ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors present an overview of human lifeways prior to the advent of ceramics on the south Pacific coast of Mesoamerica. They focus on two key areas: the coasts of the Mexican states of Chiapas and Guerrero. Temporally, our discussion is limited to the Middle Archaic and the Late Archaic periods in the general Mesoamerica chronology; earlier regional sites are unknown. The two coasts manifest significant differences that influenced the adaptations of early inhabitants. In coastal Guerrero, the principal archaeological site of interest is a stratified multicomponent site positioned on the lower slopes of a hill overlooking the Puerto Marques bay. The Archaic period by definition is the time of prehistoric transition between an earlier foraging way of life to one based to a substantial degree on farming. The limited number of both sites and site types prevents the reader from reconstructing settlement patterns with a high degree of certainty.
