Olmec and Maya Interactions: A New Perspective from the Northern Maya Lowlands by David S.

Anderson, Tulane University (danders3@tulane.edu) Paper Presented at the Ancient Cultures in Contact Conference sponsored by the Center for Ancient Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia:

Abstract: In the copious literature available discussing, debating, and questioning interaction among the Formative period Olmec culture of the southern Mexican Gulf Coast and its neighboring Mesoamerican cultures the Northern Maya Lowlands have largely been ignored. The region was not known for many sites dating to the Formative period, and more importantly those sites that were known did not exhibit traits tying them to the well known Olmec and Mesoamerican Formative traditions. Recent work, however, has radically changed this situation. The authors own work at the center of Xtobo in northwest Yucatan, as well as work at other sites such as Xocnaceh, Poxila, and numerous smaller sites, has demonstrated that there was a robust occupation of the Northern Maya Lowlands beginning in the Middle Formative period. Despite the exponential growth in materials from the Northern Lowlands, there has been little to no growth in materials associated with Olmec influence. At the same time, pottery associated with the Northern Lowlands has been found in and around the Olmec center of La Venta, affirming that there was contact between these two cultural regions. The author holds that the new research in the Northern Maya lowlands demonstrates an emergent Maya cultural identity that interacted with, but withheld itself from, the Olmec culture and the pervasive Formative Mesoamerican tradition.

Introduction: The Olmec, The Maya, and Formative Mesoamerica Among the many complex cultures of the New World, the Olmec have long held public and scholarly fascination. Ever since the discovery of the first Colossal Head, Olmec sculpture has been a ubiquitous frontispiece for Mexicos indigenous past. Archaeologists, likewise, have long given the Olmec a central role in their discussions of Formative period Mesoamerica. Many scholars have gone so far as to cast the Olmec as the progenitors of all Mesoamerican culture (e.g. Bradley 2001; Coe 1968; Covarrubias 1942; Diehl and Coe 1995; Stoltman, et al. 2005); although others have taken a more reserved stance suggesting that the Olmec were but one of many coeval cultures that equally took part in, and contributed to, the evolution of the Mesoamerican culture area (e.g. Demarest 1989; Flannery, et al. 2005; Flannery and Marcus 2000; Grove 1993). Regardless of the stance one supports, the central question of debate in regards to the Formative period of Mesoamerica has long been what role did the Olmec play? The more specific topic of the relationship between the Olmec and the Maya has its own long history of scholarly investigation. However, this topic has often been addressed in terms of what the Classic period Maya may, or may not, have inherited from the Formative period Olmec (e.g. Clark and Perez Surez 1994; Coe 1977; Reilly 1991). The existence of contemporaneous Maya materials has long been known, but early Maya archaeology projects generally focused on the largest and most elaborate ruins, which primarily turned out to be Classic period in date. The majority of these projects did recover samples of Formative period pottery buried underneath the Classic period architecture (e.g. Adams 1971; Gifford 1976; Sabloff 1975; Smith 1955), but the fragmentary nature of the record made it difficult to characterize the Formative period occupation for the Maya region at large. After decades of continued work in the Maya area, we now are beginning to develop a synthetic view of Formative Maya culture and the scope of its achievements. Where it was once thought that there were only scattered hamlets, we have now documented a complex and burgeoning culture. Our view has changed so significantly that Richard Hansen (2005) has recently been able to propose that the Maya of the Mirador Basin, located in the Southern Lowlands, shared a form of peer polity interaction (after Renfrew 1996) with the Olmec heartland during the Middle Formative period. Such a model holds that these two famous cultural groups did not simply co-exist, but rather were of comparable size and complexity, such that their interaction would have been characterized by mutual exchange and competition rather than dominance and emulation. 1

