Los Naranjos is the name for an archaeological region in western Honduras. It lies on the north border of Lake Yojoa.[1] It is significant to the region because of its implications for determining where the Mayan frontier existed, as well as which ancient peoples were in contact and what relations between "tribes" may have been like. Whether or not the Olmec influenced the people of the Lake Yojoa region is disputed.
Los Naranjos archaeological site is located on the border of Mesoamerica. Geographically it is located near the southern coast of Mesoamerica. Monumental architecture began to be built in this area since the Early Preclassic period, so the architectural history of this area is much more dynamic than in other areas. The site started to be inhabited between 1000–800 BC. This would suggest that the site is nearly 3,000 years old and predates the archaeological site of Copán by more than 1,000 years.[citation needed]
According to the artistic recreations of what it might looked like, it has come to be known that several pyramids were covered with mainly reddish and white stucco, similar to many structures throughout Mesoamerican history. The main structure would be derived as a platform where other smaller structures would be that would serve as sanctuaries.[citation needed]
Archaeological excavations
In 1935, Frans Blom and Jens Yde[da] conducted an excavation of a large mound at Los Naranjos. They found a large collection of polychrome pottery. They believed the large mound, which was one of many, was a burial mound because the bowls and pots they found were deliberately buried there. J.B. Edwards, a former Harvard botanist, helped Blom and Yde in their exploration of the site. He had excavated there in the past and had a large collection of antiquities. Yde purchased many of the specimens for the Danish National Museum. One particular vessel that Yde purchased became a topic of interest and was dubbed the "Yde Vessel".[2]
In 1947, the site was visited by the American archeologist Samuel Kirkland Lothrop, during his visit he photographed some on the many mounds found on the site before they were restored excavated in later years. The photographs of Lothrop shows the magnificence the site had during its peak during the preclassic Mesoamerican period.[3]
Anthropomorphic figure found in the excavations of the site
From 1967 to 1969, archaeologists Claude F. Baudez and Pierre Becquelin periodically excavated the region. The two published the work Archeologie de Los Naranjos as a field guide for their findings. The work was written in French and an English translation is not readily available. The book includes both pictures of artifacts and tables that explain periods and locations of uncovered antiquities. They found sherds of ceramic vessels that came from four different periods, suggesting prolonged use of the site.[citation needed]
They used four phases from which the artifacts they discovered came: Jaral (800–400 BC), Eden which is divided into Eden I (400–100 BC) and Eden II (100 BC – 550 AD), Yojoa (550–950 AD) and Rio Blanco (950–1250 AD). Various antiquities found at the site include jade figurines, clay pottery and a jadeite hand axe, many of which suggest relation to Olmec influence in mesoamerica during the time. Clay pottery included findings of polychrome, monochrome and Uluabichrome coloration. Each varying coloration seems to have existed in different periods.[citation needed]
The stratigraphy, or way that strata separate periods, suggests that the region had been occupied for a long period. The oldest layers of strata contained monochrome pottery with little or no design. Sherds of pottery in the nearby La Sierra site seem to have direct ties with the pottery of Los Naranjos in the Late Classic period. Newer layers of strata showed polychrome pottery that was more advanced. Most of the pottery found in the region was made locally, although some may have been traded for.[4]
Radiocarbon dating of seven sherds from the excavation site provided the basis for the periods. The white-slipped polychrome pottery of the Terminal Classic period at Los Naranjos is "Las Vegas" polychrome, similar to types of "Las Vegas" polychrome at Comayagua. It is in close stylistic relation to sherds from Rivas Papagayo but earlier in date.[5]
In 2005, a new excavation program began to study the origin and development of the ancient city of Los Naranjos. Excavations were carried out in Structures 2, 3 and 6. Also in the low or swampy area, several wells were dug to study the ancient diet, especially the agriculture of this site.[6]
A clay vessel that is of particular interest was discovered at Los Naranjos. The vessel, in comparison with other pottery found at the site, is large and extraordinarily decorated. The remaining fragment is 24.4cm (9.6in) high and the rim appeared to have a diameter of about 23cm (9.1in). The decoration of the pottery is in black and red with the base of the vessel being orange. The designs depict "dancing figures" which is a common theme of art from the time period. The figures are seen in a cave.
