Izapa Chiapas Mexico

Izapa, a very large pre-Columbian archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Chiapas, is occupied during the Late Formative period, which begins around 1500 BCE.

The site is situated on the Izapa River, a tributary of the Suchiate River, near the base of the Tacaná volcano), the fourth largest mountain in Mexico.

Research in the Pacific Lowlands of Chiapas and Guatemala suggest that Izapa and the Monte Alto Culture may have preceded the Olmec.

Radiocarbon samples associated with various sculptures found at the Late Preclassic site of Izapa suggest a date of between 1800 and 1500 BCE.

The Izapa art style (thought to represent a cultural link to the defunct Olmec civilization) evolves from the so-called Late Formative to the Proto-Classic around 150.

Prominent features of the elaborately carved stelae include complex depictions of various secular activities and distinctive representations of deities, notably the large-lipped god of rain and lightning, apparently an adaptation of the Olmec “were-jaguar.”