History
| Maya civilization |
|---|
|
| History |
| Preclassic Maya |
| Classic Maya collapse |
| Spanish conquest of Yucatán |
| Spanish conquest of Guatemala |
The site had a long and continuous settlement history, with the period of principal occupation stretching from the Middle Preclassic down to the Postclassic. The earliest known occupation at Takalik Abaj dates towards the end of the Early Preclassic, ca. 1000 BC. However, it was not until the Middle to Late Preclassic that its first real florescence began with a noted surge in architectural constructions. From this period onwards a continuity of culture and population settlement is in evidence, as represented by the persistence of a local ceramic style (called Ocosito) that remained in use until the Late Classic. The Ocosito style was typically made with red paste and pumice and extended westwards at least as far as Coatepeque, southwards to the Ocosito River and eastwards to the Samalá River. By the Terminal Classic, pottery associated with a highland K'iche' ceramic style had begun to appear intermixed with Ocosito ceramic complex deposits. Ocosito ceramics were replaced entirely by the K'iche' ceramic tradition by the Early Postclassic period.
| Period | Division | Dates | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preclassic | Early Preclassic | 1000–800 BC | Diffuse population | |
| Middle Preclassic | 800–300 BC | Olmec | ||
| Late Preclassic | 300 BC – AD 200 | Early Maya | ||
| Classic | Early Classic | AD 200–600 | Teotihuacan-linked conquest | |
| Late Classic | Late Classic | AD 600–900 | Local recovery | |
| Terminal Classic | AD 800–900 | |||
| Postclassic | Early Postclassic | AD 900–1200 | K'iche' occupation | |
| Late Postclassic | AD 1200–1524 | Abandonment | ||
| Note: The period spans used at Takalik Abaj differ slightly from those generally used in the standard chronology applied to the wider Mesoamerican region. | ||||
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