The present-day city of Comalcalco reported a 2005 census population of 39,865 inhabitants, while the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat had a population of 173,773. The city is the third-largest community in the state of Tabasco, behind Villahermosa and Cárdenas.

The municipality, which has an area of 723.19 km² (279.225 sq mi), includes many smaller outlying communities, the largest of which are Tecolutilla, Chichicapa, Aldama, and Miguel Hidalgo.

In 1820, the river Mazacalapa was drying up, and many of the families made residence in the middle of the river on an island. The Government of the State of Tabasco; consisting of Juan Mariano Sale, Antonio Solana and Fausto Gordillo, and all members of the congress; established a town in October, and named it Isidro de Comcalco.

The decree was published by Don Marcelino Margalli, governor of the state and Jose Mariano Troncoso, who was secretary of the state.

The town is located in the Comalcalco municipalities, and on November 14 of 1834 the first local government was created.

The site of Comalcalco is notable for two characteristics. First, it is the westernmost known Maya settlement.

Second, and due to a dearth of locally available limestone (the primary material used in architectural construction), the city’s buildings were made from fired-clay bricks held together with mortar made from oyster shells.

The use of bricks at Comalcalco was unique among Maya sites, and many of them are decorated with iconography and/or hieroglyphs.

Important architectural features include the northern plaza and two pyramids, the Gran Acropolis and the Acropolis Este.

In November 2011, Mark Stevenson authored an article in the Seattle Times claiming that Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History revealed that there may be a reference to the December 2012 “doomsday” date on a second glyph found at their Comalcalco ruin site.

The inscription is on the carved or molded face of a brick, called The “Comalcalco Brick.” The brick has the same Calendar Round as the completion of the thirteenth b’ak’tun.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

National Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
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The geographic setting of La Venta played a crucial role in its development and significance. The site is situated within the region known as the Gulf Coast lowlands, which is characterized by lush, tropical rainforests, abundant rivers, and fertile soils.

This environment was ideal for agriculture and allowed for the cultivation of crops such as maize, which was the staple of Mesoamerican diets.

The Tonalá River, flowing nearby, provided a means of transportation and facilitated trade networks between La Venta and other ancient Mesoamerican cities.

Additionally, the surrounding rainforests were rich in natural resources, including precious woods, rubber, and cacao, which were highly valued commodities in ancient Mesoamerican cultures.

Indigenous had their own names for the site, but these names have largely been lost to history.

The Olmec civilization, which thrived at La Venta between approximately 1400 BCE and 400 BCE, did not leave written records, so much of what we know about the site and its name comes from later Spanish accounts.

The name “La Venta” has its origins in Spanish, as it means “The Sale” or “The Vend” in English. This name was given to the site by the Spanish explorers and conquerors who arrived in the region during the 16th century.

The name likely reflects the Spanish perception of the site as a place where valuable items could be obtained or traded. This is in line with the site’s historical importance as a center of commerce, culture, and religious significance in the ancient Mesoamerican world.

The Olmec was one of the first civilizations to develop in the Americas.

The Olmecs are known as the “mother culture” of Mesoamerica, meaning that the Olmec civilization was the first culture that spread and influenced Mesoamerica. Chronologically, the history of the Olmecs can be divided into:

• Early Formative (1800-900 BCE)
• Middle Formative (900-400 BCE)
• Late Formative (400 BCE  -200 AD)

The spread of Olmec culture eventually became the cultural feature found throughout all Mesoamerican societies.

Rising from the sedentary agriculturalists of the Gulf Lowlands as early as 1600 BCE in the Early Formative period, the Olmecs held sway in the Olmec heartland, an area on the southern Gulf of Mexico coastal plain, in Veracruz and Tabasco.

Prior to the site of La Venta, the first Olmec site of San Lorenzo dominated the modern-day state of Veracruz (1200-900 BCE).

Roughly 200 km long and 80 km wide, with the Coatzalcoalcos River system running through the middle, the heartland is home to the major Olmec sites of La Venta, San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, Laguna de los Cerros, and Tres Zapotes.

By no later than 1200 BCE, San Lorenzo had emerged as the most prominent Olmec center. While a layer of occupation at La Venta dates to 1200 BCE, La Venta did not reach its apogee until the decline of San Lorenzo, after 900 BCE.

After 500 years of pre-eminence, La Venta was all but abandoned by the beginning of the fourth century BCE.

The humid tropical climate of La Venta has an average annual temperature of 26 C and an average annual rainfall of 2,000 mm. La Venta is located at the nexus of four different ecosystems: marshes, mangrove swamps, tropical forests, and the Gulf of Mexico.

There was a large resident population at the site, a number of specialists not dedicated to food production and political, religious, economic, and/or military relations with other sites within its area of influence.

Unfortunately, few, if any, of the residential structures surrounding the large centers of the city have survived. The main part of the site is a complex of clay constructions stretched out for 20 km in a north-south direction, although the site is oriented 8° west of north.

The urbanized zone may have covered an area as large as 2 sq km. This particular site layout is the way the city was from 600 – 400 BCE, which is when the final Olmec occupation occurred.

This site is particularly fascinating because of its layout—not only does Complex A face within 8 degrees of true North, but the east and west sides of the site are almost identical, showing bilateral symmetry.

This is perhaps related to religion (it’s fairly speculative, at this point) but it certainly shows a high level of sophistication and city planning.

