i ae . at “ihe Ach im a4 ae 2 i ‘aura — “ , i ae Hie ni ay ete 0 o ucla te tacks i me Fits Me tenstbic ks pts HAE 1 eed vere He vat 4 eats i nei es vi oe bari: 4 ney taiie rm Reig Uist Heft Has ihe ff ise A HH ays ytha a ah ne i Hoa Ae nua ee ith i} fs mi na ” bie ; 5 eee ay wo. ae i YE wt awe ees : j * E a 4 aa Meth aa ; a i ae Hebi bh eit d Aney nt, ae Ri ea Nha RR ENN oe note Bran ‘ } aia i" Hah 0 nat a oe a iat , b We ian ALC of FM es a ‘ty “U + * y Af y ah hl ip 1 : a. a rs. a> oy ; | a eG =v 2 GD tec _ BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ~ BULLETIN 141 | Pept CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY AT CERRO DE LAS MESAS | VERACRUZ, MEXICO s PHILIP DRUCKER sy cr t 7m i _ \ e ¥ a \ i raat nw re SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY AT CERRO DE LAS MESAS VERACRUZ, MEXICO By PHILIP DRUCKER UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1943 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. - Price 50 cents LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Bureau or AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY, Washington, D. C., November 16, 1942. Sm: I have the honor to transmit herewith a manuscript entitled “Ceramic Stratigraphy at Cerro de las Mesas, Veracruz, Mexico,” by Philip Drucker, and to recommend that it be published as a bulletin of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Very respectfully yours, M. W. Stiruine, Chief. Dr. C. G. ABsor, ‘ Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Mare DT hye ary he 2 Peer Ce ae ala Pray i Leaman. LATING AAT FO of eo) Tate §. Na eine : recpamcaceammtsasins | Jb oe : Na . J im pe Ae , ies +. ay 7 hi ast OOLno Ts LE: LRA ORCC RIED yi Tanae eae hee A v F ea 1 . Fs : 4 ie \ 51 SRO VERTED ' v7 ite #. teh oa pits tay Tage baling: diiisenania a dtinerod je wt at conta oils: 99 aN 3 rye & RT Gey L aio iies Fai hy erty de a G “path inalind af 26 » Boil fal i od 47 ieft be uuonst oF bit. ts aes . quelod eh amaeroiah Yo ay ; bs i vb rad ee av aa y santo = an os se Z Pn : { Wea i e ; J : i i ny ui i hy i H {5A CONTENTS PAGE GRO GIECHION era ge ae a ee Ce ST ey Wane ee meen s Nn Fa PS tk he hee 1 si eMOGAlNCeCOOT ap livers a ck oe oe semen Mie SAN oe ee ee 1 Piesmepositee soe. of. ILS MM pencsicied seer sh 5 Ae) ee Pe, SRR Sas es 4 seve ceva TONS: 2 lee eee yal 2 oats Se ee SI ee ol 5 Gorrowderlassledas Wales sk a Se ee ee ee 26 Jmpemiperad wares: =t4esis e242 ees Sat 4b heel oh eeskpe pee 27 ES Pepys NE A dese eel ea EE i 34 Polished s Brow mewArewe sh Soya ef 8 Se i Pe GE) Bed SA eee tet 40 36 Rediwares 44-844) jayyd ieee sok ee byspdascyueated iat Jeseeiicg 37 Red=-on=BrowDMw areas ws SS pga ey ey ea OY Sy 38 NEGrative:Pambediwarelsese0s: 8.0 oo a et Shen eee Ae 38 IBlackawaned semgl mise tak ih oe ee ea oe ae Ee eee hie thes 38 Black=and-Whitesware 12¢.275- befen of oigus Vat atneee sae) ge fees da Wie Waele Heber RA pes an elt 2 a 2 OPO Fee SB opto 44 Muascellaneous) Bichrome wares)? S22. 5-2 hyet e s eee 44 Stucco: Painted ‘ware. . 22522524. 2 Seek 2 ate fy eke ote bys see 45 DullhBufipRolychromefware: 25:2. 4. -.22-Seye A. 44 Bt 3 3 45 Gompligated*Polychrome; wares": 2.4! adc be ateeweperis sB tL abeeetid 48 BrowniPolychrome* wares !=_ +25 -<22222= == S22 tered pbs cee 48 Black-and=Wihite-on-Red, wares Ss f2-ecieee teks aalisb done SE eee 50 Black=on=Redeincised wares 2) 2222.2 52 Se ee 51 Red-on-Orange: Incised) wares 22... Po se eee et ek ye Se ae 54 Fine-line: Black-on-Whiterwaret fa. 445 3b i Eek ee 54 “Pam, Polycbrome; wares. Os = 20 tre Sahee Bak as rl ey ee es 54 Miscellaneous Polychrome elements.______-___---_-i2249-ee+=--245 54 Coarse’ Red-rimmed bowls). 8 22-2422. e223 be ke ee eee cee 56 Womales?) Sis aoe a es eT Dae Sots Se EE Bo ate 56 Monumental wares 2550.46 22 eee te ee ee es apr oy 57 (Plaine wares gio Se 0S es Sey Nes Bl We de wen oundepenne yaaa Jey 58 Vessels: with vertical modeled luge#}. 34 tte 8 aes Fae Eee St oe 58 Carved wane ly hs aoe BMS Pak ae ee peepee per ny yey Pa : 58 Plumbate! ware. seu 8 oe ee ROP ale eee teyegeyey S aeont ea pat plo Eel ees 59 Fine Orange wares. 202) 844s besctoge ss en ol Phy pend ping hs 59 Sie yesutee lie eS es Bite SME EA i PN a as on pte eee Bl die my Biny eabe eh a 59 Wessel'ishia pes. iia) Street se Bes Fo Sr I Cte a le te re Papsapeely El peey— pale 59 Description of vessel shapes shown in figure 12_-___________--- 60 Figurines)! 433 spent 4b fe cep eee abe eed eee) ype eile 63 Minor objects afi clay 222 07. oe ee eb eet eh OT ee 66 Stratigraphy ee 8 SA. ae Se 8 ee De etal gn ee oe er eT oe 69 Ware’ distributions“< "2.4 2. 0 2S) SRR Eee Sey pe alae 2 eT 69 Figurine’ straticraphy 222-2: 21s metisad -pelidd-dtme Seats rek Jee 73 Form features: 6222 de Sus ones del ea tetera os Sug pHs TT wee 73 Minor objects.oivela youd seo] to eyolelP seem pe sone ot Tins 76 Analysis'of mound materials ape" doesnt fhe al eee aot EY ee 77 Cache asscciations 22 2) 2 2! SoS algaert ad suet get) “Sate it FT ass id VI CONTENTS Stratigraphy—Continued. — PAGE Nonceramic elaments_¢ 222-2. -2ici5-- sake eee 80 Unplaced elements 2222232) 222s le 2 ee ee eee 80 Comparative analysis and chronology... 2: 2.22..2..----.22e seo 81 Bibliography i=. . e ee ee eee Si ee 87 Index. 2 elec co sk ete tee eee 89 ILLUSTRATIONS PLATES (All plates at end of book) 1. (Frontispiece.) Cerro de las Mesas Polychrome wares. Dull Buff Poly- chrome, Brown Polychrome, Black-and-White-on-Red, and Complicated Polychrome. 2. Complicated Polychrome sherds: Jar exteriors, bowl] interior. 3. Brown Polychrome bowl sherds. 4, Trade wares. 5. Trade wares. 6. Trench 30. Objects associated with burial II-18. 7. Trenches 31 and 33. a, Stucco floor, trench 31; b, buried stairway, trench 33. 8. Monumental ware from trenches 7 and 34. 9. Views of jade cache, trench 34. 10. Trenches 34, 13, 14-A, and 15. a, View of jade cache from trench 34; b, trench 13; c, remnants of “‘pipeline,’’trench 14—A; d, Plumbate vessel in intrusive pit, trench 15. 11. Trench 40. a, b, Ollas containing skulls; b shows relation to stucco layers. 12. Trench 42. 13. Burials I-1 to I-6 (a-f). 14. Burials I-7 to I-10 (a-d), I-14 (e), and I-16 (J). 15. Brown ware vessels. 16. Brown ware vessels 17. Brown ware ollas. 18. Polished Brown ware. 19. Black ware vessels. 20. Black ware vessels. 21. Stucco Painted ware from burial II-18. 22. Miscellaneous wares. 23. Plumbate whistling jar from trench 15. 24, Bottles in form of Tlalocs. Purchase collection. 25. Plain ware ollas and jars. 26. Wares and figurine molds. 27. Hand-made punctate figurines (Type I). 28. Miscellaneous type I figurines: variants, animal forms, etc. 29. Type II—A figurine heads. 30. Type IT figurines with flat bodies. 31. Type II—A figurines with flat bodies. 32. Type II figurines with hollow bodies. 33. Type II-B figurines, representing dead persons or Xipe. 34. Type II figurines, representing Tlalocs and Death’s Heads. 35. Type II figurines: variant headdresses; monkeys. 36. Type IT figurines, representing animals. 37. Variant type II figurines. CONTENTS vil . Miscellaneous type II figurines. . Type III figurines. . Figurine types. . Figurine types. 3 . Figurine types. . Type IX figurines: masks and maskettes. . Small stone objects from Cerro de las Mesas. . Monumental ware: idols. . Monumental ware: heads of medium size. . Monumental ware: idols. . Monumental ware: fragments of idols. . Figurine types. . Representative samples of figurines from trenches 30 and 33. . Representative samples of figurines from trenches 31 and 15. . Representative samples of figurines from trench 32. . Miscellaneous Upper phase features. . Stratigraphic material, trench 42. . Stratigraphic material, trench 13. . Stratigraphic material, trench 13. . Stratigraphic material, trench 13. 58. Miscellaneous stone objects. TEXT FIGURES PAGH iki Map of site of Cerro de las’ Mesas_2. 2.) = 22-222 2 2se Se i 2trenct a0; pronle, north: wall. oo. 20 See ee oe ees 8 ge tepnen sh) Plan coc ee. eek Go ee oe ek ee 10 4erenehao, protie: cant walls o8 524 0) v.c ele tose la ae ig 5. Trench 34, profile, north wall, and plan_____...-.--.--------- 12 6. Sections through area of sherd deposits_-__-_.--------------- 15 7s Preneh ta, profile, north walle! 2 oo 3022S vee eee 17 8. Trenches 14 and 14—A, and detail of floor, trench 14-_--_------ 20 @: Trench 41, profile;“west wall. 22° 2-32 222. 22s leu Gi DS eee ears 21 10. Trench 19, profile, north wall, and plan at 60 to 73 inches_------ 22 Pie rench:42, profile, west wallo--2 220.0522 h eee ee le 25 12. Form-types of Cerro de las Mesas wares--------------------- 28-29 13-21. Rims of vessel form-types a, a’, b, e, and e’______---.--------- 30 92-37... Rims.of vessel form-types ff =— 2 2.252255. 22 220 eee see 30 98st. Rims of vessel form-types hiand: 122... 22222-2222. 2.-4=22.5- 31 32-42") Rims) Of vessel form-ty pes: 7 to le. 2-22 kc oe ee Se oete Lee 31 43-54. Rims of vessel form-types m to p’____----------------------- 32 55-61. Rims of vessel form-types 7 to v’_.._..._...-----------=--4-- 32 62-72. Rims of vessel form-types aa to aa’’_______------------------ 33 fo-ol. Fy pesiol- vessel supports2 22 Ses oes er oe 33 82-90. Incised designs, Brown ware and Black ware. Simple geometric Gasp nai. Secs oo ot RS eames nal ia CN ae TON el Bia Sa 35 91-99. Incised designs, Brown ware and Black ware. Simple to com- plex geometric Cesigns.
.
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POTREROS —
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CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY AT CERRO DE LAS
MESAS, VERACRUZ, MEXICO
By Puimire Drucker
INTRODUCTION
The present report is a study of the ceramics recovered by the Na-
tional Geographic-Smithsonian Institution Expedition at the site of
Cerro de las Mesas, Veracruz, Mexico, in 1941. Mr. Stirling, the
expedition leader, has reported on the season’s work, and described
the important finds of other materials (Stirling, 1941), and therefore
this account will be restricted to a consideration of the pottery and
the chronological sequences represented by the expedition’s collection
of this material. Such a division conforms to the program of the in-
vestigations, as mapped out by the leader of the expedition. The
tasks of clearing and studying the stone monuments and of excavat-
ing the mounds and other structures were under the direct charge of
Stirling; the stratigraphic excavations in the refuse deposits were
entrusted to the writer.
In plan, this account will parallel that of the 1940 excavations at
Tres Zapotes, to which it is similar in both subject and aim. For the
sake of orientation, the site geography will be described, and followed
by an account of the excavations. A third section will establish the
typology of the Cerro de las Mesas wares, and a fourth will present
their vertical distributions in the stratitrenches, and will define the
divisions represented in the ceramic column. In a final chapter, an
attempt will be made to place the Cerro de las Mesas ceramic column
chronologically by means of internal and comparative evidence.
THE LOCAL GEOGRAPHY
The site of Cerro de las Mesas is situated in southern Veracruz in
the low-lying plain bordering the Bay of Alvarado on the west (fig. 1).
It lies between the Rio Blanco on the north and another stream (for
which we were unable to learn any other name than “el rio”) a mile
and a half to the south. The latter is a tributary of the Blanco, join-
ing it not far from the bay.
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506988—43 (Face p. 1)
F1cuRE 1.—Map of site of Cerro de las Mesas.
ae
STERN 0%, 2
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2 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 141
The prevailing local land-form is that of the “potreros” or
“cienegas,” to use the local terms, low areas that flood in the wet
season, forming nearly impassable and completely uninhabitable
swamps. The remainder of the year they dry out, providing rich
pasture lands for the modern inhabitants. The entire structure is
built-up swamp that once flanked a wider bay. Here and there are
elevated areas, for the most part sandy, rising islandlike (in the wet
season this is not a simile, but a reality) above the plain. These
formations vary in area from several acres to several square miles.
None attain notable height; for the most part they rise gradually, al-
most imperceptibly, from the potreros to a maximum elevation of 15
or 20 feet. Their borders are marked not by cut banks or sharp
declivities, but by noticeable changes in soil type and vegetation. The
soil of the low areas is black, heavy, and clayey, with a marked
tendency to cracking in dry weather. Unfortunately, the writer was
not able to identify the typical potrero floral assemblage properly ; the
two most conspicuous members are a tall, very coarse grass known
locally as “camalote,” and a thorny bush with small compound leaves
called “zarza.” It is worth noting that in the course of extensive
reconnaissance in the environs of the site not a trace of aboriginal
occupancy was found in the potreros.
The Cerro de las Mesas site occupies one of the larger of the sandy
“islands.” In point of fact, it is probably more correct to say that
Cerro de las Mesas is one of a series of sites distributed along the
crest of an “island” 10 or 12 miles long by 2 or 3 miles wide, extend-
ing from the modern village of Cocuite to Ignacio de la Llave. These
sites appear as concentrations of earth mounds with their accom-
panying occupational deposits. The latter are not particularly con-
spicuous. If size and number of mounds and the occurrence of stone
monuments are any indication, the Cerro de las Mesas group was
probably the populational and ceremonial center of the region.
For descriptive purposes, the site may be divided into a number
of localities. The first and most striking is the Central Mound Group,
consisting of several closely set high mounds and platform mounds
situated so as to form a number of enclosures or “plazas.” (See
fig. 1.) The tallest of the high mounds, that from which the site
takes its name, attains a height of 50 to 60 feet, and is about 200
feet square at the base. The platform mounds are quite sizable
structures, several hundred feet across. Their height is difficult to
estimate, the more so since natural elevations may have been utilized
as bases for them, but 10 to 20 feet seems about right. It should be
mentioned that it is here, in the Central Mound Group, that the stone
monuments occur.
1 The climate is of the “Tropical” type, with a single wet season, from June to December,
and a dry season, January to May.
Drucker] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 3
A quarter mile to the southwest, in and just beyond the modern
village of Paso del Bote, are the outliers of another group of large
mounds. These, however, are less compactly grouped than those
just described; in fact, it is difficult to say if they really formed an
integrated arrangement, or are independent units. In between them,
and around the Central Group, are numerous small mounds, for the
most part situated without apparent relation to each other or to the
major features, which obscure any original systematic arrangement.
To the north-northeast of the Central Group, as well, are other large
mounds.
North of the Central Group, and extending some distance to the
west, is an open nearly level plain, on which there are but few mounds.
This is the locality which proved to be the principal occupation zone
of the site. It was here that the deepest and most extensive refuse
deposits were found. At its western end, about a mile from the
Central Group, the deposit underlies a hodgepodge of small mounds,
which form the northwestern end of the site and which we may
distinguish as the Small Mound Locality. These mounds range from
8 to 15 feet in height, and from 30 to 100 feet across. There are
no apparent arrangements of plazas, or the like. It may be noted
that these structures, like those interspersed among the large mounds,
are not house mounds, in the sense of foundations for dwellings. All
those investigated revealed features indicative of ceremonial func-
tions.
