Settlement Patterns and Household Archaeology in Selva El Ocote (Chiapas, Mexico)

Surveys carried out in the Selva El Ocote (Chiapas, Mexico) by the Rio La Venta Archaeological Project led to the discovery of several archaeological sites ascribable to the local Zoque cultural tradition. In this article we compare the settlement patterns of the Late/Terminal Classic (ca. AD 600-1000) and Late Postclassic (ca. AD 1200-1500) periods, discussing both their common traits – partially due to the ecological constraints of the karstic region –, as well as differences that we correlate with changes in the political landscape. Paral-lel changes are also detected in the use of urban space, as shown by extensive excavations carried out in the site of El Higo, where spaces that in the Classic period were devoted to public activities were transformed into residential areas during the Late Postclassic. The available evidence suggests that the Late/Terminal Classic settlement patterns reflect a complex polycentric and hierarchically articulated local political system where public activities functioned as integrating socio-political devices; on the other hand, the Late Postclas-sic settlement patterns reflect a system composed by of modular, semi-autonomous households loosely bound to a quite ephemeral central authority, with much less emphasis on the organization of public performances.