Unlike later Maya or Aztec cities, La Venta was built from earth and clay—there was little locally abundant stone for the construction.

Large basalt stones were brought in from the Tuxtla Mountains, but these were used nearly exclusively for monuments including the colossal heads, the “altars” (actually thrones), and various stelae.

For example, the basalt columns that surround Complex A were quarried from Punta Roca Partida, on the Gulf coast north of the San Andres Tuxtla volcano. “Little more than half of the ancient city survived modern disturbances enough to map accurately.”

Today, the entire southern end of the site is covered by a petroleum refinery and has been largely demolished, making excavations difficult or impossible. Many of the site’s monuments are now on display in the archaeological museum and park in Villahermosa.

La Venta was a civic and ceremonial center. While it may have included as-yet-undiscovered regal residences, habitation for the non-regal elite and the commoners was located at outlying sites such as San Andrés. Instead of dwellings, La Venta is dominated by a restricted sacred area (Complex A), the Great Pyramid (Complex C), and the large plaza to their south.

As a ceremonial center, La Venta contains an elaborate series of buried offerings and tombs, as well as monumental sculptures. These stone monuments, stelae, and “altars” were carefully distributed amongst the mounds and platforms.

The mounds and platforms were built largely from local sands and clays. It is assumed that many of these platforms were once topped with wooden structures, which have long since disappeared.

Complex C (The Great Pyramid)

Complex C, “The Great Pyramid,” is the central building in the city layout, is constructed almost entirely out of clay, and is easily seen from far away. The structure is built on top of a closed-in platform—this is where Blom and La Farge discovered Altars 2 and 3, thereby discovering La Venta and the Olmec civilization.

A carbon sample from a burned area of Structure C-1’s surface resulted in the date of 394 ± 30 BCE.

One of the earliest pyramids known in Mesoamerica, the Great Pyramid is 34 m high and contains an estimated 100,000 cubic meters of earthfill. The current conical shape of the pyramid was once thought to represent nearby volcanoes or mountains, but recent work by Rebecca Gonzalez Lauck has shown that the pyramid was in fact a rectangular pyramid with stepped sides and inset corners, and the current shape is most likely due to 2500 years of erosion.

The pyramid itself has never been excavated, but a magnetometer survey in 1967 found an anomaly high on the south side of the pyramid. Speculation ranges from a section of burned clay to a cache of buried offerings to a tomb.

Complex A

Complex A is a mound and plaza group located just to the north of the Great Pyramid (Complex C). The centerline of Complex A originally oriented to Polaris (true north) which indicates the Olmec had some knowledge of astronomy.

Surrounded by a series of basalt columns, which likely restricted access to the elite, it was erected in a period of four construction phases that span over four centuries (1000 – 600 BCE).

Beneath the mounds and plazas were found a vast array of offerings and other buried objects, more than 50 separate caches by one count, including buried jade, polished mirrors made of iron ores, and five large “Massive Offerings” of serpentine blocks. It is estimated that Massive Offering 3 contains 50 tons of carefully finished serpentine blocks, covered by 4,000 tons of clay fill.

Also unearthed in Complex A were three rectangular mosaics (also known as “Pavements”) each roughly 4.5 by 6 m and each consisting of up to 485 blocks of serpentine.

These blocks were arranged horizontally to form what has been variously interpreted as an ornate Olmec bar-and-four-dots motif, the Olmec Dragon, a very abstract jaguar mask, a cosmogram, or a symbolic map of La Venta and environs.

Not intended for display, soon after completion these pavements were covered over with colored clay and then many feet of earth.

Five formal tombs were discovered within Complex A, one with a sandstone sarcophagus carved with what seemed to be a crocodilian earth monster. Diehl states that these tombs “are so elaborate and so integrated to the architecture that it seems clear that Complex A really was a mortuary complex dedicated to the spirits of deceased rulers”.

Monument 19

This relief sculpture is the earliest known example of the feathered serpent in Mesoamerica.

Offering 4

Sixteen figurines and six celts form a strange

Complex B

South of the Great Pyramid lies Complex B. Whereas Complex A was apparently restricted to the elite, the plaza of Complex B seems to be built specifically for large public gatherings.

This plaza is just south of the Great Pyramid, east of the Complex B platforms, and west of the huge raised platform referred to as the Stirling Acropolis. This plaza is nearly 400 m long and over 100 m wide.

A small platform is situated in the center of the plaza.

This layout has led researchers to propose that the platforms surrounding the plaza functioned as stages where ritual drama was enacted for viewers within the plaza. These rituals were likely related to the “altars”, monuments, and the stelae surrounding and within the plaza.

These monuments, including Colossal Head 1 (Monument 1), were of such a large size and were placed in such a position that they could convey their messages to many viewers at once.

Complex E

Though there are not any actual houses remaining in this area (or anywhere at La Venta) “a chemical evaluation of the soil revealed unusual concentrations of phosphate, indicating the possibility it had been a residential zone.”

Summary

The arrangement of the mounds, platforms, complexes, and monumental artifacts at La Venta created a unique civil and ceremonial center that, in the words of Rebecca Gonzalez-Lauck, constitutes “one of the earliest examples of large-scale ideological communications through the interaction of architecture and sculpture”.