These localities complete the list of those in which explorations
of importance were made in the 1941 season. To the south and east
of the Central Group are numerous small mounds, with here and
there a structure or group of structures of moderate size. Since
however, none of these were excavated, and since intensive search
disclosed no occupational deposits of consequence, these portions of
the site need not be described in any detail.
There remains to be considered the relationship of the site, mounds,
and habitational localities to water supply. “The river,” as local
people refer to it, is the nearest present-day stream. It lies a good
mile and a half from the southern edge of the site. The Rio Blanco
passes several miles to the north. In short, there is no close running
water, at least in the dry season. Modern inhabitants depend upon
wells that tap the shallow water table. Along the northwestern end
of the site, however, runs an old partially filled stream bed. Half
or three-quarters of a mile west of the Central Mound Group, the bed
angles southeastward cutting through the site. It is probable that
during at least a part of the site’s history this channel bore the water
of “the river” within more convenient distance, and that not until
later times did the flow break through to the lower potreros to the
south where it now runs. After the epochs of construction, borrow
4 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Buut. 141
pits provided watering places in the wet season. A large one, at the
south end of the Central Mound Group, is said to contain water all
through the dry season in normal years. (It was full in February of
1940, when Stirling first inspected the site. Im 1941 it was dry, pre-
sumably because of the unusual dryness of the year 1940.) Other
smaller pits are to be found here and there on the site, and are par-
ticularly numerous in the Small Mound Locality in the northwest.
However, the excavations in the occupational zone give evidence that
in the earliest periods the topography of the site differed somewhat,
and that probably springs and trickles of water, if not streams, were
close at hand.
THE DEPOSITS
To complete the picture of the site, it is necessary to discuss the nature
of the formations in which and on which cultural remains occur.
The matrix of materials recovered from mound excavations, being sec-
ondary or redeposited mix apparently of the same nature as the pri-
mary deposit, needs no special consideration. Reference, therefore,
is to the primary refuse deposits in the open plain to the north and
northwest of the Central Mound Group.
The basic structures of the site have been referred to briefly. The
“island” on which it is situated is composed principally of ight sandy
soil. Although the present surface in the occupational locality is
nearly level, it was not alwaysso. The sandy soil, or rather soils, occur
in layers which vary in thickness and inclination. 8
II-2 |_---- (6 ye. sa SOA ts Sag WER al aa Se Ore et aR ee eee Ble LAs ee
rE | eee CTE OE RROREE Bey Sie ae IK Fee twee Jae Lee ee ee eS ee eee
0 ee (G1 jets Ae put ted et ascot ad River clamshell near mouth_-_-_-_------_-
JD Sy Sees ee Se ee eee Red-painted marine shell near head;
7 pottery vessels; ? 1 figurine; 5 marine
shells; 1 jade bead; 1 perforated canine
tooth.
MEAD Ne She od, ie eee ere eo ee River clamshell over mouth __-------_--- Wy Ke
LETS, ea dn eS large pottery vessel222/_ =! Sash) =" Face covered with lime
and red paint. —
TES eis ae BRE Es een Bale ek ___| 2 jade ear plugs; 10 jade beads; 10 beads | Bones covered with red
of black substance (wood?); 1 carved paint.
jade ornament; 1 canine tooth.
Op eae eee ee 1 pottery vessel (possibly belongs to
II-8?).
JOT STO a ee es PE eg ee ene 1 miniature pottery vessel; 5 jade ob-
jects; 2 shell beads; 1 turquoise (?)
bead; 1 black bead.
TRU |= ee. 7 SOY 2 spherical stone objects; 1 bone awl; 1
necklace of canine teeth. i
II-12 | In pottery vessel with | Pottery container, shell, and piece ofred | ‘“‘Burial’”’ . consisted of
cover. (hematite) paint. sawed-off ‘facial por-
tion of skull.
IDES BM See pe eme eee. § Se aa 2iPOtLeLy. .VeSselS=225 22.2 ao eo Re
II-14 | In pottery vessel____----__- Pottery contaimersé © = 9 Ro ee Do.
ID Eee: ae eee ee: Se eee INGNG 22. se Pear SEG ke ok eae
II-16 | In pottery vessel_____-______ Pottery container... ee Do.
IJ-17 | In pottery vessel with | Pottery container_-__--.---.------------- Do.
cover.
II-18 | Tightly flexed, right side, | 11 pottery vessels; 56 shell beads; 3 In center of primary
N. Skull detached, in ornamented shells; 5 jade objects; 1 mound. (See Stirling,
front of body; mandible carved turtle shell; 7 shell ‘‘rattles’’; 1941, pp. 283-286; and
also separate. (Decapi- 1 plain stone yoke; 2 figurines; quan- pl. 6 of this bulletin.)
a Secondary bur- tity of red paint.
ial?).
II-19 |_---- C0 fu es ae ee Se ee 2 pottery vessels; 2 shell ornaments | In primary mound.
clamshells; red paint; 1 bone bead;
: ; rodent incisors.
II-20 | Semiextended; skull miss- | 1 pottery vessel--_----------------------- In primary mound.
ing.
1 Burials of this series are distinguished by the index numeral IT.
2 The vessels will be described and classified under ‘‘Ceramic associations” in table 12, p. 79.
It will be necessary to relate the pottery specimens to the ceramic
column from the stratitrenches to resolve this point.
Trench 31 was laid out to cross section a small mound in: the large
plaza west of the Cerro de las Mesas. It was 15 feet wide and ex-
tended clear across the mound in an east-west direction. The com-
pleted section of the mound indicated that it, as in the preceding case,
consisted of two parts: a small primary mound and a secondary en-
largement. No burials were encountered. At the base of the mound,
about 72 inches below the crest, and toward the western end of the cut,
was a well-preserved stucco floor, a half to three-quarters of an inch
thick, 6 feet 3 inches wide by 14 feet 8 inches long (fig. 3; pl. 7, a).
506988—43
9
“
10 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Buu 141
The front (west) edge supported three rectangular niches, the rear
edge was plain. In the middle of the rear edge was a basin-shaped
depression 1 foot in diameter. The floor in front of this pit showed
evidence of burning, and the earth underneath was baked to a bright
red color. A very similar floor was found in a mound of the Small
Mound Locality in the northwest part of the site (trench 14). Beside
the basinlike depression stood a flat-bottomed cylindrical pot of ill-
fixed coarse paste, which contained a heterogeneous assortment of ma-
rine shells, bits of coral, a fragment of fossilized bone, etc., and a
jade bead. Stirling remarks that the contents, aside from the bead,
looked like the results of a souvenir hunter’s half hour on the beach.
This was the only complete vessel recovered. Scattered through the
mound mass above the floor were numerous sherds of a large appar-
ently zoomorphic pottery figure, and nearer the center of the mound
were remnants of another.
Wo wc. (ore Sa
os
229 Primary
Mound
fo)
ae move
PLAN
Figure 3.—Trench 31, plan.
A small cross-trench was put down 72 inches below the floor of
the main trench. A few sherds were found throughout the depth
of this cut.
Trench 32 was a cross section through another small mound, in
the large plaza about 120 feet northwest of trench 31. It was laid
out 18 feet wide. This mound, like the preceding, contained but
little in the way of structural features. Just east of the center of
the mound, the poorly preserved remnants of a floor of clay and
stucco (a stucco cap?) were found. The plan of the structure could
not be defined.
A large incensario, or the stand of one, was found near the west
end of the trench. It had been coated with white-stucco, and dec-
orated in red, pink, and black. With it were 6 fire-blackened jade
beads and a number of pieces of mica. Two burials were found, the
first (II-21) being about 36 inches below the crest of the mound, and
the second (II-22) in the east edge about 24 inches deep. II-21
DrucknrR] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 11
was extended, and accompanied by a small pottery vessel. [1-22
was badly disturbed. It had no mortuary offerings.
A cross-trench was sunk below the base of the mound. Sherds
from it were segregated from those of the mound mass, and desig-
nated by the number of the cut, 32-B.
Trench 33 was a cut 20 feet wide driven into the north end of a
large flat-topped mound at the south end of the great plaza of the
Central Mound Group (fig. 4). It was not carried through to the
heart of the structure, but, in the 30-some feet of its horizontal ex-
tent, revealed at least two successive enlargements of the mound.
The earlier faces of the structure were equipped with broad stair-
ways (the width of the trench at least), constructed of hard-packed
clay (pl. 7,5). The steps are noteworthy for their regularity, vary-
ing but slightly from an average rise and tread of 15 inches.
Three burials were uncovered in the course of this excavation.
The first two were bundle burials, a type unique at the site. Both
were very shallow, and may well have been late intrusions into the
N<— —*§S
¢
Fieurn 4.—Trench 338, profile, east wall.
mound. II-23 consisted of the incomplete remains of two individ-
uals. With it were two pottery vessels and a small black-painted
ball of pottery. II-24 appeared to consist of a single individual,
and was accompanied by a small crude pottery vessel. Burial II-25,
44 inches below the front crest of the mound, was also unique, con-
sisting of cremated bones in a small well-baked pit. Above the pit
was an ash area 6 feet across. Apparently, after the cremation the
pit had been covered and a large bonfire built over it.
Trench 34 was laid out 20 feet wide to give an east-west section
of the sizable mound just behind (east of) the monument plaza.
When abandoned it had reached a depth of 180 inches below the
crest of the mound, with a basal length of 102 feet. This was the
trench which produced the tremendously rich jade cache described
in detail by Stirling (1941, p. 292 ff.).
The trench, although it did not reach the original ground surface,
revealed a section of some complexity. The mound had undergone
numerous alterations and enlargements during the period of its use
-
12 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Buun. 141
(fig. 5). Three floors of burned earth were uncovered under the mid-
dle of the mound, at 30 inches, 38 inches, and 50 inches. Under the
third floor were approximately 45 burials in groups of 3 to 8. The
skulls were piled together, and the bodies in some instances radiated
out from the pile of skulls and in other cases were scattered about pro-
miscuously. The bones were very badly decomposed. Only 2 had any
sort of accompanying objects—a large jade bead each. The type of
cranial deformation common at the site was noted in all the skulls
that were not crushed by the overburden. Some had notched, filed
teeth, including one case of a 4-year-old child. Below the level of
the burials, a lot of 5 cylindrical flat-bottomed pots of thick poorly
fired black paste was found. On the west side of the trench, below the
present sloping front of the mound, another series of floors occurred.
Beneath a burned earth floor there were 2 floors of stucco, 1 very thin
and crumbling, the other thick and well-defined 3 inches deeper. Two
—™~E
yj ——
PROFILE - NORTH WALL
7 7 Ue
PLAN
Ficurn 5.—Trench 34: Profile (north wall) and plan. a, Jade cache; b, Painted stucco
fragments; c, large idol and pedestal; d, stueco floor (and stairway) ; e, burned clay
floors ; f, stucco-faced wall; g, pit filled with secondary or disturbed burials; h, miscel-
laneous floors.
bays or niches broke the front and rear edges. In front of the floor
a series of stucco-faced steps descended to the west (toward the Monu-
ment Plaza) On the steps were several lots of fragments of large
figurines, a pile of hollow arms and legs, and below the steps a circle
of these objects around a large pot, or, more likely, pedestal of a large
idol (pl. 8, ¢, 7). The pedestal was fitted with a lid with a round hole
in the middle, and contained the fragments of a figurine in the form
of the body of a flat flabby old male. Below these pieces was the
more than life-sized bearded head (pl. 8, e).
To the east of the stucco platform occurred a number of flat-based
concave-walled tripod vessels, with open bowls as lids. These did
not seem to be associated with burials. Each contained several va-
DRucKER] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 13
rieties of sea shells, coral, Panama-shell ornaments, sea borer, sand
dollar, shark teeth, a fossil, and a large jade bead. One had five
jade beads and a Panama shell carved in the form of a face.
East of the stucco floor a stucco-capped wall crossed the trench.
Two feet below the top at the east base of this wall was encountered
an enormous quantity of coarse White-slipped sherds of more than
life-size figures. A group of three child burials was found. One,
with filed lower front teeth, had with it a vessel containing a cylin-
drical stone bead, two Panama-shell ornaments, a sand dollar, and
several other marine shells.
The eastern end of the trench cut through a trench or pit which
appeared to belong to the same level as the better preserved of the
stucco floors. The pit was filled with nondescript mix and great
quantities of human bones. It was not possible to determine whether
these were secondary burials or whether the dirt collected for filling
the pit came from an ancient cemetery.
At a point approximately 96 inches below the crest of the mound
and 20 feet down the slope, just under the stairway, occurred several
areas of what appeared to be layers of paint. The largest was
roughly rectangular, 1 foot 8 inches wide by 2 feet 7 inches long. We
at first considered the material to be remnants of codices, but later
revised our opinion, in view of the complete absence of any traces
of backing. In all probability, the find represents a painted struc-
tural feature, perhaps a wall or the front of a collapsed clay altar.*
The dozen or so layers of paint were directly one on top of the other.
The weight of the overburden had not only completely crushed and
cracked the delicate substance, but had driven clods and pebbles
completely through it, making it impossible to recover anything but
small fragments. The paints appeared to be of the same origin as
the “stucco” paints applied to some of the vessels from the grave
lots in trench 30. Bright red, green, and white served as base or
background colors (each in a different layer), and as well for what
appeared to be small-element designs painted on them. Black was
frequently used to outline the design elements. A few traces of
a dark purplish-blue paint were noted. Beneath the paint areas
were masses of human bone, apparently secondary burials, portions
of which extended into and through the paint.
In removing the north wheelbarrow ramp in the northwest corner
of the trench some heavy incensario fragments were encountered.
Under these and a heavy, rough slab of cement was a cache of about
800 objects of jade,* including many large circular earplugs, figurines,
gorgets, tubes, beads, etc. These exhibited a wide variety of style
3 Compare the fresco decoration of Cempoala, in Seler, 1915, pp. 145 ff.
*This find has been described in detail by Stirling (1941, pp. 292 ff.).
14 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Buun, 141
and material: “Olmec” faces, danzantes, axes, canoes, “Oaxaca cir-
cles,” and similar objects in almost infinite variety. The only objects
in the lot not of jade were a stone monkey figure painted red, 16 inches
high and 7 inches wide; a small standing human figure of black
stone; and a stone turtle painted red. A celt and a sphere were made
of translucent green alabaster.
The bottom of the cache was 6 feet below the surface and no in-
dication of an intrusive pit was visible (pl. 8, ¢, e, f).
Trenches 2, 4, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 28, 24, 25, and 26 com-
pose a system of excavations designed to test thoroughly the sherd-
bearing zone in the level open plain to the north of the Central
Mound Group. The first four (2, 4, 10, and 11) were laid out at
random; 2, 4, and 10 were test pits 5 by 15 feet in horizontal dimen-
sion; 11 was started as a stratitest, 10 by 40 feet, but abandoned at
the conclusion of the 24- to 36-inch level. Trench 13 was laid out
10 feet north-south by 40 feet east-west, adjacent to trench 10, and
was dug as a stratitest, in 12-inch levels. The remaining trenches of
the system were tests laid out at 100-foot intervals on the north-south
and east-west axes of a datum set up at the southwest corner of
trench 13. These last were all 6 feet wide by 10 feet long. The
sketch map (fig. 1) shows the relationships of the units of this system.
The results of these cuts (excepting, for the moment, the stratitest)
have been summarized in the comparison of former and present land-
scapes in the discussion of the deposits. A more detailed account
will be given here coupled with a series of diagrams. The most note-
worthy fact is that the sherd-bearing horizon varied considerably,
and irregularly, in depth at the points tested. The preoccupational
landscape differed from that of the present day as the result of con-
tinued soil deposition. The level plain of today, whose monotony
is interrupted only by man-made earth-mounds, is superimposed on
an ancient rolling landscape. The following tabulation of trench
depths will make this point clear (the sequence of trenches is from
north-south, and east-west, along the axes laid out from the datum
at the southwest corner of trench 138) :
Mazimum depth Marimum depth
of sherd-bearing of sherd-bearing
Trench No. soil (inches) Trench No. soil (inches)
NIN ee ute SRN: ae Re a M1021, Bree 2B st eh) ek 1100-116
ANE Raha ANG Bi DB gd!” 48-53 71 ENS 5 ENE SS Reee Peet 2 99-128
7A ge SI aye a ae Ee 27-32 Dageoey) See teat tie ee ake 47-48
1 {a eae SOR Se ra ee 40-122 ie ae eae ae 40-122
OR Ss Ce eee as ee 1385-145+ jf Phe SWE Set ic ih gs pha 2 50-56
7 GN RY sae ae i ee 54-657 Ws [Sli oer ee ee 30
s 753 SAI aes U2 ae rae! MEL 60-61
1 Q-42 inches sterile.
30-36 to 40 inches sterile.
DruckER] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 15
It is noteworthy that even within the few feet of horizontal area
of the individual trenches the depth of the subsoil varies. Very
likely the ancient surface was even more irregular and rolling than
the schematic section (fig. 6) indicates.
This change in physiography from past to present is significant
on varied counts. For our present purposes, it means that strati-
graphic results from the locality must be used with caution. A filled-
in hollow in a hilly terrain is not the same thing as a gradually,
and more or less uniformly built-up occupational deposit or midden.
