Izapa is a very large pre-Columbian archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Chiapas; it was occupied during the Late Formative period. 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.
The settlement at Izapa extended over 1.4 miles, making it the largest site in Chiapas. The site reached its apogee between 600 BCE and 100 CE; several archaeologists have theorized that Izapa may have been settled as early as 1500 BCE, making it as old as the Olmec sites of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán and La Venta. Izapa remained occupied through the Late Classic period. The period of Izapa’s height is still unknown due to little material for carbon dating, so the issue is still widely debated.
Due to the abundance of carved Maya stelae and monuments at Izapa, the term "Izapa style" is used to describe similarly executed works throughout the Pacific foothills and highlands beyond, including some found at Takalik Abaj and Kaminaljuyu.
Izapa is located on wet and hilly land made of volcanic soil, though it is still fertile for agriculture. The weather is very hot and very wet. The area around Izapa was a major cacao producing area known as the Soconusco region, which was used by the Aztecs.
Read more about Izapa: Site Layout and Architecture, Izapa and Other Mesoamerican Civilizations, Izapan Monumental Art
Other articles related to "izapa":
... with the Olmec have been found at Takalik Abaj, Izapa, and Teopantecuanitlan, and as far south as in Honduras ... Research in the Pacific Lowlands of Chiapas and Guatemala suggest that Izapa and the Monte Alto Culture may have preceded the Olmec ... associated with various sculptures found at the Late Preclassic site of Izapa suggest a date of between 1800 and 1500 BC ...
... Izapa Stela 5 is one of a number of large, carved stelae found in the ancient Mesoamerican site of Izapa, in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico along the present-day Guatemalan border ...
... Mormon scholars, including Jakeman, believe that Izapa Stela 5, an ancient stela found in ancient Mesoamerica in the 1930s, is a depiction of this vision ... Mainstream Mesoamerican scholars do not support linking Izapa Stela 5 to the Book of Mormon ... on Izapan culture, finds that Jakeman's research "belies an obvious religious agenda that ignored Izapa Stela 5's heritage" ...
... Izapa Stela 1 features a long lipped deity, which Coe describes as the early version of Maya god of lightning and rain, Chaac ... Izapa Stela 2, like Stela 25, has been linked to the battle of the Maya Hero Twins against Vucub Caquix, a powerful ruling bird-demon of the Maya underworld, also known as Seven Macaw ... Izapa Stela 3 shows a deity wielding a club ...