Colossal heads

Certainly the most famous of the La Venta monumental artifacts are the four colossal heads. Seventeen colossal heads have been unearthed in the Olmec area, four of them at La Venta, officially named Monuments 1 through 4.

Three of the heads—Monuments 2, 3, & 4—were found roughly 150 meters north of Complex A, which is itself just north of the Great Pyramid. These heads were in a slightly irregular row, facing north. The other colossal head—Monument 1 (shown at left) – is a few dozen meters south of the Great Pyramid.

The La Venta heads are thought to have been carved by 700 BCE, but possibly as early as 850 BCE, while the San Lorenzo heads are credited to an earlier period. The colossal heads can measure up to 2.84 m in height and weigh several tons.

The sheer size of the stones caused a great deal of speculation on how the Olmec were able to move them. The major basalt quarry for the colossal heads at La Venta was found at Cerro Cintepec in the Tuxtla Mountains, over 80 km away.

Each of the heads wears headgear reminiscent of 1920s-style American football helmets, although each is unique in its decoration. The consensus is that the heads likely represent mighty Olmec rulers.

Altars 4 & 5

Seven basalt “altars” were found at La Venta, including Altar 4 and Altar 5. These altars, roughly 2 meters high and twice as wide, feature an elaborately dressed and sculpted figure on the center front.

The figure on Altar 4 is sitting inside what appears to be a cave or the mouth of a fantastic creature, holding a rope that wraps around the base of the altar to his right and left. On the left side, the rope is connected to a seated bas-relief figure.

The right side is eroded away but is thought to be similar to the scene on the right.

The consensus today is that these “altars” are thrones on which the Olmec rulers were seated during important rituals or ceremonies.

This leads many researchers to interpret the figure at the front of Altar 4 as a ruler, who is contacting or being helped by his ancestors, the figures on either side of the altar. Alternatively, some believe the side figures to be bound captives.

Altar 5 faces Altar 4 across Structure D-8 (one of the dozens of mounds at La Venta, the remains of platforms).

Altar 5 is similar in design and size to Altar 4, except that the central figure holds an inert, perhaps dead, were-jaguar baby. The left side of Altar 5 features bas-reliefs of humans holding quite lively were-jaguar babies.

Like the Altar 4, the right side of Altar 5 has been defaced.

Some have seen child sacrifice echoed in the limp were-jaguar baby on the front of Altar 5. Others, however, view the tableau as a myth of human emergence or as the story of a spiritual journey.

Although less striking and displaying a lesser degree of craftsmanship, Altars 2 and 3 are similar to Altars 4 and 5. They each show a central figure, one with a baby and one without, and they sit facing each other on the southern edge of the Great Pyramid.

La Venta was the cultural capital of the Olmec concentration in the region. It contained a “concentration of power,” as reflected by the sheer enormity of the architecture and the extreme value of the artifacts uncovered.

La Venta is perhaps the largest Olmec city and it was controlled and expanded by an extremely complex hierarchical system with a king, as the ruler and the elites below him. Priests had power and influence over life and death and likely great political sway as well.

Unfortunately, not much is known about the political or social structure of the Olmec, though new dating techniques might, at some point, reveal more information about this elusive culture.

It is possible that the signs of status exist in the artifacts recovered at the site such as depictions of feathered headdresses or of individuals wearing a mirror on their chest or forehead.

“High-status objects were a significant source of power in the La Venta polity political power, economic power, and ideological power. They were tools used by the elite to enhance and maintain rights to rulership.”

It has been estimated that La Venta would need to be supported by a population of at least 18,000 people during its principal occupation. To add to the mystique of La Venta, the alluvial soil did not preserve skeletal remains, so it is difficult to observe differences in burials.

However, colossal heads provided proof that the elite had some control over the lower classes, as their construction would have been extremely labor-intensive. “Other features similarly indicate that many laborers were involved.”

In addition, excavations over the years have discovered that different parts of the site were likely reserved for elites and other parts for non-elites. This segregation of the city indicates that there must have been social classes and therefore social inequality.

Burials

Several burials have been found at La Venta, especially in Mound A, but none have skeletal remains as the environment is too humid for organic preservation. “Organic materials do not preserve well in the acidic soils of La Venta.

The only organics recovered at the site include traces of long bones, a burned skullcap, a few milk teeth, a shark’s tooth, and stingray spines—all found in the basalt tomb [Structure A-2].”

Offerings of jade celts and figures seem to be commonplace and were likely concentrated in burials (though this cannot be confirmed because there are no human remains still present).

Artifacts, such as jade earspools, beads, pendants, spangles, plaques, and other jewelry, were found in plenty at burial sites; however, it is difficult to tell if they were worn or placed in the grave as burial goods.

Structure A-2

Structure A-2 (Mound A) is an earthen platform thought to be a burial site (a “funerary chamber”).

Inside the platform, researchers discovered badly preserved bones covered in a red pigment, cinnabar, a substance used in similar Mesoamerican cultures to denote status.

Also found were jade artifacts, figurines, and masks, as well as polished obsidian mirrors. Mirrors are also suspected to be a mark of rank among the Olmec, as stelae and other monuments display leaders and priests wearing them on their chests and on their foreheads.

“Throughout the layer [uncovered by Stirling in 1942] were copious unrestorable traces of organic material. The red cinnabar lay in a fashion that gave the impression that it had been inside of wrapped bundles.

Probably the bodies had been thus wrapped before interment.”

