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Recent surveys in the Tuxtla Mountains of southern Veracruz, Mexico, indicate that the region had a long history of occupation, beginning around 1400 B.C. and lasting until the Spanish Conquest. Settlement patterns during the Formative Period were largely unsegregated, with only nominal development of social complexity toward the end of the period, whereas those during the Classic Period were much more complex, with a well-developed settlement hierarchy, the growth of urban centers, a differentiated craft economy, and major contacts with highland Mesoamerica. Comparisons with surveys of comparable size from other parts of the south Gulf Coast show significant variability in population history, settlement patterns, and development of complex society. The settlement history of the south Gulf Coast was, therefore, not a homogeneous phenomenon, although resemblances in ceramic assemblage content and population history between the Tuxtlas and the Coatzacoalcos River valley suggest a closer relationship than with other areas of the Gulf Coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the evidence for specialized ceramics production at Matacapan, a large Classic-period site in the Tuxtlas Mountains of southern Veracruz, Mexico. The ceramics production system at Matacapan contained a larger number of production nodes. These production entities varied greatly in size, complexity, and internal differentiation, suggesting that there were major differences in the mode of production. Many of these production sites were highly specialized, emphasizing the manufacture of only a few ceramic wares and vessel forms. Pottery produced at Matacapan was also traded over comparatively long distances. The existence of a long-distance exchange process involving bulky goods implies that ceramics were moved by water transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]