Tapachula Archaeology Museum Chiapas, Mexico

Tapachula's Soconusco Museum of Archaeology, Chiapas, Mexico

Izapa Ruin Site view of the complex
called group F, constructed 1200 to
300 BC

Tapachula'a Soconusco Museum
of Archaeology holds many
artifacts that came from the ruin
of Izapa,an ancient city with
Olmec influence that was at its
height from 600 BC to 300 BC .
The ancient site was settled
between 1500 to 1200 BC and
sprawls over many miles not far
from the modern city of
Tapachula.

Izapa Ruin site, is an abandoned stone city first settled around 1500 BC and influenced by the
Olmec culture through trade and migration according to some researchers. Olmec influence from 850
BC to 300 BC corresponds to the most active building phases and to the organization of civic and
religious systems that lead to Izapa's high point, between 300 BC to 100 BC. Izapa was the center of
the Soconusco culture, cacao farmers who settled along the coastal plain and river delta near what is
the current border with Guatemala and the present day city of Tapachula in Chiapas State, Mexico.
By 200 AD Olmec influence ends at Izapa. The settlement continues as an agricultural area growing
cacao but does not expand. The local Soconusco cultural art dominates with influences from the
Zapotec and Mixtec. By 1200 AD the settlement is abandoned and then comes under domination by
the Aztecs.

Izapa has been little studied but was once an important Olmec political and religious center and
contributed to the Olmec art and architecture that was to later spread throughout Mesoamerica
The three sites open today for visits are small remnants of a huge sprawling city that developed its own
unique style of art alongside the Olmec art found on many standing stones. A site at Tonala (Iglesia
Viejo) to the north has similar Olmec art as does many small sites in the Tapachula area.
The medium sized city of Tapachula where lodging and night life are available, lies within 8 miles of the
Izapa ruin site.. The city is served by a major ADO, OCC, and Tika bus terminal. Collectivos headed for
the ruin pass by the terminal. The Talisman bound collectivo (Talisman Bridge) makes many runs
throughout the day and will stop at the Izapa ruin site.
To visit the Izapa ruin Site, catch the white collective taxis as they make runs in front of the bus terminal
headed for the Guatemala border bridge at Talisman. They run about every 15 minutes and cost about
8 pesos. They start near the market district in the center of the city at a large terminal for collectivos.
The three Izapa sites are spread about a mile apart, one near the main road , Group F, and two a mile
distant at the end of a dirt road, group A and B.
The complex was once a huge city but is now not much more than un-excavated mounds except for
group F. The three groups have some unique stone carvings and glyphs, however, and one , a snake or
frogs head is made of magnetic stone with the animals snout polarized towards magnetic north.

Hotels, are plentiful in Tapachula near the lively center. (20-45 USD, 200 - 400 Pesos )
The Archaeological Museum in the center houses a great collection of ceramic and stone artifacts from
Izapa and the many smaller sites in the area.
(Hotel Plaza Guizar, 200 pesos with air and cable, 01-962-62-6-24-88)

www..Bus Mexico

Izapa Group A and B

The ruin of Izapa,an ancient city with Olmec
influence was settled by 1500 BC and reached
its peak from 600 BC to 300 BC . The map at
right shows the extent of ancient site as it spread
over 200 hectares with an estimated 10,000
people. The area borders present day
Guatemala..
Three parts of the site are now open, group F,
Group A, and Group B, marked in red on the
map.
Modern roads now cut through the site and join
the three groups. Collectivo taxis stop at the ruin
on their way to and from Talisman and the
modern city of Tapachula.

Tapachula Archaeology Museum displays examples of plumbate vessels, a ceramic so called
because of its shiny surface. The clay along the local river is rich in aluminum ore and this
coupled with a firing with reduced oxygen gives the ceramics their gloss. These were traded
throughout ancient Mexico from 600 to 900 AD.

A Mixtec artistic influence came to the area of Izapa after 1200 AD and is evident in the use
of metal and the application of turquoise, a style found in Oaxaca at Monte Alban's Tomb
Seven Mixtec burial. 1200-1400 AD

Olmec artistic style

Modern two-lane blacktop cuts through the ancient
site and connects Group F, the red triangular
shaped zone at the top with Group B, to the right,
and Group A in the center. (A&B are connected by a
dirt road)

Some researchers believe that the Olmec culture
started in Izapa and then spread north to Veracruz
while others see a spreading of the Olmec culture
from Veracruz to the Isthmus

The New World Archaeology
Foundation has conducted
extensive studies at Izapa,
primarily because a carved
stone discovered and
designated Stele 5 by Mathew
Sterling in a 1940s dig
reportedly shows a depiction of
the tree of life and is offered by
the NWAF, a Mormon group, as
a validation of the Book of
Mormon.
Other investigators cite the
depiction of a boat and the
eastern (Asian) trappings as
proof of a connection by sea to
Near Eastern or Asian
seafarers. (Egyptians)
Stele 5 is located in Group A but
is very hard to read at this time
because it has been subjected to
weathering over many years.