Urn Burials

Rust (2008) discovered “urn burials” in Complex E (residential area) where fragments of bone and teeth were buried in clay pots.

“The fill immediately around this large urn was clean, yellow sand, and the urn was covered with an inverted fine-paste orange bowl with flaring walls; the bowl’s interior was painted red and incised with the double-line-break pattern on the inside rim.”

“For decades, certain scholars have used shamanism as an explanatory paradigm for considering the monuments of La Venta… one of the most important ceremonial-civic centers of the Middle Formative era.

Most of what is known about Olmec’s religion is speculative, but certain patterns do emerge at La Venta that are certainly symbolic and might have ritual meaning.

For example, the crossed bands symbol, an X in a rectangular box, is often repeated in stone at La Venta, and other Olmec sites, and continues to have significance to the cultures inspired by the Olmec.

It often appears in conjunction with the maize deity and so might have a connection with subsistence.

The artifacts discovered at La Venta have been crucial to starting to understand Olmec’s religion and ideology. For example, hematite and iron-ore mirror fragments have been discovered in abundance at La Venta.

Mirrors were an incredibly important part of Olmec society, used in both rituals and daily life. Celts, or “pseudo-axes,” are extremely common in both burials and offerings. It is unclear whether these artifacts were actually used in any practical way or if their meaning is ritual or symbolic.

Most are smooth, but quite a few are decorated with what has been interpreted as representing religious symbolism. Such celts and other jade artifacts were offered to deities during ceremonies at La Venta and the belief in supernatural beings is evidenced in Olmec artifacts.

However, it is difficult to tell which important figures remaining on the stone monuments and artifacts are gods and which are human leaders. In fact, there might have been little difference between the divine and the Olmec king, in their ideology.

Structures at La Venta show that “various architectural-sculptural canons were firmly established—canons that were, in essence, used in civic-ceremonial constructions throughout the cultural history of ancient Middle America.”

In other words, most of what we know about the Olmec, from La Venta, comes from the architecture and artifacts left behind, and from these clues, it can be discerned that Maya and Aztec culture and ideology were heavily influenced by the Olmec “mother culture.”

There is a definite connection between animals and spirituality among the Olmec, especially with animal characteristics combined with human features. This is represented in Olmec “art” and those with elite status would have worn elaborate headdresses of feathers and other animal forms.

Ocean creatures were also sacred to the Olmec—Pohl (2005) found shark teeth and sting ray remains at feasting sites at San Andres and it is clear that those at La Venta shared the same ideology. “Zoomorphic forms reference sharks and birds, and both collections contain representations of the quincunx symbol, a conceptualization of the cosmos in Mesoamerican thought.”

“Given the lack of written documents in Formative Mesoamerica, there is no foolproof strategy for interpreting Olmec visual culture.”

However, it is almost certain that the Olmec had some form of a writing system that utilized symbols, as evidenced in the cylinder seal and other forms of writing found at the nearby elite center, San Andres.

The wild flora and fauna greatly varied at La Venta and mostly consisted of seafood, deer, and a variety of small animals, as well as many wild plants. The only animals domesticated by the Olmec were dogs and, therefore, La Venta and surrounding areas largely depended on wild game.

However, the rich, alluvial soil along the river banks allowed for multiple harvests every year and the land, in general, was quite bountiful. “Evidence has been found for corn (Zea mais) of teosinte size associated with ceramic material dated to 1750 BCE.”

Maize was the primary domesticated food source and Seinfeld’s (2007) study of feasting at the nearby sub-city of San Andres uncovered likely maize use in beverages, as well as cocoa.

Basalt rock was brought in from the Tuxtla Mountains to make stone monuments.

Whether or not this is an example of trade with another culture is uncertain. La Venta had a strong concentration of specialized craftsmen and so it is entirely possible that more goods were exported than imported.

This local exchange, and the resulting relationship system, is important, though, because it increased and consolidated the power of the elites with luxury goods and feasting foods like cacao and maize beer. “Participation in regional and long-distance exchange networks provided the La Venta ruling elite with a significant source of legitimizing power.”

Frans Blom and Oliver La Farge made the first detailed descriptions of La Venta during their 1925 expedition, sponsored by Tulane University. Originally La Venta was thought to be a Mayan site. It wasn’t until more sophisticated radiocarbon techniques were developed in the 1950s that Olmec sites were irrefutably dated as preceding the Maya.

La Venta was first excavated by Matthew Stirling and Philip Drucker (assisted by Waldo Wedel in 1943, due to Drucker’s military service during WWII) between 1940 and 1943, resulting in several articles by Stirling and 1952 a two-volume monograph by Drucker. Stirling is sometimes credited with identifying the Olmec civilization; although some Olmec sites and monuments had been known earlier, it was Stirling’s work that put the Olmec culture into context. This first excavation was funded by the National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian Institution and focused on collecting samples using stratipits.

In 1955, Drucker led a new excavation, funded again by the National Geographic Society, concentrating on Complex A and finally reaching the subsoil at the site, establishing stratigraphy to discover the constructional history. They discovered more jade artifacts, which were interpreted as ritual offerings, as well as pottery shards. The findings were published by Drucker, Robert Heizer, and Robert Squier, (who were also assisted by Eduardo Contreras and Pierre Agrinier) in 1959. At this point most of the site was still unexcavated and in a strongly worded passage Heizer reported that the site was inadequately protected by the Mexican government and a wave of illegal excavations followed the departure of the archaeologists, as well as damage by urban sprawl, the national oil company, Pemex, and the removal of large monuments to museums (without leaving markers as to their original positions).

