form, this is essentially 
a one-species forest which only slowly gives way to 
white mangrove and other non-stilt-rooted trees as 
one moves away from the estuary (see discussion of 
mangrove succession in Davis, 1940). 
Two small crabs, known locally as the pinto {Sesarma 
sulcatum) and the brujo {Goniobsis pulchra), live among 
12 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
the roots of the red mangrove, where organically 
rich mud is constantly being collected and held. 
Huge termite nests are a standard appendage on the 
ramrod-straight trunks of these tall evergreens, and 
it is in these forests that the transect's highest popula?
tions of collared anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla) were 
in evidence. Arboreal porcupines {Coendu mexicanus) 
are also common in the manglar, where they feed on 
bark, twigs, and cambium of the easily peeled red 
mangrove. 
Farther back from the estuary, in the drier stretches 
where the forest floor is only seasonally inundated, 
three larger species of Crustacea occur. Burrows of 
the mouthless crab {Cardisoma crassum; pi. 25, b) 
locally called cangrejo azul, with their characteristic 
high dirt collars, can be found all along the edge of 
the mangrove stands and in the drier madresal groves 
(see below). Both this crab and the guero, which 
shares this environment, are widely eaten by the 
Ocosefios; a third type, the tio por pldtano, is not eaten 
because it reportedly exudes a white, milky "poison" 
which renders the meat unpalatable. This brightly 
colored but extremely shy crab stays near its burrow 
and does not venture out as far as the azul, whose 
nocturnal forays in search of terrestrial bromeliad 
fruit make it a frequent victim of local raccoons. 
Most larger animals do not occur in the heart of 
these mangrove forests because the maze of stilt roots 
makes foot travel difficult. The great fish and crab 
resources in the vicinity of the mangroves, however, 
concentrated most of the area's raccoon {Procyon lotor, 
pi. 2, b) population there. These animals are fre?
quently captured and eaten by the people of Ocos, 
who hunt them with dogs and distinguish two "cate?
gories": mapaches de partida, which are young animals 
traveling together in a band, and anda-solos, which are 
older, larger raccoons that have isolated themselves 
from the colony and forage alone. 
River ine 
Typical of the rivers of Soconusco, the Suchiate and 
Naranjo originate in the vast network of rocky streams 
coming down off the piedmont to the north. Reach?
ing the coastal plain, these rivers widen and slow to a 
speed of only 1 to 4 cm. per second (Saunders et al., 
1950) (frontispiece, d). At the coast, where the waters 
of the sea and the estuary join them, the current is even 
slower, the river bottom is sandy and drifts into bars 
which appear or disappear with the ocean tides 
(frontispiece, / ) . These bars are the hunting grounds 
for countless wading birds (see Griscom, 1932). 
The Suchiate and Naranjo support a distinctive 
faunal assemblage, both in the water and in the moist 
vegetation along their banks. At one time the river?
side must have been lined with high forest, now largely 
cut down and replaced by lush, tangled, second-
growth monte. Corn grows tall along the Naranjo 
River bottom lands. 
In the channels of the river there are catfish, snook, 
mojarra {Eugenes sp.), and a curious fish called the 
cuatro ojos {Anableps sp.), as well as fresh water turtles 
of a number of types. A swimming crab called the 
jaiba {Callinectus toxotes) is fished for with hook and 
line, and small boys wade in the water to collect 
cacarico {Atya sp.), a local caridean shrimp which hides 
in burrows in the side of the bank. At one time there 
were crocodiles here also, and a species of cayman? 
probably Caiman fuscus, mentioned for the Chiapas 
coast by Alvarez del Toro (1961, p . 26)?which lived 
in the fresh-water rivers and inland swamps. 
It is in the riverbank monte that the green iguana 
{Iguana iguana) abounds. More or less confined to 
such humid environments, where it lives on leaves, 
fruit, nectar-bearing flowers and the like, this arboreal 
reptile is preyed on widely by man and by the jagua-
rundi {Felis yagouaroundi), which follows it right through 
the thickest brush. The common opossum {Didelphis 
marsupialis) also frequents the riverbank, especially in 
second-growth areas. Sharing this niche is a smaller 
relative, the so-called "gray-masked" or "four-eyed" 
opossum {Philander opossum), known locally as the 
comadreja (not to be confused with the weasel which 
bears this name in Mexico). This species, described 
as " ra re" by some authors, is actually one of the most 
commonly captured animals in the Ocos area, where 
it maintains a riverine or estuarine orientation. 
Handley (in Saunders et al., 1950) suggests that its 
diet may be richer in fish and other aquatic forms 
than that of most opossums, and our examinations of 
stomach contents would tend to support this. 
The river otter {Lutra annectens) was sighted on 
several occasions along the banks of the Naranjo, 
and one specimen was finally collected in March. 
The tapir {Tapirella bairdii), now extremely reduced 
in numbers if not totally wiped out in Chiapan and 
Guatemalan Soconusco, would also have used the 
Naranjo and Suchiate Rivers for its morning bath 
in prehistoric times, as it is known to do in other 
coastal areas. 
Certain of the fish in the Naranjo are anadromous, 
the snook being the best example. These fish live 
in the lagoon and estuary system during the dry 
season, then migrate upriver when the summer rains 
take hold. 
Salt Playas and Madresalar 
Inland from the present-day estuary are the dried 
remnants of previous lagoon and estuary systems, 
many of which functioned recently and are still 
subject to temporary seasonal inundation. The 
WHOLE VOLUME NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE OCOS REGION 13 
5 d 
Beach sand 
Low scrub 
PORT OF OCOS 
Estuary *? f<-
Red mangrove 
forest 
Riverbank monte 
RIO NARANJO ? 
SITE SM-I 
Salt p/ayas 
and stands of 
madresaf 
Mixed tropical 
forest 
Low monte 
J 
Green sea turtle, Brown pelican 
Chichimec & Nazareno crabs 
Armadillo, Opossum, Black iguana 
Snook, Red snapper, Catfish, Oysters, 
Mussels, Marsh clams, Crocodiles 
Raccoon, Porcupine, Anteater; 
Azul, Brujo, Guero, 8 Pinto crabs 
Opossums, Jaguarundi, Green iguana 
Otter, Tapir, Crocodiles, Turtles, 
Jaiba, Snook, Red snapper, Catfish 
Deer, Raccoon, Spotted cavy, 
Jaguarundi, Black iguana; 
Azul & Guero crabs 
Armadillo 
Jaguar, Deer, Peccary, 
Kinkajou, Anteater, Porcupine, 
Coati, Spotted cavy, Squirrels 
Peccary, Deer, Coati, 
Opossum, Black iguana 
f Gray fox, Cottontail, Deer, 
Tropical savanna f% 1 Coati, Armadillo 
with palm groves^ 
Upper
 <^*' 
estuaries ^ * Tapir, Peccary, Cayman 
? 
op 
4 
B 
oq 
O 
c 
B 
14 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY V O L U M E 3 
wettest of these salt marshes support populations of 
Rhizophora, while in the drier ones this vegetation 
gradually gives way to stands of Avicennia nitida, a 
small mangrove known locally as madresal ("mother 
of the salt," so called because of the salt crystals 
secreted on the leaves). In these stands, or madre-
salares, occur hummocks of pihuela {Bromelia pinguin 
L.), a terrestrial bromeliad with leaves like a saw-
toothed bayonet, the fruit of which periodically 
attracts large numbers of mouthless crabs. The 
quantities of deer tracks in the area also led us to 
suspect that local whitetails {Odocoileus virginianus) 
might browse on madresal during the dry season. 
The invasion of these prehistoric estuaries by the 
madresal is probably a slow process, for some of the 
saltier areas are still absolutely barren of vegetation. 
These small internal drainage basins, the remnants 
of ancient small lagoons, are referred to by the 
Ocosenos as playas?literally, "beaches"?and it is 
locally claimed that in the peak of the rainy season 
they fill with brine shrimp. Both presently and in 
pre-Columbian times, a number of these basins have 
been the scene of saltmaking activity, especially 
Salinas La Blanca. 
In the period from November to May, under 
conditions of low rainfall, the playas become baked 
miniature deserts and the madresalar becomes a 
thick brushland of crackling dry twigs and leaves; 
it is in the madresalar that the black ground-iguana 
or giota {Ctenosaura similis) abounds. Less limited 
in range than the green iguana, the giota seeks hot 
dry areas, lives in cutover second growth, and even 
reaches the beach sand as mentioned on page 75. 
I t is this species, and not Iguana iguana, which 
can be seen "scurrying across the dusty road and 
paths during the heat of the day" near La Victoria 
(Coe, 1961, p . 12). 
Jaguarundis hunt giotas and mice in the dense 
dry thickets that occur in some parts of the madre?
salar, and we surprised them at this activity several 
times while on archeological survey east of Salinas 
La Blanca. These cats also frequent the more tangled 
underbrush along the Naranjo, where they prey 
on wading birds, green iguanas, and occasional 
untended domestic turkeys. 
Mixed Tropical Forest 
A few kilometers inland, in areas slightly higher and 
significantly better drained than the madresalar, 
begins the tropical forest of the Ocos region. Al?
though deciduous forms like the ceiba {Ceiba pentandra) 
and cedro {Cedrella sp.) occur here, a good percentage of 
trees (including most of the understory) seem to be 
evergreen varieties; in February and March, at the 
very end of the dry season, not only did many of the 
trees still have their leaves, but a number were bear?
ing fruit. The term "mixed" seemed to us the least 
objectionable description of the varied, multispecies 
character of the Ocos forests, with no at tempt being 
made here to fit them into one of the readymade 
"climax vegetation categories" worked out for Meso?
america by a number of authors. The complex 
ecology of the Ocos area will have to be studied by 
competent botanists before final judgement of its 
forest types can be made. 
The region called "Ojo de Agua," 2% km. northeast 
of the Salinas La Blanca site, afforded us with our 
best look at the local forest. The upper story of trees 
in this area is roughly 30 feet in height and includes 
not only tall palms and sapodilla {Achras zapota) 
(the latter of which were bearing fruit in March) , 
but a number of trees known locally as guanacaste 
{Enterolobium cyclocarpum), matapalo {Ficus sp.), guayacdn 
{Guaiacum sanctum L.), guamuche {Pithelocobium dulce), 
and alcanfura. Very large buttress-trunked ceibas 
{Ceiba sp.) are also common. 
Below these grow the marachdn fan palm {Sabal 
mexicana; this also bears fruit in March) , and an 
understory?often 12 to 15 feet in height?of various 
evergreens called hoja de cangrejo, migua, chapon {Stem-
madenia donell-smithi), and calagud, as well as the 
manaca palm {Scheeleapreussi) (at present, unfortunately, 
we have only the local names for some of these; others 
were checked in Miranda, 1952-53). Ferns of various 
kinds appear below these trees, and the floor of the 
forest is dense leaf litter. Large arboreal termite 
nests and impressive swarms of mosquitoes seem to 
be the major signs of invertebrate life, as no crabs 
were observed during our traverse of the Ocos tropical 
forest. 
From the standpoint of mammalian ecology, one 
of the most important features of this habitat is its 
tremendous supply of fruit. The sapodillas, which 
occur nowhere else in the Ocos transect, support 
both arboreal forms like the kinkajou {Potos flavus; 
pi. 2, a) and, after the fruit fall begins, terrestrial 
rodents like the spotted cavy or tepescuintli {Cuniculus 
paca). This animal is more typically found in the 
tropical forest, but experienced "tepescuinteros" in 
the Ocos region also claim that when the pihuela is 
bearing fruit, they have been able to shoot numbers 
of cavies by waiting at night in the madresal groves 
where this plant grows abundantly. 
Another important tree, the ubiquitous marachdn 
palm {Sabal mexicana), bears hundreds of fruits the 
size of a cherry, each of which contains a large, in?
digestible seed; these telltale seeds, which repeatedly 
occurred in the stomach contents we examined, 
traced out for us a real network of animals dependent, 
WHOLE VOLUME NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE OCOS REGION 15 
to one extent or another, on the fan palm?coatis, 
raccoons, gray foxes, and kinkajous among them 
(see Appendix 1). 
Discontinuous in its distribution, but present 
wherever edaphic factors permit and human occupa?
tion is slight, the tropical forest moves inland from 
Ocos, growing wetter and wetter as it approaches the 
piedmont of the Sierra Madre. Its character changes 
with each precipitation quantum on the way north 
until it arrives on the flank of the mountains as a 
full-fledged rain forest, receiving some 4,000 mm. 
(160 inches) a year. 
Jaguars {Felis onca), which presumably are more 
frequent in these forests than in any of the other local 
environments, leave tracks as near the sea as Tilapa, 
and one was glimpsed several times in the Salinas La 
Blanca area during the excavation of the site. 
Tropical Savanna 
Scattered along the small river and estuary systems 
of the transect area are a number of low, poorly 
drained patches subject to temporary inundation 
(frontispiece, e). Known locally as pampas, these 
patches are isolates of coarse tropical grass with 
occasional clusters of palm (especially marachdn), dry 
and hot most of the year but turning marshy during 
times of peak rainfall. These open stretches of grass?
land provide the only natural habitat for many non-
forest-adapted species in the transect; cleared corn?
fields or cattle pasture provide an acceptable (but 
artificially derived) equivalent. 
Large numbers of water birds periodically frequent 
the pampas, and all the rabbit specimens obtained 
during our stay at Ocos came from such an environ?
ment. In the thick ground cover of the savanna 
itself, as well as in the low bush girdling it, cottontail 
{Sylvilagus floridanus) and small rodents are numerous. 
Understandably, therefore, this is the real heartland 
of the gray fox {Urocyon cinereoargenteus), which pursues 
all these small mammals relentlessly as well as taking 
in quantities of fan palm fruit. 
The transition from tropical forest to pampa is 
frequent along the coast, often with a buffer zone of 
scrub monte between. This kind of mixed vegetation, 
"tall, dense stands of fig trees and other timber . . . 
with palmetto-studded grasslands and brush patches 
on exposed sites," is given by Leopold (1959, p . 433) 
as the "ideal habitat" for the coati {JVasua narica). 
The omnivorous coati indeed makes good use of this 
situation within the Ocos transect, where rodents, 
insects, and fruit of one kind or another seem to be 
available virtually throughout the year. 
The zanjones, or upper estuaries, which reach these 
pampas are often at the very limit of tidal influence 
(which is one of the reasons the mangrove forest 
gives way to savanna). Many are connected with 
fresh-water streams, coming from farther inland, and 
their salinity may thus be very low or almost nil. 
Many of them must have been ideal bathing grounds 
for peccary and tapir and good habitat for caymans, 
especially during the heart of the rainy season, when 
the middle of the pampa turns temporarily into fresh?
water swamp. 
Cleared Fields and Second G r o w t h 
These manmade microenvironments have probably 
existed in the transect since about 1500 B.C. Gray 
foxes and cottontails make frequent use of the open 
pastureland, while the cutover second growth scrub 
supports opossums, black ground-iguanas, jaguarundis, 
and deer which are probably as happy there as they 
were elsewhere in preagricultural times. 
Ocosenos make no attempt to clear mangrove forest 
for planting, and they cut back the madresalar only to 
widen the playas for saltmaking. It is the mixed 
tropical forest and the riverbank monte that have suf?
fered the greatest agricultural destruction, particularly 
in the western half of the transect, where extensive 
tracts have been cut down and burned bare. Swidden 
agriculture is not practiced in the Ocos area because 
the fertile volcanic soil will produce three corn crops 
a year without rotation (see Coe, 1961, p . 13), but 
considerable primary growth has been irreparably 
wiped out nonetheless. 
Within a relatively short time after the cleared 
fields fall into disuse, coarse tropical grasses and fan 
palms begin the process of recolonization; deciduous 
trees and low evergreen bushes eventually follow. 
Often the ground cover of these second-growth plots 
becomes more tangled and dense than was that of the 
original forest. For example: Coe, returning to Ocos 
after only a 4-year absence, was at first unable to find 
the La Victoria site which he had worked in 1958 when 
it was open cattle pasture. An occasional ceiba, left 
because it was simply too huge to cut with handtools, 
may shade out part of the underbrush in such fields. 
Among the animals that have more than likely 
profited from agricultural land clearing in the Ocos 
area, the pocket gopher or tuza {Orthogeomys grandis) 
should be mentioned. Highest populations of tuza 
around Ocos occur right in the cornfields, where they 
compete incessantly with the milpero for the young 
sprouting plants. These animals are regarded as 
quite a delicacy, and there is evidence that they may 
have been eaten as early as the Ocos Phase (ibid., 
p . 141). Since the transect produces three corn crops 
a year, the legacy of the local pocket gopher is an 
almost never-ending food supply. 
16 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
meters 
FIGURE 4.?Map of the Salinas La Blanca site, with excavations and modern houses as indicated. 
Excavations at Salinas La Blanca 
LOCATION AND GENERAL FEATURES 
The Naranjo is a broad, meandering, braided 
river subject to tidal action in the lower 10 km. or so 
of its course toward the sea. During the rainy season, 
the Naranjo may rise rapidly and inundate the sur?
rounding country. It must have done so often in 
the past, and has probably carried away many an 
archeological site in its muddy waters. The site 
of Salinas La Blanca (SM-1 in our survey) may be 
one of those soon marked for destruction. It is located 
on the east bank of the Naranjo, about 1.75 km. north 
of its mouth, and has at least partially been cut away 
by the brackish river (fig. 4). 
The site consists of two rather low mounds, in 
appearance not unlike the habitation-midden mounds 
of La Victoria. The west mound rises rather steeply 
from the south, reaches a total height of 4.5 m., 
then slopes away gently toward the north. The 
present-day inhabitants of the Ocos area wisely 
choose to place their houses on top of mounds, and this 
one is no exception. On it lives the extended family 
of Don Vicente Cuadros, whose calling is divided 
between farming the milpa land to the north of the 
site and fishing with hand net and line in the river 
(pi. 3). This family occupies three thatch-roofed 
houses on the summit, and a fourth on the lower 
slope to the north. 
Just to the east of the west mound lies the dirt 
road leading from the Finca Nacional La Blanca 
south to the embarkation for Tilapa. About 25 m. 
east of the road begins the slope of the east mound, 
an approximately oval rise of ground reaching a height 
of over 3 m. Another family occupies a house on the 
summit. Between the two mounds of the site the 
terrain is very low and flat, and liable to flooding 
during the wet season. 
The banks bordering the river are covered with 
thickets in which iguanas abound. Probably the 
immediate vicinity of the mounds once supported 
a heavier growth than is found there now, but through 
clearing there remain only fragments of second-
growth forest, with an occasional guanacaste {Entero-
lobium cyclocarpum) or other tall tree, and a number of 
fan palms. The madresal groves begin about 25 m. 
to the east of the east mound, and eventually lead 
into a large salt playa, from which our site derives its 
name, Salinas La Blanca. As described in the pre?
ceding chapter, these salt flats represent extinct 
lagoons and even now are partially covered with 
water during the summer rains. As will be seen in 
pages 85-92, the salt playa to the east and northeast 
of Salinas La Blanca was in the past bordered with a 
fairly extensive human population at various times. 
Other archeological sites near Salinas La Blanca 
include Bocana, located 1 km. to the north in pasture-
land just east of the road leading south from La 
Blanca, and below the small modern settlement of 
that name. Bocana (SM-2) is a site with several 
large temple mounds, the main occupation of which 
was during the Marcos (San Juan Plumbate) Phase, 
and is the site called "La Blanca" in the 1961 report 
(Coe, 1961, p . 147, fig. 2). The Rio Naranjo site 
(SM-37 in our survey, see pp. 87-89), a small mound 
of Conchas date, is 400 m. to the south of Salinas La 
Blanca, and also is cut by the river. La Victoria, 
incidentally, lies on the other side of the river, 2.4 
km. northwest of Salinas La Blanca. 
EXCAVATIONS 
We estimated that the highest part of the west 
mound at Salinas La Blanca, on which we had decided 
to concentrate exclusively, was about 6 m. above the 
level of the river at high tide. From experience 
already gathered at La Victoria, it seemed quite 
possible that occupation debris would be found all 
the way down to the water table and even beyond. 
Accordingly, we elected to confine our excavations 
to two adjacent test pits which would be as close to 
the river edge as possible and as high up toward the 
summit as the Cuadros family would allow, so as to 
be reasonably near the ancient epicenter of the 
mound. Cuts 1 and 2 both were 3.0- by 2.5-m. pits, 
separated from each other by a 1-m. bank, with the 
long axis in a magnetic north-south direction, and 
placed about 3 m. in from the edge of the riverbank 
(fig. 4; pi. 4). To avert the possibility of the edge 
of the mound caving into the Naranjo during the 
17 
18 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY V O L U M E 3 
summer floods and destroying the present-day houses, 
we desisted from running cuts directly into the bank, 
although these would have been desirable from an 
archeological point of view. 
The work force stayed at five men, two in one cut 
and three in the other. The opportunities for close 
supervision of this small crew enabled us to personally 
oversee many fine details of the excavation and to 
recover much fragile material that otherwise might 
have been lost, as well as to keep complete records 
of what was found. Picks, shovels, trowels, buckets, 
and pocketknives were the major tools used. To 
keep the sides of the excavations perfectly vertical and 
neatly shaved off (a necessity for the making of 
accurate profiles), we found that a team of two work?
men, one to do the "shaving" with a machete and the 
other to stand above as a supervisor, gave most 
satisfactory results, the process carried out as each 
excavation level was completed. 
An arbitrary datum was established from the top 
of a stake hammered into the ground between and 
just to the west of the two cuts. Since there has been 
considerable disturbance of the surface of this mound 
in recent times (especially occasional shallow leveling 
of the ground for house foundations), the first level 
in both cuts was taken down to 60 cm. below datum 
(see profiles in figs. 5 and 6). All subsequent exca?
vation levels were arbitrary 20-cm. units. Since 
all measurements were taken from one datum point, 
any given excavation level in one cut is exactly 
horizontal with the same level number in the other 
cut. Level 1 in both Cuts 1 and 2 proved to be mixed, 
with fragments of modern glass and of glazed pottery, 
as well as a 1951 Guatemalan one-cent piece, along 
with Pre-Columbian debris. 
Down to 1.20 m. below datum, the deposits seemed 
to be of a featureless buff color, with heavy concen?
trations of sherds in horizontal layers, a strong indi?
cation of midden buildup over a period of time. 
However, by the time Levels 3 (0.80-1.00 m.) and 4 
(1.00-1.20 m.) in Cut 1 were reached, it was evident 
that we had to deal with several intrusive pits; all 
of these may have extended down from the surface, 
but were not visible in the upper part of the profile. 
Once we had recognized these as such, every effort 
was made to dig them separately. Pit No. 1 appeared 
on the east side of Cut 1, and the face of the cut was 
taken back 50 cm. to completely clear it. Somewhat 
bottle shaped in outline, and reaching a depth of 
1.60 m. from datum, this pit proved to be filled with 
a soft, grayish-brown earth containing a number of 
whole or restorable vessels of the Crucero Phase, 
some charcoal, many Crucero sherds, and two large 
lumps of burned red clay. Pit No. 2 was located 
in the northern half of Cut 1, 25-80 cm. from the 
north face, and extended down to 1.62 m. The fill 
of this feature also contained restorable Crucero 
vessels and Crucero sherds. In the southeast corner 
of the same cut we encountered Pit No. 3, bag shaped 
like No. 2, and reaching a depth of 1.15 m. below 
datum, with more complete or restorable Crucero 
vessels, sherds, and a loaf-shaped mano. Finally, 
Pit No. 4, which produced no such vessels, was 
recognized only after the west profile had been cleared, 
being located 32-82 cm. from the south wall of the 
cut and terminating at a depth of 1.10 m. This 
last pit intruded through a series of gray and pinkish 
gray clayey layers. Altogether, we recovered a total 
of 14 restorable Crucero pottery vessels (see figs. 
27-34; pis. 19-20) from these pits. I t is possible that 
we failed to see such features in Cut 2, but certainly 
none were visible in the profiles and no concentrations 
of vessels or sherds turned up. As for the function 
of these pits, it is entirely clear from the material 
in them and from the condition of the vessels that 
these were pottery dumps. 
By the time we had reached Level 5 (1.4?1.6 m.) in 
both cuts, it was apparent that the depositional 
history of Salinas La Blanca had been complex. 
In that level in Cut 1, a portion of a hard, red clay 
platform began to emerge, jutting out from the west 
face of the cut. This proved to extend down to 
Level 7 (1.6-1.8 m.), and seemed to be oriented in a 
northeast-southwest direction. A series of clay floors 
of various colors (light and dark gray, as well as pink), 
placed one on top the other, abutted it on the exposed 
sides and extended over into Cut 2 to the north. 
Unfortunately, the platform extended only 30 cm. 
into Cut 1, but there was a possible post mold on its 
northeastern corner. At the bottom of this feature 
appeared about one half of a Pampas Black-and-white 
bowl (fig. 14, b). Another vessel (fig. 14, a) belonging 
to the same ceramic type (and with a characteristic 
white rim) was found at the base of a second post 
mold running from the surface of the platform down 
1.12 m., and about 1 m. from the first. Thus, both 
vessels appear to have been put in place at the base 
of the platform, with the post molds dug down exactly 
above them. In the clay adhering to these bowls 
were casts of straw, of small leaves, and probably of 
maize husks. 
This red platform was only the latest stage in a 
long and complex series of constructional activities. 
From Level 5 down to Levels 9 (2.00-2.20 m.) and 
10 (2.20-2.40 m.) in both cuts, we encountered a 
number of superimposed floors of variously colored 
clays, with occasional pits which had been dug down 
into earlier layers from later strata. Some of these 
pits are very large, such as the one visible in the east 
face of Cut 2, which was about 2 m. wide and 1.8 
5 
i > kJtkki w lAJsk k a V Oik 
l l i i I W Datum . 
r " " 1 ^ ^ ^ ^ A I i l L 4, i t \i 4 k 41, i j tk lkiU I lE I 1 JJL J^LJULM 
Water Level 
Scale Two Meters 
Gray Sandy Mud and Water 
FIGURE 5.-?Profile of all four faces of Cut 1, Salinas La Blanca. The vertical numbers refer to excavation units. 

W H O L E VOLUME EXCAVATIONS AT SALINAS LA BLANCA 19 
m. deep, reaching down to 3.6 m. below datum. 
Luckily (since the site was being dug in arbitrary 
units) these pits proved to have completely sterile clay 
fill. Moreover, the floors and the platform produced 
relatively few sherds (mainly of the Jocotal Phase), 
the reason being that the deposits were primarily 
constructional rather than consisting of midden debris. 
In the southwest corner of Cut 2, from 1.4-1.8 m. 
below datum, a shallow pit filled with burned red 
clay and numerous shells of Agaronia testacea (pi. 26, d) 
can best be interpreted as a cooking hearth. A similar 
feature appeared on the south wall of the same cut in 
Level 12 (2.6-2.8 m.), where it had intruded through 
older strata. Serious disturbances of earlier layers 
were created by the construction of the same kind of 
"red hearths" on a large scale in the south and south?
west parts of Cut 1, at a depth of 2.6-3.7 m. The fill 
of all these hearths was extremely hard, completely 
devoid of artifacts, and characterized by slumping 
lenses of very small pebbles. Burned Agaronia shells 
and crab claws turned up in fair numbers in the 
hearth sectioned by the south face of Cut 1, extending 
from 2.7-3.2 m. below datum. 
It has been mentioned that the various hearths and 
pits belonging to complicated constructional series of 
clay floors had been cut down into earlier strata. The 
uppermost of these early layers, left only as a standing 
column by intrusive pits on either side, appear to be 
those visible in Level 9 (1.80-2.00 m.), on the north 
face of Cut 2. These are again, like the later series, 
clay floors. However, at 2.6 m. in the northeast 
corner of Cut 1, we uncovered a layer of charcoal on 
a clay floor. This same floor apparently carried into 
Cut 2 (in Levels 12-15), where it sloped abruptly 
down toward the north and east. Post holes associated 
with this floor were found in the west and south 
profiles of Cut 2, and we collected a sample of the 
charcoal associated with it (Y-1150) in the northeast 
corner of the same cut. Lying some 20-30 cm. below 
the floor is an earlier one, with approximately the 
same contours and also covered in part with a layer of 
charcoal; this feature is penetrated on the south face 
of Cut 2 by the aforementioned post molds. 
A large sterile pit, filled with alternating bands of 
gray and red clays in the southwest corner of Cut 2, 
extended from 1.8-4.5 m. below datum; it probably 
belongs stratigraphically not with these earlier floors 
but with the overlying series of clay constructions and 
red hearths, although this would be difficult to prove 
from the available evidence. 
One unexpected discovery during our excavations 
was in Level 14 of Cut 2, in the uppermost of these two 
charcoal-covered floors. As one moves away from 
the north face in this level, the charcoal is seen to be 
confined only to a small area on that side. In an oval 
lens of brown clay measuring about 65 by 90 cm., 
located in the northeastern quadrant of Cut 2, im?
pressions in the clay of a twilled mat or petate were 
found (pi. 5, b), although the original had long since 
deteriorated. Immediately underlying these impres?
sions were abundant casts of leaves, as well as the cast 
of a maize cob. To the west of the petate remains, in 
the northwest quadrant of the cut, was a smaller oval 
area of burned red earth, with curious hard lumps of 
clay which may have filled casts of long-rotted vege?
table remains; some of these resembled small beans, 
squash seeds, corn kernels, and cucurbit peduncles, 
although these finds were hardly conclusive. 
In Level 14 (3.00-3.20 m.) of Cut 2 began the first 
of several thick strata consisting almost entirely of 
sherds. From here, and in Cut 1 from the same level, 
continuing all the way down to sterile soil, the stratig?
raphy was comprised by these huge sherd deposits 
alternating with wide, more or less sterile, bands of 
clay. These strata fell away to the north and to the 
east, and, keeping in mind that the western half of the 
mound has probably been carried away by the river, 
one can conclude they represent successive layers of 
midden accumulation from a small settlement, the 
center of which lay somewhat to the southwest of 
Cut 1. All these sherd dumps belonged to the Cuadros 
Phase, and since they were broadly separated by 
sterile layers, our arbitrary 20-cm. levels rarely if ever 
cut across two of them. It appeared that all the sherd 
dumps were deposited within a fairly short time, too 
brief to have seen ceramic change. 
The sherd stratum in Levels 14 (3.00-3.20 m.) to 
18 (3.80-4.00 m.) of Cut 2 contained ash and faunal 
remains, and the sherds themselves, as in other such 
strata, were often burned, indicating that the slopes 
of this large house mound were used as cooking areas. 
As many as 31 impressions of maize cobs, with many 
details preserved (pis. 5, c, d; 24) appeared in the 
northwest quadrant of Levels 15 (3.2-3.4 m.) and 
16 (3.4-3.6 m.) of Cut 1, along with casts of avocado 
and other large seeds. Cob impressions also came 
from just above the charcoal layer in Levels 21 and 
22 of Cut 2. 
At a depth of 4.2 m., in Levels 19 and 20 of Cut 1, 
we uncovered a living surface with plentiful large 
sherds, charcoal and ash, and grass impressions; in 
this material small rodents had made caches. This 
directly overlay a layer of densely packed sherds, a 
layer which grows thicker as it dips north into Cut 2, 
where it slopes down from Level 20 (4 .2^ .4 m.) to 
Level 26 (5.4-5.6 m.). It should be noted that this 
layer lenses out as it dips down to the east in Cut 2. 
Another such sherd layer began in the west side of 
Cut 1, Level 20 (4.2-4.4 m.), and fell off toward the 
north in Cut 2, where it descended on the west face 
20 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
from Level 23 (4.80-5.00 m.) down to Level 28 
(5.80-6.00 m.) in the northeast quadrant. At this 
point it changed into a red clay, devoid of sherds, 
which produced two cob impressions. 
The thickest and most dense sherd stratum was 
below this latter one, separated from it by various 
bands of sterile clays. This is found in Levels 24 
(5.00-5.20 m.) through 29 (6.00-6.20 m.) in Cut 1, 
and is there divided into two layers which obviously 
were deposited in rapid succession. A charcoal 
sample (Y-1154) was collected from a hearth con?
centration in the lower layer. The northern extension 
of the stratum can be seen in Cut 2, Levels 28 through 
30, and it would seem that the surface on which it 
was laid down was more or less level as compared 
with those above it. The culinary nature of the non-
ceramic debris in this stratum is attested by the large 
quantities of charred shells of the marsh clam, Poly-
mesoda radiata (pi. 26, g), mixed up with the sherds. 
At this stage of our excavations, we were at a very 
deep level (pi. 4, b) and in both cuts there were signs 
(from the gummy and wet nature of the deposits) 
that we were approaching water level. Nevertheless, 
cultural remains kept appearing. On top of an 
undulating layer of mixed red and gray clay, in Levels 
29 and 30 of Cut 1, were lenses of charcoal from one 
of which we took radiocarbon sample Y-1166. Be?
low the clay in Level 30 (6.2-6.4 m.) was a small lens 
of sherds mixed with charcoal, from which we re ?
covered the articulated front and hind legs of a fawn 
{Odocoileus virginianus). The first 20 cm. below this 
lens was sterile. On the south side of Cut 1, at a 
depth of 6.3-6.4 m. below datum, charred vertical 
roots of what could only have been mangrove growing 
in situ appeared. The extraction of this material 
was made difficult by the fact that both cuts were 
then ankle deep in water. 
As previously mentioned, sherds were plentiful even 
in Level 30 of Cut 2. At the bottom of this sherd 
stratum, and just below Level 30 in the wet mud, we 
recovered two almost complete bowls (fig. 17, a; pi. 14). 
The water then covering the deepest levels of our 
two cuts was quite brackish and coming in at a depth 
of between 6.4 and 6.5 cm. (pi. 4, c). Further digging 
would have been quite out of the question. We were 
fairly certain that we had reached sterile deposits, 
but to test this supposition, we took samples with a 
wide earth auger down to a depth of 7.4 m. below 
datum in the southeast corner of Cut 1. All that was 
recovered was gray, sandy mud and water, with no 
charcoal or other cultural material. Accordingly, 
we terminated our excavations at this point. 
R E C O N S T R U C T E D D E P O S I T I O N A L H I S T O R Y 
The west mound at Salinas La Blanca has had a 
complicated depositional history, somewhat difficult 
to interpret at all times since our excavations were 
made slightly to the northeast of the probable center 
of the mound. At any one time, there seem to have 
been several houses on the mound, perhaps separated 
by midden areas. The stratification represents the 
build-up of a multihouse site over a long period of 
time both by the accretion of discarded trash and by 
the construction of clay floors and platforms. 
Essentially, there are four stages involved in the 
accumulation of the deposits as we now see them. 
Stage 1 begins with the initial colonization of what 
seems to have been a slightly raised area in a man?
grove forest or, more likely, on the edge of one. The 
ground level was artificially raised by bringing in 
loads of clay, alternated with the dumping of quan?
tities of trash. Portions of this artificial "island" were 
utilized as cooking areas, particularly that portion 
represented by the deeper layers of our excavations. 
During the last part of Stage 1, attempts were made 
to construct better floors of clay, and at one time, at 
least, some sort of a shelter with postholes was built 
on the northeastern slope of the mound. All this time, 
the mound was increasing both in area and in height. 
Stage 2 is marked by the cutting down of wide 
cooking pits into the old floor and midden strata on 
Stage 1, these pits eventually filling up with burned 
red clay and shells. Then, a new series of floors, in 
red and gray clays, is built up in quick succession, 
culminating in the raising of a well-made red clay 
platform which supported a thatch-roofed structure, 
probably another house. The superimposition of clay 
floors fronting on the platform finally resulted in the 
covering up of the platform itself by the latest of 
these floors. In the terminal part of Stage 2, the 
uppermost clay floors are now quite horizontal, indi?
cating that the platform mound was much broader 
and more level than formerly. 
In Stage 3, there is only slight evidence of clay floor 
construction, and flat lenses of sherds were probably 
laid down on earthen floors or outside the houses. 
Stage 4 is the latest, and represents a reoccupation 
of the site, with a number of pits, both bag shaped 
and bottle shaped, being cut down from the surface 
through older layers for use as pottery dumps. 
On the basis of the analysis to be presented in the 
following pages, Stage 1 is assigned to the Cuadros 
Phase; Stages 2 and 3 to Jocotal; and Stage 4 to 
Crucero. 
. W M 
tjLA k \\ t IAJ%L kkJt k A k % 
- - Featureless Buff Earth with Root Disturbance - ? 
Sherds 
1 
Wate r Levels Scale Two Meters 
FIGURE 6.?Profile of all four faces of Cut 2, Salinas La Blanca. The vertical numbers refer to excavation units. 

The Formative Ceramic Sequence on the Guatemalan 
Coast: A Revision and Synthesis 
INTRODUCTION 
I n the final r epor t on L a Victoria , Coe (1961) 
presented a p re l imina ry out l ine of the sequence of 
po t te ry types for t he Forma t ive Phases of the G u a t e ?
m a l a n Pacific coast. Th i s out l ine was based on an 
analysis of 27,500 sherds from stratified deposits. 
Some 20 pot te ry types were described a n d illus?
t ra ted du r ing the course of the s tudy, then used to 
define the Oc6s , Conchas , a n d Crucero Phases. 
T h e 66,220 sherds recovered from Salinas L a 
Blanca d id m o r e t h a n pe rmi t the definition of t he 
Cuad ros a n d J o c o t a l Phases. T h e y also enabled 
us to redefine a n u m b e r of the L a Victor ia po t te ry 
types a n d to refine ou r unde r s t and ing of the Ocos, 
Conchas , a n d Cruce ro Phases. As a result, we a re 
now ab le to present a revised a n d more comple te 
out l ine of the F o r m a t i v e ceramic sequence on the 
south G u a t e m a l a n coast, which is given la ter in this 
chap te r . 
O u r s tudy of t he Salinas L a Blanca sherds po in ted 
ou t to us some inadequacies in t he L a Victor ia 
ce ramic analysis, which we h a v e now a t t e m p t e d to 
correct . These were as follows: 
(1) Certain of the pottery types at La Victoria were, in 
retrospect, mistakenly set up. Chief among these was 
"Victoria Coarse," which was not a type at all, but rather 
a "residual category" into which a number of unrelated 
coarse pottery types from all phases were lumped. In 
this report we have abolished Victoria Coarse by dividing 
it into a series of legitimate types, using combined data 
from La Victoria and Salinas La Blanca. We are still 
left with a residuum of nondescript coarse sherds, but we 
have simply counted these as "miscellaneous coarse 
wares" rather than setting up a type. 
(2) Some of the pottery types of the Ocos Phase do not 
have the long temporal span they were accorded in the 
La Victoria report, but are restricted to the Oc6s Phase. 
We know this from the fact that they are totally lacking 
from the succeeding Cuadros Phase. At La Victoria, 
Conchas Phase villagers had dug a number of pits into 
older deposits, in the course of which they brought up 
sherds of the Ocos Phase. These were consequently 
redeposited in Conchas levels, making it appear that 
certain types (notably Ocos Buff and Ocos Brown Bur?
nished) continued into Conchas times as a small percentage 
of the pottery. The purity of Cuadros Phase deposits at 
Salinas La Blanca enabled us to see just which types 
actually lasted into Conchas times and which had simply 
been redeposited at La Victoria. 
(3) Too much "lumping" and not enough "splitting" 
was done during the course of the La Victoria pottery 
analysis. I t was assumed (wrongly) that there was no 
cultural break between the Ocos and Conchas Phases, and 
frequently, similarly slipped sherds from the two phases 
were regarded as belonging to the same type. We now 
know that two phases are intercalated between Ocos and 
Conchas, and in many cases we know which relatively 
minute differences between similarly slipped sherds are 
diagnostic of one phase rather than the other. Hence, we 
have done more "splitting" in this report and, we hope, 
emphasized more horizon markers. 
(4) The La Victoria pottery types were usually named 
after the phase in which they first made their appearance. 
This was not necessarily the phase of their greatest popu?
larity. In one extreme case, "Ocos Gray" had its major 
distribution in the Jocotal and Conchas Phases, and did not 
really occur in the Ocos Phase at all (a few sherds were 
intrusive into disturbed Ocos Phase levels at La Victoria). 
In naming new pottery types at Salinas La Blanca, we used 
more neutral local geographic terms, which had no im?
plications with regard to phase. 
(5) Most Formative pottery of the Ocos region is made 
from fairly coarse clay with many inclusions visible to the 
naked eye, particularly quartz crystals, small yellowish 
plates of biotite, and rust-colored rounded lumps. I t was 
believed during the analysis of La Victoria (Coe, 1961, 
p . 47) that this kind of clay was tempered with volcanic 
ash, and the term "crystal ash" was used throughout. 
This assumption was wrong. Ten thin sections were made 
from sherds representative of the most important types in 
the Cuadros, Jocotal, and Crucero Phases. In his analysis 
of these sections (Appendix 5), George H. Myer, of the 
Department of Geology, Yale University, reports that none 
showed any signs that any artificially selected material had 
been added to the clay; rather, the potters of the Ocos 
210-980?67-
21 
22 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
region had obtained their ceramic material from decayed 
tuffaceous sediment in which the aforementioned volcanic 
inclusions were already present. That is, the bentonitic clay 
used in pottery of all periods in the Ocos area was derived 
from beds of volcanic ash which had been deposited in 
formerly active lagoons (which had dried up long before 
the beds were exploited). Unless proof to the contrary is 
forthcoming, we must add to the list of untempered pottery 
in the New World the ceramics of the Cuadros, Jocotal, 
and Crucero Phases, and presumably those of Ocos and 
Conchas as well. 
In spite of the inaccuracies mentioned above, the 
classification of ceramics from La Victoria is valid in 
its basic aspects, many of which were reaffirmed by 
the excavations at Salinas La Blanca. Wha t we will 
attempt to do in this report is define the new pottery 
types unearthed at Salinas La Blanca, redefine certain 
of the La Victoria pottery types in the light of new 
evidence, and integrate the La Victoria and Salinas 
La Blanca ceramic data into a single, comprehensive 
scheme of the whole Formative sequence for the south 
coastal region. 
T H E P O T T E R Y O F SALINAS L A B L A N C A : STUDY A N D CLASSIFICATION 
A total of 66,220 broken pieces of pottery were 
recovered by excavations in Cuts 1 and 2 at Salinas 
La Blanca. These were taken to Guatemala City, 
where they were washed and subjected to a prelim?
inary sorting. It was quite apparent from a cursory 
inspection that the bulk of the sherds belonged to a 
single component, named by us Cuadros, with those 
from the uppermost levels and from the intrusive 
pits at the top of the site being affiliated with the 
Crucero Phase. There was also a strong possibility of 
the presence of a third component between these two. 
Some 86 percent of the sherds were plain, unslipped, 
undecorated, body fragments from jars. In Cut 1, 
out of a total of 33,571 sherds, 28,666 or 85.4 percent 
fell into this category. In Cut 2, out of a total of 
32,649 sherds, 28,582 or 87.5 percent had a similar 
aspect. It is probable that all (or nearly all) these 
nondescript, featureless sherds were from the lower 
two-thirds of bodies of large tecomates, either of the 
Guamuchal Brushed or Suchiate Brushed type. 
Being large and very friable, such vessels disintegrated 
into literally thousands of fragments. However, in 
practice it would be impossible to tell which type 
these lower body sherds came from since Guamuchal 
Brushed and Suchiate Brushed are distinguished by 
their rim shape and by plastic decoration, which is 
restricted to the upper part of the tecomate. There are 
also two or three other coarse tecomate types to which 
the fragments could conceivably have belonged, 
depending on rim decoration. 
AH attempts to find subclasses within this mass of 
amorphous material proved futile. The task was 
made even more difficult by the fact that, since these 
large vessels had been used for cooking, great numbers 
of these sherds were carbonized beyond recognition. 
Therefore, we followed the same strategy which has 
subsequently been proposed by Cowgill (1964, p . 
472), and ranked all sherds into two categories: 
the very common nondescript body sherds, unclassi-
fiable to type (although we could guess at some 
possible alternatives), and the remainder of the 
sherds (some 24 percent). We counted the former 
in Guatemala City and shipped the latter to the 
United States for further study. All significant 
horizon markers appeared in the latter group. 
When the time came to draw the frequency graph 
showing the percentage of each pottery type in each 
stratigraphic level at Salinas La Blanca (fig. 7), we 
decided to do it solely on the basis of the sherds 
shipped to the United States. To include the mass 
of carbonized, unclassifiable tecomate body sherds 
would have swamped all the well-defined types so 
badly that none would have appeared on the graph 
as more than a hair-thin line, completely obscuring 
its value as a horizon marker. 
The procedures of analysis for the pottery shipped 
to the United States were essentially those advocated 
by Smith et al. (1960), namely, sorting into tentative 
and then established varieties and finally into types, 
although we have avoided some of the complexities 
of nomenclature involved in this approach. It is not 
intended here to go into the theoretical history of 
archeological classification; suffice it to say that the 
word " type" here implies a ceramic grouping made 
"on the basis of recurrent association in a specific area 
within a specific period of t ime" (Sears, 1960, p . 325). 
These types have been given binomial designations 
in the usually accepted way, a geographical name 
picked from the Ocos area followed by a word or 
phrase descriptive of the appearance of the pottery. 
Within each type, we have also counted modes which 
seemed to us to be distinctive, such as certain gouged 
designs, rocker stamping, and so forth, in the belief 
that we would be able to (1) make finer chronological 
distinctions within the types and (2) indicate wider 
relationships extending far beyond the known dis?
tribution in space of any particular type. 
In all pottery descriptions, color designations are 
in the Munsell system, with color names being those 
recommended for soil scientists using that system. 
CUT 
Q 
UJ 
X 
CO 
3 
or 
00 
_ j 
< 
x 
o 
3 
< 
3 
CD 
Q 
Ul 
or 
i 
Q 
UJ 
0T 
IM 
UJ 
Q 
Ul 
Q 
Ul 
CC 
? 
Q 
UJ 
QT 
U l 
X 
o 
< 
Ul 
H 
X 
I 
z O 
Q 
UJ 
rr 
< 
Ul 
X 
CO 
Q 
or 
ui 
X 
CO 
Q 
UJ 
o 
< 
or 
I -
co 
CO _ j 
CO < 
< ^ 
Q . CO 
1 g 
CO 
Q 
rr Q 
UJ ui 
S co 
3 rr 
oo 
o 
CO 
o 
CO 
Q 
Ul 
rr 
:*: 
o 
i- x 
o I-
1 * 
0_ Ul 
o o 
UJ Ul 
h- I -
o 
< 
_ l 
00 
Ul 
or 
o 
3 
00 
Ul 
X 
CO 
< X 
0 
Z 
O 
O 
O 
Ul 
or 
< 
> 
< 0 
< 
o_ 
Q 
U l 
X 
CO 
3 
or 
00 
UJ 
< 
X 
o 
3 
CO 
>-
< 
or 
CO 
o 
o 
o 
3 
00 
Q 
Ul 
or 
CO 
< 
X 
o 
Ul 
Ul 
X 
5
 < 
rr z 
O rr 
d o 
00 u. 
o ui < 
o 1- o 
< 
- I 
00 
o 
or 
00 
> ? 
< 
ui 
or h-
co 
CO 
< 
X 
o 
o 
o 
U l 
CO 
or 
< 
o 
o 
< 
_l 
3 
Ul 
o 
< 
or 
o 
CO 
< 
X 
0 
z 
o 
o 
Ul 
o 
z 
< 
or 
o 
CO 
o 
or 
r -
z 
U l 
3 
CD 
Ul 
U l 
CD 
Z 
< 
or 
o 
o 
Ul 
or 
og 
or . 
ui ui 
o 1-
o $ 
Ul ui 
CD CD 
z z 
< < 
or or 
x 
CD 
3 
O 
or 
x 
H 
or 
< 
UJ 
_ i 
o 
CO 
- J 
o 
00 
0 0 ? 
Q 
UJ 
ui or 
o xp 
CD 
Q 
UJ 
X 
CO 
z => 
? o 
u. 0_ 
UJ 
X 
Q 
UJ 
or 
CO 
< 
x 
o 
z 
o 
o 
>-
< 
or 
CD 
UJ 
or 
< o 
ui 
or 
- - LL I 
* < co 
c^  _j or 
< 0 . < 
00 
< 
_ i 
UJ 
O 
o 
CO 
< 
Ul 
Ul 
or 
< 
CD or or 
rr < < 
< x 
o < 3 
> 5 o 
Q 
UJ 
CO 
U l 
or 
< 
ui 
CO 
or 
? 
o 
CO 
3 
o 
Ul 
Ul 
o 
CO 
O 
or 
or 
o 
or 
ui 
>o 
or 
< P 
FIGURE 7.?Graph of pottery type percentages by level in Cuts 1 and 2, Salinas La Blanca. The stippled areas to the left indicate levels with less than 40 diagnosticj sherds. 

WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 23 
T H E S T R A T I G R A P H I C SUCCESSION A T SALINAS LA B L A N C A 
Cuadros Phase 
T h e Cuadros Phase is defined on the basis of those 
pottery types in the deepest levels of the site, that is, 
in Stage 1 of the depositional sequence, and in several 
other sites from which surface collections were made 
(pp. 85-87). Of the various ceramic types included 
in this phase, one, Guamuchal Brushed, is overwhelm?
ingly the most abundant, varying in relative frequency 
from over 96 percent near the bottom of Cuts 1 and 
2, to around 50 percent as the phase ends at the 
beginning of Stage 2. Another marker for Cuadros 
is Mendez Red-rimmed, which actually reaches 
greatest popularity in the succeeding Jocotal Phase, 
especially in depositional Stage 2. 
As compared with the Ocos Phase which precedes 
it, the Cuadros Phase shows far less variety in plastic 
decoration of its pottery. Most elaborately deco?
rated is Guamuchal Brushed, a monochrome unslipped 
type characterized by one form: the large, neckless 
jar, or tecomate (a term used by Mexican archeologists), 
on which the decoration may involve brushing, finger 
punching from the interior, gouging, punctation, and 
indented filleting, as well as rarer techniques. Men?
dez Red-rimmed is also a tecomate type, and is basically 
Guamuchal Brushed with the addition of red slip 
along the rim band, a decorative mode which also 
characterizes Map ache Red-rimmed. The only true 
bichrome shows up on Tilapa Red-on-white, with 
bold, geometric designs in red on a white background. 
Monochrome slipped types include Morena Black and 
Pacaya Red. 
Pampas Black-and-white is also slipped, but here 
the presence of two "colors" is the result of firing 
variations, the most important result being the 
production of "white-rimmed black ware." 
Decoration on Cuadros pottery, besides those 
techniques mentioned above, includes plain rocker 
stamping (rare), incising, cane punching, and pattern 
burnishing in bands. As far as can be determined, all 
Cuadros vessels were made by the coiling method, 
imperfectly smoothed coil junctures being visible on 
not a few sherds. 
The ceramic forms of the Cuadros Phase are ex?
tremely few, with tecomates being the most popular 
(probably due to their use as cooking pots); flat 
bottomed bowls with outslanting sides are next highest 
in frequency, with necked jars, subglobular jars, and 
deep bowls also present. Only one small decorative 
handle was found. Totally absent from the phase 
are supports of any kind, flanges, spouts, bottles, and 
composite silhouettes. 
Joco ta l Phase 
The Jocotal Phase develops directly out of Cuadros, 
and is marked by a diminution in frequency of Gua?
muchal Brushed, plus an increase in popularity of 
Mendez Red-rimmed, Tilapa Red-on-white, and 
Pampas Black-and-white. Morena Black, Conchas 
White-to-buff, and Pacaya Red also expand, particu?
larly at the start of Stage 2.1 Suchiate Brushed is 
strongly represented in Jocotal deposits, particularly 
in Stage 3, and increases at the expense of Guamuchal 
Brushed. Another new type is Ocos Gray. 
Jocotal could well have been named a subphase of 
either the preceding Cuadros Phase or the succeeding 
Conchas, for it is strongly affiliated with both of these 
and is, in fact, a transitional phase between the two. 
Especially noteworthy is a sharp increase in frequency 
of white-rimmed black sherds. There is a change in 
emphasis on techniques of decorating tecomates, and 
especially emphasized are exterior finger punching, 
diagonal incising, and incised arcs, while brushing 
changes from predominantly horizontal (on convex 
upper body zones of tecomates) to vertical or diagonal. 
There is a change in tecomate form as well, the complex 
profiles of Cuadros giving way to simple ones with 
plain rims. 
Besides the horizon-marker type of Suchiate 
Brushed, Jocotal is characterized by the appearance 
of a very distinctive kind of pottery, namely Conchas 
White-to-buff, with form and incised decoration 
directly foreshadowing white flat-bottomed bowls of 
the Conchas Phase. A specific mode of incising 
shared by both phases is the double-line-break motif. 
Jocotal Phase examples, however, lack an exterior 
slip; Conchas Phase examples are slipped on both 
sides. As for Suchiate Brushed, a few sherds of this 
type were present at La Victoria in Conchas 1 
deposits, and were included in Conchas Phase 
illustrations in the report on that site. 
In summary, then, Jocotal is a transitional (and 
probably brief) phase between Cuadros and Conchas, 
and sees the gradual extinction of some Cuadros 
types, the alteration of others or their evolution into 
new types, and the addition of Conchas-like types. 
i However, sherds become very rare in Stage 2, almost surely 
because this was a period of clay floor and platform construction, 
rather than of midden-building; the skewing of the histograms 
in the levels in which the total number of diagnostic sherds falls 
below 40 can be seen in figure 7. This means that the sampling 
of the strata in these levels is so inadequate that a large probable 
error has resulted. 
24 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
Crucero Phase 
From our previously gained knowledge of the 
cultural sequence in the Ocos area, there is definitely 
a discontinuity at Salinas La Blanca between the 
Jocotal Phase and the Crucero Phase which overlies 
it and intrudes into it, as represented in Stage 4. 
This discontinuity resulted from the abandonment of 
Salinas La Blanca during the Conchas Phase. We 
have for Conchas ample evidence of a more-or-less 
direct evolution out of Jocotal. There is nothing, 
however, in the "natura l" stratigraphy at Salinas La 
Blanca to suggest such a hiatus?the inference is drawn 
from the cultural succession at La Victoria, where 
continuities from Conchas 2 into Crucero are seen. 
In its ceramic assemblage, Crucero is utterly unlike 
any previous phase at Salinas La Blanca. Rather 
than placing emphasis on the flat-bottomed bowl and 
the tecomate (the latter is in fact absent), the Crucero 
potters preferred composite silhouette bowls with 
dimpled bases, bucketlike cylinders, bowls with 
everted rims, and low-necked, restricted orifice jars. 
A totally different set of pottery types replace the 
older ones. Of these, Conchas Streaky Brown-black 
is the most important, to be distinguished by its 
polished, streaky, dark surface which has a slightly 
waxy feel to the touch. Of lesser frequency are 
Conchas Orange, with similar characteristics, and an 
unslipped type, Julain Coarse, which seems to have 
been an incense-burner type. A large number of 
other ceramic types also appear, but none has more 
than a very small relative frequency in the deposits. 
The range of decorative techniques is very slight, 
engraving and excising being the most common, 
with red pigment often rubbed into the lines or cut?
away areas. Engraved motifs include hatched, inter?
locking scrolls, parallel lines, and "scallops." Raised 
bands and nodes on the exteriors of bowls are frequent, 
as are horizontal ribs or grooves on the upper part of 
composite silhouette vessels. Usulutan decoration 
is characteristic of Conchas Orange, with straight 
(rather than curvilinear) multiple lines. A small 
amount of bichroming is known, mainly red-on-
orange, with one such vessel decorated in crudely 
painted step-and-fret designs. 
Apart from its forms and decorative techniques, 
Crucero pottery contrasts with the ceramics of the 
Cuadros and Jocotal Phases, in that most sherds are 
slipped and polished; sherds of the two earlier phases 
at the site are overwhelmingly unslipped and in fact 
roughened through plastic alteration of the surfaces. 
Crucero itself was previously defined on the basis 
of a small number of pottery types sorted out from 
mixed deposits near the surface of La Victoria (Coe, 
1961, p . 33). At Salinas La Blanca, a much richer 
collection was available from Stage 4, including com?
plete or nearly complete vessels from intrusive pits 
in Cut 1. 
O t h e r P o t t e r y 
On purely culture historical grounds, a few ceramic 
types at the top of the site should probably not be 
included with Crucero. These are a handful of glazed 
sherds, almost certainly of modern date, Violeta Plain 
(probably belonging with the Cerro del Tiestal com?
plex), and Manchuria Plain (a late comal type, prob?
ably Late Classic). A word should also be said 
about Miscellaneous Coarse, which is really a "residual 
category," but which comprises rim and otherwise 
distinctive sherds that were easily differentiated from 
the large category of plain, unclassifiable tecomate 
body sherds. 
THE FORMATIVE POTTERY SEQUENCE VIEWED AS A WHOLE 
When the ceramics of the Cuadros, Jocotal, and 
Crucero Phase levels at Salinas La Blanca had been 
studied, we returned to the ceramic analysis of the 
Ocos, Conchas, and Crucero Phases at La Victoria 
in an effort to see how the entire Formative sequence 
shaped up when each phase was assigned its proper 
place. We were immediately struck by the similarity 
in general ceramic trends between our coastal Guate?
malan sequence and the sequences from Chiapa de 
Corzo and the Valley of Tehuacan. It seemed, there?
fore, that it would be useful to present our whole 
Formative sequence as it now stands, especially em?
phasizing those major trends which are strongly 
paralleled in other regions of southern Mesoamerica. 
We have grouped many of the major pottery types 
of the Ocos region into a series of "traditions." Each 
of these traditions involves a set of closely related 
pottery types which succeed one another through 
time, preserving certain regional style preferences in 
spite of continuous innovation. In many cases, the 
Guatemalan coastal traditions seem to go through 
series of changes similar to the analogous traditions at 
Tehuaca'n and Chiapa de Corzo; in other cases, at 
critical points in the sequence, there are interesting 
divergences. For example, during the Late Formative 
in the Tehuaca'n sequence, the ceramics fall strongly 
under the influence of central Oaxaca (MacNeish, 
1964, p . 536); and during the Late Formative in the 
DATES 
CULTURAL 
PHASES 
0 -
CRUCERO 
2 0 0 BC-
4 0 0 BC- CONCHAS 2 
600 BC-
CONCHAS 
800 BO' JOCOTAL 
CUADROS 
1,000 BC-
OCOS 
1,200 BC 
RED-RIMMED TECOMATE 
TRADITION 
BRUSHED OR STRIATED TECOMATE 
TRADITION 
INCISED BLACK WARE 
TRADITION 
RED MONOCHROME 
TRADITION 
RED-a-WHITE BICHROME 
TRADITION 
OCOS OCOS BROWN 
BUFF BURNISHED 
MAPACHE MENDEZ 
RED-RIMMED RED-RIMMED 
GUAMUCHAL SUCHIATE 
BRUSHED BRUSHED 
OCOS MORENA PAMPAS 
BLACK BLACK BLACK - a - WHITE 
INCISED WHITE 
MONOCHROME TRADITION 
ORANGE MONOCHROME 
AND BICHROME TRADITION 
OCOS PACAYA CONCHAS RED MAREAS 
SPECULAR RED RED UNBURNISHED COARSE RED 
TILAPA CONCHAS CONCHAS FINE 
RED-ON-WHITE RED-a-WHITE RED-ON-CREAM 
CONCHAS CONCHAS FINE 
WHITE-TO-BUFF WHITE-TO-BUFF 
OCOS CONCHAS 
GRAY RfeP-ON-BUFF 
CONCHAS 
ORANGE 
CRUCERO 
RED-ON-ORANGE 
CONCHAS STREAKY 
BROWN-BLACK 
Non-specular Ijii 
red rims ijlj! 
Specular 
hematite 
rim-bands 
Iridescent rim-bands 
Zoned dentate,shell-back, shell-edge, plain rocker-stamping, cordmarking, fabric impression, iridescent stripes 
Brushing 
Raking 
Gouging 
Finger-punching 
major pottery types and traditions of the Formative period in south coastal Guatemala. Width of the stippled area indicates the restive 
ity of a given type during a given cultural phase. Vessel reconstructions not to scale; minor types not included. 

WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 25 
Chiapa de Corzo sequence, the ceramics fall strongly 
under the influence of the Mamom-Chicanel (Maya) 
area (Warren, quoted in Sanders, 1961, p. 52). These 
trends are not paralleled in south coastal Guatemala, 
for the strong Late Formative influence there ema?
nates from Izapa and Kaminaljuyu. 
More striking are the similarities in traditions, 
which we feel will be even more apparent when the 
Chiapa de Corzo and Tehuaca'n sequences are pub?
lished in full. Many key pottery types seem to ap?
pear, rise to prominence, and disappear with a rea?
sonable degree of synchronization over the entire 
area from southern Puebla to the Guatemalan coast. 
At 1300 B.C. we begin with monochrome buffs, 
browns, blacks, and lavish use of specular hematite. 
During the course of the Early Formative, red rimmed 
tecomates and striated tecomates appear, then red-and-
white bichromes and "white-rim-black" differential 
firing. As the Middle Formative approaches, tra?
ditions of monochrome white ware begin, followed 
eventually by gray ware. Specular hematite gives 
way to drabber reds, which characterize the period 
from 900 to 500 B.C. along with incised white, gray, 
and black ceramics. With the approach of the Late 
Formative, the Guatemalan coast goes over into the 
Izapa-Kaminaljuyu sphere, with orange mono?
chromes, Usuluta'n resist painting, red-on-oranges, and 
streaky brown-black vessels. This transition is com?
plete by the year A.D. 1. 
In the section which follows, we will spell out and 
describe these traditions in more detail. Pottery 
types unearthed for the first time at Salinas La Blanca 
will be defined. Some La Victoria types will be 
partially redefined. In the case of other previously 
defined types, the reader will be referred to the 
appropriate pages in the La Victoria report. We 
feel that by presenting the Formative in its entirety 
(as we now know it) we can best facilitate long-range 
comparisons with other parts of Mesoamerica. 
MAJOR POTTERY TYPES AND TRADITIONS OF THE COASTAL FORMATIVE 
We suggest that the reading of this section be 
accompanied by inspection of the general "battleship 
graph" for the whole Formative (fig. 8). This chart, 
dealing only with major types or traditions, has been 
prepared by combining data from figure 7 (this report) 
and figures 8, 9, and 10 of the La Victoria report 
(Coe, 1961). 
All types and traditions will be discussed in the 
order in which they appear in the stratigraphic 
sequence, from oldest to youngest. 
Types Restricted to the Ocos Phase 
Oc6s Buff 
{Coe, 1961, figs. 20, 21) 
This type was originally defined in the La Victoria 
report (Coe, 1961, pp. 53-54). Excavations in Cuadros 
Phase levels at Salinas La Blanca failed to produce a 
single sherd of Ocos Buff. We conclude, therefore, that 
the type was restricted to the Ocos Phase, and that those 
sherds of Ocos Buff which showed up in later levels at 
La Victoria had been redeposited. 
A number of Early Formative developments in Meso?
america were characterized by unslipped buff monochromes; 
such complexes included those in the Tehuacan Valley 
(MacNeish and Peterson, personal communication). Ocos 
Buff differs from most of these analogous types in the fact 
that it was occasionally striped with iridescent paint. 
Oc6s Brown Burnished 
{Coe, 1961, fig. 23, j-1) 
This type was defined by Coe (1961, p. 54). No sherds 
of it were recovered from Cuadros levels at La Victoria, 
from which we conclude that the type was restricted to 
the Ocos Phase. Brown Burnished sherds found in post-
Ocos levels at La Victoria had evidently been redeposited. 
The only vessel shape present in Ocos Brown Burnished 
was the thin-walled tecomate characteristic of the Early 
Formative, decorated by means of zoned shellback, shell 
edge, and dentate rocker stamping, zoned cord marking, 
and zoned fabric impressing. The type is a very distinctive 
horizon marker for the Ocos Phase. 
Red-rimmed Tecomate Tradition 
Tecomates with a zoned band of red paint at the rim 
were widespread in southern Mesoamerica during 
the Early Formative. Complexes in which they were 
present included the Ajalpan Phase at Tehuacan 
(MacNeish, 1962, p. 38), period I at Chiapa de Corzo 
(Dixon, 1959, pp. 16-17), and the Ocos, Cuadros, 
and Jocotal Phases on the Guatemalan coast (this 
report). 
Some chronological change can be detected within 
this tradition. The earliest such tecomates were thin 
walled, and the band of red paint at the neck was 
specular hematite; this was so in the Ajalpan and 
Ocos Phases. Later in the Early Formative, tecomates 
were thicker walled and the red paint was not specular. 
This latter type of tecomate was often decorated, below 
the rim band, by brushing, punctating, or rocker 
stamping (as in Chiapa I, Cuadros and Jocotal, and 
late Ajalpan). 
In order to take into account this chronological 
26 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
change, we have divided the red-rimmed tecomate 
tradition into two pottery types, Mendez Red-rimmed 
and Mapache Red-rimmed. In addition, Mapache 
Red-rimmed has two varieties with chronological 
significance, a "Specular Hematite" variety and a 
"Nonspecular" variety. 
Mapache Red-rimmed, Specular Hematite variety, 
was made during the Ocos Phase. Most of the rim 
sherds shown in the upper half of figure 16 of the La 
Victoria report (Coe, 1961) belong to this variety. 
(The La Victoria report calls them "Victoria Coarse," 
but as explained earlier this was simply a residual 
category into which a number of unrelated types 
were " lumped.") Tecomates of this variety were 
globular and probably unsupported (not tripod, as 
Coe states many of the iridescent striped tecomates 
were). Each had a band of specular hematite at the 
rim, usually separated from the body of the vessel by 
an incised line. Some, in addition, had "latticework 
crisscross line grooving below the painted area on the 
exterior" (Coe, 1961, p . 50 and fig. 16, third row 
from top). 
At the end of the Ocos Phase, specular hematite 
rims seem to have gone out of style. Mapache 
Red-rimmed, Nonspecular variety, came to the fore 
and lasted throughout the Cuadros Phase. (A few 
fragments of this type showed up in Jocotal levels at 
Salinas La Blanca, but they may have been rede?
posited.) Latticework crisscrossing still appeared on 
these Nonspecular tecomates, and we regard it as one 
of the links between the Ocos and Cuadros Phases. 
Mdndez Red-rimmed made its appearance at the 
start of the Cuadros Phase, lasted through Jocotal 
times, and seems to have died out by the start of 
Conchas 1. Tecomates of this type had a nonspecular 
red band at the rim, and their exteriors below the 
band were decorated by brushing. They reached 
their highest frequency just at the end of Cuadros 
and the start of Jocotal (900-850 B.C. ?), somewhat 
later than the point of peak frequency for Mapache 
Red-rimmed. They represent the last stage of the 
red-rimmed tecomate tradition. 
Mapache Red-rimmed 
SPECULAR HEMATITE VARIETY.?Described in Coe, 1961, 
p. 50 (under Victoria Coarse) and illustrated, ibid., fig. 16. 
REMARKS : Restricted to the Ocos Phase, and a good horizon 
marker for it. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: Ajalpan Phase, Tehuacan Valley, 
thin-walled tecomates with specular hematite band at rim 
(MacNeish, 1962, p. 38). 
NONSPECULAR VARIETY.?(fig. 9; pi. 12, a-j). 
PASTE : Similar to that of Guamuchal Brushed. The color 
is usually a grayish tan, but occasionally there are wide, 
FIGURE 9.?Rim profiles of Mapache Red-rimmed tecomates, 
Cuadros Phase. 
dark gray cores; cores are black where the contiguous 
surface is also black; burned sherds have a black, orange, 
or reddish brown (2.5 YR 5/4.5) paste. 
SURFACE: Unslipped, except for the rim band. The 
exterior has been carefully smoothed but not polished, 
probably by wiping with a rag leaving a matte texture. 
The rim band is roughly polished after slipping. Interiors 
are smoothed or scraped. The color of the exterior is in 
the same range as Guamuchal Brushed, with black firing 
clouds common near the rim. 
FORM: Neckless globular jars {tecomates). The rims are 
usually tapered, with slight interior thickening below the 
lip, but a few are more rounded. The shape of the base 
is unknown. 
DIMENSIONS: Inner rim diameter 18-24 cm., mean 19 cm.; 
the maximum body diameter is unknown, but is probably 
similar to Guamuchal Brushed; height unknown; body 
thickness at point 6-8 cm. below rim is 0.6-0.9 cm., mean 
0.7 cm. 
DECORATION : The rim band was formed by broad, shallow 
grooves encircling the vessel, usually one placed very 
near the lip, the other being 2.3-6.0 cm. below the lip; 
a single row of punctations (either small diagonal strokes 
or triangular punches) encircles the vessel just below the 
rim band. After this was done, the entire band was 
slipped weak red (7.5 R 4/4) with a brush, the slip some?
times being applied over some of punctations, and over 
into the interior 0.5-2.0 cm. Below the row of puncta?
tions, the matte surface of the vessel was usually decorated 
with linear pattern burnishing, consisting of one or more 
diagonal lines, some opposed. Two sherds have addi?
tional punctate rows, one example of which (pi. 12,/) has 
punctations confined in a zone by rectilinear grooves. 
REMARKS: Virtually restricted to the Cuadros Phase, and 
a good horizon marker for it. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 27 
r 
FIGURE 10.?Rim profiles of Mendez Red-rimmed tecomates, Cuadros Phase. 
Mendez Red-rimmed 
(fig. 10; pis. 70-11) 
PASTE: Identical to Guamuchal Brushed in all features. 
SURFACE: Same as Guamuchal Brushed. 
FORM: Neckless globular jars {tecomates). The majority are 
similar in profile to Guamuchal Brushed, with a convex 
raised zone encircling the vessel just below the rim band. 
Rims are usually tapered with a rounded, narrow, lip 
profile and a slight interior thickening below the lip. 
The rim band varies in width from 1.0-4.5 cm.; nar?
rower rims are usually associated with close stepped j ab 
decoration (on the convex band). The form of the base 
is presumably the same as Guamuchal Brushed. 
DIMENSIONS: Rim diameter 16-22 cm., mean 19 cm.; 
wall thickness (in brushed zone below convex band) 
0.5-0.8 cm., mean 0.6 cm., but nearer rim it may measure 
to 1.3 cm. The maximum diameters of two partially 
reconstructible vessels are 30 cm. and 44 cm., although 
the former is atypically small. Heights are unknown. 
DECORATION: On all vessels, rim bands are slipped red 
(7.5 YR 4/4, weak red) and polished; the slipping is 
usually carried over 1 cm. into the interior; accidental 
strokes show that a narrow brush was used; on narrower 
rim bands the slip covers the entire exterior to the edge 
of the brushed zone?on wider bands it covers the entire 
area of the band or only 1-2 cm. down from the lip. 
Brushing is present on all examples of the type, exactly 
as in Guamuchal Brushed. Alternative methods of 
embellishing the convex band after brushing are: 
1. Spaced herringbone gouges (pi. 10, a), but lower fre?
quency than in Guamuchal Brushed. 
2. Spaced stepped jabs (pi. 10, b-d, f, i, k) 
3. Close stepped jabs (pi. 10, g-h) 
4. Horizontal diagonal punctation, both single and multi?
ple row, with punctations on some becoming very 
short diagonal lines. 
5. Diagonal incising (pis. 10, b, k; 11, a, J, i, j), often 
paralleling spaced stepped jabs and consisting mainly 
of broad, shallow, indented lines in pairs of parallel 
diagonals, with two examples of crisscross diagonals. 
6. Curvilinear incising (pi. 11, b), a form of line indenting 
emphasizing diagonal lines combined with shallow 
arcs or sigmoid curves, the latter appearing either 
singly or in parallel pairs. 
7. Plain rocker stamping (pi. 10, e), present on only two 
sherds. Horizontal punctation, single row (pi. 10, /) 
is confined to sherds lacking the convex zone, as in 
Guamuchal Brushed. Indented filleting (pi. 10, b, f), 
interior finger punching, cane-punched applique (pi. 11, d) 
are the same as in Guamuchal Brushed. Exterior 
finger punching is found on one sherd only (pi. 11, g) 
from a Jocotal level. 
28 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
REMARKS: This type shares many features with Guamuchal 
Brushed, but there are some differences in vessel size 
and in frequency of decorative modes. Chronological 
differences in the type are apparent as one moves into 
Jocotal levels, in which (1) there is a tendency for vessels 
to lack the convex zone, and thus to approach Suchiate 
Brushed in form; (2) the red slip on the rim band becomes 
thinner; and (3) there is a high frequency of incised or 
impressed lines in the zone below the rim band, with 
diagonals, arcs, and especially paired sigmoid curves, 
which are peculiar to Jocotal. The function of these 
vessels was presumably culinary, as in Guamuchal 
Brushed. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: Chiapa de Corzo: Chiapa I 
(Pit 50) Phase, 20 percent of "unslipped" tecomates 
have red slip on a grooved rim band, these tecomates also 
having such decorative modes as brushing, diagonal 
incising, and plain stamping (Dixon, 1959, pp. 16-17); 
similar red rimmed tecomates also occur in the Chiapa 
II (Pit 38) Phase, but their frequency drops to 3 percent 
of all tecomates (Dixon, 1959, pp. 33-34). Santa Marta 
Rock shelter: unslipped tecomates with brushed surface 
and red slipped rim bands are almost identical to Mendez 
Red-rimmed examples of the Jocotal Phase (MacNeish 
and Peterson, 1962, p. 32, pi. 6, c). Padre Piedra 
(Navarrete, 1960, p. 24): the Chiapa I Phase has brushed 
tecomates with red slipped rim bands. Santa Cruz 
(Sanders, 1961, p. 17): Burrero Phase, Burrero Red 
tecomates have a red slip on the rim band, brushed bodies, 
and approach Jocotal examples of the type, as do 
Burrero Tecomate sherds, which are decorated with 
incised arcs, etc. (Sanders, 1961, pi. 7A). 
"Brushed" or "Striated" Tecomate Tradition 
During the second half of the Early Formative and 
the first half of the Middle Formative, over much 
of southern Mesoamerica from Tehuacan to Guate?
mala, "brushed" or "striated" tecomates seem to have 
been greatly in vogue. These were large, heavy, 
neckless jars with a plain band at the rim, whose 
exteriors below the band were decorated by raking 
or brushing with a multiple toothed instrument like 
a comb, corncob, or bristle brush. Brushed tecomates 
were not present in the Ocos Phase levels at La 
Victoria, but they must have begun soon after that, 
for by the time of the earliest Cuadros Phase levels 
at Salinas La Blanca they already accounted for more 
than half the classifiable sherds. A few Cuadros 
Phase examples still show the rocker stamping 
characteristic of Ocds Phase tecomates. The Cuadros 
Phase saw the maximum production of brushed 
tecomates, but they lasted (with some stylistic change) 
through Jocotal times and into the Conchas 1 Sub-
phase. During the La Victoria analysis, brushed 
tecomate sherds of this type were simply lumped into 
the residual category "Victoria Coarse." Coe, 1961, 
figure 52, a-e, g-i, shows sherds now known to be 
Suchiate Brushed, a type defined in the present 
report, (pp. 30-32.) 
Thanks to the much larger sample of brushed 
tecomates from Salinas La Blanca, we have now been 
able to reclassify the brushed sherds from the Conchas 
1 Subphase; the type descriptions given below take 
precedence over the La Victoria report. We have 
divided the brushed tecomate tradition into two types, 
Guamuchal Brushed and Suchiate Brushed, each 
with a somewhat different chronological span. Gua?
muchal Brushed tecomates, characterized by a more 
complex rim profile, were made in great quantities 
during the Cuadros Phase, but tapered off during 
Jocotal times. Suchiate Brushed tecomates, with a 
simpler rim profile, were not made until the Jocotal 
Phase; they eventually came to replace Guamuchal 
Brushed, however, and by the Conchas 1 Subphase 
they accounted for all the brushed tecomates being 
produced. 
Note that in the case of Mendez Red-rimmed 
(p. 27), the "Red-rimmed tecomate t radit ion" and the 
"Brushed tecomate tradition" overlapped in a single 
type. 
Guamuchal Brushed 
{figs. 11-12; pis. 6-9) 
PASTE: Typically bentonitic, with many small, faceted, 
quartz crystals, platelets of yellowish-brown biotite, and 
small lumps of rust-red, altered fayalite (Appendix 5). 
Hollow casts of small seeds and pieces of grass stems and 
leaves are sometimes present within walls or on surface. 
Flattened coils can be seen on very eroded sherds, while 
some sherds exhibit the rounded tops of coils at breaks, 
and there are many examples of imperfectly smoothed 
coils on interiors. Fired at fairly low temperatures, with 
a wide difference in firing conditions for same pot, 
producing strong color variations. Unoxidized cores are 
usually thick, and dark gray; on very hard sherds with 
light buff surfaces, cores are medium to light gray, 
becoming buff near the exteriors. 
SURFACE: Interiors were smoothed with fingers when wet 
and/or scraped with the slightly curved edge of a smooth 
object like a piece of gourd, leaving marks of that tool on 
some sherds (pi. 9, b); exteriors are roughly polished on 
the rim band and over the lip to just inside the rim, and 
the entire exterior below the brushed zone is also roughly 
polished, with horizontal strokes of what probably was a 
pebble. Surfaces are always unslipped, and show occa?
sional flecks of yellowish biotite. The clay used has a 
wide firing range and was also subject to great color 
changes in postmanufacture burning (i.e., from use in 
cooking). On sherds which are not altered by later 
burning (i.e., from use in cooking), the color ranges from 
10 YR 6/3 (pale brown) to 10 YR 4.5/2 (grayish brown) 
to 2.5 YR 5/5 (reddish brown), such colors sometimes 
appearing on the same sherd. Burned sherds vary from 
10 R 5/4 (weak red) through ashy white-gray to black. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 29 
FORM: Neckless, globular jars or tecomates, somewhat squat 
in outline, the width being slightly greater than the 
height. Rims usually are tapered rounded, with slight 
interior thickening below the lip; less common are blunt 
rounded or squarish lips with no tapering or thickening. 
Most jars have a complex profile, with a recurved, 
strongly convex, horizontal zone or band encircling vessel 
just below the rim band. Bases seem to have been 
usually flattened, plain; two examples of dimpled base 
are known. Appendages are absent, with the exception 
of three examples of double-strand, vertical handles 
(pi. 8, /) , each with "collars" where they meet the vessel 
wall; these are small, extending from the convex zone 
to the beginning of the brushed zone below. 
FIGURE 11.?Reconstructed Guamuchal Brushed tecomate, 
Cuadros Phase. 
DIMENSIONS: Inner rim diameters 14-23 cm., mean 17 cm.; 
wall thickness (below convex zone) 0.6-0.9 cm., mean 
0.8 cm.; height unknown. One almost complete vessel 
measures ca. 40 cm. in height, 46 cm. in maximum body 
diameter, 0.9 cm. in wall thickness. 
DECORATION: Entirely by plastic alteration. 
1. Grooving, used to set off a horizontal, polished band 
at the rim from the rest of the vessel; after polishing, 
a broad, shallow, horizontal groove was made just 
below lip on exterior with an indenting tool, and a 
second groove placed below this at the junction of 
the rim band and the brushed zone below. 
2. Brushing (or "raking"), produced by a tool 3-6 cm. 
wide, with multiple bristles or teeth set in row, 
usually 3 mm. apart. All vessels are brushed on the 
convex band, usually horizontally but sometimes ver?
tically or down-and-to-the-right; on the body below 
the convex band, extending down 4-8 cm. from it, 
all vessels are brushed, usually down-and-to-the-right, 
but sometimes vertically; cross strokes are rare. 
3. Spaced herringbone gouges (pi. 6), confined to the 
convex band and done after brushing; made by 
rapidly gouging in wet clay two opposing lines with 
a stick, punching up the clay toward the end of 
strokes; pairs of lines are spaced from 1-20 cm. apart, 
most 4-5 cm; right pointing herringbones are slightly 
more frequent than left pointing. 
4. Spaced stepped jabs (pi. 7), an alternate method of 
decorating the convex band, postbrushing; punches 
or jabs of a stick were made from the bottom up, the 
jabs stepped diagonally, with the clay pushed aside at 
end of strokes; rows of jabs are 3-10 cm. apart ; some?
times pairs of rows are close together, or a row is par?
alleled by a single incised line. 
5. Close stepped jabs (pi. 8, e-g). 
6. Multiple horizontal punctation (pi. 9, a, h), an alternate 
method of decorating the convex band after brushing; 
several rows of simple, spaced punctations are placed 
along the band. 
7. Plain rocker stamping (pi. 8, l), also an alternate mode 
on convex bands, the stamping done vertically after 
brushing and carried out vertically; very rare. This 
is a carryover from the Ocos Phase. 
8. Horizontal punctation, single row (pi. 9, d-g, i), on some 
vessels; a row of spaced punctations is placed at the 
juncture of the polished rim band and the brushed 
zone; on all such vessels, the convex zone is absent, 
and the brushing is vertical or down-and-to-the-
right. 
9. Indented filleting (pi. 8, m-r), on a majority of vessels 
but not on all; after brushing, a strip of clay is placed 
along the juncture of the brushed zone and the pol?
ished surface below, then indented; the fillets are 
discontinuous, some beginning and ending in a 
horizontal line, while others extend down from the 
convex band or from the juncture just below it, and 
turn to left; strips sometimes have an indented blob 
of clay at the right end. 
10. Cane-punched applique (pi. 8, h-k), bloblike, crude 
faces applied to juncture of brushed zone and polished 
body, usually turned on the side; the "eyes" are 
formed from rounded, flat pellets of clay outlined by 
impressing with the end of a cane tube; the nose or 
mouth (?) is formed by pushing out a "bubble" 
from inside the vessel with a finger, adding extra 
clay, and jabbing with a tool; a few are daubed with 
red paint. 
11. Interior finger punching (pi. 9, c), present on all 
vessels except the latest; near the bottom of the 
brushed zone, a horizontal row of spaced "bubbles" 
is made by pushing out the wall from the interior 
with a finger; all fingers except the thumb could be 
used, most fingernails being worn completely down, 
but some impressions show the nail mark; while the 
finger is pressing out, either one or two jabs or punches 
are made on the exterior of the bubble with a stick 
(most frequent) or else an arched groove is made to 
outline the upper edge of the bubble (rare). 
12. Exterior finger punching, rare and confined to Jocotal; 
the pad on the last joint of the finger is used to 
210-980?67-
30 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
FIGURE 12.?Rim profiles of Guamuchal Brushed tecomates, Cuadros Phase. 
produce a horizontal row of shallow impressions 
which are spaced in the brushed zone just above the 
indented fillet. 
13. Diagonal incising (pis. 7, d, i; 9, / ) , a kind of line 
impressing, down-and-to-the-left on the convex band 
and on the brushed zone below, usually with paired 
parallel lines; rare. 
14. Incised arcs, very rare, consisting of a series of arcs 
in a row, produced by indenting the polished wall of 
the vessel body. 
REMARKS: In Jocotal levels, Guamuchal Brushed ap?
proaches Suchiate Brushed in conformation, as the 
convex band flattens out and disappears, brushing 
becomes vertical and down-and-to-the-right rather than 
horizontal, cross-brushing becomes more frequent, and 
exterior replaces interior finger punching. From fire 
marks on large vessel fragments and from basal sherds, 
we conclude that these tecomates functioned as cooking 
vessels, although some could have been used for storage; 
charred calcareous deposits on basal interiors reinforce 
this conclusion. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: Chiapa de Corzo (Dixon, 1959) 
has tecomates almost identical to Guamuchal Brushed; 
Chiapa I (Pit 50 period) has brushing, grooved rim 
bands, spaced stepped jabs, indented filleting, plain 
rocker stamping, and interior finger punching outlined 
by incised arcs (Dixon, 1959, fig. 52), as in Cuadros 
Phase examples of the type; in Chiapa II (Pit 38 period), 
tecomates more closely resemble Jocotal sherds, with a 
greater emphasis on exterior finger punching, diagonal 
incising, and incised arcs. Vergel, Chiapas (Lowe, 
1959, fig. 35b) has tecomates with spaced herringbone 
gouges. Santa Mar ta Rock shelter (MacNeish and 
Peterson, 1962, pi. 6) : the earliest ceramic period 
(Cotorra or Chiapa I) is characterized by tecomates, of 
which some are very similar to Guamuchal Brushed, 
including close stepped jabs, brushing, and interior 
finger punching; other tecomates are more closely alined 
with Suchiate Brushed. In the Ajalpan Phase of the 
Tehuacan Valley (MacNeish, 1962, p . 37), some tecomates 
are decorated by zoned brushing. 
Suchiate Brushed 
(fig. 13; pis. 16, c-m, 17; see also Coe, 1961, fig. 52, a-e , g-i) 
PASTE: The same as Guamuchal Brushed, except that 
dark-gray cores are rarer, with more uniform firing 
color prevailing. Several sherds give evidence for 
coiled construction. 
SURFACE: Unslipped, showing the same range of firing 
colors as Guamuchal Brushed. Interiors were usually 
smoothed by finger swipes just inside the rim, and by a 
scraping tool on the rest of the interior (a few show use of 
a bunch of fibers). Exteriors were first smoothed by 
wiping, then the upper one-fourth of the body was 
brushed, after which the rim was roughly polished by 
horizontal pebble strokes 0.6-2.5 cm. down from the 
lip and sometimes about 1.0 cm. inside the r im; the 
body below the brushed zone is completely polished in 
the same fashion. 
FORM: Neckless globular jars (tecomates). These are similar 
to Guamuchal Brushed in general outline, but the 
convex zone of the latter type is completely lacking. 
About one-half of all rims have a lip section in the form 
of a rounded square, or with a slight bevel on top. 
The rest are simple rounded or tapered rounded (these 
are occasionally flattened on top). 
DIMENSIONS: Inner rim diameter 18-28 cm., mean 22 cm. 
Wall thickness 0.6-1.1 cm., mean 0.9 cm. Other di?
mensions are unknown, but probably are in the same 
range as Guamuchal Brushed. 
WHOLE V O L U M E THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 31 
FIGURE 13.?Rim profiles of Suchiate Brushed tecomates, Jocotal Phase. 
DECORATION : 
1. Brushing on all vessels, sometimes so light that it is 
hardly apparent; this is confined to a zone 6.0 cm. 
to more than 10.0 cm. wide, just below the polished 
rim; usually cross brushing carried out, producing 
opposed areas, after which a horizontal band of 
brushing was made just below the rim. Sometimes 
the brushed zone is separated from the polished rim 
by several centimeters of wiped matte surface. A 
few sherds have down-and-to-the-right brushing only. 
2. Grooving, present on a minority of vessel rims, con?
sisting of 1-2 parallel lines, the lowermost separating 
the rim band from the brushed or matte area below. 
3. Horizontal punctation (pis. 16, e,f,j; 17, b), on a small 
number of examples, consisting of a single row of 
closely spaced punctations encircling the vessel just 
below the polished rim zone. 
4. Stick punctation (pi. 17, j-q), spaced, carelessly exe?
cuted gouges on the brushed or matte zone below 
the polished rim, usually produced by downward 
strokes or jabs of a frayed stick 1-6 mm. wide at end, 
pushing the clay to end of stroke; some are arranged 
as in horizontal punctation, the stick end being 
pushed from right to left. 
5. Low-relief indented filleting (pi. 16, e, f, h-j), produced 
on the brushed zone by raising the surface of the wet 
clay between two fingers, the fillets undulating over 
the entire brushed zone; they are discontinuous and 
indented at close intervals with a tool. 
6. Impressed or incised lines (pi. 17, a, c, d, / ) , on the 
brushed zone of some vessels; following brushing, 
diagonal (most often down-and-to-the-left) lines and 
rows of arcs were impressed or incised, as in Jocotal 
examples of M6ndez Red-rimmed. 
7. Exterior finger punching (pi. \7,u-x). Some vessels had 
closely spaced and shallow punches on the brushed 
zone, produced by pressing in the wet clay with the 
flat pad of a finger from the outside; occasionally this 
is just a deep finger swipe, placed vertically, on the 
wet surface. 
8. Cane-punched applique (two sherds only; pi. 17, h, i), 
one example consists merely of end-of-cane punching 
on the brushed zone, while the other is an applique 
face as in Guamuchal Brushed. 
REMARKS: Suchiate Brushed is the characteristic brushed 
tecomate type of the Jocotal and Conchas 1 Phases, and 
evolves directiy from Guamuchal Brushed. It can be 
differentiated from the latter by the form of rim, lack of 
a convex band, type of brushing, and decorative tech?
niques like low-relief indented filleting (Guamuchal 
Brushed fillets are built up from applied strips of clay) 
and stick punctation. However, many features con?
tinue, and there are more than a few sherds that were 
intermediate between the two types in transitional levels 
and were therefore hard to place. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL : Santa Cruz: Burrero Phase, some 
Burrero Tecomate sherds resemble the type (Sanders, 1961, 
pi. 7A), especially incised arcs in combination with 
straight lines. Chiapa de Corzo: Chiapa I has similar 
brushed tecomates (Dixon, 1959, fig. 52, a, m), as does 
Chiapa II (ibid., fig. 54, ;', /, the latter with exterior 
finger punching exactly as in Suchiate Brushed). Vergel: 
32 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
Chiapas (Lowe, 1959, fig. 35, b) tecomate with exterior 
finger punching. Kaminaljuyu: Arevalo Phase (Lot 
C-100-a, Museo Nacional de Arqueologia y Etnologia, 
Guatemala City), brushed tecomates identical to Jocotal 
examples, with low-relief, curvilinear, indented filleting. 
Incised Black Ware Tradition 
As at Panuco on the gulf coast (MacNeish, 1954), 
the tradition of manufacturing incised black pottery 
was already strong in the Early Formative at Ocos. 
Black pottery reached its highest frequency in the 
Middle Formative, however, and seems to have 
lasted into Late Formative levels only as a trickle of 
sherds (most probably redeposited). 
During his analysis of the ceramics of La Victoria, 
Coe regarded all black wares from the Ocos and 
Conchas Phases as belonging to a single type, Ocos 
Black. He noted, however, that during the Conchas 
Phase approximately 10 to 16 percent of this 
pottery showed differential firing which had produced 
a "black-rimmed white" or "white-rimmed black" 
effect (Coe, 1961, p . 71). 
The large sherd sample from Salinas La Blanca has 
now made it possible to further subdivide this tradition 
into two new types, Morena Black and Pampas 
Black-and-white. The latter type may now be seen 
to include all examples of differential "white-black" 
firing which were originally considered as a variant of 
Ocos Black. We have been forced to restrict the 
term "Ocos Black" to black pottery of the Ocos 
Phase, which had no differential firing and was often 
decorated by rocker stamping. The lumping of later, 
Conchas Phase, pottery into this type unfortunately 
obscured the fact that differential "white-rim-black" 
firing is a horizon marker for the Cuadros, Jocotal, 
and Conchas 1 Phases. Ocos Black, as we now re?
define it, does not last into Conchas times, but is 
replaced by Morena Black and Pampas Black-and-
white during the Cuadros Phase. 
This history of the black ware tradition is as follows. 
During the Ocos Phase, Ocos Black constituted the 
only black pottery manufactured. Shapes included 
thin-walled tecomates, and flat-based bowls with out-
slanting sides and a variety of rim profiles. Decora?
tion included zoned dentate, shell-edge, or shellback 
rocker stamping, cord marking, and simple shell 
stamping. These techniques did not last beyond the 
Ocos Phase. 
During the Cuadros Phase, black flat-bottomed 
bowls with outslanting sides continued to appear, 
but were no longer elaborately decorated; necked 
jars and deeper bowls in black monochrome were 
added. We call this assemblage Morena Black. In 
addition, a new type, Pampas Black-and-white (char?
acterized by differential firing) made its first appear?
ance in the Cuadros Phase. Both Morena and Pampas 
types continued through the Jocotal Phase. 
The Conchas Phase saw the maximum output of 
black pottery during the whole Formative sequence. 
I t is now clear that two types were present in Conchas 
times: Morena Black, accounting for the 80-90 per?
cent with no differential firing, and Pampas Black-
and-white, accounting for the 10-20 percent with a 
differential "white-rim-black" appearance. Probably 
the white-rim effect did not last beyond the Conchas 
1 Subphase. Vessel shapes during this period in?
cluded thick-walled tecomates, necked jars, bowls and 
dishes with outslanting sides, and a few other forms 
which had lasted from Jocotal times. New shapes, 
beginning in the Conchas 1 Subphase, were com?
posite silhouette bowls, barrel-shaped jars, and cuspi?
dors (Coe, 1961, pp . 70-73). Morena Black was 
eventually replaced by Streaky Brown-black pottery 
during the Late Formative Crucero Phase. The 
relationships of all these pottery types are shown in 
figure 8. 
Ocos Black 
(Coe, 1961, fig. 22) 
Originally defined in Coe, 1961, pp. 54-55. We now 
restrict the definition to the black pottery of the Ocos 
Phase, with its limited repertoire of shapes but wide variety 
of plastic surface-decoration techniques. There are re?
semblances with black vessels of the Ajalpan Phase at 
Tehuacan (MacNeish, personal communication). 
Morena Black 
(pi. 16, a, b ; Coe, 1961, figs. 28, 29, a-g, i-k, n, o) 
PASTE : The usual bentonitic clay. Cores are black toward 
the interior surface (a few are black throughout), light 
buff or reddish toward the exterior surface. 
SURFACE: Slipped and polished on the interior, the slip 
being somewhat thick and crackled; exteriors are left 
rough. Interiors on pre-Conchas examples were fired 
black, and the exteriors to a light buff color, suggesting 
that these bowls were inverted over smudging material, 
and that the outside fire had an oxidizing atmosphere. 
FORM (during the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases): 
1. Flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides (80 percent). 
Walls are usually straight or with a slight outward 
flare, and rims are squared to slightly rounded. Rim 
diameter 32-38 cm., mean 34 cm.; height 5.9-7.5 
cm., mean 6.3 cm.; wall thickness 0.8-1.0 cm., mean 
0.9 cm. 
2. Deep, restricted orifice bowls (19 percent). Subglobular 
to barrel-shaped bowls. The form of the base is 
unknown, but probably flat. Rim profiles are 
variable, including tapered rims with interior thicken?
ing, rounded rims with exterior thickening, and 
squared rims. Inner rim diameter 18-32 cm., mean 
26 cm.; maximum body diameter averages about 34 
cm.; wall thickness 0.7-0.9 cm., mean 0.8 cm.; 
height unknown. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 33 
FIGURE 14.?Pampas Black-and-white pottery, Cuadros and Jocotal Phases, a, Flat-bottomed bowl with outslanting sides, 
oxidized rim, Cuadros Phase, b, Deep bowl with shallow incising on exterior, from offering in Level 7 of Cut 1, Jocotal Phase. 
3. Necked jar (1 percent). Small fragment only, but 
the neck is quite vertical. Diameter of neck ca. 14 
cm., wall thickness 1.2 cm. 
DECORATION: Form 1 usually has none, except for one 
sherd with a branching form incised on the wall interior 
(pi. 16, b), and two basal sherds which are decorated on 
upper surfaces with matte and polished zones separated 
by shallow grooving; these are all from the Jocotal Phase. 
Form 2, 70 percent have incising on the exterior, in 
parallel diagonal lines, pendant semicircles, or free form. 
REMARKS: Chronological differences within the type at 
Salinas La Blanca include a greater relative frequency of 
Form 1 in late Jocotal levels, and confining of incised 
decoration on Form 1 to Jocotal. The type is probably 
closely related to Pampas Black-and-white in the mode of 
production. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: For the range of vessel forms 
in this type during the Conchas Phase, see Coe, 1961, 
pp. 70-73. 
Pampas Black-and-White 
(figs. 14, 15; pis. 14, 15; Coe, 1961, fig. 29, h, 1, m) 
PASTE: Bentonitic and somewhat coarse, as in Guamuchal 
Brushed (see Appendix 5). Coiled construction is ap?
parent from the characteristic sherd fracture and from a 
badly obliterated coil juncture on one sherd. The paste 
is light buff to whitish gray where the adjacent surface is 
white, but dark gray to black where that surface is also 
black. Where white rims were produced with alterna?
tive A (see below), the dark core extends up into the 
interior of the white-rimmed zone. 
SURFACE: Differential firing of a single slip to produce 
black areas and white areas was used on all vessels of 
this type. The white can shade into a buff color. Forms 
1, 2, 4, and 6 are slipped on interiors; on exteriors they 
are slipped 2-3 cms. down from the rim. Forms 3 and 
5 are slipped on exteriors only. All slipped surfaces 
were roughly polished, the rest being coarsely smoothed. 
White-rim technique (so-called "white-rimmed black ware") , 
used on all examples of Forms 1 and 3, and on one sherd 
of Form 2. The following description of the recon?
structed technique applies only to Form 1, where the 
width of the white rim zone on the interior varies from 
0.5-4.0 cm., but is usually wider on the exterior. 
1. Slip applied, with a second coat for the area which 
is to become the white rim (this was determined 
from a sherd which was given only preliminary 
oxidation for alternative A; pi. 15, d). Slipped areas 
are then polished. 
2. Firing alternatives: 
A. For a vessel with white rim, black interior and 
black exterior: First, the entire vessel is fired so 
as to oxidize to white (or clear buff). Then, the 
inverted vessel is placed on a material like loose 
sand so that a portion of the rim is buried, with 
smudging material (possibly corncobs) inside and 
over it; it is fired for the second time in a re?
ducing smudging atmosphere which blackens all 
but the buried rim. 
B. For the same kind of vessel, it is theoretically 
possible that the vessel first is smudged black 
all over, then buried upright in sand with only 
the rim protruding, and fired for a second time 
in oxidizing atmosphere. However, one sherd 
(pi. 15, d) in which only the first step in alterna?
tive A was used is evidence against use of B. 
C. For a vessel with a white rim, black interior, clear 
buff exterior (pi. 14): The inverted vessel is 
placed over a second bowl which contains 
smudging material to ignite when fired. The 
exterior is fired in an oxidizing atmosphere, that 
portion of interior enclosed by the second bowl 
being reduced to black; the slip inside the rim 
fires to white, unslipped exterior to clear buff. 
On 25 percent of Form 1 vessels the white area 
extends just barely inside the rim, probably 
because the diameter of the bottom vessel ap?
proached that of upper. 
FORM (during the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases): 
1. Flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides (74 percent; 
figs. 14, a, 15, a-c). Sides are slightly convex to 
34 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
FIGURE 15.?Pampas Black-and-white pottery, Cuadros and Jocotal Phases, a-c, Flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides, d-g, 
Bowls with thick everted rims, h, i, Tecomates. j , Fragment of necked jar. k, Subglobular jar. i, From surface of SM-10. b, d-g, 
j , k, Cuadros Phase; rest Jocotal. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 35 
straight, with a few slightly concave; exactly like 
Form 1 of Tilapa Red-on-white. Rims are direct, 
tapered rounded to somewhat squarish; occasionally 
there is a slight thickening of the vessel wall exteriors 
near the rim. Rim diameter 28-40 cm., mean 34 cm. 
Height 5.5-9.0 cm., mean 6.9 cm. Wall thickness 
0.7-1.1 cm., mean 0.8 cm. 
2. Bowls with thick everted rims (11 percent; fig. 15, 
d-g). Bowls which are probably fairly deep; rims 
are everted and considerably thickened on exterior; 
sides are unrestricted to slightly restricted and always 
convex. The form of base is unknown. Inner rim 
diameter 23-24 cm., mean 30 cm. Height is un?
known. Wall thickness 0.8-1.1 cm., mean 0.9 cm. 
3. Neckless globular jars (6 percent; fig. 15, h, i). 
Tecomates of moderate dimensions, rims squarish in 
profile. The base form is unknown. Inner rim 
diameter (one sherd) 13.0 cm. Wall thickness 
0.7-1.0 cm. 
4. Deep bowls (5 percent; fig. 14, b). Walls are vertical 
to gently recurved, bases flat, and rims direct and 
rounded to slightly squared. Rim diameter 21-35 
cm., mean 28 cm. Height (one example) 17.0 cm. 
Wall thickness 0.7-0.8 cm., mean 0.8 cm. 
5. Necked jars (3 percent; fig. 15, /) . Two sherds from 
jars, with necks broken but probably vertical. Neck 
diameter ca. 11 cm., wall thickness 0.9 cm. 
6. Subglobular bowl (1 percent; fig. 15, k). One ex?
ample of a bowl with a flat base, and convex and 
restricted sides. The rim has a Gothic-arch profile, 
exteriorly thickened above a horizontal groove. Rim 
diameter 22 cm. Height 11.3 cm. Wall thickness 
0.6 cm. 
DECORATION: Other than differential firing of slip, it is 
restricted to a few examples of linear pattern burnishing 
on the exterior surfaces where matte. Form 1, one sherd 
with curvilinear pattern burnishing. Form 4, a large 
vessel of Jocotal Phase with alternating groups of three 
parallel diagonal lines and three to four parallel sigmoid 
lines (fig. 14, b). On one sherd, possibly Form 2, the 
exterior has short linear incisions (pi. 15, c). 
Simple differential firing, to produce vessels of Forms 2 
and 6 with black interior, clear exterior, with no 
white rimming. Vessel is slipped on interior and 
exterior, polished, then inverted on the ground over 
the smudging material, and fired in an oxidizing 
atmosphere. In vessels of Form 6, the slip on the 
exterior extends only to the groove below the thicken?
ing; blackening of the rim is probably the result of 
escaping smoke which deposited carbon on the rim 
before it was fully oxidized. 
Other. In Form 5, the blackened area is confined to 
the neck and about 2 cm. down on the body exterior; 
the technique is unknown, but perhaps the smudging 
material is placed directly against area to be black?
ened. Form 3 rims are white, exteriors black, and 
interiors clear buff; the technique is difficult to re?
construct but possibly the entire vessel is fired black, 
then buried in sand with the rim and interior exposed 
to a second, oxidizing, fire. 
REMARKS: N O pronounced chronological changes are 
observable within the type at Salinas La Blanca. How?
ever, Form 2 is more strongly represented in Cuadros 
levels, and Form 4 is confined to Jocotal. The sigmoid 
curve in linear pattern burnishing is a typical Jocotal 
motif. White rimming is found from the earliest Cuadros 
through the latest Jocotal, and continues into Conchas 1 
(Coe, 1961, pp. 70-73). 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: White-black differential firing 
has a wide distribution in time and space in southern 
Mesoamerica, and has been thoroughly discussed by 
Peterson (1963). Early occurrences of simple differential 
firing include Chiapa I (Dixon, 1959, p . 7), on vessels 
similar to Forms 1, 2, and 5, as well as Chiapa I I ; and 
Las Canoas, Tehuacan Valley (Peterson, 1963, p . 261). 
Early occurrences of white rimming of flat-bottomed 
bowls with outflaring sides are La Venta (Drucker, 
1952, p . 92), El Trapiche (Garcia Payon, 1950, pi. 9, 
in his "Periodo Antiguo"), and in the Early Santa Maria 
Phase in the Tehuacan Valley. At Chiapa de Corzo, 
the first true white-rimmed black ware does not appear 
until Chiapa V, or Late Formative, although there are 
earlier imitations (Warren, 1961). White rimming is 
unknown in south Guatemala except for Salinas La 
Blanca; the Cuadros Phase is probably one of its earliest 
known appearances. 
Red Monochrome Tradition 
O n e of the most persistent t radi t ions of the Pacific 
coastal Fo rma t ive was t h a t involving red m o n o c h r o m e 
ceramics . W e h a v e divided this t rad i t ion in to four 
po t te ry types wi th chronological significance. T w o 
of these types were originally defined in the L a 
Victor ia repor t , a n d two c a m e to l ight a t Sal inas L a 
Blanca. 
Whi le each of these four red po t t e ry types has 
cer ta in relat ionships to ceramics from o ther sites in 
southern Mesoamer ica , the t rad i t ion as a whole is 
no t as closely paral le led elsewhere as a re (for example) 
ou r incised whi te ware a n d black w a r e t radi t ions . 
Some of the Fo rma t ive sequences in o ther areas seem 
to lack ei ther the first half or the second half of the 
t radi t ion . A t Ocds every phase of the Fo rma t ive 
was character ized by its own pa r t i cu la r red m o n o ?
ch rome . 
T h e oldest type, Ocds Specular R e d , was well 
represented t h roughou t Oc6s levels a t L a Victor ia . 
T h e slip was thick a n d well burn ished , m a d e from a 
p i g m e n t conta in ing h igh concent ra t ions of crystall ine 
hema t i t e which p roduced a sparkl ing effect w h e n 
t u r n e d to the l ight (Coe, 1961, p . 51) . C o m m o n 
shapes were th in-wal led tecomates, d ishes, a n d simple 
si lhouette bowls. Resemblances can be seen to vessels 
36 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
of the Ajalpan Phase in the Tehuaca'n Valley, which 
sometimes had a specular hematite slip (MacNeish, 
1962, p . 38). Ocos Specular Red disappeared 
rapidly after the Ocos Phase, and was replaced during 
Cuadros times by Pacaya Red. 
Pacaya Red was also red slipped and polished, but 
the slip was no longer specular hematite (cf. the same 
change in Mapache Red-rimmed during and after 
the Ocos Phase). I t occurred in the form of tecomates, 
simple silhouette bowls (with less elaborate rims than 
Ocos Specular Red), and necked jars. Once again, 
resemblances can be seen to the Early Formative 
Ajalpan Phase at Tehuacan, which had tecomates 
"with a red wash over their whole bodies" (Mac?
Neish, 1962, pp. 37-38). Analogous types also ap?
peared in the Central Depression of Chiapas (Sanders, 
1961, p . 17). Pacaya Red was never very abundant 
during the Cuadros Phase; it reached its peak early 
in the Jocotal period, and during the Conchas 1 Sub-
phase it was totally replaced by Conchas Red Un?
burnished. 
Conchas Red Unburnished consisted mainly of very 
heavy, thick-walled tecomates and necked jars, which 
were coated with a drab, unburnished, red slip. 
It began as a rather minor type at the start of the 
Conchas 1 Subphase, but grew to be one of the most 
common pottery types present during Conchas 2, 
its period of greatest frequency. Wares analogous to 
Conchas Red Unburnished appeared in Middle 
Formative levels at La Venta, Kaminaljuyu, and 
Chiapa de Corzo (see Coe, 1961, p . 63). The type 
did not last beyond the Conchas Phase. 
Late in Conchas 2 there appeared a new type of 
vessel which Coe tentatively lumped within Conchas 
Red Unburnished. This was a small, very thin-
walled jar with a constricted orifice, a flask-shaped 
body, and an everted rim. At that time, Coe com?
mented: "Future investigators may be justified in 
creating a separate type from this kind of vessel. At 
any rate, it constitutes a rather distinct variety within 
Conchas Red Unburnished, recognizable by its 
thinness and hardness" (Coe, 1961, p . 64). Excava?
tions at Salinas La Blanca have now led us to regard 
this hard red pottery as a separate type, Mareas 
Coarse Red, because of its value as a horizon marker. 
Mareas Coarse Red thin-walled jars begin in Conchas 
2 and last well into the Late Formative Crucero 
Phase. Thus they differ from Conchas Red Burnished 
in their temporal distribution as well as in form and 
surface treatment. 
To recapitulate briefly: During the Early Form?
ative, polished specular hematite slipped tecomates 
give way to polished nonspecular tecomates. These 
are in turn replaced in the Middle Formative by 
unpolished, drab red-slipped tecomates. Thin, hard 
red-slipped jars appear in the last stages of the Middle 
Formative and constitute the only red monochrome 
during the Late Formative. 
Ocos Specular Red 
(Coe, 1961, figs. 17, 18, 19, a-1) 
See original definition in Coe (1961, pp. 51-53). Re?
stricted to the Ocos Phase. 
Pacaya Red 
(fig- 16) 
PASTE: Coiled construction is apparent in imperfectly 
smoothed coil junctures on the interiors. Features are 
generally the same as in Guamuchal Brushed. Cores 
are usually light to dark gray, light buff-brown where 
they are adjacent to red slipped surface. 
SURFACE: All have one surface completely slipped weak 
red (7.5 R. 4/4) and polished; the other surface is wiped 
smooth with the fingers when wet, and unpolished. 
Forms 1 and 2, exteriors are slipped, the slip extending 
over just inside the rim. Form 3 is slipped on the interior, 
Form 4 only on the exterior. 
FORMS : 
1. Necked jars (78 percent; fig. 16, c-h). The majority 
are high necked; the necks are slightly outcurved, or 
vertical, or slightly leaned-in and convex; rims are 
tapered and slightly rounded. Two examples (early 
Cuadros Phase) are low necked, the rims slightiy 
outcurved and thickened on the exterior to produce 
a comma-shaped profile. Form of the base is un?
known. Rim diameter 16?20 cm., mean 18 cm. 
Rim height 2.5-9.5 cm., mean 6.2 cm. Wall thick?
ness: necks 0.8-1.2 cm., mean 1.0 cm.; body 0.7-1.0 
cm., mean 0.8 cm. Maximum body diameter and 
height of vessel are unknown. 
2. Neckless globular jar (3 percent). One very frag?
mentary sherd with an unknown rim diameter, and 
body thickness of 1.0 cm. 
3. Flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides (13 percent; 
fig. 16, a). Two-thirds have slightly convex walls, 
the rims being tapered on one surface and flattened 
on the other. Rim diameter 20-35 cm., mean 30 
cm.; wall thickness 1.0-1.2 cm.; other dimensions are 
unknown. 
4. Cylindrical jars (6 percent; fig. 16, b). Known only 
from basal fragments. Basal diameter ca. 20 cm., wall 
thickness 0.8 cm. 
DECORATION: In Form 1, two sherds from the same low-
necked jar (fig. 16, h) have two horizontal grooves encir?
cling the neck; between them, postslip diagonal lines are 
incised in opposed, parallel pairs. Form 2, two hori?
zontal grooves are placed 0.8 and 2.5 cm. down from rim 
encircling the vessel. 
REMARKS : The red slip is the same as that on Tilapa Red-
on-white, and tiny sherds of the latter type may have been 
counted with Pacaya Red. Chronological differences 
within the type are a tendency for the slip of Jocotal 
Phase sherds to run to 10 R 4.5/5 and to be thinner, and 
for low-necked jars in Form 1 to appear mainly in the 
Cuadros Phase. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 37 
FIGURE 16.?Pacaya Red pottery, Cuadros and Jocotal Phases, a, Flat-bottomed bowl with outslanting sides, b, Basal sherd from 
cylindrical jar. c-h, Necked jars, h is of the Cuadros Phase, the rest are Jocotal. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL : Santa Cruz: Burrero Red of the 
Burrero Phase is possibly related (Form 3 shared), but 
the color of slip is slightly different (Sanders, 1961, p . 17). 
Conchas Red Unburnished 
(Coe, 1961, fig. 24, c-k) 
See original definition in Coe (1961, pp. 63-64). 
Restricted to Conchas 1 and 2. 
Mareas Coarse Red 
(see Coe, 1961, fig. 24, h) 
PASTE: Construction was possibly the lump method. The 
clay is bentonitic, with a medium texture. Reddish buff 
to brown in color, those with thicker walls having a 
dark-gray core. 
SURFACE : Roughly smoothed and unslipped. This pottery 
resembles Julain Coarse in surface treatment, but there 
are no finger swipes. The color varies from light buff to 
reddish brown (2.5 YR 4/4). 
FORM: Very small, thin-walled jars with restricted orifices. 
Rims are slightly everted and thickened. 
DIMENSIONS: Rim diameter 7-10 cm., mean 9 cm.; wall 
thickness 0.3-0.7 cm., mean 0.5 cm. Vessel height is not 
known. 
DECORATION: None. 
REMARKS: Mareas Coarse Red was described in the final 
report on La Victoria as "small jars, everted rims" of the 
Conchas Red Unburnished type (Coe, 1961, p . 64, and 
fig. 24, h), and ascribed to Conchas 2 and possibly to 
Crucero. We hereby set it up as a distinct type, differing 
in form and surface treatment from Conchas Red Unbur?
nished, and occurring in the Crucero Phase as well as in 
Conchas 2. 
Red and White Bichrome Tradition 
R e d a n d whi t e b i ch rome ceramics charac ter ized a 
n u m b e r of Format ive periods in lowland Mesoamer ?
ica, no tab ly C h i a p a I a n d I I (Dixon, 1959). Such 
bichromes, however, were absent from the initial 
stages of the Ear ly Fo rma t ive?the Ocos Phase , the 
Pa von Phase a t Panuco (MacNeish , 1954), a n d Ear ly 
Aja lpan (MacNeish , 1962, p p . 37-38) . T h e y seem 
to have m a d e their first appea rance du r ing the last 
half of t he Ear ly Format ive , a b o u t 1100 or 1200 B.C. 
T w o dist inct concepts seem to have been involved 
in the mak ing of red a n d whi te bichromes on the 
Pacific coast of G u a t e m a l a . O n e concept saw the 
red slip as decora t ion to be appl ied direct ly over the 
whi te slip, as in T i l a p a Red-on-whi t e (below). T h e 
o ther concept saw the red slip as something to be 
separa ted from the whi te slip by zoning, as in Conchas 
R e d - a n d - w h i t e (Coe, 1961, p . 74). I n the la t te r case, 
t he two colors were never appl ied one over the o ther . 
These two concepts have different t empora l distri?
but ions, as follows. 
T h e Ocos Phase was wi thou t b ichromes . Beginning 
in the Cuadros Phase a t Salinas L a Blanca, however , 
T i l a p a Red-on-whi te a p p e a r e d ; c o m m o n shapes were 
flat-bottomed bowls wi th outs lant ing sides, necked 
j a r s , and subglobular j a r s wi th restricted r ims. Deco?
ra t ion was by appl ica t ion of red slip over wh i t e slip, 
a n d this type of b ichrome actual ly reached its highest 
frequency in the Joco ta l Phase . 
After the s tar t of t he Conchas Phase , T i l a p a R e d -
on-whi te was r a the r rapid ly replaced by Conchas 
Red-and-whi t e , a b i ch rome tha t featured zoned sep?
ara t ion of red a n d whi te slipped areas . Conchas 
Red -and -wh i t e consisted of bo th heavy tecomates a n d 
small tecomates, flat-based bowls or dishes, a n d cuspi?
dors (Coe, 1961, p p . 73-75) . R e a c h i n g its peak in 
the Conchas 2 Subphase , this zoned b ich rome lasted 
38 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
into the Crucero Phase in approximately the same 
vessel forms?tecomates and bowls with outslanting 
sides. 
During the Conchas 2 Subphase a new bichrome, 
Conchas Fine Red-on-Cream, made its only appear?
ance in the Formative sequence (Coe, 1961, pp. 8 1 -
82). This type was produced by the application of 
red slip directly over cream slip, as in Tilapa Red-on-
white, but its paste and temper were much finer than 
the latter. Coe (1961, p . 81) reported it to be "in?
distinguishable and, in practice, unsortable, from the 
fine red-on-cream pottery of the Las Charcas Phase 
in the Valley of Guatemala." 
To recapitulate: The later stages of the Early Form?
ative saw a use of red over white pottery, while the 
Middle Formative villages produced zoned red-and-
white bichrome. In the late Middle Formative, a 
new and finer red over cream pottery, affiliated with 
Las Charcas, made its brief but distinctive appearance. 
The relationship of these three types is shown in 
figure 8. 
Tilapa Red-on-white 
(figs. 17-19; pi. 13) 
PASTE: Typically bentonitic, like Guamuchal Brushed. 
Coiled construction, with a few cases of imperfectly 
obliterated coils. The color is light buff near the surface, 
the core usually light gray to dark. 
SURFACE : 
1. White slip on the interior, and over lip 2-3 cm. 
below the rim exterior; this is thin and uneven, and 
appears to have been applied with a rag. A red 
decorative slip is added, then the entire slipped area 
is roughly polished; the rest of the vessel is unslipped, 
and roughly smoothed with a scraper. 
2. Extremely thin, uneven, white slip extending from 
just inside the rim down the exterior to the tangent 
point on the side of body, the body paste color often 
showing through. Interiors are unslipped, wiped 
smooth with fingers while wet. 
3. Somewhat thicker white slip, applied over the entire 
exterior surface and 2-3 cm. over the inside of the 
rim. After red slip was added for decoration, all 
slipped surfaces were polished. 
4. Interiors slipped white from the tops of rims, the 
exteriors left rough; red slip along on top of the rim. 
All slipped surfaces were polished. 
5. About one-half of the vessels have interiors slipped 
white and exteriors left rough; one-half have the 
reverse treatment. Slipped areas were roughly 
polished. 
6. White slip usually on the interior as well as exterior; 
all slipped areas were roughly polished after red slip 
decoration was added. 
7. Extremely thin white slip or wash on the interior, 
the exterior being rough and unslipped; no polishing. 
FIGURE 17.?Tilapa Red-on-white flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides, Cuadros Phase, a, Rim interior with triple-line-break 
motif carried out by excising through the red slip, b, Reconstruction. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 39 
FIGURE 18.?Tilapa Red-on-white pottery, Cuadros Phase, a, b, Flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides, c-e, Tecomates. f, h, Necks 
from jars, g, i, j , Bowls with thickened rim. 
40 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
J 5 cm 
FIGURE 19.?Tilapa Red-on-white pottery, Cuadros Phase, a, b, d, Deep, unrestricted orifice bowls, c, Subglobular jar. 
FORM: 
1. Flat bottomed bowls with outslanting sides (40 percent of 
total; figs. 17, 18, a, b). Rims are direct, rounded to 
squarish, with occasionally a slightly thickened ex?
terior. R im diameters 33-40 cm., mean 36 cm. 
Height 6.6-9.0 cm., mean 7.6 cm. Body thickness 
of walls, 0.7-1.1 cm., mean 0.9 cm.; of bases, 0.6-0.9 
cm., mean 0.7 cm. 
2. Necked jars (31 percent; fig. 18, / , h; pi. 13, e, g, i). 
Necks are straight to slightly concave, with direct rims 
which are rounded to slightly squared. The form of 
the base is unknown. Bodies are somewhat squat. 
R im diameters 13-14 cm., maximum body diameter 
36 cm. 
3. Neckless globular jars (5 percent; fig. 18, c-e). Teco?
mates, one group being quite thin and the other being 
thick; three sherds of the heavy group have a rim 
form like Guamuchal Brushed. The form of the base 
is unknown. Dimensions of heavy group: inner rim 
diameters 18-22 cm., mean 20 cm., body thickness 
0.6-1.0 cm., mean 0.9 cm. Thin group: rim diameter 
8 cm., body thickness 0.4 cm. 
4. Bowls with thickened rims (3 percent; fig. 18, g, i,j). 
Wide bowls with slightly convex sides, restricted rims 
which are heavily bolstered on the rim exterior. 
Form of base is unknown. Inner rim diameters 
24-42 cm., mean 34 cm. Body thickness 0.8-0.9 
cm., mean 0.8 cm. Height unknown. 
5. Subglobular jars (14 percent; fig. 19, c). Squat jars 
with convex sides, restricted rims which are tapered 
to rounded and only slightly thickened above an 
exterior groove encircling rim. The form of base is 
unknown. Inner rim diameter is 21-27 cm., mean 
25 cm. Maximum body diameter 28-31 cm., mean 
30 cm. Body thickness 0.7-1.0 cm., mean 0.8 cm. 
Height unknown. 
6. Deep, unrestricted bowls (5 percent; fig. 19, d). Vase?
like bowls with flat bases; walls are slightly convex 
to straight to slightly concave. Rims are direct, 
somewhat tapered, and rounded. R im diameter 
18-32 cm., mean 25 cm. Body thickness 0.9-1.0 cm., 
mean 1.0 cm. The height is unknown, but probably 
greater than 15 cm. 
7. Small, hemispherical bowl (1 percent). Single ex?
ample of a crudely made, simple, open bowl. R im 
diameter 9 cm., height 2.0 cm. 
DECORATION: All vessels have decoration in weak red 
(7.5 R 4/4) on a white background. T h e usual modes 
include red painted bands encircling rims and opposed 
diagonal bands in red on the sides. T h e bands, and 
bloblike forms associated with them, appear to have 
been applied rapidly and carelessly. Other decorative 
features are excising of the red band around the r im 
interior to produce a "triple-line break" design (on a 
Form 1 vessel from a deep Cuadros level; fig. 17, a); 
plain, bold, rocker stamping, on two necks and a body 
sherd of Form 2 (fig. 18, h; pi. 13, e, g, i); indented line 
burnishing, on the exterior of a vessel of Form 4 ; and 
punctation, usually linear (Forms 5 and 6). 
REMARKS: N O discernible chronological changes within type. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: Chiapa de Corzo: Chiapa I 
(Pit 50) Phase, red-and-white bichrome sherds appear 
very similar to this type (Dixon, 1959, pp . 12-16), but 
the high frequency of bowls with everted or exteriorly 
thickened rims is not met with in Tilapa Red-on-white; 
Chiapa I I (Pit 38) also has red-and-white bichrome, 
restricted convex-walled jars like Form 5 (Dixon, 1959, 
fig. 41). Kaminaljuyu: Arevalo Phase (Lot C-100-a, 
Museo Nacional de Arqueologia y Etnologia, Guatemala 
City) has tecomates similar to Form 3 with red rims on 
white background; Las Charcas Phase (Shook, 1951, 
fig. 1) also has red-on-white pottery, but it resembles 
Conchas Fine Red-on-cream (Coe, 1961, pp . 81-82) 
rather than Tilapa Red-on-white. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 41 
7 
7 
_i I 5 cm 
FIGURE 20.?Conchas Red-and-white pottery, late Jocotal Phase. 
e, g, h, Neckless 
Conchas Red-and-white 
(fig. 20; Coe 1961, figs. 34, 35, a-h) 
This type was originally described by Coe (1961, pp. 
73-75) on the basis of sherds from La Victoria. This new 
definition, based on sherds from late Jocotal deposits at 
Salinas La Blanca, concerns itself only with the forms 
present at the latter site. 
PASTE: Bentonitic and relatively coarse. Coiled construc?
tion is indicated by one example which has an imperfectly 
smoothed coil juncture. Light brown to reddish brown 
in color, with dark-gray cores. 
SURFACE : White slipped on one or both surfaces, with red 
(10 R 4/6) slip applied next to the white slip. All slipped 
surfaces are polished. Form 1, slipped on exterior and 
lip only; Form 2, most are slipped on the exterior alone, 
one on both surfaces; Form 3, on the exterior only; Form 
4, on the interior and rim only. Unslipped surfaces were 
wiped with the fingers or roughly scraped. 
FORM: 
1. Restricted orifice jars (19 percent; fig. 20, a, b). Vessels 
with restricted orifices, with rims which are flattened 
to roundish on the upper surfaces and thickened on 
the exterior. One vessel has a recurving of the walls 
a, b, Restricted orifice jars, c, d, f, Bowls with outslanting sides, 
globular jars. 
to produce a pseudoneck. Walls are relatively thick; 
the form of the base is unknown. Inner rim diameter 
ca. 30 cm.; wall thickness 1.0-2.0 cm., mean 1.6 cm. 
2. Bowls with outslanting sides (50 percent; fig. 20, c, d, f). 
Walls are usually slightly outflaring and rims often 
slightiy thickened on the exterior. The form of the 
base is unknown but probably flat. Rim diameter 
is about 40 cm.; height unknown; wall thickness 
0.8-1.0 cm., mean 0.9 cm. 
3. Neckless globular jars (25 percent; fig. 20, e, g, h). 
Tecomates with rounded rims which are slightiy 
tapered. The basal form is unknown. Wall thick?
ness 0.7-0.8 cm., mean 0.7 cm. 
4. Small bowl, constricted orifice (6 percent). The rim is 
direct and rounded; the form of the base is unknown. 
Maximum diameter 18 cm., inner rim diameter 14 
cm., wall thickness 0.7 cm. 
DECORATION: Form 1, red slip applied on the upper part 
of the rim; one exterior has spaced, vertical, engraved 
lines. Form 3, red slip on the rim exterior, contained 
by a horizontal grooved line. Form 4, red slip along 
the rim, two sherds having red stripes on the body. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: See Coe, 1961, p . 75. 
42 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY 
Conchas Fine Red-on-cream Conchas White-to-buff 
VOLUME 3 
(Coe, 1961, fig. 36, g-k) 
See definition in Coe (1961, pp. 81-82). Restricted to 
Conchas 2. 
Incised White Ware Tradition 
Strong resemblances are seen between the Guate?
malan coast and the Grijalva Depression, gulf coast, 
and Tehuacan Valley in the way in which the incised 
white ware tradition made its appearance and ran its 
course. Further similarities exist in the types of white 
pottery involved, and the order of their succession. 
Two major types of white monochrome (and two 
or three minor types) were involved in this tradition 
in southern Mesoamerica. The first of the two major 
types featured a soft, yellowish-white slip, over a 
crumbly buff or orange paste with a dark core; it 
occurred mainly as flat-based bowls decorated with 
incised lines, although there were many minor shapes. 
Analogous types would include Conchas White-to-
buff (on the Guatemalan coast), Canoas White (in 
the Tehuacan Valley), El Trapiche I I white (on 
the gulf coast) and Chiapa de Corzo I I white mono?
chrome (Dixon, 1959). The second of the two major 
types featured a slick white slip, over a hard fired 
paste (usually gray) with much finer temper. Analo?
gous types would include Conchas Fine White-to-
buff (on the Guatemalan coast), Coatepec White 
(in the Tehuaca'n Valley), Chi la White (on the 
northern gulf coast), and some of the Monte Alban 
I white wares, notably Bernal's " C 5 " type. The 
distribution in time of these two major wares over?
lapped, but the soft yellow-white type began and 
reached its peak earlier?usually at the outset of the 
Middle Formative, rather than the later stages of 
that period. 
Minor white wares, of sporadic occurrence, in?
cluded (1) vessels which were "white-clear-through," 
including pure white paste, found in the Santa Maria 
Phase in the Tehuacan Valley, at Salinas La Blanca, 
and at Chalahuites, Veracruz; and (2) a variety of 
other fine white wares, some with pumice or sand 
temper. Most of these appeared in the Middle 
Formative and lasted for only a brief interval (our 
observations are based on examination of sherd 
collections from all the sites mentioned above). 
By Late Formative times the incised white mono?
chrome tradition had essentially run its course. A 
few of the slick surfaced gray-paste white wares lasted 
on as a small part of the ceramic assemblage in certain 
areas. In other areas they were totally abandoned 
in favor of reduction-fired gray or black wares, 
cloudy reds and oranges, and resist painted types. 
(fig. 21; Coe, 1961, figs. 25-27) 
This type was originally defined in the La Victoria report 
(Coe, 1961, pp. 64-69), and only the shapes occurring 
during the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases will be dealt with 
here. The excavations at Salinas La Blanca did little to 
expand our knowledge of the type except with regard to its 
temporal distribution. We now know that Conchas 
White-to-buff began just before the end of the Cuadros 
Phase, about 1000-900 B.C., increased in frequency during 
Jocotal times, and reached its maximum popularity during 
the Conchas Phase, for which it was one of the "hallmarks" 
(Coe, 1961, p. 61). It disappeared rapidly after Conchas 2. 
Conchas White-to-buff is the earlier of the two major 
incised white wares referred to in the Introduction. During 
late Cuadros and Jocotal times it consisted mainly of flat-
bottomed bowls with outslanting sides, a form which con?
tinued into the Conchas Phase. Jocotal examples, how?
ever, lack the "fish-scale" effect seen on the surface of 
Conchas bowls (from minute, pearly-white flecks of mica), 
and they usually lack an exterior slip. They already ex?
hibit the smudging and "double-line-break" incising of 
Conchas Phase specimens. 
PASTE: Bentonitic, like Guamuchal Brushed. Coiled con?
struction was used, with imperfectly smoothed coil joints 
visible on some sherds. The color is light buff to reddish 
brown, often with light to dark-gray thin cores. 
SURFACE : A thin, streaky white slip was applied to one or 
both surfaces. Slips are always polished, and fire from 
white to a reddish buff. Unslipped surfaces are generally 
scraped, and fairly coarse. Form 1 usually is slipped on 
the interior only, the rest on exterior only, with the excep?
tion of Forms 3, 5, and 7 which are slipped on both 
surfaces. A minority of Form 1 bowls also are slipped 
on both surfaces. Later Conchas examples are completely 
slipped in this manner. 
FORM (during Cuadros and Jocotal Phases): 
1. Flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides (63 percent; 
fig. 21, a-g). Sides are outflaring or straight or 
slightly convex; rims are generally rounded but some 
are tapered to a point (in section), while some are 
squarish rounded. Rim diameter 25-44 cm., mean 
33 cm.; height 6.5-8.0 cm., mean 7.3 cm.; wall 
thickness 0.7-1.0 cm., mean 0.9 cm. 
2. Deep bowls with convex sides, restricted orifice (18 percent; 
fig. 21, j-n). Rather barrel shaped in outline, the 
rims being tapered rounded and bases flat. Rim 
diameter 10-28 cm., mean 15 cm.; wall thickness 
0.5-0.8 cm., mean 0.7 cm.; height unknown. 
3. Deep bowls with thickened and everted rims (4 percent; 
fig. 21, h, i). Sides are convex, vessels are slightly 
constricted at the orifice to almost vertical walled. 
