Tlatilco culture

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The "Acrobat", ceramic art from Tlatilco. This figurine's left knee has a hole for pouring liquid.

Tlatilco culture is a culture that flourished in the Valley of Mexico between the years 1250 BCE and 800 BCE, during the Early Formative period. Tlatilco and Tlapacoya are the largest Tlatilco culture sites.

Tlatilco culture shows a marked increase in specialization over earlier cultures, including specialized occupations, stratified social structures, and more complex settlement patterns. In particular, the development of the chiefdom centers at Tlatilco and Tlapacoya is a defining characteristic of Tlatilco culture.

Long distance trade was also a characteristic of the Tlatilco culture, and may explain the Olmec influence seen within the culture, as well as the discovery of Tlatilco-style pottery near Cuautla, Morelos, 90 miles (150 km) to the south.^[1]

Archaeologically, the Tlatilco culture is defined by the presence of following:

• Both ritual and utilitarian ceramics.
• Both animal and human figurines rendered in a somewhat stylized manner.
• Clay masks and other exotic ritual objects.
• Elaborate burials with grave offerings.
• Olmec-style decorations and designs.

Olmec-influenced objects include figurines, motifs, and designs, including several hollow "baby-face" figurines.

By 700 BCE, Cuicuilco had become the largest and most dynamic city in the Valley of Mexico, eclipsing Tlatilco and Tlapacoya.

[edit] Notes

Tlapacoya Clay Bowl, pigmented, 1200–900 BCE, showing Olmec motifs including a downturned mouth and slit-like eyes.

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[edit] References

• Diehl, Richard A. (2004) The Olmecs: America's First Civilization, Thames & Hudson, London.
• Grove, David C. (1970) "The San Pablo Pantheon Mound: a Middle Preclassic Site Found in Morelos, Mexico", in American Antiquity, v35 n1, January 1970, pp. 62-73.