Although Hansens model gives the Maya a much more prominent role in Olmec-Maya relations, the Southern Maya Lowlands have long been included in synthetic discussions of Middle Formative Mesoamerica due to scattered finds of Olmec related materials (e.g. Demarest 1989; Prez S. 1998). The Northern Maya Lowlands, however, have traditionally not been addressed in these discussions, as the region was not known to have many Formative period sites, and most of those that were known dated principally to the Late Formative period (Ball 1977; Ringle 1999; see also Bey III 2006).1 Thus, naturally, the Northern Maya Lowlands were seen as having little to offer to the debate over the role played by the Olmec in the development of Mesoamerican culture (Diehl and Coe 1995). This view must now be reassessed; in recent years multiple projects working throughout the Northern Maya Lowlands have encountered substantial Middle Formative period remains offering us a new perspective on the subject of Olmec-Maya relations. One of the principle problems in the debate over the role of Olmec culture in Mesoamerica is quite simply what we mean by the term Olmec (e.g. Grove 1989, 1997). Here I hold the term as referring to the cultural group which inhabited the sites of the southern Mexican Gulf Coast in the Early and Middle Formative periods, most notably at the centers of San Lorenzo and La Venta (after Pool 2007). The term Olmec, however, is also strongly associated with, and often used to refer to, an artistic style expressed on a variety of mediums and found throughout much of Formative period Mesoamerica (after Lesure 2004). This Formative Horizon style includes many well known forms and motifs such as the were-jaguar, the flame eyebrow, the paw-wing, etc. Stylistic similarities among the stone monuments of the Gulf Coast sites and other Formative Horizon style artifacts led some scholars to suggest that all such objects originated from, or deliberately emulated, the Gulf Coast, and thus supported ideas of wide spread Olmec influence (e.g. Coe 1965; Covarrubias 1942; Diehl and Coe 1995). However, other scholars have demonstrated that the associated symbols of this stylistic tradition appear earlier outside of the Gulf Coast and/or that their variable use and distribution demonstrates that the symbols held locally based significance (Flannery and Marcus 2000; Grove and Gillespie 1992; Marcus 1989). In this view then, what has often been referred to as simply Olmec, is divided into two principle cultural institutions operating in Formative Mesoamerica, one being an Olmec ethnic group identified with the Gulf Coast centers, and the other being the

Formative Horizon style, which likely represents ideological concepts (see Grove 1987; Joralemon 1996; Reilly 1995) shared by the Olmec and many other groups in Mesoamerica. In proposing his peer polity model of Olmec-Maya interactions, Hansen interprets the known cultural and material ties between the Maya and the remainder of Mesoamerica as the natural outcome of interaction between two competing polities. He suggests the Maya would have naturally adopted some successful strategies, along with their associated symbolism, that they had witnessed being utilized by the Olmec as an attempt to further advance their own goals. If we accept Hansens position that these are in fact peer polities, then such an argument follows, but it is possible to use the same evidence to forward ideas of Olmec influence, or dominance, over the Maya (e.g. Clark and Hansen 2001; Coe 1977; Prez S. 1998). It is at this point where the perspective garnered from work in the Northern Maya Lowlands can be used to bolster Hansens interpretation and further the idea of an independent Maya cultural identity. As precocious as the Middle Formative settlement has proven to be in the North, the sites do not reach the same scale, in terms of population, architecture projects, or sociopolitical institutions, as has been documented in the Mirador Basin or on the Gulf Coast. As such, the term peer is not appropriate; instead the Northern Lowlands represent a peripheral region to both the Maya and the Olmec core regions (after Blanton and Feinman 1984). In examining how the Northern Maya Lowlands interacted with the Mirador Basin and with the Olmec heartland we can develop a better understanding of all three regions.