Thickened rims are everted to a tapered rounded lip. 
Form of base is unknown. Rim diameter (exterior) 
28-41 cm., mean 35 cm.; wall thickness 0.7-0.9 cm., 
mean 0.8 cm.; height unknown. 
4. Neckless globular jar (2 percent, two sherds probably 
from same tecomate; fig. 21, o). The rim is swollen 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 43 
FIGURE 21 ?Conchas White-to-buff pottery, Cuadros and Jocotal Phases, a-g, Flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides, h, i, Deep 
bowls with thickened and everted rims, j-n, Deep bowls with convex sides and restricted orifice, p, Fragment of necked jar with 
double line-break motif incised on the exterior, o, Tecomate. q, Restricted bowl, r, Deep bowl with interiorly thickened rim. h, i, 
k-o, are Cuadros Phase, the rest are Jocotal. 
44 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
above a slight depression encircling the wall exterior, 
and is tapered to a Gothic arch profile. Form of base 
is unknown. Inner r im diameter 15 cm., wall 
thickness 0.8 cm. 
5. Restricted orifice bowls (4 percent; fig. 21, q). Low 
squat bowls with constricted orifices and relatively 
thick walls; rims are rounded to squared; there is a 
broad groove along the r im or below it on most 
vessels; basal form is unknown. Rim diameter (one 
sherd) 32 cm.; wall thickness 0.9-1.1 cm., mean 1.0 
cm. 
6. Necked jars (5 percent; fig. 21, p). Too fragmentary 
for measurement. 
7. Deep bowls with interiorly thickened rims (2 percent; 
fig. 21, r). Very deep vessels with outslanting walls 
and slight rim eversion; form of the base is unknown. 
One sherd from a very large bowl has a rim diameter 
of ca. 50 cm.; height at least 16 cm.; wall thickness 
0.9-1.1 cm. 
8. Bowls with exteriorly thickened rims (2 percent). Sides 
are convex, the orifice is restricted to open, and rims 
are thickened and somewhat flat on top; form of the 
base is unknown. R im diameter ca. 34-40 cm., wall 
thickness 1.0?1.1 cm., height unknown. 
DECORATION : Restricted to incising and negative smudging. 
The distribution of the former is as follows. Form 1, 
about 20 percent have one or two parallel lines incised 
after slipping just inside the rim and encircling the vessel; 
one sherd (fig. 21, a) shows that this was the double-
line-break motif; a small number of sherds have hori?
zontal lines incised on the exterior. Form 2, most have 
incising of straight or curved lines on the exterior. Form 
3, two sherds have widely spaced diagonal lines on 
exterior just below the neck. Negative smudging is the 
same as that described for vessels of the Conchas Phase 
(Coe, 1961, p. 61), present on only two small body 
sherds. One (Cuadros Phase) has light smudging in a 
rectilinear pattern; the other (late Jocotal) has smudging 
contained between incised lines. 
REMARKS: Forms 3 and 4 are purely Cuadros Phase. In 
Form 2, thinner undecorated vessels belong to Cuadros, 
the rest to Jocotal. Beginning in Jocotal are Forms 1, 
5, 6, 7, 8; Forms 1, 5, 6, 7 start late in the phase. The 
double-line-break motif begins in Jocotal, and continues 
into the Conchas Phase. For a list of forms occurring in 
the Conchas Phase, see Coe, 1961, pp. 65-69. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL : This type is virtually identical to 
the white monochromes of late Chiapa I -Chiapa I I 
(Dixon, 1959, fig. 3, pp. 11, 27-28), Canoas White in the 
Tehuacan Valley (MacNeish, Peterson, and Flannery, 
unpublished data) , La Venta "Coarse Paste Buff W a r e " 
(collections in the U.S. National Museum), El Trapiche 
I I white ware (collections of the R. S. Peabody Tehuacan 
project), and a number of contemporary southern Meso-
american white ceramic types (see Coe, 1961, pp. 64?65). 
Conchas Fine White-to-buff 
(Coe, 1961, fig. 36, a-f) 
The second "major type" of incised white ware mentioned 
in the Introduction appeared in the Conchas 2 Subphase of 
the Guatemalan coastal sequence. Conchas Fine W h i t e ' ^ ' 
buff has already been described (Coe, 1961, pp . 8 0 ~ 8 1 J ' 
and we will simply repeat here that it is a hard-fired, 
burnished white pottery made on a fine gray paste, analo?
gous to the fine white monochromes of the Las Charcas 
Phase (Kaminaljuyu), Coatepec White in the Tehuacan 
Valley (MacNeish, Peterson, and Flannery, unpublished 
field notes), and some of the Monte Alban I white sherds 
(collections of the Frissell Museum in Mit la) . All these 
white wares existed at about 500-200 B.C. 
Minor white wares, occurring sporadically in the Jocotal 
Phase, include Temblor White and California White, 
described below, and "white-clear-through" pottery, de?
scribed with the rest of the rare or unclassifiable sherds. 
Temblor White 
(fig. 22), Rare 
PASTE : Bentonitic, but much finer than Conchas White-to-
buff. Light brown in color (7.5 Y R 5/4), usually with a 
narrow, light- to dark-gray core. 
SURFACE: Exteriors are slipped white and lightly polished. 
The slip is thin, often almost worn from the surface of 
sherds. Interiors are unslipped and wiped smooth with 
fingers or scraped. 
FORM: 
1. Deep bowls with convex sides, restricted orifice (88 percent; 
fig. 22, a-f). Rather barrel shaped in outline, the 
bases being flat, with rims tapered rounded to 
pointed in section. Rim diameter 18-27 cm., average 
23 cm. Wall thickness 0.5-0.8 cm., average 0.7 cm. 
The height is unknown. 
2. Bowls with outslanting sides (6 percent, fig. 22, h). The 
rim is tapered rounded, the base presumably flat. 
Rim diameter 28 cm.; wall thickness 0.7 cm. 
3. Complex-silhouette jar (6 percent, fig. 22, g). A jar 
with a constricted waist, the r im and base shape 
being unknown. Maximum diameter of lower body 
14 cm.; wall thickness 0.5-0.9 cm. 
DECORATION : Most sherds have postslip incising in straight 
lines, sometimes in combination with excising in linear 
patterns. 
REMARKS: Found in the uppermost levels of the site, and 
ascribed to the late Jocotal Phase on admittedly incon?
clusive evidence; at least one sherd occurred in two 
definitely pre-Crucero levels. 
California White 
(fig. 23), Rare 
PASTE: Bentonitic, but pumice fragments are abundant in 
comparison to other pottery types. The color varies from 
light gray to reddish buff; cores are usually present, and 
are light to dark gray. 
SURFACE: There is a rather thick, smooth white slip on 
one or both surfaces, mottled rusty-brown in places, and 
well polished. Form 1 is slipped on the interior only, 
Form 2 on the exterior only. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 45 
J 
FIGURE 22.?Temblor White pottery, Jocotal Phase, a-f, Deep bowls with convex sides and restricted orifice, g, Complex-silhouette 
jar. h, Bowls with outslanting sides. 
FORM: 
1. Flat bottomed bowl with outslanting sides (Four sherds 
only; fig. 23, a, b). Sides are somewhat outflaring, 
the rims squared, or tapered on the interior and 
rounded. Rim diameter ca. 38 cm.; wall thickness 
0.7-1.4 cm.; height 7.0 cm. 
2. Necked jar (? One very doubtful sherd). 
3. Restricted orifice bowls (? Two doubtful sherds; fig. 
23, c). 
DECORATION : One sherd, probably of Form 1, has postslip 
incising, in a design of parallel vertical lines bordered by 
a row of connected arcs (fig. 23, b). 
REMARKS: Probably terminal Jocotal. California White 
differs from other white-slipped types at the site prin?
cipally in the high frequency of pumice fragments in the 
paste, probably indicating exploitation of a separate clay 
bed. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL : At Chiapa de Corzo a decorative 
motif like that on a Form 1 sherd is known on white 
monochrome of the Chiapa I I Phase (Dixon, 1959, figs. 
2 4 / , 31 b, 34 a). At Chalcatzingo (Morelos), same motif 
incised on white monochrome (Pina Chan, 1955, pi. 7, d). 
J 5 cm 
FIGURE 23.?California White pottery, Jocotal Phase, a, b, Flat-
bottomed bowls with outslanting sides, c, Restricted-orifice bowl. 
46 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
Incised Gray Monochrome Tradition 
Oc6s Gray 
(fig. 24; Coe, 1961, fig. 30, h -m) 
Ocos Gray was originally defined in the La Victoria 
monograph (Coe, 1961, pp. 55-56). It is now in serious 
need of revision, and the following redefinition takes 
precedence over the La Victoria report. The title is per?
haps not very appropriate, for the type does not actually 
occur in the Ocos Phase; nevertheless, we have preserved 
it, rather than burdening the literature with yet another 
name, and have redefined its temporal distribution. 
We have now critically reexamined sherds of so-called 
"Ocos Gray" from Oc6s Phase levels in the type collections 
in the U.S. National Museum. We are convinced that 
these few sherds of "gray ware" from the Ocos strata?all 
of them sherds of thin walled tecomates with zoned dentate, 
shell edge, or shellback rocker stamping, cord marking, 
etc.?were merely offcolor examples of Ocos Black. The 
latter type was rich in sherds of this very kind (Coe, 1961, 
p . 55). Thus the Oc6s Phase resembles Ajalpan, Pavon, 
and other phases from the beginning of the Early Formative, 
in its lack of incised gray monochrome ceramics. 
I t was not until the Jocotal Phase that true gray ware 
made its appearance, and most of its lifespan was spent in 
the Middle Formative Conchas Phase. A similar tem?
poral distribution is seen at Chiapa de Corzo. In this 
respect, Chiapas and the Guatemalan coast differ from the 
Valleys of Oaxaca and Tehuacan; in the latter areas, 
incised gray ware went on to be the dominant Late Forma?
tive ceramic. On the Guatemalan coast, Ocos Gray began 
late in the Early Formative and had essentially run its 
course by Late Formative times, at which point it was 
swamped by the oranges and streaky brown-blacks of the 
Maya-Kaminaljuyu tradition. 
During the Jocotal Phase, Ocos Gray appeared in the 
form of flat-based bowls, necked and collared jars , and 
barrel-shaped or cylindrical jars . T h e simple bowls, 
necked jars, and cylinders continued into the Conchas 
Phase; new shapes of that period included thick-walled 
tecomates and bowls with eccentric tabs on their rims. All 
these shapes occurred in contemporary vessels of Rio Salado 
Gray during the early Santa Mar ia Phase in the Tehuacan 
Valley (MacNeish, Peterson, and Flannery, unpublished 
field notes). 
PASTE: Bentonitic, rather finer than the usual Cuadros or 
Jocotal paste, with prominent hornblende inclusions; 
occasional casts of grass leaves or stems are visible. 
Generally light gray in color, sometimes with darker gray 
core, this paste tends to be darker near the interior sur?
faces of restricted vessels. I t is usually extremely hard, 
giving off a metallic ring when struck. 
SURFACE: Wiped with a thin slip on one surface only, the 
slipped area being carefully polished. T h e slip fires a 
streaky gray, blending into blackish or white streaks. 
Unslipped surfaces were smoothed with the fingers and/ 
or a rag, and are usually a uniform gray in color. Form 
1 interiors are slipped, the slip having been allowed to 
dribble down the exterior where it fires white. Form 3 
and 4 exteriors only are slipped. 
FORM (during the Jocotal Phase): 
1. Flat bottomed bowls with outslanting sides (66 percent; 
fig. 24, a-d). Sides are somewhat convex to slightly 
outcurved and rims are rounded, tapered rounded, 
or pointed in profile. R im diameter 18-38 cm., mean 
28 cm. Wall thickness 0.5-0.9 cm., mean 0.7 cm. 
The height of one vessel is 10.2 cm. 
2. Necked jars (9 percent). T h e necks are missing 
from the sherds, but are probably vertical. Walls 
0.7-1.0 cm. thick, mean 0.8 cm. The form of the 
base and total height are unknown. 
FIGURE 24.?Ocos Gray pottery, Jocotal Phase, a-d, Flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides, e-g, Deep bowls with convex sides 
and restricted orifice, h, Collared jars. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 47 
3. Collared jars (9 percent; fig. 24, h). Restricted 
orifice jars with low necks or collars, producing a 
complex profile. Rims are tapered rounded to 
pointed. The form of the base is unknown. Rim 
diameter 11-14 cm., mean 13 cm. Maximum body 
diameter 12-15 cm., mean 14 cm. Wall thickness 
0.3-0.7 cm., mean 0.5 cm. 
4. Deep bowls with convex sides, restricted orifice (16 
percent; fig. 24, e-g). Somewhat barrel shaped, 
flat bottomed vases, which are thin walled; rims are 
tapered squarish to tapered pointed. Rim diameter 
9-14 cm., mean 12 cm. Maximum body diameter 
12-16 cm., mean 14 cm. Wall thickness 0.4-0.5 cm., 
mean 0.5 cm. The height is unknown. 
For forms in use during the Conchas Phase, see Coe, 1961, 
p. 73. 
DECORATION: Rather sparse during the Jocotal Phase. 
Form 4, 40 percent of the sherds have incising on the 
exterior, in straight lines producing a geometric design. 
During the Conchas Phase, postslip incising with ' 'double-
line-break" motifs is common (Coe, 1961, p. 73). 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: Rio Salado Gray, a horizon 
marker for the Santa Maria Phase in the Tehuacan 
Valley, shows many similarities in shape and incising. 
Some Monte Albdn I sherds in the collections of the 
Frissell Museum also seem to be related to Conchas 2 
examples, especially the open bowls with scalloped rims 
or rims with eccentric tabs (Coe, 1961, p. 73). 
Zoned Red-on-buff Pottery 
Conchas Red-on-Buff was originally defined in the 
La Victoria report (Coe, 1961, pp. 75-76), and our 
description here merely expands its distribution in 
time. Zoned red-on-buff ceramics first appeared 
in the Jocotal Phase (850-800 B.C. ?) and achieved 
their greatest variety and popularity during Conchas 
times. They seem to have disappeared rapidly at the 
end of Conchas 2. Jocotal specimens consist of a 
handful of sherds from globular jars; during the 
Conchas Phase, however, not only globular or sub?
globular jars but also flat-based dishes and bowls had 
zoned decoration over an unslipped buff background. 
Red-on-buff pottery was widespread during the 
Middle Formative from the Valley of Mexico to 
Playa de los Muertos, Honduras. El Trapiche I I 
zoned red-on-buff bowls were identical to Conchas 
examples (Coe, 1961, p . 76). Red-on-buff sherds 
were less common at Tehuaca'n, but their temporal 
distribution was identical to that on the Guatemalan 
coast?they appeared late in the Early Formative and 
continued throughout the Middle Formative (Mac?
Neish, Peterson, and Flannery, unpublished field 
notes). 
Conchas Red-on-buff 
(pi. 18, a-c; Coe, 1961, fig. 33, d-p) 
PASTE: Bentonitic, but relatively fine. The color is light 
brown to reddish brown, most sherds with dark-gray to 
black cores. 
SURFACE: Slipped red (10 R 4/6-4/4) in zones on exterior, 
the slipped areas being polished, the rest matte smoothed. 
Interiors are unslipped, and wiped with the fingers. 
FORMS : Sherds from globular jars, but since rims are lacking 
it is not known whether they were necked or neckless. 
Walls of jars are quite thin, 0.6-0.9 cm., mean 0.7 cm. 
DECORATION: Red slipped zones in curvilinear patterns 
separated from unslipped, matte areas by postslip incised 
lines. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: See Coe, 1961, p. 76. 
Orange Monochrome and Bichrome Traditions 
At about 500 or 400 B.C., halfway through the 
Middle Formative, orange monochrome ceramics first 
seem to have arisen in the Chiapas-southern Guate?
malan area. They seem to have appeared fairly 
simultaneously in the Conchas 2 Subphase at La 
Victoria (Coe, 1961, p . 62) and in the Chiapa I I I 
period in the Grijalva Depression (Warren, 1961, p . 
78). The thick orange slip was often crazed or 
crackly, and in some cases bore negative painting of 
"Usuluta'n" type. Resist painting increased with 
time, becoming more frequent during the Crucero 
Phase?Chiapa V period, ca. A.D. 1. About this 
time, orange wares decorated with red paint also 
appeared. 
Three pottery types were originally set up by Coe 
in 1961 to describe this sequence of events, and the 
excavations at Salinas La Blanca indicate they are 
still valid. Conchas Orange began at the start of the 
Conchas 2 Subphase, in the form of composite silhou?
ette bowls, cuspidors, cylinders, dishes with wide 
everted rims or labial ridges, and necked jars. During 
the succeeding Crucero Phase the composite silhou?
ette bowls continued, and some had " S " or "Z-angle" 
rims. More of these vessels, some decorated with 
Usuluta'n resist painting, were recovered from Crucero 
Phase levels at Salinas La Blanca. 
Another orange monochrome, Rio Blanco Orange, 
was found in Conchas 2 levels at La Victoria (Coe, 
1961, pp. 79-80). I t may be a trade ware from the 
Guatemalan highlands. 
During the Late Formative Crucero Phase, a 
bichrome?Crucero Red-on-orange?was also manu?
factured. In many respects it resembles "Conchas 
Orange with the application of red slip areas" 
(Coe, 1961, p . 85), but its different temporal distri?
bution makes it a useful horizon marker. Crucero 
Red-on-orange resembles a number of Late Formative 
pottery types from highland and lowland Chiapas and 
Guatemala (see Coe, 1961, p . 86). It had occasional 
Usuluta'n resist decoration, and its forms included 
simple silhouette and composite silhouette bowls, some 
48 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
w i t h S-Z angle r ims a n d lab ia l flanges. All these 
t ra i t s cha rac te r i ze t he L a t e F o r m a t i v e of the M a y a 
a r ea . 
Conchas Orange 
(fig. 25, a-h;pi. 20, k; Coe, 1961, figs. 31, 32) 
This type has already been defined in Coe, 1961, pp. 
76-79. Only the forms present in Crucero Phase pits at 
Salinas La Blanca will be discussed here. 
PASTE: Typically bentonitic in origin, untempered (see 
Appendix 5). The texture is very fine. The color toward 
the surfaces is very light buff to reddish brown, with light 
to medium gray cores. 
SURFACE: All surfaces are coated with a thick, extremely 
fine, cream colored slip which fires to orange (usually 2.5 
YR 6/6, light red) on the surface. I t was finely polished 
after slipping. Under magnification, the slip appears 
crackly. Samples which were burned in ancient fires 
had been altered to a mottled dirty-yellow and black. 
FORM (during the Crucero Phase): 
1. Composite silhouette bowls, vertical sides (6 percent; fig. 
25, d). Same as Form 5, Conchas Streaky Brown-
black. Bases are dimpled. Rim diameter 22 cm. 
Height 7.1 cm. Wall thickness 0.6-0.8 cm., mean 0.7 
cm. 
2. Composite silhouette bowls, outslanting sides (18 percent). 
Upper walls are straight to slightly outflaring; hori?
zontal grooves usually encircle the vessel at the angle 
where the walls meet the lower body, or sometimes 
there is scalloped thickening. Form of rim, base 
unknown. Dimensions are probably same as Form 
1. Wall thickness 0.5-0.6 cm., mean 0.6 cm. 
3. Composite silhouette bowls, restricted (9 percent; fig. 25, 
a, b). Shallow bowls with insloping upper walls and 
pronounced thickening of the angle ("Z-angle") 
where they meet the lower body. Rims are tapered 
rounded. There is a small decorative "hand le , " un-
pierced, on one example, extending from the rim to 
the angle. R im diameter 21-28 cm., mean 25 cm. 
Height is unknown. The wall thickness is highly 
variable on individual vessels. 
4. Composite silhouette bowls, everted rim (9 percent). 
Sides are outslanting and sometimes flaring, rims 
strongly everted. The form of the base is unknown. 
Rim diameter ca. 19 cm. Wall thickness varies from 
0.3-0.9 cm. on each vessel. 
5. Cylindrical jars (33 percent; fig. 25, c,f). Deep jars 
or vases with vertical sides. Rims are tapered 
rounded, bases flat. Horizontal grooves are typical. 
R im diameter 16 cm. Height 16 cm. Wall thick?
ness 0.6-0.7 cm. 
6. Bowls or jars with outflaring sides (15 percent; fig. 25, 
g, h). Sides are strongly outcurved near the rim. 
The form of the base is unknown. R i m diameter 
22 cm. Wall thickness 0.3-0.6 cm., mean 0.5 cm. 
7. Simple open bowls (10 percent; fig. 25, e). Convex 
sided vessels, the form of base being unknown. Rim 
diameter 22 cm. Wall thickness 0.8 cm. 
J 
FIGURE 25.?Conchas Orange pottery, Crucero Phase, a, b, Composite silhouette bowls, restricted orifice, c, f, Cylindrical jar. d 
Composite silhouette bowl with vertical sides, e, Simple bowl, g, h, Bowls or jars with outflaring sides. Usulutan striping is found 
on a, b, and c. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 49 
8. See also Coe, 1961, pp. 84-85, for shapes found in 
Crucero Phase levels at La Victoria. 
DECORATION: Usulutan resist technique, applied by a 
multiple-brush tool, leaving parallel whitish to yellowish 
lines on an orange background. The lines are usually 
straight, applied to both surfaces. On a cylindrical ja r 
(fig. 25, c), groups of diagonal lines form crisscrosses on 
the exterior, while the interior has only vertical lines. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: See Coe, 1961, pp. 77-79 (Con?
chas 2 Subphase), p . 85 (Crucero Phase). 
Rio Blanco Orange 
(Coe, 1961, fig. 33, a-c) 
See description in Coe, 1961, pp. 79-80. 
a trade ware of Conchas 2 times. 
This is probably 
Crucero Red-on-orange 
(fig. 26, a -d; Coe, 1961, fig. 37, a-f) 
This type was originally defined in Coe, 1961, pp. 85-86. 
Our description below increases knowledge of the type by 
correcting the petrographic analysis, and adding three new 
vessel forms not unearthed in Crucero levels at La Victoria. 
PASTE: The usual bentonitic clay, fine in texture, with 
conspicuous pumice fragments. The color is mostly light 
gray or white, with dark gray-black cores. One example 
has a reddish-buff paste and light gray core. 
SURFACE: Slipped orange (5 YR 6/6, reddish yellow) and 
polished on all surfaces. A red slip is added to selected 
areas (see below). 
FORM (in Crucero levels at Salinas La Blanca): 
1. Deep, open bowls (two examples; fig. 26, a). Blunt-
rounded rim, dimpled base. Rim diameter 22 cm.; 
height 11.2 cm.; wall thickness 0.7 cm. 
2. Bowls with outslanting sides (two examples; fig. 26, c). 
Rims are beveled on the exterior, the form of the base 
is unknown. Rim diameter ca. 36 cm.; other dimen?
sions are unknown. 
3. Cylindrical vase (two examples; fig. 26, b, d). This 
has a flat base, and vertical walls. The dimensions 
are unknown. 
DECORATION: Red (2.5 YR 4/6) bands and designs over 
the surface slip, applied before the final polishing. Form 
1, a red band painted along the rim on both sides; the 
interior of one nearly complete vessel has a crude step-
and-fret design repeated three times (fig. 26, a). Form 
2, a red band along the rim on both sides; Usulutan 
stripes are on both surfaces, including the red painted 
band (fig. 26, c). Form 3, the exterior has curvilinear 
red bands zoned by postslip incising. 
REMARKS: Confined to the Crucero Phase. Similar to 
Conchas Orange, with the addition of red decoration. 
The extension of Usulutan stripes into the red zone (where 
resist areas are clear red against a smoked red background) 
shows that vessels with this technique were subjected to 
a smudging or reducing fire after the resist material had 
been applied with a multiple brush. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: See Coe, 1961, p. 86. 
Streaky Brown-black Pottery 
Conchas Streaky Brown-black was originally defined 
in the L a Victor ia r epor t on the basis of a relatively 
small sample of sherds (Coe, 1961, p p . 69 -70) . T h e 
m u c h larger n u m b e r of sherds a n d restorable vessels 
recovered a t Salinas L a Blanca n o w makes possible its 
redefinition. Th is descript ion takes precedence over 
tha t of the L a Victoria r e p o n . 
Streaky Brown-black ceramics begin in the la te 
M i d d l e Format ive (Conchas 2 Subphase) , b u t as in 
the rest of G u a t e m a l a , they reach their peak frequency 
in the La te Format ive . Such phases as Miraflores and 
Arenal a t Kamina l juyu , Chicanel in the Peten , a n d 
the La te Format ive a t I zapa share streaky brown-b lack 
pot tery wi th the Crucero Phase a t Salinas L a Blanca . 
FIGURE 26.?Crucero Red-on-orange pottery, Crucero Phase, a, Deep open bowl with interior design repeated three times in red 
on an orange background, b, Base from cylindrical vase, c, Rim from bowl with outslanting sides, d, Sherd from wall of cylindrical 
vase. Usulutan striping is found on c. 
50 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
D u r i n g C o n c h a s 2 t imes , t he type is k n o w n only 
f rom sherds of compos i t e s i lhouet te bowls ; d u r i n g the 
C r u c e r o Phase a m u c h wide r var ie ty a p p e a r e d , 
i nc lud ing b o t h compos i t e a n d s imple s i lhouet te bowls, 
constricted-orifice a n d cyl indr ica l j a r s . Ce r t a in 
decora t ive techniques , such as fine-line engrav ing , 
occur in t h e C r u c e r o P h a s e b u t n o t in Conchas 2. 
W e feel, therefore , t h a t f rom a chronological po in t of 
view t h e r e is some m e r i t in d iv id ing the type in to two 
variet ies , one res t r ic ted to t h e la te M i d d l e F o r m a t i v e , 
t he o the r cha rac te r i z ing the L a t e F o r m a t i v e . 
Conchas Streaky Brown-black 
Conchas 2 Variety (Coe, 1961, fig. 35, i). 
This variety has already been described in Coe, 1961, pp. 
69?70. I t is quite restricted in vessel shape and decoration 
as compared with the Crucero Variety (below). 
Crucero Variety (figs. 27-34; pis. 18, i-q, 19, 20,1). 
PASTE: Bentonitic in origin (see Appendix 5), with 
prominent quartz crystals, rusty-red decomposed fayalite 
lumps, and numerous small golden flecks of biotite. 
The texture is less coarse than that of Guamuchal Brushed. 
I t appears to be quite carbonaceous, with thick dark 
cores of frequent occurrence as well as carbonized vegetal 
material. Near surfaces, the paste is buff to reddish 
buff in color. In general appearance, it is very similar to 
Ju la in Coarse. Coiled construction is visible on the edges 
of some sherds. 
SURFACE : There is no detectable slip on any sherd, but all 
surfaces are medium to well polished. The marks of a 
pebble polisher are usually visible, and the surfaces have 
a leathery and sometimes "waxy" feel to the touch. T h e 
color is streaky, but reasonably uniform on any part icular 
vessel. Vessel colors vary from 7.5 Y R 6/4 (light brown) 
through 10 YR 5/2 (grayish brown) and 10 Y R 3.5/1 
(dark gray) to black, all produced by varying the firing 
atmosphere. Darker vessels sometimes have small whitish 
mica flecks on the surface; lighter ones are usually speckled 
with what appear to be iron oxide stains (similar to those 
on Colima tomb figures). 
FORM: 
1. Simple unrestricted orifice bowls, convex sides (31 per?
cent; fig. 27). Rims are tapered rounded, bases are 
dimpled, or slightly concave on exterior. R im 
diameter 20-25 cm., mean 22 cm. Height 4.7-8.1 
cm., mean 6.4 cm. Wall thickness 0.6-0.8 cm., mean 
0.7 cm. 
2. Simple unrestricted orifice bowls, everted rim (3 percent; 
fig. 28). Sides are outslanting and slightly convex, 
the rims are everted, usually with scalloped edges, 
and bases flat. R im diameter 19-24 cm., mean 22 
cm. Height (one example) 5.0 cm. T h e wall thick?
ness averages 0.5 cm. 
_i 5 cm 
FIGURE 28.?Conchas Streaky Brown-black, simple unrestricted 
orifice bowl with everted, scalloped rim; Crucero Phase. 
FIGURE 27.?Conchas Streaky Brown-black, simple unrestricted orifice bowls with convex sides, Crucero Phase. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 51 
3. Deep bowls (12 percent; fig. 29). Fairly thick 
walled vessels with unrestricted or only slightiy re?
stricted orifices, and deep sides which are straight to 
somewhat recurved to gently insloping. Rims are 
rounded to tapered rounded. Most bases are 
dimpled, but some flat. Rim diameter 17-20 cm., 
mean 19 cm. Height 11.4-15.2 cm., mean 13.6 cm. 
Wall thickness 0.5-1.1 cm., mean 0.8 cm. 
4. Simple unrestricted bowl, outflaring sides (less than 1 
percent). Rim tapered rounded, form of base un?
known. Rim diameter 34 cm., wall thickness 0.7 
cm. 
5. Composite silhouette bowls, vertical or restricted walls (14 
percent; fig. 30). Composite silhouette vessels, wide 
and low, with convex bottoms meeting vertical to 
insloping walls above a fairly well defined angle. 
FIGURE 29.?Conchas Streaky Brown-black, deep bowls, Crucero Phase, a, Exterior engraved with interlocking-scroll design. 
FIGURE 30.?Conchas Streaky Brown-black, Crucero Phase, composite silhouette bowls with vertical or restricted walls. 
52 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
Rims are tapered rounded. Bases are slightly concave 
on the exterior. Rim diameter 21-26 cm., mean 24 
cm. Height 6.0-6.8 cm., mean 6.4 cm. Wall thick?
ness 0.5-0.9 cm., mean 0.7 cm. 
. Composite silhouette bowls, everted or flanged rims (8 
percent; fig. 31). Unrestricted bowls with slightly 
convex upper walls meeting the lower part of the 
body at an angle which is not so pronounced as in 
Form 5. Rims are usually everted, one with an 
eccentric tab on lip; three examples have narrow 
flanges below the rim exterior. Bases are dimpled. 
Rim diameter 24-25 cm., mean 25 cm. Height 6.1 
cm. Wall thickness 0.5-0.7 cm., mean 0.6 cm. 
. Composite silhouette bowls, outslanting sides (5 percent; 
fig. 32). Unrestricted bowls, upper walls straight to 
slightly concave, meeting the lower, convex, par t of 
the body at an angle which has a pronounced exterior 
thickening. Rims are tapered rounded, bases are 
dimpled. Rim diameter 22-23 cm., mean 22 cm. 
Height 5.7 cm. Wall thickness 0.6-0.9 cm., mean 
0.8 cm. 
8. Restricted orifice jars, composite silhouette (3 percent; 
fig. 33). Fairly squat jars with low necks, the upper 
and lower walls of the body meeting to form a well 
marked "shoulder" or angle which is often accentuated 
by a ridge or by scalloping. Rims are rounded to 
squarish. Bases are slightly concave on the exterior, 
and a few are dimpled. One j a r has small, thick, 
vertical handles or pierced lugs extending from the 
rim to the body, showing wear through use as a means 
? . ? ? 1 5 c m 
FIGURE 31.?Conchas Streaky Brown-black, Crucero Phase, composite silhouette bowls with everted or flanged rims. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 53 
7 
1 
7 
7 
5 cm 
FIGURE 32.?Conchas Streaky Brown-black, Crucero Phase, composite silhouette bowls with outslanting sides. 
_) 10 cm 
FIGURE 33.?Conchas Streaky Brown-black, Crucero Phase, restricted orifice jars with composite silhouette, a, exterior engraved with 
interlocking-scroll design. 
210-980?67 5 
54 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
0~i>Sw)imli W8w&& m%)i8&l&6t$i&Stiimm 
J 5 cm 
FIGURE 34.?-Conchas Streaky Brown-black pottery, Crucero 
phase, a, b, Cylindrical jars, c, Development of one half of 
central raised band on b. d-f, Composite silhouette bowls with 
ribbed upper walls. 
of suspending the vessel by a string. Rim diameter 
14-20 cm., mean 17 cm. Height 11.0-11.5 cm., mean 
11.3 cm. Wall thickness 0.4-1.0 cm., mean 0.7 cm. 
9. Cylindrical jars (19 percent; fig. 34, a-c). Deep, flat-
bottomed vessels, the walls approximately vertical but 
varying from slightly concave to barely convex. Rims 
are tapered rounded. Groups of decorative raised 
bands or grooves encircle most vessels. Rim diameter 
16-18 cm., mean 17 cm. Height 17.3 cm. Wall 
thickness 0.6-0.7 cm., mean 0.7 cm. 
10. Composite silhouette bowls, ribbed upper walls (5percent; 
fig. 34, d-f). Fairly deep, large bowls with moderately 
thick walls; sides are vertical to outslanting and with 
strong horizontal ribbing or grooving on the exterior, 
meeting the lower par t of the body at an angle which 
is usually thickened on the exterior. Rims are 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 55 
rounded. T h e form of the base is unknown. Rim 
diameter 14-22 cm., mean 18 cm. The height prob?
ably was between 6 and 14 cm. Wall thickness 0.7-
1.0 cm., mean 0.9 cm. 
DECORATION: Grooving, engraving (both fine and coarse), 
excising combined with coarse engraving, and the raising 
of areas like bands. Red pigment is rubbed into the 
excised areas. Form 1?coarse engraving was executed 
on most, consisting of three lines encircling the vessel 
below the rim exterior, with a scalloped line below this. 
Form 2?the lip of the everted rim is scalloped along the 
edge, and a grooved line placed just inside this; there is 
one example of coarse engraving with excised areas on 
the upper surface of the rim. Form 3?coarse engraving 
in a geometric design on the exterior, with two examples 
of fine-line engraving in a joined scroll design. Form 4? 
a single sherd has coarse engraving and excising on the 
interior. Form 5?typically consists of a single horizontal 
groove below the rim on exterior; between this and the 
wall angle, there is a raised applique design of either 
three rounded bumps alone, or bumps interspersed with 
a series of three arches; also, a few have coarse engraving, 
and there is one sherd with two horizontal grooves 
only. Form 6?coarse and fine engraving, usually on 
the upper surface of the everted rim but also on the wall 
exterior. Form 7?most have horizontal lines coarsely 
engraved on the wall exterior, in combination with ex?
cision. Form 8?shallow grooves outlining raised band 
on the shoulder angle; two examples have a pair of 
concave-edged lugs and a pair of round lugs on the band; 
two others have scalloping of the band along the shoulder 
angle; one ja r has fine-line engraving of a joined-scroll 
design on the upper wall, below the neck. Form 9? 
usually about three raised bands around the exterior, the 
middle band having concave lugs alternating with 
rounded bumps; others have multiple horizontal grooves 
at intervals; there are two examples of fine-line engraving, 
probably in a joined-scroll design. Form 10?horizontal 
ribbing only. 
REMARKS: Conchas Streaky Brown-black is the dominant 
type of the Crucero Phase. Possibly the thicker, lighter-
in-color sherds of Forms 1, 3, and 10 belong to a distinct 
variety within the type. All vessels show much sign of 
wear, and from this and from the high frequency in 
Crucero deposits, the type must have been for everyday 
use, particularly as food bowls. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: Kaminaljuyu: Miraflores Phase 
tombs in E-III-3 (Shook and Kidder, 1952), brown-black 
pottery with identical shapes, decorated with coarse and 
fine engraving in identical joined scrolls, scalloped lines, 
etc., indicating the exact contemporaneity of Crucero 
and Miraflores; "Arenal" Phase (Lots C-33, C-41, C-87), 
many coarsely engraved sherds resemble the lighter 
colored vessels of Forms 1 and 3, and were definitely 
associated with Miraflores pottery in the deposits where 
they were found. Other phases or sites with pottery 
similar to the type include Izapa (New World Archae?
ological Foundation collection), Monte Alto (M. D. Coe 
collection), and Tikal (Late Chicanel Phase tomb, Coe 
and McGinn, 1963). 
MINOR POTTERY TYPES AND TRADITIONS OF THE COASTAL FORMATIVE 
Also a p p e a r i n g in t he Fo rma t ive sequence on the 
G u a t e m a l a n coast we re 10 po t t e ry types which , al?
t h o u g h dist inctive, d id n o t occur in sufficient quan t i t y 
to w a r r a n t the i r inclusion in the major t radi t ions of 
the region. F o u r a r e Ea r ly F o r m a t i v e types t h a t 
would ra re ly b e found on surface survey, a n d would 
p r o b a b l y only be recovered f rom excavat ion if a large 
sherd sample were ob ta ined . These a r e : 
1. Oc6s Iridescent 
2. Oc6s Red Burnished 
3. Oso Brushed 
4. Te6filo Punctate 
A fifth r a r e type is of M i d d l e Fo rma t ive d a t e : 
5. Conchas Brown Unburnished 
T h e r e m a i n d e r a r e L a t e F o r m a t i v e (Crucero) or 
L a t e Classic (Marcos ) types , which will r e m a i n poorly 
known unt i l m o r e excava t ion in sites of t ha t age has 
been conduc t ed . T h e y inc lude : 
6. Julafn Coarse 
7. Encuentros Orange 
8. Argelia Black-Gray 
9. Violeta Plain 
10. Manchuria Plain 
W e presen t t h e m h e r e in t he o rde r in which they 
m a k e the i r a p p e a r a n c e in t he s t ra t igraphic c o l u m n , 
from earliest to latest. 
Ocos Phase 
Ocos Red Burnished 
(Coe, 1961, fig. 19, m) 
See description in Coe (1961, p. 51). Rare dishes with 
gadrooned rims and a burnished red slip seem to have 
been restricted to the late Ocos Phase. 
Ocos Iridescent 
(Coe, 1961, fig. 23, p-r , t -u) 
See description in Coe (1961, p . 56). Tecomates and 
simple silhouette bowls with a burnished, iridescent slip 
appeared briefly, late in the Ocos Phase; they are lacking 
in Cuadros deposits. 
Cuadros Phase 
Oso Brushed 
(fig. 39, c, d) 
PASTE: Identical in all features to Guamuchal Brushed. 
SURFACE: The exteriors of necks are polished, just over to 
inside of rim; interiors are smoothed with fingers when 
wet. 
FORM: Necked globular jars. The necks are wide, vertical 
to slightly constricted; rims are tapered toward the lip, 
with Gothic arch profile. The form of base is unknown. 
56 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
DIMENSIONS : Rim diameter of one example is 25 cm., others 
probably being less than 22 cm. Neck height 6.5 cm. 
Walls are quite thick, 0.5-1.3 cm., mean 1.0 cm. 
DECORATION: Brushed or raked on body wall exteriors 
below the neck, with cross strokes usual. One sherd has 
crisscrossed diagonal lines made by indenting a tool 
over the brushed area. 
REMARKS: Confined to early Cuadros, and hence a useful 
horizon marker. 
Te6filo Punctate 
(fig. 39, f, g;pl. 12, k-q) 
PASTE: Identical to Guamuchal Brushed. When un-
burned, the color is usually a light brown, sometimes with 
a thick, dark-gray core; where the adjacent surface is 
black, the paste is also black. Firing conditions were 
relatively uncontrolled, with signs of irregular oxidiza?
tion; the temperature was not uniform over the whole 
vessel. 
SURFACE: Unslipped and roughly polished on the exterior 
rim band to interior of the lip, smoothed or scraped on 
the interior. The rest of the exterior was smoothed when 
wet. The color is in the same range as Guamuchal 
Brushed; on unburned sherds it ranges from light gray 
(10 YR 6.5/2) to red (2.5 YR 4/6) to black. Black firing 
clouds are common near the rim. 
FORM: Globular, neckless jars (tecomates). Rims are the 
same form as those of Guamuchal Brushed but lack the 
brushing. Form of base unknown. 
DIMENSIONS: Inner rim diameter 16-20 cm., mean 18 cm.; 
body thickness (6-7 cm. below rim) 0.5-1.0 cm., mean 
0.6 cm. Other dimensions are probably like those of 
Guamuchal Brushed tecomates. 
DECORATION: Usually a single row of punctations en?
circling the vessel just below the lower groove of the rim 
band, done with a pointed stick or an instrument with 
triangular cross section at the end; two sherds have a 
partial second row below this (pi. 12, p). One example 
has diagonal linear punctations confined to a zone (pi. 
12, / ) . Rim bands are usually formed by two parallel 
grooves; one near the rim, the other 2.5-5.3 cm. below 
the rim. Two sherds have linear pattern burnishing in a 
crisscross pattern, beginning just below the punctations 
(pi. 12, m). 
REMARKS : More common in Cuadros than in Jocotal levels. 
This type is the unpainted analogue to Mapache Red-
rimmed. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: Chiapa de Corzo: Chiapa I 
Phase, tecomates with horizontal punctations below the 
rim band (Dixon, 1959, fig. 52, c, m). 
Crucero Phase 
Julain Coarse 
(fig. 35; pi. 18,d-h) 
Conchas Phase 
Conchas Brown Unburnished 
(Coe, 1961, fig. 24, b) 
See description in Coe (1961, p . 64). Brown unburnished 
tecomates were found only in early Conchas 1 Subphase 
deposits at La Victoria. 
PASTE: Bentonitic, with the usual inclusions, but fairly 
coarse, poorly kneaded, and lumpy in texture. There is 
evidence for coiling, but the workmanship is extremely 
crude. The color is buff near surfaces, with the cores 
being grayish brown. 
SURFACE: Unslipped. Interior of bowls were wiped with 
a horizontal motion, with well marked finger swipes. 
Most of the pedestal exterior (see Form, below) has an 
extremely rough and pitted appearance; the bottom of 
the pedestal was smoothed on both surfaces by rotary 
finger swipes. The upper surface of the pedestal interior 
is completely unfinished and lumpy. T h e surface is 
buff in color and typically spotted with small, brownish-
black stains, as in Conchas Streaky Brown-black. 
FORM : Open bowls on tall pedestal bases. T h e walls of the 
pedestal are relatively thin, slightly convex to straight, 
somewhat constricted near the bottom and recurved to a 
slight flare. 
DIMENSIONS: Rim diameter 15-26 cm., mean 20 cm. 
Height unknown. Basal diameter 15-16 cm., mean 19 
cm. 
DECORATION: None. 
REMARKS : There are definite marks of smoke blackening on 
bowl interiors, this being absent elsewhere; it is highly 
probable that these were incense burners, but there are 
no signs of prongs or of a central hole, as in three-pronged 
incensarios. The type is confined to the Crucero Phase, 
sizable fragments occurring in intrusive pits of Cut 1. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: Kaminaljuyu: Miraflores Phase, 
tall black-brown vase (Shook and Kidder, 1952, pp. 85, 
86, fig. 32) probably of identical form and same size; 
shown inverted in the figure, as the interior of the bowllike 
"base" is well polished. 
Encuentros Orange 
(fig. 36, a-e) 
PASTE: The usual bentonitic clay, with a medium texture. 
Coiled construction is inferred from sherd fracture. Light 
buff in color near surfaces, most having thick, dark-gray 
to black cores. 
SURFACE: Exteriors are slipped a reddish orange (2.5 YR 
4.5/6 through 2.5 YR 4/8 to 10 R 4/8, all red), usually 
thin and streaky. Interiors are unslipped, and wiped 
with a bundle of fibers or scraped. 
FORM: Necked jars. Necks are slightly outflaring, rims 
tapered rounded but some are squared with moderate 
thickening on the exterior; all are relatively low, a few 
being vertical. Bodies are globular, and handles are 
absent; base unknown. 
DIMENSIONS: Rim diameter 18-24 cm., mean 20 cm. Neck 
height 4.0-5.3 cm., mean 4.7 cm. 
DECORATION : One sherd has a painted band in darker red 
(10 R 4/8) just below the neck on the body exterior. 
REMARKS : In uppermost deposits, probably Crucero. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 57 
FIGURE 35.?Fragments of Julain Coarse pottery incense burners, Crucero Phase, a and c, Represent the upper bowls, b, From the 
juncture of upper bowl and lower pedestal, d-f, Fragments of pedestals. 
I 1 i i i I 5 cm I 
FIGURE 36.?Encuentros Orange pottery, Crucero Phase, a-e, Rims from necked jars. 
Argelia Black-Gray 
(fig. 41, a-d) 
PASTE: Bentonitic. The color is grayish-tan to reddish-
buff, with thin, gray cores. 
SURFACE: Usually blackish gray and polished on the ex?
terior to just inside the collared rim, the remainder of the 
exterior being rough; this is reversed on one sherd. The 
color varies from black to gray to grayish buff. Possibly 
all are unslipped. 
FORM: Slightly restricted orifice bowls or jars, with low 
collars. The form of the base is unknown. 
DIMENSIONS : Rim diameter is about 34 cm. 
REMARKS : Confined to Crucero levels. 
Phase Uncertain 
Violeta Plain 
(fig. 37, a-e; pi. 28, n, o) 
PASTE: The usual bentonitic clay. 
SURFACE: Smoothed with horizontal finger swipes. About 
half have a thin red slip or wash on the exterior, and 
rough polishing where present extends over into the 
unslipped interior. One has a polished red wash on the 
interior. 
FORM: Bowls with thick and somewhat outflaring walls, 
the rims having a flangelike exterior thickening; two out 
of nine rims have horizontal ribbing on the thickening 
surface. 
58 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
r 
J5cm 
g 
FIGURE 37.?Violeta Plain and Manchuria Plain pottery from the surface and upper levels of Salinas La Blanca. a-e, Violeta Plain 
bowls, f-h, Manchuria Plain comal fragments. 
DIMENSIONS: Rim diameter 26?32 cm., mean 29 cm. 
Wall thickness 0.8-1.3 cm., mean 1.1 cm. The height is 
unknown. 
DECORATION: None. 
REMARKS: Phase position uncertain. Illustrated in Coe, 
1961 (fig. 38, g, h), as Marcos Phase, Victoria Coarse. 
However, the type could be Crucero instead; it appears 
as part of the Cerro del Tiestal Complex in a number of 
sites in the Ocos area (see pp. 91-92). 
Manchuria Plain 
(Jig. 37, f-h; pi. 20, h, i) 
PASTE: Appears to be the usual bentonitic type, very hard. 
From horizontal finger marks, it has the appearance of 
being wheel made, but this may be deceptive. The color 
is salmon pink. 
SURFACE: Unslipped, no polishing. 
FORM: Thin, very shallow comal, with the walls bending 
slightly up near the rim. The rims are somewhat 
thickened and rounded. 
DECORATION: One sherd has small indentions along the 
inside of the rim. 
REMARKS : Confined to the surface and to Level 1 of both 
cuts. Probably Marcos Phase (see pp. 93-97). Two 
are thickly coated with a white, limelike substance on 
the interior. 
FIGURE 38.?Miscellaneous coarse pottery, Cuadros Phase. Sherd from large, open bowl. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 
MISCELLANEOUS COARSE WARES FROM SALINAS LA BLANCA 
59 
T h i s is a res idual ca tegory m a d e u p of coarse 
wares too poor ly represen ted in ou r collections to be 
classified. E a c h example is s imply descr ibed in its 
own r igh t , beg inn ing wi th t he Cuad ros Phase a n d 
r u n n i n g t h r o u g h to t h e M a r c o s Phase . 
Cuadros Phase 
Open bowl with thickened angle below rim exterior (fig. 38). 
The paste is the same as Guamuchal Brushed. Unslipped, 
with a very roughly polished interior and rim exterior above 
the thickening, the rest of the exterior being coarsely 
scraped. The angle below the rim is indented, like fillets 
of Guamuchal Brushed. The rim is tapered; the form of 
base is unknown. Rim diameter 34 cm., height about 11 
cm., wall thickness 0.7 cm. Pairs of spaced, down-and-
to-the-left lines are indented on the exterior below the 
thickening. 
Simple open bowl (pi. 20, c). The paste is like Guamuchal 
Brushed; coiled construction is obvious, all coils being 
imperfectly smoothed. The surface is very rough, and 
coarsely worked with the fingers. No slip. The rim is 
scraped off on top to form a rounded bevel; the form of 
the base is not known. Rim diameter 38 cm., wall thick?
ness 1.0 cm. 
Other sherds. Unslipped, unclassifiable body sherds which 
include as decorative techniques incising, linear pattern 
burnishing, and fine dentate stamping. The latter is an 
obvious carryover from the Ocos Phase, which had dentate 
rocker stamping (Coe, 1961, p . 57). 
Jocotal Phase 
Effigy jar fragment. The paste is like Suchiate Brushed. 
The surface is unslipped, and the exterior well smoothed 
but not polished; the interior was wiped with a rag. The 
upper wall bulges, and the rim is squared. Rim diameter 
11 cm., wall thickness 0.18 cm. There was an applique 
face on the exterior, the sherd showing only the "coffee-
bean" eye. 
Deep bowls with outslanting sides (pi. 20, d). The paste is 
like that of Suchiate Brushed. Unslipped, and smoothed 
on both surfaces to a matte finish. Rims are thickened on 
the exterior, and flat on top. The form of the base is not 
known. Rim diameter 34 cm., wall thickness 1.0-1.1 cm., 
mean 1.0 cm. Exterior finger punching was carried out, 
usually by pushing up the rim with the pad of the finger; 
in one example, the rim was pushed down at close intervals 
from the top. 
Necked jars. The paste is like that of Suchiate Brushed. 
The vessels were wiped smooth with the fingers on both 
surfaces; one example shows badly smoothed coils. Necks 
are vertical to slightly outslanting, rims are tapered rounded. 
Rim diameter 12 cm. Height of neck is 6.0-8.5 cm., mean 
7.0 cm. One sherd has raised areas on body, perhaps an 
effigy fragment. 
Simple, constricted-orifice bowl. The paste is like Suchiate 
Brushed. Unslipped. The interior was scraped smooth, 
the exterior smoothed to a matte finish. The rim is 
flattened on top; the form of base is not known. Rim 
diameter ca. 26 cm., wall thickness 0.8 cm. A very fine 
line was indented along the rim exterior, and semicircles 
made on the body by fine engraving and shallow excising. 
Cerro del Tiestal Complex 
Three sherds (two from the surface, and one from Level 1 
of Cut 1) from deep, coarse, restricted orifice jars with 
slightly recurved necks and tapering rims (see pp. 91-92). 
Marcos Phase 
From the surface, one sherd from a neckless ja r with a 
vertical strap handle and a row of indented fillets, probably 
Late Classic. 
RARE SHERDS OR TRADE SHERDS FROM SALINAS LA BLANCA 
Cuadros Phase 
Unusual Striated Sherds 
(pl. 15, k, 1) 
PASTE: Same as Guamuchal Brushed. One sherd has a 
black core, while the other (which has been accidentally 
refired) is reddish brown. 
SURFACE: Unslipped, exteriors wiped smooth but not 
polished. One interior is smoothed, the other (Form 1) 
being coarsely scraped. 
FORM: 
1. Neckless, globular jar (pl. 15, k). One sherd only. 
The rim profile tapers to a point; the form of the 
base is unknown. Inner rim diameter 16 cm. 
Maximum body diameter is unknown, but probably 
much less than Guamuchal Brushed. Wall thickness 
1.1 cm. 
2. Deep, constricted-orifice bowl (one sherd only; pl. 15, / ) . 
The rim is rounded and exteriorly thickened. The 
basal form is unknown, but probably flat. Inner rim 
diameter about 30 cm., maximum body diameter 
ca. 36 cm. Wall thickness 0.9 cm. 
DECORATION: Fairly crude, vertical or diagonal incised 
lines. These are confined to a raised band on Form 1, 
on which there is exterior finger punching as well. 
Excised Sherds 
(fig- 39, a, b) 
PASTE: Usual bentonitic clay; the color is reddish brown, 
due to burning. 
SURFACE : Possibly unslipped; but it may have had a white 
slip which has been worn away. Polished, then excised 
on the exterior, and wiped smooth on the interior. Acci?
dentally refired to a reddish brown (2.5 YR 5/4) and weak 
red (10 R 5/3). 
FORM: Probably a deep, flat-bottomed bowl with out?
slanting sides. The rim form is unknown. Diameter at 
60 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
FIGURE 39.?Rare or minor pottery types from the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases, a, b, Excised sherds, probably from the same vessel. 
c, d, Oso Brushed jar necks, e, Tecomate with thick red slip. / , g, Teofilo Punctate tecomates. All Cuadros Phase except d, which is 
Jocotal. 
rim unknown, but probably more than 28-30 cm. Body 
wall thickness 0.8-1.0 cm. 
DECORATION: Excising or carving in rectilinear to curved 
bands, reserve zones being polished all over or pattern 
burnished. 
REMARKS: Sherds probably are from a single vessel, early 
in the Cuadros Phase. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: Chiapa de Corzo: Chiapa I 
Phase, an identical sherd which is "possibly slipped buff-
white" (Dixon, 1959, fig. 11, b). 
Tecomate with Thick Red Slip 
(fig. 39, e) 
PASTE: Like that of Guamuchal Brushed, but the glass 
particles include larger pieces of pumice. 
SURFACE : Exterior has a thickly applied red slip (weak red, 
10 R 4/4), the slip being carried over just inside rim. 
This slipped area is polished. Interiors are unslipped, 
and smoothed with the fingers when wet just inside the 
rim, the rest being smoothed by scraping with the smooth 
hard edge of something like a piece of gourd. 
FORM: Neckless globular j a r (tecomate), of which there is 
only one example. Less rounded, less restricted than 
Guamuchal Brushed tecomates. The rim is tapered 
rounded, with a slight interior thickening below the lip. 
DIMENSIONS: Inner rim diameter 22 cm., wall thickness 0.9 
cm.; other dimensions are unknown. 
DECORATION: Two horizontal grooved lines encircle the 
vessel below the rim, containing between them paired 
diagonal curvilinear grooved lines, this embellishment 
being preslip. 
REMARKS : The rarity of the type suggests that it was traded 
in from an outside area. Early Cuadros Phase. 
Jocotal Phase 
Fine White Vessels 
(fig. 40, b, c) 
PASTE: Apparently bentonitic, untempered, but pumice 
spicules and glass fragments are very conspicuous. The 
paste is pure white throughout, very fine, and light in 
weight. 
SURFACE: A thick, white, roughly polished slip is present 
on both surfaces. 
FORM: 
1. Deep bowl or vase with restricted orifice (one sherd; fig. 
40, c). The rim is tapered, and squared at the lip. 
The basal form is unknown. Rim diameter 21 cm., 
wall thickness 1.0 cm. 
2. Neck ofjar(?) or tall annular base? (one sherd; fig. 40, 
b). Diameter at rim 17 cm., height 6.5 cm., wall 
thickness 1.0 cm. 
DECORATION: Form 1, a combination of incising and ex?
cising on the exterior in a design of straight lines and 
semicircles. Form 2, engraving in a curvilinear motif 
which is hard to define. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: Sherds which are "white-clear-
through" also occur in small numbers at the transition 
from Early to Middle Formative in the Tehuacan 
Valley (MacNeish and Peterson, personal communication). 
WHOLE V O L U M E THE FORMATIVE CERAMIC SEQUENCE 61 
' ? ? i i I 5 c m 
L 
FIGURE 40.?Rare pottery elements of the Crucero and Jocotal Phases, a, White-on-orange open bowl, b, c, Possible annular base and 
a rim of a deep bowl, fine white ("clear through") pottery, d-f, Polished red flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides and polished 
red restricted orifice bowl, b, c, Jocotal Phase, rest Crucero. 
Crucero Phase 
White-on-orange Bowl 
(fig- 40, a) 
PASTE: Typically bentonitic clay, relatively fine textured. 
The color is buff near the surface, with a whitish gray 
core. 
SURFACE: Thick, orange (2.5 YR 5/6) slip was applied on 
both surfaces. On the exterior, a white (7.5 YR 7.5/4) 
slip was applied over this in a horizontal band extending 
2.7 cm. down from the rim, the white slip having abun?
dant white mica flecks on the surface. After slipping, 
both sides were well polished. 
FORM: Open bowl, probably hemispherical with convex 
walls. The form of the base is unknown. 
DIMENSIONS: Rim diameter 24 cm., wall thickness 0.5 cm. 
DECORATION: After polishing, two broad horizontal lines 
and a row of joined arcs were deeply incised through both 
slips in the white slipped zone. 
REMARKS: One sherd only, Crucero Phase. The deco?
ration is the same as on Conchas Streaky Brown-black 
bowls. 
Black-on-orange Jar 
(pl.20,{) 
PASTE : Bentonitic, fairly coarse texture. Pinkish buff, with 
a narrow gray core. 
SURFACE: Exterior is slipped orange (2.5 YR 5/5), the slip 
being polished and crackly; the interior is unslipped, and 
wiped with the fingers when wet. 
FORM: Probably a convex-walled jar or deep bowl. 
DECORATION: A lustrous black paint was dribbled or 
daubed on the exterior in vertical stripes; a thin line was 
incised down the center of the two stripes after the paint 
had been applied. 
REMARKS: Crucero Phase, one sherd only. 
COMPARATIVE MATERIAL: Kaminaljuyu: Miraflores Phase, 
Fine Red tetrapod vases are decorated with parallel 
stripes of a very similar lustrous paint (Shook and Kidder, 
1952, p. 92). 
Polished Red Bowls 
(fig. 40, d-f; pl. 20, a-h) 
PASTE : Bentonitic in origin, with a relatively coarse texture. 
Brownish buff in color, three out of four having dark gray 
cores. 
SURFACE: Interiors are slipped red (10 R 4/5) and roughly 
polished; on Form 2, this extends over onto the exterior 
thickening. Exteriors are unslipped and are scraped 
smooth. 
FORM: 
1. Flat-bottomed bowls with outslanting sides (two sherds; 
fig. 40, d, e). Sides are slightly outflared, and rims 
tapered rounded. Rim diameter 25 cm., height ca. 
6.0 cm., wall thickness 0.9-1.0 cm. 
2. Bowls with restricted orifice (two sherds; fig. 40, / ) . 
These have convex sides, and rounded rims which are 
slightly thickened on the exterior. Rim diameter 35 
cm., wall thickness 0.8 cm., height unknown. 
DECORATION: None. 
REMARKS: Probably Crucero Phase. 
210-980?67-
62 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
J 5 cm 
FIGURE 41.?Pottery of the Crucero Phase, a-d, Argelia Black-gray bowls or jars with slightly restricted orifice, e, Bowl of hard, thin 
plainware (rare). 
Hard, Thin Plain Ware 
(fig. 41,e;pl. 20, e) 
PASTE: Bentonitic and very hard, giving a metallic ring 
when struck. The color is pink, with a thin gray core. 
SURFACE: Unslipped. The interior of the vessel and rim 
exterior were polished with horizontal pebble strokes, 
leaving slight ridges as marks. The rest of the exterior 
was scraped, with pitting resulting from inclusions being 
dragged along by the tool. The polished area is crackled, 
and the color is 2.5 YR 6/4 (light reddish brown). 
FORM : A bowl with convex sides which are slightly recurved 
to produce a moderate flare at rim. T h e rim is tapered 
rounded with a flattened thickening on the interior. 
Basal form is unknown. 
DIMENSIONS: Rim diameter 38 cm., wall thickness 0.15 cm. 
DECORATION: None. 
REMARKS : Only one sherd of this distinctive type is known 
and is probably a trade piece. I t is most likely of the 
Crucero Phase, from its form and from its position in the 
deposits. 
The Artifacts of Salinas La Blanca 
G E N E R A L R E M A R K S 
The artifact assemblage from Salinas La Blanca 
(Appendix 2, table 13; pis. 21-23) is remarkably 
scanty in contrast to the very large quantity of pot?
sherds recovered from the excavations. Particularly 
strange is the virtual absence of clay figurines, which 
were abundant in the Ocos and Conchas Phases at 
La Victoria. Although it has been stated that the 
Chicanel Phase at Uaxactun, for instance, lacks 
figurines (Smith, 1955, p. 21), it has also been doubted 
that any Formative Phase in Mesoamerica actually 
is without them (Coe, 1961, p . 99). The evidence 
from Salinas La Blanca invalidates the latter claim. 
With one exception, there are no figurines in Cuadros, 
nor any in Jocotal or Crucero; in fact, we now feel 
confident that the Type 7 figurine torsos from La 
Victoria described as possibly of the Crucero Phase 
(Coe, 1961, fig. 61, i) are almost surely Conchas 2. 
In other words, there is a strong break in the figurine-
making tradition after the Ocos Phase, and another 
after Conchas. 
The rest of the artifacts largely consist of ground 
stone tools, manufactured from river cobbles of 
various sizes. Since there are no stones in the lower 
reaches of the Naranjo and Suchiate rivers, these 
must have been brought in from farther upstream. 
The rocks from which they were made have been 
identified by Dr. Matt Walton, of Yale University, 
and fall into three rough groupings, all volcanic in 
origin: 
Dacite group.?Reddish brown to grayish brown in color, 
containing feldspar phenocrysts and hornblende in an 
aphanitic matrix; there is variation in the degree of vesic-
ularity. River cobbles of this group were utilized for the 
manufacture of metates. 
Basalt or basaltic andesite group.?Grayish-brown to dark 
gray in color, containing hornblende phenocrysts in an 
aphanitic matrix. Vesicular to finely vesicular. Com?
monly used for manos and hammerstones. 
Dark felsite (only one example).?A coarsely vesicular 
rock, used as raw material for a mano. 
In general, these rounded cobbles and pebbles have 
been only slightly altered to make the desired tools; 
there are also completely unaltered river rocks which 
must have been introduced to the site, and a few 
barely altered hammerstones. 
Projectile points are also missing from the assem?
blage, as are woodcutting tools. Carefully chipped 
stone tools are absent in the Cuadros Phase, the 
anomalous obsidian chips of that phase barely merit?
ing the term "artifacts." The narrow prismatic 
blades struck from specially prepared cores, so char?
acteristic of Mesoamerica through much of its culture 
history, do not appear in the areal sequence until the 
Conchas Phase, after which they are abundant. 
Sherd and pumice abraders, and shell polishers and 
a pendant of the same material, just about complete 
the meager artifact inventory. 
CUADROS PHASE 
Metate 
(pl. 21, 1) 
Manufactured from a rock of the dacite group, and 
shaped by pecking and grinding. The specimen is 
broken, but it was originally oval with a slightly 
trough-shaped, concave, upper surface and a flat base 
with no supports. The probable length was about 
35 cm., the width about 22 cm. Under magnification, 
back-and-forth striations show its use as a metate, 
most likely in conjunction with a loaf-shaped mano. 
Mano 
(pl. 21, k) 
The material is rock of the dacite group, shaped by 
pecking and grinding. The specimen is broken, but 
originally it was loaf shaped with an oval cross section. 
The length was about 15-16 cm.; its width is 7.7 cm., 
its depth 5.0 cm. Both surfaces show slight striations 
under magnification, indicating a use as a mano in a 
back-and-forth motion; the lack of flattening implies 
that wrist action was used in milling. This mano fits 
the upper surface of the previously described metate 
perfectly. 
Hammerstones 
(Pl-21,]) 
Unaltered, subspherical river cobbles of the dacite 
and basaltic groups, now broken. The largest diam?
eter varies from 9 to 12 cm. Pounding marks show 
their use as hammerstones. 
River Pebbles 
(pl. 21, e, h, i) 
Small, ovoid river pebbles of the basalt or basaltic 
andesite group, 3.5-6.4 cm. long, showing no signs of 
63 
64 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY 
VOLUME 3 
use. Strictly speaking, these are not artifacts, but they 
had to have been brought in for some purpose, since 
such pebbles do not occur as far downstream as 
Salinas La Blanca. 
Pumice Abrader 
(pl. 21, f, g) 
Basically unshaped rhyolite pumice which had been 
brought (or floated) downstream, in ovoid or irregular 
rounded lumps. The largest is 8.5 cm. long, and had 
been used on its widest surface to "sand" down a flat 
object, perhaps of wood; a smaller one had been 
similarly used on its edge, also on a flat surface. 
Obsidian Chips 
The material is fairly good quality, banded gray 
obsidian, quite translucent to transparent. These are 
chips or very small waste flakes of no definite form, 
about half of which show no signs of use. Two have 
very fine unifacial retouch along the end of thin tri?
angular flakes; perhaps they were "end-of-chip 
scrapers." The unused examples are reminiscent of 
the waste flakes of the Ocos Phase. 
Sherd Abrader 
(pl. 21, b) 
A small sherd, probably from the lower part of a 
Guamuchal Brushed tecomate, one edge having been 
ground down to make a slightly concave abrader or 
"saw." 
Figurine Fragment 
{pl- 21, a) 
A leg from a solid, handmade pottery figurine, 
unslipped. The paste is like that of Guamuchal 
Brushed, and quite hard. The specimen differs from 
the legs of both Ocos and Conchas figurines. 
Tonguelike Tab 
(pl. 21, c) 
A thin, unslipped, polished pottery fragment broken 
from some unknown artifact. 
Shell Columella 
(pl. 21, d) 
A beach-worn fragment from some large gastropod; 
it may have been used as a polisher or smoother. 
Shell Smoothers 
(pl. 23, h-n) 
Beach valves mainly of pelecypods, the edges of 
which show gloss from use as smoothers or polishers. 
Four are Noetia reversa, the beaks purposely smashed 
off for ease in holding between the thumb and fore?
finger; were they used to scrape pottery? Two are 
Anadara aequatorialis, with holes pierced in the umbos, 
possibly for suspension while working. One is Comi-
nella sp. (a gastropod), considerably broken; there is 
a high gloss on the lip and exterior of the lip, and faint 
striations show under magnification, at right angles 
to the lip. Because of the laminar structure of shell, 
it is hard to determine the exact use of these artifacts. 
Petate 
(pl. 23, a-c) 
In Level 14 of Cut 2, we encountered an impression 
in the clay floor of fragments from a sleeping mat or 
petate. The original had been constructed of palm 
leaves 2.5-3.0 cm. wide, and was twilled (over two, 
under two). Latex casts indicate a joining in some 
places (i.e., another set of elements beneath). Un?
fortunately, it was too fragmentary to determine the 
overall dimensions. 
JOCOTAL PHASE 
Hammerstones 
(pl. 21, v, w) 
Irregular river cobbles, usually broken, of the basalt 
or basaltic andesite group, almost completely un?
altered. These measure 6.1-8.0 cm. in their largest 
dimensions. Battering of rounded edges indicates 
a use as hammerstones; one specimen has a naturally 
troughlike surface in which something had been 
polished by a back-and-forth motion. 
River Pebble 
(pl. 21, t) 
A small pebble of the basalt or basaltic andesite group, 
4.2 cm, long, ovoid in shape but unaltered. There 
are no signs of use. 
Pumice Abrader 
(pl. 21, u) 
A round flattened lump of rhyolite pumice, 10.8 
cm. long. It had been used as an abrader on its 
flat surfaces, to smooth other flat surfaces (of wood ?). 
Obsidian Chips 
Good quality, gray, banded obsidian, in small waste 
flakes or fractured chunks. Some chips show bulb of 
percussion. Two have had long thin flakes removed 
from one or both surfaces by a bipolar percussion 
technique. One flake was retouched, the retouching 
being unifacial along the edge of an amorphous chip, 
probably the result of its use as a scraper. One frag?
ment is from a better made spokeshave with bifacial 
retouch on the concave scraping surface; it was used 
to "shave" a stick about 1.5 cm. in diameter. 
Sherd Disks 
(pl. 21, p , q) 
Approximately circular sherds from the lower part 
of Suchiate Brushed or Guamuchal Brushed tecomates, 
one shaped by breaking only, the other by grinding 
the edges. The diameter varies from 4.5-6.0 cm. 
Their use is unknown. 
WHOLE VOLUME THE ARTIFACTS OF SALINAS LA BLANCA 65 
Sherd Trapezoids 
(pl. 21, m-o) 
Very carefully made objects fashioned by grinding 
sherds along their edges into long trapezoids; the apex 
of the trapezoid is not ground. Two sherds are from 
Morena Black flat-bottomed bowls; one is from the 
side of an Ocos Gray flat-bottomed bowl. Length 
3.8-5.3 cm. These are restricted to the Jocotal Phase. 
Effigy Fragment 
(pl. 21, s) 
A solid, hand-modeled fragment of a lug or possibly 
of a figurine, slipped weak red (7.5 R 4/4) and un?
polished. There is a resemblance to the snout of an 
animal. 
Shell Pendant 
(pi. 21, r) 
A valve of Mulinia palida, with a small hole punched 
through the beak from the outside, below the umbo. 
C R U C E R O P H A S E 
Metates 
(pi. 22, s) 
These are manufactured from rocks of the dacite 
group by pecking and grinding. Flat bottomed and 
trough shaped, they have raised sides. Probably 
they were more than 42 cm. long; they measure 3.2 
cm. thick in the middle and 7.3 cm. thick along the 
center line near the end. Microscopic back-and-forth 
striations show use as metates with the mano. 
Manos 
(pi. 22, g-k) 
Two are of dacite and one of basalt or basaltic-
andesite group. The technique of manufacture was 
pecking and grinding. They are loaf shaped, with 
slight constriction toward the ends; all but one are 
convex on both surfaces. Dimensions range from 
9.1-14.4 cm. in length, 6.9-7.8 cm. in width, and 
5.0-5.6 cm. in thickness. Striations on grinding 
surfaces show use as manos, with wrist action; one 
planoconvex specimen has striations only on the 
convex surface. All have pecking marks on both ends, 
indicating use in pounding; two have pitting on both 
grinding surfaces, possibly through utilization as 
nut stones. One of the latter has red pigment in the 
surface vesicles, from which may be inferred its use for 
grinding that substance. 
Hammerstones 
(pi. 22, e, f) 
Ovoid to irregular river cobbles (two are basaltic 
andesite, one is dacite, and one is a bleached rock of 
the dacite group); 7.2-13.0 cm. long, used for 
battering and pounding, especially on ends. Faint 
striations on smooth convex surfaces of one show use 
as a smoothing or polishing tool in a back-and-forth 
motion; another was possibly employed as a mano. 
River Pebbles 
(pi. 22, p-r) 
Small, spherical or ovoid flattish river stones, two 
made from dacite and one from basaltic andesite; 
1.9-4.1 cm. in their longest dimension. There are 
no signs of use. 
Pumice Abrader 
(pi. 22, d) 
A lump of rhyolite pumice, flattish with a somewhat 
triangular outline, probably a natural shape; 8.0 cm. 
long, 2.5 cm. thick. One side has a concave surface 
which was used for abrading some cylindrical object 
with a diameter of about 18 cms., probably of wood. 
Obsidian Flakes, Retouched 
(pi. 22, 1) 
Poor quality, black obsidian with a coallike appear?
ance; a few are of better quality. These amorphous 
flakes have unifacial retouch along one edge, for use 
as small scrapers. 
Prismatic Blades, Obsidian 
(pl. 22, m, o) 
Good quality, banded, gray obsidian. All blades 
are fragmentary, none over 4.5 cm. long. The width 
ranges from 1-2 cm. Almost all show considerable 
"use-retouch" along both edges, which are very ir?
regular and clearly worn from use as knives or side 
scrapers. The blades and poor-quality flakes prob?
ably came from different places, the former most 
likely originating in the highlands near Guatemala 
City and traded down by Miraflores people. How?
ever, the blades must have been in small supply, as 
they are worn to such an extent that they would have 
long since been discarded by the Miraflorefios. 
Blades with Accidental Burinlike Blows? 
(PL 22, n) 
Two obsidian blade fragments with "burinlike" 
blows on the sides, producing the typical "beaks" and 
bulbs of percussion, as well as long scars and hinge 
fractures. Almost certainly accidental. 
Sherd Abraders 
(pi. 22, a, c) 
Sherds ground along one or more edges to form a 
"saw" or abrader. One is from Julain Coarse; one 
is from Argelia Black-gray, two from Conchas Streaky 
Brown-black, and one from Morena Black (rede?
posited from Jocotal?). 
Figurine? 
(PL 22, b) 
A solid, handmade, crude and unslipped fragment, 
possibly a torso from a very poorly made figurine, 
but dubious. 
66 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
VA
LL
EY
 
