Preclassic Period

As occurred throughout Mesoamerica, Chiapas [1]’s early tribal inhabitants evolved increasingly complex social systems, including the widespread adoption of the Long Count calendar. The earliest Long Count date to be found in Chiapas corresponds to B.C. 36, inscribed on a monument at Chiapa de Corzo [2] archaeological site.

This same period saw the rise of one of Chiapas’s great early city-states, Izapa [3], near present-day Tapachula [4]. Dominating the coastal lowlands for nearly a thousand years, the Izapans worshipped gods that were precursors of the Classic Maya pantheon and commemorated religious and historical events in bas-relief carvings that emphasized costume and finery.