This is especially true where the precise areal extent of the “hollow”
is not known. The structure of the subsoil as well as that of the
deposit must be known to permit analysis of the results. The deepest
soil structure encountered (trenches 2, 10, 13, 17, 18, 24) was a heavy
clayey dark purplish-brown material, completely sterile of cultural
debris. Although levels were not run with instrument, the upper
surface of this soil in the several cuts appeared to follow a very
$< as ROY
26 13 20 2l 22
Y . Es 4 %
VY
Ficures 6.—Sections through area of sherd deposits.
nearly horizontal plane; similarly, in the largest‘section uncovered
(trench 13), there was no perceptible dip. In all probability, this
formation is an ancient swamp muck. Superimposed on it are vari-
ous light soils, composed mainly of fine sands. The predominant
colors are yellow to yellowish brown, but lenses of clean gray sand
occur. These are the formations or irregular surface. The sections
as revealed in the trenches give the impression of dunelike structures.
It is worthy of mention that Stirling (1943, p. 31) noted active sand
dunes in the low swampy “El Coyol” region 15 or 20 miles east-
ward, toward the Bay of Alvarado. Apparently, the land along the
west shore has been encroaching gradually on the bay, first by sedi-
mentation and formation of swamp, and then by wind-borne sand.
The occupancy of Cerro de las Mesas evidently began after the
locality had begun to assume its islandlike character owing to deposi-
tion of sand. The problem of water supply, in the early periods at
least, was not a pressing one, for in places culture-bearing soils lie
16 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLt, 141
directly on the ancient swamp muck (trenches 10, 13). In the gullies
between the dunes there must have been innumerable streamlets.
Aggradation did not cease with the beginning of human occu-
pancy. The “deposits” differ from the dune soils only in their addi-
tion of cultural debris—sherds, charcoal and ash, animal bone, and
the like. Of course, the concentration of cultural material varies;
there are lenses and pockets of nearly pure debris and but little
sand. For the most part, however, the proportion of soil is much
greater than that of the sherds etc. The chief difference to be noted
is in the type of deposition. Instead of forming irregular, and pre-
sumably traveling dunes, there was a tendency to fill depressions and
in general level off the land surface. One can only guess to what
extent human agencies were responsible for this change. It is not
unlikely that the houses and perhaps milpas, and the dumping of
animal refuse (which would stimulate plant growth) were potent
factors in “anchoring” the dunes and leveling off the plain. This
leveling process has continued to the present, as the sterile caps over-
lying the deposit in some places (trenches 24 and 25) demonstrate.
The uppermost soil division of the present series has little if any
archeological significance. It is basically the same as the soils which
it overlies: light, sandy, in most places in the sherd locality culture-
bearing, but distinguished by its darker grayish color. This color
difference is owing to the presence of humic materials, presumably
accumulated since cessation of the aboriginal occupation. In view
of the prevailing light soil type of the region, the depth to which
these materials have been washed down (11 to 18 inches) cannot
be taken as indicative of a long period of abandonment; much less so
when the modern type of cultivation—plowing—is brought into con-
sideration.
To summarize, occupation of the locality began at a time when
the site was covered by rolling dunes. In the formation of the de-
posits a natural process of aggradation was involved, in addition
to the accumulation of cultural refuse. Consequently, isolated ex-
amples of thick deposits cannot be construed as indicative of great
age, for deposition of this sort is probably relatively rapid, at least
as compared with processes of soil formation such as were observed
in the deposits at Tres Zapotes.
Trench 18, 40 feet east-west by 10 north-south, was dug as a strati-
trench, that is to say, in foot-levels to a depth of 144 inches. The
completed section revealed a profile consisting of several culture-
bearing strata with a uniform westward dip, owing chiefly to the
marked dip of sterile layers on which they rested, despite the fact
that the present ground surface runs nearly level (fig. 7). The cul-
ture-bearing levels consisted of light sandy buff to grayish-brown
Drucker] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 17
soils containing sherds and miscellaneous refuse. They differed
among themselves chiefly in their content of charcoal; ash, and sim-
ilar substances, which caused the color differentiation. The principal
exception was a thick layer°of rich greasy-looking dark-brown mix
extending downward from 45 inches. This zone averaged 30 to 36
inches in thickness. It contained, in addition to quantities of sherds,
17 large vessels, complete or nearly so, most of them being Plain ware
ollas.
The profile is at first glance complicated by several intrusive pits
which extended downward from the black level and the member below
it into the basic soil zone. The purpose of these pits was not appar-
ent; they contained nothing but mix in the portions investigated. In
addition to a few stray human bones, four burials were found in the
trench, I-2, I-38, I-4, and I-5, and one, I-6, in a shoveling platform
at the east end of the cut.
The trench 18 section clearly represents a dump of refuse in a
sizable hollow on a gully in the original terrain. Despite the con-
wo
—~E
humus - stained topsoil, with some sherds Yi
ES :
F herds
buff sandy soil, ihe rath soil, _with sherds
row
light yellow sand,
sterile
-brown sand,
sterile 7. Z3
« ¢
sterile a y
Vie
FiGcuRE 7.—Trench 13, profile, north wall.
siderable depth of the major part of this deposit, there is no real
evidence that a very long time interval was involved in this filling-in
process. Furthermore, in view of the fact that the horizontal strati-
graphic levels dug do not conform to the natural planes of the deposit,
the sherd counts from the trench cannot be expected to be as sensitive
to ceramic change as might be desired. However, they do show cer-
tain gross trends which corroborate results from other investigations
at the site.
Ten burials (if we include two secondary or badly disturbed ones)
were encountered in this series of excavations. The data recorded are
summarized in table 3.
This small sampling of burials presents several points of interest,
especially in view of the fact that evidence from the stratigraphic
ievels can be adduced to show that all belong to the same general
period. First and most striking is the complete absence of any pat-
tern of burial position or orientation. Second, we may note the
paucity of grave offerings—this is the more striking when contrasted
18 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bubw. 141
TABLE 3.—Summary of data on 10 burials found in trenches 4, 13, 22, 28, and 25
Burial}Trench| Depth 2 sys . ‘ + ote
No.! | No. |(inches) Position and orientation Associations Remarks
I-1 t 60 | Semiflexed, dorsal, | River clamshell over | Plate 13, a.
ee originally raised. mouth.
I-2 13 39 (Secondary or disturbed) __| None_-________- on setae Incomplete (plate 13, 6).
I-3 13 48 | Semiflexed, left side. E. | River clamshell in mouth; | Plate 13, c.
4 small pottery vessels.
I+ 13 56 | Extended, ventral. W. River : amet over | Plate 13, d.
mouth.
I-5 13 60 | Tight-flexed, ventral. N. | River i clamshell near | Plate 13, e.
mouth.
1-6 313 27 | Tight (?) flexed, dorsal. W. |_---- C6 (es ame Parad Sat SE 2 Legs missing (feet in
place close to pelvis).
Plate 13, f.
I-7 23 40 |Tight-flexed, ventral. | 2 white stone beads at | Plate 14, a.
SSW. cervical region.
I-8 22 75 | Extended, ventral. Sai Newnes: eee ee ee Plate 14, 6.
I-9 22 62 | Tight-flexed, dorsal. E. |_____ 0s Sh Sos Faas PI ae te Plate 14, c. :
I-15 25 |110-116 | (Secondary or disturbed). |____- Ot SR eae ee In sandy subsoil at
base of deposit.
1 Burials found in the test and stratigraphic trenches are indicated within index No. I.
2 Depth measurements to skull.
8 Encountered in shoveling platform at east end of trench, not in trench proper.
with the burials from the mounds. However, there is one important
detail which serves to connect these burials with those of the mounds:
the custom of placing a shell near or over the mouth. As has been
mentioned, this trait was noted in several instances in the mound
burials (trench 30), and doubtless represents a variation of the
ceremonial use of shells, represented by the offerings of shells pre-
viously described (pp. 8, 9).
Trenches 3, 5, 27, and 28 were tests laid out some 500 yards west
of trench 2, etc., in a north-south line. Trench 3 was the southern-
most; trench 5 was laid out 250 yards to the north. Trenches 27 and
28 were laid out at 100-foot intervals south of the southwest corner
of trench 5 to check the nature of the deposit.
This series of trenches revealed a deposit of the same type as that
found in the previously described system, in fact, probably a continua-
tion of the same structure. Cultural material occurred in soil of the
same type, and beneath the sherd layers were encountered sterile
formations apparently identical to those underlying the deposits al-
ready described. The same sort of irregular preoccupational sur-
face appeared, as the following tabulation of depth of deposit shows:
Mazimum depth of
sherd-bearing
Trench No. soil (inches)
N Bi eS a I eee *76-81
4 2hus ere bo De ee eee ee eee — 780-86
ae ee aa REE ae A ew AEE A ee 88-92
EES ew eek at ate AN ee ee 60-63
1 0-38 inches sterile.
1 0-43 inches sterile.
It should be added that the sherd horizon of trench 5 appeared to
be a unit structure of a uniform dark-brown color, middenlike in
Drucker] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 19
appearance. In trench 27 this horizon was but 10 to 16 inches thick
(38 to 48 (north end), 54 (south end) ) ; in trench 28, 14 inches (48 to
57). Below were layers with only a few sherds. In trench 3 sherds
were scarce below 48 inches. -
A third group of trenches was dug in the Small Mound Locality
to the northwest of the last series of trenches described. The locality
was selected after a field appraisal of the ceramics recovered particu-
larly from the stratitrench 13. It was noted that wares of the Poly-
chrome group, known from surface collections from the site, were rare
in the materials excavated in the stratitest and the adjacent test pits.
Since Polychrome sherds were found to occur in abundance on the
(plowed) surface of the Small Mound Locality at the northwest end of
the site, several trenches were laid out: 14 (and 14-A), 19, 40, 41, and 42.
All but the last were mound cuts. The most important point to be
noted is that two of the cuts, 19 and 41, showed that the mounds overlay
refuse deposits of some thickness. The terrain in this locality is quite
irregular, what with the hodgepodge of small mounds, borrow-pits,
and gullies. Just to the north the present land surface dips toward
the low-lying “potreros” that surround the site. All in all, the
locality is by no means prepossessing. However, it was just here that
the thickest and most important depositional horizon was found.
Trench 42, dug as a stratitest to section the submound layers revealed
by trenches 19 and 41, disclosed 15 feet of nearly horizontally laid
refuse layers, or over 17 feet (209 inches) if subsoil irregularities are
taken into account (pl.12). This section is by far the most important
of the Cerro de las Mesas excavations, for it proved to contain the
most nearly complete series of sherds, a series which appears to cover
the entire period of occupation of the site. :
Trenches 14 and 14-A were dug on a small irregularly shaped
mound, or more likely a composite mound (fig. 8). Trench 14 uncov-
ered a stucco floor, presumably of a ceremonial structure. The floor
originally extended across the southeastern crown of the mound, but its
southern end could not be followed, owing to the destructive effects
of the roots of a large tree. At its center, the floor was covered by
14 or 15 inches of dirt; its northern edge and part of the eastern
one were plowed out, being less deeply covered owing to the dip
of the mound. Where better protected, the floor turned up 5 or 6
inches at the edges, forming in that fashion the base of the walls.
The floor itself consisted of a ntmber of layers of stucco of sand
and slaked shells. Some of the layers showed traces of red paint. In
form long and narrow, the floor had two bays or enclosed rectangles
on its west side reminiscent of those of the stucco floor found in trench
31 (fig. 3). On the east side directly between the two was a smaller
rectangle with rounded corners, faced and floored on the inside, 9
20 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Buu 141
inches below the level of the floor. It was filled with ash. On each
side were circular pits, likewise stuccoed on the interior, one 41 and
the other 42 inches deep. They contained nothing but dirt.
On the west side of the mound, descending from a low crown,
was a row of pipe made of coarse unslipped ware (pl. 10, ¢). The
joints were 1 foot 8 inches to 2 feet long, 7 to 9 inches in diameter,
with one belled and one plain end so that they telescoped neatly.
Unfortunately, the line of pipe had been badly broken up in plowing
the mound, but enough remained to show an original length of about
Wilt;
me WON
i
RSS
\\)
AY)
\\
\
ANN
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\
Se =
ANN
NY
N
,
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A
7a
nw
wn’
\
&
anon
FIGURE 8.—Trenches 14 and 14—A, and detail of floor, trench 14.
18 feet, with a dip of about 3 feet in this distance.
There was no
evidence of a structure at either end.
» Trench 41 was dug in a small mound about 100 feet due south
of trench 40. The cut was 10 feet wide by 25 feet north-south. It
was carried to a maximum of 208 inches below the peak of the mound,
except for a small block left in the north end to support remnants
of structures.
Despite its small size, the mound had been rebuilt several times.
Four well-defined floors, three of them of stucco, in the uppermost
38 inches of the mound, and three superimposed stucco facings at the
Drucker] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 21
north end demonstrate this point (fig. 9). 105 inches below the crest
was an inch-thick floor of stucco, painted bright red, and lying on a
prepared base of gray sand. The north end of this feature tailed
off into rubble of stucco and large incensario sherds. This point
seems to represent the original base of the mound. Below was a
culture-bearing deposit seemingly of primary type, which was more
thoroughly investigated by a stratitrench (trench 42), and, therefore,
need not be described in detail here.
In addition to stray fragments of human bone found at various
points in the mound mass and the inferior layers as well, two burials
were uncovered, I-12 and I-13. Both seemed to belong to the earlier
(though not earliest) phases of the mound’s construction. Both were
remains of children, and in a lamentable state of preservation. The
most important feature is the association of a small quantity of copper
SSS ——- N
men —— ‘ja
SS S -
m-o U:Aed) —fth |
—————
~---.
we e—- ee
—-—<-..
—~~<<<--..
~—<-.24
-
yellow-brown soil, with sherds _ Ne
dark brown soil, numerous sherds _
j yellow-brown soil with sherds
yellow sandy soil, few sherds
— — 7;
FigURD 9.—Trench 41: Profile (west wall). a, Stucco floors; b, sand and clay floor;
c, red-painted stucco floor; d, rubble of stucco and sherds; e, stucco wall-facings ; BI-12,
burial I-12 ; BI-18, burial I-13.
ornaments with I-13—the only pre-Hispanic metal found on the
site.
Trench 19 was dug 30 feet east-west by 15 feet north-south, in the
west end of a double mound of the Small Mound Group. The ex-
cavation was put down to 110 inches, with a reduced cut 4 feet wide
dug 36 inches more along the south wall of the trench. Remnants of
a number of structures, representing different periods of construction,
were encountered, though it must be owned that the original plans
could not be worked out within the confines of the trench. Disinte-
grated stucco floors appeared at 11 and at 30 inches. At 18 inches
appeared a stucco layer 11 feet east-west, descending in two steps ta
the west, and rising at its eastern end. At 60 to 73 inches were stucco-
faced walls and piers of at least three structures. (See fig. 10.) Most
22 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Buwv. 141
curious was the clay-lined pit 3 feet wide by 7 long and 15 inches
deep, filled with clean gray sand. This feature seemed to belong to
one of the structures. Layers of similar sand 2 to 3 inches thick were
noted in the south side of the trench at 48, and at 79 inches. The
mound at a depth of from 70 to 84 inches consisted of irregular and
interrupted areas of burned earth, etc. Presumably these were the
—~E
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PROFILE - NORTH WALL ag PS
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i Bun
Sf... gf) 06 t PLAN AT 60 TO 73 INCHES
ee es, |
FicUrp 10.—Trench 19: Profile (north wall) and plan at 60 to 73 inches. @, Clay-lined
pit filled with gray sand; }, pit filled with fragments of Monumental ware. I-IV, Struc-
tures with stucco-faced walls. Numerical order corresponds to order of construction.
pneding indicates inner side of stuccoed walls. x-—x’ (in profile), probable base of
mound.
floor associated with one and another of the structures, and repre-
sent the top of the original low platform. The base of this structure
was not certainly defined, but appeared to lie at a level 85 to 89
inches deep. Below this point sherds were markedly less numerous
than in the mound mass, and the level corresponds pretty well to the
overall height of the mound above the present ground surface.
DruckER] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 23
In the course of the excavation, two lots of fragments of large
incensarios, etc., were found, one néar the northeast corner of the
trench at 64 inches, the other in the west end, in an intrusive pit 214
feet across, whose point of origin lay between 80 and 84 inches and
extended to a depth of 108 inches. The pit contained quantities of
charcoal and ash, and the sherds themselves showed evidence of having
been burned. Five burials were recovered from the cut as well, I-10,
I-11, I-17, I-18, and I-19. The three latter were all infant burials,
interred in sizable ollas covered with bowls. Burial I-11 is of most
interest because it lay in a concave round object (a wooden or gourd
bowl?) painted with the same bright “stucco” paint as was found in
trench 34. The burial lay below the mound mass proper, with no clear
evidence of intrusion from above. At the depth of 100 inches was an
irregular layer of paint, too fragmentary to be saved. Directly below
lay the skull and ribs of the (secondary) burial, on top of a pile of
long bones. Beneath, serving as a container apparently, was the
object previously mentioned, with a central design in white, green, and
black on a bright red background. A painting of the design is repro-
duced in figure 209.
