- Longyear Museum of Anthropology
Colgate University
13 Oak Drive
115 Alumni Hall
Hamilton, NY 13346
Rebecca Mendelsohn
Colgate University, Longyear Museum of Anthropology, Department Member
Izapa is famous for its monumental architecture and extensive corpus of carved stelae dated to the Late Formative Guillén phase (300-100 cal b.c.). The site was first established, however, as the capital of a kingdom during the second... more
Izapa is famous for its monumental architecture and extensive corpus of carved stelae dated to the Late Formative Guillén phase (300-100 cal b.c.). The site was first established, however, as the capital of a kingdom during the second half of the Middle Formative period (750-300 cal b.c.). Little is known of the first centuries of the site's occupation or how this early kingdom coalesced with Izapa as its capital. In 2012, the Izapa Regional Settlement Project (IRSP) excavated 21 test units and ran 10 radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates in order to begin correcting this lacuna. These excavations were the first at the site to screen soil matrices and recover artifact samples that can be quantitatively analyzed. We undertook excavations in areas north and south of Group B, the original center of Izapa. This work dates the northern expansion of the site's main platform (under Mound 30a) to the Terminal Formative Itstapa phase (cal a.d. 100-300) that resulted in a doubling of the platform's size. Further, we documented that there were three distinct construction episodes in the Terminal Formative expansion and that a central staircase and ramp were built of stone during the second episode. Buried below the Terminal Formative platform expansion was a white clay surface built during the Escalón phase (750-500 cal b.c.) and used through to Guillén times. At the long, linear Mound 62 that defines the eastern edge of Izapa's site core, we documented two episodes of Guillén-phase monumental construction. Buried below this construction fill at Mound 62, a hearth feature and stone alignment are dated to the late Middle Formative based on radiocarbon assays and the results of ceramic analysis. Excavations at Mound 72 and 73 documented that Izapa's E-Group (newly recognized with lidar [light detection and ranging] data) was established in the late Middle Formative period and then significantly augmented during the Guillén phase. The architectural program at Izapa saw its apogee during the Late Formative period, but was first established during the preceding centuries of the Middle Formative. Ten new AMS dates confirm the dating of the Escalón, Frontera, and Guillén phases to 750-100 cal b.c. Ceramic analysis allowed us to differentiate quantitatively between midden deposits and construction fill through the site's occupation and to recognize domestic versus public spaces during the first centuries of the Izapa kingdom's coalescence. We identify late Middle Formative period middens based on the high density of ceramics in addition to good surface preservation of sherds and a lack of temporal mixing of types. The designation of high-artifact density middens contrasts with the contents of Late and Terminal Formative construction fill with lower ceramic sherd densities and mixing of temporally diagnostic types. Off-mound contexts (where construction fill was mined) had even lower ceramic densities than construction fill and the sherds were very eroded. Analysis of ceramic remains from late Middle Formative period midden deposits also allowed us to infer differences in public and domestic areas of the site during the first centuries of its occupation. Formal and metric variables from these ceramic assemblages identify dish-to-jar ratios that differentiate domestic contexts (with an assortment of vessel forms) from more publically oriented areas of the site (with more serving dishes). The differential distribution of rim diameters of fancy and plain dishes allows us to identify areas of Izapa where domestic activities predominate and indicate that more publically oriented feasting practices occurred at the site center near the main pyramid (Mound 30a) during the late Middle Formative period.
Research Interests:
In southern Mesoamerica, the period between 100 b.c. and a.d. 400 saw both the apogee and fall of several powerful Formative-period cities. Previous reports have suggested that conquest from the southeast may have prompted a unique... more
In southern Mesoamerica, the period between 100 b.c. and a.d. 400 saw both the apogee and fall of several powerful Formative-period cities. Previous reports have suggested that conquest from the southeast may have prompted a unique decline at Izapa around 100 b.c., when many neighboring cities were prospering. Over the last five years, new archaeological data has emerged for the Formative to Classic period transition at Izapa. The present work summarizes these updates and highlights recent deposits excavated during the Izapa Household Archaeology Project. These updates raise questions about the Hato-phase intrusion hypothesis proposed by Lowe and colleagues (1982). I close with an alternative proposal that, beginning around 100 b.c., increased network participation and a change in the institution of kingship produced some of the dramatic changes in ceramics and burial patterns observed at the site.
