There are numerous evidences of regional trade from northwestern mesoamerican civilizations, the Mexican highlands and Centro America with southern lands as far down as Peru and Colombia, some of which are suspected but remain a strong possibility, based on evidences. Certainly, it is elemental understanding how people traveled and traded. As early as 1881,
Carl Bovallius Swedish archaeologist and investigator exploring Central America (
Ometepe and
Zapatera), noted: "Los Orotinas far separated from their relations, inhabiting the peninsula of
Nicoya and the territory of
Guanacaste, which comprises the north-western part of the republic of Costa Rica. Opinions vary, however, with regard to these groups, several authors being inclined to regard los Cholutecas as a detached branch of
los Pipiles in El Salvador; they would then be of
Toltecan origin. Certainly there are a number of local names within their district which seem to corroborate this opinion." According to Bovallius, other writers are disposed to ascribe a Mexican origin to the Orotiñas and lastly Dr. Berendt suggests that the whole
Chorotegan stock may be considered as a
Toltecan offspring, the name Choroteganos being only a corruption of
Cholutecas. According to the concurrent testimonies of the old chroniclers the
Niquirans were a Mexican people settled in the country at a comparatively late period. It is not clear whether they were
Toltecs or
Aztecs, and this question cannot probably be decided until the ancient remains, surely very numerous, that they have left behind them, shall have been accurately studied and compared with the better known Mexican antiquities. The intelligent and well-built Indians on the island of
Ometepec are doubtless the descendants of the Niquirans; this is corroborated by
their language, which the successful investigations of SQUIER have shown to be of Mexican origin and presenting a very close similarity to the pure Aztec tongue. (Written in 1886) who mentioned that once they took over
Tenochtitlan (1521 CE), lords from
Tehuantepec came before
Hernán Cortés to ask for help in fighting one of their neighbors,
Tututepec, whom were battling them constantly. Cortes sent
Pedro de Alvarado who in time conquered Tututepec. It is interesting understanding the Tututepec political expansion and their western wars against the
Mexicas, near
Ometepec, Guerrero and to the east with Tehuantepec, they had blocked that route during the Mesoamerican postclassical period. in general terms the Parsons proposal is accepted, in the sense that there is a mesoamerican sculpture tradition from the preclassical to the postclassical periods, with divergent lines, some of which disappear and others with evolving styles from regional development, and that at the same time, with cross information from a region to another, that there are spectacular fashion styles that may vanish at a point in time, only to return adapted to new conditions. while the appearance of Olmec type figures in
Marquelia at the
Costa Chica, could prove an Olmec transition process, as proposed for
Mazatán, Chiapas during the Cherla and Cuadros Phases (1350–1150 BCE). See Figure 4 of Huamuxtitlán and Figure 5 Marquelia Page 927
Mid-Preclassical Period (900-500 BCE) Stratigraphic wells and radiocarbon dating at the Contlalco and Cerro Quemado-La Coquera sites in the Tlapa Valley, Guerrero, confirm massive platforms construction between 740 and 500 BCE. Should also note the similarity between the relief of
Chalchuapa (
El Salvador) with the main character of Cauadzidziqui, Guerrero. Other cases involving close similarities are noted in Xoc, Chiapas, and the San Miguel Amuco, Guerrero relief.
Late Preclassical Period (500 BCE – 200 CE) According to Parsons, during this time an iconographical transition between the
Olmec and
Izapa communication codes takes place, as would be the cases of Monument 55 of
Takalik Abaj, Guatemala, and Monument 1 of
Huamelulpan, Oaxaca. and the Huamelulpan, Oaxaca Monument The S-inverted glyph complex would be represented by
Chalcatzingo petroglyph 1-A- : a seated individual inside a cavity, accompanied by two glyphs precisely resembling a horizontal letter S. appears also at the chest of the post-Olmec sculpture of Palo Gordo, Suchitepéquez, known as the "Piedra Santa" (holy stone) sculpture. This same glyph is repeated in Chalcatzingo's monument 31 where the S-inverted is depicted in a scene in which a bird beaked jaguar attacks a human.
Late Classical Period (600–900 CE) During the early classical and even up to 600 CE, the iconographic codes seem to be silenced. The Petén and Usumacinta Mayan style dominate in the Chiapas and Guatemala highlands. On the Oaxaca coast the codes become Zapote and Ñuiñe, while in Guerrero and the Guatemala Costa Teotihuacan predominates. Decomposition of the Teotihuacano political system started by the 650 CE, coincides with a revival of iconographic codes of the Pacific coast. The Cotzumalguapa style flourishes in the Guatemala coast, while Guerrero registers the same code shared is sites like
Xochicalco,
Teotenango and
Cacaxtla. Reminiscent of the late preclassical, the scenes can be quite elaborate and are accompanied by multiple glyphs and numerals which are used to represent calendar dates or names of the characters. The complex of men jaguar, present since the Tuxtla Chico mid-preclassical sculpture and observable even today with guerrerenses peoples fertility dances, reached a great splendor in the case of
El Baúl, Stela 27 and
Piedra Labrada, monument 3. Jaguars of these two sites, El Baúl and Piedra Labrada, exhibit also aesthetic similarities as noticed in the 1960s by Miles. Sometimes, as in
Xochicalco stele 3;
Horcones stele 4 (Chiapas), and a ceramic figurine from
Azoyú, Guerrero, Jaguars have bifid tongues, as if recalling a "heart devouring" ancient deity, depicted in the Teotihuacan murals of Atetelco. In 1986, when Carlos Navarrete registered the sculptural body of
Cerro Bernal, was the first to propose the iconographic relationship between central Mexico and the Pacific coast, by associating the body glyph and iconography of the Horcones stele 3 with Xochicalco Stela 2. It is now known that this association followed the Guerrero and Costa Chica route, thanks to the two Tlaloc representations located in Chilpancingo. One of the Tlaloc figures has the "cuatro movimiento" (four movement) glyph in the chest, in the same style used in Xochicalco. Characters with goggles, possibly rain deities are present along the coast, as in the case of the so-called "Dios Cangrejo" (God Crab) from
Bilbao" and Monument 12 at Piedra Labrada. but finding more samples in eastern Guerrero, are required to confirm this relationship. Just like during the early classical, is during the postclassical period when the iconographic connection is lost again, detected between the Valley of Morelos and Guerrero, and Guerrero eastern coast of Chiapas with Guatemala, is lost. But unlike the early classical, it is known that during the postclassical period, the Tututepec political expansion is responsible for having blocked the Pacific route and the route never again had important traffic. Ironically it is today, with migrants and narcotics trafficking, when the Pacific route, land and maritime, has strongly resurfaced reviving routes lost a thousand years ago. ==See also==