Several subsequent excavations followed through the 1960s, funded by generous grants from the National Geographic Society. On their return in 1967, Drucker and Heizer saw that, as others had already claimed, the vegetation previously covering the mound, as well as their own assumptions, had led to them previously publishing a completely wrong account of its shape. It was in fact a round fluted cone with ten ridges and depressions around it, rather than the sloping rectangle, leading to a flat platform that they had assumed. Possibly the shape was intended to match or represent the mountains nearby. They also obtained better carbon samples in order to achieve one of the key goals of the excavation of La Venta—proving that the Olmec were a distinct and separate culture that pre-dates the first Maya settlements.

Rebecca Gonzalez-Lauck led an INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia) team on several digs at La Venta in the 1980s. Her team focused on mapping the site and “ended and reversed the urban encroachment on the archaeological site of La Venta and created a program of protection, restoration, and research.” Their efforts have opened the site to a new generation of graduate students and other anthropologists, who continue to uncover new evidence about the mysterious Olmec.

A ceramic cylinder was recovered from the nearby San Andrés La Venta site that dates to around 650 BCE bringing evidence to the argument that a writing system existed at this site.

A bird image is connected to two glyphs on speech scrolls that represent the date 3 Ajaw on the 260-day Mesoamerican calendar. The seal increases the likelihood that a writing system existed as well as a 260-day calendar during this time period.

“Because of extremely poor viewing conditions in the tropical rainforest, different parts of La Venta were discovered piecemeal, and it was decades before scholars realized that all the platforms and stone sculptures found in the vicinity were part of a single site, an ancient city that was occupied from 900-400 BCE.”

Phases I- IV are dated based on radiocarbon dates from Complex A, with approximately one hundred years between each phase. Unfortunately, excavating Complex A led to the destruction of the original integrity of the site and has made it difficult to go back and re-verify the dates.

This is why La Venta has a rather loose chronology that cannot be made any more definitive.

Phase I—dated with five radiocarbon samples (from the stratigraphy at Complex A) that have an average age of 2770 ± 134 years old (814 BCE +/- 134 years)

Phase II—dated with a single sample at 804 BCE

Phase III—no radiocarbon dates

Phase IV—no radiocarbon dates, from Post-Phase IV dates, Heizer and Drucker estimated the end of Phase IV somewhere between 450 and 325 BCE

Post-Phase IV—two samples average 2265 years old (309 BCE)

Conclusion: The La Venta site was used from (approximately) 800- 400 BCE, during the Formative Period. Complex A at the site was built and rebuilt during this period and this date range comes from carbon samples from construction fills.

Rebecca Gonzalez Lauck asserts that the Olmec concentration at La Venta occurred from 1200 – 400 BCE and the overriding point seems to be that an exact chronology has proved to be elusive.

On January 11, 2009, 23 ancient Olmec sculptures were damaged with a mixture of salt water, grape juice, and oil by a group attempting to perform a supposed pre-Columbian ritual to bring about peace and world healing.

The group of two Mexicans, Roberto Conde Díaz and José Pablo Megenes Jasso, and an American citizen, Wanda Ivette Aguilar were alleged members of a Christian sect called “Nueva Generación”.

The incident prompted Mexican legislators to draft legislation “that would increase fines and jail time for vandalism and looting of monuments and archaeological sites.”

The territory is flat with an elevation of about ten meters above sea level.

There are no notable hills. Its low terrain makes it very vulnerable to flooding. During the 2007 floods, which affected 80% of the state with a million people affected, the city of Nacajuca and other communities on higher ground became islands.

With roads washed out, the only way to reach these islands was with small boats.

This flood affected the entire municipality and destroyed or damaged most of the homes. Flooding from the Samaria River affected Chontal communities such as Guácimo, Pastal, Chcozapote, Guatacalca, and Oxiacaque in the municipality in October 2011.

Residents here blame the flood on discharge from the Peñitas Dam. Twenty-five percent of the state’s freshwater passes through the municipality. It has a large amount of surface water in the form of rivers, streams, and lakes.

The most important rivers include Carrizal, Samaria, Cunduacán, Nacajuca, González, Calzada, San Cipriano, and Jahuactal, and the important lakes are Cantemó, La Ramada, Desagüe, and Pucté.

The dominant ecosystem in the municipality is a wetland with a wide variety of flora and fauna. However, this ecosystem has been badly degraded by overexploitation. In addition, there are some areas with lakes, grassland, and forests.

The little forest area has also been seriously threatened by over–logging for tropical hardwoods and clearing for pasture.

The main fauna of the area includes rabbits, opossums, armadillos, caiman crocodiles, pejelagarto, coral snakes, iguanas, and more, all of which are considered threatened.

The climate is hot and humid with abundant rain year-round, especially in the summer.

The average annual temperature is 26.4C. The highest temperatures occur in May with an average of 30.8C and low temperatures generally occur in January with an average of 22.4C.

The highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded are 44C and 12C respectively.

The average annual rainfall for the area is 1707.2mm with September accounting for most of the precipitation at an average of 735.8mm. The driest month is April with 251.2mm.