Trench 40 was staked out as a small mound, just to the west of
trench 19, in an extension of the same mound. The cut was enlarged
to remove the chief find, a cache of covered pots containing skulls.
This peculiar deposit has been described by Stirling (1941, pp. 289-
290) ; all that need be done here is to summarize the main facts. A few
inches below the surface, so shallow, in fact, that the upper portions
had been badly shattered by plowing, were 6 pots containing bone
fragments, apparently of skulls.° Below, at a depth of 16 inches, was
a layer of stucco, 61 feet long north-south by 14 feet 8 inches wide. At
the northeast corner was a rectangular extension 7 feet 3 inches long by
6 feet 6 inches across. The floor dipped about a foot from the middle
toward either end. At the middle of the western edge of the floor was
a double row of pots covered with bowls, each containing a skull and
three or four cervical vertebrae. The double row contained 24 vessels,
with two more just to the east at the south end (pl. 11). A good
number of the skulls were of subadults and children. At 26 inches
was another stucco floor, 14 feet 11 inches wide, its east and west edges
corresponding pretty closely with those of the upper one. Its north-
south extent was not determined. At a point almost directly below
the first double row of pots, below the second floor, was another double
row of covered vessels of the same size and type, likewise containing
skulls and cervical vertebrae. There were 22 pots in this lot. Beneath,
'There may have been more of these vessels originally. Local people informed me that
a@ number of years ago, a house stood on the mound, and that the owner, in setting the posts,
ete., had found several “pots with bones.’”’ Since some time had elapsed since the house
had gone to ruin and the trees had been cleared from the mound, no one was quite sure
whether the house stood in the vicinity of trench 40 or nearer trench 19, to the east.
24. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Buu 141
at 56 inches, was a third stucco floor, 15 feet 9 inches across. Its east
and west edges extended a few inches beyond those of the superior
floors. Near the middle of this floor, opposite the area of the pots,
was acircular hole 3 feet 5 inches in diameter, which contained nothing
suggesting its purpose. Below, no other structures were found to a
depth of 80 incles, at which point the cut was abandoned. When
concluded, the trench had a horizontal area of 20 by 20 feet, with the
addition of the cleared uppermost floor. It should be noted that aside
from the floors and the skull pots, the mound was very nearly sterile,
there being scarcely any sherds in the mound mass..,
Several facts combine to indicate that the trench 40 find represents
a unit deposit, that is to say, that the three floors were laid, and
the pots with their grisly contents were deposited all in one operation.
Most convincing is the close correspondence of location of floors and
rows of pots. The marked similarity in size and form of the vessels
of the three levels points to the same conclusion, as does the nearly
uniform state of preservation of the skulls of the two lower levels
(the plow-shattered fragments of the uppermost lot cannot in fair-
ness be compared with the rest).
Trench 42 was staked out 30 feet north-south by 10 feet east-west,
in the open flat adjacent to the mounds in which the other cuts of
this series were put. An arbitrary datum (0-0’) was established
across the irregular (plowed) surface, to facilitate measurement.
The uppermost 48 inches consisted of a finely divided yellowish-brown
sandy soil, with sherds and miscellaneous refuse. This horizon had
a humus-stained topsoil, likewise sherd-bearing, 16 to 20 inches thick.
Within the horizon were two floors of packed sand, an inch to an
inch and a half in thickness. That these were prepared floors, prob-
ably of dwellings, was demonstrated by the fact that one was definitely
associated with a clearly marked firepit, a portion of which remained
in the west wall of the trench. (See profile, fig. 11.) This floor, the
upper of the two, occurred at 33 to 34 inches; the lower at 46 to 47.
Beneath this zone lay one nearly identical in color and texture,
distinguished chiefly by its very low sherd content. It extended to
a depth of 94 to 114 inches, at which point it overlay another horizon
lighter in color but likewise poor in cultural material. This layer
extended to 134 to 139 inches. Under this latter occurred a layer
of dark-brown soil, rich and “greasy” in appearance, with a very high
sherd yield. Charcoal, ash, animal bone, etc., likewise had a high
frequency. ‘This horizon lay directly on the sterile subsoil, a yellow
clayey formation with pockets and lenses of gray sand, at a depth
ranging from 178 to 188 inches.
Evidences of disturbance were few. All of those noted occurred in
the lowest depositional horizon—the dark-brown middenlike mix. At
DrucknR] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 20
157 inches, in the southwest corner of.the trench, a circular firepit,
roughly 8 feet in diameter and 8 to 10 inches in depth, filled with
small water-worn stones 114 to 4 inches in diameter, charcoal, ash,
etc., was found. At 180 inches, in midtrench, appeared another
hearth. This one was rectangular with rounded corners, 3 feet 5
inches long by 1 foot 10 inches wide, and 5 to 6 inches deep. In the
northwest corner of the trench, in fact, running under the north wall,
was a burial, I-16 (pl. 14, #). The uppermost point of the skull was at
18414 inches, the pelvis at 187. This burial belongs to the very earli-
est occupation of this locality, for it lay in the sterile clayey subsoil.
SoS —=wN
°
~~
Ny
fine yellowish-brown sandy _
36] mos = = packed =Sand =floor 36
Y ae soil, with sherds
48 packed——sand—— floor 48
. . 7
60 fine yellowish-brown sandy soil 60
72 with few sherds 72
o 4
96° 96
y 4
‘/,
108 108
Y,
120 fine yellowish sandy soil
with few sherds
dark brown soil, heavy sherd content,
animal remains, charcoal, etc.
A
180
ie bright yellow clayey soil with streaks of sand
He sterile
ge
“-----f4
0-O'= Arbitrary datum across irregular (plowed) surface
to water
table at 227”
Ficurn 11.—Trench 42, profile, west wall.
A later intrusive pit from the dark-brown horizon cut off the lower
legs of the skeleton. This pit, whose point of origin could not be de-
fined with precision, save that it lay within the lowermost soil zone,
extended to a depth of 209 inches.
To summarize, the section disclosed in trench 42 was of a deep de-
posit, with but few and localized disturbances, whose lower and upper
layers indicate fairly intensive human occupation. The phases repre-
sented by the middle layers suggest less intensive occupation of the
locality (i e., as though the center of habitation had shifted slightly)
or a period of more rapid aggradation. There is, however, no in-
506988—43——-3
26 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLt, 141
dication of a clean break, or an unconformity in the horizons, a fact
corroborated by the ceramic evidence.
Trench 43 was not, properly speaking, a trench. It consisted of a
discovery pit made by some local people in the process of digging
gophers, of a “pipe-line” similar to that of trench 14-A, and a quan-
tity of figurines. The find occurred in a small mound about a quar-
ter of a mile south-southwest of the trench series, 19, 40, 41, and 42,
belonging to the same Small Mound Locality. The sections of pipe,
similar to those of trench 14-A, angled down the northeast side of
the mound. The uppermost joint was modeled to represent a female
human torso. The head is missing. Over the end of this was set
another incomplete figure, apparently part of an elaborate incensario.
Quantities of Polychrome sherds and other figurines occurred along
with this lot of material.
Trench 6 was dug 15 feet north-south by 6 feet east-west in a
small mound about 8 feet high on top of a large platform mound of
the Western Group. The locality-was suggested by the reported find-
ing of a small stone yoke in the small mound just previous to the
arrival of the expedition. However, the attempt proved fruitless. A
scant handful of sherds were found, and no other material at all
from the cut, which extended to a maximum depth (from the peak of
the mound) of 94 inches.
Of the remaining test cuts, 1, 8, and 9, there is little to be said, for
none tapped refuse deposits of any consequence. All were dug in
localities in which sherds appeared on the surface, but in no case did
cultural remains extend more than a few inches down into the humus-
stained topsoil. Beneath lay undisturbed and sterile soil zones.
CERRO DE LAS MESAS WARES
The pottery of Cerro de las Mesas classifies out in a somewhat pecu-
liar fashion. Strict application of the ware criterion that served for
the Tres Zapotes collections (a high correlation of paste, slip, and
vessel shapes) gives us but two ceramic groups: one a numerically
small but quite distinct body of material, and the other including all
the rest of the local pottery. This latter must be broken down ac-
cording to variations of slipping, painting, and the like, to give serv-
iceable units for comparative and stratigraphic analyses. The point
is that the major portion of the local ceramics conforms to a single pat-
tern of paste type, vessel shapes, and, to a considerable extent, slip.
This focal type is that of Brown ware, i. e., of coarse, sand-tempered
paste, with a tendency to thick walls, and slipped with a pigment ap-
parently made of the same clay as the paste. Red ware is essentially
the same ware with an all-over coat of red paint (overlying a brown
wash or slip). Another variant, Red-on-Brown, has the red pig-
Drucker] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 27
ment distributed in patterns instead of all over. The various Black
wares, Black, and Black-and-White, are like Brown in paste and ves-
sel shapes, and in use of a slip of the same clay as that of the paste.
The same incised designs occur on Black and on Brown vessels. The
difference appears to be solely one of firing technique, by means of
which paste and slip attain a black instead of a brown color. Several
varieties of Polychrome as well are essentially Brown ware with multi-
color painted decoration.
It is consequently necessary to abandon the ideologically more con-
sistent system of classification for one more applicable to the material
athand. As may be gathered from the preceding paragraph, the main
criterion of classification is slip and/or paint. The ceramic groups
thus segregated have been designated for convenience “wares,” and
will be described under separate heads in the following section.
The recurrence in most of these ceramic units of the same vessel
shapes makes possible a few generalizations with respect to the domi-
nant form patterns. There is a wide range of elaborate shapes, but
numerically these comprise only a small proportion of the determin-
able types. Simple silhouette vessels tending toward broad, rather
squat, proportions are most common. The chief type of rim is the
simple direct one. Scale drawings of vessel types and rims accompany
the section in which the shapes are described. It should be noted,
however, that certain of the more elaborate forms are based on one or
two complete specimens only, preserved, for example, in grave offer-
ings, and should be considered neither common nor typical of local
ceramics. The prevailing pattern is one of simple shapes.
While the small size of the majority of sherds from the strati-
graphic sections renders unsatisfactory attempts at distributions of
shape types, there are certain elements of form which are temporarily
significant. These will be discussed in connection with the strati-
graphic analyses.
UNTEMPERED WARE
Throughout a considerable part of the ceramic history of the site
there occurs a ware which is distinct from other local wares in nearly
every respect. It 1s composed of a very finely divided paste, quite
hard, with little or no visible temper. Paste colors range from buff to
light orange, with a small proportion of sherds with a steel-gray core,
and fewer, steel-gray through and through. Vessel walls tend to be
thin. The most common slip is one of the same clay as the paste, fired
to the same shade as to outer portions of the walls. There is also a
shp of different origin, which fires from a white to cream color, and is
applied in a thick coat which gives a lacquerlike appearance. In
many instances vestiges of painted designs remain. For this reason
the ware is considered as one type of Polychrome.
28 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
ett ea
(Buty. 141
Ficurp 12.—Form types of Cerro de las Mesas wares.
(For deseriptiou of vessel shapes, see pp. 60-61.)
29
CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS
DRUCKER]
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(Geers ieee Dee ([[@UIs) OpeUl-pfoul 4Vpq “TT
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ZI-0 | $q0a[qo Jaq}0 puBw SOULINSL |
Z6T-O8T | O8T-89T | 89T-9ST | 9ST-FFT | FFI-ZEL | ZET-OZT | OZI-80T | 801-96 | 96-F8 | F8-ZL | ZL-09 | V9-8P | 8F-9E | 9E-FZ | FC-ZI
at youas, Wi samunby {0 (sayour wm) Uo1Nngiuysyp yydaq—'s8 ATAV I,
76 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 141
TABLE 9.—Depth distribution (in inches) of figurines in trench 18
Up-
‘ per I Lower II
Figurines
0-12 | 12-24 | 24-36 | 36-48 | 48-60 | 60-72 | 72-84 | 84-96 | 96-108 | 108-120
I. Punctate hand-made
OD bY DOA oat Ne See | eee ee |
SUbey pe ee eat ae SU NS SET RC ee ae NE Se | ee |
Subtynp/ G2 |\eaees 1's |S | (eee UG) aes 4 1 1
Subtype sie sos haa eae DY ate a! 1 1 > fal eae | A een fee Sb
Subtype seers | anaes 1 Le ae See 2 1 Pees ek 1 i |e ee
Bodies (subtypes
indeterminate) |______ 2 (ess 21 1 4 7. Aye Sse 1
IL. eet mold-made
mall) eee Aeee 3 OR Eee eee) Rae JE tern (eee nee et {RTE eR) (ee Ot Ee el
III Flat mold-made
(laree) be ifsc SN a NS ee eR es 2 ee ee ee ee
IV. Hand-made appliqué 1 1 3 1 1 12 1? ul re ie NS aie
Vel Mlold-madeappligttéi| i ws. | seen ss ee en eee Ps sete ed ad oa I
VI. Mold-made open-
backed erty 3 35) [ares deh pa fee eth 5 igi [een Pee nee mil eRe TE
VII. San Marcos mold-
MAGE SSeS SE ees el een OY eet cee a bl epee (Pen (ees oe
VIII. Laughing Face B
(small WArlanits) aes] ss l| ane 1 igececes | ce OS Le ee ee ee re
IX. ert ee and mask-
x Tere "idols eee eee 1? Pp ee Yn oe ES ee ee ee ee
Upper I.—Tall open-spout pitchers with long vertical handles,
cylindrical in cross section; long solid legs with loop foot; legs with
zoomorphic ornament; relief-decorated (molded) bowl bases (Brown
Polychrome).
Upper I and Lower IJ.—“Frying pan” incensarios; strap handles;
small loop handles; tall annular bases; evlindviesl cross-section
hollow supports.
Lower IT.—Vertical-side tripod jars with incised or relief ornament
about base; bulbous-based jars with tripod supports; vessels with
vertical modeled lugs; effigy vessels (?) ; hollow slab legs with L- or T-
shaped openings; blunt conical hollow legs; low, wide hemispherical
feet; small solid ball feet; supported spouts; flat horizontally placed
semicircular lugs; scraped (“raspada”) decoration.
Lower I and II,—WLow annular bowl bases; “negative painting”
(more common in IT), unsupported spouts.
MINOR OBJECTS OF CLAY
Among the miscellaneous objects of baked clay, the following may
be placed according to period.
Upper I.—Small painted pellets of clay; flutes with modeled
ornament; mold-made spindle whorls with relief decoration.
Lower IJ.—Painted mold-made spindle whorls; “double rings.”
On the basis of occurrence in the small mounds in the vicinity of
trench 42, the clay “pipe lines” can probably be assigned safely to
Upper IT.
DevuckeR] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS ree
ANALYSIS OF MOUND MATERIALS
The material from the mound mass of the several mounds trenched
has been subjected to gross analysis, that is, a determination of wares
represented. In view of the fact that the mounds are themselves
secondary deposits, it was not considered worth while to save all the
sherds for counts, etc. Only decorated sherds, rims, bases, and re-
storable vessels were saved. All figurines, however fragmentary, and
miscellaneous objects of clay were saved as well. On the basis of this
material, it is possible to place the various cuts in relation to the estab-
lished ceramic column or, at least, to give them minimal period datings.
Inspection of the ware occurrences shown in table 10 indicates that
most of the mounds of the Central Group belong to Lower II, con-
taining as they do small amounts of Polychrome and related wares,
little White ware, and the varied figurine types characteristic of this
period. In several instances there was a thin superficial layer of later
(Upper I) material, as Stirling was able to observe in the field. This
material was not segregated, however, nor was it possible to determine
whether it represented a final enlargement of the mound, or was occu-
pational debris resulting from a mound-dwelling habit such as pre-
vails at the present day in the region. Most or all of these mounds
had been plowed and cultivated within recent years, making inspection
of their superficial layers impossible. }
The mound cuts in the northwest sector of the site, the Small Mound
Group, yielded quantities of late material. Owing to heavy field cull-
ing, we do not have a complete sample of wares represented, but the
large amounts of Polychrome sherds indicate an Upper period dating,
and the occurrence of several types not represented in the strati-
trenches, Fine-line Black-on-White and varieties of Tan Polychrome,
point to an even later position than the upper layers of the strati-
graphic sections. As a matter of fact, the period Upper IT is based
chiefly on the material from these mounds.
CACHE ASSOCIATIONS
The largest quantity of cache material comes from the burials and
offerings of trenches 30 and 34. The material from trench 30 is
described in table 12.
It is clear from the absence of Polychrome and associated wares
that all the trench 30 burial material belongs to the Lower horizon.