Archaeologist and historians attribute the setting of the cave as part of a common motif, incorporating ideas of the first humans and genesis of humankind. Nielsen and Brady believe that a deity, represented by a crocodilian figure outside the cave, is a symbol of fertility and was believed to preside over the genesis of mankind.
In The Couple in the CaveJesper Nielsen and James E. Brady propose that the people of Los Naranjos may have believed that Lake Yojoa and the Cave of Taulabé were the birthplace of humans. They go on to say that in Mesoamerican cultures, having territory near the birthplace of mankind was invaluable.[7]
Ditches
Giant jar found during the excavations.
The site contained two large ditches, one that stretched from Lake Yojoa to a pool just north of an encampment, made during the Jaral phase. The second ditch was probably constructed during the Eden phase. The purpose of the ditches is disputed, however there is evidence to support the idea that they were probably used as a defense mechanism. Another possibility was that they were filled with water, however the bedrock at the bottom of the ditches is seemingly too porous for a water well.[citation needed]
People of Los Naranjos
The Lake Yojoa region of Honduras lies about 80 kilometres (50mi) from what was defined as a probable boundary of the Maya territories.[8] It is presumed that the people of Los Naranjos spoke Lenca, a language that is indigenous to Honduras and El Salvador. The Lenca language is nearly extinct in modern times and there is a movement to preserve and restore the language, as there are still people of Lenca origin.[9]
Baudez and Becquelin found evidence for a hierarchical society at Los Naranjos. Among the buried, there was a varying array of antiquities, some more advanced than others. People having been buried differently suggested to Baudez and Becquelin that a hierarchy may have been in place.[10]
It appears that the people of Los Naranjos had temporal variations in cultural relations with other Mesoamerican societies. Antiquities from the Jaral phase suggest relation with the Olmec. Jade workings and Olmec influenced sherds were present during the time period and trade may have been possible. During the phase Eden II, the pottery of the region had little or no similarities with Tzakol pottery.
The region may have been on the periphery of Maya and other Mesoamerican peoples during the Eden phase. Strata from the Late Classic Period, however, revealed that half of the pottery that the people used was of Maya relation. The Maya-related pottery was Polychrome.[1]
Baudez, Claude F.; Pierre Becquelin (1973). Archéologie de Los Naranjos, Honduras. Etudes mésoaméricaines, no. 2 (in French) (1sted.). Mexico D.F.: Mission archéologique et ethnologique française au Mexique. OCLC5680095.
The Olmecs were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 BCE during Mesoamerica's formative period. They were initially centered at the site of their development in San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, but moved to La Venta in the 10th century BCE following the decline of San Lorenzo. The Olmecs disappeared mysteriously in the 4th century BCE, leaving the region sparsely populated until the 19th century.
Kaminaljuyu is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization located in Guatemala City. Primarily occupied from 1500 BC to 1200 AD, it has been described as one of the greatest archaeological sites in the New World—although the extant remains are distinctly unimpressive. Debate continues about its size, integration, and role in the surrounding Valley of Guatemala and the Southern Maya area.
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian ; the Archaic, the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE – 250 CE), the Classic (250–900 CE), and the Postclassic (900–1521 CE); as well as the post European contact Colonial Period (1521–1821), and Postcolonial, or the period after independence from Spain (1821–present).
The Lenca, also known as Lepa Wiran, meaning “Jaguar People” or “People of The Jaguar” are an Indigenous people from present day southwest Honduras and eastern El Salvador in Central America. They historically spoke various dialects of the Lencan languages such as Chilanga, Putun (Potón), and Kotik, but today are native speakers of Spanish. In Honduras, the Lenca are the largest tribal group, with an estimated population of more than 450,000.
Mesoamerican pyramids form a prominent part of ancient Mesoamerican architecture. Although similar in some ways to Egyptian pyramids, these New World structures have flat tops and stairs ascending their faces, more similar to ancient Mesopotamian Ziggurats. The largest pyramid in the world by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the east-central Mexican state of Puebla. The builders of certain classic Mesoamerican pyramids have decorated them copiously with stories about the Hero Twins, the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl, Mesoamerican creation myths, ritualistic sacrifice, etc. written in the form of Maya script on the rises of the steps of the pyramids, on the walls, and on the sculptures contained within.
