Chiapa de Corzo is an archaeological site of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, located in the Chiapas highlands region of present-day Mexico. The modern township of Chiapa de Corzo, founded in Colonial times and after which the site was named, is nearby. An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been investigated using the discipline of archaeology. ... The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ... The cultural areas of Mesoamerica The term Mesoamérica is used to refer to a geographical region that extends roughly from the Tropic of Cancer in central Mexico down through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua to northwestern Costa Rica, and which is characterized by the particular cultural homogeneity... In the southern most state of Chiapas in Mexico. ...

History

The site shows evidence of continual occupation since the Early Formative period ( ca. 1400 BCE). The mounds and plazas at the Chiapa de Corzo archaeological site date to approximately 700 BCE with the temple and palace constructed during the Late Formative, perhaps 400 BCE to 200 CE.^[1] The Common Era (CE), sometimes known as the Current Era or as the Christian Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 on the Gregorian calendar. ... Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ...

The oldest Maya Long Count date yet discovered, December 36 BCE, was found on one of several monuments here. Chiapa de Corzo is also notable for a pottery sherd containing what is likely Epi-Olmec script -- dated to as early as 300 BCE, this sherd would be the oldest instance of that writing system yet discovered.^[2] The Maya calendar is actually a system of distinct calendars and almanacs used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. ... Epi-Olmec (after Olmec) is a Mesoamerican writing system in use in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec from perhaps 500 BCE to 500 CE, although there is disagreement on these dates. ... Mesoamerica is one of the relatively few places in the world where writing has developed independently throughout history. ...

Notes

References

• Justeson, John S., and Kaufman, Terrence (2001) Epi-Olmec Hieroglyphic Writing and Texts.
• Lowe, G. W., "Chiapas de Corzo", in Evans, Susan, ed., Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America, Taylor & Francis, London.

Coordinates: 16°42′N 93°00′W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...