OF
 
M
E
X
IC
O 
TE
HU
AC
AN
, 
PU
EB
LA
 
NO
RT
HE
RN
 
VE
RA
CR
UZ
 
SO
, 
V
E
R
A
C
R
U
Z,
 
TA
BA
SC
O 
CE
NT
RA
L 
MA
YA
 
AR
EA
 
HI
GH
LA
ND
 
GU
AT
EM
AL
A 
CE
NT
RA
L 
CH
IA
PA
S 
OC
OS
 
AR
EA
, 
GU
AT
EM
AL
A 
P
E
R
IO
D
S 
D
A
TE
S i 
Az
te
c 
La
te
 
Ve
nt
a 
Sa
la
da
 
Pa
nu
co
 
VI
 
To
rr
es
 
si
te
 
Ta
ya
sa
l 
M
ix
co
 
Vi
ejo
, 
Ch
in
au
tla
 
Ch
iap
a 
XI
I 
-^
LA
TE
 
PO
ST
CL
AS
SI
C 
< 
2 < 
Tu
la
 
-
 
To
lte
c
 
Ve
nt
a 
Sa
la
da
 
Pa
nu
co
 
V 
So
nc
au
tia
 
Ay
am
pu
c 
Ch
ia
pa
 
XI
 
C " 
EA
R
LY
 
PO
ST
CL
AS
SI
C 
( 
Co
yo
tla
te
ic
o
 
Ea
rly
 
Ve
nt
a 
Sa
la
da
 
-
 
La
te
 
Pa
lo
 
Bl
an
co
 
Pa
nu
co
 
IV
 
No
pi
lo
a 
t o CM ? 
3 9 
a. 
9 
Am
at
le
 
-
Pa
m
pl
on
a 
Ch
ia
pa
 
X 
M
ar
co
s 
LA
TE
 
CL
AS
SI
C 
D < 
3 < 
J> ? 
Te
ot
ih
ua
ca
n
 
III 
La
te
 
Pa
lo
 
Bl
an
co
 
Pa
nu
co
 
III
 
M
at
ac
ap
an
 
Ce
rro
 
de
 
la
s 
M
es
as
 
III 
lO CM ? 
"o 
o 
Es
pe
ra
nz
a 
Au
ro
ra
 
Ch
ia
pa
 
IX
 
Ch
ia
pa
 
V
III
 
*?? 
EA
RL
Y 
CL
AS
SI
C 
3 < 
3 1 
o t 
Te
ot
ih
ua
ca
n
 
II 
Ea
rly
 
Pa
lo
 
Bl
an
co
 
Ce
rro
 
de
 
las
 
M
es
as
 
II 
Tr
es
 
Za
po
te
s 
II 
M
at
za
ne
l 
Sa
nt
a 
Cl
ar
a 
Ch
ia
pa
 
VI
I 
<?? 
PR
OT
O-
CL
AS
SI
C 
3 < 
3 < 
0 
Te
ot
ih
ua
ca
n
 
1 
Cu
ic
ui
lc
o- Ti
co
m
an
 
La
te
 
Za
ca
te
nc
o
 
La
te
 
Sa
nt
a 
M
ar
ia
 
Pa
nu
co
 
II 
Ch
ila
 
Ce
rro
 
de
 
la
s 
M
es
as
 
1 
Tr
es
 
Za
po
te
s 
1 
Ch
ic
an
el
 
M
ira
flo
re
s 
-
Ar
en
al
 
Ch
ia
pa
 
VI
 
Ch
ia
pa
 
V 
Cr
uc
er
o 
LA
TE
 
FO
RM
AT
IV
E 
1. 
3 O O 
- CD 
M
id
dl
e 
Za
ca
te
nc
o
 
Ea
rly
 
Za
ca
te
nc
o
 
El
 
Ar
bo
lil
lo
 
1 
Ea
rly
 
Sa
nt
a 
M
ar
ia
 
Ag
ul
la
r 
Po
nc
e 
?L
a 
Ve
nt
a 
Ch
ic
an
el
 
M
am
om
 
Xe
 
La
s 
Ch
ar
ca
s 
Ch
ia
pa
 
IV
 
Ch
ia
pa
 
III 
Ch
ia
pa
 
II 
Co
nc
ha
s 
2 
Co
nc
ha
s 
1 
M
ID
DL
E 
FO
RM
AT
IV
E 
50
0 
TI
al
pa
n
 
La
te
 
Aj
alp
an
 
Ea
rly
 
A
jal
pa
n 
.
Pa
vo
n
 
Ar
ev
al
o 
Ch
iap
a 
1 
Jo
co
ta
l 
Cu
ad
ro
s 
Oc
os
 
EA
RL
Y 
FO
RM
AT
IV
E 
10
00
 
15
00
 
?
 
-a 
c 
O 
Dating the Archeological Sequence 
CULTURAL STRATIGRAPHY IN THE OCOS AREA 
Until 1962, our knowledge of the archeological 
succession in the Ocos area was entirely based on the 
stratigraphic record at La Victoria. The oldest cul?
ture at that site was the Ocos Phase, ascribed to the 
Early Formative period and alined in the final report 
with Chiapa I at Chiapa de Corzo. This was fol?
lowed by Conchas 1 and 2, and it was believed at that 
time that Conchas 1 had directly evolved from Ocos 
without a stratigraphic break; both of the subphases 
of Conchas were placed in the Middle Formative, and 
alined with Chiapa I I through IV as well as with 
Mamom and Las Charcas. The Late Formative 
Crucero Phase followed on the heels of Conchas but 
was sorted out from mixed deposits on a typological 
basis, mainly through Coe's knowledge of Late Forma?
tive ceramics at Kaminaljuyu in the Miraflores Phase. 
The Pro to-Classic and Early Classic were unrepre?
sented at La Victoria, but the site was reoccupied 
toward the end of the Late Classic by villagers of the 
Marcos Phase, characterized by abundant San Juan 
Plumbate pottery. 
At Salinas La Blanca, a somewhat complementary 
series of phases helps to expand the sequence in the 
Ocds area. The Cuadros Phase, earliest of the periods 
at Salinas La Blanca, because of its deceptive sim?
plicity was at first glance thought to antedate the 
Oc6s Phase, which is not represented at the site. 
Ceramic analysis later showed, however, that the few 
Ocds traits present (like rocker stamping) occur only 
on the earliest Cuadros vessels, while later Cuadros 
evolves in situ and without a break into the Jocotal 
Phase. Analysis also showed that Jocotal leads di?
rectly into Conchas 1?and in fact, it is now clear 
that there was a thin layer of Jocotal material present 
at La Victoria, immediately underlying Conchas levels 
in at least some of the pits. Unfortunately, the Con?
chas Phase is missing at Salinas La Blanca; after 
Jocotal, with its many "incipient Conchas" traits, 
there was a hiatus in the sequence. The site was 
briefly reoccupied in Crucero times, and the many 
restorable vessels left in refuse pits of that phase now 
leave us in a far better position to define Crucero than 
did the evidence from La Victoria alone. The two 
stratigraphic records can then be correlated as shown 
in table 2. 
It is readily apparent that we still lack knowledge 
of the Proto-Classic and Early Classic periods in the 
Ocds area. Furthermore, while Ocds can be demon?
strated to be earlier than Cuadros, we lack data on 
the transition from the former to the latter. 
T A B L E 2.- - R E L A T I O N S H I P BETWEEN L A V I C T O R I A AND SALINAS L A 
BLANCA STRATIGRAPHIC CUTS 
Period 
Late Classic 
Proto-Classic 
Middle Formative 
La Victoria 
Marcos 
Crucero 
Conchas 2 
Conchas 1 
Oc6s 
Salinas La Blanca 
-
Jocotal 
Cuadros 
The foregoing represents the relative chronology in 
a small and well delimited region of Mesoamerica. 
To fix dates to this sequence, we must examine radio?
carbon determinations from this and other sites, and 
move further afield to broader ceramic comparisons 
in southeastern Mesoamerica (fig. 42). We do not 
intend to go over such correlations as have already 
been made in the report on La Victoria (Coe, 1961, 
pp. 120-134), but will content ourselves with the 
discussion of newer information which throws further 
light on the scheme presented there. 
Radiocarbon Dates 
Four samples of charcoal from Salinas La Blanca 
were tested for Carbon-14 content in the Geo-
chronometric Laboratory of Yale University. All 
of these came from hearths belonging to the Cuadros 
Phase at the site. We extracted the charcoal ourselves 
with the blade of a clean pocketknife, transferring the 
fragments directly to polyethylene bags. These were 
taken as soon as possible to Guatemala City, where 
each sample was thoroughly dried in the soil-testing 
laboratory of the Instituto Agropecuario, to avert 
67 
68 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
contamination by mold. All of the charcoal came 
from twigs or small branches. 
The radiocarbon determinations are listed below; 
to obtain the Christian date, A.D. 1950 was subtracted 
from years "B.P." All of the dates were calculated 
on the basis of a Carbon-14 half life of 5,570 years. 
Date 
Y-1150 Salinas La Blanca. Charcoal from a 2928 ?105 
small hearth in the northeast corner of 978 B.C. 
Cut 2, 3.38 m. below datum in Level 15. 
Y-1151 Salinas La Blanca. Charcoal from a 2715? 105 
hearth, northeast quadrant of Cut 2, 4.50 765 B.C. 
m. below datum in Level 21. 
Y-1154 Salinas La Blanca. Charcoal from a 2878?105 
hearth in a heavy layer of sherds and 928 B.C. 
other debris in Cut 1, Level 28 (5.8-6.0 
m.) 
Y-1166 Salinas La Blanca. From a hearth, 2764?90 
northwest quadrant of Cut 1, Level 29 814 B.C. 
(6.0-6.2 m.). The sample probably 
consisted entirely of charred bone; it 
dissolved completely in an alkali solution. 
The alkali precipitate has been dated. 
In addition, we have one date for the Conchas Phase, 
obtained from the site of Rio Naranjo (SM-37). This 
site lies along the east bank of the river some 40 m. 
downstream from Salinas La Blanca. It also has been 
partially cut away by the waters of the Naranjo, 
leaving an eroded profile several meters high. A 
hearth exposed in that profile yielded us a large 
quantity of Conchas 1 sherds and a radiocarbon sample 
dated as follows: 
Y-1167 Rio Naranjo (SM-37). Charcoal Date 
from face of mound cut by river, 3-4 m. 2740?60 
below the summit. 790 B.C. 
This date of 790 B.C. for the Conchas 1 Subphase is 
in perfect agreement with dates for contemporaneous 
material in the Valley of Tehuacan, Puebla. There 
the site of Las Canoas, belonging to the early Santa 
Maria Phase and characterized by pottery which in 
many respects is indistinguishable from Conchas 1, 
has been radiocarbon dated at 750 B.C. (Richard S. 
MacNeish, personal communication). Our feeling, 
therefore, is that the slightly earlier Jocotal Phase 
must date in the neighborhood of 850-800 B.C. On 
the basis of the four Cuadros Phase radiocarbon dates 
already discussed above, we feel that Cuadros must 
date to approximately 1000-850 B.C. Such a place?
ment is supported by a radiocarbon date for the 
closely related Chiapa I period, which suggests a 
span of roughly 1152-955 B.C. (Dixon, 1959, p . 41). 
On the basis of the present limited evidence, it would 
probably be a mistake to attempt to be too precise 
about the beginning and end of the Cuadros and 
Jocotal Phases. 
CULTURAL AFFILIATIONS OF THE CUADROS PHASE 
As can be seen on pages 25-44, there is a strong 
similarity between the ceramic assemblage of Cuadros 
and that of Chiapa I (Cotorra or "Pit 50") at Chiapa 
de Corzo?far more convincing than similarities 
between Ocos and Chiapa I. These resemblances 
include a heavy emphasis upon brushed tecomates with 
zoned rim bands and interior finger-punching, 
tecomates with red-painted rim bands, red-and-white 
bichrome pottery, white-black differential firing, 
and white-slipped pottery, among others. Many 
specific vessel forms are shared. 
In terms of artifactual assemblages, Cuadros shares 
with Chiapa I a rarity or near absence of figurines, 
a similar type of oval metate, and sherds with ground 
edges, as well as a lack of obsidian prismatic blades. 
The earliest ceramics of the Santa Marta Rock 
Shelter also bear a close resemblance to those of 
Cuadros, with a high proportion of brushed tecomates, 
some with close stepped jabs on the exterior and with 
interior finger punching (MacNeish and Peterson, 
1962, pl. 6). The authors rightly aline this horizon 
with Chiapa I, but it seems to us to converge even 
more on Cuadros. However, a few of the tecomate 
sherds which they exhibit appear to be more closely 
related to Jocotal than to Cuadros. 
A ceramic assemblage geographically closer to 
Salinas La Blanca comes from Altamira, a village site 
on the Chiapas side of the Suchiate River investigated 
by the New World Archaeological Foundation (Dee 
F. Green, personal communication). Much of the 
pottery which we have seen appears to be of the 
Conchas Phase. However, some of it clearly is 
affiliated with Jocotal, and some with Cuadros, the 
latter including brushed tecomates with interior finger 
punching. The earlier levels at Izapa also seem to 
have Cuadros-like pottery (Gareth W. Lowe, personal 
communication). 
Apart from these sites in Chiapas, no ceramic com?
plexes elsewhere in Mesoamerica seem to us to be 
firmly related to that of Cuadros. 
Does Cuadros, then, aline itself strictly with all of 
Chiapa I? We think not. Chiapa I does have some 
indubitable relation on the one hand to Ocos (Coe, 
1961, p . 123), and on the other to Jocotal. We agree 
with Dee F. Green (personal communication) that 
Chiapa I, thus far described only on the basis of the 
WHOLE V O L U M E DATING THE ARCHEOLOGICAL SEQUENCE 69 
Pit 50 deposit (Dixon, 1959), is a long period that 
could be further subdivided on the basis of future 
stratigraphic excavations. We view Ocos as begin?
ning before the Chiapa de Corzo sequence, but over?
lapping with early Chiapa I ; Cuadros as being con?
temporary with middle Chiapa I ; and Jocotal as 
overlapping with late Chiapa I. 
We have mentioned the dates on Cuadros, centering 
on the 10th century B.C. and believed by us to be 
reliable. A date on midden charcoal from Pit 50 at 
Chiapa de Corzo (GRO 774) is 3010?100, or 1060 
B.C., well within the one sigma range for the Cuadros 
determinations (Dixon, 1959, p . 41); and Dixon feels, 
as we do, that Chiapa I may have lasted until some 
time between 950 and 750 B.C. At the Santa Mar ta 
Rock Shelter (MacNeish and Peterson, 1962, p . 38), 
sample M-978, charcoal from the stratum containing 
the first ceramics measured 3280?200 years, or 1330 
B.C. This is somewhat older than we would expect for 
Chiapa I-Cuadros style ceramics, but it is also within 
one sigma (200 years) of the Cuadros dates. 
C U L T U R A L AFFILIATIONS O F T H E J O C O T A L PHASE 
Jocotal should be alined with the latter part of 
Chiapa I and with the earlier portion of Chiapa I I . 
In support of such a contention, we might first list 
those ceramic traits which are also known in late 
Chiapa I : tecomates with diagonal brushing below the 
rim zone and with rows of connected, incised arcs; and 
deep, recurved bowls (Dixon, 1959, fig. 16). How?
ever, more intimate connections are shown with 
tecomates from Chiapa I I : they include exterior finger 
punching and rows of arcs, on sherds which could 
easily be mistaken for Jocotal specimens. The 
presence of white-slipped pottery with engraved 
motifs as specific as the "double-line-break" is another 
firm trait tying in the two. Nonetheless, Chiapa II 
has incised white pottery in such abundance that the 
bulk of that period must be alined with Conchas 1 
(Coe, 1961, p . 123). 
I t has already been stated that some of the illus?
trated sherds from the first pottery-bearing level at 
the Santa Marta Rock Shelter look like Jocotal; most 
are tecomates which we would identify as extremely 
close to Suchiate Brushed (MacNeish and Peterson, 
1962, pl. 6, a-d, i). 
The Burrero Phase at Santa Cruz, Chiapas, which 
Sanders (1961, pp. 48-49) convincingly equates with 
Chiapa I I or Dili, also is strongly affiliated with 
Jocotal. The type "Burrero Tecomate" as a whole 
includes many sherds of Suchiate Brushed (although 
the trait of brushing itself is not as frequent on the 
Santa Cruz pottery as it is in Jocotal). Also to be 
noted is the resemblance of "Burrero Cream" to 
incised Conchas White-to-buff sherds of the Jocotal 
and Conchas Phases. 
In the New World Archaeological Foundation col?
lection from Altamira, Chiapas, some tecomate rims 
of Suchiate Brushed were also noted. 
One of the more interesting correlations of Jocotal 
centers on Kaminaljuyu, in highland Guatemala. 
The AreValo Phase at that site shows clear-cut rela?
tionships with Jocotal, especially in cross-brushed 
tecomates with curvilinear indented fillets which are 
very close to some examples of Suchiate Brushed (and 
also to Mendez Red-rimmed tecomates of the Jocotal 
Phase). Tilapa Red-on-white tecomates, which con?
tinue from Cuadros into the Jocotal Phase, also seem 
to be related to the red-on-white tecomates of Arevalo. 
Arevalo has other ceramic traits which seem to tie in 
better with Conchas. In particular, it has plain, red, 
unslipped tecomates which in form are identical with 
Conchas Red Unburnished. 
The exact relative position of Arevalo in the 
Kaminaljuyu sequence has for some time been in 
doubt. The sequence was originally supposed to 
have opened with Las Charcas, estimated at 2000-
1800 B.C., followed by AreValo, 1800-1600 B.C. 
(Shook, 1957). In the years subsequent to 1957, 
doubts were cast on the very early placement of Las 
Charcas (particularly in Coe, 1961, pp. 127-128), 
since that phase was demonstrated to be crosstied 
with Conchas 2 on the Pacific coast. On stylistic 
grounds, Las Charcas was therefore moved to the 
Middle Formative, a position confirmed by several 
radiocarbon dates (see comment by de Borhegyi on 
M-l257, a Las Charcas sample, in Crane and Griffin, 
1964, p . 16). On the other hand, many archeologists 
working in southeastern Mesoamerica have felt that 
Arevalo was probably the earlier phase, and in a 
recent chart (Delgado, 1961, p . 102) it is placed after 
Chiapa I and before Las Charcas (the latter being 
alined with Chiapa I I , a placement with which we 
disagree). 
The strong evidence that Arevalo and Jocotal are 
contemporaries confirms the view that the former is 
the earliest village culture known thus far in the 
Guatemalan highlands, and that Las Charcas is coeval 
with Conchas. 
70 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
C U L T U R A L A F F I L I A T I O N S O F T H E C R U C E R O P H A S E 
The evidence is overwhelming that Crucero is to be 
alined with the Miraflores Phase at Kaminaljuyu. 
The assemblage of whole or nearly complete vessels 
recovered from the intrusive pits at Salinas La Blanca 
is astonishingly close to the assemblage accompanying 
the two burials in E-III-3 (Shook and Kidder, 1952), 
which especially emphasizes Usuluta'n decoration and 
brown-black vessels of composite-silhouette and bucket?
like forms, as well as a highly specific kind of decora?
tion, finely engraved interlocking scroll bands. Cru?
cero is a kind of "country cousin" of Miraflores. 
Similar but not quite so identical ceramics are found 
in the Pete'n (late Chicanel), on the Pacific coast of 
Guatemala (Finca Arizona, Monte Alto) and Chiapas 
(Izapa), as well as in the Central Depression of 
Chiapas (Chiapa V or Guanacaste Phase), all these 
manifestations considered as Late Formative (see 
discussion in Coe, 1961, p . 133). 
An earlier series of dates on Miraflores was definitely 
out of line with current ideas of Mesoamerican chro?
nology (ibid., p . 131). Significantly, both of these 
were charcoal samples extracted from fill: C-884 
(3142?240, 1192 B.C.) from the fill of Stra tum 4 in 
E-III-3 (Shook and Kidder, 1952, p . 52; Libby, 1955, 
p . 131), and C-887 (2490?300, 540 B.C.) from the 
fill of Stratum 5 in E-III-3 (Libby, loc. cit.). Both 
samples were probably redeposited, and do not date 
the phase. Y-377 (1940?60, A.D. 10) is from Tomb 
1 in the same mound (Deevey, Gralenski, and Hof-
fren, 1959), and presumably falls within the actual 
span for Miraflores. 
Burned pine from the late Chicanel Burial 85 at 
Tikal yielded a radiocarbon date of about the time of 
Christ (Coe and McGinn, 1963, p . 31), which is very 
close to the Miraflores date cited above. 
Thus, on the basis of a few reliable samples which 
are not picked out from fill, one can say that at least 
part of the Crucero Phase falls at the very beginning 
of the Christian Era. 
C U L T U R A L A F F I L I A T I O N S O F T H E OCOS P H A S E 
Lastly, we come to the Ocos Phase and its probable 
dating. The 1962 excavations at Salinas La Blanca 
shed little light on the problem except to suggest that 
the Ocos Phase probably ends before 1000 B.C., when 
Cuadros begins. Excavations by MacNeish at Tehua?
can, Puebla, however, have recently disclosed material 
strikingly similar to Ocds in spite of the long inter?
vening distance. These materials belong to the phase 
MacNeish has called late Ajalpan (ca. 1300 B.C.). 
Some overlapping Ocds-Ajalpan traits have been 
listed by MacNeish in a preliminary report (Mac?
Neish, 1962, pp. 37-38), and we discussed others 
with him in conversations in 1963. Late Ajalpan and 
the Ocds Phase share tecomates with a red wash or slip 
over their whole bodies; tecomates with a band of 
specular hematite at the r im; thin-walled tecomates 
with zoned decoration, either paint or surface-texture 
alteration; polished black flat-bottomed bowls with 
zoned dentate rocker stamping; and a whole series of 
tecomate rim profiles, including MacNeish's "pumpkin-
shaped" and "turned-up-rim" types. Other ceramic 
complexes, obviously related but as yet not published 
in detail, include the lowest levels at the site of El 
Trapiche, Veracruz (Jose Garcia Paydn, personal 
communication) and deep levels at the mound of 
Chalahuites in central Veracruz (James A. Ford, 
personal communication). Taking all the available 
radiocarbon dates and cultural crossties into considera?
tion, we are left with the tentative Formative chro?
nology for the Guatemalan Pacific coast as detailed 
in table 3. 
TABLE 3.?CHRONOLOGY OF THE GUATEMALAN COAST I 
Phase Date 
Ocos 1300-1100 B.C. (?) 
Cuadros 1000-850 B.C. 
Jocotal 850-800 B.C. (?) 
Conchas 1 800-500 B.C. 
Conchas 2 500-300 B.C. 
Crucero 300 B.C.-A.D. 100 
1
 Based on available radiocarbon dates. 
Subsistence in the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases 
An unusual combination of circumstances has 
resulted in a good deal of information on the sub?
sistence of the Early Formative people who lived at 
Salinas La Blanca?far more, in fact, than was 
available at La Victoria or at most other Formative 
sites in southeastern Mesoamerica. These circum?
stances were (1) the alternation of clay floor construc?
tion with the spreading about of household debris 
and (2) the high amount of calcium carbonate in this 
clay. These factors allowed the formation of excellent 
impressions of perishable food remains in the clay 
strata, and even the "fossilization" of plant tissue by 
carbonate replacement within these casts. 
Furthermore, while mammal remains were un?
usually, and significantly, scarce, our study of the 
present-day animals of the area, of the microenviron?
ments which they inhabit, and of their exploitation by 
the modern Ocosenos, have given us some insight into 
hunting and collecting practices in ancient times. 
Since we had complete skeletons available for most 
of the important food mammals and reptiles, Flannery 
had little trouble in identifying the bones from our 
excavations. For other remains, we had to turn to 
various specialists in these fields. 
The total picture which we have gained from our 
analysis of Cuadros and Jocotal food remains is of a 
people whose principal livelihood was gained by 
farming, supplemented by collecting activities in the 
local lagoon-estuary system. They could hardly be 
considered hunters in the usual sense of that term. 
The picture is one of a successful, self-sufficient, and 
totally sedentary hamlet, well adapted to a coastal 
farming life. 
PLANT FOODS 
Maize 
A total of 50 impressions of maize cobs (pis. 5, c, d; 24) 
were found on and in clay floor layers of the Cuadros 
occupation at Salinas La Blanca. Of these, 18 were 
simple negative casts; 32 contained the mineralized 
cobs themselves inside the clay casts. We trimmed 
each block of clay as close as possible to the actual 
impression, and dried it over a period of days. A 
very thin solution of Duco cement was carefully 
dropped onto the clay as it dried, so as to consolidate 
the matrix. For transport, each small block, after 
drying, was wrapped with a layer of surgical cotton, 
then in aluminum foil, and bound all around with 
Scotch tape. In Guatemala City, we took latex 
molds of those impressions that did not contain 
mineralized tissue, the drawback here being that it 
was necessary to break the block to extract the mold. 
In addition to the evidence of the cobs themselves, 
impressions of maize stalks were found in Level 16 
of Cut 1 and Level 17 of Cut 2, and of maize leaves in 
Level 15 of Cut 2. 
The mineralized maize cobs were analyzed by Dr. 
Paul C. Mangelsdorf (Appendix 3); the latex molds, 
however, show too few details to be useful. As 
reported by him, the preservation of even the tiniest 
details on the mineralized cobs was remarkable, and 
he was able to take measurements on 26 of them. He 
concludes that a single race of maize was being grown 
by the Cuadros villagers, a race of pod corn which 
strongly resembles the two primitive Mexican races 
of Nal-Tel and Chapalote, and which shows no signs 
of hybridization or introgression with Tripsacum or 
teosinte. The ears were apparently borne on very 
slender stalks, and the cobs averaged 12 rows of kernels 
each. 
I t is extremely difficult to distingush between the 
two closely related races, Nal-Tel and Chapalote, on 
the basis of cobs alone, since the main feature that 
differentiates them is the color of the kernels (Mangels?
dorf et al., 1964, p . 544). However, Chapalote is 
today confined to northwestern Mexico and arche-
ologically "is the predominating early corn in all 
sites excavated in northwestern Mexico and the south?
western United States" (ibid.); it is best adapted to 
low elevations but can thrive up to 1800 m. (Well-
hausen et al., 1952, p. 54). Nal-Tel, on the other 
hand, has its main distribution in southeastern Mexico 
and in Central America (as far south as Nicaragua). 
In Guatemala alone it is divided into five subraces, 
which would argue a considerable antiquity in that 
country; it seems not unlikely that this was the race 
71 
72 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
TABLE 4.?MAIZE COB REMAINS FROM SALINAS LA 
BLANCA 
Phase 
Cuadros . . . . 
Totals 
Cut 
2 
1 
2 
1 
2 
2 
2 
2 
1 
2 
1 
Level 
14 
15 
15 
16 
21 
22 
24 
26 
27 
27 
28 
Number of cobs 
Simple nega?
tive cast 
2 
1 
1 
-
1 
3 
3 
1 
3 
2 
1 
18 
Cast containing 
mineralized 
tissues 
-
30 
-
2 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
32 
Total 
2 
31 
1 
2 
1 
3 
3 
1 
3 
2 
1 
50 
at Salinas La Blanca. Like Chapalote, it does best in 
the lowlands but is found up to 2325 m. (Wellhausen 
et al., 1957). 
Many collections of the "Nal-Tel-Chapalote com?
plex" show some degree of teosinte hybridization, 
and this is true of the specimens from Tehuacan. 
"Early Tripsacoid" maize makes its appearance there 
in the Abejas Phase (3400-2300 B.C.), so that the 
original hybridization between maize and Tripsacum 
must have taken place at least by this time. The 
offspring of the two, teosinte, is known to have been 
growing in Tamaulipas by 1800-1400 B.C. (Man-
gelsdorf et al., 1964, p . 538). I t is thought that the 
"Nal-Tel-Chapalote complex" arose from this "Early 
Tripsacoid" corn, a few specimens being dated to the 
late Abejas Phase. 
For this reason, it is interesting that our Cuadros 
cobs are a form of pod corn free from infusions of 
tripsacoid genes. Mangelsdorf and his associates 
believe that the origin point of tripsacoid maize may 
have been in the Balsas River basin of Guerrero. I t 
seems to us quite possible that cultivated maize 
spread into the Guatemala area before such crossing 
had taken place (i.e., before 3000 B.C.). 
As noted in pp. 14?15, the best agricultural soils in 
the area were formerly occupied by mixed tropical 
forest, now replaced in part by cleared fields and 
second growth. It will be recalled that the founders 
of Salinas La Blanca, early in the Cuadros Phase, had 
moved onto a relatively high spot in the mangrove 
forest, and further built it up with abundant applica?
tions of clay layers. This locality could not have been 
very far from the cleared fields, for a sample of the 
deposits in Level 29 (6.0-6.2 m.) of Cut 1 proved to 
have, on analysis by Dr. Matsuo Tsukada, a number 
of pollen grains from Trema sp., clustered together as 
though from a single anther (no pollen was discovered 
in any of the other samples submitted, with the ex?
ception of wild Gramineae in Cut 2, Level 14, and Cut 1, 
Level 6). Standley and Steyermark (1946 a, pp . 8-9) 
list only one species of Trema in Guatemala, T. 
micrantha (local name, capulin). This is a shrub or 
tree, sometimes 15 m. high or more, which is a typical 
pioneer of abandoned cornfields, and therefore an 
important indicator of cultivation. 
We have built up a picture of farming in fields 
which were quite near the banks of the estuary or the 
river, fields which were probably planted with Nal-
Tel or Chapalote maize by means of the typical low?
land digging stick. There was some degree of fallow?
ing of plots, as indicated by the Trema pollen, although 
the soils are so good that fallowing with its con?
comitant cutting and burning of new plots is not 
practiced today (Coe, 1961, pp. 13-14). The modern 
Ocds farmers bring in three maize crops each year. 
However, they have 10 races of maize from which to 
choose for each sowing, these races having distinct 
growing seasons, habits, and culinary uses. Did the 
Cuadros people also have the opportunity for three 
annual harvests of maize? Both Nal-Tel and Chapa?
lote are early maturing, and it does not seem un?
reasonable in this frost-free area to suppose that even 
though only one race was present, it might have been 
harvested twice (or even three times) a year. 
We suspect that, given the deep, volcanic-derived 
soils of the region, maize agriculture was highly 
successful and provided the major sustenance of the 
Cuadros and Jocotal people at Salinas La Blanca. 
Other Cultigens 
A number of impressions in clay of larger seeds, some 
from important fruit trees, were found as follows: 
Cut l 
LEVEL 3: Large seed which is smaller than avocado and 
unidentifiable. The wrinkled integument was preserved 
by carbonate replacement. Length about 3.3 cm. 
Jocotal or Crucero Phase. 
LEVEL 13: Unidentifiable seed, similar in size to jocote 
(Spondias purpurea), with carbonate replacement of the 
integument. Jocotal Phase. 
LEVEL 15: Seed of the jocote, including part of the stem. 
Length of seed 2.1 cm., width 1.4 cm., thickness 1.1 cm. 
This is one of the most popular cultivated fruits in Guate?
mala today. Cuadros Phase. 
Seed of the matasano tree (Casimiroa sapota). Only a 
part was preserved. Cultivated widely in Central 
America for its sweet fruit. Cuadros Phase. 
Seed distorted by crushing, relatively smaller than 
modern avocado, but it may be avocado. Diameter ca. 
4 cm. Cuadros Phase. 
WHOLE VOLUME SUBSISTENCE IN THE CUADROS AND JOCOTAL PHASES 73 
Very fragmentary seed, not identifiable. The interior 
was preserved through carbonate replacement, showing 
a highly reticulated architecture. Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 16: Fragmentary avocado seed (Persea americana), 
with mineralized integument. Diameter 5.1 cm., within 
size range of cultivated avocado. Cuadros Phase. 
Very fragmentary seed about the size of a peach pit, not 
identifiable. Cuadros Phase. 
Cut 2 
LEVEL 13: Avocado seed. Lateral diameter about 4.4 cm. 
Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 14: Small, round, unidentifiable seed about 4 mm. 
in diameter. Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 23: Avocado seed. Integument mineralized. Lat?
eral diameter 4.8-4.9 cm. Cuadros Phase. 
Two fragments from a flattish, almond-shaped seed, 
unidentifiable. Smooth, well-preserved integument. 
About 2.1 cm. long, 5 mm. thick. Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 24: Impression of the concave side of a strongly con?
cave-convex seed or seed pod. Width 2.0 cm. Cuadros 
Phase. 
O n e m a y therefore conc lude t ha t avocado, matasano, 
a n d jocote we re ea ten a t Salinas L a Blanca du r ing 
the C u a d r o s Phase , avocado being the more i m p o r t a n t 
of these fruits b o t h in n u m b e r s a n d in ac tua l food 
v a l u e ; size r a n g e of the seeds suggests avocados 
p r o b a b l y were cul t ivated , as they were du r ing the 
early Forma t ive a t T e h u a c a n (MacNeish , 1964, p . 
536). 
Jocotes were also widely ea ten in p r e - C o l u m b i a n 
Mesoamer ica . Lowe (1959, p . 7) ment ions thei r use 
by the Chiapanecs of the Gri ja lva Depression, a n d 
fruits of the same genus (Spondias sp.) were ea ten d u r i n g 
the Forma t ive periods in the Valley of T e h u a c a n (C . 
Ear le Smi th , personal c o m m u n i c a t i o n ) . 
TABLE 5.?IMPRESSIONS OF FRUIT SEEDS FROM SALINAS LA BLANCA 
Phase 
Jocotal 
Cuadros 
Cut 
1 
1 
2 
2 
1 
1 
2 
2 
Level 
3 
13 
13 
14 
15 
16 
23 
24 
Number of Seeds 
Avocado 
_ 
-
1 
-
? 
1 
1 
-
4(?) 
Mata?
sano 
Jocote 
_ 
-
- -
-
1 1 
-
-
-
1 1 
Uniden?
tifiable 
Total 
1 1 
1 1 
1 
1 1 
1 4(?) 
1 2 
1 2 
1 1 
7 13(?) 
ANIMAL FOODS 
W h i t e - t a i l e d D e e r 
T h e only n o n h u m a n m a m m a l r emains identified a t 
Salinas L a Blanca were of the white-tai led deer 
(Odocoileus virginianus). T h e i r dis t r ibut ion is as follows: 
Cut 1 
LEVEL 1: Odocoileus. One 2d phalanx; possibly a mandible 
fragment; other splinters. Badly eroded and rodent 
gnawed. Probably Crucero Phase. 
LEVEL 13: Odocoileus. Fragments from the distal end of 
humerus and from the unfused proximal end of humerus. 
Subadult deer, less than 2 years old. Jocotal Phase. 
LEVEL 30: Odocoileus. A very young fawn, represented by 
several vertebrae; fragments of mandible and palate with 
teeth; both metacarpals, a radius and humerus; and a 
fully articulated hind limb (tibia, metatarsal, astragalus, 
calcaneum, and 1st, 2d, 3d phalanges). Unerupted first 
molar suggests an age of less than 6 months, probably 3-4 
months at most. No signs of cutting, chopping, or scorch?
ing. Cuadros Phase. 
Cut 2 
LEVEL 1: Odocoileus. One 2d phalanx, two 3d phalanges. 
Probably Crucero Phase. 
LEVEL 2: Odocoileus. Small chips from the distal end of a 
left tibia and from other bones. All show evidence of 
cutting part way through with an obsidian blade, after 
which the bone was snapped open. Probably Crucero. 
LEVEL 3 : Odocoileus? 
Jocotal Phase. 
LEVEL 23: Odocoileus 
Phase. 
LEVEL 24: Odocoileus. Four rib fragments, probably from 
the same discarded brisket as in Level 23. Cuadros Phase. 
Small fragment from left acetabulum. 
Three rib fragments. Cuadros 
White- ta i led deer a re now seriously reduced in 
number s in the Ocds area because of unrestr ic ted 
hun t ing . Because of their scarcity, we were unab le 
to find ou t m u c h abou t the local subspecies of Odo?
coileus, b u t their bones indicate t h a t these were sma l l? 
probab ly nea r the lower end of the size r ange for the 
species. Tropica l forest is no t really an ideal h a b i t a t 
for these deer, which a re m u c h more a t h o m e in p ine-
oak woodland . 
Deer avoid the mangrove forest?an ut ter ly unsui t ?
able envi ronment , where g r o u n d travel is very difficult 
because of the dense stilt roots and marshy soi l?and 
a re apparen t ly bo thered by the m a n y bloodsucking 
parasi tes in the hea r t of the mixed tropical forest. 
O n e local hun t e r described coming u p o n a deer so 
bl inded by a dense cloud of mosquitoes t h a t it l eaned 
against a t ree with its eyes shut, t ry ing to r u b the 
insects off its head , unt i l he app roached close enough 
to shoot it. White- ta i ls live in the savanna , h id ing 
in the brushy thickets a n d feeding on grass in the 
74 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
evening; they are also quite at home in second growth. 
They apparently browse on twigs and buds in the 
more open madresal groves, and would in Cuadros 
and Jocotal times have occurred in the immediate 
vicinity of Salinas La Blanca. Even if the present 
salt playa had been a lagoon in the Early Formative, 
there still would have been madresalares in the area 
along the remnants of still older lagoon estuary 
systems. 
Exploitation of this species was light. The herds 
on the coast are small, moving about periodically 
from one resource to another, and their scattered 
remains in Cuts 1 and 2 indicate that Cuadros villagers 
simply picked off a deer whenever a herd happened to 
be in the vicinity, without pursuing them intensively. 
Two of the deer at Salinas La Blanca were immature, 
and one?in Level 30 of Cut 1?was a very young 
fawn. Its first molar had not yet erupted, making 
it under 6 months old (Villa R., 1953, p . 475), and 
its size suggests it was probably no more than 3 or 
4 months of age. Evidently the Salinas La Blanca 
villagers took advantage of fawns, strays, and youthful 
stragglers. Because the age of the fawn in Level 30 
of Cut 1 can be ascertained within limits, some specu?
lation can be made about the time of year it was 
killed. Leopold (1959, p . 510), drawing on a number 
of reports from different parts of Mexico, notes a 
tendency for births of Odocoileus to occur earlier in 
the year the farther south one goes; records for 
Sinaloa are in the June?July period, while those 
from Yucatan fall between April and June . The 
April to July period is probably a safe bet for the 
time during which fawns are born in the Ocds area; 
this suggests that the fawn found in Level 30 was 
probably killed around the end of the rainy season. 
H o m o Sapiens 
At La Victoria, fragments of human bone, often 
charred or cut, showed up in the refuse in enough 
frequency to suggest some ritual cannibalism was 
practiced, especially in the Conchas Phase (Coe, 
1961, p . 117). The same kind of evidence is present 
at Salinas La Blanca, although in less profusion, 
while there was no indication of intentional burials 
being made in the refuse. Bones from Homo sapiens 
were found as follows: 
Cut l 
LEVEL 3: Fragments of human tibia showing clearly 
marked cuts. Crucero Phase. 
LEVEL 22: Human baby or foetus?pelvis, ribs, some limb 
bones. Cuadros Phase. 
LEVELS 24, 27: Charred fragments of the same adult 
human radius; the two pieces fitted together. Cuadros 
Phase. 
We hesitate to say that the baby was eaten; stillborn 
or very young infants are often cast into the refuse by 
peoples of nonindustrial societies. However, the ab?
sence of the skull or vertebrae must be explained. 
Birds 
Five individual birds were represented by bones at 
Salinas la Blanca, and they have been analyzed by 
Dr. Raymond A. Paynter, Jr . , as follows: 
Cut 1 
LEVEL 3: Pathological humerus of an unidentifiable, 
moderate-sized bird. The bone appears very fresh. 
Probably Crucero Phase. 
LEVEL 8: Carpometacarpus of brown pelican (Pelecanus 
occidentalis). Early in Jocotal Phase. 
Cut 2 
LEVEL 9: Rather complete body skeleton (lacks the skull 
and outer extremities) of a moderately large bird, pre?
served in articulation through deposition of carbonate 
concretion. The bird is not fully grown; probably it 
was about half grown and still confined to its nest. Not 
identifiable, but possibly a hawk. It is interesting in that 
the legs had been manipulated so that they were on top 
of the wings. Jocotal Phase. 
LEVEL 17: Fragment of humerus from bird about the size 
of small hawk, but not identifiable (even to family). 
Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 30: Central portion of the tibia of a moderately 
large bird, unidentifiable. Cuadros Phase. 
Birds seem not to have been an important part of 
the diet of the Early Formative villagers at Salinas 
La Blanca, even though the population and numbers 
of species of birds are very high in the Ocds area 
(Griscom, 1932). Today, there are particularly dense 
populations of the pijije (Black-bellied tree duck, 
Dendrocygna autumnalis), which seems to have been 
overlooked as a source of food by the prehistoric 
inhabitants. 
Again, the kinds of bird remains and their scarcity 
testify to the lack of interest in hunting by the Cuadros 
and Jocotal people. The brown pelican can be seen 
flying in long lines just beyond the surf of the Ocds 
beach every evening, each bird soaring very close to 
the water and rising and falling expertly with the 
swells. A well-aimed rock could probably down one 
of them. The fledgling bird in Level 9 of Cut 2 was 
probably encountered accidentally, fallen to the 
ground from its nest; the wretched corpse, with its 
legs twisted over the wings, shows that somebody had 
tried to gnaw on the meat from the body without 
disarticulating the creature. 
Rept i les 
The reptilian remains listed below consisted of 
WHOLE VOLUME SUBSISTENCE IN THE CUADROS AND JOCOTAL PHASES 75 
fresh-water turtles and two species of iguanas (Iguana 
iguana, the green iguana; Ctenosaura similis, the black 
iguana). 
Cut l 
LEVEL 22: Iguana iguana. Proximal end of a right femur. 
Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 27: Large fresh-water turtle. Several carapace 
fragments. Cuadros Phase. 
Cut 2 
LEVEL 3: Small turtle. Fragments of plastron. Jocotal 
Phase? 
LEVEL 15: Ctenosaura similis. Right ilium. Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 17: Iguana iguana? One reptile rib which closely 
matches a specimen collected by us. Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 21: Iguana iguana. One vertebra, cooked to an ashy 
white. Cuadros Phase. 
The two genera of iguanas eaten at Salinas La 
Blanca have somewhat different habits. The restric?
tion of the green iguana (locally known as the "dorada" 
if male, or simply "iguana" if female) to humid 
environments such as the riverbank monte along the 
Naranjo has already been mentioned (pp. 12-13). 
During February and March it appeared that the 
density of green iguanas in the trees along the Naranjo 
was at least one adult for every hundred meters of 
riverbank. The density of all iguanas in the same 
area (young and old, green and black alike) was 
occasionally as high as three per hundred meters. 
Peak activity seemed to be between 3 and 4 p.m., and 
this was the time when most iguana hunting was done. 
Green iguanas, being almost exclusively arboreal, 
are most often hunted from a dugout canoe by small 
boys who stun them with rocks or sticks thrown into 
the riverbank trees. During the afternoons when the 
density of iguanas is at its height, this activity might 
almost be considered "collecting" rather than hunting. 
Green iguanas are usually captured alive and, since 
they make no attempt to bite, are brought back with 
their feet tied together and kept around the house until 
sold or eaten. 
Females of this species descend to the ground in 
late March or thereabouts to lay their eggs, at which 
time they can be hunted with dogs. According to 
Alvarez del Toro (1952, p. 61), adult green iguanas 
in Chiapas may lay up to 60 or 80 eggs; three dozen 
was the most anyone in the Ocds area could remember, 
however, and we ourselves never observed more than 
33 in our admittedly brief stay. During February and 
March, female iguanas are pursued intensely for 
their eggs, which are regarded as even more delicious 
than the meat. Often a sort of gustatory "caesarean" 
is practiced, whereby the female is relieved of her 
eggs, sewn up, and released in the belief that she 
will bear more the following year. "Of course," says 
Alvarez del Toro (ibid.), "it is doubtful that iguanas 
so operated upon recover normally." 
The same author describes "great quantities" of 
green iguanas frequenting the estuary systems of the 
Chiapas coast and sleeping in mobs among the man?
grove roots along the Mar Muerto. We saw no 
evidence, however, that Iguana iguana ever penetrated 
into the dark interior of the mangrove forest. Basically, 
the green iguana is a creature of the banks, whether 
estuarine or riverine?diurnal, arboreal, and extremely 
nonaggressive. 
Ctenosaura similis, the black iguana (locally known 
as giota), is primarily a terrestrial form, and its hunting 
represents a somewhat different problem from that 
of Iguana. These black, spiny-tailed lizards are more 
omnivorous and far more aggressive than their 
arboreal cousins, and must be attacked with greater 
care. Although they are captured alive (and kept 
in homemade cages until ready for eating) as are 
green iguanas, they are brought back to the village 
with their mouths sewn shut, a reflection of the 
respect the local boys have for their bite. Black 
iguanas range far inland from the river and can be 
encountered in the madresalar or even down on the 
sandy beaches. They are usually hunted with dogs, 
who overtake them and shake the iguanas until they 
are sufficiently groggy for capture. A small boy with 
a club is almost as effective, except that the speed 
of the black iguana frequently takes him out of range. 
Ctenosaura is all white meat, and the Ocosenos regard 
it as better eating than the green iguana. However, 
it is not pursued extensively for its eggs. Black 
iguanas are smaller on the average than green iguanas, 
but a very big adult may weight as much as 2 pounds. 
During the excavations at Salinas La Blanca, the 
local children caught three or four black iguanas per 
week within easy walking distance of the site, and the 
same situation may have been true in Cuadros times. 
In fact, these iguanas, along with green iguanas, fish, 
and mouthless crabs, represent most of the meat 
eaten today by the family living at the site. 
The large river turtle seen in Cut 1, Level 27, is 
an aquatic form of the family Emydidae, a group which 
includes the edible terrapins of the United States. 
These turtles sun themselves on sandbars in the 
middle of the Naranjo and take to the water when 
startled. Except during the egg-laying season, they 
would be rarely encountered on shore. The specimen 
we obtained at Ocds was caught in shallow water 
near the riverbank in the early morning by a fisher?
man. Such turtles, like iguanas, are kept alive (often 
for several days) by the villagers until time for eating. 
We have no idea of the population density of river 
turtles near Salinas La Blanca; only one was caught 
during our 3-month stay, and only one occurred in 
76 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
Cuadros levels in the excavation. Probably they 
were an occasional and unpredictable food source, 
rather than the staple that crabs seem to have been. 
TABLE 6. -MAMMAL, BIRD, AND REPTILE REMAINS FROM SALINAS L A 
BLANCA 
Phase Cu t Level 
Number of individual animals 
-0 
-
ta
ile
 