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Recent research on Mesoamerican economies has demonstrated that Prehispanic trade networks were not static, but constantly evolving. Relationships between peoples in different settlements and regions shift as social, political, and... more
Recent research on Mesoamerican economies has demonstrated that Prehispanic trade networks were not static, but constantly evolving. Relationships between peoples in different settlements and regions shift as social, political, and economic circumstances change. One question that results from these findings is how significant events such as sociopolitical decline or abandonment affect exchange networks. This study investigates changes in obsidian procurement during a period of widespread upheaval across southern Mesoamerica, ca. 100–250 CE, from the perspective of a surviving capital on the Pacific coast of Chiapas, Mexico. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis using a Bruker Tracer III–V was conducted for obsidian collected from Terminal Formative (100 BCE–250 CE) and initial Early Classic (250–400 CE) domestic contexts to evaluate how obsidian procurement patterns at the ancient city of Izapa were affected by events in neighboring regions. Obsidian results are compared to known shifts in sociopolitical relationships as observed through ceramics, burials, and art styles. Data indicate that residents of Izapa shifted trade from east to west over the Terminal Formative to Early Classic period transition. Patterns correspond with sociopolitical turmoil at the Guatemalan highland capital of Kaminaljuyú and the rise of the central Mexican city of Teotihuacan. Results also indicate, however, that economic relationships may continue even in places where political affiliations have been severed. Results suggest that datasets for different artifact classes, when viewed independently, introduce additional nuance into the questions of collapse and resilience of ancient societies.
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The site of Izapa, though famous for its unique “Izapan” style monuments, has lagged behind many other Mesoamerican centers in archaeological research. As revisions of important Mesoamerican chronologies are underway, Inomata and... more
The site of Izapa, though famous for its unique “Izapan” style monuments, has lagged behind many other Mesoamerican centers in archaeological research. As revisions of important Mesoamerican chronologies are underway, Inomata and colleagues (2014) have questioned whether monument production at Izapa has been misplaced chronologically. This article applies new data from the Izapa Household Archaeology Project to assess Inomata and colleagues’ (2014) proposal for a shift in the chronology at Izapa. It specifically assesses the chronology for the Formative to Classic period transition at Izapa, from 100 BC to AD 400, with new excavation data, ceramic cross-dating, and Bayesian modeling of AMS dates from the southern periphery of the site. These data generally support the chronology developed by Gareth Lowe following the 1960s excavations at the site, though a temporal overlap appears possible for the Terminal Formative Hato and Itstapa ceramic complexes. Although results do not support Inomata and colleagues’ proposal for a shift in the Izapa chronology, ceramic cross-ties proposed between the Hato phase at Izapa and the Verbena phase at Kaminaljuyu support Inomata and colleagues’ (2014) revision for the chronology of Kaminaljuyu.
El sitio de Izapa, Chiapas, es famoso por sus monumentos únicos esculpidos en el estilo epónimo. Sin embargo, el sitio ha sido objeto de relativamente pocas investigaciones arqueológicas en comparación con muchos otros centros mesoamericanos. Como parte de la revisión de importantes cronologías mesoamericanas que está actualmente en proceso, Inomata y colegas (2014) han cuestionado la atribución cronológica de la producción de monumentos en Izapa. En este trabajo se utilizan nuevos datos del Proyecto de Arqueología Doméstica de Izapa para evaluar los cambios cronológicos propuestos por estos investigadores. Específicamente, se evalúa la cronología de la transición del periodo Formativo al periodo Clásico en Izapa (100 aC–400 dC) con nuevos datos de excavación, correlaciones relativas de tipos cerámicos y la aplicación de la estadística bayesiana a fechas datadas por AMS recuperadas de la periferia sur del sitio. Estos datos apoyan en general la cronología desarrollada por Gareth Lowe después de las excavaciones en el sitio durante la década de 1960; sin embargo, parece posible una superposición temporal entre los complejos Hato e Itstapa del Formativo terminal. Aunque los resultados no apoyan los cambios en la cronología de Izapa propuestos por Inomata y colegas, se sugieren correlaciones relativas entre tipos cerámicos de la fase Hato en Izapa y la fase Verbena en Kaminaljuyú que apoyan las revisiones cronológicas de Kaminaljuyú avanzadas por los mismos investigadores.
