Cuadros phase

The Cuadros phase, dating from 1100 to 900 BCE, is an early village culture found on the Pacific coasts of Chiapas and Guatemala within the broader region of Mesoamerica. During this period, people cultivated a small-eared corn called nal-tel, which they ground and cooked in jars. Their diet was supplemented by resources from nearby lagoons and estuaries, including shellfish, crabs, fish, and turtles.

Villages were small, typically consisting of 10 to 12 haphazardly arranged houses with thatched roofs. The pottery from this phase is technically and artistically advanced. Evidence suggests the early development of religious practices, possibly related to fertility cults, as indicated by small, handmade clay figurines of nude females. There is also speculation that the concept of the temple-pyramid may have originated during this time, with one site showing an earthen mound that likely supported a building, hinting at the emergence of a ruling class.1