Izapa

Se analizan los principales hechos históricos y artísticos ocurridos en la Costa del Golfo de México y la Subregión Maya durante el periodo preclásico tardío. Se abordan los estilos artísticos epiolmeca, Izapa y maya temprano, con el objeto de estudiar las relaciones de parentezco que poseen con el arte olmeca.

Izapa es un pequeño sitio arqueológico, con su apogeo en el preclásico tardío, ubicado en la frontera chiapaneca con guatemala. Aunque tuvo su apogeo en una época muy temprana fue un centro ceremonial activo hasta 1200 d.c. En años recientes esta zona arqueológica ha cobrado interés con varios grupos sociales quienes la han apropiado para fines distintos. Este trabajo pretende analizar los discursos de tres de estos grupos (la elite de la cabecera municipal, tuxtla chico; los habitantes de la zona misma; y los visitantes a la zona arqueológica para celebrar el fin de ciclo) para mostrar las distintas formas de concepción del patrimonio cultural. El estudio se realizó en torno al interés generado por un supuesto vínculo entre la cultura izapeña y el fin de ciclo baktun de la cuenta larga, 21 de diciembre de 2012. Se analizaron los discursos de miembros de grupos promocionales que se organizaron para llevar a cabo actividades en torno a este fin de ciclo. Los datos se recopilaron mediante entrevistas durante 4 estancias en campo 2012-2014 y se recopilaron imágenes realizadas por niños y jóvenes de tres escuelas del municipio de tuxtla chico. Se descubrió que el interés local en la zona arqueológica se relacionaba a la ilusión de poder aumentar ingresos y de promocionar el pueblo de tuxtla chico como pueblo mágico por un imaginario de la visita de muchos turistas extranjeros. Aunque llegaron algunos turistas integrantes del movimiento new age, éstos fueron pocos, y la población local quedó decepcionada. En cambio, los visitantes estaban satisfechos con la experiencia que ofreció izapa para lo que ellos llamaban "el cambio de era". Se concluye que el interés local en la zona arqueológica estaba vinculado con el interés generado en torno al sitio por parte del movimiento new age; izapa no forma parte integral de la cultura local. Además, es evidente que el cuidado del patrimonio cultural se ve amenazado por la concepción utilitarista de izapa presentada por los habitantes.

Izapa is a small archaeological site, dating to the late formative era, and located in mexico´s souther border with guatemala. Despite the early heyday, izapa was an active temple centre until 1200ad. In recent years the site has raised interest among several groups who have appropriated it for different reasons. In this thesis the discourses of three of these groups (the municipal elite from tuxtla chico, the inhabitants of the site, and the new age visitors to izapa for december 21st 2012) are presented in order to show the different conceptualizations related to the cultural heritage. The study focused on the interest generated by the supposed connection between the izapan culture and the baktun cycle endingof the long count calendar, dec 21st 2012. The discourses of promotional groups that formed to organize events related to this cycle ending date were analysed. The results were gathered by means of interviews during 4 fieldwork sessions, 2012-2014, and through pictures drawn by students of three schools in tuxtla chico´s municipality. The results show that the local interest in the archaeological site was related to the expectation of economic gain and promoting tuxtla chico as a pueblo mágico (magical town) resulting from the idea that many foreign tourists would visit the site. Nevertheless, few new age tourists took part in the events leaving the local populace disappointed. However, the visitors were satisfied with the expierence offered by izapa in relation to what they called “the end of an age”. In conclusion it becomes apparent that the local interest in izapa was impulsed by the new age movement´s appropriation of the site and that izapa does not form an integral part of the local culture. Additionally, it has become evident that the protection of the cultural heritage is endangered by the utilitarian conceptualization of izapa which the local inhabitants of the site exhibit.

Recent research on Mesoamerican economies has demonstrated that Prehispanic trade networks were not static, but constantly evolving. Relationships between peoples in different settlements and regions shift as social, political, and economic circumstances change. One question that results from these findings is how significant events such as sociopolitical decline or abandonment affect exchange networks. This study investigates changes in obsidian procurement during a period of widespread upheaval across southern Mesoamerica, ca. 100–250 CE, from the perspective of a surviving capital on the Pacific coast of Chiapas, Mexico. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis using a Bruker Tracer III–V was conducted for obsidian collected from Terminal Formative (100 BCE–250 CE) and initial Early Classic (250–400 CE) domestic contexts to evaluate how obsidian procurement patterns at the ancient city of Izapa were affected by events in neighboring regions. Obsidian results are compared to known shifts in sociopolitical relationships as observed through ceramics, burials, and art styles. Data indicate that residents of Izapa shifted trade from east to west over the Terminal Formative to Early Classic period transition. Patterns correspond with sociopolitical turmoil at the Guatemalan highland capital of Kaminaljuyú and the rise of the central Mexican city of Teotihuacan. Results also indicate, however, that economic relationships may continue even in places where political affiliations have been severed. Results suggest that datasets for different artifact classes, when viewed independently, introduce additional nuance into the questions of collapse and resilience of ancient societies.

