Pre-Olmec and Olmec Rituals and Settlements of the Lower Coatzacoalcos River Basin, Veracruz

Abstract This chapter examines two sociocultural aspects of the Early Formative Olmecs based on the archaeological evidence recovered in the last decades on the eastern margin of the lower Coatzacoalcos River basin. First, the chapter reviews the deposits of offerings from El Manatí and La Merced to explore the development of Olmec ritual practices and religious concepts, strongly associated with Mesoamerican cultural traits such as the cult of mountains as axis mundis, the ball game, and human sacrifice. Next it describes the Early Formative occupation of the eastern margin of the lower Coatzacoalcos River basin, focusing on pre-Olmec settlements discovered on the banks of the Cahuapa and Cochapa tributaries. The archaeological evidence excavated on different sites indicates that these tributaries played an important role in the development of pre- and early Olmec communities, providing fertile lands and other natural resources as well as commercial exchanges routes and access to foreign products.