New Catemaco historic neighbors

The Tepango Valley (northwest of Catemaco, near San Andrés Tuxtla) Archaeological Survey (TVAS) was undertaken of 120 km2 within the Tepango River valley in the Tuxtla Mountains, southern Veracruz, México to gain an understanding of the occupational history of this important area. Data are used to retrodict the political organization of the Tepango Valley during every major epoch of pre-Columbian occupation. These data are then briefly compared to settlement in the neighboring Catemaco River valley. While materials and settlement analyses are still underway, this report comes to the conclusion that El Picayo (the primary center within the Tepango Valley), Matacapan (the primary center within the Catemaco Valley), and their corresponding hinterlands evolved simultaneously into relatively equal, but distinct, political entities. However, political authority within each valley appears to have been based on different themes. This has implications for the evolution of both valleys, particularly the role of Teotihuacán in the development of the Matacapan and the Catemaco Valley.

Source: FAMSI

Catemaco Olmec Art

This certainly looks like Mayan or Olmec art.

Actually my neighbors kid did the outline to promote the local hop, skip & jump routine.

Or maybe it was just another neighborhoods kid scribbling on stone with a hammer and chisel, or maybe one of his country cousins trying to sell museum quality pieces to supposedly “rich” but not stupid Catemaco gringos at New York art gallery prices.

Picking up a little archaeological gift is easy in Mexico. Most any farmer plowing his land will find small ornaments. The bigger good stuff has already mostly been stolen and resides in foreign Museums.

But if you like, I will sell you a properly aged copy of an original piece at substantially less than what all those original art galleries charge.

Custom antique pieces will be charged extra, especially if you want something certifiably George Bush from the 8th century BC.

Catemaco archaeology

So I had four happy well diggers burrowing into Catemaco shores on the "Say No to Gringos" day. 2.5 meters down (9 feet) the water started percolating. I stopped at 3 .5 meters because my suction pump could not fight the water penetrating through primarily gravel layers and I could not convince my soon to be archaeologists to proceed using snorkels. All that for 450 pesos per meter.

In addition, at the 1.2 meter level my well diggers, now known as archaeologists, unearthed a heap of historic artifacts, mostly pottery shards but also some stone objects. And according to them those were minor finds compared to what was found in other wells this troup had dug in beautiful downtown Catemaco.

I wonder what I would find if I turned my itty bitty front yard into an archaeological dig. And I wonder how many treasures have disappeared from most Catemaco construction sites.

My close neighbor, who runs a plant nursery, has a giant heap of pottery shards he collected from trenches he dug. And my partner talks of dozens of mysteriously disappeared finds.

Apparently those who lived here 1000´s of years ago did not have access to those indestructible plastic goodies, Made in China, that are now flooding the beautiful downtown Catemaco stores.