Average annual relative humidity ranges from 78% in May and June to 85% in January and February. The windiest months are November and December with speeds of up to 32 km/hr. In June and July, the average wind speed is 20 km/hr.

Nacajuca boasts a rich history that intertwines with the broader narrative of the Maya civilization and Spanish colonization. The roots of human settlement in Nacajuca trace back to the decline of the great Maya cities such as Palenque, Tikal, Uxmal, and Comalcalco.

As these urban centers were abandoned, it is believed that their inhabitants followed the rivers, establishing new communities in the plains of Tabasco and along the Gulf of Mexico coast.

The indigenous population of Nacajuca, originally named Nacaxuxuca, was officially founded on June 13, 1325. By the time the Spanish arrived in 1518, the Maya Chontales had settled in the river deltas of Mezcalapa, Grijalva, and Usumacinta.

Notably, in late 1524 and early 1525, the conquistador Hernán Cortés passed through Tabasco on his way to Honduras. During his journey, he visited a settlement he referred to as Anaxuxuca, which chronicler Bernal Díaz del Castillo called Nacaxuxuca, meaning “place of pale or discolored faces” in Nahuatl. This name was a reference to the local inhabitants, who were often afflicted by malaria due to the abundance of mosquitoes in the swampy region.

In his “Fifth Letter of Relation” from 1525, Cortés described the region as abundant in cacao and other provisions, with many fishing opportunities. He noted the challenging terrain, which during the rainy season was impassable except by canoe.

Fast forward to the colonial period, on April 10, 1579, the mayor of Tabasco, Vasco Rodríguez, commissioned Melchor Alfaro Santa Cruz to create the first map of Tabasco province and document its details for the Spanish crown.

The exact date of Nacajuca’s Spanish foundation is unclear, but by 1614, the first church and royal house, made of straw, hedge, and mud, were constructed in the town.

Throughout the 19th century, Nacajuca played a role in the political and military events of the era. On July 31, 1843, local authorities swore allegiance to the constitutional bases sanctioned by President Antonio López de Santa Anna.

In 1844, Manuel Antonio León and Colonel Manuel Plasencia formed a volunteer company to defend Tabasco against an invasion led by Colonel Francisco de Sentmanat y Sayas. By July 15, 1845, the Nacajuca council recognized Juan José Herrera as president of the Republic and Juan de Dios Salazar as governor.

On November 17, 1852, a state decree established Nacajuca as a party, including surrounding villages like Tucta, Mazateupa, and Guaytalpa. The town was elevated to the status of a villa on February 14, 1863, during the governorship of Victorino Dueñas Outruani. Finally, in January 1971, Governor Mario Trujillo García decreed that Nacajuca be raised to the rank of a city.

Today, Nacajuca stands as a testament to the resilience and evolution of its people, from ancient Maya roots to its contemporary status, reflecting a blend of indigenous heritage and colonial influence.

Nacajuca is a major center of the state’s Chontal Maya population, which principally lives in the north center of Tabasco.

They call themselves “yoko yinikob” and “yoko ixikob” which mean true men and true women respectively. The name Chontal comes from Nahuatl and means “foreigner” originally how the Aztecs called them.

Their language is of the Mayan family, which is descended from a language spoken in southeastern Mexico four thousand years ago. It belongs to the Ch’ol subgroup and further divides today into several mutually intelligible dialects.

There are three main dialects, North, South, and Tapotzingo, with North and Tapotzingo centered in the Nacajuca area. The number of speakers of Chontal Maya has been increasing since 1980 with about 60% of the ethnic population able to speak it at least somewhat.

These speakers are almost always bilingual. One reason for this is the introduction of bilingual education in the 1970s.

According to the 2010 government census, there are 13,809 speakers of an indigenous language, and almost all indigenous language speakers (over 96%) are speakers of Chontal Maya.

However, government census data, which only counts the number of Chontal speakers over the age of five, does not accurately reflect the size of the Chontal community.

In 2000, the size of the ethnic Chontal Maya community was estimated at 36.9% of the total. Fourteen of the municipality’s communities are considered to be primarily indigenous, another four predominantly indigenous, and six with a large indigenous population.

Those without strong Indigenous presence number 38.

Communities with a strong Chontal Maya presence include Tucta, Tapotzingo, Mazateupa, Guaytalpa, Tecoluta, Oxiacaque, Guatacalca, Olcuatitán, San Isidro, San Simón, El Sitio, Isla Guadalupe, El Tigre, Guanosolo and Saloya.

The municipality’s culture is strongly influenced by the Chontal Maya population, especially in religious traditions which are a syncretism of Catholic and indigenous rituals.

The village of Olcuatitlán is noted for its Candlemas celebration in early February masses, dances, and fireworks. Another aspect is the use of leafy tree branches as offerings to religious images in the hope of good crops and livestock production for the coming year.

Traditional dress for women consists of a long, full-flowered skirt and a white cotton blouse embroidered around the neck. For men, it consists of white cotton pants and a shirt with a red handkerchief around the neck with a hat called “chontal”, carrying back and machete.

Traditional foodstuffs include a plant called guao (Comocladia dentate), turtle, pejelagarto, and other river fish and turkey. Traditional sweets are made from coconut, papaya, lemons, mangos, prunes, and a type of yam (camote).