El sitio de Izapa, Chiapas, es famoso por sus monumentos únicos esculpidos en el estilo epónimo. Sin embargo, el sitio ha sido objeto de relativamente pocas investigaciones arqueológicas en comparación con muchos otros centros mesoamericanos. Como parte de la revisión de importantes cronologías mesoamericanas que está actualmente en proceso, Inomata y colegas (2014) han cuestionado la atribución cronológica de la producción de monumentos en Izapa. En este trabajo se utilizan nuevos datos del Proyecto de Arqueología Doméstica de Izapa para evaluar los cambios cronológicos propuestos por estos investigadores. Específicamente, se evalúa la cronología de la transición del periodo Formativo al periodo Clásico en Izapa (100 aC–400 dC) con nuevos datos de excavación, correlaciones relativas de tipos cerámicos y la aplicación de la estadística bayesiana a fechas datadas por AMS recuperadas de la periferia sur del sitio. Estos datos apoyan en general la cronología desarrollada por Gareth Lowe después de las excavaciones en el sitio durante la década de 1960; sin embargo, parece posible una superposición temporal entre los complejos Hato e Itstapa del Formativo terminal. Aunque los resultados no apoyan los cambios en la cronología de Izapa propuestos por Inomata y colegas, se sugieren correlaciones relativas entre tipos cerámicos de la fase Hato en Izapa y la fase Verbena en Kaminaljuyú que apoyan las revisiones cronológicas de Kaminaljuyú avanzadas por los mismos investigadores.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Economic growth is rarely examined for ancient states and empires despite its prominence as a topic in modern economies. The concept is debated, and many measures of growth are inaccessible for most of the ancient world, such as gross... more
Economic growth is rarely examined for ancient states and empires despite its prominence as a topic in modern economies. The concept is debated, and many measures of growth are inaccessible for most of the ancient world, such as gross domestic product (GDP). Scholars generally have been pessimistic about ancient economic growth, but expectations derived from dramatic growth in modern economies can lead to overlooking important evidence about economic change in the past. The measure of economic growth that we adopt focuses on the economic well-being of ordinary households. We evaluate one domain of evidence: imported obsidian implement consumption in the coastal lowlands of Mesoamerica. We situate the obsidian study against a backdrop of ideas concerning economic growth in ancient societies because such topics have received only modest attention for Mesoamerica. For the major Mesoamerican ceramic periods, we (1) display the already-known early technological shift in predominant techniques of obsidian implement production—from percussion and bipolar flakes to prismatic pressure blades—that led to more efficient tool production for long-distance trade, (2) note other lithic technological improvements, and (3) evaluate increased obsidian access with a growing market system in the last centuries of the prehispanic record.
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2022 “Global Culture” and Political Authority on the Central American Coast in the Late Preclassic (300 BC-AD 300). In, Waves of Influence: Revisiting Coastal Connections between Pre-Columbian Northwest South America and Mesoamerica,... more
2022 “Global Culture” and Political Authority on the Central American Coast in the Late Preclassic (300 BC-AD 300). In, Waves of Influence: Revisiting Coastal Connections between Pre-Columbian Northwest South America and Mesoamerica, edited by Christopher Beekman and Colin McEwan, pp. 203-234, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC.
The collapse of ancient civilizations is a common theme in popular discussions of archaeology. Despite the widespread appeal of collapse, many archaeologists have preferred to emphasize the resiliency of ancient peoples and document... more
The collapse of ancient civilizations is a common theme in popular discussions of archaeology. Despite the widespread appeal of collapse, many archaeologists have preferred to emphasize the resiliency of ancient peoples and document systemic patterns of rise and fall. In regions with long cultural traditions, scholars have been able to detect not just one, but multiple declines of civilizations. In Mesoamerica, the “collapse” of the Classic period Maya has received a great deal of scholarly attention. Less frequently discussed is an apparent collapse across southern Mesoamerica at the close of the Formative period, between AD 100 and 250.
In Mesoamerican prehistory, the transition between the Formative and Classic periods (100 BC and AD 400) marked an era of great social change. Some archaeologists have viewed this period as a time of cultural florescence. Others see it as a time of marked decline, or even collapse. Recent research suggests that peoples of different regions, and even individual sites, experienced this transition in different ways. The present work investigates this period of widespread cultural change from the perspective of the early capital of Izapa, located on the southern Pacific coast Mexico. It documents recent excavations by the Izapa Household Archaeology Project in the southern zone of the site. Excavation data, ceramic analyses, and obsidian sourcing provide new insight into the challenging chronology for this period and represent the first systematically collected economic data for the site.