The Formative Period Northern Maya Lowlands My personal involvement in this research began with working as a member of Proyecto Costa Maya, a regional survey project focusing on Northwest Yucatan, Mexico, which was directed by Fernando Robles and Tony Andrews (2000, 2001, 2003). Proyecto Costa Maya was set up to examine the dynamics between interior and coastal communities in Northwest Yucatan, but like many archaeology projects, what was found did not exactly correspond with what was expected. In a region previously known to have only six Formative period settlements, 140 sites dating to the Formative period were documented, 116 of which included Middle Formative occupations (Figure 1) (Anderson 2003).2 The quantity of sites alone suggests that this Formative occupation was not simply ephemeral, but, in addition, the settlement pattern of the region reveals a number of significant features that suggest the region witnessed a degree of 3

sociopolitical complexity comparable to the Chiefdom type (Anderson 2005). For example, the sites within the region were organized into a three-tiered settlement hierarchy of small and medium sized villages, along with larger sites that may have served as regional centers. These large sites, along with many of the medium sized sites, include forms of public architecture, such as: platform mounds, pyramids, intra-site causeways, and most interestingly 23 examples of ballcourt architecture. I will address ballcourts further in a moment, but suffice to say that these structures resemble the architectural form associated with the better known Classic and Postclassic period Mesoamerican rubber ballgame. My own dissertation research has focused on the site of Xtobo (see Figure 1), which was one of the top tiered Middle Formative sites encountered during the Proyecto Costa Maya survey. Unlike the other large Middle Formative sites encountered, Xtobo did not witness a significant reoccupation in later times, thus making it possible for a small scale graduate student run project to investigate a Formative Maya regional center. The work at Xtobo has revealed a densely inhabited community home to as many as 1500 people at its maximal occupation (Figure 2). The site center is defined by a plaza flanked by pyramid architecture (Figure 3). Radiating out of the plaza are five causeways connecting significant architectural groups with the plaza. Immediately to the south of the plaza is one of the ballcourt structures encountered by Proyecto Costa Maya. Also encountered at the site were four structures that can be described as triadic groups, an architecture type that consists of a large mound flanked by two inward facing smaller structures, typically built upon a basal platform (Hansen 1998). The most prominent example at Xtobo is a double triadic group (Str. 11, see Figure 3), where the three-structure pattern is duplicated on top of the largest of the structures. Another feature of undeniable interest at Xtobo is what has been dubbed the Xtabay group, which consists of a 5ha space defined by a series of long low platforms similar to the causeways found elsewhere at the site (see Figure 2). The interior of the feature was kept largely empty by the inhabitants of the site, but at this point we cannot say for what purpose (see Terry, et al. 2009). The domestic architecture encountered at Xtobo shows a fascinating continuum of complexity ranging from several apparent high status residences located near the plaza to small house platforms dispersed through the remainder of the site. Numerous domestic structures of intermediate scale can also be pointed to, suggesting agency driven variation in household elaboration. All in all, the site represents a precocious

community, principally dating to the Middle Formative period as identified by stylistic comparison of pottery types present. These findings are representative of what has been encountered across the Northern Maya Lowlands in recent years. Only a few kilometers to the Northeast of Xtobo, Fernando Robles has directed a salvage project in advance of the Ciudad Caucel housing development. While surveying an area of 8km2, the project encountered a disperse residential settlement composed of over 1500 structures, more than 90% of which are estimated to date to the Formative period (Uriarte Torres 2007). This same settlement also included a number of examples of public architecture, including another ballcourt (Robles Castellanos and Ligorred Perramon 2008). Robles (2006) has additionally directed work at the site of Poxila, Yucatan, which has also proven to be a Middle Formative center, at least equal in size to Xtobo, and clearly incorporating larger monumental architecture, with an acropolis structure measuring 100x90m at the base, and rising up to a maximum height of 12.5m. An even larger Middle Formative acropolis has been found at the site of Xocnaceh, measuring 150x150m, and rising up to 20m (Gallareta Negrn and May Ciau 2007). Sizeable residential occupations have also been identified surrounding both Poxila and Xocnaceh. During survey in the Puuc region of Yucatan, yet another Middle Formative ballcourt was located at the site of Paso de Macho (Gallareta Negrn, et al. 2005). Recent archaeological salvage projects conducted by INAH across the state of Yucatan have encountered Middle Formative remains at numerous sites (Boucher and Palomo Carrillo 2005; Hernndez Hernndez 2001; Hernndez Hernndez and Ceballos Gallareta 2006; Maldonado Cardenas and Echeverria Castillo 2004; Peraza L., et al. 2002; Santiago Lastra and Acevedo Chin 2003; Uriarte Torres 2004), and even salvage operations within the city of Merida, which is well known as the Postclassic center of Tiho destroyed by the Spanish (Ligorred Perramon 2005), have recovered more materials from the Formative period than any other time period (Quiones Lora 2006). Further to the east in northern Quintana Roo, the Yalahau Regional Human Ecology Project has also encountered multiple Formative period sites throughout its survey region (Glover, et al. 2005; Rissolo, et al. 2005). Although much work remains to be done, these data clearly demonstrate that the Northern Maya Lowlands were home to a pervasive Formative occupation, including many Middle Formative settlements.