The most traditional drink is pozol, made from chocolate and corn, along with hot chocolate and fruit drinks. The community of Saloya is known for its palapa-type restaurants specializing in regional dishes and seafood.

Tenosique de Pino Suárez experiences a tropical monsoon climate, which has distinct wet and dry seasons.

The wet season typically spans from May to October.

During this period, the town receives the majority of its annual rainfall. Showers and thunderstorms are common, and the humidity levels can be quite high. The lush vegetation in the region thrives during this time.

The dry season occurs from November to April. This period is characterized by significantly lower rainfall, with sunny and warm days being the norm. Humidity levels drop during this time, making it more comfortable for outdoor activities.

Best time to visit Tenosique de Pino Suárez

The best time to visit this region largely depends on your preferences and the type of experience you’re seeking:

Dry Season (November to April)

This is considered the peak tourist season in Tenosique. The weather is pleasant, with warm days and cooler nights. The lower humidity levels make outdoor exploration, hiking, and sightseeing more comfortable.

It’s an ideal time for birdwatching and exploring the rainforests without the worry of heavy rainfall.

Wet Season (May to October)

If you’re interested in experiencing the lush greenery and vibrant wildlife of the rainforest, visiting during the wet season can be rewarding. However, be prepared for frequent rain showers and the possibility of flooding in some areas.

It’s crucial to plan outdoor activities carefully and pack appropriate rain gear.

The name “Tenosique” has its roots in the indigenous Nahuatl language.

According to one theory, this name comes from the Maya words “Tana” or house and “tsiic” weaving or counting threads. This means “Casa de los Hilanderos” (“House of Weavers or thread counters”).

According to another version, the name Tenosique is believed to be a combination of two Nahuatl words, “tenochtli” and “xique,” which roughly translates to “place of the wall” or “place of the stones.”

This name might reference the rocky terrain or geological formations in the area.

The “de Pino Suárez” part of the town’s name is in honor of Venustiano Carranza’s Vice President, José María Pino Suárez, who played a significant role in Mexican politics during the early 20th century.

Pre-Hispanic Period

Tenosique is considered to have been founded c. 1000 B.C. in the Preclassic Maya Period.

Since then Tenosique has been occupied uninterruptedly.

Tenosique and its surrounding region were originally inhabited by indigenous peoples, including the Chontal Maya. These communities engaged in agriculture and trade, leaving behind archaeological sites and evidence of their rich culture.

16th Century

Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area, led by Hernán Cortés. The region was gradually incorporated into the Spanish colonial empire. The town of Tenosique was founded as a Spanish settlement, likely on or near an existing indigenous settlement.

17th Century

Tenosique became part of the larger Tabasco region and played a role in the ongoing Spanish colonization efforts in Mexico. The Spanish established missions in the area to convert indigenous peoples to Christianity.

19th Century

During the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821) and later, the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), Tenosique was affected by the political and social changes of the time. It witnessed battles and shifting allegiances.

20th Century

In 1911, during the Mexican Revolution, Tenosique played a significant role in the fight against Porfirio Díaz’s regime. The town was named “Tenosique de Pino Suárez” in honor of José María Pino Suárez, who served as Vice President under President Venustiano Carranza.

Late 20th Century

Tenosique continued to develop as an agricultural center, known for its production of crops like maize, beans, and sugarcane. The town’s strategic location near the Guatemalan border also made it important for trade and transportation.

21st Century

In recent years, Tenosique has faced challenges related to migration, with many Central American migrants passing through the town on their way to the United States. This has brought attention to humanitarian and immigration issues in the region.

Consider timing your visit to coincide with local festivals and events.

Tenosique hosts various festivals throughout the year, celebrating its cultural heritage and traditions.

• Festival de la Raza in October
• Feria de Tenosique in December

Carnival of Tenosique

The Carnival of Tenosique takes place between the months of January and February.

The carnival takes place each year and is classified as the “rarest of the world”. It is a carnival of prehispanic roots. The inhabitants congregate in the streets to flour and then witness the traditional “Pochó dance”.

This celebration attracts many visitors not only from the neighboring states.

• From San Cristobal de las Casas by bus (almost 7 hours)
• From Villahermosa by bus (almost 7 hours)
• From Escarcega by daily bus (2:30 hours)
• From Palenque by bus (1 hour)

The river and its tributaries were important trade routes for the ancient Maya civilization. Yaxchilan and Piedras Negras, two of the most powerful cities of the Maya Classic Period, lie along its banks.

Before roads, such as the Border Highway constructed by the Mexican Government in the early 1990s, penetrated the jungle, the river was the only means of travel in this region. Huge trunks of hardwood trees were floated downriver to the state of Tabasco.

In the 1980s, many Guatemalan refugees fled across the river to relative safety in Mexico.

Other groups of refugees and Guatemalan guerrillas formed the so-called CPR communities in the jungle on the Guatemalan shores, hiding from the government until the peace accords of the nineties.

Frans and Trudi Blom first brought the idea of conservation to the watershed in the 1950s by proposing that a section of the Selva Lacandona be reserved for the Lacandon Maya.

Their idea was as much the preservation of culture as of habitat, and this principle – that indigenous integrity and habitat are inextricably linked in the watershed – should help guide any future conservation planning.

Conservationists working in the region, such as Nacho March, Ron Nigh, Fernando Ochoa, Roan Balas McNab, and others, have all acknowledged and upheld the principle in their work.