The presence of “scraped” decoration on Black ware vessels (II-7),
Polished Brown ware (II-19), supported spouts (II-5, II-19), and
absence of White ware, taken all together, point fairly surely to
Lower II for the placing of the material. The temporal difference
between the two parts of the mound—the base and the superstructure—
78 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLt. 141
TABLE 10.—Ware occurrence in Mound Groups
Occurrence ! in indicated trench in—
Wares Central Mound Group Barre eras
12 15 30 31 32 |32B)} 33 34 14 19 41
Polychrome wares:
RN syori ae Je eee ee s s s s iat | eee + Ss aa + +
Brows £ lege lve Bee A NS) 8 iS) Ss Sag | ee oe + iS) + + +
Black-and-White-on-Red____|______]_____- ult | Ste Seabee eS ee ee io eee + + +
Black-on-Red___..-..-_-_-_- Si tise ce ee eS Sib -eees s + + +
Complicate cd ae ee ee ee | eee | ees Sie ete + + +
Red-on-Orange Incised_-____}_____- Bi nul etcs 2416 seen (sWaee ea nek (Sea ee ees ore. + +
Black-on-Red Incised_-----__|_____- pal eee ieee zee tS Sea Soe + + +
Untempered ware_-________--_-_- + + + + + — a a= + — +
Cortales So steerte roan tt fe hi cn ie ee ae eee anata. koe pa rea io eae + + +
Coarse! Red-rimmed |bowls22:223|=- 224s) Sa ei Se Fa ee sey pyee 2d - + —
Brown ware--------------------- Te este (ste Sake ay ecko A St osteo WN SST rn |
Polished Brown ware-.._-___-_-__|_--_-_|_----- + Soy sees 8 Ss 4p jes eee
Red ware_____-_--- pepe seseee=oee Ste aly cte = Paategesl| wear 4] heer sare ha Mert (ic fae eee ae ale sts
Red-on-Brown Incised ware__--_-_-_|_----- + + + + = + + Wags a
Black-and-White ware_---______- + + + + + + - =F [eee + ~-
Witeiwareten 8 kre 8 Ree ee AE ee S + 8 S aes S -+; |.-—--b eee
Blacksiwarese 2-62-22 5c) ee =F aia ar + == ae = a5 =~ So +
Monumental ware---____-______- + + + + + s + Se eee -- a
Stucco Painted waress-- |e eee +
Negative Painted ware-_-_.......__|------]_----- S
1+, Present; 8S, present in small quantity only.
TABLE 11.—Occurrence of figurines and other objects in Mound Groups
Occurrence ! in indicated trench in—
Figurines and other objects Central Mound Group iaean
1
12 | 15 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 14
14-A
Figurines
Subtype; A s2228 252 Ai ok oe hee ee RE OD
Subtypes see se ae eee | eee
Subtype G_
Subtype H-
II. Flat mold-made (small)___.__---___
Ill. Flat mold-made (large)-
IV. Hand-made appliqué-___
V. Mold-made appliqué___
VI. Mold-made open-backed _
VII. San Marcos mold-made_-_________
VIII. Laughing Face B (small variants)
IX. Masks and maskettes_--
X. Large idols_____- dn Such else te ee eee
Miscellaneous elements
Painted clay pellets____._.___.___-___-
Spindle whorls with molded ornament
Flutes with molded ornament__--
Zoomorphic vessel supports-__--_______-
Thin solid slab legs, sometimes steppe:
Hollow slab legs
Relief-decorated bow] base---...-.----:---------]----
1-++, Present.
2 With shallow, apparently intrusive burial.
Small Mound
p
19 | 41
Drucker] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 79
TABLE 12.—Cache material from burials of trench 30
Ela ep laced Slat ra a Lp rE 5 PLS Re nee
Ceramic associations
Burial No. SS eee
No. Ware Shape Decoration
I) Brown) 233232 3 3- Open conyex-side bow] (miniature)__| Post-firing incised.
Mi Black. c= oe. Se Incurved-side bowl (miniature)_- Do.
IL-5 tH (ieee Ot Syuat body, long! neck, vertical | None.
ST Ra ALS WE EB A I supported spout.
3 | Black-and-White | Open convex-side bowls_--.--------- Do.
(white rim).
Ti) Bey (pe ae aaa ie Blaeke-- sec ees Wide vertical-side jar__------------- gaa (“‘Tas-
pada’).
Rig Que ed Bae ee gf tat leo (9 a al Ee Slender jar (miniature) _-__-_--_----- Post-firing incised.
ETO 2 teeny t% 2 1 | Black-and- White | Open convex-side bow] (miniature)-__| None.
(white rim).
dy leted 7-58 = Slightly flaring side jar (not restor- Do.
II-12-(Face only) -- able).
Tu RBIACKs (COVCD) aan et ee Lo hae ee be ee a8 Do.
) 8 ES ks 1p se a pe 2H OBrOWIs eo ee 1 wide-mouth jar, 1 shallow flaring- Do.
" side bowl.
II-14 (Face only)-_-- TieRed-on-Browlse = IB) ee eee ence see aennoeae Do.
(jal ae: 1 Bio Pe dees eae Wide uth janss es eres Do:
1 ain ware_______- Ontical-sidesjates ee ee 0.
W-17 (Face only). -- { 1 | Black-and-White | Open convex-side bowl_.--.-------_- Do.
(white rim). havea
3: |) Blacks 27. so55 Concave side, annular-base jars_-__--- Post-firing incised.
2) | Browne seo 22 aceeee Vertical-side, bulbous-base jars-_- ---- None.
2 | Red-on-Brown__--- Vertical-side, bulbous-base jars_-_---_ Do.
| Et ee (2) Vertical-side, bulbous-base jars__.| Small element de-
signs in green,
binek ee: on
red ground.
4 | Stuccoed---------- (1) One end red,
center and oppo-
site end green.
(2) Potstands=~ 52-2 = soe ess sess (1) Ends sed; cen-
ter striped red,
green, yellow,
black.
TI-19.. 62.33.2225. 2 | Polished Brown_..| Low base with tall, slender necks | (1) Pre-firing} in-
Semerked supported-spout ves- cised.
sels).
10 Ey. (1h eee See 1 | Black-and-White._| Open convex-side bowl__----------.- Gade) pre-firing
incised.
cannot have been great, for material from both falls into the same
subperiod. The fortunate circumstance of being able to place the
Stucco ware chronologically will aid us in relating the Cerro de las
Mesas ceramic column to those of adjacent regions.
The bulk of the ceramic material from trench 34 consisted of the
pots containing assortments of marine shells, ete. Some of these were
of the poorly fired Plain ware jars, unplaced in our ware chronology ;
others were slightly concave-walled flat-based tripod jars, of Brown
ware and Polished Brown ware, indicating an allocation of Lower IT.
The spectacular jade cache, the quantities of Monumental ware (idols
and pedestals), and the painted material, therefore, are assignable to
this period. It must be pointed out, however, that the Monumental
ware does not belong to Lower II alone, but can be shown to have
continued through to Upper II.
It is possible that the superficial layers of the mound, which, as will
be recalled, was repeatedly enlarged, belong to Upper I, for a fair
amount of Polychrome wares and Upper I figurines came from the
80 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 141
surface few inches. On the other hand, this material may be un-
conformable surface material, mixed in by plowing. Modern
residence habits favor the aboriginal mounds as bases for dwellings,
and this custom may have prevailed anciently as well.
NONCERAMIC ELEMENTS
While the present report is primarily concerned with pottery and
pottery sequences, there are a few nonceramic traits on whose occur-
rence we have sufficient data to relate them chronologically.
The spectacular and important jade cache from trench 34 has
been placed in Lower II on the basis of the ceramic content of the
mound. Smaller quantities of jade were encountered, associated with
certain burials in trench 30 (see burial inventories, p. 9), assigned
to the same period. Occasional pieces only were found in other
trenches, none in the cuts in the Upper period Small Mound locality.
Apparently, in Lower II jade was more abundant than at any other
time. The variation in color and quality of the jade—from clear
almost grass-green to dull-gray shades—suggests that it may come
from a number of different sources, indicating extensive trade
relations in this period.
Use of stucco is another trait that has temporal significance,
although according to quantity rather than mere presence. In Lower
II mounds, occasional floors, etc., are faced with this material, but most
of the floors, stairways, and other features were faced with clay. It
is in the latest structures, those of Upper II, that this material is
most abundant. As to types of structures, little can be said, for few
could be worked out in detail. The most distinctive architectural
type on which we have information is that of rather long narrow
floor plan, with bays or niches in the walls, known from trenches 32,
34, and 14, in short, from Lower II to Upper II times.
The occurrence of stone yokes and hachas in deposits of known
relation to the ceramic column is of no slight importance for coast
archeology. The yoke (trench 380), it is true, is plain, as is another
in the purchase collection; the hacha (from trench 34) is elaborately
carved. Both belong to Lower II cache lots—the same period in
which occur the small variants of Laughing Face figurines, and pre-
sumably those of the classic variety which come from nearby Cerro
del Gallo. If these several types of objects actually form a complex,
or part of a complex, as has been suggested in the past, we have for
the first time a definite temporal placing for it.
UNPLACED ELEMENTS
There are a few objects in the collections from purchase sources
which are not represented in the excavations. Among these are two
Drucker] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 81
dottles, one of Plain ware, one of Black ware, with vertical handles
and appliqué Tlaloc faces, of the type found on the slopes of the
volcanoes of the Highland (pl. 24). Presumably they are refer-
ible to Upper I. The Aztec-type figurines have already been men-
jioned. They probably relate to Upper Il. The one Plumbate
vessel recovered, because of its intrusive location, cannot be placed,
aor can it serve for dating purposes—it may very well have been
preserved for a considerable time before its placing in the pit.
: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND CHRONOLOGY
i This final chapter aims at an interpretation of the data presented
yn this site in the Mistequilla of Veracruz. In accordance with the
xoal originally stated, this interpretation will attempt to place the
site on the basis of its ceramics both in relation to neighboring and
vetter- known cultures and in time. To do this, we shall pass in review
he Cerro de las Mesas horizons established on the basis of stra-
igraphy, together with their principal diagnostic features.
| Stratigraphic excavations in refuse deposits have served to estab-
ish two main ceramic periods which we have designated Upper and
Lower. The Lower divides into two subperiods, I and IT, and a
subdivision of the Upper has been marked off on the basis of the
lightly divergent content of mounds which overlie deposits contain-"
ng Upper I material. It must be made clear that the differentiation
nto periods and subperiods has no connotation of populational change
xr succession of cultures. If the ceramic evidence can be taken as
‘epresentative of the total culture, we have to do with a single culture
ind presumably population, in which patterns changed owing to nor-
nal processes of internal culture growth and absorption of external
nfluences.
The characteristics of the various temporal divisions can be listed
riefly. For purposes of presentation, we shall begin with the earliest,
uower I. The ceramic pattern is an essentially simple one, consist-
ng mainly of Monochrome wares: Brown, Red, Black, and White,
vith one Bichrome, Red-on-Brown. Small amounts of Negative
-ainted ware, usually Red-on-Brown, more rarely Black-on-White, are
ound in this horizon also. The most common vessel shapes are
imple silhouette shallow bowls; composite silhouette bowls also
ecur, but less commonly. Tripod supports (hollow subconical legs)
nd occasional “ring” (low annular) bases, and spouted vessels occur,
s well. Decoration, aside from the simple angular patterns of
ted-on-Brown ware and the lines and dots of Negative Painted ware,
onsists in geometric incising. Red paint was often rubbed into the
‘rooves to accentuate the pattern. Figurines, to judge by the limited
ampling at our disposal, consisted of the hand-made type with punc-
82 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 141
tations to represent features, common all along the east coast from
the Huasteca to the Maya area. Specifically, the forms represented
are variants of that designated Tres Zapotes subtype A, an unspecial-
ized form, which is of long duration at that site, first appearing in the
Lower period; of another designated Tres Zapotes subtype D, which
belongs to the Middle and possibly Upper periods at the type station;
and two specialized local forms (G and H), which fit typologically
into the elaborated varieties of Middle Tres Zapotes.
In the following period, Lower II, the same wares (except for White
ware, which nearly disappears) and types continue, with the addition
of certain new elements. A painted ware, called “Untempered” be-
cause of its distinctive paste type, which is related on the one hand
to Tres Zapotes Polychrome and on the other to late wares of central
and northern Veracruz and-to Fine Orange, appears in small quan-
tities, along with certain local Polychromes, a “Stucco Painted” ware,
and miscellaneous varieties of Bichrome. None of these innovations
is abundant. In regard to vessel forms, there appear concave-side
jars, with ornaments about the base, and frequently with hollow slab
legs—a shape-type strongly reminiscent of Teotihuacin. Slender
jars with bulbous bases and tripod supports also appear on this level.
In addition to the normal type of incising, there occurs a broad-line
“scraped” decoration. Figurine types are quite varied. In addition
to local specializations of the hand-made punctate pattern, there
appear forms referable to Rancho de las Animas, and, as well, a
variety of mold-made types, including elaborate variant Laughing
Face forms. While there is undoubtedly a chronological succession of
these forms, we are unfortunately not able to define it on the basis of
the material at hand. Obviously, Cerro de las Mesas received in-
fluences from various quarters, and what with the effects of time lag
in diffusion, and perhaps the conservatism of a peripheral site, some
traits co-occur there which in their original sources are probably
sharply differentiated in time. In addition to figurines, there appear
for the first time large free-modeled idols of clay, which have been
included with their elaborate pedestals under the head of “Monu-
mental ware.” Belonging to this period are the only examples of
stone yokes and hachas recovered.
As in the preceding instance, the change from Lower II to Upper I
is marked not by change of wares and types but rather by the addition
of new elements, accompanied by changes in emphasis, i. e., quantita-
tive changes, on certain wares. Polychrome wares in general become
more numerous, and there appears a new variety, Complicated Poly-
chrome, which is very closely related to the Cholula ware designated
by Noguera as “Cer4mica policroma laca.” Zoomorphic vessel legs,
Drucker] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 83
bowls with molded decoration on the base, and very flat molded fig-
urines unmistakably of Cholulteca type accompany this Highland
ware, apparently integral parts of the transported complex. Black-
and-White-on-Red ware is a pretty certain indicator of Highland in-
fluence. There is also a Black-on-Red Incised ware, common, to judge
by the number of examples figured, in Cerro Montoso deposits, as well
as in Cholulteca and late Valley of Mexico sites. Flutes with modeled
ornaments (painted pellets of clay) are among the diagnostic features
of the period. }
Upper II is, as has been stated, an imperfectly defined unit, based
chiefly on material from mounds superimposed on Upper I strata.
Of nonceramic features, greatest use of stucco for structural purposes
and presence of copper (small quantities only have been found) are
outstanding. As far as we can tell, there is but little ceramic change;
handles with zoomorphic ornament, tall pitchers with vertically placed
cylindrical handles, stepped flat slab legs, large clay tubes, and a few
pieces of Tan Polychrome ware (a type represented on the Isla de
los Sacrificios) are the only new features. Probably the few Aztec
figurines collected from the surface of the site, surely trade pieces,
are referable to this period.
In the absence of internal evidence from the deposits themselves,
we are forced to rely on comparative evidence for the chronological
placing of the Cerro de las Mesas ceramic column. Fortunately,
there are a series of traits which are not just resemblances but are
identical to diagnostic features of established sequences elsewhere.
It can be shown that the order of appearance of these imported traits
at Cerro de las Mesas conforms quite well to their sequence in their
presumed centers of origin, a fact which justified their use as time
markers.
Beginning again with the earliest local period, we find two Highland
elements, Negative Painting and Incised Outline Red-on-Brown ware.°
The former occurs in Teotihuacan I, the latter, a more specific parallel,
in Teotihuacan late [I—early III. The figurine types, or rather sub-
types, are all of them referable to Middle Tres Zapotes. These ele-
ments in combination, suggest a beginning date corresponding approx-
imately with that of Teotihuacan III for the earliest defined period at
Cerro de las Mesas.
Lower II similarly has some features of probably Highland pro-
venience. Most, if not all, of these belong to Teotihuacan late III to
IV-V : concave-walled jars with hollow slab legs, and ornaments about
basal angle; vessels with vertical modeled Jugs (also Upper Tres
Zapotes) ; supported-spout vessels (also Upper Tres Zapotes) ; stucco-
painted ware; elaborate mold-made figurines (technique rather than
®The writer is indebted to Dr. Noguera for information as to the temporal placing of
these and other Teotihuacan elements referred to here.
84 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Buwu, 141
detail of type is critical here). In addition to these features, we find
figurines of a type related to those of Rancho de las Animas, for
which a late Teotihuacin dating has been suggested, and variants
of the well-known Laughing Face figurine pattern, which recur
in Upper Tres Zapotes.° It seems reasonable enough, all in all, to
propose for Lower II a rough contemporaneity with the final epochs
of Teotihuacan, especially since it is followed directly, in Upper I, by
Cholulteca elements. More puzzling in their suggested temporal
relationships are a number of Monte Alban II elements: potstands,
“raspada” decoration, and certain specific vessel shapes—tall slender
spouted forms, squat tripod jars (“stucco” paint is also referable to
this period at Monte Albin). Undoubtedly, these traits represent
survivals in a peripheral region.
