The Pomoná Kingdom and its Hinterland
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Research Year:  2001
Culture:  Maya
Chronology:  Late Classic
Location:  Tabasco, México
Sites:  Pomoná and Panhale

Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Previous Archaeological Research in the Region
Research Problem and General Objectives
Results of Fieldwork
Panhale
San Carlos Boca del Cerro
Chan Marín/Súchite
Rancho La Herradura
Km 7
Crisóforo Chiñas
El Faisán 2a Sección
Javier Rojo Gómez
Preliminary Interpretation on the Settlement Pattern
List of Figures
Sources Cited

Abstract

The archaeological site of Pomoná is located in the Tabasco coastal plains in the vicinity of the Usumacinta River. Although at times shadowed by the mighty kingdoms of Palenque to the east and Piedras Negras to the south, Pomoná nevertheless constituted the centre of an independent kingdom that comprised a constellation of subsidiary sites distributed along its hinterland. It’s vicinity to the Usumacinta River, near the point where the river abandons the last limestone ridges to enter the coastal plain, constitutes a strategic position to control access to and fro the Upper to the Middle Usumacinta regions. Perhaps it is precisely due to this geographic location that the Pomoná kingdom was highly contested by the above-mentioned hegemonic powers of the time. I argue that the location and control of Pomoná’s secondary centres was driven by motivations of what we would consider nowadays as matters of "national security". In this context the site of Panhale (a secondary, subsidiary site of Pomoná) and the territory that it controlled, represents the ideal case study to evaluate the relationship between site location and territorial integrity. The 2001 field season was aimed towards the recovery of the initial information that will assist us in the territorial definition of the Pomoná kingdom and its hinterland.

Submitted 06/04/2002 by:
Armando Anaya Hernández
armandoanaya777@hotmail.com

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