First discovery of a pre-Columbian port on the Gulf Coast

[Judi Lynn]

First discovery of a pre-Columbian port on the Gulf Coast
Article created on Tuesday, April 16, 2013

A retaining pier wall, four shrines and an unusual circular structure dating to over 1000 years old, have recently been found by archaeologists of the National Institute of anthropology and history (INAH) in the pre-Hispanic site of Tabuco in Veracruz.

A pre-Columbian port

According to María Eugenia Maldonado Vite, responsible for the archaeological rescue excavation, these remains represent a mooring pier or dock where goods and maritime traffic would land and be controlled by elites. If this is the case, then it represets the first discovery of a pre-Columbian port on the Gulf Coast.

“This evidence changes our perception of the settlement, as previously it was only known as a ceremonial area and even the toponymic naming of ‘Tabuco’ repesents a portable altar with conical roof in the language of the Tuxpan,” said the archaeologist.

Tabuco is located on the southern bank of the Tuxpan River 5 km from the sea, on a narrow strip of land between the river and to the south are the mangroves of Tumilco.

This Huastec site was explored in the 1940s by Gordon Ekholm, who carried out some initial investigations and determined the dates for occupation at between the Protoclassic (100BCE-AD250) and the early Postclassic (AD900-1200).

More:
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/04/2013/first-discovery-of-a-pre-columbian-port-on-the-gulf-coast

[center]

[/center]

[Anonymousecoview]

1. Interesting discovery

It would be interesting to see where these coastal/gulf trade routes extended