The first large hydroelectric project on the Usumacinta in “Boca del Cerro”, Tenosique, Tabasco, was proposed in the 1980s and would have stretched all the way up the Pasion and Lacantun tributaries, flooding Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan, among other known and unknown Maya sites. At that time, the Guatemalan shore was held by rebels, whose presence discouraged illegal logging, poaching, and looting. It also discouraged dam engineers.

In 1985 Jefferey Wilkerson’s groundbreaking article in National Geographic brought the river and its glories to widespread public consciousness for the first time.

Additionally, the Guatemalan journalist Victor Perera wrote about the river in The Nation and in his books, The Last Lords of Palenque and Unfinished Conquest, and Jan de Vos chronicled the region in his magisterial series of histories.

Ultimately the hydro project failed under the weight of its own disincentives: siltation, geology, seismic activity, distance from markets, politics, etc., but the outcry from conservationists, archeologists, writers, and the public helped. It also established a pattern.

A thriving seasonal business in wilderness tourism began after the Wilkerson article. The river and its environs became a favorite destination of river travelers, amateur Mayanists and archaeologists, birders and wildlife tourists.

Carlos Salinas de Gortari proposed a smaller but still monumental hydro project in 1990, and completed the periferico surrounding the Montes Azules reserve. Articles in The New York Times and op-ed pieces by Homero Aridjis suggesting a binational reserve for the area, helped defeat this incarnation of the idea.

In the late 1990s, a consortium of scientists, and government and non-governmental organizations met in San Cristóbal de las Casas, to identify the extent and types of habitat remaining in the region, and to draw maps of the watershed.

The conference addressed many of the jurisdictional and administrative questions that still bedevil the idea.

The Zapatista Rebellion in 1994 and 1995, and the Guatemalan peace accords in 1996, reshaped the political lines in the watershed. As a direct consequence, and with the dramatic fall of the peso, bandits began robbing raft trips, ending wilderness travel in the corridor.

One of the most promising tourist activities, with the least potential impact and the most possibility for helping conservation, archaeology, and cultural preservation, ended. Illegal activity of all types took over the corridor.

The Mexican army, which pervaded the Zapatista region, had little effect on river crime, and may have abetted it.

In Guatemala, the absence of the expelled CPR communities, which had helped keep the selva safe and secure, now left it open to invasion, illegal logging, smuggling of immigrants, arms, artifacts, and drugs.

Many members of those communities now work as Defensores, but their numbers are few, and they are poorly paid. The region continued in a state of low-grade terror and occupation for ten years.

Villahermosa is located in the southeast of Mexico between the rivers Grijalva and Carrizal. The average elevation of the city is 10 meters above sea level. The city also has several lagoons, the largest and most important of them being La Laguna de las Ilusiones (Illusions Lagoon).

The most important city thoroughfares are Paseo Tabasco, Gregorio Méndez Avenue, the Periférico, Ruiz Cortines Avenue, and Pino Suárez Avenue.

Climate

Like most of Tabasco, Villahermosa has a tropical monsoon climate. Temperatures during spring and summer seasons can reach upwards of 40°C (104 °F), with humidity levels hovering around 30% during the same period (for total humidity-adjusted temperatures in the high forties). During its short “winter”, Villahermosa’s climate is very humid but daytime temperatures decrease to around 28°C (82 °F).

The most stunning season of the year is spring, as the flamboyán, guayacán, macuilis, and other tropical vegetation bloom and dress the city with a beautiful sense of joy along its major thoroughfares.

In October 2007, Villahermosa suffered its worst flood in recorded history. Several hundred thousand people were displaced because of flooded homes.

Founded officially on 24 June 1564 by the Spanish Diego de Quijada on the banks of the grijalvaa River under the name of Villa Hermosa, in 1826 the village was raised to the rank of city under the name of San Juan Bautista de la Villa Hermosa (Saint John the Baptist). During the French intervention in Mexico, French troops occupied the city in 1863. In 1916, the governor of Tabasco, Francisco J. Múgica, ordered the restoration of the city’s name to Villahermosa.

Today Villahermosa is a modern city in southeast Mexico and, possibly only after Mérida, Yucatán, it is the most important business and commercial point in the long stretch between Mexico City and Cancún.

La Venta Museum-Park, which includes a small zoo, has the most important collection of Olmec artifacts.

Other sights include:

Esperanza Iris Theatre.
Plaza de Armas (main square)
Zona Luz (city centre)
Catedral del Señor de Tabasco (Cathedral of the Lord of Tabasco).
Tomás Garrido Canabal Park
La Venta (site museum)
Yumká (zoo where animals roam freely).
La Choca Park.
Tabasco Park – a ‘must see’ during the Feria festivities.
Papagayo Children’s Museum.
Musevi

The city is served by several national air carriers as well as by a direct international flights to Houston via United Express and Panama City via Copa Airlines. Its airport, the Carlos Rovirosa Pérez International Airport, is operated by Aeropuertos del Sureste de Mexico (ASUR) and has recently seen a significant expansion. This airport was the destination for the 1929 Mexicana inaugural flight. The city is the closest destination to the ancient Mayan ruins at Palenque. Airlines providing flights to/from the airport are: Aeromexico, Interjet, United, VivaAerobus, and previously by the defunct Mexicana de Aviación. U.S.Airways now flies in there too.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

National Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700