This site, designated Mz-6, is located about 1 km northeast of the present-day ejido of Aquiles Serdán. First discovered and test excavated by Carlos Navarette in 1968, the site is one of many large Early Formative period occupations along the Soconusco Pacific coastal plain west of Tapachula, Chiapas. Aquiles Serdán consists of a large mound covering approximately 18 ha, rising to a height of about 2 m (Clark 1994:102). John Clark and Michael Blake excavated at the site in 1985, and the results are described in Clark's doctoral dissertation (1994). Soil flotation samples from many of the features at the site recovered carbonized maize, beans, and avocado seeds, along with a few other plant species. Vicki Feddema (1993) reported on the archaeobotanical analysis of these remains in her M.A. thesis. Altogether, some 51 flotation samples at the site yielded several hundred fragments of maize, including kernels, cupules, and a few cobs (Feddema 1993:77, Table 4.5) spanning the Ocós and Cuadros phases. Three maize kernels were directly dated (Clark 1994:547, Appendix 3).
ID | Other ID | Type | Subtype | Uncal BP (years) | ± 1 σ (years) | Median cal BP (years) | Lower cal BP (years) | Upper cal BP (years) | δ13C | Contaminated? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
87 | Beta-62920 | MacroSample | kernel | 3000 | 55 | 3193 | 3349 | 3005 | No | |
85 | Beta-62915 | MacroSample | kernel | 3145 | 55 | 3371 | 3474 | 3219 | No | |
86 | Beta-62918 | MacroSample | kernel | 3100 | 55 | 3317 | 3445 | 3165 | No |