-3 ? ? "0 
? 
3 
cd 
6 
3 X 
3 
pe
li 
3 
0 
P3 
-a 
n
tif
ie
 
u ?i 
'3 'J3 
0 
3 
ig
ua
 
re
ej 
O 
ig
ua
na
 
pq 
4) 
a
rt
l 
H 
Total 
Crucero.. 
Joco ta l . . . . 
Cuadros. . . 2 
2 
2 
1 
2 
1 
2 
1 
1 
2 
15 
17 
21 
22 
23 
24 
24 
27 
30 
30 
1 1 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ 
2 1 1 - - - - - _ 
2 2 i _ _ _ _ _ _ 
1 3 1 - 1 - - -
2 3 1 - - - - - 1 
1 8 - 1 - - - -
2 9 _ _ _ i - _ _ 
1 13 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ 
1 
1 - -
1 - -
i 1 
2 1 
1 1 - _ 
_ 2 1 _ 
Totals 21 
1
 Bones from same individual. 
2
 Bones from same individual. 
Fish 
Fish were a real mainstay in the diet at Salinas La 
Blanca, and their remains were exceeded in number 
only by crabs and mollusks. More than 100 frag?
ments, belonging to a minimum of 35 individual fish 
of 11 different genera, were recovered by our 1962 
excavations. The remains have been studied and 
identified by Dr. W. I. Follett, curator of fishes, 
California Academy of Sciences, whose report con?
stitutes Appendix 4 of the present volume. 
Most common in the Cuadros Phase deposits were 
bones of gar (Lepisosteus tropicus), snook (Centropomus 
nigrescens), snapper (Lutjanus spp.), grunt (Pomadasys 
macr acanthus), and sea catfish (Sciades troschelii). 
According to Follett (p. 132), all of these fish are 
estuarine species which could have been taken by 
gill net in the immediate vicinity of the site. Species 
whose remains were less frequently recovered include 
mojarras (Genes sp. and Eugenes sp.), machete (Elops 
affinis), crevalle jack (Caranx hippos), needlefish 
(Strongylura stolzmanni), and spotted sleeper (Eleotris 
picta). Only the gar and grunt have been identified 
from Jocotal levels, and there were no fish remains 
in Crucero levels at all (table 7). 
TABLE 7 
Phase Cut 
. ? F I S H REMAINS 
Level 
FROM SALINAS L A BLANCA 
Number of individuals of each species 
._ 
Se
a 
ca
tfi
s 
G
ar
 
Sn
oo
k 
M
oja
rra
 
M
ac
he
te
 
Sn
ap
pe
r 
G
ru
nt
 
_ 
- . ? i 
C
re
va
lle
 
u 
u 
?zr> 
s 
Y
el
lo
w
fin
 JS 
N
ee
dl
ef
is 
(X 
Sp
ot
te
d 
i 
-3 u 
? 
U
ni
de
nt
i 
| 
T
ot
al
 
Jocotal. 
Cuadros. 
Totals 
!
 7 _ _ _ _ _ _ i - - - _ -
2 7 - 1 - - - - - - - - - -
2 12 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 
2 13 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1 
2 1 4 - 1 1 - - - - - - - - -
2 1 5 - - - - - - 1 - - - 1 -
2 i 6 _ _ _ _ _ i i - - i _ -
2 17 ? 1 1 - ? 1 ? ? 1 1 ? -
2 1 8 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 
1 i 9 i _ _ _ _ _ _ - - - _ -
1 1 9 - - - - - 1 - - - - - -
2 2 3 - 1 _ _ _ i i _ _ _ _ 
1 24 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 
2 24 - - - - - 1 - - - - - -
1 2 5 - - 1 - 1 - - - - - - -
2 25 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 
1 2 6 - - 1 1 - - - - - - - -
2 26 1 
1 27 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 
1 2 8 - 1 - - - - - - - - - -
2 23 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 
2 29 1 - - - - - - - - - - 1 
3 5 4 1 1 4 4 1 1 2 1 8 35 
Today at Ocds, all these fish are netted with the 
exception of the sea catfish, which is fished for with 
hook and line during the predawn hours. This 
species, known locally as the tacazonte, may measure 
up to a meter in length; other large food fish include 
the machete (a member of the tarpon family), snook, 
snapper, and crevalle jack, all of which may reach or 
exceed a meter in length. In a single stratum, Level 
17 of Cut 2 at Salinas La Blanca, well over 100 kilos 
of fish meat may be represented. 
Follett comments that both gar and needlefish are 
difficult to hook because of their jaw construction 
(p. 132). I t is therefore a reasonable assumption 
that most fish (with the possible exception of sea 
catfish) were netted during the Cuadros Phase, either 
WHOLE VOLUME SUBSISTENCE IN THE CUADROS AND JOCOTAL PHASES 77 
in the tidewater river or nearby estuary. This con?
clusion is supported by the fact that at La Victoria, 
although fishhooks were absent in the refuse, a variety 
of cordage suitable for netmaking was already known 
in the Ocds Phase and pottery net sinkers were known 
in Ocds and Conchas times (Coe, 1961, pp. 115-117). 
The presence of snook in Levels 25 and 26 of Cut 1, 
and Levels 14 and 17 of Cut 2, indicates that these 
particular deposits were probably laid down in the 
dry season. The anadromous snook spends the winter 
months in the lagoon-estuary system, then migrates 
upstream when summer rains swell the rivers. 
Crabs 
In terms of individuals represented, by far the most 
abundant nonmolluskan faunal remains in Salinas 
La Blanca were those of crabs (pl. 25, a). The identi?
fications presented in table 8 were made by Dr. 
Willard Hartman and Dr. Fenner Chace with the 
use of a collection of modern decapods from the 
vicinity of the site. 
Of the total number of 63 crabs, more than half 
belong to the species Cardisoma crassum Smith, the 
mouthless crab, known locally as the cangrejo azul 
(pl. 25, b). The abundance of mouthless crabs in the 
mangrove forest and the madresalar has already been 
noted (pp. 11-14). These beautiful crabs (with deep 
blue carapace, red legs, and white claws) weigh about 
a quarter of a pound each and are widely eaten by the 
modern Ocosenos, who catch them in small, wooden, 
box traps baited with the fruit of the pihuela, a spiny 
bromeliad that grows abundantly in areas with salty 
soil. The traps are set in the late afternoon and 
checked in the early morning; they seem to be far 
more effective than a frontal assault, for Cardisoma is 
an alert, speedy, escape artist. Sometime in June or 
July, according to local informants, the female of this 
species bears eggs. 
The tremendous quantity of crab fragments through?
out the Cuadros levels at Salinas La Blanca indicates 
that mouthless crabs were constantly being caught. 
Crab trapping is an easy and steady source of meat, a 
kind of "collecting" that can be carried out night after 
night by villagers without interrupting their agricul?
tural routine. Furthermore, it is a type of food getting 
that children can undertake. It went on continu?
ously at Salinas La Blanca during our stay, without 
any apparent decrease in the local crab population. 
Ocosenos set traps only for Cardisoma, but smaller 
land crabs which frequent the same mangrove forest 
environment frequently get caught in them, such as 
Sesarma sulcatum Smith (marsh crab, locally termed 
cangrejo brujo) and Goniopsis pulchra (mangrove crab, 
also called brujo). Today, these are not eaten, but in 
Cuadros times they were cooked along with the mouth?
less crabs. About a fourth of all crab remains were 
of small fiddlers, which could be caught by hand along 
muddy estuary banks or in swampy areas. 
It is interesting that the jaiba (Callinectes toxotes 
Ordway), a large river crab much prized today, is not 
represented at all in the Salinas La Blanca deposits. 
It would seem that most if not all crab collecting in 
Cuadros and Jocotal times was done in the mangrove 
forest and madresal groves, while the high crab poten?
tial of the Naranjo River and the beaches was totally 
ignored. 
TABLE 8.?CRAB REMAINS FROM SALINAS LA BLANCA 
Phase Cut Level 
Number of individuals 
- 5 
e
ra
 
u
th
le
s 
o 2 
Ja 
<a 
rs
h 
cr
 
? 
s 
_> 
u 
V 
n
gr
ov
 
a 2 
_^  
o.. 
c
ra
b 
m
 
sp
 
a
n
th
id
 
[E
ur
yti
h 
X 
on 
JO 
dl
er
 
c 
TI 
UH 
_ 
U3 
id
en
ti 
3 
ID 
Jocotal. 
Cuadros. 
1 7 3 - - - - -
2 7 - - - - - 2 
1 8 1 - - _ _ _ 
1 9 1 - - - - -
1 10 - - - - 1 -
1 11 1 - 1 - - -
2 1 1 - - - - 2 -
1 12 2 - - - - -
2 12 1 - - - - -
1 13 2 - - - - -
1 14 2 - - - - -
2 13 1 - - - - -
2 14 1 - - - - 1 
1 15 2 - - - 1 -
2 16 1 - - - - 1 
2 17 1 1 - - 3 1 
2 18 - - - 1 1 -
1 19 2 - - - - -
2 19 i _ _ _ - -
1 20 1 - - - - -
1 21 1 - - - - -
2 21 - - - - 1 -
1 22 1 1 - - - -
2 22 1 - - - 1 -
1 23 1 - - - 1 -
2 23 - 1 - - - -
2 24 2 - - - - -
1 25 - - - - 1 -
2 25 1 1 - - - -
1 26 1 - - - 1 -
2 26 - 1 - - -
1 27 1 - - - - 1 
2 27 1 1 - - - -
1 28 - - - - 1 -
2 28 1 - - - 1 -
Totals. 34 1 15 6 63 
78 
Mollusk 
PELECYPODS 
Amphichaena kindermanni. 
Anadara aequatorialis... . 
Anadara grandis 
Cardita laticostata 
Harvella elegans. 
Iphigenia altior.. 
Mulinia palida.. 
Mytella falcata. 
Nephronais sp 
Noetia reversa 
Ostrea colombiensis. 
Pitar consanguineus. 
Pitar lupanaria.... 
Polymesoda radiata. . 
Sanguinolaria bertini. 
Tivela planulata.... 
GASTROPODS 
Agaronia testacea 
Cerithidea mazatlanica. 
Cerithidea valida 
Melampus tabogensis. 
Neritina luteofasciata. 
Olivella semistriata. 
Strombus galeatus.. 
Thais metones. 
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
TABLE 9.?MOLLUSKS 
Cut 1 (at indicated phase and level) 
CRUCERO 
JOCOTAL 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 
- - 1 1 - 1 
1 - - 1 
1 -
1 1 
- - - - - 1 - - 3 2 - 1 
CUADROS 
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 
1 1 
3 - - -
1 1 
5 - 4 3 1 2 3 5 9 10 1 14 145 226 26 - -
6 - 2 - - - - 1 - - - - 1 2 - - -
1
 Dr. William J . Clench, personal communication. 
2
 Keen, 1958. 
WHOLE VOLUME 
FROM SALINAS LA BLANCA 
SUBSISTENCE IN THE CUADROS AND JOCOTAL PHASES 79 
Cut 2 (at indicated phase and level) 
CRUCERO 
JOCOTAL 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 
- - - 7 
4 12 7 - 1 - 2 
- 1 -
CUADROS 
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 
1 1 
1 - 3 1 
1 -
1 - -
- 1 -
1 3 1 - -
1 - - 1 1 
1 - 4 1 1 2 1 1 4 8 2 3 - 2 1 1 -
1 -
2 1 - - - 1 - 2 2 7 1 1 2 -
Preferred environment 
Brackish water.1 
Offshore, 6-40 fathoms depth.2 
Extreme low tide on sandbars.2 
Extreme low tide line in sand under 
rocks, or offshore to 15 fathoms.2 
Offshore in 14-^ K) fathoms mud. 
Beach valves not uncommon.2 
Intertidally and to 13 fathoms.2 
Intertidally and to 13 fathoms. 
Not uncommon.2 
Intertidally on mudflats and in 
shallow lagoons to 6 fathoms; 
Not uncommon.2 
Fresh water.1 
Intertidal, buried in mud.2 
Common in mangrove swamps.2 
Rare, mostly offshore in depths of 
2.5-24.0 fathoms.2 
Common on sandy beaches and 
offshore to 13 fathoms.2 
Brackish to fresh water.2 
Intertidal, not common.2 
Sandy beaches and bars.2 
High on beach. Intertidal in sand.2 
Salt marshes, climbs on sedges.1 
Mudflats (brackish water).2 
Mudflats (brackish water).2 
Cobble beaches and under drift at 
high tide line, common.2 
On margins of mangrove swamps 
or on mudflats.2 
Common.2 
Just below high tide line, fairly 
common.2 
Not common.2 
80 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
M o l l u s k s 
The distribution of mollusks that were found in the 
Salinas La Blanca deposits is given in table 9. It is 
obvious that they were a very important source of 
animal protein for the ancient inhabitants, as they had 
been for the people of La Victoria. Those that occur 
in greatest number are typically brackish water species 
for the most part, inhabiting the muddy banks of the 
estuaries and lagoons. This is the habitat of the 
marsh clam Polymesoda radiata (pl. 26, g), which was 
heavily exploited during Cuadros times, particularly 
in the early part of the phase. According to Keen 
(1958, p . 90) this species now ranges from Nicaragua 
to Panama, considerably to the south of Guatemala, 
while the Polymesoda collected by us from the muddy 
margins of mangrove forests in the Ocds area belonged 
entirely to the species P. mexicana. There can be little 
doubt of the identification, for the latter has a much 
thinner shell than the former. P. radiata is the only 
instance in the Salinas La Blanca faunal assemblage 
of a species the range of which now lies outside the 
area under study. 
Other denizens of the mangrove-lined estuaries 
which were eaten in Cuadros times include oysters 
(Ostrea colombiensis), mussels (Mytella falcata), and 
Cerithidea mazatlanica (pl. 26, a), a small snail. Oysters 
and mussels are, however, very rare, and there is good 
evidence that they were overpicked almost to extinc?
tion by the end of the preceding Ocds Phase (Coe, 
1961, p . 113). 
As the Cuadros Phase draws to a close, the exploita?
tion of Polymesoda dwindles, and instead there appears 
a new mollusk, Agaronia testacea (pl. 26, d), an olive 
that may be found plowing about the sandy shore at 
low tide, just under the surface. Agaronia, though, is 
never found in the great numbers that had previously 
typified Polymesoda. By Jocotal times, the assemblage 
consisted mainly of Agaronia and Iphigenia altior (a 
pelecypod also of the intertidal zone). 
I t is quite reasonable to suppose that most of the 
intertidal or deepwater forms, which never reach a 
frequency of over three in any level and which often 
are represented only once, were beach valves gathered 
for use as scrapers or ornaments. Thus, for example, 
Anadara grandis and Noetia reversa were certainly used 
as scrapers or smoothers and Mulinia palida as a 
pendant (pp. 64-65). The valves of many of these 
shore species are considerably eroded and must have 
been picked up as curiosities on the beach. 
We have been much struck by the fact that in the 
Formative period of the Ocds region, each phase is 
characterized by a distinct complex of high-frequency 
mollusks, testifying to food-getting patterns which 
were just as peculiar to these phases as were the ce?
ramic types then in use. These are as follows: 
Ocos: 
Mytella falcata 
Ostrea colombiensis 
Strombus galeatus 
Cuadros: 
Polymesoda radiata 
Cerithidea mazatlanica 
Jocotal: 
Iphigenia altior 
Agaronia testacea 
Conchas: 
Amphichaena kindermanni (especially Conchas 1) 
Iphigenia altior 
Polymesoda radiata 
Agaronia testacea 
Crucero?None 
The shift was from large, estuarine and lagoon 
species, to smaller species of the same habitat, to 
shoreline forms, and back to small, brackish water 
species. We could with some confidence ascribe a 
given stratum to its proper Formative Phase on the 
basis of the mollusk frequencies alone, without looking 
at the pottery. 
I t should be stressed that at no time during the 
prehistory of the Ocds area were people relying mainly 
on molluskan food: there have been no shell middens 
encountered here. Rather, mollusks were gathered, 
probably by women and children digging in the estua?
rine mudbanks, as a supplement to a diet which 
consisted mainly of maize. 
F O O D P R E P A R A T I O N 
We have no information on means of food storage 
at Salinas La Blanca, but the present occupants of 
the site use aboveground cribs to keep maize from 
rotting in the tropical humidity. Whether Formative 
villagers also did so is unknown. 
As for their main food, maize, we suspect for the 
reasons given below that it was eaten in the form of 
cooked dough balls or tamales: 
1. The cobs we recovered had been shelled, which 
means that corn was not usually eaten as roasting ears 
or simply chewed when green, as was often the case 
in Tamaulipas (MacNeish, 1958, p . 146). 
2. The total absence of the comal, or pottery griddle, 
in Cuadros and Jocotal levels suggests that tortillas 
were probably not being made. In fact, it is suspected 
by many investigators that the tortilla, so universal in 
Mesoamerica today, was a relatively late arrival in 
the Maya area; most early sources on the Maya, 
WHOLE VOLUME SUBSISTENCE IN THE CUADROS AND JOCOTAL PHASES 81 
including Landa, fail to mention it at all, although 
describing the tamal (Tozzer, 1941, p . 90). Griddles 
do not appear in Pacific coastal Guatemala until Late 
Classic times. 
3. As explained below, there is evidence that food of 
some kind was being boiled and even steamed in large 
neckless jars of the Cuadros Phase. This is the way 
tamales are typically prepared in the area. 
Shelled corn is prepared in roughly the same way 
whether it is to be made into tortillas or tamales. The 
kernels are removed from the dried ears and soaked 
or boiled overnight in water to which lime (cal) has 
been added, to swell the grain and separate the outer 
coating from it. Next, the soaked kernels or nixtamal 
are ground into an unleavened dough or masa. 
Grinding stones appropriate for such activity were 
found in Cuadros Phase levels at Salinas La Blanca. 
In Indian communities today, tamales are made by 
wrapping a ball of masa in cornhusks or in some large 
leaf (domestic bananas and Heliconia are often pre?
ferred), and then boiling them in a cooking pot to 
which only a small amount of water has been added? 
the steaming probably being more important than the 
boiling itself. As a luxury, the tamales may first be 
filled with meat, condiments, and so forth, but the 
simple, quickly prepared dough balls (termed poches 
in some parts of Guatemala) are a more common 
staple in some regions of the Maya country. 
We suspect that the large neckless jars of the 
Guamuchal Brushed ceramic type were principally 
employed to cook tamales. As pointed out in pages 
28-30, there is firm evidence from fire marks that 
these large tecomates were cooking vessels which had 
been placed over the typical three-stone hearth. 
Furthermore, calcareous deposits on the interior of 
basal sherds are a sign that frequent and prolonged 
boiling of lime-rich water had been practiced; the 
bottoms of the vessels are charred not only on the 
exterior but also in the interior, which would suggest 
that boiling was carried out with so little water that 
it often cooked away, burning the contents. Since 
steaming is more important to the production of 
tamales than boiling, it is significant that the shape of 
Guamuchal Brushed vessels, with a strongly restricted 
orifice, would be most efficient in retaining steam. 
We have no way of knowing how the infrequently 
encountered deer were butchered and eaten, but 
since none of the bones in the Cuadros levels were 
burned or scorched, we presume that the villagers 
either cut pieces of the meat from the bone and 
cooked them by roasting or boiling, or else quartered 
the animal and threw the sections in the boiling pot. 
Since the scanty deer remains are largely of immature 
animals, this latter method would have been most 
convenient; the fact that the fawn in Level 30 of Cut 1 
consisted of about half an articulated skeleton suggests 
that it was eaten without disjointing. Similar habits 
of preparation and consumption are inferred from the 
few bird remains of Cuadros and Jocotal. 
The usual method of preparing crabs today in Ocds 
consists of boiling them in a pot with a soup. From 
the calcined nature of the crab claws recovered from 
early deposits at Salinas La Blanca, and from a pincer 
found still adhering to the interior of a body sherd of 
Guamuchal Brushed, we assume that these important 
food animals were treated in the same way by the 
ancients. A few, however, are charred, and it is 
possible that some were roasted. Some fishbones are 
also carbonized, and it may be induced that these were 
roasted also. 
Roasting was definitely the principal method of 
preparation for mollusks. Many Polymesoda radiata 
valves are calcined, and about 25 percent of them are 
charred black on the exterior, particularly toward 
the beaks. A brief exposure to a bed of glowing coals 
is about the speediest method of opening clams, and 
it seems plausible that this procedure was adopted 
by the Cuadros villagers. In the Jocotal Phase we 
have several examples of cooking pits containing shells 
of the then popular mollusk Agaronia testacea, and one 
would believe from this that the roasting process was 
still the accepted method for cooking these shellfish. 
We submitted charcoal specimens from Cuadros 
and Jocotal hearths to Dr. B. Francis Kukachka of the 
Forest Products Laboratory, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, with the following results: 
Cut l 
LEVEL 9: (6 fragments.) Rhizophora. Jocotal Phase. 
LEVEL 23: (17 fragments.) Two different hardwoods not 
further identified. Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 28: (8 fragments.) Monocot (grass or palm). 
Cuadros Phase. 
Cut 2 
Level 12: (5 fragments.) Rhizophora. Early in Jocotal 
Phase. 
LEVEL 14: (10 fragments.) Pouteria. Cuadros Phase. 
(1 fragment.) Hardwood not further identified (differ?
ent from Level 23, Cut 1). Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 15: (5 fragments.) Pouteria and another hardwood. 
Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 18: (8 fragments.) Hardwood not further identified. 
Cuadros Phase. 
LEVEL 21: (4 fragments.) Hardwood not further identified. 
Cuadros Phase. 
(11 fragments.) Monocot (grass or palm). Cuadros 
Phase. 
From a cutting made into the riverbank into the 
Mound I deposits, and never completed by us, came 
three fragments of charcoal from a wood identified as 
Platymiscium; the associated pottery was all early 
82 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
Jocotal. According to a letter from Dr. Kukachka, 
much of the material submitted was extremely fragile, 
which accounts in part for the difficulty of making a 
more complete analysis. Furthermore, the small 
stems encountered in the lot sent to him may be from 
shrubs which in general are poorly known from the 
anatomical point of view, and a diagnosis of such 
material would be practically impossible. 
Rhizophora is probably the red mangrove (Rhizophora 
mangle). According to Standley and Williams (1963, 
p . 268), charcoal from red mangrove has a general 
reputation in Central America for being the best of 
all for the culinary hearth. Standley and Steyermark 
(1946 b, pp. 338-9) list only one species of Platymiscium 
for Guatemala, P. dimorphandrum, a large tree some?
times 30 m. high, the wood of which is favored for the 
making of marimba keys, from which comes its local 
name, marimbero. I t is found on the Pacific coast as 
well as elsewhere in Guatemala, in wet or rather dry, 
mixed forest. One of the species of Pouteria, P. 
campechiana or yellow sapote, is widely cultivated for 
its fruit in the tropical lowlands from Mexico to 
Panama (Dressier, 1953), and may have been the 
source for some of our samples. The gathering of 
firewood is typically a woman's activity in many parts 
of Mesoamerica, and we may assume with some 
justification that Early Formative villagers at Salinas 
La Blanca collected fuel for their kitchen fires by 
frequent forays into the neighboring mangrove forest 
and into those patches of forest not already felled for 
cultivation. 
TABLE 10.?CHARCOAL FROM FIREWOOD IN HEARTHS AT SALINAS L A 
BLANCA 
Phase 
Jocotal 
Cuadros 
Totals 
C u t 
(0 
1 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
1 
1 
Level 
0) 
9 
12 
14 
15 
18 
21 
23 
28 
Number of fragments 
pr
ov
e 
3 
n 
s 
V 
o 
3-
CO 
O 
> 
n
be
r o
 
