El Coyote, Macroregional Exchange, and Early Postclassic Mesoamerica

Abstract

Relative to the centuries preceding and following it, the tenth century A.D. in Mesoamerica is poorly understood. Although there is some regional variation in the timing of these events, a pattern of political decline, dynastic collapse, or social reorganization is commonly ascribed to this period. Paradoxically, increasing interregional interactions and emergent market exchange networks are also characteristics of macroregional patterns during the tenth century. These contradictory phenomena contribute to confusion surrounding interpretations of this transitional time. This article contributes a comparative dataset from systematic archaeological investigations of El Coyote, a monumental center in the lower Cacaulapa valley, Department of Santa Barbara, Honduras. El Coyote was founded during the Late Preclassic Period (ca. 300 B.C.) and grew significantly between A.D. 600 – 800. By the tenth century, the civic-ceremonial focus of El Coyote shifted away from the Late Classic Main Plaza to the newly constructed Northeast Complex.

The late occupational phase contains evidence for Early Postclassic chronological markers, including Tohil Plumbate pottery, obsidian from Pachuca, Hidalgo, and copper metallurgy. Calibrated radiocarbon assays with a 2s error place these contexts between A.D. 710 – 1040, with a clustering of intercepts ca. A.D. 900. These results are consistent with a pattern described throughout Mesoamerica and demonstrate that despite variation in the use of cultural terminology – Epiclassic, Terminal Classic, or Early Postclassic – there is uniformity in the timing of this macroregional interaction. I argue that inconsistency in cultural terminology may hide a broader pattern of trade and exchange during this time period.

Disciplines

Archaeological Anthropology

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