In southern Mesoamerica, the period between 100 b.c. and a.d. 400 saw both the apogee and fall of several powerful Formative-period cities. Previous reports have suggested that conquest from the southeast may have prompted a unique decline at Izapa around 100 b.c., when many neighboring cities were prospering. Over the last five years, new archaeological data has emerged for the Formative to Classic period transition at Izapa. The present work summarizes these updates and highlights recent deposits excavated during the Izapa Household Archaeology Project. These updates raise questions about the Hato-phase intrusion hypothesis proposed by Lowe and colleagues (1982). I close with an alternative proposal that, beginning around 100 b.c., increased network participation and a change in the institution of kingship produced some of the dramatic changes in ceramics and burial patterns observed at the site.

Mesoamerica is one of the cradles of civilisation where kingdoms and states emerged during the latter part of the first millennium BCE. Recently collected lidar (light detection and ranging) and archaeological survey data document for the first time the entire kingdom of Izapa, on Mexico's southern Pacific coast. New settlement survey data track changing distribution of population from 1000 BCE-100 CE and indicated the city's population reached 5725 inhabitants. Izapa was the capital of a regional kingdom with more than 40 lower-order monumental centres that were built according to the same design principles and together formed an administrative hierarchy within the kingdom. Recent dating confirms the apogee of the kingdom at 300-100 BCE and volcanological reconstruction suggests that the Tacaná volcano eruption corresponds with archaeological evidence of political and demographic disruptions to the kingdom. This study exemplifies the transformative capability of lidar technology for documenting earthen mound in tropical environments. Résumé La Mésomérique est un des berceaux de la civilisation, où les royaumes et les états émergent au cours du premier millénaire avant notre ére De récentes données de reconnaissance terrestre et áerienne par lidar (light detection and ranging) ont permis pour la première fois de définir l'extension du royaume d'Izapa, sur la côte Pacifique du Mexique. Ces données permettent de suivre le développement de la population entre 1000 et 100 AEC, atteignant jusqu'à 5725 habitants. Izapa fut la capitale d'un royaume gouvernant plus de 40 sites subordonnés, dont le tracé des constructions monumentales réplique les mêmes principes architecturaux, ce qui reflète l'existence d'une hiérarchie administrative. Les études chronométriques récentes confirment l'apogée du royaume entre 300 et 100 AEC, et permettent de faire le lien entre les altérations démographiques et politiques observées et la sequence d'éruptions du volcan Tacaná. Cette étude démontre la particulière utilité de la technologie lidar pour enregistrer des sites composés de monticules artificiels de terre dans une végétation tropicale.

In this article, the current situation of the archaeological site of Izapa in southern Mexico is analyzed and discussed. The research was conducted in relation to the baktun cycle-ending of the Maya Long Count Calendar, the 21 st of December 2012. Izapa is a Prehispanic site which was active throughout the Formative to Postclassic periods, however it is a marginal site which has been neglected for years by the Mexican archaeological establishment. Recently, the New Age hype surrounding the Long Count Calendar End-Date, which was linked to Izapa through the work of independent researcher, John Major Jenkins, brought much attention to the archaeological site. Consequently, local actors began taking an interest in Izapa as a tourism attraction. In this article, the discourses of three groups engaged with Izapa in relation to the 21 st of December 2012 are presented and analyzed, and the subsequent social representations of the archaeological site are identified. The paper serves to show how people engage with an archaeological site, giving it meaning relevant to themselves and the current times.

Recent research is shedding light on the long and precocious urban tradition of the
Pacific coastal rim of southeastern Mesoamerica, from eastern Soconusco, Mexico,
to Escuintla, Guatemala. The available data provide a basis to discuss variations in
urban shape and functions, and to a lesser extent, urban life and meaning at Formative
and Classic cities, plus brief mention of Late Postclassic cities. Pacific coastal
cities are larger and earlier than previously thought, and their investigation is relevant
for comparative studies that aim to understand the variability of ancient urban
societies in Mesoamerica and beyond.