The Northern Lowlands and the Mirador Basin Significant connections can be drawn between the Northern Maya Lowlands and the Mirador Basin based on both ceramic and architectural similarities. During the Middle Formative period both the Mirador Basin and the sites of the Northern Maya Lowlands exhibit pottery belonging to the Mamom sphere. Although the assemblages are far from identical, the principle pottery types in both regions include the slipped types of Joventud Red and Chunhinta Black, and the unslipped type of Achiotes, (see Anderson in prep; Andrews V 1988; Ceballos Gallareta, et al. 2008; Forsyth 1989, 1993). The homogeneity of the Mamom sphere pottery found throughout the Maya Lowlands has frequently been remarked upon, and is generally considered to reflect a high level of cultural, or even ethnic, uniformity across the region (Andrews V 1990; Hansen 2005; Rice 2007). After carrying out my own study of Mamom pottery from Xtobo, I have personal doubts as to the sweeping nature of some claims of similarity that have been made in regards to this pottery, however it is clear that the pottery of the Northern and Southern Maya Lowlands is distinct from the pottery found at Olmec sites (Andrews V 1990; Demarest 1989).3 In terms of architecture, direct comparisons can be made between the sites of Xtobo and Nakbe. There is an overt difference in the organizational layout of the two sites, in that Nakbe is arranged along an east-west axis (Hansen 2006), and Xtobo exhibits a radial arrangement, but the two sites are constructed of very similar components. Architecture at both sites primarily consists of stone platform mounds of varying scales from humble to elite settings. The triadic architecture form was, in part, first recognized at Nakbe due to the repeated use of the form at the site (Graham 1967). As the triadic form is quite simple, it is easy to imagine a structure being built in an equivalent form without an intended cultural significance; the repetition of the form at both Nakbe and Xtobo, however, leaves little doubt that the form was intentional and meaningful. The specific cultural significance of the triadic form is debatable (see Hansen 1990: 171-172; Taube 1998; Valds and Fahsen 1995), but in this case its appearance in both regions documents a connection between them. The use of causeway architecture is also very suggestive. Causeways, or sacbes, are an exceptionally common feature of Maya architecture in later times, and their appearance at Nakbe has been used to emphasize the antiquity of the tradition (Hansen 1998). Their appearance at a contemporaneous site within a peripheral region thus additionally suggests the pervasiveness of the tradition from a very early time. The 6