Together with previous research at Izapa, these data are applied to evaluate three scenarios which have been proposed to explain the dramatic changes in material culture for this period: 1) The formalization of the office of the king and the establishment of an associated network of elites; 2) A collapse at the close of the Formative period; and 3) The intrusion of foreign peoples. Findings suggest that, rather than a population intrusion from 100 BC-AD 100, the dramatic material changes at Izapa reflect a transformation in the display of kingship at the site, the participation of Izapa’s residents in a widespread trade network, and a possible short-term disruption resulting from a nearby volcanic eruption. Results further suggest that Izapa did not experience the same large-scale collapse recorded at other sites in southern Mesoamerica between AD 100 and 250. Occupation at Izapa persisted for another millennium, though the site did not maintain its former grandeur. I argue that Izapa’s location along a central trade corridor, its role as an important religious center, and its residents’ shifting alliances with neighboring urban centers, all contributed to the site’s long-term success. Results show that the willingness of Izapa’s population to shift their trade ties, and presumably their political alliances, to suit their needs, was an important factor in this early city’s survival.
In Mesoamerican prehistory, the transition between the Formative and Classic periods (100 BC and AD 400) marked an era of great social change. Some archaeologists have viewed this period as a time of cultural florescence. Others see it as a time of marked decline, or even collapse. Recent research suggests that peoples of different regions, and even individual sites, experienced this transition in different ways. The present work investigates this period of widespread cultural change from the perspective of the early capital of Izapa, located on the southern Pacific coast Mexico. It documents recent excavations by the Izapa Household Archaeology Project in the southern zone of the site. Excavation data, ceramic analyses, and obsidian sourcing provide new insight into the challenging chronology for this period and represent the first systematically collected economic data for the site.
Together with previous research at Izapa, these data are applied to evaluate three scenarios which have been proposed to explain the dramatic changes in material culture for this period: 1) The formalization of the office of the king and the establishment of an associated network of elites; 2) A collapse at the close of the Formative period; and 3) The intrusion of foreign peoples. Findings suggest that, rather than a population intrusion from 100 BC-AD 100, the dramatic material changes at Izapa reflect a transformation in the display of kingship at the site, the participation of Izapa’s residents in a widespread trade network, and a possible short-term disruption resulting from a nearby volcanic eruption. Results further suggest that Izapa did not experience the same large-scale collapse recorded at other sites in southern Mesoamerica between AD 100 and 250. Occupation at Izapa persisted for another millennium, though the site did not maintain its former grandeur. I argue that Izapa’s location along a central trade corridor, its role as an important religious center, and its residents’ shifting alliances with neighboring urban centers, all contributed to the site’s long-term success. Results show that the willingness of Izapa’s population to shift their trade ties, and presumably their political alliances, to suit their needs, was an important factor in this early city’s survival.
Research Interests:
Studying pyramids and deciphering cryptic writing systems have helped archaeologists piece together the political, cultural, and religious characteristics of many Mesoamerican civilizations. But ceremonial architecture and official... more
Studying pyramids and deciphering cryptic writing systems have helped archaeologists piece together the political, cultural, and religious characteristics of many Mesoamerican civilizations. But ceremonial architecture and official records may not reveal how societies actually work. Mapping lost neighborhoods can help archaeologists see an ancient city through the eyes of its residents, rather than through its leaders.
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Abigail Eaton Bruckart, Dickinson College Kara Elizabeth Carmack, Dickinson College Sonia Phipps Evers, Dickinson College Rachel Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Dickinson College Diana Bond Jonas, Dickinson College Rebecca Ruth Mendelsohn, Dickinson... more
Abigail Eaton Bruckart, Dickinson College Kara Elizabeth Carmack, Dickinson College Sonia Phipps Evers, Dickinson College Rachel Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Dickinson College Diana Bond Jonas, Dickinson College Rebecca Ruth Mendelsohn, Dickinson College Anna Elisabeth Metzger, Dickinson College Selwyn Edmar Ludovic Ramp, Dickinson College Martine Dominique Romano, Dickinson College Elizabeth Lee, Dickinson College Trout Gallery, Dickinson College