The use of jade in Mesoamerica for symbolic and ideological ritual was highly influenced by its rarity and value among pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Olmec, the Maya, and the various groups in the Valley of Mexico. Although jade artifacts have been created and prized by many Mesoamerican peoples, the Motagua River valley in Guatemala was previously thought to be the sole source of jadeite in the region.
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and parts of Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. As a cultural area, Mesoamerica is defined by a mosaic of cultural traits developed and shared by its indigenous cultures.
Tlatilco culture is a culture that flourished in the Valley of Mexico between the years 1250 BCE and 800 BCE, during the Mesoamerican Early Formative period. Tlatilco, Tlapacoya, and Coapexco are the major Tlatilco culture sites.
Chiapa de Corzo is an archaeological site of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica located near the small town of Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas.
The causes and degree of Olmec influences on Mesoamerican cultures has been a subject of debate over many decades. Although the Olmecs are considered to be perhaps the earliest Mesoamerican civilization, there are questions concerning how and how much the Olmecs influenced cultures outside the Olmec heartland. This debate is succinctly, if simplistically, framed by the title of a 2005 The New York Times article: “Mother Culture, or Only a Sister?”.
El Manatí is an archaeological site located approximately 60 km south of Coatzacoalcos, in the municipality of Hidalgotitlán 27 kilometers southeast of Minatitlán in the Mexican state of Veracruz. El Manatí was the site of a sacred Olmec sacrificial bog from roughly 1600 BCE until 1200 BCE.
Salvadorans, also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smaller communities in other countries around the world.
Olmec hieroglyphs are a set of glyphs developed within the Olmec culture. The Olmecs were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing during the formative period in the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. The subsequent Epi-Olmec culture, was a successor culture to the Olmec and featured the Isthmian script, which has been characterized as a full-fledged writing system, though with its partial decipherment being disputed.
Talgua Cave is a cave located in the Olancho Valley in the municipality of Catacamas in northeastern Honduras. The misnomer “The Cave of the Glowing Skulls” was given to the cave because of the way that light reflects off of the calcite deposits found on the skeletal remains found there. The site has gained the interest of archaeologists studying cave burials of Central America and of Mesoamerica as one of the most extensive Early to Middle Pre-Classic ossuary cave sites currently known to have been in contact with the Maya societies of nearby Mesoamerica. It provides many valuable clues to how the inhabitants of the Talgua Cave may have been an important link between Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and parts further south and east in Central America and extending into those societies in northern South America, a region known as the Isthmo-Colombian Area.
Mokaya were pre-Olmec cultures of the Soconusco region in Mexico and parts of the Pacific coast of western Guatemala, an archaeological culture that developed a number of Mesoamerica’s earliest-known sedentary settlements.
Capacha is an archaeological site located about 6 kilometers northeast of the Colima Municipality, in the Mexican state of Colima. This site is the heart of the ancient Mesoamerican Capacha Culture.
Yarumela also known as El Chircal, is one of the archeological sites located in Honduras and based around the Middle Formative era in Mesoamerican history, occupied between 1000 BC and AD 250 by the ancestors of the Lencan culture also known as the Proto-lencan people. During its heyday at the end of the Preclassic mesoamerican period was a popular trade center, especially for precious commodities.
The Cuyamel Caves are a group of archaeological sites that consist of a series of limestone caves in northeast Honduras in the hills above the village of Cuyamel. The sites are located near the Cuyamel River, which drains into the much larger Aguán River.
Intibucá is a city, with a population of 28,220, and a municipality in the department of Intibucá, Honduras. The urban area of Intibucá is an important transit and commercial site in the South-West region of Honduras. Located 1,850 meters above sea level, Intibucá has a cool and often foggy climate, hence the nickname "La ciudad del manto blanco". Potato production, celebrated by the annual Festival de la Papa, is the principal basis of the economy for the municipality.
Claude-François Baudez was a French Mayanist, archaeologist and iconologist. He was honorary director of research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, a specialist on the rituals and beliefs of Mesoamerica, particularly of the Maya civilisation.
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