C 
? 
_ _ 
en
tif
i 
dw
oc
 
?3, a 
3 , 3 
u 
? 
_ P H 
en
tif
i 
ss
 
or
 
_ M 
"a be 
!_> 
- - 3 -
6 - - -
5 - -
- 10 - 1 
- 5 - 1 
- - - 8 
- - - 4 11 
- - - 17 
- - - - 8 
11 15 3 31 19 
Total 
79 
1
 Bank cut; see p. 81. 
S U M M A R Y 
The people of the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases were 
full-time farmers who grew and ate a primitive race 
of pod-popcorn unhybridized with Tripsacum, planting 
it on river and estuary terraces so fertile that today 
two or even three annual harvests of maize are possible. 
They also cultivated avocados. Other fruits like jocote 
and matasano were eaten, and possibly cultivated as 
well. Carbonized wood of the yellow sapote is present 
in their debris, leading us to suspect that this fruit 
may have been eaten also. Concrete evidence for 
the growing of beans, squash, and chile is lacking, 
perhaps only through lack of preservation. 
The larger game known for the Pacific coast of 
Guatemala and Chiapas?tapir, peccary, and deer? 
is conspicuous mainly for its absence or scarcity at the 
site. Of the few deer unlucky enough to end up in 
the cooking pot, two were immature and one was 
only a few months old. Larger deer and peccary seem 
not to have been taken, and in fact the latter is re?
presented in the entire Formative sequence from the 
area by a single tooth from Ocds levels at La Victoria. 
A few birds were eaten, and iguanas of two species 
appear to have been captured with fair frequency, 
just as they are today in the immediate vicinity of the 
site. The pits made at La Victoria (Coe, 1961) 
generally verify the lack of interest in hunting seen 
at Salinas La Blanca. 
Fishing, and the collection of shellfish, were of 
considerable importance and probably provided most 
of the meat intake during the Ocds, Cuadros, Jocotal, 
and Conchas Phases. The bar graph (fig. 43) gives 
some idea of the relative roles of collecting vs. hunting 
in the lives of the inhabitants of Salinas La Blanca. 
While they may, on their return from the milpa, have 
picked off an occasional deer which straggled behind 
the herd, and while the village boys may have caught 
an occasional iguana or turtle, their most reliable 
sources of meat appear to have been fish, crabs, and 
mollusks. These are the animals which, given the 
location of the site, could have been collected with a 
minimum of effort and no travel at all. There is no 
evidence that Cuadros or Jocotal farmers ever ranged 
very far in pursuit of game or traveled to distant 
microenvironments as did Tehuaca'n Valley villagers. 
WHOLE VOLUME SUBSISTENCE IN THE CUADROS AND JOCOTAL PHASES 83 
No. of Individuals Represented 
i 1 r 
o ? g s _ a
 0 s s a 8 a u 
DEER 
BIRDS 
IGUANIDS 
TURTLES 
FISH 
CRABS 
FIGURE 43.?Animal remains, exclusive of mollusks, found in 
Cuadros and Jocotal Phase levels at Salinas La Blanca. 
The daily fare at Salinas La Blanca consisted pri?
marily of tamales, steamed in Guamuchal Brushed 
(and later in Suchiate Brushed) tecomates, over fires 
fueled with red mangrove, yellow sapote, marimbero, 
and other hardwoods. Mollusks were roasted until 
they opened their valves, and crabs were boiled or 
roasted. 
The entire food-collecting complex, at least insofar 
as revealed by archeological investigation, seems to 
reflect a fully sedentary people exploiting one parti?
cularly productive habitat out of the several available 
to them. In the tidewater zone they had access to 
the resources of the mangrove-lined estuary and lagoon 
as well as the fertile terrace of the lower river and the 
cultivable alluvial flats stretching inland from the 
estuary. The food resources of more distant micro-
environments, such as the tropical savanna, were 
largely ignored in favor of those near at hand, which, 
properly manipulated, provided everything needed 
to maintain a stable village-farming way of life. 
Settlement Patterns in the Ocds Area 
One of the aims of the 1962 fieldwork was to provide 
a better picture of the ancient occupation of the Ocds 
area than had resulted from the 1958 season?not 
only in terms of stratigraphic sequences, but also in 
regard to the spatial distribution of sites over a long 
period of time. For this reason, we carried out the 
survey described in this chapter. 
Chang (1958, p . 299) has made an important dis?
tinction between the two meanings which the term 
"settlement pattern" usually carries: Settlement pattern, 
strictly defined, is the manner in which human settle?
ments are arranged over the landscape in relation to 
the physiographic environment, while community pattern 
is the manner in which the inhabitants arrange their 
various structures within the community and their 
communities within the aggregate. He defines the 
aggregate as "a gathering of certain number of com?
munities which are bound by close social, political, 
military, commercial, or religious ties." 
We intend to attempt a description of only the 
settlement pattern in its restricted sense. There is 
hardly any information on the internal structure of 
villages or other communities in our area, nor at this 
stage of our knowledge could we attempt to trace the 
social connections which may have bound certain 
hamlets and villages to each other. Instead, we shall 
concentrate only on those aspects emphasized by 
Sanders (1956, p. 115): 
The study of settlement pattern is a study of the ecological and 
demographic aspects of culture. Settlement pattern is, in effect, 
human ecology, since it is concerned with the distribution of 
population over the landscape and an investigation of the 
reasons behind that distribution. 
We are now able to pinpoint on the maps (figs. 4 5 -
47, 49, 50) a total of 58 sites in an area of about 13 by 
10 km. This extremely high density of archeological 
remains immediately raises the question of how we 
have defined the word "site." To us, a site is any 
archeological feature, such as a sherd concentration 
on the surface of the ground, or an artificial mound, 
sufficiently isolated from other manifestations to sug?
gest that it was anciently the location of either a 
discrete community, albeit only a hamlet, or a 
ceremonial center of some sort. The conditions of 
this definition, however, cannot always be met, as for 
instance in the lowland Maya area where house ruins 
are scattered over the landscape for kilometers, with?
out any clear-cut dividing line between "sites." We 
ran into a similar situation with the Cerro del Tiestal 
remains scattered around the salt playa just to the east 
of Salinas La Blanca. 
This survey (summarized in fig. 44) makes no 
pretensions of being complete, nor does it meet the 
stringent requirements of probability sampling (see 
Binford, 1964). I t was designed only to reveal some 
general trends of ancient settlement. The part best 
covered by our survey (and by the reconnaissance 
carried out by Shook in 1948, who found four sites 
in the area) is bounded on the east and west by the 
Naranjo and Suchiate Rivers, respectively, and by 
Santa Clara on the north and Ocds on the south. 
We also covered with reasonable thoroughness the 
east bank of the Naranjo below Bocana, the salt 
playa and mangrove forest east of Salinas La Blanca, 
and the small river estuary system above this as far 
as the Pampa La Morena. The upper right quadrant 
FIGURE 44.?Population trends in the Ocos area, as indicated by 
the number of components for each period found by the 1962 
site survey. 
84 
WHOLE VOLUME SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE OCOS AREA 85 
of our survey maps is therefore largely a blank, 
although there must be sites in that forested area as 
well. The chances are good that in the area covered 
by these maps, there are actually over 100 sites, a 
very high density of ancient occupation. 
Before proceeding to the analysis of changing 
settlement patterns in a phase by phase study, a few 
words should be said about the one artifact located 
on survey that may possibly belong to the preceramic 
era. This is the basal half of a large obsidian spear 
point (pl. 27, a), found half-buried in the sand of the 
"street" outside one of the local beer parlors (no 
area was left unsampled on survey). The point was 
made on a large long flake struck from a prepared 
core; no trace of the original platform remains, but 
part of the bulb of percussion is just visible above the 
base. Secondary chipping, confined to the edges, 
gave the point its final form. Originally it must have 
measured about 10.3 cm. in length; the maximum 
width is 4.5 cm., and the greatest thickness is 1.4 cm. 
Superficially, the point resembles the large Ensor 
Side-notched type (Suhm and Jelks, 1962, p. 189, pl. 
95), with convex base and broad, shallow notching. 
Unfortunately, the dating of this type is somewhat of 
a problem. Ensor points do occur in a preceramic 
context in the Tehuacan Valley, Puebla (MacNeish, 
1962, pp. 31-36), but there is evidence that they may 
have lasted into the Classic period in areas like central 
Chiapas (MacNeish and Peterson, 1962, p . 23). 
Since no Early Classic sites are known yet for the 
Ocds area?and since not a single projectile point 
has ever appeared in excavated Formative strata, or 
in our extensive surface collections from Late Classic 
sites?we think it somewhat more likely that our lone 
Ensor point belongs to the preceramic. Certainly it 
would be out of place in any of the periods we know 
from excavation, where chipped stone is conspicuous 
mainly by its absence. Our dating of the object 
is, admittedly, unsupported by any stratigraphic 
evidence. 
E A R L Y F O R M A T I V E SITES (fig. 45) 
Archeologica l Criteria 
Our knowledge of ceramics of the three sequent 
phases considered by us as Early Formative?Ocds, 
Cuadros, and Jocotal?is based upon excavations in 
La Victoria and Salinas La Blanca. Ocds pottery 
is so distinctive, especially in its frequency of sherds 
decorated with iridescent paint, cord marking, and 
rocker stamping, that it is doubtful that it would 
be missed in a surface sample if present. To a lesser 
extent this is also true of Cuadros and Jocotal, since 
Guamuchal Brushed and Suchiate Brushed tecomate 
rims respectively are good criteria for these two 
phases. 
Sites 
SM-1: SALINAS LA BLANCA. TWO occupation mounds, 
largely of the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases. 
SM-4: AGUILAR (called "Villa Angela" in Coe, 1961, p. 
147). A possible ceremonial mound or pyramid, 7 to 
8 m. high, in pasture land to the west of the Ayutla-
Ocos road. There are several lower mounds nearby, 
possibly house sites. Willey and Smith collected 49 
sherds from the site in 1958, of which 18 were identi?
fiable; of these, 15 were Ocos and 3 Conchas (Middle 
Formative). We picked up 30 identifiable sherds in 
1962, of which 27 were Ocos, 2 were San Juan Plumbate 
(Marcos Phase, Late Classic), and 1 was modern 
glazed. The mound fill obviously contains Ocos 
materials, though it may possibly have been built 
during later times. 
SM-10: CERRO DEL TAMBITO. A broad, flat mound, 5 
m. high and several hundred meters in diameter, on a 
defunct tributary of the Zanjon Pacaya in the heart of 
210-980?67 7 
the Pampa La Morena. There were numerous sherds 
of both the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases scattered on 
the surface; 19 sherds of Suchiate Brushed were found 
as opposed to only 10 of Guamuchal Brushed, probably 
because the Cuadros component is deeply buried. 
SM-12: CERRO DE LA BOMBA. A mound 4 m. high and 
20 m. in diameter, in the madresal groves on the south 
edge of the Salinas La Victoria salt playa. An exposed 
profile on one side, revealing layer after layer of sherd 
filled midden, including "white-rimmed black ware" 
of the Pampas Black-and-white variety, shows that this 
mound is pure Cuadros from top to bottom. 
SM-15: GROUP OF MOUNDS about half a kilometer west 
of the El Crucero railway crossing (see p. 96). Two 
sherds indicate that the earliest occupation was Jocotal: 
one is a Suchiate Brushed sherd, the other Conchas 
White-to-buff. 
SM-20: MOUND 1.5 m. high and 50 m. long, on the defunct 
estuary running west from Salinas La Victoria, about 
1 km. northwest of Ocos. All 18 sherds picked up from 
the surface belonged to the Cuadros Phase. 
SM-38: LA VICTORIA. The earliest of four components 
at this stratified village site belongs to the Ocos Phase. 
SM-41: EL JOCOTAL. A mound 1 m. high and perhaps 
200 m. in diameter, near an old estuary remnant in 
the Potrero El Jocotal, about 3 km. northwest of Ocos, 
between the salt playas "Culebra" and "La Gloria." 
This site has midden areas of almost pure shell, includ?
ing mainly Anomalocardia subrugosa, Amphichaena kinder-
manni, and Agaronia testacea. Chione (Lirophera) kelletti and 
Trachycardium (Acrosterigma) pristipleura were also present. 
The surface collection consists entirely of Jocotal 
sherds, mainly from the earlier part of that phase; 
Suchiate Brushed is represented in greatest abundance. 
86 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
FIGURE 45.?Distribution of sites in the Ocos area during the Early Formative period. 
WHOLE VOLUME SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE OCOS AREA 87 
SM-52: CERRO DEL TIESTAL (described in detail on p. 92). 
The earlier component at this mound site up the 
Zanjon Pacaya is Jocotal, represented by a single 
Suchiate Brushed sherd with low-relief filleting. 
SM-57: SANTA CLARA BANANAL. This is a 4-m. high 
mound in the banana grove just to the east of the 
Santa Clara finca house on the other side of the road, 
described in Coe (1961, p. 148). Three sherds from 
the site were of the Ocos Phase. 
Discussion 
By far the most puzzling phase in the area is Ocds. 
In spite of a fairly diligent search, only three sites 
within our transect have ever produced sherds of the 
distinctive and exotically decorated Ocds pottery, the 
ties of which have been traced as far as Ecuador. 
Settlement in the Ocds Phase is not limited to estu?
aries, and shuns the mangrove forest. The layout at 
La Victoria suggests that villages were without ap?
parent planning or arrangement. In comparison to 
succeeding Formative phases, the population density 
during Ocds times was certainly very low. 
It proved impossible to pin down a site that definitely 
contained pottery of both the Ocds and Cuadros 
Phases, although the surfaces of all tecomate-bearing 
mounds were diligently searched. All Cuadros sites 
are located on estuaries or vestiges of prehistoric 
estuaries?where canoe travel would have been pos?
sible?yet within walking distance of the mixed 
tropical forest which could easily have been cleared 
for cornfields. None is in the heart of the mangrove 
forest, but rather at the transition from mangrove to 
low monte or even in the low pampa; and none sits on 
the edge of the wide deep estuaries, but rather on the 
narrow backwaters where the currents move slowly 
and mollusks abound. We have located only four 
Cuadros sites, all of them large wide occupation 
mounds which supported communities from extended 
family to small village size. They apparently all have 
deep midden deposits; since the phase is almost 
surely of no great duration, this would argue for a 
fairly intensive occupation of these sites. 
There would seem to be little if any difference in 
settlement pattern or subsistence between Cuadros 
and Jocotal. They have the same lateral distribution 
along the same estuary arms. Five Jocotal compo?
nents are known, though the phase was very brief. 
M I D D L E F O R M A T I V E SITES (fig. 46) 
Archeolog ica l Cri ter ia 
The Middle Formative period in the Ocds area is 
represented by the Conchas Phase, with two sub-
phases. A Conchas component in a site would be 
indicated by a high frequency of the large undecorated 
tecomates of the Conchas Red Unburnished type, as 
well as by the very distinctive, hard, white, mono?
chrome pottery of the Conchas White-to-buff type 
(pl. 27, b-l). Conchas figurines are also indicative of 
the phase. Since certain Conchas types evolve from 
Jocotal prototypes, there is a slight danger of confusion 
in phase identification of surface collections, but this 
can be overcome with a large surface sample. 
Sites 
SM-4: AGUILAR. See p. 85. The Willey and Smith 
collection from the surface contained three Conchas 
sherds. 
SM-7: CERRO DE LAS CUEVAS. A small mound on the 
east bank of the Zanjon Pacaya estuary, 2 km. down?
stream from the Pampa La Morena. This occupation 
site is in mangrove forest very near the transition to 
mixed tropical forest. Of the 15 identifiable sherds 
collected from the surface, 8 were Conchas (Conchas 
Red Unburnished tecomates) and 7 belonged to the 
Cerro del Tiestal Complex. 
SM-8: VUELTA DE LA DANTA. A small mound on the 
east bank of the Zanj6n Pacaya where it passes through 
low monte on the outskirts of the Pampa La Morena. 
The surface material consisted entirely of Conchas 
Red Unburnished tecomates. 
SM-11: VERY SHALLOW SITE, merely a layer of sherds 
eroding out of the south bank of the Zanjon Pacaya. 
The collection consists only of Conchas pottery (10 
Conchas Red Unburnished tecomates and 2 necked jars 
of the same type). 
SM-19: MOUND 1.5 m. high and 10-15 m. in diameter, 
on an old estuary remnant about 0.5 km. northwest of 
Salinas La Victoria. The entire surface sample was 
Conchas, largely Conchas Red Unburnished tecomates. 
SM-28: MOUND 5 m. high and about 100 m. long (north-
south), located on the north edge of the Salinas La 
Blanca salt playa. The surface collection consisted of 
nine Conchas Red Unburnished tecomates and one 
Conchas White-to-buff sherd. One of the largest 
Conchas mounds in the area. 
SM-31: MOUND 3 m. high and 100 m. in diameter, about 
100 m. east of the Salinas La Blanca salt playa. Two 
sherds belonged to the Conchas Phase (Conchas Red 
Unburnished jar fragments), with the bulk being of the 
Cerro del Tiestal Complex. 
SM-37: Rio NARANJO. A mound 5 m. high and 100 m. 
long north-south, lying on the east bank of the Naranjo 
River and cut by it, 0.5 km. downstream from SM-1. 
A very large sample of pottery from the cut face con?
sisted almost entirely of Conchas Red Unburnished 
tecomates, with two Conchas White-to-buff flat bottomed 
dishes; one small, oval, grinding stone (pl. 27, h) was 
88 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
Conchas Phase Sites 
;KMS. 
FIGURE 46.?Distribution of sites during the Middle Formative period in the Ocos area. 
WHOLE VOLUME SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE OCOS AREA 89 
also recovered, with a convex interior. A 50-cm.-thick 
shell layer exposed in the northern half of the mound 
consisted mainly of Iphigenia altior valves, with Amphi-
chaena kindermanni and other mollusks. Also recovered 
was a clay corncob impression and a sample of charcoal 
which was radiocarbon dated to 790 B.C. ?60 (see 
p. 68). 
SM-38: LA VICTORIA. The bulk of the occupation at 
this site, an unplanned village of some 10 to 12 houses 
on low mounds, is Conchas. 
SM-53: CERRO DEL ESCOBASAL. A mound 3 m. high and 
100 m. in diameter, located 0.5 km. up the estuary 
"El Escobasal." This site is hidden in mangrove forest, 
a considerable walk from monte suitable for milpa 
clearance under present-day conditions. The large 
surface sample was entirely Conchas, mostly Conchas 
Red Unburnished tecomates, but also including Conchas 
White-to-buff, Conchas Red-and-white, and two Ocos 
Black sherds of the Conchas Phase. In the collection 
was a leg from a large solid Conchas figurine (pl. 27, i) 
and a small stone with a pecked depression on one 
surface (pl. 27, g). Most importantly, a rim sherd from 
a large-necked jar of the Conchas Red Unburnished 
type featured a bearded face (pl. 27, /), probably that 
of a were-jaguar, in Olmec style, thus confirming the 
contemporaneity of Conchas and La Venta. 
SM-55: LA ZARCA. A large site 13 km. south of Ayutla, 
just to the west of the Ayutla-Ocos road. The site 
consists of a number of high mounds on which houses 
of the finca headquarters have been built. La Zarca 
must have been one of the most important ceremonial 
centers in the area. The collection purchased by 
E. M. Shook from the site (see Coe, 1961, p. 147) 
contains two Conchas figurine fragments. 
SM-57: SANTA CLARA BANANAL. See description on p. 87. 
The bulk of the sherds collected by Coe in 1958 belong 
to the Conchas Phase. 
Discussion 
The first noticeable population increase in the Ocds 
area took place during Conchas times, the most 
widespread and important of the local Formative 
phases. The transitional look of the antecedent 
Jocotal ceramics, the frequent tendency of Conchas 
settlements to overlie earlier Formative deposits, and 
the continued estuary orientation of many sites during 
this period make it seem likely that normal popula?
tion growth, rather than immigration, was responsible 
for the increase. Conchas has many new ceramic and 
other cultural traits, but does not as a whole look 
"foreign" to the area. 
Developments during this phase are not spectacular, 
but they are stable. Villages do not appear to have 
been much larger than in Early Formative times, but 
they are more numerous: There are more than twice 
as many Conchas components than there are in 
Jocotal. Conchas tecomates are scattered everywhere 
in the estuary system, not only spread over most of 
the previous settlements but also consistently present 
under later ones, as if the Middle Formative had been 
responsible for the opening up of new village sites. 
Middens of the phase are still replete with mollusk 
shells. Clay platform building, begun in Jocotal 
times, is still in evidence, and the use of pyramidal 
mounds is indicated by SM-57 and perhaps by SM-4. 
Maximum occupation of the Zanjon Pacaya estuary 
and the Pampa La Morena savanna may have 
occurred during the Conchas Phase. 
Enough inland Conchas sites are known to make it 
likely that this phase was oriented both to the estuaries 
and the inland plain, in contrast to the Cuadros 
and Jocotal Phases. It may be that settlement moved 
steadily inland toward the piedmont during Conchas 
times. 
LATE FORMATIVE SITES (fig. 47) 
Archeolog ica l Cri ter ia 
The Late Formative of the Ocds area is, of course, 
the Crucero Phase, defined on the basis of a ceramic 
complex found in the upper levels of La Victoria 
and in a series of ancient pits cut down from the 
surface of Salinas La Blanca. Conchas Streaky 
Brown-black would be the hallmark of the phase, 
but certain decorative techniques such as multiple-
brush Usulutan could also be considered diagnostic. 
The characteristic form is the composite silhouette 
bowl, often with thickened angle at the break and 
with dimple base. 
Sites 
SM-1: SALINAS LA BLANCA. Crucero is the latest com?
ponent at the site. 
SM-38: LA VICTORIA. Crucero pottery was segregrated 
from Marcos (Late Classic) on typological grounds. 
Discussion 
By Crucero times, a significant population decrease 
had taken place in the Ocds area and most settlement 
had moved inland to the piedmont. The Late 
Formative in the Guatemalan highlands and along the 
foothills of the Pacific coast (the so-called "Boca 
Costa") of both Guatemala and Chiapas was a time 
90 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY 
VOLUME 3 
FIGURE 47.?Late Formative and Cerro del Tiestal Complex sites in the Oc6s area. 
WHOLE VOLUME SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE OCOS AREA 91 
of substantial pyramid building and monumental 
sculpture. Kaminaljuyu in the Miraflores Phase, 
Monte Alto, El Baiil, and Izapa are some of the most 
impressive ceremonial sites of this period, and made 
important contributions to the development of Maya 
civilization. At El Jobo, only 15 km. north of our 
survey area, Shook found a kilometer-long site with 
15-m.-high pyramidal mounds, one of which was 
topped by an Izapan style stela, probably dating from 
Crucero times (Shook, 1947, p . 181). 
Such florescence evidently did not reach the sea 
in the immediate Ocds area. Crucero sites within 
the survey area are small mounds of midden at best, 
really little more than thin skims of Late Formative 
pottery above more impressive Middle or Early 
Formative deposits. The major developments of the 
period took place in the highlands and in the piedmont 
or Boca Costa; the scanty Crucero remains near Ocds 
probably represent nothing more than outliers from 
these areas. 
SITES O F T H E C E R R O D E L TIESTAL C O M P L E X (fig. 47) 
Archeologica l Cri ter ia 
At a number of sites, the surface pottery as a whole 
bore little resemblance to any known to us from our 
excavations, either in La Victoria or in Salinas La 
Blanca. We have the feeling that these collections 
pertain to a single time period, but in view of the 
possibility that they do not (this could not be proved 
one way or the other without further excavation in 
selected sites) we have hesitated to invent a new phase. 
Accordingly, the noncommittal term "Cerro del 
Tiestal Complex," adapted from the name of site 
SM-52, has been assigned to this material (pl. 28). 
The large collection from the surface of SM-52 
(Cerro del Tiestal) featured mainly thick, crude vessels 
with rather coarse bentonitic paste. The surfaces 
were much worn, but occasionally there are signs of 
a red or flesh-colored slip; however, the largest and 
coarsest of the vessels were definitely unslipped, and 
their form suggests that they may well have played a 
part in salt extraction. The forms include: (1) deep 
bowls with a slight recurving toward the orifices, 
which are usually somewhat restricted, the rims being 
tapered rounded (pl. 28, k,m); (2) strongly restricted, 
squat or globular neckless jars (pl. 28, c); (3) jars 
with vertical to outflaring necks (pl. 28, h-j); and 
(4) open bowls or vases (pl. 28, g). The decoration is 
confined to rare incising on Forms 2 and 4 and is 
linear, with hatched triangles, branching designs (pl. 
28, g), and opposed diagonals (pl. 28, /) . 
At other sites with pottery of the same complex, 
associated sherds include composite silhouette bowls 
with black interior and exterior horizontal ribbing 
(pl. 28, d); broad, wavy Usuluta'n designs on the interior 
of a deep bowl (SM-21 ; pl. 28, e); red on pinkish-buff 
or cream sherds (SM-33); and quite often Violeta 
Plain rims, with their characteristic complex profile 
(pl. 28, n,o). All of the foregoing suggests a placement 
in the Late Formative for the complex, if in fact we 
are dealing with a chronologically restricted assort?
ment of sherds; if so, then a placement just after 
Crucero might be most suitable, but it would be very-
rash at the present time to form any definite 
conclusions. 
From a significant number of sites of the Cerro 
del Tiestal Complex some curious handmade, crude, 
and unslipped pottery objects (pl. 28, p-s) were 
collected. All are solid and cylindrical or slightly 
pointed, and were fired at a fairly low temperature. 
They are not prongs for incense burners. They re?
semble nothing so much as the clay cylinders known 
to have been used in great numbers as supports for 
salt-molding vessels in prehistoric Europe (Riehm, 
1961), and which one of us (Coe) found at a late salt-
making site on the coast of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. 
The purpose of these porous supports is first of all to 
hold the mold up near the fire to hasten drying, and 
to draw away excess mother-liquor through the walls 
of the mold, which itself is of a porous clay. Such 
objects are typical of many regions where primitive 
saltmaking from brine was carried out. I t is possible, 
therefore, that sites of the Cerro del Tiestal Complex 
were saltmaking stations which supplied the large 
Late Formative sites farther inland on the Boca Costa 
piedmont. 
Sites 
SM-7: CERRO DE LAS CUEVAS (see p. 87). Out of 15 sherds, 
7 belong to the Cerro del Tiestal Complex. 
SM-21: TWIN MOUNDS located on the north bank of a now-
defunct estuary running northwest from Ocos. Cerro 
del Tiestal sherds include an example of wavy-line 
Usulutan and a red-slipped bowl with everted rim. 
Three salt-mold supports were also found. There is a 
Marcos Phase component at this site. 
SM-22: MOUND 4 m. high and about 70 m. in diameter 
on the edge of the salt playa "Salinas Madresal" (about 
0.25 km. west of SM-21). Two Violeta Plain necks and 
three strongly outcurved and exteriorly thickened necks 
from jars suggest a placement in the Cerro del Tiestal 
Complex. A Marcos component is also present. 
SM-24: MOUND 3 m. high and 10 m. in diameter, on the 
west margin of the salt playa "Salinas Madresal," and 
about 150 m. north of SM-23. All sherds assigned to 
92 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
the Cerro del Tiestal Complex, mainly consisting of 
coarse, deep, restricted jars with slightly curved walls 
near the rim; one Violeta Plain rim. 
SM-26: MOUND on the north margin of the Salinas La 
Blanca salt playa, just west of SM-28 (a large Conchas 
site). Only three identifiable sherds, all of the Cerro 
del Tiestal Complex, and including one Violeta Plain. 
SM-27: MOUND near SM-26. Four identifiable sherds, 
all Cerro del Tiestal. 
SM-30: Low MOUND, among a string of eight others 
(SM-29, -44, -45, -46, -47, -48, -49, -50) reaching 
east along the bank of one of the defunct estuaries 
feeding the Salinas La Blanca salt playa. Four identi?
fiable sherds, all Cerro del Tiestal, and including an 
eroded composite silhouette bowl with coarse engraving 
on the exterior. 
SM-31: See p. 87. Seven out of nine sherds are Cerro del 
Tiestal. 
SM-32: Low MOUND on the southwest edge of the Salinas 
La Blanca salt playa. With the possible exception of 
one very eroded sherd which looks like San Juan 
Plumbate, all surface material is Cerro del Tiestal. 
There are seven coarse, deep, restricted jars of bag 
shaped form, three fragments of red-slipped jars with 
outflaring, exteriorly thickened neck rims, two sherds 
from deep, red-slipped bowls or vases, and a cylindrical 
pottery salt-mold support. 
SM-33: Low MOUND to the west of SM-32 and SM-34. 
All sherds of the Cerro del Tiestal Complex, including 
red-on-cream or pinkish buff examples, as well as 
several fragments which recall Julain Coarse. 
SM-34: Low MOUND between SM-32 and SM-33. Six 
sherds are Cerro del Tiestal, with one high neck from 
ajar which may be Marcos. 
SM-45: Low MOUND to the east of SM-30. All seven 
identifiable sherds, which feature the characteristic 
deep, coarse, restricted jars, are Cerro del Tiestal. 
SM-47: Low MOUND just to the east of SM-45. All 11 
sherds belong to the Cerro del Tiestal complex; 9 of 
them are coarse, deep, restricted jars. 
SM-49: Low MOUND just southeast of SM-47. Only 
four identifiable sherds, all of them coarse, deep, 
restricted jars of the Cerro del Tiestal Complex. 
SM-52: CERRO DEL TIESTAL. A mound 1.5 m. high and 
20 m. in diameter, about 200 m. up the estuary "El 
Tiestal"; the site can be reached only by water because 
of the density of mangrove stilt roots in the surrounding 
forest. The Cerro del Tiestal Complex was defined 
from the surface collection made there. 
Discussion 
This ceramic complex is a temporary formulation 
made on the basis of very incomplete evidence. Some 
of the pottery, especially the engraved and Usulutan 
examples, appears to us to be terminal Formative, 
probably post-Crucero. We see some interesting re?
semblances with the ceramics from Salinas de Ixtan, 
near Champerico (Kidder, 1940). 
As opposed to Crucero, there are certainly a great 
number of sites assigned to this complex, some 15 in all. 
These have a highly significant relation to the salt playas 
of the Ocds area, and are almost all strung out along the 
edges of these formations. Today and in the recent 
past, the salt playas have been the locations of com?
mercial salt-extraction ventures; the salt is extracted 
from the brine-permeated clay on the bed of the flats. 
I t is not unreasonable to suppose from the presence 
of certain distinctive artifacts that the people who made 
the Cerro del Tiestal Complex pottery were also in 
the salt business, and that this industry is largely 
responsible for the observed settlement pattern?lots of 
small house sites or perhaps even salt-boiling stations 
surrounding the playas. I t may be, in fact, that most of 
the "sites" around the Salinas La Blanca salt playa 
actually belonged to a single dispersed community. 
Aboriginal methods of salt production from salt 
playas on the Pacific coast of Guatemala were described 
in the year 1579 by J u a n de Estrada (translation by 
Coe): 
Salt is made on this coast in a way that seems of more trouble 
than profit. They take earth from near the sea and throw it into 
some great trough-like canoes which have been pierced through 
the bottom. Inside them they put some mats and on these they 
throw the earth taken from near the sea, and which appears 
to be even more salty. On top of the earth they pour water 
little by little and it percolates through the earth and filters 
through the mats and through the holes, falling into some pots 
(ollas) below. And they boil this water in another olla until it 
congeals, producing salt only in small, scanty, and puny amounts. 
[Estrada, 1955.] 
Some of the constricted orifice jars of the Cerro del 
Tiestal Complex may have been used for the boiling 
process only, and these would have been the more 
impermeable ones, since boiling brine would have the 
tendency to burst the walls of porous vessels. On the 
other hand, those with porous fabric could have been 
used as molds for the wet salt as it was recovered from 
the boiling jars; these would have been placed on the 
clay supports which we found. 
We would like to call attention to another site located 
right on the edge of a coastal salt playa, the Salinas de 
Ixtan above mentioned. The pottery, which appears 
to be salt eroded very much like many Cerro del 
Tiestal sherds, is surely terminal Formative as well, 
with wavy line Usulutan and vessels with mammiform 
supports; there are many resemblances to the engraved 
pottery of Cerro del Tiestal (Kidder, 1940; Coe, 1961, 
pp . 148-149). We would venture the guess that this 
also was a saltmaking site and that many others will 
be discovered for the terminal Formative along the 
south coast of Guatemala. At any rate, such activity 
seems to have been responsible for a large, but short?
lived, population increase in the Ocds area, followed 
by an apparent abandonment. 
WHOLE VOLUME SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE OCOS AREA 93 
L A T E CLASSIC SITES (fig. 49) 
Archeo log ica l Cri ter ia 
The only Late Classic Phase which has been defined 
for the Ocds area is Marcos (pl. 29, b-j, 30), which is 
principally characterized by an abundance of San 
Juan Plumbate pottery. San J u a n Plumbate is 
common in many Pacific coast sites, and was ascribed 
by Thompson to the Late Classic period on the basis 
of his stratigraphic work at El Baiil (Thompson, 1948). 
According to more recent archeological work in the 
Cotzumalhuapa area, mainly at the Finca El Bilbao, 
this type is distinctive of the last part of the period, 
and does not appear until that time. At the present 
state of our knowledge, we have no idea of what the 
ceramics of the earlier part of the Late Classic (cor?
responding to Tepeu 1 and 2) would look like in our 
area, nor do there seem to be any sites or collections 
that can be assigned to it. 
The San J u a n Plumbate type is described by 
Thompson (1948) and Coe (1961). In our area the 
forms are as follows: (1) large, deep bowls with 
everted rims and dimple bases (pl. 29, e-g, i, j); 
(2) squat jars with low, vertical necks (pl. 30 a, c-e); 
(3) simple silhouette bowls; (4) bowls with exteriorly 
thickened rims and lateral moldings or ridges (pl. 30, 
U g)l (5) composite silhouette bowls; (6) "basal-
flange" bowls; and (7) cylindrical vases (pl. 29, d). 
There are clear-cut differences between sites in the 
frequencies reached by Form 1, on the one hand, and 
by Forms 2 and 4, on the other?these may well 
reflect important chronological differences within the 
type. At El Baiil, furthermore, Form 1 was missing, 
and there was a preponderance of Form 4, so that 
there may be differences between areas as well. 
Unfortunately, no large-scale excavations have been 
carried out in sites which are mainly of the Marcos 
Phase. However, in the spring of 1958, the construc?
tion of a drainage ditch in SM-6 (Limones), in a 
banana grove just to the east of the Ayutla-Ocds 
road, destroyed a mound and revealed a large cache 
of San Juan Plumbate vessels, which were collected 
by Don Gustavo Espinosa of the Instituto de Antro?
pologia e Historia and deposited by him in the museum 
of Guatemala City. They unfortunately have never 
been studied. The most extraordinary find in this 
cache was a circular gold plaque (pl. 29, h), which 
was contained within a bowl of Form 1 (pl. 29, i, j). 
Its diameter varies from 9.5 to 9.6 cm., and it is quite 
heavy. A stylized owl is hammered out in relief; in 
shape and style, it falls into a group with two other 
repousse gold plaques from Guatemala. 
One of these plaques (fig. 48, b) comes from the 
Mexico-Guatemala border region, probably from the 
vicinity of Ayutla (Nottebohm, 1945, and personal 
FIGURE 48.?Embossed gold plaques from Guatemala, a, Found at Zacualpa. b, Said to be from the Ayutla area, north of Oc6s. 
After Nottebohm, 1945. 
210-980?67-
94 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
FIGURE 49.?Distribution of Late Classic sites in the Oc6s area. 
WHOLE VOLUME SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE OCOS AREA 95 
communication), and represents a stylized Tlaloc face 
in the same border of triangles that can be seen on the 
Limones plaque. The other (fig. 48, a) was one of two 
found at Zacualpa (Lothrop, 1936, fig. 68, b) in Tomb 
A, the contents of which had been removed by local 
looters but recovered by Father Rossbach. Again, the 
embossed design is of a Tlaloc face in a border of 
triangles, in a style which is, like those of the others, 
more "Mexican" than Maya. Nine pottery vessels 
were associated with the Zacualpa plaque. One of 
these is a cylindrical vase with a finely incised figure 
of a seated man and glyphs, in the most sophisticated 
Late Classic Maya style (Lothrop, 1936, pl. 1, a). 
The remaining eight comprised seven tall, cylindrical 
vases and one tripod bowl, all with negative decoration 
consisting of alternating parallel lines and rows of dots 
combined with life forms; all had been covered with 
painted stucco. This kind of negative pottery appears 
in Late Classic context at El Baiil (Thompson, 1948, 
fig. 53), at Finca El Bilbao (Lee Parsons, personal 
communication), and at Palo Gordo (collection in 
Museo Nacional de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Guate?
mala City). The Zacualpa disk therefore would also 
date to the Late Classic, probably to its later part. 
The other gold plaque in the tomb, parenthetically, 
was welded from two pieces of metal and embossed 
with what seems to be a parrot in profile. 
All three of these gold plaques, then, belong to the 
Late Classic period. This dating is not particularly 
surprising in view of the metal associated with San 
Juan Plumbate in a tomb in the Motagua valley 
(Kidder and Smith, 1943, p . 170), and with Copador 
Ware at Chalchuapa, El Salvador (Kidder, 1948, from 
information supplied by Stanley Boggs); one also 
calls to mind the well-known occurrence of a frag?
mentary gold figurine in the substela cache of Stela 
A at Copan (Stromsvik, 1941). In spite of many 
assertions to the contrary, some gold objects had found 
their way into the Maya area before the final Classic 
collapse, perhaps from both highland Mexico and 
from lower Central America. From its style, the 
plaque from the Marcos Phase plumbate cache at 
Limones appears to have been a Mexican rather than 
Maya production, as do the Nottebohm and Zacualpa 
specimens. 
Other wares which characterize the Marcos Phase, 
besides San J u a n Plumbate, include a pottery with 
specular red slip, sometimes over a white underslip 
(pl. 30,k,l); cylindrical vases and bowls both are among 
the forms. Polished red or orange bowls with everted 
rim are also found, as well as plain, necked or neckless 
jars (pl. 30, m-p) with a single horizontal row of 
indented filleting on the shoulder or below the neck?
less rim. "Flesh-ware" sherds occur, but no forms 
have been surely identified. Some sites have a few 
Manchuria Plain sherds, including fragments of comals. 
Various other artifacts in Marcos Phase surface 
collections are footed metates, a double-end flute 
(pl. 30, q), and two effigy heads (pl. 29, b, c) (one a 
human face made in a mold and the other a spider 
monkey) from San Juan Plumbate vessels; the latter 
are definitely not in the later Tohil Plumbate style. 
Sites 
SM-2: BOCANA. This is the site called "La Blanca" by 
Coe (1961). It is an impressive ceremonial group of six 
large mounds, ranging in height from 3 to 10 m., 
located in pastureland to the east of the Naranjo River 
about 1.2 km. upstream from Salinas La Blanca. The 
approximate dimensions of the site are about 300 m. 
from north to south, and 100 m. east to west. The 
surface collection is entirely Marcos, consisting mainly of 
San Juan Plumbate sherds among which Form 1 
predominates. 
SM-3: EL JICARO. A group of two 4-m.-high mounds and 
several lower ones in pastureland about 1 km. south?
west of the Platanar railroad crossing. The surface 
sherds are all Marcos, of which 18 out of 22 identifiable 
specimens are San Juan Plumbate, with Form 1 
predominating. 
SM-4: AGUILAR. See p. 85. Two San Juan Plumbate 
sherds were among those collected. 
SM-5: SAN ANTONIO. A small ceremonial center, or a 
ceremonial mound surrounded by habitation mounds, 
in a cottonfield 1.5 km. southeast of the village of 
Limones. The dimensions are about 30 by 30 m. 
Five out of six sherds picked up were San Juan Plumb?
ate. The remaining sherd is polished black ware with 
zoned white-filled hatchure on the exterior; it may 
be of the Crucero Phase. 
SM-6: Los LIMONES. Located in a banana plantation to 
the northeast of the village of Limones; first recon-
noitered by E. M. Shook (1947; see also Coe, 1961,p. 
147, describing a surface collection made by Willey 
and Smith in 1958). This unusual group consists of 
several fairly large, low mounds. At least one of these 
has vertical masonry walls consisting of river cobbles 
set in shell lime mortar; the exterior side of each cobble 
has been carefully cut or smoothed down to present an 
even wall surface. The surface sherds collected in 1958 
and 1962 are almost all ascribable to the Marcos Phase, 
with much San Juan Plumbate; some large jars in 
cream monochrome with thick everted rims, and a flat 
stone metate with slab legs were also collected. Shook 
reports another group of mounds lying between 
Limones village and the Suchiate River. The gold 
plaque and San Juan Plumbate vessels recovered from a 
destroyed mound near the village have been discussed 
above. 
SM-13: MOUND roughly 2 m. high and 10 m. in diameter, 
located 100 m. south of SM-12 (see p. 85), along an 
extinct estuary north of Ocos. Of 22 identifiable sherds, 
96 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
21 were San J u a n Plumbate, among which Form 2 
predominates. 
SM-14 : SMALL MOUND, 50 m. east of S M - 1 3 and roughly 
the same size; both may constitute a single Marcos 
settlement. Surface pottery was abundant , all of the 
Marcos Phase with much San J u a n Plumbate. Of 48 
plumbate sherds, 19 could be identified as Form 2. 
S M - 1 5 : FAIRLY EXTENSIVE CEREMONIAL MOUND GROUP in 
second-growth monte, 1 km. west of the El Crucero 
railroad crossing. Overlying an earlier Jocotal com?
ponent is an important Marcos Phase occupation, con?
sisting mainly of San J u a n Plumbate, with Form 2 
predominating. From this site was collected the only 
object in the Ocos area which might be of Early Classic 
date: an apparent slab leg from a vessel, solid, with 
carved decoration on the exterior surface (pl. 29, a). 
SM-16 : SERIES OF LOW MOUNDS to the northwest of S M -
15. These are obviously village mounds, each about 
1 m. high and 100 m. wide; quite possibly this was a 
village associated with SM-15. The pottery is entirely 
Marcos, with mainly Form 1 sherds of San J u a n Plum?
bate and a Manchuria Plain comal. 
S M - 1 7 : MOUND 1 m. high and 15 m. in diameter, almost 
pure midden, located a few hundred meters south of 
SM-16. The identifiable pottery on the surface is 
Marcos, with San J u a n Plumbate (mainly Form 1), 
specular red ware, and a basal flanged bowl fragment 
which apparently is also San J u a n Plumbate. Two 
polished red sherds may be Late Formative: one is a 
fragment from a composite silhouette bowl, and the 
other a flange from a laterally flanged bowl. 
S M - 1 8 : IMPORTANT CEREMONIAL GROUP near the west bank 
of the Naranjo River, facing across to SM-2 . This site 
has a plaza framed with low mounds, as well as an 
open end ball court like that at SM-56 (Santa Clara). 
All of the surface pottery is Marcos, with a good deal 
of San J u a n Plumbate including both Forms 1 and 2; 
specular red and "flesh" wares are also present, as well 
as a metate fragment of hornblende dacite with low 
broad feet. 
SM-21 . (See p . 91.) Those sherds which do not belong 
to the Cerro del Tiestal Complex are mainly plumbate, 
but of a type which may be Robles rather than San 
Juan?the paste is softer, and the slip is more reddish 
or brownish than in the usual San J u a n examples (see 
description of Robles Plumbate in Shepard, 1948, pp. 
125-126). Squat, necked jars of Form 2 predominate 
in the plumbate group. 
SM-22. (See p . 91.) Two sherds of San J u a n Plumbate 
were picked up, including one of Form 2. 
S M - 3 5 : GROUP OF FIVE MOUNDS, 200 m. west of the Salinas 
La Blanca salt playa. One is 1.5 m. high and 30 m. in 
diameter; another is 1 m. high and 10 m. in diameter; 
the others are smaller. Out of 18 sherds, 16 are San 
San J u a n Plumbate. 
SM-38 . L A VICTORIA. Marcos is the latest component at 
this stratified site. 
S M - 3 9 : E L M A N G O . A mound 2 m. high and 100 m. in 
diameter, in the Potrero "El Mango," to the west of 
SM-38 . The very small surface sample is all Marcos, 
with two tiny San J u a n Plumbate sherds and a sherd 
from a specular red ware cylindrical vase. 
SM-40 : MOUND 1 m. high and 100 m. in diameter, about 
300 m. north of SM-39. A handful of San J u a n 
Plumbate sherds was picked up, mainly of Form 1. 
S M - 4 2 : M O U N D 2 m. high and 100 m. in diameter, located 
200 m. north of the salt playa "Esperanza." The 
large surface sample was entirely of the Marcos Phase, 
mainly San J u a n Plumbate; included in the latter 
was a modeled spider-monkey head "adorno" (pl. 29, c). 
S M - 4 3 : MOUND 2 m. high and 15 m. in diameter, just 
north of SM-42 and probably par t of the same site 
during Marcos times. The large surface collection 
was principally San J u a n Plumbate, with Form 1 
predominating; a small, human moldmade effigy head 
with elaborate headdress (pl. 29, b) probably was 
broken from a plumbate vessel. Also present was a 
sherd of specular red ware, and a fragment of a 
Manchuria Plain comal. Two artifacts were picked 
u p : a fragmentary double-end flute of pottery (pl. 30, 
q), and a mano of weathered dacite. 
S M - 5 4 : SMALL MOUND GROUP located between the Pacific 
Ocean and the estuary "El Rio Ocosito," about 0.5 
km. west of the abandoned Tilapa airstrip. Surface 
pottery was incredibly abundant , all of it Marcos. 
Of 93 "diagnostic" sherds, 84 were San J u a n Plumbate, 
of which 34 were of Form 2, and 5 of Form 4. One 
fragment of plumbate came from a squash-shaped 
effigy with a reddish glaze of Robles appearance. 
Four fragments of specular red-on-white were in the 
collection, as well as a sherd of Manchur ia Plain. 
Three solid, tapered, pronglike pottery fragments may 
be from three-pronged incensarios; they are centrally 
pierced along almost their entire length, as though 
each had been built up over a stick. 
S M - 5 5 : L A ZARCA. (See p . 89.) Much San J u a n 
Plumbate was collected by E. M. Shook from this site, 
and there is the possibility that its construction as a 
ceremonial group took place in the Marcos Phase. 
SM-56 : SANTA CLARA. This large, planned, ceremonial 
mound group lies just to the south of the houses of the 
Finca Santa Clara, in a cleared pasture, and was 
reconnoitered by Shook (1947), who excavated from 
one of the mounds a San J u a n Plumbate burial urn 
containing an infant skeleton. There is an open end 
ball court at the site. 
D i s c u s s i o n 
Fol lowing w h a t a p p e a r s to h a v e b e e n comple te 
neglect of t h e O cd s a r ea for 500 or 600 years , the re 
c a m e a wave of p o p u l a t i o n such as it h a d neve r seen 
before. T w e n t y - t w o sites, m o r e t h a n a t h i r d of all 
sites thus far p lo t ted , be long to t h e M a r c o s Phase , a 
per iod of p l a n n e d ce remonia l centers , o p e n e n d bal l 
cour ts , a n d S a n J u a n P l u m b a t e po t t e ry . 
T h i s re invasion of t he Ocds region d u r i n g t e rmina l 
L a t e Classic t imes was n o t l imi ted to t h e estuaries, 
WHOLE VOLUME SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE OCOS AREA 97 
although they may well have continued to serve as 
a prime means of transportation, a function they 
fulfilled as late as the Colonial period (Relacion de la 
Provincia de Soconusco, translated in Coe, 1961, pp. 
139-140). There is no evidence of mollusk collecting 
at Marcos sites, which often occur in open fields or 
in flats along the Naranjo River, and in one case 
almost to the beach. The reasons for this sudden 
and dramatic revival of interest in the area are 
unfortunately as obscure as the reasons for its previous 
abandonment. An interesting aspect of the Marcos 
Phase is a tendency to settle on Formative mounds 
or mound groups, some of which had been unoccupied 
for over a thousand years; since the land is subject 
to flooding during the rainy season, this practice is 
understandable. Although settlement of the area 
was widespread during this phase, no sites are yet 
known for the Zanjon Pacaya or the Pampa La 
Morena region, the savanna areas being apparently 
avoided. Many sites occur in locations where well-
drained virgin forest would have to have been cleared 
for the first time. Does this mean that some com?
mercial crop not suitable to the swampy savanna? 
like cotton or cacao?was more important during 
this phase than maize? 
For the first and only time in our survey area, a 
site (SM-54) is located in the beach sand and scrub 
area, on the inland side toward the estuaries and 
mangrove forest. There is sufficient evidence in 
aerial photographs to conclude that the Pacific 
coast of Guatemala is prograding, building up beaches 
and offshore bars in back of which lies a system of 
lagoons and estuaries. The lagoons eventually be?
come filled with silts and "fossilized" into salt playas 
and madresal groves, while new beaches are being 
formed (see discussion in Coe, 1961, pp. 111-113). 
This would suggest two things: (1) that the fossil 
beach on which SM-54 is located is as old or older 
than the Late Classic and (2) that this beach as well 
as those stretching to the west of Ocds postdate the 
end of the Formative period. 
POST-CLASSIC SITES (fig. 50) 
Archeolog ica l Cri ter ia 
So little is known about the Post-Classic period on 
the Pacific coast of Guatemala and Chiapas, that one 
would hesitate to make any generalizations about it 
for the Ocds area. Tohil (or "effigy") Plumbate 
is a good marker for the Early Post-Classic, or Toltec 
period, and has been well described by Dutton and 
Hobbs (1943) from their excavations at Tajumulco, 
in the highlands of San Marcos on one of the head?
waters of the Suchiate River. The marker for the 
latest part of the Post-Classic is Chinautla Polychrome, 
a black-and-red-on-white type which has been defined 
by Navarrete (1962) based on the French excavations 
at Mixco Viejo; characteristic ceramic forms of the 
Late Post-Classic in Guatemala are bowls with 
effigy-head feet (often of birds), stamped grater bowls, 
and high-necked jars with vertical strap handles. 
Very few traces of this period have been discovered 
in the Ocds area, however. 
Sites 
SM-6: Los LIMONES. (See p. 95.) Two red-on-white 
sherds were collected at the site in 1962, one with 
parallel lines as well as a diagonal ticked line on the 
interior; both are Mixco Viejo Red-on-white (compare 
Navarrete, 1962, fig. 5, a), Late Post-Classic period. 
SM-38: LA VICTORIA. Near the surface, one probably 
Tohil Plumbate sherd was collected, along with two 
Chinautla Polychrome sherds (Coe, 1961, fig. 38,;'-/). 
SM-55: LA ZARCA. (See pp. 89, 96.) Among the sherds 
collected by Shook at this large ceremonial mound site 
were some long, bird-headed feet, probably from Late 
Post-Classic tripod grater bowls (Coe, 1961, p. 147). 
Discussion 
The Post-Classic period in the survey area was one 
of striking population decline, similar to that which 
took place at the end of the Late Formative. All of 
the early Spanish observers of the situation along the 
Pacific coast of Chiapas and Guatemala comment 
upon the small numbers of people living there after 
the Conquest. Soconusco, in fact, a province of which 
the Ocds area was the easternmost extension, became 
known as the "Despoblado." One could travel many 
kilometers over the coastal plain without encounter?
ing anything but high forest interspersed with savan?
nas. Occasional settlements were located between 
rivers; we are told by Estrada (1955), writing in 
1579, that saltmaking was sometimes carried out near 
the coast proper, but that there were practically no 
persons then living there. 
This depopulation was strange to the Spaniards, 
who noted the high fertility of the soils and the high 
per capita production of maize, cotton, and other 
necessities. The coastal plain of Chiapas and Guate?
mala was once noted for its excellent cacao, which 
98 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY 
V O L U M E 3 
? Post-Classic Sites 
? Sites of unknown affiliation 
3 4 5 
?KMS. 
FIGURE 50.?Distribution of Post-Classic sites and sites of unknown affiliation in the Oc6s area. 
WHOLE VOLUME SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE OCOS AREA 99 
was imported in quantity by the native kings of 
Mexico in pre-Spanish times, and which continued 
to be exported from the region all through the Colo?
nial period, until ousted from favor by coffee. The 
Spanish commentators laid the blame partly at the 
door of administrative oppression, and partly to dis?
ease, and they may well have been right. Estrada 
describes as quite common a disease which resulted 
in fevers followed by shaking, and which most likely 
was malaria. It was certainly malaria which 
blocked resettlement of the Pacific coast of Guatemala 
by highland peoples until the recent introduction of 
mosquito control and antimalarial drugs. Shattuck 
(1938, p. 45) believes the "chills and fever" said by 
Fuentes y Guzman to have been introduced to Antigua 
by infected persons coming from the Pacific coast to 
have been malaria. 
If disease, particularly malaria, has been and con?
tinues to exert a depressing effect upon population 
density on the Pacific coast, could disease also ac?
count for the known decline which took place after 
the Late Classic? If malaria, for instance, was intro?
duced to the lowlands of Mesoamerica not with the 
Spanish Conquest but at the end of the Classic, this 
might go far to explain the Post-Classic near-abandon?
ment of the coastal plain, and of the Ocds area. We 
dislike relying upon such a deus ex machina, but have 
no other explanation to offer. 
SITES O F U N K N O W N A F F I L I A T I O N (fig. 50) 
Certain artificial mounds in the survey area, most 
of them quite small, are clearly recognizable as 
artificial, but produced either only a few nondiagnostic 
sherds or none at all, so that an exact assignment to 
any cultural phase would be impossible. These are 
as follows: 
SM-9: Two MOUNDS. One low, flat mound with a smaller 
one just to the southwest of it, in pastureland on the 
south margin of the Pampa La Morena. A handful 
of sherds was collected. 
SM-23: MOUND 3 m. high and 20 m. in diameter on the 
south margin of the Salinas "Madresal," about 200 m. 
southwest of SM-22 (see under Cerro del Tiestal Com?
plex). Very small sherd sample. 
SM-25: MOUND on the north margin of the Salinas La 
Blanca salt playa, just west of SM-28 (see p. 87). 
SM-29,-44,-46,-48,-50: FIVE OF A STRING OF NINE 
LOW MOUNDS reaching east along the bank of one of 
the defunct estuaries feeding the Salinas La Blanca 
salt playa, and stretching east through the madresal 
groves. 
SM-36: ONE OF A STRING OF FOUR MOUNDS along the 
southwest edge of the Salinas La Blanca salt playa. 
A few thick, crude sherds. 
SM-51: LONE MOUND on the southeast edge of the Salinas 
La Blanca salt playa. 
SM-58?: EXTENSIVE MOUND SITE is locally reported to 
exist on the Laguna Media Luna, but we were unable 
to visit it in the time at our disposal. 
Conclusions and Interpretations 
S U M M A R Y O F T H E SALINAS LA B L A N C A S E Q U E N C E 
Our investigations on the Pacific coast of Guatemala 
during 1962 centered mainly on the small site of 
Salinas La Blanca, on the east bank of the Naranjo 
River, near the village of Ocds. Two cuts were made 
in the more extensive of the two occupational mounds 
forming the site, and reached a depth of 6.5 m. below 
datum. Three components were represented in the 
deposits, all of them of the Formative period: 
Cuadros, Jocotal, and Crucero, the first two being 
new to south coast archeology. 
Cuadros is an Early Formative Phase, but later 
than Ocds, which was the oldest culture defined at 
La Victoria. Like Ocds, it is characterized by a 
preponderance of tecomates with plastic surface decora?
tion, but unlike it, Cuadros has no cord marking, 
iridescent painting, or other unusual decorative 
devices. Most tecomates are brushed, and typically 
have a raised convex band below the rim zone, along 
with filleting and interior finger punching. On two 
ceramic types, the rims have a horizontal zone of 
red slip, but otherwise painting is absent on tecomates. 
Occasionally, plain, bold rocker stamping is present, 
as it is on a fairly common red-on-white type. Vessels 
with black and white areas produced by differential 
firing are found in Cuadros, with some white rimmed 
black ware. As far as the Ocds area is concerned, 
white slipped ceramics make their first appearance 
in Cuadros. Another trait which is introduced with 
this culture is the very rare multiple-line-break motif. 
Artifacts other than pottery vessels were uncommon 
in Cuadros deposits, and figurines were virtually 
nonexistent. A few simple manos and metates, 
pounding stones, obsidian chips, pumice abraders, 
and shell smoothers make up the assemblage. 
Jocotal evolves directly from Cuadros and gives 
every indication of being a brief, terminal Early 
Formative Phase. Brushed tecomates continue to be 
dominant, with certain changes in form and decora?
tion, and white-rimmed black ware reaches the 
height of its popularity. Certain Conchas ceramics 
are clearly foreshadowed, and the appearance of 
Conchas White-to-buff pottery is most striking; there 
is ample reason to believe that Jocotal leads directly 
into Conchas 1. The artifacts are again scanty, 
and are a continuation of those already seen in 
Cuadros. 
Four Carbon-14 dates on wood charcoal from 
stratified hearths indicate that the Cuadros Phase 
lasted from 1000 to 850 B.C. A Carbon-14 date on 
a nearby site of the Conchas Phase suggests that 
Jocotal had ended by 800 B.C. 
These dates fit reasonably well with the comparative 
chronology of southeastern Mesoamerica (pp. 67-70 
and fig. 42). The Early Formative phases in the 
Ocds area (Ocds, Cuadros, and Jocotal) form part 
of what one might call a "banded tecomate" horizon, 
in which the predominant ceramic form is the neckless 
globular jar with some sort of zoned band encircling 
the rim just below the lip. Such pottery is found in 
the Ajalpan Phase at Tehuacan (R. S. MacNeish 
and F. Peterson, personal communication), in the 
first ceramic period at Santa Marta (MacNeish and 
Peterson, 1962), in Chiapa I at both Chiapa de 
Corzo and Padre Piedra (Dixon, 1959; Navarrete, 
1960), and in the earliest levels at Izapa (G. W. 
Lowe, personal communication). Banded tecomates 
persist in some areas (i.e., at Chiapa de Corzo and 
at Santa Cruz) into the beginning of the Middle 
Formative, but as a whole they comprise a good 
marker for the earliest pottery of which we have any 
knowledge in Chiapas and in the Maya region. 
Cuadros is unambiguously alined with Chiapa I 
(Cotorra), with which it shares a host of traits, while 
Ocds is probably earlier in general than Chiapa I 
but overlaps its initial stages. 
The clear-cut affiliations of Jocotal with AreValo, 
the earliest phase known thus far in the Guatemala 
highlands, enables one to correlate the Kaminaljuyu 
sequence with that of the Ocds area. A prior place?
ment of Las Charcas in the Middle Formative, and 
temporally alined with Conchas 2, is confirmed by 
this newer data, and by a number of radiocarbon dates 
100 
WHOLE VOLUME CONCLUSIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS 101 
Crucero, known from a sizable collection of complete 
and near-complete vessels recovered from pits dug in 
ancient times into the top of the deposits at Salinas 
La Blanca, belongs to a highly developed, Late Form?
ative network of cultures which extends from Kami?
naljuyu, down along the Pacific slopes, as far as Izapa 
in southeastern Chiapas. Miraflores is among the 
most important phases of this network, and its ceramic 
traditions obviously played an important role in the 
development of Crucero pottery. However, none of 
the advanced traits characterizing Miraflores and 
Izapa, such as the construction of great ceremonial 
mounds, the stela-altar complex, and an involved 
bas-relief style, are found in the peripherally placed 
Ocds area. It is quite likely that, during the Late 
Formative, much of the area's population lay in the 
neighborhood of greater sites to the north, such as 
El Jobo and Izapa. 
A N C I E N T L I F E I N T H E CUADROS A N D J O C O T A L PHASES 
Salinas La Blanca is inhabited today by two ex?
tended families, each one localized on the top of a 
mound so as to avoid the annual flooding of the sur?
rounding countryside. We derived much profit from 
watching how the family of our friend Don Vicente 
Cuadros contributes to the overall history of the west 
mound in their daily activities, in the houses in which 
they live, and in their subsistence. In many respects 
their own way of life differs very little from that of the 
ancients whose many meters of accumulated debris 
lie under their feet. 
During the Early Formative period, the hamlet of 
Salinas La Blanca may have been similarly composed 
of a few extended families, the members of which were 
dispersed through several thatched-roof houses and 
outbuildings with pole walls. Today, a hamlet the 
size of the two mounds at Salinas La Blanca would be 
occupied by no more than 20 or 25 persons. The 
prehistoric population, judging by the depth of the 
stratified refuse, must have been somewhat larger. 
It is even possible that additional mounds, now 
destroyed by the Naranjo River in much the same way 
as the western half of Mound I, were present in antiq?
uity. If so, our conservative estimate of 25 persons 
may be far too small. 
More important is the fact that this small settlement 
seems to have been occupied year round. Virtually 
all seasons of the year are represented in the floral 
or faunal remains, from the dry season (avocados, 
jocotes, snook) to the rainy season (maize, 3-to-4-month-
old deer). Many species are ones which would be 
available year round, especially those from the estuary 
system. Rather than shifting seasonally from one 
microenvironment to another as a supplement to 
cultivation, the Early Formative villagers on the coast 
chose to concentrate their settlement along the banks 
of the one microenvironment which guaranteed them 
a steady source of food. Relying on the products of 
the estuary, and the cornfields which grew along its 
alluvial banks, they seem to have had little use for 
exploiting distant habitats like savanna and mixed 
tropical forest. Their agriculture, based on non-
hybridized maize of the early Nal-Tel-Chapalote 
complex, seems to have been very successful; they 
appear to have cultivated avocados, and quite possibly 
other local fruits as well. 
We have concluded from the faunal remains that 
collecting was far more important than hunting, which 
in fact could hardly be said to exist. The few speci?
mens of white-tail deer were mainly juveniles. Of 
some scanty bird remains, one was a fledgling, and 
another was a brown pelican which some small boy 
might have downed with a lucky rock thrown from a 
beach. On the other hand, the crabs which were 
plentiful on the floor of the mangrove forest and among 
the madresal trees made a considerable contribution to 
the diet of these Early Formative people, particularly 
the gaudily colored mouthless crab. As they do today, 
the boys of the hamlet could have trapped them among 
the mangroves at night. The capture of iguanas was 
probably also the work of boys, and of moderate 
importance in the Cuadros and Jocotal cuisine. The 
point to be stressed is that crabs and iguanas could be 
caught at any time they were wanted without one's 
venturing far from the hamlet and without committing 
the men to an occupation that might take them away 
from their fields. The same can be said for the col?
lecting of mollusks, which provided a major source 
of animal protein: The women and children could 
easily have extracted marsh clams from the estuary 
mud at the edge of mangrove forest or picked 
Cerethidea snails from the edges of the salt marshes. 
Fishing was probably the only subsistence activity in 
which the men would have had a role apart from that 
of farmer, and this is still today the major activity of 
the local milperos in Ocds when they are not engaged 
in their fields. The brackish waters of the estuaries 
and lagoons are rich in marine fauna; in ancient 
times, snook, gar, snapper, mojarra, catfish, and 
needlefish provided an addition to the steady diet of 
maize. 
102 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY V O L U M E 3 
Maize that had been soaked or boiled in limewater 
was ground into dough by means of oval footless 
metates of dacite and loaf-shaped manos of the same 
material. The dough was apparently cooked as 
tamales in the very large tecomates which are so prev?
alent in Early Formative levels at Salinas La Blanca, 
over a fire of mangrove branches or other hardwood. 
Crabs and mollusks were boiled or roasted, specially 
made cooking pits being reserved for the latter method 
of cooking in the Jocotal Phase. 
We suspect that most of the pottery at Salinas La 
Blanca was made locally; in particular, the extremely 
abundant Guamuchal Brushed tecomates must have 
been of local manufacture. All vessels, of whatever 
type, were fashioned by the coiling method and usually 
decorated by some plastic means, such as brushing, 
zoning with grooves, incising, punctation, finger 
punching, and rocker stamping, when the clay was 
still wet. 
Little can be inferred of the ancient way of life from 
the artifacts alone. Obsidian chips and spokeshaves, 
sherd "saws," and pumice abraders suggest a good deal 
of woodworking, none of which has survived. Beyond 
the structure of the houses themselves, we may assume 
that such items as digging sticks, wooden bowls, and 
loom parts (if such existed) have all disappeared 
through the ravages of a hot damp climate. A chance 
impression in clay, however, showed that twilled mats 
were made and used, and we can only guess that many 
kinds of baskets were present. In the succeeding Con?
chas Phase, there is definite evidence of the twining 
of baskets (Coe, 1961, fig. 60, e-i). 
P A T T E R N S O F L A N D USE I N C O A S T A L G U A T E M A L A 
The history of changing land-use patterns on the 
Pacific coast of Guatemala is interesting enough to 
merit considerable future study. During the Early 
Formative, the estuary belt along the coast was settled 
relatively densely by a fishing, corn-farming popula?
tion ; the Middle Formative saw the climax in popula?
tion growth supported by these activities. Land 
clearance seems to have moved steadily inland toward 
the higher rainfall area of the piedmont, and in the 
Late Formative most of the coastal population was 
concentrated in the highly productive Boca Costa. By 
the end of the Formative, all that remained in the 
estuary belt were salt-producing communities?or so 
our evidence suggests. 
Total abandonment of the estuary system followed, 
during the Early Classic. For many hundreds of 
years we have no hint of the land-use pattern on the 
coast. Then, in Late Classic times, the Ocds area was 
reoccupied on a tremendous scale, with extensive 
clearing of forested areas that had never been occupied 
in the past. The poorly drained savannas were 
avoided, and there is no suggestion of fishing or shell-
fishing, from which we conclude that the extensive 
land clearance was for commercial cropping of cotton 
or cacao, two plants which need well-drained soil. 
In the Post-Classic period, for reasons as yet un?
known, the coastal estuary region once again fell into 
disuse, never to regain its past importance. 
SALINAS L A B L A N C A A N D T H E E S T A B L I S H M E N T O F V I L L A G E L I F E I N M E S O A M E R I C A 
Today most of the world's population lives in villages 
and towns. Yet permanently occupied, nucleated 
settlements have existed for only the last one-hundredth 
of man's total span on earth. 
For this reason, V. Gordon Childe held the view 
that the transition from hunting and gathering to 
village-farming was really a profound and abrupt 
change, for which he coined the term "Neolithic 
Revolution." Twenty years ago this view seemed to 
be valid, for the shift from Paleolithic to "Neolithic" 
in both hemispheres seemed to be little more than a 
narrow line of transition, hardly occupying more than 
a brief moment in archeological time. In lieu of ade?
quate data, very little could be offered to explain how 
the process of plant and animal domestication and 
the move to nucleated settlement ever came about in 
the first place. 
In more recent years, the story has been consider?
ably expanded by the archeological work of American, 
British, Danish, and French expeditions to the Near 
East, the work of MacNeish in Mesoamerica, and 
studies by Bird, Engel, and Lanning on the coast of 
Peru. In the course of this work, the "Revolution" 
has become instead the "Neolithic Evolution." 
In one very real sense, the "great transition," as 
Braid wood calls it, was "revolutionary," and this is in 
the enormous population increase which resulted from 
it. The speculative estimates made by Braidwood and 
Reed (1957) suggest the explosive nature of the popu?
lation curve: Pleistocene Near Eastern food-gatherers 
had a density of perhaps 3.0 persons per 100 square 
miles; specialized food-collectors reached 12.5 per 
100 square miles; while by the time of the primary 
village-farming community, the density was possibly 
WHOLE VOLUME CONCLUSIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS 103 
2,500 persons per 100 square miles. The geometric 
nature of this rise can be explained by the far higher 
amounts of energy offered by domestication under an 
advancing technology than by the collection of wild 
plants alone. 
Braidwood and Reed (ibid.) have proposed the 
following succession of stages in the process of settling 
down: (1) food gathering; (2) specialized food-
collecting (or terminal food-gathering); (3) vege-
culture (a mixed food-getting activity carried out in 
conjunction with specialized food-collecting); (4) 
incipient agriculture (also combined with specialized 
food-collecting); and (5) the primary village-farming 
community. These stages, which have been abstracted 
from Near Eastern data, imply a considerable timelag 
between the first step in the domestication of food 
plants and the establishment of permanent villages. 
Such a lag is evident in coastal Peru, and to a lesser 
extent in the Tehuacan Valley of south-central Mexico 
(pp. 4?5; Coe and Flannery, 1964). In Tehuacan, 
all available data indicate that maize was domesticated 
in the Coxcatlan Phase, about 5000 B.C. Semi?
permanent pit-house villages appear by Abejas times 
(3400-2300 B.C.), but population density remained 
low until the introduction of complex irrigation 
works, about 600 B.C. 
The mere possession of a domesticated plant, 
obviously, does not lead immediately to fully settled 
life. Maize was introduced to the Southwestern 
United States by 2500 B.C., yet some two thousand 
years elapsed between this event and the appearance 
of village life "and other concomitants signaling 
fully sedentary living" (Haury, 1962, p . 126). Nor is 
it a foregone conclusion that once a group comes into 
contact with farming, it will be adopted. One could 
cite the case of the Indians of California, who, although 
definitely in touch over many centuries with the farm?
ing societies of the Southwest, never planted a seed in 
the ground until forced to do so by the Spanish friars. 
Why should this be so? In certain anthropological 
and philosophical quarters it is believed that tech?
nology rules supreme, that such timelags and cultural 
differences in the evolution of plant domestication 
and village life as we see must have been caused by 
differing means of production. But the tool inventory 
of California or the Southwest was nowise inferior 
to that of the Mesoamericans, nor is there much of 
a change apparent in tool types through the many 
millennia of Mesoamerican prehistory which wit?
nessed such great cultural advances. 
I t is clear that the established preagricultural 
pattern had a great deal to do with channeling 
development along certain lines. Caldwell (1958) has 
proposed a concept of "efficiency" of economies to 
explain some of the observable differences in develop?
ment of various peoples in pre-Conquest America, 
and his views have been amplified recently by Struever 
(1964) and others. In the deciduous woodlands of 
the Eastern United States, Caldwell (1958) feels a 
"primary forest efficiency" was established as early 
as Archaic times, centered on ambush hunting and 
the intensive collecting of wild plant foods. Struever 
(1964) has suggested that this "efficiency" allowed a 
degree of sedentary life which made possible experi?
ments with domestication of commensal plants, plus 
ready acceptance of maize when introduced from the 
south. On the other hand, the "efficiency" of the 
California Indian was evidently not one which pro?
duced?to use Struever's term?an "adaptive milieu" 
conducive to experiments with domestication. 
In other words, human populations may become 
so well adapted to making a living in certain environ?
ments that new traits will not be taken up except 
under very unusual circumstances. This is reminis?
cent of Zipf's "Principle of Least Effort," which states 
that a person will strive to solve his immediate and 
probable future problems (as judged by himself) in 
such a way that the minimal amount of effort will 
be expended (Zipf, 1949). 
To the early Californian, with one of the most 
effective food-collection economies ever developed, the 
initial adoption of corn farming would (at the outset) 
probably have involved more effort for less results, 
and have actually reduced rather than raised the total 
amount of food available to him in relation to the 
work expended. He had reached an "efficiency," 
a degree of adaptation to his surroundings, which 
it would have seemed to him impractical to alter. 
The South westerner, and the Tehuacan Indian, for 
that matter, had attained a "desert efficiency" which 
for a very long time represented the path of best 
adaptation in a dry and inhospitable environment. 
This adaptation involved an annual cycle of foraging 
trips to a variety of widely spaced "microenviron?
ments" at times when key wild resources were avail?
able. Later, even after farming of maize, beans, and 
squash had begun (but before sophisticated irrigation), 
food collecting was still necessary to supplement the 
single crop a year that could be grown in the arid 
environment. Since the pattern of seasonal rounds 
was well established (and efficient), the Early Forma?
tive peoples of the Tehuacan Valley persisted in their 
long-distance foraging trips. This restricted the size, 
number, and permanence of early villages. 
104 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY 
THE HIGHLAND AND COASTAL TRADITIONS 
VOLUME 3 
Maize and other important cultigens were first de?
veloped in the highlands of Mesoamerica. In the 
lowlands, especially along the Pacific coast of Guate?
mala and Chiapas, and the gulf coast of Veracruz 
and Tabasco, we suspect that another kind of "effi?
ciency" was evolving, centering on the collection of the 
wild resources of lagoons, estuaries, tidewater rivers, 
and tropical forests. We have few sites to document 
such a way of life in Mesoamerica; the Islona de 
Chantuto in coastal Chiapas (Drucker, 1948; Lorenzo, 
1955) and a site on the Bay of Alvarado, Veracruz 
(Lorenzo, 1961) are both "aceramic" sites with layers 
of mollusks, although photographs of the pit profiles 
do not suggest they are "shell middens" per se (cf. 
Lorenzo, 1955, lam. IV). From Islona de Chantuto, 
Lorenzo (ibid., pp. 56-47) reports beds of calcined 
mollusks, fish vertebrae, turtle carapace, bird bones, 
fragments of carnivore (possibly domestic dog?), and 
bones of "deer or tapir." Deer hunting may have 
figured more prominently in the preagricultural hori?
zons of the coast than it did in the Formative, but 
along the estuaries at least a semisedentary mode of 
settlement may have been possible even before 
agriculture. 
Our evidence suggests that a primitive form of pod 
corn, forming part of the Nal-Tel-Chapalote complex, 
was traded down to the alluvial coasts of Mesoamerica 
(probably first to the gulf coast), where it was rapidly 
added to a local economy based on a coastal-marine 
estuary "efficiency." We have no inkling of when 
this took place; it certainly must have been before 
2000 B.C., when maize pollen shows up in the pollen 
diagrams from the Pete'n (Matsuo Tsukada, personal 
communication), and possibly before the crossing of 
highland maize with Tripsacum (3000 B.C.). By this, 
it is not implied that a kind of migration down to the 
coast was involved; more likely, dried maize kernels 
were being traded by highland folk for coastal prod?
ucts like seashells, salt, and feathers. At any rate, the 
coastal dwellers seem to have been highly receptive to 
the idea of maize planting. Its adoption would not 
disturb their collecting activities (which, as we have 
already explained, could be successfully carried on by 
women and children, with fishing left as a male role), 
but would effectively supplement them. This is the 
"Principle of Least Effort" once more. A similar 
situation is believed to account for the favorable 
reception of farming by lakeside or coastal peoples in 
Subsaharan Africa (Clark, 1962, p . 14). 
Eventually a new kind of "efficiency" (which 
could almost be called a double economy) crystal?
lized. I t was oriented toward collecting mollusks 
and fishing in the lagoons and estuaries of the coast, 
while farming the alluvial flats that surrounded 
them. Such an "efficiency" represented the con?
centration of the whole Formative population in one 
single "microenvironment" out of a possible six or 
eight; extensive forays to different habitats were 
unnecessary, and villages numerous and permanent. 
This is the way of life we have examined for the 
Early Formative of coastal Guatemala, where it was 
already underway in the Cuadros Phase and pre?
sumably as far back as the Ocds Phase (ca. 1300 B.C.). 
Three additional factors contributing to the pro?
found difference between the Ocds area and Tehuacan 
(and, by extension, many arid valleys in the Meso-
american highlands) were the higher rainfall, high 
water table, and rich farming soil of Ocds. Once 
the land had been cleared, two or three maize crops 
a year could be brought in with little or no rotation 
or fallowing of milpas. The high numbers of early 
villages on the Pacific coast are surely a byproduct 
of such favorable conditions for cultivation (even 
though the major cultigen was a rather primitive 
variety of maize); they enabled a further reduction 
to take place in the number and spacing of micro-
environments that had to be exploited. Our limited 
survey suggests there may have been one Early 
Formative village per kilometer along the whole 
estuary system of the Chiapas-Guatemala coast. 
WHOLE VOLUME CONCLUSIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS 
V I L L A G E L I F E A N D P O T T E R Y M A K I N G 
105 
We have said nothing of the addition of pottery?
making to this way of life. Ceramics have long been 
considered an index of settled life, at least of a semi-
sedentary existence. Ocds pottery is the earliest on 
the Pacific coast of Guatemala, and among the most 
ancient for which we have evidence in southeastern 
Mesoamerica. Unfortunately, it is highly sophisti?
cated and cannot possibly represent the origin of the 
ceramic art in Mesoamerica. 
Some extremely crude ceramics have been found in 
the Purrdn Phase of Tehuaca'n (MacNeish, 1964), 
which is estimated to span the period from 2300 to 
1500 B.C.; what is really of great interest here is that 
the Purrdn forms (the tecomate and flat-bottomed bowl 
with outslanting sides) are presaged by identical shapes 
in ground stone vessels of the earlier Abejas Phase 
(3400 to 2300 B.C.). I t is not yet known whether such 
stone vessels are true forerunners of pottery, or 
imitations of pottery being made outside the Highlands 
of Mexico. 
The idea of potterymaking could have had multiple 
roots. The early villages of northern South America 
and Panama are all characterized by pottery, and by 
a series of radiocarbon determinations which extend 
from around 3000 to 2100 B.C. (we refer to such cul?
tures as Valdivia, Puerto Hormiga, and Monagrillo). 
It is entirely plausible that the idea of firing clay to 
make containers was carried from there to Meso?
america before 2000 B.C., where that material was 
fashioned into containers similar to the stone bowls 
and neckless jars of the Abejas Phase at Tehuacan, 
but never became common until sedentary village 
life had become more surely established on the alluvial 
coasts. 
We do not pretend to have found the oldest village 
in Mesoamerica, nor to have turned up from the Ocds 
soil the earliest ceramics of Mexico or Guatemala. 
What we have tried to do was to throw light on the 
general conditions under which village-farming life 
developed, through an analysis of the subsistence of an 
unspectacular ancient settlement. J . G. D. Clark 
(1952) has said, "One of the principal attractions of 
prehistory is the opportunity it offers for studying the 
interplay of social aspirations and environing nature 
over long periods of time." We have tried to view the 
coastal Guatemalan sequence in those terms. 
LITERATURE CITED 
ALVAREZ DEL T O R O , MIGUEL 
1952. Los animales silvestres de Chiapas. Tuxtla Gutierrez. Chiapas. 
BINFORD, LEWIS R. 
1964. A consideration of archaeological research design. Amer. Antiq., vol. 29, no. 4, pp . 
425-441. 
BORHEGYI, STEPHAN F. DE 
1959. Pre-Columbian cultural connections between Mesoamerica and Ecuador. Tulane 
Univ., Middle American Res. R e c , vol. 2, no. 6. 
BRAIDWOOD, ROBERT J., AND H O W E , BRUCE 
1960. Prehistoric investigations in Iraqi Kurdistan. Oriental Inst., Studies in Ancient Oriental 
Civilization, no. 31. Chicago. 
BRAIDWOOD, ROBERT ]., AND R E E D , CHARLES A. 
1957. The achievement and early consequences of food-production: a consideration of the 
archeological and natural-historical evidence. In "Cold Spring Harbor Symposia 
on Quantitative Biology," vol. 22, pp. 19-31. 
BULLEN, RIPLEY P. 
1961. Radiocarbon dates for southeastern fiber-tempered pottery. Amer. Antiq., vol. 27, 
no. 1, pp. 104-106. 
CALDWELL, J O S E P H R. 
1958. Trend and tradition in the prehistory of the eastern United States. Amer. Anthrop. 
Assoc, Mem. no. 88. 
CHANG, KWANG-CHIH 
1958. Study of the Neolithic social grouping: examples from the New World. Amer. Anthrop., 
n.s., vol. 60, no. 2, pt. 1, pp. 298-334. 
CLARK, DESMOND 
1962. Africa south of the Sahara. In "Courses toward urban life," Viking Fund Publ. Anthrop. 
no. 32, pp. 1-33. 
CLARK, J . G. D. 
1952. Prehistoric Europe: the economic basis. New York. 
C O E , MICHAEL D. 
1960. Archaeological linkages with North and South America at La Victoria, Guatemala. 
Amer. Anthrop., n.s., vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 363-393. 
1961. La Victoria, an early site on the Pacific coast of Guatemala. Harvard Univ., 
Peabody Mus. Archaeol. and Ethnol., Pap., vol. 53. Cambridge. 
COE, MICHAEL D., AND FLANNERY, K E N T V. 
1964. Microenvironments and Mesoamerican prehistory. Science, vol. 143, no. 3607, pp . 
650-654. 
COE, WILLIAM R., AND M C G I N N , J O H N J . 
1963. Tikal: the North Acropolis and an early tomb. Expedition, vol. 5, no. 2, pp . 25-32. 
COWGILL, GEORGE L. 
1964. The selection of samples from large sherd collections. Amer. Antiq., vol. 29, no. 4, pp . 
467-473. 
CRANE, J . R., AND GRIFFIN, JAMES B. 
1964. University of Michigan radiocarbon dates IX. Radiocarbon, vol. 6, pp. 1-24. 
DAVIS, JOHN H., JR. 
1940. The ecology and geologic role of mangroves in Florida. Carnegie Inst. Washington, 
Publ. no. 517, pp. 303-412. 
DEEVEY, EDWARD S.; GRALENSKI, L. J . ; AND HOFFREN, VAINO 
1959. Yale natural radiocarbon measurements IV. Radiocarbon Suppl., vol. 1, pp . 144-172. 
DELGADO, AGUSTIN 
1961. La secuencia arquelogica en el Istmo de Tehuantepec. In "Los mayas del sur y sus 
relaciones con los nahuas meridionales," pp. 93-104. Soc. Mexicana Antrop., V I I I 
Mesa Redonda. Mexico. 
106 
WHOLE VOLUME LITERATURE CITED 107 
DIXON, K E I T H A. 
1959. Ceramics from two Preclassic periods at Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas. New World 
Archaeol. Found., Pap. no. 5. Orinda. 
DRESSLER, ROBERT L. 
1953. The pre-Columbian cultivated plants of Mexico. Harvard Univ., Botanical Mus. 
Leaf., vol. 16, no. 6, pp . 115-173. 
DRUCKER, PHILIP 
1948. Preliminary notes on an archaeological survey of the Chiapas coast. Tulane Univ., 
Middle Amer. Res. R e c , vol. 1, no. 11. 
1952. La Venta, Tabasco: a study of Olmec ceramics and art. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 153. 
DRUCKER, P H I L I P ; HEIZER, ROBERT F. ; AND SQUIER, ROBERT J . 
1959. Excavations at La Venta, Tabasco, 1955. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 170. 
DUTTON, BERTHA P., AND HOBBS, HULDA R. 
1943. Excavations at Tajumulco, Guatemala. School Amer. Res., Mono. no. 9. 
EKHOLM, GORDON F. 
1964. Transpacific contacts. In "Prehistoric man in the New World," edited by J . B. Jennings 
and Edward Norbeck, pp. 489-510. Chicago. 
ESTRADA, EMILIO, AND EVANS, CLIFFORD 
1963. Cultural development in Ecuador. In "Aboriginal cultural development in Latin 
America." Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 146, no. 1, pp. 77-88. 
ESTRADA, JUAN DE. 
1955. Descripcion de la Provincia de Zapotitlan y Suchitepequez. Anales Soc. Geogr. e 
Hist., vol. 28, pp. 68-83. Guatemala. 
FORDE, C. DARYLL 
1952. Habitat , economy, and society. New York. 
GARCIA PAYON, JOSE 
1950. Restos de una cultura prehistorica encontrados en la region de Zempoala, Ver. Uni-
ver, ano 2, tomo 2, no. 15, pp. 90-130. 
GRIFFIN, JAMES B. 
1964. The Northeast Woodlands area. In "Prehistoric man in the New World," pp. 223-258. 
Chicago. 
GRISCOM, LUDLOW 
1932. The distribution of bird-life in Guatemala. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. Bull. 64. 
H A L L , E. RAYMOND, AND KELSON, K E I T H R. 
1959. The mammals of North America. 2 vols. New York. 
HARRIS, W. P., J R . 
1937. Revision of Sciurus variegatoides, a species of Central American squirrel. Univ. Michigan 
Mus. Zool., Misc. Publ. no. 38. 
HAURY, EMIL W. 
1962. The greater American Southwest. In "Courses toward urban life," edited by R. J . 
Braidwood and Gordon R. Willey, pp. 106-131. Viking Fund Publ. Anthrop. no. 32. 
JENNINGS, JESSE D. 
1956. The American Southwest: a problem in cultural isolation. In "Seminars in archae?
ology: 1955," edited by Jesse D. Jennings, pp. 59-127. Soc. Amer. Archaeol., 
Mem. no. 11. 
K E E N , A. M Y R A 
1958. Sea shells of tropical west America. Stanford, Calif. 
KENDEIGH, S. CHARLES 
1961. Animal ecology. New Jersey. 
KIDDER, ALFRED V. 
1940. Pottery from Champerico, Guatemala. Carnegie Inst. Washington, Notes on Middle 
Amer. Archaeol. and Ethnol., no. 2, pp. 4-10. 
1948. Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala: addenda and corrigenda. Carnegie Inst. Washington, 
Notes on Middle Amer. Archaeol. and Ethnol., no. 89, pp. 224-239. 
KIDDER, ALFRED V., AND SMITH, A. LEDYARD 
1943. Explorations in the Motagua Valley, Guatemala. Carnegie Inst. Washington, Contr. 
Amer. Anthrop. and Hist., no. 41. 
KIDDER I I , A L F R E D ; LUMBRERAS, LUIS G.; AND SMITH, DAVID B. 
1963. Cultural development in the central Andes?Peru and Bolivia. In "Aboriginal cultural 
development in Latin America." Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 146, no. 1, pp. 89-101. 
108 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
LANNING, EDWARD P. 
1963. Olmec and Chavin: reply to Michael D. Coe. Amer. Antiq., vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 99 -101 . 
LEOPOLD, A. STARKER 
1959. Wildlife of Mexico. Berkeley and Los Angeles. 
LIBBY, WILLARD F. 
1955. Radiocarbon dating. [2d ed.] Chicago. 
LORENZO, J O S E LUIS 
1955. Los concheros de la costa de Chiapas. Inst. Nac. Antrop. e Hist., Amies, Tomo 7, 
pp. 41-50. Mexico, D.F. 
1961. La revolution neolitica en Mesoamerica. Inst. Nac. Antrop. e Hist., Dept. Prehistoria, 
Publ. no. 11. Mexico, D.F. 
LOTHROP, SAMUEL K. 
1936. Zacualpa; a study of ancient Quiche artifacts. Carnegie Inst. Washington, Publ. 472. 
LOWE, GARETH W. 
1959. Archeological exploration of the upper Grijalva River, Chiapas, Mexico. New World 
Archaeol. Found., Pap. no. 2. 
M A C N E I S H , RICHARD S. 
1954. An early archaeological site near Panuco, Vera Cruz. Trans. Amer. Philos. S o c , n.s., 
vol. 44, pt. 5, pp. 539-641. Philadelphia. 
1958. Preliminary archaeological investigations in the Sierra de Tamaulipas, Mexico. Trans. 
Amer. Philos. Soc , n.s., vol. 48, pt. 6. 
1961. First annual report of the Tehuacan archaeological-botanical project. Phillips Academy, 
Andover, Mass. 
1962. Second annual report of the Tehuacan archaeological-botanical project. Phillips Acad?
emy, Andover, Mass. 
1964. Ancient Mesoamerican civilization. Science, vol. 143, no. 3606, pp. 531-537. 
M A C N E I S H , RICHARD S., AND PETERSON, FREDRICK A. 
1962. The Santa Mar ta rock shelter, Ocozocoautla, Chiapas, Mexico. New World Archaeol. 
Found., Pap. no. 14. 
MANGELSDORF, PAUL C. 
1958. Ancestor of corn. Science, vol. 128, no. 3325, pp. 1313-1320. 
MANGELSDORF, PAUL C ; M A C N E I S H , RICHARD S.; AND GALINAT, WALTON C. 
1964. Domestication of corn. Science, vol. 143, no. 3606, pp. 538-545. 
MEGGERS, BETTY J . 
1954. Environmental limitation on the development of culture. Amer. Anthrop., vol. 56, 
pp. 801-824. 
1963. Cultural development in Latin America: an interpretative overview. In "Aboriginal 
cultural development in Latin America." Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 146, no. 1, 
pp. 131-145. 
1964. North and South American cultural connections and convergences. In "Prehistoric 
man in the New World," pp. 511-526. Chicago. 
M I L L E R , GERRITT S., J R . , AND KELLOGG, REMINGTON 
1955. List of North American recent mammals. U.S. Nat. Mus., Bull. no. 205. 
MIRANDA, FAUSTINO 
1952-53. La vegetation de Chiapas. Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas. 
MUNSELL COLOR COMPANY 
1954. Munsell soil color charts. Baltimore. 
NAVARRETE, CARLOS 
1960. Archeological explorations in the region of the Frailesca, Chiapas, Mexico. New 
World Archaeol. Found., Pap. no. 7. 
1962. La ceramica de Mixco Viejo. Inst. Invest. Hist., Facultad Humanidades, Univ. San 
Carlos de Guatemala. 
NOTTEBOHM, K A R L - H E I N Z 
1945. A second Tlaloc gold plaque from Guatemala. Carnegie Inst. Washington, Notes on 
Middle Amer. Archaeol. and Ethnol., no. 51, pp . 170-172. 
PETERSON, FREDRICK A. 
1963. A white-black tradition in Mesoamerican ceramics. Tlalocan, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 259-264. 
PHILLIPS, P H I L I P ; FORD, JAMES A.; AND GRIFFIN, JAMES B. 
1951. Archaeological survey in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Harvard Univ. Pea?
body Mus. Archaeol. and Ethnol., Pap., vol. 25. 
WHOLE VOLUME LITERATURE CITED 109 
PINA CHAN, ROMAN 
1955. Chalcatzingo, Morelos. Inst. Nac. Antrop. e Hist., Direction de Monumentos 
Prehispanicos, Informes no. 4. Mexico. 
PORTER, M U R I E L N O E 
1953. Tlatilco and the Pre-Classic cultures of the New World. Viking Fund Publ. Anthrop. 
no. 19. New York. 
R E E D , CHARLES A., AND BRAIDWOOD, ROBERT J . 
1960. Toward the reconstruction of the environmental sequence of northeastern Iraq. In 
"Prehistoric investigations in Iraqi Kurdistan," Stud. Ancient Oriental Civilization, 
no. 31, pp. 163-173. Chicago. 
REICHEL-DOLMATOFF, GERARDO 
1961. Puerto Hormiga: un complejo prehistorico marginal de Colombia. Rev. Colombiana 
Antrop., vol. 10, pp. 347-354. 
REICHEL-DOLMATOFF, GERARDO, AND REICHEL-DOLMATOFF, ALICIA 
1956. Momil : excavaciones en el Sinu. Rev. Colombiana Antrop., vol. 5, pp. 109-333. 
Bogota. 
RJEHM, K A R L 
1961. Prehistoric salt-boiling. Antiquity, vol. 35, no. 139, pp. 181-191. 
SANDERS, WILLIAM T . 
1956. The central Mexican symbiotic region: a study in prehistoric settlement patterns. 
In "Prehistoric settlement patterns in the New World," Viking Fund Publ. Anthrop. 
no. 23, pp. 115-127. 
1961. Ceramic stratigraphy at Santa Cruz, Chiapas, Mexico. New World Archaeol. Found., 
Pap. no. 13. 
SAUER, CARL O. 
1959. Age and area of American cultivated plants. Act. X X X I I I Congr. In te rnac Amer., 
San Jose 1958, tomo 1, pp. 215-229. 
SAUNDERS, GEORGE B.; HOLLOWAY, ANCIL D. ; AND HANDLEY, CHARLES O., J R . 
1950. A fish and wildlife survey of Guatemala. U.S. Dept. Int., Fish and Wildlife Serv., 
Spec. Scien. Rep.?Wildlife, no. 5. 
SEARS, WILLIAM H. 
1960. Ceramic systems and Eastern archaeology. Amer. Antiq., vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 324-329. 
SHATTUCK, GEORGE CHEEVER 
1938. A medical survey of the Republic of Guatemala. Carnegie Inst. Washington, Publ. 
no. 499. 
SHEPARD, ANNA O. 
1948. Plumbate, a Mesoamerican trade ware. Carnegie Inst. Washington, Publ. no. 573. 
SHOOK, EDWIN M. 
1945. Archaeological discovery at Finca Arizona, Guatemala. Carnegie Inst. Washington. 
Notes on Middle Amer. Archaeol. and Ethnol., no. 57. 
1947. Guatemala highlands. Carnegie Inst. Washington, Year Book, no. 46, pp. 179-184. 
[For 1946-47.] 
1951. The present status of research on the Pre-classic horizons in Guatemala. In "The 
civilizations of ancient America," edited by Sol Tax. 29th Intern. Congr. Amer., 
Selected Pap., vol. 1, pp. 93-100. Chicago. 
1957. Lugares arqueologicos del Altiplano Meridional Central de Guatemala. In "Arqueologia 
guatemalteca," pp. 65-128. Guatemala. 
SHOOK, EDWIN M., AND KIDDER, ALFRED V. 
1952. Mound E - I I I - 3 , Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala. Carnegie Inst. Washington, Contr. 
Amer. Anthrop. and Hist., vol. 11, no. 53. Publ. 596. 
SIGALOVE, J O E L J. , AND LONG, AUSTIN 
1964. Smithsonian Institution radiocarbon measurements I. Radiocarbon, vol. 6, pp. 182-188. 
SMITH, ROBERT E. 
1955. Ceramic sequence at Uaxactun, Guatemala. [2 vols.] Tulane Univ., Middle Amer. 
Res. Inst., Publ. no. 20. 
SMITH, ROBERT E.; WILLEY, GORDON R.; AND JAMES C. GIFFORD 
1960. The type-variety concept as a basis for the analysis of Maya pottery. Amer. Antiq., 
vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 330-340. 
110 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
STANDLEY, PAUL C , AND STEYERMARK, JULIAN A. 
1946a. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany, vol. 24, pt. 4. 
1946b. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany, vol. 24, pt. 5. 
STANDLEY, PAUL C , AND WILLIAMS, LOUIS O. 
1963. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany, vol. 24, pt . 7. 
STROM SVIK, GUST A V 
1941. Substela caches and stela foundations at Copan and Quirigua. Carnegie Inst. Wash?
ington, Contr. Amer. Anthrop. and Hist. no. 37. 
STRONG, WILLIAM DUNCAN 
1943. Cross sections of New World prehistory. Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 104, no. 2, pp . 
1-46. 
STRUEVER, STUART 
1964. The Hopewell interaction sphere in riverine-western Great Lakes culture history. 
Illinois State Mus., Scien. Pap. vol. 12, no. 3. 
SUHM, D E E ANN, AND J E L K S , EDWARD B. 
1952. Handbook of Texas archeology: type descriptions. Texas Archeol. S o c , Spec. Publ. 
no. 1; Texas Memorial Mus., Bull. no. 4. Austin. 
THOMPSON, J . ERIC S. 
1948. An archaeological reconnaissance in the Cotzumalhuapa region, Escuintla, Guatemala. 
Carnegie Inst. Washington, Contr. Amer. Anthrop. and Hist. no. 44. 
T O Z Z E R , ALFRED M., EDITOR 
1941. Landa's Relation de las cosas de Yucatan: a translation. Harvard Univ., Peabody 
Mus. Amer. Archaeol. and Ethnol., Pap., vol. 18. 
VILLA R., BERNARDO 
1948. Mamiferos del Soconusco, Chiapas. Anales Inst. Biol., tomo 19, no. 2, pp . 485-528. 
Mexico, D.F. 
1953. Mamiferos silvestres del Valle de Mexico. Anales Inst. Biol., tomo 23, nos. 1-2, pp . 269-
492. Univ. Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico, D.F. 
W A R R E N , BRUCE W. 
1961. The archaeological sequence at Chiapa de Corzo. In "Los mayas del sur y sus relaciones 
con los nahuas meridionales." Soc. Mexicana Antrop., V I I I Mesa Redonda, pp . 
75-83. 
WAUCHOPE, ROBERT 
1964. Southern Mesoamerica. i>z "Prehistoric man in the New World," pp . 331-386. Chicago. 
WELLHAUSEN, E. J . ; FUENTES O., ALEJANDRO; AND HERNANDEZ CORZO, ANTONIO, in callaboration 
with MANGELSDORF, PAUL C. 
1957. Races of maize in Central America. Nat. Acad. Sci.?Nat. Res. Council, Publ. no. 511. 
WELLHAUSEN, E. J . ; ROBERTS, L. M . ; AND HERNANDEZ X., E.,in collaboration with MANGELSDORF, 
PAUL C. 
1952. Races of maize in Mexico. Harvard Univ., Bussey Inst. Cambridge. 
WILLEY, GORDON R. 
1955a. The interrelated rise of the native cultures of Middle and South America. In "New 
interpretations of aboriginal American culture history." Washington. 
1955b. The prehistoric civilizations of nuclear America. Amer. Anthrop., n.s., vol. 57, no. 3, 
pt. 1, pp. 571-593. 
1960. New World prehistory. Science, vol. 131, no. 3393, pp. 73-86. 
WILLEY, GORDON R., AND MCGIMSEY, CHARLES R., I l l 
1954. The Monagrillo culture of Panama. Harvard Univ., Peabody Mus. Archaeol. and 
Ethnol., Pap., vol. 49, no. 2. 
Z I P F , GEORGE KINGSLEY 
1949. Human behavior and the principle of least effort. Cambridge. 
Appendixes 1-5 

