ABSTRACT
The transition from Archaic to Formative, around 1900 (cal) bc, has traditionally been understood as the moment in which sedentism, well-fired ceramic containers, and a subsistence system focused on maize agriculture emerged together in multiple regions across Mesoamerica. This chapter presents a descriptive model of transformations in settlement and subsistence in that region at the end of the Archaic and during the second millennium. Most work on subsistence in the Soconusco region during the second millennium bc has focused on evidence from village sites. The establishment of sedentary villages in the Soconusco region of Mesoamerica required expansion of the breadth of diets and exploitation of a wide range of habitats. The triad of sedentism, ceramics, and agriculture traditionally associated with the initial Formative needs a variety of qualifications.
