Archaeology Magazine - March 1958 - 54

Sra. Elpídio Lopez, of El Dulce Nombre, near
Metapa, holding effigy fragments from Tohil
Plumbatejars found in the cornfield.

STUDIES

IN ANCIENT

SOCONUSCO

fuls of obsidian flake blades and chips, and an occasional
spindle whorl were intermixed with heavily carbonized
earth. Doubtless offerings were deposited here, copal
was burned and minor sacrificeswere made, in honor of
some ancient deity or of some ritualistic event- much
like the Guajxaquip Bats ceremony, a calendrical observance still performed at Momostenango, Guatemala.
The excavation produced twelve specimens of pottery, eight complete or nearly so, the remainder restorable. There were five undecorated spindle whorls
and half of another- all of the mold-made type. Two
worked sherds were found. There was the lip end of an
earthenware object which appeared to be a whistle, except that the air channel was not open throughout; it
might, of course, have been of a ceremonial nature, such
as some pipes excavated at Tula, the ancient Toltec capital in the Mexican highlands. There was another wind
instrument, shattered but restorable, of pear shape, with
a hole pierced through one surface and two holes on the
opposite side.
Many obsidian flake blades, including minute lancelike implements and small knives, and quantities of chips
were recovered, but no cores from which these might
have been struck. Besides fragments of millstones, there
were a fqw complete pestles and manos. One stone sculpture of a feline head was found, which the workmen
identified as a wildcat. Only two small ornaments were
54

continued
found, both jadeite- a disc bead and a portion of a
thin pendant. These had been deposited in a pottery jar
which depicted the Mexican water deity, Tlaloc.
The trenches were carried to a level below the base
of the mound structure ; the axial region was thoroughly
investigated, and thus we determined that no tomb,
burial or other feature existed there. Though many of
* our findings were of a negative nature, we have learned
certain things about the mounds at T.6, Metapa, and the
culture represented there. We have determined that
Robles Plumbate ware is well represented, and that the
Tohil variety (apparently an early stage of development
with some forms not previously reported) also exists
hereabouts. Our specimens indicate that the site was occupied during early Post-Classic times. Full study is expected to show that this was a modest community dating
between a.D. 700 and 900 or 1000. It is hoped that
analyses of the Plumbate material here derived may further elucidate the problems pertaining to this intriguing
ceramic type, and perhaps give another clue to its place,
or places, of origin.
In two or three outlying areas not far from T.6 test
trenches were run to obtain comparative sherd material.
Among other wares Plumbate fragments were recovered.
These sherds, with others from tests farther afield,
should provide considerable information regarding the
region around Tapachula, the heartland of old Soconusco.

Archaeology Magazine - March 1958

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - March 1958