acropolis architecture form seen at Xoknaceh and Poxila also is most closely tied to the Southern Maya Lowlands. We see very similar structures throughout the Mirador basin (Hansen 1998), and the form continues into Classic period Maya architecture. The ballcourt tradition encountered in the Northern Lowlands can also be potentially tied to the Mirador basin, although it may be more appropriate to view the ballgame as inherently Mesoamerican. The earliest example of ballcourt architecture that has been generally accepted by the scholarly community is found at the site of Paso de la Amada, located in the Pacific Coast region of Guatemala, and dates to the Early Formative (Hill, et al. 1998). In the Middle Formative, ballcourts have been encountered along the Pacific Coast of Guatemala (Schieber de Lavarreda 1994), in the highlands of Chiapas (Agrinier 1991), and in Western Mexico (Weigand 1991). Also, a ballcourt has been recorded at the site of Nakbe (Velsquez 1993). Nakbe is currently the only known Middle Formative Maya site in the Southern Lowlands to have a ballcourt. There is then, at least a tie in expression between the Mirador Basin and the Northern Lowlands, although it would be difficult to prove that the ballcourts of the Northern Lowlands were derived from Nakbe. Some scholars have suggested the Olmec were the originators of the ballgame (Coe 1977; Diehl and Coe 1995). Thus, the Middle Formative ballcourts encountered by Proyecto Costa Maya could be interpreted as Olmec related, and indeed they have been by other scholars (Stanton and Freidel 2003), but I would argue strongly against such an interpretation. Examples of ballcourt architecture have been proposed for the principle Olmec centers of La Venta (Wyshak, et al. 1971) and San Lorenzo (Coe and Diehl 1980; Diehl and Coe 1995), but these courts have not been widely accepted by other archaeologists (Flannery and Marcus 2000; Taladoire 2001) The parallel structures of the proposed court at La Venta are not of equivalent length, and do not posses other typical ballcourt architectural features. And, in the case of the proposed example at San Lorenzo, more recent investigations at the site suggest these structures are not associated with the Formative period occupation of the site (Cyphers 1997), regardless of whether they represent an actual ballcourt. Iconographic arguments have been made to suggest the existence of an Olmec ballgame (Bradley 2001; Coe 1977), but these studies seem to start with the assumption that there was an Olmec ballgame and work backwards. In short, there is scant evidence to suggest the existence any Olmec ballgame, and with the wide spread distribution of known examples of Middle Formative ballcourt architecture, the data suggest to this author that the ballgame was a part of a larger shared Mesoamerican cultural 7

system that pre-dates the known masonry courts. The presence of so many Middle Formative ballcourts in the Northern Maya Lowlands may be an artifact of sampling or preservation, or it may simply represent a local popularity of the tradition.

The Northern Lowlands and the Gulf Coast Despite the exponential growth of known Middle Formative settlements in the Northern Maya Lowlands, materials have not come to light suggesting that this population was either under the influence of, or sought to emulate, the Olmec. A small number of examples of the Formative Horizon style have long been known from the Northern Maya Lowlands, but the majority of those have come from either questionable contexts or contexts that appeared to represent Classic period curation of earlier objects (e.g. Andrews V 1986, 1987; Metcalf and Flannery 1967; Prez S. 1998; Proskouriakoff 1974; Rathje, et al. 1973). The idea of these objects as foreign curios is bolstered by the fact that even with the large scale increase in known Formative settlements there has been no significant increase in known examples of Formative Horizon style artifacts. Looking beyond the simple distribution of the Formative Horizon style, Olmec intrusion has been argued to exist in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico based on changes in the forms of ceramic figurines (Clark 1990; Lesure 2000), and changes is site layout to a north-south axis plan (Clark and Hansen 2001; Lowe 1977). The two regions also share a tradition of monumental stone sculpture that could express Olmec influence, but there are variant interpretations of the significance of this sculpture (Demarest 1989; Graham 1989). To date, none of these material correlates of Olmec influence have been encountered in the Northern Maya Lowlands. Thus, on neither an iconographic, nor material, basis can we identify Olmec presence or influence within the sites of the Northern Maya Lowlands. We do, however, have evidence that the Gulf Coast Olmec were in contact with the Northern Maya Lowlands. In a reexamination of Philip Druckers pottery collections from work at the site of La Venta, Will Andrews (1986) identified examples of the Maya pottery type Joventud Red of the Mamom sphere. While generally Joventud Red could come from any part of the Maya Lowlands, Andrews identified particular modal similarities with collections of Joventud from the Northern Lowlands, thus suggesting that this pottery came from the North. More recently, Christopher von Nagy (2003) identified more examples of Joventud pottery, along with examples of Dzudzuquil pottery from smaller sites within La Ventas hinterland. 8

Dzudzuquil pottery is also associated with the Mamom sphere, but is solely a product of the Northern Maya Lowlands (Andrews V 1986). Thus, the presence of Dzudzuquil pottery in the vicinity of La Venta provides direct material evidence that the Olmec heartland was in contact with the Northern Maya Lowlands, despite the lack of evidence for such contact within the Northern Lowlands themselves. The function of this contact was clearly for trade purposes, although at this time its not certain what goods were involved.

