NO. 8 LA VENTA CERAMIC COMPLEX — DRUCKER 5 



to the well-known Fine Orange which is such an important time 

 marker through most of central and southern Mexico. At La Venta 

 Fine Paste wares occur in small but gradually increasing amounts in 

 the stratitrench 3 deposit, and achieve a high numerical frequency in 

 stratitrench i. One important La Venta ware, Coarse BufT, which 

 occurs throughout the combined deposits, did not appear at Tres 

 Zapotes, nor can I relate it to any other described ceramic type. 



Vessel forms, expectably enough, show numerous points of com- 

 parison with dominant Tres Zapotes types. Flat-bottomed low bowls, 

 or dishes, with flaring sides, and rims which run through a series of 

 variants from a simple direct to flaring to everted, are common in 

 all wares (pi. 2, b), and "composite silhouette" bowls, with walls 

 that lean in from an angular break, then recurve strongly to a flar- 

 ing rim, likewise occur though they are never abundant. With these 

 latter, as at Tres Zapotes, is associated a double, elongate S design. 

 Both necked and neckless jars occur, the latter being one of the 

 most frequent of all forms. As for modifications, both solid lugs 

 and loop handles occur, though never in particular abundance. Feet 

 and legs are noteworthy by their absence. There is only one example 

 of a foot in the La Venta collections, and it may be an imported piece. 

 Annular bases, on the other hand, are fairly common (pi. 2, g). It 

 will be recalled that at Tres Zapotes heavy annular bases occurred 

 also, although in addition various types of feet and legs, mostly of 

 tripod vessels, were found. The over-all La Venta ceramic pattern 

 is, in short, close to that of Tres Zapotes, and specifically to that of 

 the Middle period. 



Clay figurines from La Venta belong in the archaistic tradition of 

 handmade, usually solid, figures, with features indicated by incising 

 or applique or both (pis. 3-6). No mold-made specimens were found. 

 Typologically, nearly all the La Venta pieces fit into the pattern 

 represented by Middle Tres Zapotes, in which the rigidly standardized 

 forms of the Lower period were manipulated and modified into a 

 series of variants, owing in part, perhaps, to certain alien influences, 

 but also to processes of local development and elaboration. At La 

 Venta, some of the self -same types occur as in Middle Tres Zapotes, 

 along with some variant types, the ultimate kinship of which with 

 Lower Tres Zapotes is clear. 



For cross-dating purposes, the La Venta figurines are most sig- 

 nificant : they point to a very definite time correlation with Middle 

 Tres Zapotes. This, it should be emphasized, is the same dating that 

 the general picture of the ceramics suggests. One factor only sug- 

 gests a modification : the high frequency of Fine Paste sherds in 



