essay
The evolution of complex societies in southeastern Mesoamerica: new evidence from El Mesak, Guatemala
formation of complex society in southeastern mesoamerica • Boca Raton • Published In 1991 • Pages: 77-100
By: Pye, Mary E., Demarest, Arthur Andrew.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The El Mesak site is located in an area of rich estuaries and mangroves on the Pacific coast of Guatemala. It is an extensive settlement with over 50 mounds. The cultural phases represented at the site include Locona/Ocos (1550-1100 B.C.), Cuadras (1100-950 B.C.), Jocotal (950-800 B.C.), up to the Late Preclassic Crucero (550 B.C.- A.D. 100). Pye and Demarest discuss the ceramics and structures from each phase. The findings of jade ornaments and ceramics with Olmec 'were-jaguar' motifs suggest elite ties to the Middle Preclassic Olmec phenomenon.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Ceramic technology
- Earth moving
- Visual arts
- Chronologies and culture sequences
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Preclassic Maya
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2001
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Middle America and the Caribbean
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Maya Area
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2000
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1987-1988 (El Mesak Project)
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 3500-2800 BP
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- El Mesak, Retalhuleu, Guatemala
- NotesAdditional notes
- Mary E. Pye ; Arthur A. Demarest
- Revised papers from the 86th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Chicago, Nov. 1987, and additional material
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-100)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 91010478
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Mayas--Antiquities