ABSTRACT

The accepted view of Soconusco shell mounds is that they were logistical camps and not places of residence. Only nine Soconusco shell mounds have been verified as dating to the Archaic period, but they represent nearly the full variety among all shell sites thought to be Archaic. The earliest shell mounds on the inland edge of the Hueyate estuary, notably Cerro de las Conchas, appear to have been abandoned about 4000-3600 bce. The limited information available suggests that the era from 4000 to 3400 bce was the most dynamic of Acapetagua-Hueyate wetland history, as apparent in the locations of shell mounds of different periods. Studies of Soconusco Archaic sites have been all about the chase, food targets, and subsistence strategies. As with most treatments of the Soconusco Archaic, the people proposed explanation is more model than evidence. The regular spacing of Late Archaic sites looks like they supported independent groups.