Conclusions In conclusion, I would like to return to the long standing focal point in the discussion of Formative period Mesoamerica that is, what role did the Olmec play? Due to the history of our own discipline we came to know of the Olmec and their impressive accomplishments before we learned of most other Formative period cultures in Mesoamerica. It does not follow, however, that we must always consider the Olmec as the key players in the cultural development of Mesoamerica. I would argue that Richard Hansens use of the peer polity interaction model is correct in that during the Middle Formative period the Maya polities of the Mirador Basin were a true peer to the Gulf Coast Olmec. The newly encountered Middle Formative occupation of the Northern Maya Lowlands is instructive to this discussion, in that we can demonstrate that despite interacting with the Gulf Coast Olmec, the Northern Maya people did not come under their influence, nor did they begin to make use of the Formative Horizon style. Instead, the Northern Maya show affiliations with the Mirador Basin and the Southern Lowland Maya. In other words, this peripheral region interacted with two core regions, but chose only to emulate their fellow Maya core. These data suggest the emergence in the Middle Formative of a Maya cultural identity that interacted with, but withheld itself from, the remainder of Mesoamerica. If we are to ask the question, what role did the Olmec play in the development of the Formative period in the Northern Maya Lowlands, the answer is not a progenitor, nor an interrelated coeval culture, but rather a foreign trade partner only of interest for what material goods they could supply.

Notes: 1: There are notable exceptions where the Northern Maya Lowlands have been addressed in discussions of Middle Formative Mesoamerica. Arthur Demarest (1989) made note of potential connections between the North and the Olmec based on the jade artifacts excavated by Will Andrews (1986) at Chacsinkin. Demarest also took note of the recovery of Maya pottery from the Olmec site of La Venta, which will be addressed later in this paper. In addition, the Mirador Group of Dzibilchaltun (Andrews IV and Andrews V 1980) is frequently cited as an example of the Middle Formative in the Northern Maya Lowlands (Demarest 2004; Sabloff 1990; Sharer and Traxler 2006). 2: The total of six sites is based strictly on the boundaries of the PCM survey (see Robles Castellanos and Andrews 2003). It includes the Mirador Group and Komchen as separate sites, although they were initially reported as part of Dzibilchaltun (Andrews IV and Andrews V 1980), along with small sites reported by Shook (1955), and Eaton (1978). Some of the sites identified as having Preclassic occupations by PCM were previously recorded by the Yucatan Atlas project (Garza Tarazona de Gonzlez and Kurjack 1980), but they had not been investigated as to period of occupation. Immediately outside of the PCM survey boundaries the Xculul group of Dzibilchaltun and the site of Tamanche had both been previously noted for Preclassic occupations (Andrews IV and Andrews V 1980). 3: Leroy Joesink-Mandeville (1971, 1977) took a notably different stance suggesting that the Formative period pottery of the Northern Maya Lowlands was directly related to Olmec pottery. Joesink-Mandeville further supported close ties between the regions by suggesting that the Olmec spoke a Maya language. These views are generally not accepted by scholars today.

10

Figure 1: Map of Northwest Yucatan, Mexico, showing the Preclassic settlements documented by Proyecto Costa Maya. Triangles represent Middle Preclassic Sites; Squares represent Late Preclassic Sites; Circles represent Middle and Late Preclassic Sites. Hollow symbols represent sites with ballcourts. Drawn by author, based on INEGI maps and PCM data.

11

Figure 3: Reduced version of the Xtobo Reconstruction Map.

12

Figure 2: Reconstruction map of the site center of Xtobo, Yucatn (for complete map see Anderson in prep). 13

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