The identification of the Complicated Polychrome ware of Upper I
as a direct derivative of the Cholulteca I (and II) lacquer ware need
not be gone into at length here. Its companion elements—zoo-
morphic vessel supports, relief-decorated (molded) bowl] bases, flutes
with modeled ornament, the low-relief molded figurines (which in-
clude Tlalocs, typical of Cholulteca I-II)—establish the source of
influence beyond question of doubt (Noguera, 1937). Presence of
Black-on-Red Incised ware, which is known also from late Valley
of Mexico sites and Cerro Montoso (a few examples have been found
associated with the late Soncautla complex at Tres Zapotes), cor-
roborates the temporal equation of Upper I with Cholulteca I? The
only anomalous feature is the absence (in any Cerro de las Mesas
horizon) of the ware with “decoracién negra sobre fondo color natural
del barro,” common in Cholulteca I. Perhaps this was an everyday
ware not deemed worth carrying long distances for trade, or worth
imitating. The Dull Buff Polychrome resembles it closely in char-
acteristic application of paint directly on an unprepared vessel sur-
face, and probably replaces the Highland ware in the local pattern.
Upper II, with its Isla de los Sacrificios linkages, pitchers with
cylindrical vertical handles (Mixtec, late Valley of Mexico), stepped
slab vessel supports (Cholulteca II, Aztec), and copper (Cerro Mon-
toso, ete.) is unquestionably late. Its terminal date may be as-
sumed, however, to fall short of Conquest times by a brief space,
chiefly on the basis of the scarcity of the copper objects so abundant
in Veracruz at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards.1* Probably
it would be safe to place this final phase as the equivalent of most
of Cholulteca IT, and of all but the last of the Aztec periods of the
Valley of Mexico.
10 San Marcos type figurines, characteristic of Upper Tres Zapotes, also occur in this level.
11 Examples of this ware occur in Joyce, 1927, pp. 119, 121.
2 Specimens in Museo Nacional de México; Strebel, 1885-1889, passim.
13 Nothing suggesting contact or early colonial material was found by us, or seen in the
region.
Drucker] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 85
In effect, there exists at Cerro de las Mesas a continuous ceramic
column extending back from the fifteenth century to a point roughly
equivalent to that of the beginning of Teotihuacan III. It is un-
fortunate that Teotihuacin culture, a dynamic civilization from
which surged waves of influences far and wide over Mexico, has been
so difficult to date on empiric evidence. So far, we have only specu-
lative estimates for its placing. If the Cerro de las Mesas stelae
with 9th Cycle dates were clearly associated with any single phase
at the site, we would have a clean-cut dating not only for Cerro de
las Mesas but for whichever Highland period that phase was af-
filiated with. In view of the occurrence of these monuments along
with others of distinct art styles, and all on a many-times rebuilt
plaza, they cannot be assigned with assurance to any one period.
It is tempting to consider the implications of a Lower I placing of
the stones. Lower I, and consequently Teotihuacin late Il-early
III, would perforce be carried back to the sixth century (according
to the Thompson correlation). Such a placing would fit the Lower
I-Middle Tres Zapotes contemporaneity established on figurine cor-
respondences, for Middle Tres Zapotes has been dated 400-800 A. D.
on the basis of linkages to the well-dated Petén. However, in the
Veracruz area, where stone monuments were dragged about and re-
used long after their origin, it is difficult, if not impossible, to relate
them to any particular ceramic horizon.
In one sense, the Cerro de las Mesas explorations contribute but
little to our knowledge of Veracruz archeology. It is scarcely to be
expected that the diagnostic features of its ceramics will be found
to be widespread in the State.* Rather we have to do with an en-
clave of Highland culture, transplanted to the coast. Emphasis
has been put, in the foregoing discussion, on relationships of the
Upper period wares and figurines to those of late Cholula, but un-
doubtedly one should read “late Mixteca” for “Cholulteca.” It is
only because the Puebla site is so well known that ceramic parallels
to it stand out with such prominence. The strong ties of Cholula
to Tlaxcala and southward to the heart of the Mixteca in Oaxaca
(cf. Noguera, 1937) make such an interpretation valid. In short, the
modern designation of the Cerro de las Mesas region as the “Miste-
quilla” undoubtedly has a sound ethnic derivation.
Just when this Highland immigration occurred is difficult to state.
Certainly there was a strong influx at the end of Lower II, which
resulted in the modified ceramic patterns of Upper I. It will be
recalled that features reminiscent of Teotihuacin IV (which under-
lies the Cholulteca material at Cholula) and certain Monte Albdn-
% However, Sr. Payén, of the Instituto de Antropologta e Historia, has informed me
that his excavations at Cempoala reveal a great number of linkages to the Cerro de las
Mesas Upper, and to the late periods of Cholula.
86 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLv. 141
like traits, however, characterize the phase designated Lower II.
Since this phase is not sharply set off from its predecessor, but rather
emerges gradually from it, we must look to the earliest levels of
Cerro de las Mesas for a previous set of Highland influences, and
possibly immigrations, which were renewed at the end of Lower II
and which continued to the end of the prehistoric occupation of the
site.
There are, nonetheless, certain findings which do bear upon the pre-
history of the Veracruz coast. We may begin by considering the
quantity and type of relationships between this site and Tres Zapotes,
less than 100 miles away in an air line. Aside from the elements im-
ported to both from outside sources, we find these to be, for the most
part, simple generic features, demonstrably early at Tres Zapotes, and
where data are available, widespread in the region. To this category
belong such features as the prevalence of Brown and Black wares,
simple and composite silhouette vessels, Black-and-White ware, and
the hand-made punctate-featured figurine pattern. Aside from these
early presumably basic elements of regional culture, there are very
few indications of direct contact between the two sites. The sloughs
and swamps of intervening drainage systems patently have barred
contact. Very likely, the same situation prevails northward along the
coast, and for the same reason; Strebel’s results, numerous localized
patterns apparently coexistent in central Veracruz with one or the
other of the two major cultures of Cerro Montoso and Rancho de las
Animas, seem to bear out this hypothesis. In short, Highland cultures
were for the coast-dwellers more accessible, for practical purposes
nearer, than those of people on the other side of a river valley.
Whether the same is true of the region of the long terrace systems
flanking the escarpment of the mountains is as yet unknown, and in
default of detailed local knowledge, unpredictable. Perhaps this zone
formed a north-south highway for culture transfer, feeding the side
roads, to continue the figure, which branched off to each interriverine
region of the coast.
Of more than slight importance, from the areal point of view, is
the occurrence of stone yokes, hachas, and Laughing Face figurines
in Lower II. If these objects actually constitute a complex, as has been
surmised from their nearly coterminous distribution, that complex
obviously cannot be identified with the historic Totonac. 'Totonac
archeology is more likely Cerro Montoso, as Spinden (1933) has sug-
gested, and/or a series of the affiliated local specializations that Strebel
has described.
The history of the so-called Untempered ware, with its suggested
relationship to Tres Zapotes Polychrome, late central and northern
Veracruz ceramics, and Fine Orange deserves not only attention but
DrucKER] CERAMIC STRATIGRAPHY, CERRO DE LAS MESAS 87
serious investigation. This ware, with its distinctive paste type (and
therefore presumably distinct technology of preparation and firing),
its separate set of shapes, and different slip and paint types hints at
a center of development as yet unknown. Central and northern Vera-
eruz, as well as the southern part of the State, cry out for archeological
investigation. Strebel’s work, admirable for its day, does not satisfy
modern standards of research.
To summarize, the excavations at Cerro de las Mesas suggest solu-
tions of various regional problems—the extent of certainty varies in
each case. The following chart presents these results in graphic form.
It aims at coordinating data in the light of present knowledge, and,
like sailing schedules, is “subject to revision without notice” as addi-
tional information from the area may demand. The column of Mexico-
Puebla sequences has been taken from published sources; that referring
to Central Veracruz is, of course, a hypothetical reconstruction. In
the chart, solid horizontal lines indicate major culture changes; broken
lines, transitions from one to another horizon of the same culture.
| Southern Veracruz
| Mexico-Puebla ea K Central Veracruz
| ON oS Tres Zapotes
1500 Cholulteca ITT. (Unoccupied). Isla de los Sacrificios, Cempo-
Aztec IW-IV. 9° |—-—-———-——— (Unoecupied). ala (Historic Totonac).
ese ENTS OAS Hie tar as Ted Upper II. a fee n table nee eee cc asec l iced
Choluitecaili wa A eee As Soncautla complex. Cerro Montoso (Totonac)
Aztec I-II. Upper I. — -—-————— - - and minor local patterns.
ES AS TE NS pe (Unoccupied).
Cholulteca I.
Mazapan, etc.
1000|—— SS | ee ee SS ESS
Teotihuacan IV-V. Lower II. Upper Tres Zapotes. Yoke-hacha-Laughing Face
zig Age 5 Ue See SER Es gee Cs BL | Opel a | 2 ree ON Peer e complex.
Teotihuacan ITI. Lewer I. Middle Tres Zapotes. |———.——_____ — —
LO se 5 sical A eS ee ——— Rancho de las Animas.
Teotihuacan IT. (Umoccupied) S|) 222s SF
hg Pops S peta ae Peli oe ooo Lower Tres Zapotes. Beginnings of local special-
Teotihuacan I. ization, stemming from
1A4.D./————— ——_—-—— — Basie Coastal Pattern?
HarkyalViiddile: Gulturessie pee. te 9) lease se eee ae [Ses oe. Ae ee ose
a Basic Coastal Pattern extending from (at least) Playa de los Muertos
Preceramic Highland to the Petén to southern Veracruz, and, perhaps, on to Central
Pattern? Veracruz.
FIGURE 210.—Chart of culture sequences at Cerro de las Mesas, based on ceramic data.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Caso, A.
1938. Exploraciones en Oaxaca, temporado 1936-37. Inst. Panam. Geog. é
Hist., Publ. No. 34. Mexico.
DRUCKER, PHILIP
1948. Ceramic sequences from Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, Mexico. Bur. Amer.
Kthnol. Bull. 140.
GALDO, ¥ VILLA, J.
1912. Las Ruinas de Cempoala ... An. Mus. Nae., vol. 3, App. pp. xev—clxii.
JoYcE, THOMAS A.
1927. Maya and Mexican art. London.
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Linnge, S.
1934. Wechacoteetal researches at Teotihuacan, Mexico. Stockholm.
NocurrRaA, E.
1935. La cerAmica de Tenayuca y las excavaciones estratigraphicas. I
Tenayuca, Estudio Arquedlogico, Dept. de Mon. de la Sec. de Ed
Publ., pp. 140-201.
1987. Conclusiones principales obtenidas por el estudio de la ceramica arque
6logica de Cholula, Mexico. (Mimeographed.)
1937 a. El Altar de los Craneos Esculpidos de Cholula, Mexico.
NOvVELO, R. J. CABALLOS
1928. Cempoala. In Estado Actual de los... Hdificios ..., Sec. de Hd
Publ., pp. 43-61.
NUTTALL, ZELIA
1910. The Island of Sacrificios. Amer. Anthrop., n. s., vol. 12, pp, 257-295.
Savitz, M. H.
1916. The glazed ware of Central America. In Holmes Anniv. Vol., pp
421-426.
SELER, EDWARD
1915. Die Teotiuacan-Kultur des Hochlands von Mexiko. Gesamm. Abhandl.
bd. 5, pp. 405-585. Berlin.
SPINDEN, E. 8.
1933. The place of Tajin in Totonac archaeology. Amer. Anthrop., n. s., vol.
35, pp. 225-270.
SPINDEN, HERBERT J.
1927. Study dead city of “Rubber People.” N. Y. Times, Sunday, May 1.
Stmiine, MatrHEw W.
1940. Great stone faces of the Mexican jungle. Nat. Geogr. Mag., vol. 78,
No. 3, pp. 309-334.
1941. Expedition unearths buried masterpieces of carved jade. Nat. Geog?
Mag., vol. 80, No. 3, pp. 277-302.
1943. Stone monuments of Southern Mexico. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 138.
STREBEL, H.
1884. Die Ruinen von Cempoallen . . . Abhandl. des Naturwiss. Vereins.
Hamburg, vol. 8, pt. 1.
1885-1889. Alt-Mexiko. Archidol Beitr. z. Kulturgesch. Seiner Bewohner. 2
vols. Hamburg u. Leipzig.
VAILLANT, GEORGE C.
1935. Chronology and stratigraphy in the Maya area. Maya Res., vol. 2,
pp. 119-1438.
1938. A correlation of archaelogical and historical sequences in the Valley
of Mexico. Amer. Anthrop., n. s., vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 585-578.
1941. The Aztecs of Mexico. N. Y.
WEIANT, C. W.
1943. An introduction to the ceramics of Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, Mexico.
Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 139.
iil
“INDEX
Alabaster, green, translucent, celt and
sphere, 14
Altar, clay, 13
Alvarado, Bay of, 1, 15
Analysis of ceramic data in relation to
better-known cultures and to time,
81-87
of mound materials, 77
Archeological divisions (Cerro de las
Mesas site), description of, 2-4
Central Mound Group, 2-8, 5-14, 26
Occupational area, 3, 14-19
Small Mound Locality, 3, 19-26
Southern edge of site (trenches §
and 9), 26
Western Mound Group, 26
Awl, 5
Axes, 14
Aztec, 47, 51, 81, 83, 84
Bay of Alvarado, see Alvarado, Bay of.
Beads, jade, 10, 13
burial association, 7, 12
Bichrome wares, 59, 82
miscellaneous, 44
Red-and-White, 44
Red-on-Cream, 44
White-and-Brown, 44. See also
Brown-and-White Bichrome
ete.
Black-and-White-on-Red ware, 50, 51
distribution, vertical, 71, 72-73, 74
indicator of Highland influence, 82
paste, 50
slip, 50
vessel form, 50, 62
Black-and-White ware, 27, 86
distribution, vertical, 70, 72-73, 74
paste, 44
slip, 44
vessel form, 44, 62
Black-on-Red Incised ware, 51, 83, 84
comparison with Red-on-Orange
Incised ware, 54
decorative technique, 51
distribution, vertical, 71, 72-73, 74
paste, 51
slip, 51
vessel shape, 62
Black-on-Red ware variant, 50
Black-on-White ware, 81
Black ware, 27, 38-89, 45, 77, 81, 86
bottle, from purchase source, 81
decoration, 39
distribution, vertical, 70, 72-78, 74
paste, 39
slip, 38
vessel form, 39, 62
Blanco, Rio, 1, 3
506988—43——_7
Blowguns, 67
Borrow pits, 3-4, 19
Bottles, from purchase sources, like type
found in Highland, 81
Black ware, 81
Plain ware, 81
Bowls, 23, 44, 50
and dishes, shapes, 60
Brown-and-White Bichrome ware, ver-
tical distribution, 72-73, 74
See also White-and-Brown Bi-
chrome ware.
Brown Polychrome ware, 48-50, 54, 76
decoration, 50
distribution, vertical, 71, 72-73, 74
paste, 49
slip, 48-49
vessel shape, 62
Brown ware, 26, 27, 34-86, 38, 39, 45, 48,
49, 56, 59, 79, 81, 86
decorative technique, 35
distribution, vertical, 70, 72-78, 74
paste, 34-35 ;
slip, 34
vessel shape, 62
Burialseo: Gos 0wst2) 23725
associations, important,
child, associations, 13
copper ornaments, 21
secondary, 7
facial portions of skulls, in pottery
containers, 8
in ollas, 238 +,
mound, 8-9
principal features of, tabula-
tion showing, 9
Occupational Zone, features of in-
terest, 17-18
comparison with mound bur-
ials, 17-18
data on, tabulation, 18
secondary, 13, 17, 28
with shell near face, 8, 18
Cache associations (trenches 30 and
34), 77, 79, 80
skulls in covered pots, 28, 24
Carved ware, sherds of various wares
found with carved decorations, 58
nonoccurrence as distinct ceramic
type, 58
Central Mound Group, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 14, 26
period of, indicated, 77
Central Mound Group trenches, 5-14, 26
trench 1, test pit, 26
trench 7, structural section, 6-7
trench 12, structural section, 7
trench 15, structural section, 7
trench 16, structural section, 8
89
Uy OS,
90
Central Mound Group trenches—Cont.
trench 380, structural section, 8
trench 81, structural section, 9-10,
19
trench 32, structural section, 10-11 |
trench 33, structural section, 11
trench 34, structural section, 11-14
Central Veracruz, sequences, reference |
to, 87 |
Ceramic column, 9, 77, 79
continuity, 70-71, 72-73, 85
See also Chronology of ceramic
column.
Ceramic data, analysis of, 81-87
Ceramic periods (Lower I, Lower II,
Upper I, Upper II), characteristics,
81-83
comparison of Cerro de las Mesas
features with established se-
quences elsewhere, 83-87
defined, 71
Lower I, 71, 78, 76, 81-82, 83
Lower II, 71, 72, 73, 76, 77, 79, 80,
82, 83-84
Upper I, 71, 72, 78, 76, 77, 79-80,
82-83, 84
Upper II (hypothetical period), 71,
73, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 838, 84
Cerro Montoso, 34, 51, 83, 84, 86
relationship, suggested, to Untem-
pered ware, 34
Cholula, 48, 56, 64, 85
late, 85
ware, 82
Cholulteca, 48, 51, 83, 84, 85
Cholulteca I, 47, 84
Cholulteca I-II, 84
Cholulteca IT, 84
Cholulteca type figurines, 85
Christian chronology, 85
Chronology of ceramic column, 81-87
Christian, 85
comparative evidence, 83-87
continuity, 70-71, 85
date, earliest, suggested by compari-
sons, 838
in relation to cache associations, 77,
79, 80
clay objects, minor, 76
figurine stratigraphy, 73
mound cuts, 77
nonceramic elements, 80
purchase elements, 80-81
vessel shapes, 73, 76
ware stratigraphy, 69-73
periods:
Lower I, 8&3
Lower II, 83-84
Upper I, 84
Upper II, 84
stelae with 9th Cycle dates, 85
Classification of figurines, 63
of wares, 26-27
Clay objects, 66-69, 83
allocation of according to period, 76
occurrence in Mound Groups, 77, 78
INDEX
Climate of Cerro de las Mesas, 2 (ftn.)
