Santa Rosa (Mesoamerican site)

Santa Rosa is a pre-Columbian archaeological site previously located along the Grijalva River in the current state of Chiapas, Mexico in the Chapatengo-Chejel subdistrict. It is currently inundated by water due to the construction of the Angostura dam upstream. The site had its cultural peak during the Late Formative or Protoclassic period of Mesoamerica, between about 100 BCE and 200 CE. It was one of many ancient centers located within the Central Chiapas Depression during the Formative Period. Others include Mirador (not to be mistaken with El Mirador), Ocozocoautla, La Libertad, and Chiapa de Corzo. There are approximately 31 mounds at the site spread out over an area of about 54 hectares. Settlements directly affiliated with the center have been located from the Angostura Canyon, clear down to the Guatemalan border as evidenced by dominant Santa Rosa pottery types found in the region. Between the large center of Chiapa de Corzo further downstream, and the Guatemalan border, Santa Rosa was the largest Preclassic site along the Grijalva River. The first permanent settlement of the area dates to the early Middle Preclassic Period from around 1000 BCE to 600 BCE and was continuously occupied until about 200 CE, at which point it began to experience a decline in population. The site is flanked by two large pyramidal mounds in what appears to be a general east–west orientation. Interestingly, unlike other sites in the region, there doesn't seem to be any formal or planned layout of the site. Mound A at the eastern end of the site stands tall, and Mound W is at the western end at tall. In the center of Santa Rosa is a large platform approximately high, and wide by long. Located to the north and south of the site are what appear to be clusters of possible elite residential platforms. A few notable observations of the Santa Rosa archaeological site have been noted. For one, as is evidenced by the unusual layout of the site, as well as the lack of certain Mayan ceramic types, it is suggested that Santa Rosa actively resisted outside cultural influences.