Chantuto Archaeological Site

Coastal Collectors

According to work published by archaeologist Dr. Barbara Voorhies, the Chantuto name references to the people who belonged to the coastal region of Southwest Mexico, dating back to between 5500-1500 BC (7,500 - 3,500 years ago). These Chantuto people and the sites that are linked to the Chantuto, suggest that these persons relied mainly on a very coastal diet (mainly clams/fish). The sites that are linked to the Chantuto people hold the most evidence towards this theory as they consist of mainly clam shell remains, which have formed piles along five different lagoon archaeological sites, which have been explored by different archaeologists, such as Barbara Voorhies. Archaeologist Barbara Voorhies has taken the time to publish her work outlining the gathering habits of these once Mexican Chantuto people in her work Coastal Collectors in the Holocene: The Chantuto People of Southwest Mexico, which later refers to the Chantuto as the "last hunter-gatherer-fishers of the south Pacific coast of Mexico"(Amazon 2011) dating back almost 7,500 years ago.

The Site(s)

In relation to the Chantuto people, five sites where located near lagoons that are conveniently positioned along a canal where different shell middens have been discovered. Archaeologist Philip Drucker, who was one of the main participating archaeologists, dug a 2.5 meter test pit at one of the five Chantuto sites and discovered two different stratums, one containing a fair bit of pottery and one without any (Voorhies 2003). Most of the sites that were explored contained large amounts of shell deposits with limited to no other arte/eco facts. Other eco/artifacts in relation to these sites that have been found can include fish bones and other sea related goods. The archaeologists participating in these excavations, were able to date these sites “by means of radiocarbon assays and the methods of data recovery and interpretation ranging from replication experiments to ethnographic analogy" (Amazon 2010), which helped date these sites between 3,500-7, 500 years of age. Archaeologists exploring the Chantuto people and their gathering habits have found and excavated five different archaeological sites that have been referred to by archaeologist Barbara Voorhies as the “five coastal lagoons" (Voorhies 2003). The shell mound sites that are related to the Chantuto period where located on the mainland side of each lagoon of this Estuary. These sites were described as round or oval in shape, containing various amounts of clam shells, which most likely where stored here by the Chantuto people (Voorhies 2003). All of these shell sites are located in the Acapetahua Estuary area.

The Findings

The findings at this site are limited to a set of shell middens found along the lagoons of the Acapetahua Estuary, usually relating to clams. Voorhies proposes “ convincingly that the shell mound sites were mass procurement and processing stations for marsh dams that were dried and brought inland to base camp sites such as Vuelta Limon"(Rosenswig 2008). At the site of Tlachuachero, out of 17 samples taken from this stratum, such objects as bone, ceramics, shell, rock fragments and clay nudles arose. The collection results from this site outlined that 99.55% of the total weight of the samples were made up of clam shells with the remainder as other items, such as fish bone for example (Voorhies 2003). At the other four archaeological sites there have been a small amount of different objects found, such as but not limited to metates, hand stones, and anvils (Voorhies 2003).

The Main Archaeologist(s)

B.Voorhies

Barbara Voorhies:

Barbara Voorhies can be seen as the main archaeologist behind studying this Chantuto site and the people who inhabited this area. Barbara Voorhies is an American archaeologist who was educated at Tufts and Yale University. Dr. Voorhies has also taught at the University of Colorado and the University of California in Santa Barbara for nearly thirty years (Hirst 2010). This unique archaeologist has been best recognized by her work with the shell mound archaic sites of coastal Mexico, such as Cerro de las Conchas, Chiapas, and the discussed Chantuto phase sites such as Vuelta Limon and Tlachuachero (Hirst 2010). There were other archaeologists that participated in excavations at these sites, but there has been little to no reference of them in available literature. One of these hardly mentioned archaeologists is Philip Drucker. Philip Drucker was an archaeologist that explored the shell mound of Islona Chantuto. This is where his rushed excavations lead to him being convinced that this site was more than likely a pre-ceramic age and decided to discover it further (Voorhies 2003). This was followed by archaeologist Barbara Voorhies devoting much of her time to understanding and evaluating these Chantuto sites and the people who inhabited this area.

Sources

Voorhies, Barbara. "UCSB Anthropology Faculty--Voorhies." UCSB –Department of Anthropology-Home. UCSB, 2003. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. <http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/faculty/voorhies/voorhies_2000.html>. Hurst, Krist. "Chantuto Phase." Archaeology - The Study of Human History in Archaeology. About, 26 July 2010. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. <http://archaeology.about.com/od/cterms/g/chantuto.htm>.Amazon.com/coastal-collectors Rosenswig, Robert M.. "Barbara Voorhies. Coastal collectors in the Holocene: the Chantuto people of southwest Mexico| Antiquity | Find Articles." Find Articles | News Articles, Magazine Back Issues & Reference Articles on All Topics. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2011. <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3284/is_307_80/ai_n29259222/>. "Amazon.com: Coastal Collectors in the Holocene: The Chantuto People of Southwest Mexico (9780813027586): BARBARA VOORHIES: Books." Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & More. Ed. Amazon Books. Amazon.com, 2011. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. <http://www.amazon.com/Coastal-Collectors-Holocene-Chantuto-Southwest/dp/0813027586>. Photos:

"UCSB Anthropology Faculty--Voorhies." (Coastal Collectors Picture)

   UCSB -Department of Anthropology-Home. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.       <http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/faculty/voorhies/>.

"Department of Anthropology-News." (Barabara Voorhies Picture)

UCSB -Department of Anthropology-Home. University of California Santa Barbara, 08 Aug. 2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. <http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/news.php>.