Appendix 1 
LARGER MAMMALS AND REPTILES KNOWN FROM THE OCOS TRANSECT 
During February and March of 1962, we were able 
to collect more than 30 mammals and reptiles of 
various species from the vicinity of Ocds. All of these 
animals came from within the "transect" we have 
defined in pp. 9 -11 : a strip of coast bounded on the 
west by the Suchiate River and on the east by the 
Pampa la Morena, and extending inland no more than 
15 km. The various biotopes occurring within this 
transect have previously been described. In the 
discussion that follows we restrict ourselves to the 
fauna of the transect exclusively?to the animals, 
in other words, that would have been available within 
a short walk or canoe trip of Salinas La Blanca. 
Moreover, we will deal only with the "game" mam?
mals and the largest of the reptiles. We made no 
effort to collect small rodents, shrews, bats, lizards, or 
snakes, and with few exceptions they do not seem to 
have figured in the prehistoric food supply. 
Note that a number of forms, like the brocket deer 
and the tropical forest rabbit, which are known to 
occur on other parts of the Pacific coast, are barely 
covered by us. These species are numerous inland, 
in the coffee-plantation country of the piedmont or 
Boca Costa, where the annual rainfall exceeds 2,000 
mm. While it is probable that they occasionally 
reach the Salinas La Blanca area, we have no con?
crete evidence of their presence there today or pre-
historically. Therefore our report distinguishes be?
tween animals which we know occur within five km. 
of Salinas La Blanca and other animals which probably 
occur there or did in prehistoric time. In the latter 
case, we have relied on the work of Handley (Saunders 
et al., 1950), who collected on the Guatemalan Pacific 
coast; Villa (1948), who collected just across the 
border on the Chiapas coast; and the general distribu?
tion data in Miller and Kellogg (1955) and Hall and 
Kelson (1959). 
Mammals 
Order Marsupialia 
Family Didelphiidae 
Didelphis marsupialis 
(Common opossum; Tacuaziri) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED : 1 male and 2 females. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total lengths: 750 mm. (male), 815 and 860 mm. (females) 
Tail: 390 mm. (male), 380 and 400 mm. (females) 
Hind foot: 50 mm. (male), 62 and 60 mm. (females) 
Ear: 40 mm. (male), 50 and 50 mm. (females) 
Weight: 0.68 kg. (male), 1.8 and 1.1 kg. (females) 
COLLECTING LOCALITIES: The male was captured at 8:30 
a.m. February 21 in second-growth monte just west of the 
El Crucero railway crossing (3 km. north of Ocos). One 
female was captured early in the morning of February 20 
in second-growth monte near Los Laureles, on the west 
bank of the Rio Naranjo (3 km. upstream from Ocos); 
the other female was encountered trying to excavate a 
burrow under the floor of a house just inland from the 
Pacific Ocean, on stabilized sand, in the afternoon of 
February 18, within the village of Ocos. 
BIOLOGICAL NOTES: The female collected February 20 was 
pregnant (three late-term foetuses). The female collected 
February 18 was carrying two recently born young in her 
pouch. 
Philander opossum (Gray-masked or Four-eyed opossum; Comadreja) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED : 4 males. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: Avg. 590 mm. (range 545-615 mm.) 
Tail: Avg. 309 mm. (range 290-330 mm.) 
Hind foot: Avg. 43 mm. (range 38-47 mm.) 
Ear: Avg. 30.25 mm. (range 30-31 mm.) 
Weight: Avg. 0.54 kg. (range 0.46-0.68 kg.) 
COLLECTING LOCALITIES: Near the east bank of the Rio 
Suchiate, 4 km. west of Oc6s (5:00 a.m., Feb. 15); in 
second-growth monte on the west bank of the Rio Naranjo 
113 
114 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
near Los Laureles, 3 km. upstream from Ocos (early in 
the morning, Feb. 20); in the red mangrove forest east 
of Ocos and about 1 km. from Tilapa (8:00 p.m., Feb. 19); 
on the outskirts of the village of Ocos (9:30 p.m., Feb. 21). 
HABITS AND DIET: The specimen captured February 15 
near the Suchiate River was reported to have been 
eating fish when discovered. The specimen taken Feb?
ruary 21 was inside a house, trying to get into a hen's 
nest (either for eggs or baby chicks); its stomach contents 
were fish meat, scales, and skin, perhaps scavenged from 
the garbage dump outside the house. 
Marmosa mexicana? 
(Mouse-opossum) 
Villa (1948, p . 497) reports this tiny opossum from the 
Soconusco area of Chiapas, but since we made no effort to 
pick up animals as small as this we are uncertain about its 
presence in the Ocos transect. 
Order Insectivora 
(None collected.) 
Order Chiroptera 
(None collected.) 
Order Edentata 
Family Myrmecophagidae 
Tamandua tetradactyla 
(Collared anteater; Oso bormiguero) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED : 1 male and 1 female 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 1170 mm. (male); 1070 mm. (female) 
Tail: 555 mm. (male); 555 mm. (female) 
Hind foot: 88 mm. (male); 87 mm. (female) 
Ear: 43 mm. (male); 42 mm. (female) 
Weight: 5.4 kg. (male); 3.2 kg. (female) 
COLLECTING LOCALITIES: The male was captured during 
the day, February 20, in the red mangrove forest near 
Playa La Culebra, a small salt flat on the remnant of an 
extinct estuary system about 2.5 km. west of Ocos. The 
female was shot at night, February 22, by "jacklight" 
hunters in the mixed tropical forest near Ojo de Agua, 
4 km. east of Ocos. 
HABITS AND DIET: The female, shot around midnight, 
was active arboreally at that hour. The male was 
encountered on the ground, digging into a termite nest 
attached to the base of a red mangrove, some time before 
noon. 
BIOLOGICAL NOTES: The female shot February 20 was 
pregnant (two late-term foetuses). 
Family Dasypocidae 
Dasypus novemcinctus 
(Nine-banded armadillo) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED: 1 male. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 820 mm. 
Tail: 370 mm. 
Hind foot: 95 mm. 
Ear: 40 mm. 
Weight (with a rmor) : 5.2 kg. 
Weight (without a rmor) : 3.9 kg. 
COLLECTING LOCALITY : On the beach, about 1 km. north?
west up the coast from Ocos, March 6. 
Order Lagomorpha 
Family Leporidae 
Sylvilagus floridanus 
(Eastern cottontail rabbit; Conejo) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED : 1 male and 2 females. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 430 mm. (male), 425 and 415 mm. (females) 
Tail: 40 mm. (male), 40 and 45 mm. (females) 
Hind foot: 85 mm. (male), 89 and 88 mm. (females) 
Ear: 60 mm. (male), 62 and 64 mm. (females) 
Weight: 1.1 kg. (male), 1.1 and 1.4 kg. (females) 
COLLECTING LOCALITIES: The male was shot at 3:00 a.m., 
February 25, in the Pampa La Morena, a tropical 
savanna 8 km. east of Ocos. One female was collected 
the night of February 22 in a cleared pasture 1 km. 
southeast of Bocana, on the Finca Nacional " L a Blanca" 
(4 km. north of Ocos); the other female was shot the night 
of March 25 in an open cattle pasture 3 km. north of 
Ocos. 
BIOLOGICAL NOTES: Both females were lactating (February 
22 and March 25). 
Sylvilagus brasiliensis? 
(Tropical forest rabbit) 
This cottontail is known from the Soconusco region of 
the Chiapas coast (Hall and Kelson, 1959, p . 256), but 
the collecting locality (Huehuetan) is 30 km. inland, in 
the Boca Costa. We are uncertain whether it reaches the 
tidewater marine estuary area within our transect. 
Order Rodentia 
Family Sciuridae 
Sciurus variegatoides 
(Variegated squirrel; Ardilld) 
Local hunters assured us there were many squirrels in 
the mixed tropical forest near Ocos, but during our stay 
they failed to produce one. Handley found S. variegatoides 
very common on the Guatemalan Pacific coast (Saunders 
et al., 1950), and it does seem to reach the tidewater area 
at several points, including Conception del M a r (Harris, 
1937). Its presence in our transect is highly probable. 
Family Geomyidae 
Orthogeomys grandis 
(Pocket gopher; Tuza) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED : 1 male and 2 females. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 385 mm. (male), 355 and 350 mm. (females) 
Tail: 110 mm. (male), 105 and 110 mm. (females) 
Hind foot: 50 mm. (male), 47 and 44 mm. (females) 
Ear: 5 mm. (all 3 specimens) 
Weight: 0.9 kg. (male), 0.7 kg. (both females) 
COLLECTING LOCALITIES: All specimens were trapped in 
cornfields between Oc6s and Los Laureles, 3 km. to the 
northeast. T h e male was collected February 19, the 
WHOLE VOLUME APPENDIX 1 115 
females on March 4 and 22. In addition, bones of 
0. grandis were recovered from Formative levels at La 
Victoria (Coe, 1961, p . 141). 
Family Heteromyidae 
(None collected.) 
Family Cricetidae 
Small rodents were not collected by us in 1962, but one 
Cricetid, the cotton rat Sigmodon hispidus, was recovered 
archeologically in Ocos Phase levels at La Victoria (ibid.) 
Family Erethizontidae 
Coendou mexicanus 
(Mexican porcupine; Puerco espiri) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED: 1 male and 1 juvenile 
female. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 730 mm. (male), 520 mm. (female) 
Tail: 310 mm. (male), 220 mm. (female) 
Hind foot: 70 mm. (male), 60 mm. (female) 
Ear: 15 mm. (male), 10 mm. (female) 
Weight: 2.3 kg. (male), 1.2 kg. (female) 
COLLECTING LOCALITIES: Both specimens are from the red 
mangrove forest a kilometer or so to the northwest of 
Ocos. They were collected between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. 
on February 18, while active arboreally. 
BIOLOGICAL NOTES: An additional specimen, for which we 
have no measurements, was collected March 27 in the 
vicinity of Salinas La Blanca. This was a nurseling 
Coendou mexicanus weighing between 0.11 and 0.12 kg., 
quite recently born, with quills only a centimeter in 
length. The animal was fed with an eye dropper and by 
the end of its first week of captivity was consuming 40 -
50 cc. of milk a day. The youngster grew steadily, and 
by April 11 was chewing bark, although apparently not 
yet up to swallowing it?just "teething." 
Family Dasyproctidae 
Cuniculus {Agouti) paca 
(Spotted cavy; Tepescuintlt) 
Dasyprocta punctata 
(Agouti; Cuautuza) 
Local hunters in the Ocos transect distinguish between 
the tepescuintli and cuautuza and can describe them fairly 
accurately; many times they pointed out to us places where 
they had gone in the past to hunt both animals successfully. 
Unfortunately, no specimens of these shy nocturnal animals 
were collected during our brief stay. Villa (1948, p. 522) 
recovered a spotted cavy in the Soconusco region of the 
Chiapas coast, and there are several finds of Dasyprocta 
recorded from coastal Chiapas and southern Guatemala 
(Hall and Kelson, 1959, pp. 791-792). The Oc6s hunters 
pursue the cavy almost as relentlessly as the white-tailed 
deer. 
Order Carnivora 
Family Canidae 
Canis familiar is 
(Domestic dog; Perro, Chucho) 
The domestic dog has been present on the Pacific coast 
of Guatemala since the Ocos Phase, ca. 1500-1000 B.C., 
on the basis of archeological remains from La Victoria 
(Coe, 1961, p . 141). 
Urocyon cinereoargenteus 
(Gray fox; Zorra, Gato monies) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED : 2 males. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 820 and 870 mm. 
Tail: 315 and 350 mm. 
Hind foot: 120 and 122 mm. 
Ear: 54 and 62 mm. 
Weight: 3.0 kg. (both) 
COLLECTING LOCALITIES: The Pampa La Morena, a tropi?
cal savanna, 8 km. east of Ocos (2:00 a.m., Feb. 25); an 
open cattle pasture 3 km. northeast of Ocos (night of 
March 25). 
HABITS AND DIET: The stomach contents of the specimen 
from Pampa La Morena included 14 seeds from the fruit 
of the marachdn or fan palm, and two small gray mice. 
The large intestine of the specimen from the cattle pasture 
contained 30 seeds of marachdn (Sabal mexicana). 
Family Procyonidae 
Procyon lotor 
(Racoon; Mapache) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED: 1 adult female; 1 juvenile 
male, 1 juvenile female. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 780 mm. (adult); 680 and 730 mm. (ju?
veniles) 
Tail: 270 mm. (adult); 250 and 270 mm. (juveniles) 
Hind foot: 115 mm. (adult); 105 and 110 mm. (juveniles) 
Ear: 56 mm. (adult); 48 and 49 mm. (juveniles) 
Weight: 5.0kg. (adult); 2.3 kg. (bothjuveniles) 
COLLECTING LOCALITIES: The adult female was shot the 
night of March 25 in second-growth monte near the rail?
road line at El Crucero, 3 km. north of Ocos. Both ju?
veniles were captured the night of February 20 at the 
edge of the red mangrove forest which flanks the Tilapa 
estuary, about 2.5 km. southeast of Ocos. 
HABITS AND DIET: Both juvenile specimens were what local 
hunters call "mapaches de partida," i.e., members of a 
large band of young raccoons traveling together; when 
encountered, they were crab hunting in the mangrove 
forest. The adult female (pl. 2, b) shot the night of March 
25 was referred to as a "mapache anda-sola," i.e., a large 
elderly individual who had isolated herself from the group 
and was foraging alone. Her stomach contents included 
18 seeds from the fruit of Sabal mexicana, a fan palm grow?
ing abundantly in the second-growth monte where she was 
recovered; fragments of fish in the stomach indicated that 
she had also been eating near the river, more than 2 km. 
to the east, on that same evening. 
116 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
Nasua narica 
(Coati; Pisote) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED: 1 male. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 1,130 mm. 
Tail: 580 mm. 
Hind foot: 90 mm. 
Ear: 35 mm. 
Weight: 3.4 kg. 
COLLECTING LOCALITY: Near the margin between second-
growth monte and red mangrove forest in the vicinity of 
Playa La Culebra, a small salt flat on the remnant of an 
extinct estuary system 2.5 km. northwest of Ocos (11:00 
a.m., Feb. 26). 
HABITS AND DIET: When encountered, this coati was eating 
fruit of the pinuela, a low, saw-tooth-leafed bromeliad 
growing around the margins of the salt playa. Its stomach 
contents included seven seeds of pihuela, six seeds of a 
smaller fruit known locally as pimiento, and one seed of 
Annona sp., as well as one cockroach. 
Potos flavus 
(Kinkajou; Mico de noche) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED: 1 male and 1 female. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 1,020 mm. (male), 890 mm. (female) 
Tail: 510 mm. (male), 455 mm. (female) 
Hind foot: 95 mm. (male), 90 mm. (female) 
Ear: 30 mm. (male), 36 mm. (female) 
Weight: 3.2 kg. (male), 2.3 kg. (female) 
COLLECTING LOCALITIES: The male was shot at 1:00 a.m. 
on February 21 while active in the treetops in the high 
tropical forest near "Ojo de Agua," about 4 km. east 
of Ocos. The female was collected at 11:00 p.m., 
February 25, in the tropical forest near Pampa El Palmar, 
about 8 km. east of Ocos. 
HABITS, DIET, AND BIOLOGICAL NOTES: The female (pl. 
2, a) was lactating (Feb. 25). Her stomach contents 
were 24 seeds from the fruit of the marachdn fan palm, 
which occurs abundantly in the understory of the mixed 
tropical forest as well as in the pampa. 
Bassariscus sumichrasti? 
(Ring-tailed cat; cacomistle) 
Bassariscus is known from several localities in southern 
Guatemala (Hall and Kelson, 1959, pp. 882-883), but 
we are in doubt about its presence within our transect. 
Family Mustelidae 
Mustela frenata? 
(Weasel) 
This animal is widely distributed along the Pacific coast 
of Central America (Hall and Kelson, 1959, p . 911), but 
we failed to collect a specimen during our stay at Ocos. 
Local informants were not much help regarding the weasel, 
since the common name applied to it ("comadreja") is 
also used at Ocos to refer to the gray-masked opossum 
(Philander). 
Eira barbara? 
(Tayra) 
Galictis allamandi? 
(Grison) 
Tayras and grisons both have been collected near the 
Ocos area (Hall and Kelson, 1959, pp . 920-921), but we 
are uncertain about their presence in our transect. 
Mephitis macroura 
(Hooded skunk; Zorillo) 
Hunters at Ocos claimed that skunks could be seen 
from time to time during night hunting trips in second-
growth monte or in the savannas; unfortunately, they failed 
to collect one for us. The distribution maps in Hall and 
Kelson (1959, p . 938) suggest that our transect is well 
within the range of this animal, which reaches the ocean 
at several points on the Pacific coast. 
Lutra annectens 
(River otter; Perro de agua) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED: 1 male. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 1030 mm. 
Tail: 420 mm. 
Hind foot: 110 mm. 
Ear: 21 mm. 
Weight: 5.5 kg. 
COLLECTING LOCALITY: This specimen was shot while 
swimming near the east bank of the Rio Naranjo near 
La Blanca, about 8 km. upstream from Ocos, at 5:00 
p.m., on March 5. Other otters were sighted, in the 
Naranjo closer to Ocos, but were not collected. 
Family Felidae 
Felis onca 
(Jaguar) 
During our stay, tracks of jaguar were sighted not far 
from Tilapa, and the animal was reported to have been 
seen near Salinas La Blanca, on the east bank of the Rio 
Naranjo. A pair of hunters from Ocos searched for the 
"tigre" for several weeks with no success, although they 
claimed to have come across his track on numerous occa?
sions. The locals said the jaguar was most often seen in 
the mixed tropical forest, but might leave it to steal calves 
from the cattle ranches. 
Felis yagouaroundi 
(Jaguarundi; Onza) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED : 1 male. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 1070 mm. 
Tail: 46 mm. 
Hind foot: 135 mm. 
Ear: 37 mm. 
Weight: 5.0 kg. 
COLLECTING LOCALITY : Second-growth monte along the west 
bank of the Rio Naranjo near Los Laureles, 3 km. up?
stream from Ocos (11:00 a.m., Feb. 22). We also sighted 
jaguarundis hunting black iguanas in the madresal groves 
near Salinas La Blanca. 
WHOLE VOLUME APPENDIX 1 117 
HABITS, DIET, AND BIOLOGICAL NOTES: This specimen ex?
hibited the dusky black coat color (jaguarundis are 
dichromatic, and may be either black or reddish; see 
Hall and Kelson, 1959, p . 964). Its stomach contents 
consisted of one partially digested bird which appeared 
to be a young domestic turkey. Residents of Los Laureles 
claimed the animal had been robbing their henhouses for 
weeks before they succeeded in shooting him. 
Order Perissodactyla 
Family Tapiridae 
Tapirella bairdii 
(Tapir; Danta) 
Villa (1948, p . 489) sighted a tapir near Paval, in Soco?
nusco, Chiapas. Residents of Ocos spoke of seeing tapirs, 
though only rarely, in the upper reaches of the estuary in 
the pampas or tropical forest. 
Order Artiodactyla 
Family Tayassuidal 
Tayassu tajacu 
(Collared peccary; Jabali) 
Tayassu pecari? 
(White-lipped peccary; Senso) 
Ocos hunters are quite familiar with the collared peccary, 
which occurs in the madresalares, pampas, and forests of 
the Pacific coast of Guatemala and Chiapas (Villa, 1948, 
p. 523; Handley, 1950, p . 156). Hunters insisted this was 
the only kind of peccary in the transect area, and could 
not describe nor remember seeing the white-lipped "senso." 
Actually, the cutover vegetation of most of the transect 
today would seem a little skimpy for T. pecari, a predom?
inantly rain forest species often occurring in great herds of 
up to 100 individuals (Hall and Kelson, 1959, p . 998; 
Alvarez del Toro, 1952, p . 192). However, a single 
peccary tooth from Ocos Phase levels at La Victoria seemed 
to agree a bit more with T. pecari than T. tajacu (Coe, 
1961, p . 141); on the basis of this rather slim evidence, we 
will therefore keep in mind the possibility that at 1500 
B.C., before intensive agriculture had made many inroads 
on the tropical forest, white-lipped peccaries may have 
reached the transect. 
Odocoileus virginianus 
(White-tailed deer; Venado) 
We came across the tracks of white-tailed deer many 
times during our surveys of the salt playas and madresal 
groves of the extinct estuary systems at Ocos, and bones 
of this animal were present in the refuse at La Victoria 
(ibid.) and Salinas La Blanca. Hunters from the Finca 
Nacional La Blanca shot one specimen during our stay, 
but unfortunately we were unable to recover the skeleton. 
Mazama americana? 
(Brocket deer; Temazate) 
Villa (1948, p . 527) recovered a brocket from the Soco?
nusco region of Chiapas, but the specimen came from the 
Boca Costa or coffee country at an elevation of 1,160 m. 
The brocket is clearly a resident of the inland jungles of 
the Pacific coast, but we have no evidence for it from within 
210-980?67 9 
our somewhat drier transect. Hunters who had worked 
on the Boca Costa were familiar with the "temazate," 
and stated that they had not seen any within 5 or 10 km. 
of Ocos. 
Larger Reptiles 
Order Chelonia 
Family Cheloniidae 
Chelonia mydas 
(Green sea turtle; Parlama) 
Both the meat and eggs of this animal are eaten at 
Ocos when the turtle comes ashore to lay the latter (see 
Coe, 1961, p . 12). 
Order Crocodilia 
Family Crocodilidae 
Crocodylus acutus 
(Crocodile) 
Caiman fuscus 
(Cayman) 
Crocodiles and caymans were common in the Ocos 
region as recently as the time of the Spanish Conquest 
(ibid.). Today they are greatly reduced in numbers; 
during our stay we were able to observe only one very 
young cayman captured in the estuary of the Pampa La 
Morena. 
Order Squamata 
Family Iguanidae 
Iguana iguana 
(Green iguana; Iguana or Dorado) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED : 2 females. 
MEASUREMENTS : 
Total length: 1,120 and 1,150 mm. 
Tail: 810 and 820 mm. 
Hind foot: 105 and 110 mm. 
Weight (without eggs): 0.9 kg. 
COLLECTING LOCALITY: Both specimens were captured in 
the branches of low trees in second-growth monte along 
the east bank of the Rio Naranjo, about 1.5 km. up?
stream from Ocos (Feb. 17 and 18). 
BIOLOGICAL NOTES: Both females were gravid, one with 
27 eggs and the other with 33. Apparently the eggs 
are laid in late February and March. 
Ctenosaura similis 
(Black iguana; Giota) 
MODERN SPECIMENS COLLECTED: 2 adult males, 2 juvenile 
females. 
MEASUREMENTS (adult males): 
Total length: 810 and 890 mm. 
Tail: 525 and 570 mm. 
Hind foot: 80 and 90 mm. 
Weight: Both 0.7 kg. 
COLLECTING LOCALITIES: Both adult males were captured 
February 18 in second-growth monte just east of the Rio 
Naranjo, 1.5 km. east of Ocos. Both juvenile females 
were captured near their burrows on the beach sand near 
the Pacific Ocean (Feb. 13). 
Appendix 2 
TABLES 11-13 
TABLE 11.?DISTRIBUTION OF POTTERY TYPES 
Pottery type 
Cut 1 
Level 
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 
Guamuchal Brushed 
Mendez Red-rimmed 
Mapache Red-rimmed 
Tilapa Red-on-white 
Pampas Black-and-white 
Unusual striated sherds 
Excised sherds 
Oso Brushed 
Teofilo Punctate 
Tecomate, thick red slip 
Morena Black 
Conchas White-to-buff 
Pacaya Red 
Suchiate Brushed 
Ocos Gray 
Conchas Red-on-buff 
Temblor White 
California White 
Conchas Streaky Brown-black 
Julain Coarse 
Conchas Orange 
Encuentros Orange 
Crucero Red-on-orange 
White-on-orange bowl 
Black-on-orange jar 
Fine white ("clear-through"). 
Polished red bowls 
Conchas Red-and-white 
Argelia Black-gray 
Hard, thin plain ware 
Mareas Coarse Red 
Violeta Plain 
Manchuria Plain 
Glazed ware 
Miscellaneous coarse wares. . , 
Total diagnostics 
Nondiagnostic body sherds.. . 
Total sherds in level 
134 
2 
_ 
6 
7 
60 
4 
221 
-
-
5 
3 
263 
20 
29 
17 
3 
1 
-
-
-
7 
4 
49 
1 
_ 
2 
1 
19 
1 
72 
2 
-
1 
3 
79 
8 
6 
3 
-
-
-
-
1 
3 
1 
60 
4 
1 
4 
5 
20 
-
66 
-
-
-
-
141 
11 
12 
7 
2 
-
-
1 
3 
3 
-
6 
-
1 
-
-
1 
3 
-
1 
-
_ 
4 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
14 
1 
_ 
1 
4 
2 
2 
6 
-
-
-
_ 
14 
1 
_ 
-
-
-
1 
-
-
-
-
3 
2 
_ 
1 
1 
1 
1 
-
3 
-
-
_ 
_ 
_ 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
9 
2 
_ 
2 
1 
3 
1 
-
-
_ 
-
_ 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3 
4 
1 
1 
1 
-
-
-
1 
-
-
1 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
_ 
-
_ 
6 
2 
_ 
-
1 
1 
-
4 
-
_ 
_ 
-
_ 
_ 
-
-
-
-
-
_ 
-
_ 
-
-
_ 
-
-
-
_ 
-
-
-
_ 
_ 
_ 
-
-
-
-
-
-
_ 
_ 
_ 
14 
2 
2 
1 
1 
1 
-
-
-
-
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
-
-
-
-
-
_ 
-
_ 
12 
2 
2 
-
2 
2 
_ 
-
-
-
-
-
? 
? 
-
-
-
-
-
? 
-
_ 
15 
3 
4 
2 
1 
-
_ 
-
2 
-
-
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
-
_ 
-
-
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
10 
3 
1 
2 
4 
3 
-
2 
-
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
-
-
-
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
15 
1 
1 
6 
-
2 
-
-
-
-
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
-
-
-
-
_ 
-
_ 
811 257 343 16 48 12 
6,460 1,328 1,244 333 229 33 
18 12 14 0 21 20 27 25 25 
55 33 53 18 87 156 204 243 98 
7,271 1,585 1,587 349 277 45 73 45 67 18 108 176 231 268 123 
118 
WHOLE VOLUME APPENDIX 2 119 
BY SHERD COUNT, SALINAS L A BLANCA 
16 
7 
66 
73 
Cut 1?Continued 
Level?Continued 
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 
20 30 123 
1 1 17 
1 
3 1 7 
24 
141 
34 
245 
151 
695 
147 
9 
3 
1 
168 
927 
142 
11 
2 
3 
5 
105 
9 
1 
3 
97 
9 
113 
6 
186 
4 
1 
5 
654 
12 
756 
9 
1 
8 
416 
13 
2 
8 
1 
-
1 
1 
-
-
1 
4 
-
_ 
-
4 
1 
_ 
3 
4 
1 
2 
4 
4 
4 
1 
1 
3 
11 
112 
30 31 
103 
2 
166 119 114 129 200 676 786 459 116 107 
972 989 586 612 974 3,792 4,317 2,840 681 256 
165 279 846 1,095 1,138 1,108 700 741 1,174 4,468 5,103 3,299 797 363 
Grand 
total 
3,358 
133 
8 
63 
25 
0 
0 
0 
14 
1 
36 
127 
60 
369 
14 
1 
6 
7 
501 
40 
47 
27 
5 
1 
1 
1 
4 
13 
5 
1 
2 
9 
4 
7 
15 
4,905 
28, 667 
- 33, 572 
210-980?67- -10 
120 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS T O ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
T A B L E 11.?DISTRIBUTION OF POTTERY 
Pottery type 
Guamuchal Brushed 
M6ndez Red-rimmed 
Mapache Red-rimmed 
Tilapa Red-on-white 
Pampas Black-and-white 
Unusual striated sherds 
Excised sherds 
Oso Brushed 
Te6filo Punctate 
Tecomate, thick red slip 
Morena Black 
Conchas White-to-buff 
Pacaya Red 
Suchiate Brushed 
Ocos Gray 
Conchas Red-on-buff 
Temblor White 
California White 
Conchas Streaky Brown-black. 
Julain Coarse 
Conchas Orange 
Encuentros Orange 
Crucero Red-on-orange 
White-on-orange bowl 
Black-on-orange jar 
Fine white ("clear through"). 
Polished red bowls 
Conchas Red-and-white 
Argelia Black-gray 
Hard, thin plain ware 
Mareas Coarse Red 
Violeta Plain 
Manchuria Plain 
Glazed ware 
Miscellaneous coarse wares.. . 
Total diagnostics 
Nondiagnostic body sherds. 
Total sherds in level 
Cut 1?Continued 
Level?Continued 
10 11 12 13 11 15 
60 31 20 64 31 20 34 17 10 7 3 9 10 43 99 
2 3 8 4 1 - 1 - 1 1 1 15 26 
1 2 - - _ _ _ _ _ 1 2 -
2 4 1 - - - 3 1 1 2 5 6 
2 - 2 9 5 - 2 - 2 1 - - - 2 5 
1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
_ i _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 1 
6 2 5 9 7 3 4 - 2 2 - - 3 1 3 
28 11 11 8 3 1 3 2 1 1 - - 5 - 3 
7 2 - 6 4 4 2 5 1 3 - - - - 5 
64 26 19 26 20 10 18 13 2 - - 3 - - -
4 - 2 1 6 2 3 - 4 2 1 - - - -
2 - 4 1 - 2 _ _ _ _ - - - -
11 3 - _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
1 _ i _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
81 26 28 3 - - - _ _ _ - _ - - -
4 4 3 1 - - - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
19 4 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
6 2 6 _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
2 _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
2 i 3 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
1 ! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
1 - 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
7 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
11 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
13 5 7 7 5 4 4 4 - - - 3 - - 1 
3 
333 
942 1 
120 
060 1 
110 
019 
144 
865 
97 
611 
49 
941 1, 
74 
295 1, 
41 
010 
23 
125 
19 
46 
6 
35 
17 
56 
22 
231 
69 
422 
149 
652 
4,275 1,180 1,129 1,009 708 990 1,369 1,051 148 65 41 73 253 491 801 
WHOLE VOLUME APPENDIX 2 
TYPES BY SHERD COUNT, SALINAS L A BLANCA?Continued 
121 
Cut 1?Continued 
Level?Continued 
Grand 
total 
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 
311 
48 
5 
19 
3 
310 
50 
3 
19 
2 
38 
2 
-
3 
-
31 
1 
-
-
_ 
62 
2 
-
1 
_ 
137 
16 
2 
8 
-
162 
13 
2 
1 
-
140 146 
8 12 
2 4 
4 10 
1 
65 
3 
1 
5 
44 
3 
2 
2 
1 
81 151 
2 
2 
1 
1 
450 
9 
3 
2 
2 
1 
1 
2 
2 
303 
1 
3 
8 
2 
1 
2 
24 
396 388 43 32 
2,286 2,498 304 167 
65 
451 
164 
877 
179 
978 
154 177 
965 1,323 
2,682 2,886 347 199 516 1,041 1,157 1,119 1,500 728 502 954 
2,913 
236 
35 
116 
43 
2 
3 
6 
19 
0 
49 
80 
41 
201 
25 
9 
15 
2 
138 
12 
23 
14 
2 
0 
0 
1 
0 
6 
2 
0 
2 
1 
7 
11 
53 
74 54 92 157 472 320 27 4,067 
654 448 862 575 2,155 1,636 94 28,583 
732 2,627 1,956 121 32,650 
122 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS T O ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
TABLE 12.?DISTRIBUTION OF DECORATIVE 
Decorative mode 
Interior finger-punching: 
Guamuchal Brushed 
Mendez Red-rimmed 
Exterior finger-punching: 
Guamuchal Brushed 
Unusual striated sherds 
Suchiate Brushed 
Miscellaneous coarse wares 
Spaced herringbone gouges: 
Guamuchal Brushed 
Mendez Red-rimmed 
Spaced stepped jabs: 
Guamuchal Brushed 
Mendez Red-rimmed 
Close stepped jabs: 
Guamuchal Brushed 
Mendez Red-rimmed 
Diagonal incising: 
Guamuchal Brushed 
Mendez Red-rimmed 
Mapache Red-rimmed 
Teofilo Punctate 
Oso Brushed 
Morena Black 
Pacaya Red 
Conchas White-to-buff 
Suchiate Brushed 
Miscellaneous coarse wares 
Horizontal punctation, single-row: 
Guamuchal Brushed 
Mendez Red-rimmed 
Mapache Red-rimmed 
Te6filo Punctate 
Suchiate Brushed 
Indented filledng: 
Guamuchal Brushed 
M6ndez Red-rimmed 
Low-relief indented filleting: 
Suchiate Brushed 
Cane-punched applique: 
Guamuchal Brushed 
M6ndez Red-rimmed 
Suchiate Brushed 
Stick-punching: 
Suchiate Brushed 
Rocker-stamping: 
Guamuchal Brushed 
Mendez Red-rimmed 
Tilapa Red-on-white 
Suchiate Brushed 
Incised arcs: 
Guamuchal Brushed , 
Mendez Red-rimmed 
Suchiate Brushed 
Linear pattern-burnishing: 
Mapache Red-rimmed 
Teofilo Punctate 
Miscellaneous coarse wares 
Cut 1, Level-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 
3 - 2 - - - 1 - - 1 1 1 - -
1 - 1 - - - -
3 2 16 16 18 10 15 13 27 87 82 57 25 18 
3 4 
- 1 
- - 1 -
1 -
1 1 
1 -
1 - -
- 1 1 
1 - -
1 3 10 7 6 6 6 13 18 
- - 5 14 6 8 1 2 5 
- ? 1 ? 1 2 1 1 ? 
3 - 4 4 4 3 2 1 3 
- - 8 - 1 - - - -
2 1 
1 - 2 1 
2 1 - 1 - -
_ ! _ _ _ _ 
53 60 32 
2 1 -
28 54 36 
1 3 -
3 2 8 
1 - 4 
4 5 3 
5 12 
16 7 
2 -
- 2 
1 3 1 
- 1 - 1 
1 1 
- 1 
_ _ 1 _ _ 
-
1 
-
-
- 4 2 4 - 4 
1 3 - 1 1 2 
1 - - 2 1 -
_ _ _ _ _ 1 
3 - 5 
2 - 2 
1 1 -
- - 1 
8 4 
- 1 
1 2 
1 6 
-
_ 
-
3 
1 
1 
-
1 
2 3 
3 5 
16 12 
2 -
- 1 
2 3 
- 3 
- 1 
1 1 1 3 3 
- 1 -
3 2 1 2 2 - 3 2 9 17 10 4 10 1 1 2 4 
1 2 1 1 -
_ _ _ 1 _ 
1 1 2 
- 1 
- 1 
3 -
- 1 
2 1 
- 1 
- 1 
- 1 - - - - - - 1 
- - 1 
- 1 -
- 1 -
WHOLE VOLUME 
MODES AT SALINAS LA BLANCA 
APPENDIX 2 123 
1 
-
1 
2 
_ 
_ 
-
_ 
_ 
1 
4 
11 
2 
1 
2 
-
-
-
_ 
1 
1 
_ 
_ 
2 
4 
5 
-
3 
-
-
-
_ 
1 
1 
_ 
-
3 
1 
1 
-
4 
4 
2 
-
3 
1 
_ 
1 
4 
18 
4 
2 
5 
1 
1 
-
_ 
3 
2 
1 
2 
5 
4 
2 
1 
1 
6 
-
-
1 
_ 
? 
_ 
_ 
6 
3 
-
7 
1 
2 
1 
_ 
1 
_ 
_ 
4 
5 
1 
1 
8 
2 
5 
_ 
1 
_ 
_ 
3 
6 
9 
1 
1 
_ 
1 
_ 
_ 
-
1 
10 
-
1 
_ 
_ 
4 
11 
-
_ 
_ 
_ 
2 
12 
1 
1 
_ 
_ 
_ 
2 
13 
-
_ 
_ 
1 
_ 
1 
3 
Cut 2, 
14 
3 
1 
2 
2 
1 
2 
1 
1 
1 
10 
15 
9 
4 
1 
1 
1 
3 
2 
5 
_ 
1 
24 
2 
Level? 
16 
23 
1 
13 
2 
11 
8 
6 
5 
5 
7 
5 
4 
57 
1 
2 
17 
15 
15 
2 
7 
7 
3 
5 
2 
1 
3 
3 
61 
1 
1 
18 
6 
4 
-
_ 
_ 
-
-
-
3 
-
19 
8 
1 
1 
2 
1 
_ 
-
-
-
1 
-
20 
6 
4 
-
4 
2 
1 
-
-
-
5 
-
21 
17 
10 
-
2 
3 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
8 
-
22 
14 
10 
-
7 
to
 
to
 
1 
4 
1 
4 
2 
2 
1 
17 
-
23 
15 
9 
1 
3 
2 
2 
2 
3 
-
2 
-
14 
-
24 
13 
11 
1 
6 
2 
1 
-
4 
-
4 
2 
14 
1 
2 
25 
8 
5 
-
2 
2 
1 
1 
2 
-
-
-
5 
1 
-
26 
9 
1 
3 
1 
-
1 
1 
-
_ 
1 
2 
-
10 
-
-
27 
8 
5 
-
4 
l 
to
 
?
 