Coarse Red-rimmed bowls, 56
distribution, vertical, 71, 72-73, 74
paste, 56
unslipped, 56
use, 56
vessel shape, 62
Cocuite, 2
Collections from purchase sources, 80-81
Comales, 56-57
distribution, vertical, 71, 72-73, 74
paste, 56
unslipped, 56
use, 56
vessel shape, 61, 62
Comparison of Cerro de las Mesas fea-
tures with established sequences else-
where, 83
Complicated Polychrome ware, 48, 54,
82, 84
decoration, 48
distribution, vertical, 71, 72, 738, 74
paste, 48
slip, 48
vessel shape, 62
Conquest times, in relation to Upper II
dating, 84
Copper, 83, 84
ornaments, burial association, 21
Coral, 10, 18
Cultural remains, see Deposits, nature
of.
Culture sequences at Cerro de las
Mesas, based on ceramic data, chart
showing, 87
single, indicated by ceramic evi-
dence, 81
Cylinders (tubes), clay, 66, 68, 76, 83
example found at Ranchito locality,
Tres Zapotes, 68-69
occurrence in connection with Za-
potecan tombs, 69
See also ‘“‘Pipe-lines.”
Date, beginning, suggested for earliest
period at Cerro de las Mesas, 83
of ceramic column, 85
Decoration, 34, 39, 45-48, 50, 51, 54, 57, 81
seraped, 76, 77, 82, 84
Deposits, nature of, 4-5
Description of site, 2-4
of vessel shapes, 60-61
Dishes and bowls, description of shapes,
Distribution :
clay objects according to period, 76
stratigraphic, of figurines, 73, 75, 76
of wares, 69-72, 73, 74
vessels shapes according to period,
73, 76
to ware, tabulation, 62
Dull Buff Polychrome, 45-48, 50, 84
decoration, 45-48
distribution, vertical, 71, 72, 73, 74
paste, 45
INDEX
Dull Buff Polychrome—Continued
reminiscent of wares of Cholulteca
I and early Aztec, 47
slip, 45
vessel shape, 62
Dunes, sand, 15, 16
Earplugs, jade, 13
Effigy vessels, 76
small, 61
“El Coyol’ region, 15
“Bl Rio” (the river), 1, 3
Excavations in 1941, see Trenches.
Figurines, 7, 12, 18, 26, 63-66, 75, 76, 77,
78, 79, 81, 82, 85 ”
classification, 63
period referable to, 83, 84
stratigraphy, 73
types and subtypes, key to, 63-66
Fine-line Black-on-White ware, 54, 77
decoration, 54
paste, 54
slip, 54
trade ware, probably, 54
vessel form, 54
Fine Orange ware, 34, 59, 82, 86
relationship to Untempered ware,
34, 59
sherds, none found identifiable, 59
Firepit, circular, 25
Floors, architectural type most distinc-
tive, 80
burned clay, 12
stucco, 9, 12, 19, 20, 21, 23, 80
Flutes, clay, with modeled ornament,
66-67, 76, 83, 84
Geography of site, 1-4
Hand-made appliqué figurines (type
IV), 64-65, 75, 76, 78
punctate figurines (type I), 638, 73,
75, 76, 78
Head, figurine, life-sized, bearded, 12
Honduras, 59
Horizons, ceramic, two major, 71
See also Upper I, Upper II, Lower
I, Lower II.
Huasteca, 82
Idols, large free-molded (type X, Mon-
umental ware), 66, 75, 76, 78
comparison with large figures from
the Highland, 57
pedestal found, 12
period assigned to, 79
Ignacio de la Llave, 2
Incensarios, 7, 10, 26
fragments, 13, 21, 23
“frying-pan,” 61, 76
Incised Outline Red-on-Brown ware,
temporal placing, 83
Instituto de Antropologia e Historia, 85
Intrusive pit, trench 15, 7
mentioned, 25
Isla de los Sacrificios, 54, 83, 84
Jade cache, spectacular, found in trench
34, 138-14, 79, 80
beads, 10, 13
burial associations, 7, 12
91
Jade cache, spectacular, found in
trench 34—Continued
color and quality variations indi-
cate trade relations, 80
period allocated to, 79, 80
reference to, 11
Jars and vases, description of shapes, 60
Key to figurine types, 63-66
“ladles,” description of shape, 61
Large flat mold-made figurines (type
III), 64, 78, 75, 76, 78
Laughing Face figurines (type VIII),
65, 75, 76, 78, 82, 84
subtype B (small variants), 65, 73,
75, 76
temporal relation to
yokes and hachas, 80, 86
La Venta, 44
Linné, S., 57
Lower horizon (zone, period), 71, 77, 81,
82. See also Upper I, Upper II,
Lower I, Lower II.
Lower I (period), 71, 72, 73, 76, 81-82, 83
—Middle Tres Zapotes contempora-
neity, 85
Lower II (period), 71, 72, 73, 76, 77, 79,
80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86
comparative features, 83
jade most abundant in, apparently,
80
stone
Lower (Tres Zapotes) period, reference
to, 82
Manos, 5 .
Masks and maskettes (figurines, type
TEXS) 5) Gy WD, 00,
Maya, 82
Mazapan horizon, mentioned, 57
Metates, 5
Mexican Highland, 50, 57, 59, 83, 84, 85,
86
Mexico-Puebla sequences, reference to,
87 .
Mexico, Valley of, 88, 84
Mica, pieces of, 10
Middle Tres Zapotes, 82, 83
Mistequilla, 81, 85
Mixteca, 59, 85
Mixtee, late Valley of Mexico, 84
Modern ware, vertical distribution, 74
Mold-made appliqué figurines (type V),
65, 75, 76, 78
Mold-made open-backed figurines (type
VI), 65, 75, 76, 78
Mold-made spindle whorls, 76
Monochrome ware, 45, 49, 59
Monte Alban, 84
Monte Alban I-II, 37
Monte Alban II, 84
Monte Albdnlike traits, reference to, 85
Monumental ware, 57, 79, 82
decoration, 57
distribution, vertical, 72-73, 74
form, 57
paste, 57
slip, 57
Monument Plaza, 12
92
Mound materials, burials, 8-9
relation to ceramic column, 77
type saved, 77
value of, 6
Museo Nacional de Mexico, 54
National Geographic Society—Smithso-
nian Institution Expedition, 1
Negative Painted ware, 88, 81
distribution, vertical, 74
temporal placing, 83
vessel shape, 62
Noguera, Dr. H., 48, 82, 83
Nonceramie elements, 80
temporal significance, 80
Oaxaca, 59, 85
Obsidian, 5
Occupancy of Cerro de las Mesas, begin-
ning of in relation to physical fea-
tures, 4, 16
Occupational area trenches, 14-19
trench 2, test pit, 14, 15
trench 3, test pit, 18, 19
trench 4, test pit, 14
trench 5, test pit, 18-19
trench 10, test pit, 14, 15, 16
trench stratitest (incomplete),
14
trench stratitest, 14, 15, 16-17
trench 17, test pit, 14, 15
trench test pit, 14, 15
trench test pit,
trench test pit,
trench test pit,
trench test pit,
trench test pit, 14, 15, 16
trench test pit, 14, 16
trench 26, test pit, 14
trench test pit, 18, 19
trench test pit, 18, 19
Occupational zone (area, locality), 3, 8
Ollas, 58
covered with bowls, 23
description of shapes, 61
Plain ware, 17
Panama-shell ornaments, 13
Paso del Bote, 3
Paste, Black-and-White-on-Red ware, 50
Black-and-White ware, 44
Black-on-Red Incised ware, 51
Black ware, 39
Brown Polychrome ware, 49
Brown ware, 34-85
Coarse Red-rimmed bowls, 56
Comales, 56
Complicated Polychrome ware, 48
Dull Buff Polychrome ware, 45
Fine-line Black-on-White ware, 54
Monumental ware, 57
Plain ware, 58
Polished Brown ware, 37
Red-on-Brown ware, 38
Red ware, 37
Untempered ware, 27
White ware, 44
Payon, Sr., 85 (ftn.)
Pellets, clay, 66, 67, 76, 83
Periods, see Ceramic periods.
INDEX
Petén, 85
Physiography of Occupational
change in, significance, 15
“Pipe-lines,” 20, 26, 68, 76
Smal]l Mound Locality, 68
See also Cylinders (tubes), clay.
Plain ware, 17, 58, 79
bottle, from purchase source, 81
form, ollas chiefly, 58
paste, 58
vessel shape, 62
Plumbate ware, 59, 81
whistling jar, 7, 59
similarity to one from Hon-
duras, 59 2
Polished Brown ware, 36-87, 77, 79
distribution, vertical, 71, 72-78, 74
paste, 37
similarity to Polished Gray ware, 37
slip, 36
vessel shape, 62
Polished Gray ware, 37
ae ware, 26, 27, 47, 54, 59, 77,
79, 82
distribution, vertical, 71, 72-73, 74
miscellaneous elements, 54, 56
See also Brown Polychrome, Com-
plicated Polychrome, Dull Buff
Polychrome, Tan Polychrome.
Potreros,” or “cienegas” (prevailing
land form), 2, 3, 19
Potstands, 61
Pottery, see Wares.
Puebla, 59, 85
Punctate hand-made subtype figurines,
A, D, G, H, stratigraphy, 73, 75, 76
Purchase material, unplaced in ceramic
column, 80-81
Ranchito locality, Tres Zapotes, “pipe-
line” found, 68
Rancho de las Animas, 82, 84, 86
Red-and-White Bichrome, 44
distribution, vertical, 72, 74
Red-on-Brown Incised ware, distribu-
tion, vertical, 72-73, 74
Red-on-Brown ware, 26, 38, 44, 45, 47,
58, 81
distribution, vertical, 70, 72-73, 74
paste, 388
slip, 38
subclasses, three, 38
Red-on-Cream ware, 44
Red-on-Orange Incised ware, 54
decoration, 54
distribution, vertical, 71, 72, 73, 74
paste, 54
Slip, 54
vessel shape, 54, 62
Red ware, 26, 37, 47, 81
decoration, 37
distribution, vertical, 70, 72-738, 74
paste, 37
slip, 37
vessel shape, 37, 62
Rims, 27, 47, 56, 57, 58, 77
area,
INDEX
Rings, double, clay, 69, 76
distribution, vertical, sharply. de-
limited, 69
Rio Blanco, 1, 3
San Marcos mold-made figurines (type
VII), 65, 75, 76, 78
Seals, clay, 66, 67
Shells, 8, 9, 18, 79
carved in form of face, 13
ceremonial use of, 8-9, 18
Sherds, 5
counts, 70
mound, type saved, 77
zoomorphie pottery figure, 10
Sieves, occurrence rare, probably impor-
tations, 59
Site, Cerro de las Mesas, description of,
2-4
divisions, archeological, 2-3
geography of, 1-4
Skeletal remains, 4, 5, 7, 8, 72, 13, 17,
21, 28, 24, 25
Skulls, see Skeletal remains.
Slip, Black-and-White-on-Red ware, 50
Black and White ware, 44
Black-on-Red Incised ware, 51
Black ware, 38
Brown Polychrome ware, 49
Brown ware, 34
Comales, 56
Complicated Polychrome ware, 48
Dull Buff Polychrome ware, 45
Fine-line Black-on-White ware, 54
Monumental ware, 57
Polished Brown ware, 36
Red-on-Brown ware, 38
Red ware, 37
Untempered ware, 27
White ware, 44
Small flat mold-made figurines (type
II), 64, 78, 75, 76, 78
Small Mound Locality, 3, 10, 19, 26, 80
period of, indicated, 77
“pipe-line” in, 68
Small Mound Locality trenches, 19-26
trench 14 and 14—-A, structural sec-
tion, 19-20
trench 19, structural section, 19,
21-23
trench 40, structural section, 19, 20,
23-24
trench 41, structural section, 19,
20-21
trench 42, stratitest, 19, 21, 24-26,
6
Soneautla complex at Tres Zapotes, 84
Southern-edge-of-site trenches (8 and 9)
test pits, 26
Spaniards, 84
Spinden, E. S., 86
Spindle whorls, 66, 76
mpontes vessels, description of shapes,
Stairs (stairway), 7, 11, 12, 18, 80
Stelae with 9th Cycle dates, reference
ta SA
93
Stirling, M. W., 5, 10, 57, 77
jade cache, find of, reference to, 11
leader of National Geographic So-
ciety —Smithsonian Institution
Expedition to Cerro de las Mesas,
in 1941, 1
Stone, monuments, 6, 7
objects found with jade cache, 14
yoke, reported find of, 26
yokes, hachas, and Laughing Face
figurine variants, importance of
occurrence in Lower II, 80, 86
Stratigraphy, 69-81
figurine distribution, 78, 75, 76
ware distribution, 69-78, 74
Strebel, H., 86
Structures, types, 80
Stucco, floor, 9, 12, 19, 20, 21, 238, 24
paint, 84
use, temporal significance of, 79, 80,
83
tueco Painted ware, 45, 62, 82
“Stueeo” or lime, made of calcined
shells and sand, 7
Subtype A, Laughing Face figurines,
large classic, 65
Subtype A, punctate hand-made fig-
urines, 63, 73, 75, 76, 78
Subtype A (Rancho de las Animas type)
hand-made appliqué figurines, 64
Subtype B, a variant of hand-made ap-
pliqué figurines, 65
Subtype B of Laughing Face type fig-
urines, 65, 73, 76, 78, 84
Subtype D, punctate hand-made fig-
urines, 63, 72, 75, 76, 78, 82
Subtype G, punctate hand-made fig-
urines, 63, 78, 75, 76, 78, 82
Subtype H, punctate hand-made fig-
urines, 63, 73, 75, 76, 78, 82
Tan Polychrome ware, 54, 77, 83
similarity to specimens from Isla de
los Sacrificios and from central
Veracruz, 54
White-on-Cream ware,
referred to as, 54
Tarascan, 59
‘Teeth, decorated, in burials, 12, 18
shark, 13
Teotihuacdn, 58, 59, 82, 84
Teotihuacan I, 83
Teotihuacin II-III, 83
Teotihuacéin III, 85
Teotihuacin late II-early III, 838, 85
Thompson correlation, reference to, 85
Tlaloc, decoration on Monumental ware,
57
faces appliqué, 81
figurines, 8+
incensario, 7
Tlaxcala, 85
Totonae, 86
“Totonac” ware, 34
Trade pieces, 638, 83
relations indicated by color and
quality’ variation of jade cache,
80
sometimes
94
INDEX
Trenches, description, 5-26
depths, tabulations showing, 14, 18
series, two, in Occupational area,
14-18, 18-19
tabulation showing number, type,
and locality, 6
Trenches:
1, test pit, Central Mound Group, 26
2, test pit, Occupational area, 14,
1
depth of deposit, 14
3, test pit, Occupational area, 18, 19
depth of deposit, 18
4, test pit, Occupational area, 14
burial found in, 17-18
5, test pit, Occupational area, 18-19
depth of deposit, 18
6, structural section, Western
Mound Group, 26
7, structural section, Central
Mound Group, 6-7
8, test pit, southern edge of site, 26
9, test pit, southern edge of site, 26
10, test pit, Occupational area, 14
depth of deposit, 14, 15, 16
11, stratitest (incomplete), Occupa-
tional area, 14
12, structural section,
Mound Group, 7
13, stratitest, Occupational area, 14,
15, 16-17, 71
burials found in, 17-18
depth of deposit, 14
figurines, vertical distribution,
73, 76
wares, vertical distribution, 72-
73, 74
14 and 14-A, structural sections,
Small Mound Group, 19-20
15, structural section, Central
Mound Group, 7
16, structural section, Central
Mound Group, 8
17, test pit, Occupational area, 14
depth of deposit, 14
18, test pit, Occupational area, 14
depth of deposit, 14
19, structural section, Small Mound
Group, 19, 21-23
20, test pit, Occupational area, 14
depth of deposit, 14
21, test pit, Occupational area, 14
depth of deposit, 14
22, test pit, Occupational area, 14
burial found in, 17-18
depth of deposit, 14
23, test pit, Occupational area, 14
burial found in, 17-18
depth of deposit, 14
Central
24, test pit, Occupational area, 14,| Upper II (hypothetical period), 71, 73,
15, 16
depth of deposit, 14
25, test pit, Occupational area, 14, 16
burial found in, 17-18
depth of deposit, 14
26, test pit, Occupational area, 14
depth of deposit, 14
Trenches—Continued
27, test pit, Occupational area, 18, 19
depth of deposit, 18
28, test pit, Occupational area, 18-19
depth of deposit, 18
30, structural section,
Mound Group, 8
burial associations, 8-9, 77, 79,
Central
jade, small quantity found, 80
period indicated, 77
31, structural section, Central
Mound Group, 9-10
32, structural section, Central
Mound Group, 10-11
burials, 10-11
33, structural section, Central
Mound Group, 11
34, structural section, Central
Mound Group, 11-14
cache material, 12-13, 77, 79
indicative of period, 79, 80
jade, spectacular, 13-14, 80
40, structural section, Small Mound
Group, 19, 20, 23-24
41, structural section, Small Mound
Group, 19, 20-21
42, stratitest, Small Mound Group,
19, 21, 24-26, 76
distribution, vertical, of figu-
rines, 73, 75
of flute with molded orna-
ment, 75
of painted clay pellets, 75
wares, 70, 71, 72-73
48, a discovery pit made by local
people, containing “pipe-line” and
figurines, 26
Tres Zapotes, 58
Tres Zapotes Polychrome, 82
relationship, suggested, to Untem-
pered ware, 34
Tres Zapotes subtype A figurines, 82
subtype D figurines, 82
Tubes, clay, see Cylinders, clay.
