Concept

Paso de la Amada

Paso de la Amada (from Spanish: "beloved's pass") is an archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas on the Gulf of Tehuantepec, in the Mazatán part of Soconusco region of Mesoamerica. It is located in farmland between the modern town of Buenos Aires and the settlement of El Picudo. This site was occupied during the Early Formative era, possibly the Mokaya from about 1800 BCE to 1000 BCE, and covered approximately 50 hectares of land. Paso de la Amada is the site of the oldest Mesoamerican ballcourt. It has been described as "the best evidence" for Olmec contacts in the Soconusco region, and contains evidence of early social stratification. This site was discovered in 1974 by Jorge Fausto Ceja Tenorio, who later excavated it. John E. Clark and Michael Blake conducted research with the idea that the mounds might give some insight into Early Formative social structure and strata. Excavation of a nearby site, San Carlos, also helped in the explanation of many findings from Paso de la Amada. There is thought to have been a close relationship between the peoples of these two similar sites. In 1995, archaeologists discovered the ruins of a ballcourt structure, which was dated to 1400 BCE. The ballcourt measures approximately 80 m (262ft) long and 8 m (26.2ft) wide, situated between two parallel mounds with benches, 2.5 m (8.2ft) deep and 30 cm (1ft) tall, running along the mounds. The court was not located, as usual, in a ceremonial center, but rather associated with high-status residences, suggesting that it was reserved for elite members of society. The largest of structures at Paso de la Amada is Mound 6. Mound 6 showed the first evidence of the evolution of social structure. Six distinct levels of structure were found. Mound 6 began as a large structure on solid ground; this is referred to as structure 6. This structure was most likely used as a common area or men's house. Still at ground level, structure five was more complex, with more interior posts and sitting room. As it evolved into structure four a platform developed.

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Related publications (3)

Réinventer les rives urbaines?

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Dans un contexte de lutte contre le mitage du paysage, de dérèglement climatique et d’évolution de la place de l’eau dans la ville, une nouvelle ère s’amorce pour réinventer les équilibres entre les territoires urbains et les cours d’eau qui les traversent, respectivement les plans d’eau qui les jouxtent. Certaines rives urbaines se révèlent propices à envisager de nouveaux usages dans une relation renouvelée, en particulier lorsque ces secteurs stratégiques sont connectés à des réseaux de transports publics et présentent simultanément des potentiels de régénération urbaine. Au-delà des questions propres aux mesures techniques et territoriales, de multiples enjeux paysagers, urbanistiques et architecturaux questionnent la démarche projectuelle à adopter pour mieux inscrire les rives urbaines dans une perspective de transition vers la durabilité.
Espazium2022

Réinventer les rives urbaines?

Dans un contexte d’urgence climatique, de lutte contre le mitage du paysage et d’évolution de la place de l’eau dans la ville, une nouvelle ère s’amorce pour revisiter les équilibres entre les cours d’eau et les territoires urbains qu’ils traversent. Certaines rives urbaines se révèlent particulièrement propices à envisager de nouveaux usages dans une relation renouvelée entre l’eau et la ville, en particulier lorsque les sites sont connectés à des réseaux de transports publics et présentent des potentiels de régénération. A la fois paysagers, urbanistiques et architecturaux, ces projets revêtent un caractère stratégique dans une perspective de transition vers la durabilité.
2021

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Related concepts (4)
Mokaya
Mokaya were pre-Olmec cultures of the Soconusco region in Mexico and parts of the Pacific coast of western Guatemala, an archaeological culture that developed a number of Mesoamerica’s earliest-known sedentary settlements. The Soconusco region is generally divided by archaeologists into three adjacent zones along the coast—the Lower Río Naranjo region (along the Pacific coast of western Guatemala), Acapetahua, and Mazatán (both on the Pacific coast of modern-day Chiapas, Mexico).
Soconusco
Soconusco is a region in the southwest corner of the state of Chiapas in Mexico along its border with Guatemala. It is a narrow strip of land wedged between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It is the southernmost part of the Chiapas coast extending south from the Ulapa River to the Suchiate River, distinguished by its history and economic production. Abundant moisture and volcanic soil has always made it rich for agriculture, contributing to the flowering of the Mokaya and Olmec cultures, which were based on Theobroma cacao and rubber of Castilla elastica.
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to most of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. In the pre-Columbian era, many societies flourished in Mesoamerica for more than 3,000 years before the Spanish colonization of the Americas begun at Hispaniola island in 1493.
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