-
_ 
-
-
2 
-
2 
1 
28 
14 
11 
1 
11 
5 
1 
3 
3 
2 
-
-
4 
-
2 
29 
31 
27 
2 
22 
5 
2 
11 
9 
-
3 
1 
11 
4 
1 
30 
35 
1 
27 
-
9 
1 
5 
1 
4 
-
1 
-
1 
2 
-
31 
4 
3 
-
-
1 
-
1 
_ 
-
-
-
-
-
-
124 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS T O ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
TABLE 12.?DISTRIBUTION OF DECORATIVE 
Decorative mode 
Cut 1, Level?Continued 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 
White rims, oxidized: 
Pampas Black-and-white 
Negative smudging: 
Conchas White-to-buff 
Usulutan technique: 
Conchas Orange 
Crucero Red-on-orange 
Fine-line Incising: 
Morena Black 
Conchas White-to-buff 
Temblor White 
Fine white ("clear through"). 
Coarse Incising: 
Conchas White-to-buff 
Conchas Streaky Brown-black 
Conchas Orange 
Crucero Red-on-orange 
Excising: 
Morena Black 
Temblor White 
Conchas Streaky Brown-black 
Fine White ("clear through") 
Fine-line engraving: 
Conchas Streaky Brown-black 
4 1 3 ? 1 ? - 1 ? _ _ _ ? - - - - ? - ? 2 ? ? ? ? ? 1 
1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ - _ - _ - - _ - - - - - -
6 2 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
_ _ 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - - - - _ _ -
1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - - - - _ - -
22 6 6 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
4 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ - - - - - -
_ _ l _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ - _ - - - - _ 
1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ - - - - -
81 21 2 3 - 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ - - _ 
1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 
11 i 4 - _ _ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _ _ -
_ _ 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
15 5 3 - 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
WHOLE VOLUME 
MODES AT SALINAS LA BLANCA?Continued 
APPENDIX 2 125 
Cut 2, Level?Continued 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 
2 - 2 9 3 - 2 - 1 1 - - - 1 4 1 2 
_ 1 _ _ 
1 - 2 1 
7 1 
17 6 8 1 
1 -
1 1 
1 - 1 2 
126 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY 
TABLE 13.?DISTRIBUTION OF ARTIFACTS AT SALINAS LA BLANCA 
VOLUME 3 
Cut 1 
Phase and 
Level 
C
ru
ce
ro
 
V 
"3 
_ 
o 
o 
C
ua
dr
os
 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
ll3 
(14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
bo 
_ ? 
_2 ? 
5 ? -
?V _ 4 
?a ? 
1 1 s 
6 ? ? -rt bo _ b =_ 
_ - 3 
U 
t> (3 
? 
o 
4a ^ 9-(-? c! u is. a rt 
- ? I T3 13 XI _ , Q C fc Ts 
- _ J 3 _ 3 _ 3 
C/3 CO C/3 C/3 
- - 1 1 - 3 - 1 0 - - - - 1 - -
_ _ l _ _ _ _ 2 - ? - - l - -
1 1 1 3 1 - - 4 - - - - 1 - -
? 2 1 ? ? 1 - - ? ? 1 ? ? ? ? 
_ ! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
_ _ _ _ _ ! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ! _ 
_ _ ! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
_ _ _ _ ! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ! 
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 
- 1 - - 1 - - - - - - - - - -
_ _ ! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
Phase and 
Level 
/ 
o 
_ 
o 
?1 U 
? 
o 
- 4 
o 
1-5 
en 
O 
-o 
3 
0 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
'30 
Cut 2 
2 3 
Y> _ 3 
A 
8 
s
 1 s 
_ ? I 
c_ - .2 .2 
c .? 
* ? 
is d s o a 
I J S ?- 1 
S S x ti ? 
5 1 ^ 
On pq fa 
S3 2 -? 
& 
" - ~ i _ , _ , _ 
J3 J _ _ 
W OT CO CO 
J3 J3 
CO CO 
- - 2 - - 1 2 - 2 1 - - - 1 - - -
1 - - 1 - 2 - 1 1 - - - - - - -
_ _ _ _ _ 1 _ l _ _ _ - - - _ -
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2 - - - -
_ _ _ _ ! i _ _ _ ? _ i - - _ -
_ _ 1 i _ i _ _ _ _ - - - - - -
_ _ _ _ _ ! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
_ _ _ _ _ 1 - - - _ 1 _ - - - -
_ _ _ _ _ _ l _ _ _ - - - _ _ -
_ _ _ _ _ ! _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ - -
_ _ _ 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
_ _ _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ _ _ -
_ _ _ 1 _ 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
_ _ _ ! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
_ _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 _ 
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2 -
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ! _ 
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ! _ 
! _ _ _ ! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ! 
_ _ ! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
Appendix 3 
REPORT O N MINERALIZED CORNCOBS A N D OTHER PREHISTORIC SPECIMENS FROM 
SALINAS LA BLANCA 
Paul C. Mangelsdorf 
Botanical Museum, Harvard University 
The collection of corncobs from Salinas La Blanca 
consists of 32 specimens of which 29 are mineralized 
parts of the cobs?the first "petrified" corn to be 
discovered. The mineralization is probably due to 
impregnation of the tissues with carbonates and 
not with silica since there is profuse bubbling when 
hydrochloric acid is applied. The preservation of 
details in some of the specimens is quite remarkable 
(pl. 24). In some the venation in the glumes and 
other floral bracts is still apparent, in others the 
tiny hairs which beset the cupule (depressions in the 
rachis) have been preserved. In several there are 
mineralized remains of the vascular system which 
supplied the kernels. The pith, however, has not 
been preserved, consequently our observations on the 
cupules and floral bracts are made from the unusual 
position of inside the cobs looking outward. It was 
possible to make observations or obtain measurements 
on 26 of the 29 mineralized specimens of cobs. 
On the basis of the measurements and observations 
we can reconstruct this prehistoric corn in the major?
ity of its dimensions. The diameter of the two cobs 
measured was 22 mm. but an estimated diameter, 
calculated by adding to the rachis diameter of 11.1 
mm. twice the average length (6.2) of the glumes, is 
23.5 mm. Multiplying this by pi we get a cob cir?
cumference of 73.84 mm. Dividing this by 12, the 
modal kernel row number, we get 6.2 mm. for the 
average kernel width. Kernel thickness based on 
24 specimens is 3.9 mm. Kernel length should be 
about the same as glume length since several observa?
tions indicate that the glumes were rounded at the 
top as though they had enclosed the kernels. 
Our measurements of the width of a pair of spikelets 
were made at their bases which are at about the same 
level as the outside of the rachis. This has the diameter 
of 11.1 mm. Multiplying by pi we get a circumference 
of 34.87 mm. for the rachis. Dividing this by 6.6 
(half the average row number) we find that the space 
available for the attachment of a pair of spikelets is 
5.3 mm. This agrees reasonably well with the average 
width, 6.7 mm., based on our measurements. Part 
of the difference between the two figures may be due 
to the fact that some of the measurements of spikelet 
pairs were made at a slightly higher level than the 
actual rachis diameter. 
The measurements obtained from these prehistoric 
specimens agree rather closely with the published 
data on the two still-existing Mexican races, Nal-Tel 
and Chapalote (cf. Wellhausen et al., 1952) as 
shown in table 14. 
TABLE 14.?CHARACTERISTICS OF SALINAS LA BLANCA MINERALIZED 
COBS COMPARED WITH THOSE OF MODERN NAL-TEL AND CHAPALOTE 
Characteristic Nal-Tel 
Salinas La 
Chapalote Blanca 
11.4 
19.2 
9.2 
6.7 
3.9 
7.4 
5.0 
12.3 
22.0 
11.2 
6.7 
4. 1 
7.2 
5.4 
13.2 
i 22.0 
11. 1 
2 6.2 
3.9 
2 6.6 
6.2 
Kernel row (number). . 
Diameter cob (mm.) . . . 
Diameter rachis (mm.). 
Kernel width (mm.) . . . 
Kernel thickness (mm.). 
Kernel length (mm.). . . 
Glume length (mm.). .. 
i Or estimated 23.5. 
2 Estimate. 
So far as the measurements go, the prehistoric 
specimens resemble Chapalote a little more closely 
than Nal-Tel, and since Chapalote was one of the 
races represented in the prehistoric corn uncovered in 
127 
128 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS T O ANTHROPOLOGY 
TABLE 15.?MEASUREMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS ON MINERALIZED COBS FROM SALINAS LA BLANCA 
VOLUME 3 
Specimen 
Number 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
Average. . 
Kernel 
rows 
(Number) 
16 
14 
12 
-
16 
-
12 
-
16? 
-
12 
-
-
12 
12 
-
-
-
-
12-14 
12 
-
12 
-
-
-
13.2 
Cob 
diameter 
(mm.) 
22 
22 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
22 
Rachis 
diameter 
(mm.) 
10 
13 
-
-
12 
-
11 
-
-
-
9 
-
-
11 
12 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
11. 1 
Space occupied 
by kernels 
Space 
(mm.) 
11 
23 
28 
23 
16 
17 
18 
16 
13 
12 
14 
14 
14 
-
-
14 
7 
20 
11 
20 
15 
21 
14 
15 
7 
16 
-
Number 
kernels 
3 
6 
6 
6 
4 
4 
4 
5 
4 
3 
4 
4 
4 
_ 
_ 
4 
2 
5 
3 
4 
4 
6 
4 
3 
2 
4 
-
Kernel 
thickness 
(mm.) 
3.7 
3.8 
4.7 
3.8 
4 .0 
4.2 
4.5 
3.2 
3.2 
4 .0 
3.5 
3.5 
3.5 
_ 
-
3.5 
3.5 
4 .0 
3.7 
5.0 
3.8 
3.5 
3.5 
5.0 
3.5 
4 .0 
3.9 
Glume 
length 
(mm.) 
6.0 
_ 
-
_ 
-
7.0 
-
-
-
-
-
5.5 
6.5 
-
-
6.0 
-
-
-
-
6.0 
-
-
-
-
-
6.2 
Width 
spikelet 
pair at 
base 
-
-
-
5 
6 
-
8 
8 
-
-
6 
6 
-
-
-
-
-
7 
7 
-
-
-
7 
7 
-
6.7 
Other observations 
-
Glumes long, rumpled. Some show venation. 
Glumes rumpled. 
Remains of a fibro-vascular bundle. 
-
Glumes rumpled. 
Many bundles. 
-
Glumes long, rumpled; hairs in cupules. 
Glumes long, rumpled. 
Glumes curved outward. 
Do. 
-
-
Hairs in cupules. 
Glumes long, round at top. 
Glumes long, rumpled; probably pod corn. 
Glumes rumpled, probably pod corn. 
Lower glume thicker than upper. 
Glumes rounded at top. 
Glumes long, rounded at top. 
Glumes rumpled. 
-
-
-
five caves in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico (Mangels?
dorf et al., 1964) these specimens from Guatemala may 
well be related to Chapalote. The deep cupules are 
also suggestive of Chapalote. The hairy cupules, 
however, are more characteristic of Nal-Tel than of 
Chapalote. I t is probably safe to say that the speci?
mens represent either Chapalote or Nal-Tel, and 
since the two races are themselves closely related one 
conclusion is about as good as another. 
The prehistoric specimens differ from both modern 
Chapalote and Nal-Tel in having longer and softer 
glumes, often rumpled, and in the fact that the glumes 
seem, in some specimens at least, to have partially 
or completely enclosed the kernels. These character?
istics suggest that this corn was a form of pod corn and 
that it had not yet been contaminated by corn's 
relatives, teosinte or Tripsacum. 
Three additional specimens represent impressions. 
The impression of a short section of stalk has a diameter 
of about 12 cm. Modern corn, unless stunted by 
growing under poor conditions, seldom has a stalk as 
slender as this. Leaf impressions (pl. 24, b) show 10 
veins in a distance of 17 cm. in one specimen and 5 
veins in 10 cm. in the other. These represent venation 
indexes of 6.1 and 5.0 respectively. These are much 
higher indexes than are found in any modern races 
but are of the same order as that of leaves of corn 
from the lower levels of the Tehuaca'n sites. 
Appendix 4 
FISH R E M A I N S F R O M SALINAS L A BLANCA, A N A R C H E O L O G I C A L SITE O N T H E PACIFIC 
COAST O F G U A T E M A L A 
W. I. Fol le t t 
Curator of Fishes, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco 
In t roduc t ion 
This is an account of the fish remains collected by 
Michael D. Coe and Kent V. Flannery at Salinas La 
Blanca (SM-1), an archeological site on the alluvial 
plain of the Pacific coast of Guatemala, a few kilome?
ters from the Mexican border. 
Salinas La Blanca is 1.5 km. from the Pacific Ocean, 
on the east bank of the Naranjo River, which connects 
with a lagoon-estuary system not far from its mouth. 
The site is a short distance upstream from the town of 
Ocds, which is on the west bank of the river. 
Four radiocarbon samples indicate that the site was 
occupied from about 1000 to 850 B.C. 
The specimens are deposited at Yale University, 
Department of Anthropology. 
Fishes Represented x 
The fish material comprises more than 100 remains, 
referable to 11 genera and 10 families, many of which 
are so fragmentary that their identification is im?
practicable. Most of the remains were partially 
covered by a hard encrustation of carbonates, which 
was found to be soluble, without appreciable damage 
to the fish remains, in a mixture of one part, by volume, 
of glacial acetic acid to three parts of water. 
Discussion 
1
 The common names employed are those adopted by the 
American Fisheries Society (1960). Only five were adopted for 
particular species represented in this collection: machete, Cali?
fornia needlefish, yellowfin mojarra, crevalle jack, spotted sleeper. 
The others were each adopted for a family, but are here employed 
(in the singular) for a species of that family. 
I wish to express my appreciation to Lillian J . Dempster and 
Maurice C. Giles, of the California Academy of Sciences. Mrs. 
Dempster assisted extensively with the manuscript and Mr. Giles 
expertly printed the photographs. 
Gars?Lepisos te idae 
Lepisosteus tropicus (Gill) * 
(Gar) 
This is the southernmost representative of the gars, 
and the only one known from Pacific drainages, 
where it occurs in brackish estuaries and coastal 
waterways (Miller, 1954, p . 231). The flesh of gars 
has been said to be "tough and rank, valueless as 
food" (Jordan and Evermann, 1896, p . 109). How?
ever, Lindner (1947, p . 76) wrote, "The garfish 
(Lepisosteus) is used for food in Mexico and is usually 
called 'cataV although in Chiapas it goes by the name 
of 'cherna.' More than 15,000 pounds were taken 
in 1941." According to Herald (1962, pp. 70-71), 
the Seminole Indians in the Florida Everglades 
include gars in their diet; these Indians "remove the 
head and tail, then shuck them out by making a 
slit from one end to the other along the undersurface 
of the body." 
MATERIAL: Scales (169), from fish about 45 to 55 cm. 
in total length. These scales (except for one single 
scale) are in patches of two to nine rows, held in 
their natural alinement by encrusting carbonates. 
The patches appear to represent discarded pieces 
of skin. Two such pieces, one with six rows of 
scales (pl. 31, a) and the other with nine, are doubled 
upon themselves. The identification to species is 
presumptive. 
2
 I follow Suttkus (1963, p . 70) in regarding this species as valid. 
129 
130 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS T O ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
T a r p o n s ? E l o p i d a e 
Elops affinis Regan 3 
(Machete) 
This fish (seeWalford, 1937, pl. 24, fig. a) is edible 
(Berdegu6, 1956, p . 137). It attains a total length 
of nearly a meter (Cannon, 1964, p . 196). One 
of the specimens mentioned by Meek and Hildebrand 
(1923, p . 177) "was taken in a muddy tide stream 6 
miles inland." 
MATERIAL: Precaudal vertebral centra (four, com?
plete; two attached to each other; pl. 31, b), from 
a fish about 36 cm. in total length. 
Sea Catfishes?Ariidae 
Sciades troschelii G i l l 4 
(Sea catfish) 
This important food fish (Meek and Hildebrand, 
1923, p . 104, as Sciadeichthys troschelii), "one of the 
largest species" of sea catfishes (Jordan and Evermann, 
1896, p . 122), abounds in the lagoons of Chiapas, 
where it is taken in seines and cast nets (Lindner, 1947, 
p . 76). 
MATERIAL: Partial cranium (pl. 31, c, including 
the basioccipital, prootics, and right posttemporal, 
parts of the parasphenoid, frontals, sphenotics, 
pterotics, right supracleithrum, supraoccipital, and 
transverse processes of the fifth to seventh vertebrae, 
and a fragment of the left crescentic process of the 
tripus), from a fish about 50 cm. in total length. 
Left preopercle attached to the left hyomandibular 
and left quadrate (all incomplete), from a fish 
about 40 cm. in total length. Left cleithrum 
(incomplete), attached to the left coracoid (in?
complete), from a fish about 50 cm. in total length. 
Right cleithrum (incomplete), from a fish about 
80 cm. in total length. 
Identification of the cranium is based on the strongly 
developed ventral process of the basioccipital, which 
in size and shape closely resembles that of a skeleton 
of this species (Stanford University 12067, standard 
length 41 cm.). In the archeological specimen, the 
upper surface is granular, and much rougher than in 
the Stanford specimen. This difference is apparently 
not significant, since the upper surface of the head in 
this species is "much rougher in some specimens than 
2
 In a recent review of the genus Elops, Whitehead (1962, pp . 
321, 327, 328) recognized this species as distinct from Elops 
saurus Linnaeus, of the Atlantic coast of tropical America. 
* I follow Hildebrand (1946, p . 123) in referring this species 
to the genus Sciades Miiller and Troschel, 1894. 
others" (Meek and Hildebrand, 1923, p . 103). Simi?
larly, the humeral process of the right cleithrum, 
unlike that of the Stanford specimen, is coarsely 
granular?a character of this species noted by Jordan 
and Evermann (1898 b, p . 2758). 
Needlefishes?Belonidae 
Strongylura exilis (Girard) 
(California needlefish) 
This species (see Walford, 1931, fig. 29), which 
attains a total length of more than a meter, is a very 
good food fish (Cannon, 1964, p . 212). I follow 
Collette and Berry (1965, pp. 390, 392) in regarding 
Belone stolzmanni Steindachner as a synonym of 
Belone exilis Girard. 
MATERIAL: Dentaries (incomplete pair), from a fish 
about 50 cm. in total length. Premaxillaries (in?
complete pair, slightly charred; pl. 31, _?), from a fish 
about 50 cm. in total length. The enlarged teeth 
of this species are conical, the dark base (in alcoholic 
specimens) contrasting sharply with the white cusp. 
This contrast is accentuated in the several enlarged 
teeth remaining in the dentaries of the archeological 
specimen. 
Snooks?Centropomidae 
Centropomus nigrescens Gunther 
(Snook) 
This species (see Kumada and Hiyama, 1937, col. 
pl. 19, as Centropomus viridis), which attains a total 
length of about a meter (Walford, 1937, p . 127), is a 
valuable food fish (Jordan and Evermann, 1896, p. 
1118). Meek and Hildebrand (1925, p . 428)?whom 
I follow in regarding C. viridis Lockington as a synonym 
of C. nigrescens?said that some of their specimens of 
this species had been taken in fresh water streams 
above tide influence. In the Ocos area, snook occur 
in the brackish waters of the mangrove-lined estuaries 
and in the channels of the sluggish Naranjo River 
(Coe and Flannery, 1964, p . 653). 
MATERIAL: Partial cranium (including the supra-
occipital, left epiotic, left parietal, and left frontal), 
from a fish about 75 cm. in total length. Left 
frontal (incomplete, comminuted but the fragments 
held together by encrusting carbonates), from a 
fish about 97 cm. in total length. Right preopercle 
(incomplete), from a fish about 50 cm. in total 
length. Right quadrate (complete; pl. 31, e), 
from a fish about 89 cm. in total length. Vertebra 
(incomplete, possibly from the fish represented by 
the incomplete cranium). 
These remains are identified to species on the basis 
of their large size. 
?
,
"
M
*w^-niifiMfrawjig 
PLATE 31 
Fish remains from Salinas La Blanca. a, Gar {Lepisosteus tropicus): patch of scales, length 50 mm.; Cut 2, Level 17 (depth 36-38 dm.), b 
Machete {Elops qffinis): two precaudal vertebral centra, horizontal diameter 4.3 mm.; Cut 1, Leve .25 (depth 52-54 dm.), c, Sea 
catfish (Sciades troschelii): partial cranium (lateroventral aspect), length 102 mm.; Cut 1, Level 29 (depth 60-62 dm.), d, California 
needlefish (Strongylura exilis): premaxillaries, length 40 mm.; Cut 2, Level 17 (depth 36-38 dm.), e, Snook (Centropomus nigrescens): 
right quadrate, length 47 mm.; Cut 2, Level 17 (depth 36-38 dm.) . / , Yellowfin mojarra (Gerres cinereus): left palatine, length 20 
mm.; Cut 2, Level 17 (depth 36-38 dm.) . 
, - ? ? ? ? ' 
PLATE 32 
Fish remains from Salinas La Blanca. a, Mojarra (Eugenes lineatus): 2d anal spine and 1st interhaemal, length 55 mm.; Cut 1, Level 26 
(depth 54-56 dm.), b, Crevalle jack (Caranx hippos): right opercle, length 97 mm.; Cut 1, Level 23 (depth 48-50 dm.), c, Snapper 
(Lutjanus novemfasciatus): right premaxillary, length 29 mm.; Cut 1, Level 20 (depth 42-^t4 dm.), d, Snapper (Lutjanus Colorado): 
1st and 2d anal spines and 1st interhaemal, length 74 mm.; Cut 2, Level 17 (depth 36-38 dm.), e, Grunt (Pomadasys macracanthus): 
right articular and angular, length 33 mm.; Cut 2, Level 15 (depth 32-34 dm.), f, Spotted sleeper (Eleotrispicta): left articular, 
length 26 mm.; Cut 2, Level 15 (depth 32-34 dm.). 
WHOLE VOLUME APPENDIX 4 131 
Mojarras?Gerridae 5 
Gerres cinereus (Walbaum) 
(Yellowfin mojarra) 
This important food fish (see Regan, 1906-08, 
pl. 8, fig. 2, as Gerres simillimus), which is known to 
enter rivers, attains a total length of about 38 cm. 
(Jordan and Evermann, 1898 a, p . 1372). 
MATERIAL: Left palatine (incomplete; pl. 31, / ) , 
from a fish about 38 cm. in total length. 
Eugerres lineatus (Humboldt) 
(in Humboldt and Valenciennes) 
(Mojarra) 
This species (see Humboldt and Bonpland, 1812, 
pl. 46, fig. 2), a food fish of some importance, which 
attains a length of about 30 cm. (Jordan and Ever?
mann, 1898 a, p. 1378, as Gerres lineatus), is known to 
enter fresh water (Meek and Hildebrand, 1925, 
p. 602, as Diapterus lineatus).6 
MATERIAL: Second anal spine (complete) articulated 
with the first interhaemal (incomplete), pl. 32, a; 
from a fish about 30 cm. in total length. 
Jacks?Carangidae 
Caranx hippos (Linnaeus) 7 
(Crevalle jack) 
Walford (1937, pp. 72, 73, col. pl. 51, fig. a, as 
Caranx caninus) stated that this fish attains a total 
length of about a meter and a weight of about 
60 kg.; also that "on the Pacific coast this fish is 
generally considered so unpalatable that not even the 
Indians will eat it?and, as fish eaters, they have the 
reputation, probably deserved, of being gastronom-
ically stoic." On the other hand, Kumada and 
Hiyama (1937, p . 33) described it as a "good food 
fish." It has been recorded from tide streams 
(Meek and Hildebrand, 1925, p . 351). 
MATERIAL: Right opercle (incomplete; pl. 32, b), 
from a fish more than 60 cm. in total length. 
Snappers?Lutjanidae 
Lutjanus novemfasciatus Gill 
(Snapper) 
This good food fish (Kumada and Hiyama, 1937, 
p. 43, as Neomaenis novemfasciatus) has been said to 
attain a total length of about 120 cm. and a weight of 
about 35 kg. (Walford, 1937, p . 87, col. pl. 57, fig. a). 
A 47.5-cm. specimen was taken in strictly fresh 
water (Hildebrand, 1925, p. 286). 
MATERIAL: Right premaxillary (incomplete; pl. 
32, c), from a fish about 32 cm. in total length. 
Several other species of Lutjanus occur in the region 
of Ocos; at least two of these, L. Colorado Jordan and 
Gilbert and L. argentiventris (Peters), are also known 
to enter tidal streams (Meek and Hildebrand, 1925, 
pp. 498, 501, 514). L. novemfasciatus has somewhat 
stronger canine teeth in the premaxillaries than either 
of the others. The second canine in the Salinas La 
Blanca specimen had been lost, and was in process of 
replacement, but its size, indicated by that of its 
alveolus, was relatively greater than that of the second 
canine in the other species. 
Lutjanus Colorado Jordan and Gilbert 
(Snapper) 
This good food fish (Kumada and Hiyama, 1937, 
p. 42, as Neomaenis Colorado) has been said to attain a 
length of about 91 cm. (Walford, 1937, col. pl. 57, 
fig. 6). On the alluvial plain of the Pacific coast of 
Guatemala, this snapper is abundant in the brackish 
water of the estuaries (Coe and Flannery, 1964. pp. 
652-653). 
MATERIAL: Partial cranium (including the supra-
occipital, epiotics, and exoccipitals), from a fish 
about 34 cm. in total length. Right quadrates (1 
complete, 1 incomplete), from fish about 50 cm. in 
total length. First anal spine and second anal spine 
articulated with the first interhaemal (all complete; 
pl. 32, d), from a fish about 31 cm. in total length. 
6
 Bailey and Moore (1963, p . 307) have applied to the Inter?
national Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to emend the 
spelling of this family-group name to Gerreidae to eliminate the 
homonymy with the insect family-group name Gerridae. Article 
80 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature requires 
the retention of existing usage pending a ruling by the Commission. 
6
 I follow Schultz (1949, pp. 138, 146) in recognizing the genus 
Eugerres Jo rdan and Evermann, 1927. 
7
 Pending an adequate study of possible subspeciation, I follow 
Berry (1959, p . 504) in regarding this fish as representing a 
single circumtropical species. 
G r u n t s ? H a e m u l i d a e 
Pomadasys macracanthus (Giinther) 
(Grunt) 
This species (see Giinther, 1868, pl. 64, fig. 1, as 
Pristipoma macracanthum), which is of value as a food 
fish (Evermann and Jenkins, 1891, p. 151), has been 
said to attain a total length of about 38 cm. (Jordan 
and Evermann, 1898 a, p. 1332). It is known to 
enter rivers (Regan, 1906-1908, p. 43). 
MATERIAL: Right angular (complete) attached to the 
right articular (incomplete), pl. 32, e; right pre-
132 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
maxillary (incomplete); right preopercle (incom?
plete) ; right opercle (incomplete); right cleithrum 
(incomplete); second anal spine (complete); first 
interhaemal (complete)?from fish about 27 to 35 
cm. in total length. First to seventh precaudal 
vertebrae (incomplete), the first six held in their 
normal articulation by encrusting carbonates; from 
a fish about 40 cm. in total length. Second anal 
spine (complete), from a fish about 31 cm. in total 
length. 
Sleepers?Eleotridae 
Eleotris picta Kner and Steindachner 
(Spotted sleeper) 
This fish (see Kner and Steindachner, 1865, pl. 3, 
fig. 1), which is known to attain a total length of 
49.5 cm., is said to be not valued as food, possibly 
because its heavy coating of mucus makes it repulsive 
(Hildebrand, 1938, pp. 345-347)?an esthetic con?
sideration that may well have been overlooked by 
the aborigines. It inhabits coastwise waters, chiefly 
in the lower parts of rivers (Hubbs, 1953, p . 69). 
MATERIAL: Left articular (incomplete; pl. 32 , / ) 
and precaudal vertebrae (three, incomplete), from 
a fish about 32 cm. in total length. 
Conclusions 
The 12 species represented in this collection could 
all have been caught in the immediate vicinity of the 
site. 
Nets (possibly manipulated from some kind of 
watercraft) would have provided an efficient means 
of catching every species represented. This conclu?
sion is corroborated by the following statement of 
Holloway (1950, p . 116): "Near Ocos, an overnight 
set with 450 feet (137 meters) of gill-nets in brackish 
waters affected by tidal action resulted in a catch of 
approximately 80 kilograms of fish . . . of nine 
genera . . . including Centropomus and Lutjanus." 
Fishing with hook and line would have been 
effective for catching every species except the gar and 
the needlefish?which are difficult to hook because 
of their elongate bony jaws. This type of fishing 
could have been conducted at favorable spots on the 
banks of the river, or?perhaps more advanta?
geously?from watercraft. 
Fish Remains, by Level 
Gut 1, Level 7 
Grunt, Pomadasys macracanthus: opercle. 
Cut 2, Level 7 
Gar, Lepisosteus tropicus: scales (31). 
Gut 2, Level 14 
Gar, Lepisosteus tropicus: scales (65). 
Snook, Centropomus nigrescens: preopercle. 
Cut 2, Level 15 
Grunt, Pomadasys macracanthus: articular and angular 
(pl. 32, e); premaxillary; preopercle; cleithrum; inter?
haemal; anal spine. 
Spotted sleeper, Eleotris picta: articular (pl. 32, / ) ; 
precaudal vertebrae (3). 
Cut 2, Level 16 
California needlefish, Strongylura exilis: pair of dentaries. 
Snapper, Lutjanus Colorado: quadrates (2). 
Grunt, Pomadasys macracanthus: 1st to 7th precaudal 
vertebrae (first 6 articulated). 
Cut 2, Level 17 
Gar, Lepisosteus tropicus: scales (61), (pl. 31, a). 
California needlefish, Strongylura exilis: pair of premaxil-
laries (pl. 31, d). 
Snook, Centropomus nigrescens: quadrate (pl. 31, e). 
Yellowfin mojarra, Gerres cinereus: palatine (pl. 31, / ) . 
Snapper, Lutjanus Colorado: 1st and 2d anal spines 
articulated with the 1st interhaemal (pl. 32, d). 
Cut 1, Level 19 
Sea catfish, Sciades troschelii: cleithrum attached to the 
coracoid; preopercle attached to the hyomandibular 
and quadrate. 
Cut 1, Level 20 
Snapper, Lutjanus novemfasciatus: premaxillary (pl. 32, c). 
Cut 2, Level 23 
Gar, Lepisosteus tropicus: scales (11). 
Crevalle jack, Caranx hippos: opercle (pl. 32, b). 
Grunt, Pomadasys macracanthus: anal spine. 
Cut 2, Level 24 
Snapper, Lutjanus Colorado: cranium. 
Cut 1, Level 25 
Machete, Elops affinis: precaudal vertebral centra (4) 
(two articulated; pl. 31, b). 
Snook, Centropomus nigrescens: frontal. 
Cut 1, Level 26 
Snook, Centropomus nigrescens: cranium; vertebra. 
Mojarra, Eugerres lineatus: 2d anal spine articulated 
with the first interhaemal (pl. 32, a). 
Cut 2, Level 26 
Sea catfish, Sciades troschelii: cleithrum. 
Cut 1, Level 28 
Gar, Lepisosteus tropicus: scale. 
Cut 1, Level 29 
Sea catfish, Sciades troschelii: cranium (pl. 31, c). 
WHOLE VOLUME APPENDIX 4 133 
LITERATURE CITED 
AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY COMMITTEE ON NAMES OF FISHES 
1960. A list of common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. 
Amer. Fish. Soc , Special Publ. no. 2. 2d ed. 102 pp. Ann Arbor. 
BAILEY, REEVE M., and M O O R E , THOMAS E. 
1963. Request that the International Commission rule to correct homonymy in names of the 
family-group based on Gerris and Gerres. Bull. Zool. Nomencl., vol. 20, pt. 4, pp. 
307-308. 
BERDEGUE A., J U L I O 
1956. Peces de importancia comercial en la costa nor-occidental de Mexico. 345 pp., 206 
figs., 2 maps. Mexico. 
BERRY, FREDERICK H. 
1959. Young jack crevalles (Caranx species) off the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United 
States. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fishery Bulletin, vol. 59, no. 152, pp. i-iv, 
417-535, figs. 1-98. 
CANNON, R A Y 
1964. How to fish the Pacific Coast. A manual for sal twater fishermen. 2d ed. x i+337 
pp., 203 figs. Menlo Park, Calif. 
C O E , MICHAEL D., and FLANNERY, K E N T V. 
1964. Microenvironments and Mesoamerican prehistory. Science, vol. 143, no. 3607, pp. 
650-654, figs. 1-3. 
COLLETTE, BRUCE B., and BERRY, FREDERICK H. 
1965. Recent studies on the needlefishes (Belonidae): an evaluation. Copeia, 1965, no. 3, 
pp . 386-392. 
EVERMANN, BARTON W., and JENKINS, OLIVER P. 
1891. Report upon a collection of fishes made at Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, with descriptions 
of new species. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 14, pp. 121-165, pis. 1-2. 
GUNTHER, ALBERT 
1868. An account of the fishes of the States of Central America, based on collections made 
by Capt. J . M. Dow, F. Godman, Esq., and O. Salvin, Esq. Trans. Zool. Soc. 
London, vol. 6, pt. 7, pp. 377-494, pis. 63-87. 
HERALD, EARL S. 
1962. Living fishes of the world. Revised ed. 304 pp., 87 pis. Garden City, N.Y. 
HILDEBRAND, SAMUEL F. 
1925. Fishes of the Republic of El Salvador, Central America. U.S. Bur. Fish. Bull., vol. 41, 
pp. 237-287, figs. 1-20. 
1938. A new catalogue of the fresh-water fishes of Panama. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. 
Ser., vol. 22, no. 4, pp . 215-359, figs. 2-13. 
1946. A descriptive catalog of the shore fishes of Peru. U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull., vol. 189, pp. 
i-xi, 1-530, figs. 1-95. 
H O L L O W AY, ANCIL D. 
1950. Recommendations for the development of the fishery resources of Guatemala. In A 
Fish and Wildlife Survey of Guatemala. U.S. Dept. Int., Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Spl. Sci. Rept . : Wildlife no. 5 ( m + 1 6 2 pp.), pp. 99-140. 
HUBBS, CARL L. 
1953. Eleotris picta added to the fish fauna of California. California Fish and Game, vol. 39, 
no. 1, pp. 69-76, figs. 1-2. 
HUMBOLDT, F. H. A. VON, and BONPLAND, A. J . A. 
1812. Voyage aux regions equinoxiales du nouveau continent, fait en 1799-1804 . . . vol. 1, 
pt. 2, "1811 , " pis. 1-57. [1812 date from Sherborn, 1899.] 
JORDAN, DAVID STARR, and EVERMANN, BARTON WARREN 
1896. The fishes of North and Middle America: a descriptive catalogue of the species of 
fish-like vertebrates found in the waters of North America, north of the isthmus of 
Panama. U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull., vol. 47, pt. 1, pp. I -LX, 1-1240. 
1898 a. The fishes of North and Middle America . . . . U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull., vol. 47, pt. 
2, pp. i -xxx, 1241-2183. 
1898 b. The fishes of North and Middle America . . . . U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull., vol. 47, pt. 
3, pp. I-XXIV, 2183a-3136. 
134 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME S 
K N E R , RUDOLF, and STEINDACHNER, FRANZ 
1865. Neue Gattungen und Arten von Fischen aus Central-Amerika; gesammelt von Prof. 
Moritz Wagner. Abh. Akad. Wissensch. Munchen, Bd. 10, Abt. 1, pp . 1-61, pis. 1-6. 
KUMADA, TOSIO, and HIYAMA, YOSIO 
1937. Marine fishes of the Pacific coast of Mexico. 75 pp. , 102 pis. Odawara, J a p a n . 
LINDNER, M I L T O N J . 
1947. The commercial marine fishes, crustaceans and molluscs of the west coast of Mexico. 
Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc , vol. 74, for the year 1944, pp . 71-80. 
M E E K , SETH E., and HILDEBRAND, SAMUEL F. 
1923. The marine fishes of Panama. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Publ. no. 215, Zool. Ser., vol. 15, 
pt. 1, pp. I -XI , 1-330, pis. 1-24. 
1925. The marine fishes of Panama. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Publ. no. 226, Zool. Ser., vol. 15, 
pt. 2, pp. i-xrx, 331-707, pis. 25-71. 
M I L L E R , ROBERT R U S H 
1954. The southern limit of the garfishes, family Lepisosteidae. Copeia, 1954, no. 3, pp . 
230-231. 
REGAN, C. T A T E 
1906-1908. Pisces. In F. D. Godman and O. Salvin, "Biologia Centrali-Americana." x x x n + 
203 pp., 26 pis., 2 maps. London. 
SCHULTZ, LEONARD P. 
1949. A further contribution to the ichthyology of Venezuela. P r o c U.S. Nat . Mus., vol. 99, 
no. 3235, pp. 1-211, figs. 1-20, pis. 1-3. 
SHERBORN, C. D A VIES 
1899. A note on the date of the parts of 'Humboldt and Bonpland's voyage: observations de 
zoologie.' Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, vol. 3, p . 428. 
SUTTKUS, ROYAL D. 
1963. Order Lepisostei. In "Fishes of the Western North Atlantic," Part 3 (xxi-f-630 pp.) , 
pp. 61-88, figs. 11-18. 
WALFORD, LIONEL A. 
1931. Handbook of common commercial and game fishes of California. Div. Fish and 
Game California, Fish Bull. no. 28, pp. 1-181, frontis., figs. 1-137. 
1937. Marine game fishes of the Pacific Coast from Alaska to the Equator. 205 pp. , 69 pis. 
Berkeley. 
WHITEHEAD, P. J . P. 
1962. The species of Elops (Pisces: Elopidae). Ann. Mag. Nat . Hist., ser. 13, vol. 5, no. 54, 
pp. 321-329, figs. 1-3. 
Appendix 5 
P E T R O G R A P H Y O F P O T T E R Y T H I N SECTIONS F R O M SALINAS LA BLANCA 
George H . M y e r 1 
Department of Geology, Yale University 
Thin sections were prepared from the following 
sherds of the Salinas La Blanca site. 
1. Guamuchal Brushed (Cut 2, Level 15) 
2. Guamuchal Brushed (Cut 2, Level 29) 
3. Tilapa Red-on-white (Cut 2, Level 21) 
4. Morena Black (Cut 2, Level 15) 
5. Pampas Black-and-white (Cut 1, Level 7; 
has oxidized rim) 
6. Conchas White-to-Buff (Cut 1, Level 3) 
7. Ocos Gray (Cut 2, Level 5) 
8. Suchiate Brushed (Cut 2, Level 1) 
9. Conchas Streaky Brown-black (Cut 2, Level 2) 
10. Conchas Orange (Cut 2, Level 1; with Usulu?
tan decoration) 
A textural feature common to all 10 slides is crystal 
and rock fragments embedded in a submicroscopic 
matrix. The amount of matrix to fragments is usually 
dominant by two to one. Grain size of the fragments 
ranges from 1/16 mm. to 2 mm., with an average of 
1/4 mm. One slide (No. 7) has a smaller average size, 
only 1/16 mm. The majority of the crystal fragments 
have at least one crystallographic boundary with the 
remainder of the outline being angular. They do not 
appear to be corroded with deep embayments. The 
interstitial filling or matrix is composed of glass par?
ticles (shards) and submicroscopic rusty yellow-brown 
crystalline material. The shards exhibit cusplike 
shapes that are quite undeformed. One slide (No. 10) 
is especially rich in these forms. All slides have an 
oxidized rind on both surfaces of the pottery. Its 
thickness is variable, being about 1 mm., for slides 
Nos. 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, and 10, and about 1 to 2 cm. for 
Nos. 2, 4, 5, and 6. 
1
 Present address: Department of Geological Sciences, University 
of Maine, Orono, Maine. 
The precise mineralogic identity of the rusty yellow-
brown material could not be resolved with 500-power 
magnification. It does have crystalline properties, 
first order birefringence, indices of refraction less than 
1.556 and wavy extinction. There is a faint suggestion 
of platy morphology which is generally parallel to 
the pottery surface. 
At least nine minerals are present as identifiable 
fragments. Conspicuous pseudomorphs of "idding-
site" alteration products of fayalite (iron-rich olivine) 
are present in small amounts in all slides. Some are 
idiomorphic and have remnant fayalite cores. Pla-
gioclase feldspar, which predominates, has an andesine 
composition between An43 and An35. Most of these 
crystals are oscillatory zoned with calcic (An43 cores 
and An30 rims). Their composition was determined 
by measuring the extinction angle in section perpen?
dicular to (010) and (001). This was difficult to do be?
cause (001) cleavage was seldom developed. Quartz 
fragments are slightly strained as illustrated by weak 
undulatory extinction; however, 2V was zero. Idio?
morphic green hornblende has the pleochroic scheme 
X=yellow brown, Y=green brown, Z=green. 
Minor amounts of brown biotite, sanidine, magnetite, 
hyperthene, and hematite are present in idiomorphic 
crystals. Rock fragments which are not angular but 
rounded are plagioclase and hyperthene intergrowths, 
rounded quartz aggregates, and pumice fragments. 
The presence of glass particles with their delicate 
cusplike form indicates tuffaceous material which has 
not been reworked because the plagioclase and sani?
dine are exceedingly fresh and the shards have been 
neither destroyed nor damaged. The presence of 
volcanic rock fragments indicates a combined origin 
for the tuffaceous sediment. Probably these tuffs 
135 
136 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 3 
fell into a standing body of water which was receiving 
sediment by stream erosion from surrounding volcanic 
uplands. The rapid deposition of tuff imposed on 
this stream deposition essentially masked the reworked 
detritus. Subsequent weathering and exposure to 
the atmosphere was slight enough only to alter the 
fayalite and the interstitial volcanic dust. 
From the petrography of these 10 slides, it is 
evident that the pottery workers had already found 
a suitable tuff bed, yielding material which when 
fired produced an indurated pottery. The firing 
process apparently did not significantly alter the 
mineralogy of the crystal and rock fragments. Glass 
particles of the matrix were also unmodified; however, 
the remainder of the matrix was transformed into an 
unknown "ceramic" material. 
Plates 2-30 
210-980?GT 11 

PLATE 2 
The collection of modern animal specimens from the Ocos area, a, Kinkajou (Potusflavus). b, Skinning a raccoon (Procyon lotor). 
a 
m 
^ 
im-^fl^^^ yM 
PLATE 3 
The present-day inhabitants of Salinas La Blanca. a, Don Vicente Cuadros repairing a hand net for fishing, b, The house of the Cuadros 
family, probably not very different from those which anciently occupied the site. 
PLATE 4 
Excavations at Salinas La Blanca. a, View north of Cuts 1 and 2. b, Use of a bucket was necessary in deep levels of Cut 1. c, Work?
man standing in seeping water in the deepest level reached in Cut 2; above the string can be seen a thick layer of sherds and shells. 
PLATE 5 
Impressions found in clay during excavations at Salinas La Blanca. a, Stalk of a monocotyledon and leaves from a dicotyledon 
and a monocotyledon, b, Fragment of matting, c and d, Negative impressions left by corncobs. 
****^*r^^^^^^^^H* 
; / ? ? 
I i i I i_ j 10 cm 
PLATE 6 
Guamuchal Brushed sherds, Cuadros Phase. Spaced herringbone gouges are placed on the convex zone. 
/ ? 
(J 
- ? I ? I I l_ j 10 cm 
PLATE 7 
Guamuchal Brushed sherds, Cuadros Phase. The convex zone is decorated with spaced stepped jabs. 
J 10 cm 
PLATE 8 
Guamuchal Brushed sherds, Cuadros Phase, a-g, Close stepped jabs on the convex zone, h-k, Cane-punched applique faces. / Small 
decorative handle on a rocker-stamped sherd, m-r, Indented filleting. 
210-980?67 12 
j 10 cm 
PLATE 9 
Guamuchal Brushed sherds, Cuadros Phase, a, h, Multiple horizontal punctation. b, Marks of scraping tool on the interior of a body 
sherd, c, Interior view of finger punch, d, g, i, Single-row punctation. 
^ 
10 cm 
PLATE 10 
Mendez Red-rimmed sherds, Cuadros and Jocotal Phases, a, Spaced herringbone gouges. b-d,f, i, k, Spaced stepped jabs, combined 
with diagonal incising in b, k. e, Plain rocker stamping, g, h, Close stepped jabs. /, Horizontal punctation, single row. b is Jocotal, 
the rest are Cuadros. 
PLATE 11 
Mtndez Red-rimmed sherds Cuadros and Jocotal Phases. _,/ , ,', j , Diagonal incising, b, Curvilinear incising in sigmoid curves c 
Multiple punctation confined in zones. d, e, h, Single-row horizontal punctation. g, Exterior finger-punchine a b e i i are 
Jocotal, the rest Cuadros. ?' ' ' s' ,J 
s<A 
m 
n 
10 cm 
PLATE 12 
Mapache Red-rimmed and Te6filo Punctate sherds, Cuadros Phase, a-j, Mapache Red-rimmed; k-q, Teofilo Punctate. Linear pat?
tern burnishing is present on g, m, and o. 
g 
1 10cm 
PLATE 13 
Tilapa Red-on-white sherds, Cuadros Phase, e, g, i, Jar necks and a jar body with plain rocker stamping. 
J i?l 1 L j 10 cm 
PLATE 14 
Interior and exterior of a Pampas Black-and-white bowl, Cuadros Phase. The typical slip can be seen on the rim exterior, where it has 
fired white. 
IO cm 
PLATE 15 
Pampas Black-and-white sherds, and unusual striated sherds, Cuadros Phase, k and / are striated, and the rest are Pampas Black-and-
white. Interiors are to the left or above exteriors. On d may be seen the second slip along the rim interior which was to be oxidized 
white; in this case, the subsequent smudging was not carried out. h, Shows linear pattern burnishing on the exterior, k, Exterior 
finger-punching. 
J 10 cm 
PLATE 16 
Morena Black and Suchiate Brushed sherds, Jocotal Phase. a, b, Morena Black; c-m, Suchiate Brushed. _ and b, Flat-bottomed bowls 
with outslanting sides; interior of b is incised with a branching motif. All Suchiate Brushed sherds are rims from tecomates. e,f, 
h-j, Sherds with low-relief indented filleting. /, m, Plain rocker-stamping. 
210-980?67 13 
\ 
n 
m 
u 
I I I I 1 L. J 10 cm 
PLATE 17 
Suchiate Brushed tecomate sherds, Jocotal Phase, a, c, d, f, h, Grooved decoration. Exterior finger-punching on g, u-x. h, i, Cane-
punched applique, j-q, Stick punctation. x, Spaced stepped jabs on a vessel which is intermediate between Guamuchal Brushed 
and Suchiate Brushed. 
i 10 cm 
PLATE 18 
Conchas Red-on-buff Julain Coarse, and Conchas Streaky Brown-black sherds, Jocotal and Crucero Phases, a-c, Conchas Red-on-
buff; d-h, Julain Coarse; i-q, Conchas Streaky Brown-black, a-c. Late Jocotal Phase; the rest are Crucero. 
a 
? - * * ? 
d 
. 
i . . i i i j 10 cm 
PLATE 19 
Conchas Streaky Brown-black vessels from pits of the Crucero Phase. 
- J ? I ? I ' ? 10 cm 
jWMWW 
? < ' ? V 
/ 
g 
PLATE 20 
Various pottery types, Salinas La Blanca. a, b, Polished red bowls, Crucero Phase, c, Miscellaneous coarse bowl, Cuadros Phase, d, 
Miscellaneous coarse vessel with exterior finger-punching, Jocotal Phase, e, Hard, thin plain ware bowl, Crucero Phase. / , Rare 
black-on-orange, Crucero Phase, h, i, Manchuria Plain comal fragments, probably Marcos Phase, k, Conchas Orange bowl, Crucero 
Phase. /, Conchas Streaky Brown-black cylindrical jar, Crucero Phase. 
K * 
J 5 cm 
n 
r s 
? i ? i i 15 c m 
J 1 1 I L. J 10 cm 
PLATE 21 
Stone, shell and pottery artifacts of the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases, a-l, Cuadros; m-w, Jocotal. a, Figurine fragment, b, Sherd 
abrader. c, Tongue-like tab. d, Shell columella, e, h, i, t, River pebbles. / , g, u, Pumice abraders. j , v, w, Hammerstones. k, 
Mano fragment. /, Fragment of oval metate. m, o, Sherd trapezoids, p, q, Sherd disks, r, Shell pendant, s, Effigy fragment. 
: mm 
g Mm 
M if.-; 
' ty 
' ? ? ? - ' 5 c m 
PLATE 22 
Stone and pottery artifacts, Crucero Phase, a, c, Sherd abraders. b, Possible figurine fragment, d, Pumice abrader. e.f, Hammer-
stones, g-k, Manos. /, Retouched obsidian flake, m, o, Prismatic blades of obsidian, n, Obsidian blade with accidental burin 
blow? p-r, River pebbles, s, Metate fragment. 
^ ? T g R 
I L j l 5 cm 
i l i I i I 5 cm 
PLATE 23 
Matting and shells, Cuadros Phase, a-c, Latex casts from impressions in clay of a twilled mat or petate. d-g, Beach valves brought in 
to the site, for no apparent use. h, i, Anadara aequatorialis valves used as smoothers, k, Much worn smoother made from Colimella 
sp. j-n, Noetia reversa smoothers. 
PLATE 24 
Mineralized corncobs and other parts of the maize plant from deposits of the Cuadros Phase, Salinas La Blanca. a, Mineralized portion 
of a corncob looking outward from the pith (2X), showing one row of intact cupules, one row of paired spikelets with the cupules 
broken off. b, c, Cross-sections of mineralized cobs (2X). d, Two glumes from the specimen in a, enlarged (5X). e, Impression 
of a stalk (actual size). / , Impression of a leaf (2X). 
210-980?67 14 
PLATE 25 
Ancient crab claw fragment, Cuadros Phase, and modern mouthless crab, Salinas La Blanca. a, Crab claw adhering to sherd interior. 
b, Live specimen of mouthless crab (Cardisoma crassum), one of the principal foods of the Cuadros and Jocotal people. 
i ? i ? i ? i ? i ? i 5 c m 
.rvT"-' * ? 
r*> 
i 1?_J 1 3 cm 
h 
I ? ? I 3 cm 
PLATE 26 
Molluskan and fish remains from the Cuadros and Jocotal Phases. _, Cerithidea mazatlanica. b, Cerithidea valida. c, Amphichaena kinder-
manni. d, Agaronia testacea. e, Mineralized strips of gar pike skin, g, Polymesoda radiata. h-j, Ostrea colombiensis. 
PLATE 27 
Projectile point from survey, and pottery and stone artifacts of the Conchas Phase from the site survey, a, Basal half of obsidian projectile 
point found on survey, c-f, Conchas Red Unburnished tecomate rims, b, k, Morena Black, Conchas Phase, g-h, Conchas stone 
artifacts, i, Leg of Conchas figurine, j , Conchas White-to-buff. /, Fragment of Conchas Red Unburnished necked jar, with Olme-
coid face in relief. 
locm 
PLATE 28 
Pottery of the Cerro del Tiestal Complex, e, Sherd with wavy-line Usulutan decoration, n, o, Violeta Plain rims, p-s, Fragments of 
solid pottery cylinders believed to be supports for salt-molding vessels. 
PLATE 29 
A possible Early Classic vessel support and Marcos Phase pottery and other artifacts from the Ocos area. _. Fragment of slab leg from 
what was apparently a cylindrical vessel, b, c, Hollow effigy heads from San Juan Plumbate vessels, d-g, San Juan Plumbate sherds. 
h, Gold disk found in 1958 in cache of San Juan Plumbate vessels, Los Limones (SM-6). i,j, San Juan Plumbate bowl which con?
tained the object in h. Scale applies to a-g only. Diameter of h, 9.5 cm.; diameter of i,j, 50.8 cm. 
M rMr.fs*MS >***>** ***A 
J I ' ' ? J 10 cm 
PLATE 30 
Pottery of the Marcos Phase from sites in the Ocos area, a-j, San Juan Plumbate. k, I, Specular red-on-white, m, n, Coarse ware necked 
jars, o, p, Coarse tecomates with indented filleting, q, Fragment of double-end flute of clay, s, Strap handle from jar .