Types of figurines, sequences of, 63-66
Unslipped ware, coarse, 20
Untempered ware, 27, 34, 45, 59, 82
decoration, 34
distribution, vertical, 71, 72, 73, 74
paste, 27
relationships, suggested, 34, 86-87
slip, 27
Veracruz region, wide distribution
in, belief, 34
vessel shape, 62
Upper I (period), 71, 72, 78, 76, 77, 79,
80, 82, 83, 84, 85
relation to Cholulteca I, 84
76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82-838, 84
terminal date in relation to Con-
quest times, 84
Upper horizon (zone, period), 71, 77, 80,
81, 85
See also Upper I, Upper II, Lower I,
Lower II.
INDEX
Upper Tres Zapotes, 82, 83, 84
Valley of Mexico, see Mexico, Valley of.
Vases and jars, description of shapes, 60
Veracruz, 84, 85, 86
central, 54, 59, 82, 86, 87
northern, 82, 86, 87
southern, 59, 87
Vessel shapes, 27, 59-62, 82, 84
and features, allocation of accord-
ing to period, 73, 76
description of, 60-61
distribution of, tabulation showing,
Vessels, with contents, 12
spouted, description of, 60
Vessels with Vertical Modeled Lugs, 58,
76, 83
resemblance to Teotihuacin and
Tres Zapotes forms, 58
Wares, Cerro de las Mesas:
Bichrome, miscellaneous, 44
Red-and-White, 44
Red-on-Cream, 44
White-and-Brown, 44
Black, 27, 38-39, 45, 77, 81, 86, 72-73,
74
Black-and-White, 27, 44, 72-73, 74,
86
Black-and-White-on-Red, 50, 51, 71,
72-13, 74, 83
Black-on-Red Incised, 51, 54, 71, 72-
73, 74, 83, 84
Black-on-Red variant, 50
Brown, 26, 27, 34-86, 38, 39, 45, 48,
49, 56, 59, 70, 72-73, 74, 79, 81, 86
Brown Polychrome, 48—560, 54, 71, 72.
73, 74, 76
Carved, 58
classification of, 26-27
Coarse Red-rimmed bowls, 56, 71.
72-78, 74
Comales, 56-57, 61, 71, 72-78, 74
Complicated Polychrome, 48, 54, 71,
(PA TBH ER PA!
distribution, vertical, 71, 72-73, 74
Dull Buff Polychrome, 45-48, 50, 71.
72, 73, 74, 84
C
95
Wares, Cerro de las Mesas—Continued
.Fine-line Black-on-White, 54, 77
Fine Orange, 34, 59, 82, 86
Monumental, 57, 79, 72-78, 74, 79, 82
Negative Painted, 38, 81
occurrence in Mound Groups, 77, 78
Plain, 17, 58, 79, 81
Plumbate, 7, 59, 81
Polished Brown, 36-87, 71, 72-73, 74,
47, 79
Polychrome elements,
ous, 54, 56
Red, 26, 37, 47, 70, 72-73, 74, 81
Red-on-Brown, 26, 38, 44, 45, 47, 70,
72-78, 74, 81
Red-on-Brown Ineised, 72-73, 74
Red-on-Orange Incised, 54, 71, 72,
73, 74
Sieves, 59
Stucco Painted, 45, 62, 82
Untempered, 27, 34, 45, 59, 71, 72,
73, 74, 82, 86
Tan Polychrome, 54, 77, 83
Vessel shapes, 59-62
Vessels with Vertical Modeled Lugs,
58, 76, 88
White, 38, 44, 71, 72-73, 74, 77, 81, 82
Western Mound Group, trench 6, struc-
tural section, 26
Whistling jar, Plumbate ware, 7, 59
White-and-Brown Bichrome ware, 44
White-on-Cream ware, see Tan Poly-
chrome ware.
White-slipped sherds of more than life-
sized figures, 13
White ware, 44, 77, 81, 82
decoration, 44
distribution, vertical, 71, 72-73, 74
paste, 44
sherd (White-slipped), 38
slip, 44
vessel shape, 44, 62
Zapotecan tombs, occurrence of “pipe-
lines” in connection with, mentioned,
68-69
miscellane-
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 1
CERRO DE LAS MESAS POLYCHROME WARES. DULL BUFF POLYCHROME, BROWN
POLYCHROME, BLACK-AND-WHITE-ON-RED, AND COMPLICATED POLYCHROME.
“YOIMSLNI] IMOG ‘SHYOINS LX YVF2SGYAHS ANOYHSOA 10d GALVOITIdWOD
@3ivid lvl NILSTINGA ADOTNIONHL]A NVOIMAWY AO Nvaena
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141
BROWN POLYCHROME BOWL SHERDS.
PLATE 3
:
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ‘ BULLETIN 141 PLATE 4
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TRADE WARES.
a, b, White-on-Cream ware; c-f, Fine-line Black-on-White. (Photographed from water-co!cr
paintings of sherds.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 5
TRADE WARES.
a, b, c, Cerro Montoso (Totonac): a, Brown (misfired Black?)-on-Cinnamon-Buff; lass
Black-White-and-Orange-on-Buff. d, Mixteca Polychrome; Red-White-Black-and-
Gray-on-Orange. (Photographed from water-color paintings.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 6
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TRENCH 30. OBJECTS ASSOCIATED WITH BURIAL II-18.
a, Pottery vessels; b, yoke and figurines to north of vessels. Arrow in a shows location
(in the bank) of yoke and figurines.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
b, Buried stairway, trench 33.
TRENCHES 31 AND 33
BULLETIN 141
PEATEs?
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY : BULLETIN 141 PLATE 8
MONUMENTAL WARE FROM TRENCHES 7 AND 34.
a, b, d, Trench 7. c, e, f, Trench 34, showing different views of single lot of fragments
c, pedestal and various fragments; e, head found inside pedestal; f, covering of fragments
of arms and legs. :
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE
VIEWS OF JADE CACHE, TRENCH 34
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Gl ONV ‘V-Vl ‘€1l ‘Ve SAHONAYL
Ol 31vV1d lvl NILS71NaG ADSDOINONHLA NVODIMAWY AO NVaHNa
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 11
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TRENCH 40.
a and b, Ollas containing skulls; 6 shows relation to stucco layers.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 12
¥
TRENCH 42.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
BURIALS I-1 TO I-6 (a-f).
BULLETIN 141
PLATE 13
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 14
ea
BURIALS I-7 TO I-10 (a-d); BURIAL I-14 (e); BURIAL I-16 (f).
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 15
INCHES
BROWN WARE VESSELS.
a, From trench 34; b, d, e, f, from burial II-3; c, from burial I-5; g, from trench 30; h, from
burial II-20. (Scale of h slightly smaller than remainder.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY =A BULLETIN 141 PLATE 16
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BROWN WARE VESSELS.
a, From trench 34; b, from trench 34 (contained collection of shells ete.); c, d, from burial
I-18; ¢, a unique form; f, from trench 34 (contained collection of shells etc.); g, from
trench 13, at 60 to 72-inch level.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 17
}
IS : ONE (NCH
BROWN WARE OLLAS.
a-f, From trench 10; g, from burial I—3; c-e, fragrnents with impressed miniature footprints;
f, appliqué modeled ornament on olla-body sherd.
(Upper scale applies to a; middle scale to c, d, e, and f; lower scale to g.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
Cc
POLISHED BROWN WARE.
a, From trench 10; 6, c, from burial I-19; d, from trench 34.
of body: 6, 7% inches; c, 834 inches; d,
BULLETIN 141 PLATE 13
(Scales of figures vary.
3% inches.)
Height
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 19
INCHES
}
BLACK WARE VESSELS.
e, Scraped (“raspada’’) decoration; f, post-firing incised; )-f, miniature forms; a, from
burial I-20; b, c, from burial I-5; d-f, from trench 30.
(Upper scale applies to a; lower scale to b-f.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 20
Cc
BLACK WARE VESSELS.
a, b, from burial I-18; c, White-rimmed Black ware bowl from trench 34.
(Scale applies to a and_b.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 21
INCHES
STUCCO PAINTED WARE FROM BURIAL II-18.
The potstand a is to slightly larger scale than rest; actually it and b are very nearly of a size.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 22
MISCELLANEOUS WARES.
a-d, Red-on-Brown; e,.f, White; h, Negative Painted (Red-on-Brown). a, d, From burial
I-18; b, c, h, from trench 34; e-g, from burial I-3.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141
PLUMBATE
INCHES
WHISTLING JAR FROM TRENCH 15.
PLATE
23
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INCHES
BOTTLES IN FORM OF TLALOCS. PURCHASE COLLECTION,
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 25
INCHES
PLAIN WARE OLLAS AND JARS.
a, From trench 13; b, from trench 34 (see pl. 16); c, from trench 30 (‘‘burial’’ II-18); d, from
trench 32; e, contents of 5; f, partial contents of several Plain ware jars from trench 34
(note parrot beak, skulls in upper left corner).
(Upper scale applies to a—d; middle scale to lower right group of specimens (f); lower scale
to lower left group of specimens (e).
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 26
INCHES
fe) f z
INCHES
h gy
WARES AND FIGURINE MOLDS.
a, b, Red ware from trench 34; c, Coarse Red-rimmed bowl from trench 19; d, Red-on-
Orange Incised bowl fragment, with unique design, from trench 10; e-y, figurine molds,
purchase collection.
(Upper scale applies to d; lower scale to a, b, c, e-j.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 27
2
HAND-MADE PUNCTATE FIGURINES (TYPE 1).
aj, lype I-A; k-/, type I-D; m-t, type I-G; u=cc, type I-H. (Scale varies.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 28
MISCELLANEOUS TYPE I FIGURINES.
Variants, animal forms, etc.
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oO / 2
| SS Basal |
INCHES
TYPE II-A FIGURINE HEADS.
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INCHES
INCHES
TYPE II FIGURINES WITH FLAT BODIES.
(Upper scale applies to upper six figurines; lower scale to lower three figurines.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141
INCHES
TYPE II-A FIGURINES WITH FLAT BODIES.
PLATE 31
a ee te
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 32
TYPE II FIGURINES WITH HOLLOW BODIES.
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INCHES
TYPE II-B FIGURINES REPRESENTING DEAD PERSONS OR XIPE.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 34
TYPE II FIGURINES, REPRESENTING TLALOCS AND DEATH'S HEADS.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN
ETHNOLOGY
BULLETIN 141
PEATE 35
TYPE 11 FIGURINES
Variant Headdresses; Monkeys.
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INCHES
TYPE II FIGURINES, REPRESENTING ANIMALS
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 37
INCHES
VARIANT TYPE II FIGURINES.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 38
INCHES
MISCELLANEOUS TYPE II FIGURINES.
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ETHNOLOGY
° i ;
INCHES
INCHES
Wyse i
FIGURINES
BULLETIN 141
PLATE
39
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 40
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FIGURINE TYPES.
a-i, Type IV—A; j-m, type IV-B; n, 0, tvpe V._ a, b, e, h, n, 0, from trench 10; remainder,
purchase collection.
(Scale applies to a-1.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 413
INCHES
FIGURINE TYPES.
a-c, Type VI; d-h, type VII (San Marcos). b, d, g, purchase collection; remainder, from
trench 10.
(Scale applies to d-h.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 42
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INCHES
477
FIGURINE TYPES.
a,b, Type VIII-A; c—m, type VIII-B. a, b, Purchase specimens from nearby Cerro del Gallo.
(Upper scale applies to a and 5; lower scale to c—m).
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 43
ae ane
TYPE IX FIGURINES.
Masks and maskettes.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY . BULLETIN 141 PLATE 44
SMALL STONE OBJECTS FROM CERRO DE LAS MESAS.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 45
Cc INCHES d
MONUMENTAL WARE: IDOLS.
a-c, From purchase collection; d, from trench 15; ¢, from trench 34. (a, 1014 inches high;
scale applies to b, b’, c, and d.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 46
>
MONUMENTAL WARE: HEADS OF MEDIUM SIZE.
a, From trench 10; b, c, purchase collection. c is equipped with a hollow tenon, presum-
ably for use as an architectural ornament.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 47
°. / 2
Le
INCHES
MONUMENTAL WARE: IDOLS.
a, b, c, From trench 34; d, from trench 31.
(Upper scale applies to a, b, c; lower scale to d.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 48
/
MONUMENTAL WARE: FRAGMENTS OF IDOLS.
g, From trench 10; h-j, from trench 34; /, from trench 12; remainder, from purchase collection.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 49
INCHES
U
FIGURINE TYPES.
a-h, Imported and aberrant types (a, b, Aztec; c, d, Teotihuacan IV). i-x. Figurine sample
from trench 34.
(Scale applies to ah.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 50
INCHES
REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLES OF FIGURINES.
a, From trench 30; b, from trench 33.
(Scale applies to lower two rows of figurines (b).>
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 51
INCHES
b
REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLES CF FIGURINES.
a, From trench 31; b, from trench 15.
(Upper scale applies to upper two rows of figurines (a); lower scale to two lower rows of
figurines (4).)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 52
INCHES
REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLES OF FIGURINES FROM TRENCH 32.
(Scale applies to upper nine figurines.)
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INCHES ad
INCHES
2 a q.
MISCELLANEOUS UPPER PHASE FEATURES.
a, b, Handles with zoomorphic ornament; c-/, various types of supports; m-—g, bases with
molded ornament (Brown Polychrome bowls).
(Upper scale applies to a—/; lower scale to m—g.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 54
STRATIGRAPHIC MATERIAL FROM TRENCH 42.
Only the more complete and readily identifiable pieces are shown here. a, c, f, Type II;
b, e, type III; d, type IX; g, type VII-B; h, type IV—A or V; ee 0-q, 5,
type I-A (variants; 7 and gq approach Tres Zapotes I-F, a pediked pate pe IX;
7, typel-D. a,b, 24- to 56 aneli level; c-f, 36 to 48; g, 60 to 72; h, 84 to 96; 108. to 120:
j, 132 to 134; ne n, 144 to 156; o-p, 156 to 168; qs, 168 to 180.
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OQ” Bas rh
[20-202
24"— 36"
STRATIGRAPHIC MATERIAL FROM TRENCH 13.
0- to 12-inch level: (Upper row) flat seal, fragment type III figurines, clay pellet; (lower row)
fragments type II figurines, fragment type VI figurine, type IV—A.
12- to 24-inch level: Leg of small type X figurine; (upper row) type VI figurine, unidentified,
type IV or V; (middle row) unidentified, arm of type IV; (lower row) type VI, type IX,
type I-G.
24- to 36-inch level: Vertical modeled lug; (upper row) arm and leg type IV, unidentified
fragments, mold-made spindle whorls; (lower row) unique mold-made vessel support.
type I-G. type VII.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 56
ee.
<== 1
60”—72”
STRATIGRAPHIC MATERIAL FROM TRENCH 13.
36- to 48-inch level: (Upper row) mold-made spindle whorl, aberrant snake head, type I-X,
type I-G, aberrant type; (center) type VII; (lower row) unique modeled face on olla neck
suggests type I; hand possibly type X; type I-6.
48- to 60-inch level: Type IV—A, type IV or V, unidentified, type I variant.
60- to 72-inch level: (Upper row) type IV—A, type I-A variant, type I-X, double ring;
(lower row) type I-G, type I-H, type IV—A body, ‘hollow slab leg.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 57
: a |
72'— 84"
84" — 96".
STRATIGRAPHIC MATERIAL FROM TRENCH 13.
72- to 84-inch level: (Upper row) double whistle, ocarina (unique in collections from site),
type VII; (center) aberrant; (lower row) type I-H, type I aberrant, type I-H, type IV-A
variant.
84- to 96-inch level: (Upper row) type I-G, type I-G, type I-X, type I indeterminate; (lower
row) type IX (frog bowl), type I indeterminate.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 141 PLATE 58
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