Northern Mesoamerica, by Pedro Armillas. Prehistoric Man in the New World, edited by J. D. Jennings and E. Norbeck. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1964, pp. 291–329. - Southern Mesoamerica, by Robert Wauchope. Prehistoric Man in the New World, edited by J. D. Jennings and E. Norbeck. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1964, pp. 331-86.

Transisthmian Ties: Epi-Olmec and Izapan Interaction

“…Smith 1978, 1984). Stelae A and D and Monument C from Tres Zapotes, as well as stelae from El Mesón and Alvarado, figure prominently in these discussions, and were central to Coe's (1965b:773–774, Figure 57) argument for Izapan art as the medium through which Olmec art influenced Maya art. Coe went so far as to posit the origin of Izapan art in the southern Gulf lowlands before spreading southeast toward Izapa and the Guatemalan highlands and piedmont, another branch evolving into the Classic sculptural traditions of Cerro de las Mesas and El Tajín.…”

“…Let us first dispense with Tres Zapotes Stela A (Figure 10). Working from Edwin Cassady's truly awful drawing in Stirling's (1943:Figure 3) report, Coe (1965b:773) wrote: “The monument [Stela A] is badly weathered, but the scene is not Olmec. The two flanking figures carry a knife and a severed head, respectively; head-taking is an Izapan trait.” As Moreno's recent drawing more accurately depicts, however, the scene falls well within Olmec canons, the flanking figures carry something, but it's not clear if they carry a knife or a baton, and neither carries a severed head.…”

“…Period designations for the span of 100 b.c. to a.d. 300 are particularly inconsistent in the Gulf lowlands, with different scholars beginning the Classic period anywhere from a.d. 100 to 300 and using the terms Terminal Formative (e.g., Pool 2006; Pool and Britt 2000; Santley 2007), Protoclassic (e.g., Coe 1965a; Ortiz Ceballos 1975), and early Early Classic (e.g., Santley and Arnold 1996). Here, we follow the older precedent in referring to the time span of the Nextepetl phase at Tres Zapotes (Ortiz Ceballos 1975) and the Late Bezuapan phase in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas (Pool and Britt 2000), both recently re-dated to a.d. 1–300 (Pool 2008:127; Pool et al 2016), as the Protoclassic period in southern Veracruz.…”

“…For nearly three-quarters of a century, scholars have remarked on resemblances between Izapa and sites of the Gulf Coast, particularly Tres Zapotes, beginning with Stirling's (1943:72) statement that “[i]n general Izapa appears to be much more closely related to the earth-mound sites of southern Veracruz and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, than it does with sites in the Maya area.” Others (e.g., Coe 1965a:695) have identified similarities in pottery, especially Lowe (e.g., 1977, 1989), who included them in his broader ceramic-based argument for the deep history of a Mixe-Zoque/Maya ethnic boundary with Izapa at its southeastern-most frontier (cf. Clark and Lowe 2013:85–87).…”

“…Most frequently, though, authors point to sculpture for specific ties between Izapa and the southern Gulf lowlands (Coe 1965b:773–774; Guernsey 2006; Norman 1976; Quirarte 1973, 1976, 2007; Scott 1977; cf. Smith 1978, 1984).…”