Izapa Group A and B Ruin Site Chiapas Mexico

Izapa Group A and B
Ruin Site
Chiapas State, Mexico

Izapa Ruin Site group A and B has mounds and a ball court as yet excavated or stabilized. Of
interest are the many standing stones , some with carvings , others having cylindrical shapes
and being capped by a round stone the same size as the cylinder.

Izapa Chiapas Tapachula; an ancient city with Olmec influence that was
actively building from 850BC to 300 BC

Izapa Ruin site, is an abandoned stone city built by the local settlers starting approximately
1500 BC and influenced by the Omec culture through trade and migration. The city reached a high
point between 900 BC to 300 BC. Izapa was the center of a large culture settled along the coastal
plain and river delta near what is the current border with Guatemala and the present day city of
Tapachula in Chiapas State, Mexico.

Izapa has been little studied but was once an important Olmec political and religious center and
contributed to the Olmec art and architecture that was to later spread throughout Mesoamerica
The three sites open today for visits are small remnants of a huge sprawling city that developed its
own unique style of art after the Olmec influence ended at about 200 AD. Ancient art is found on
many standing stones. A site at Tonala (Iglesia Viejo) to the north has similar Olmec art as does
many small sites in the Tapachula area.

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Izapa's cylindrical columns share the plaza in front of the large
pyramid with other carved stela that have a flat round stone in front
of them, some with carved legs that resemble large metate.

The Izapa ruin site is set in deep jungle most now growing chocolate banana, avocado, and
mango. Wild fruit continually falls from trees along the dirt road to ruins group A and B. Standing
stones are propped up in farmers pastures and in places the access road has been cut through
small site mounds.

Four of these cylinder shaped stones, three with caps, are set at the base of a large
un-excavated pyramidal platform at group B and are aligned to the cardinal points, one at
each point, with a longer north south axis.

The medium sized city of Tapachula where lodging and night life are
available lies within 8 miles of the Izapa ruin site.. The city is served by
a major ADO, OCC, and Tika bus terminal.

Collectivos headed for the ruin pass by the terminal. The Talisman
bound collectivo makes many runs throughout the day and will stop at
the Izapa ruin site.
To visit the Izapa ruin Site, catch the white collective taxis as they make
runs in front of the bus terminal headed for the town of Talisman. They
run about every 15 minutes and cost about 8 pesos. They start near the
market district in the center of the city at a large terminal for collectivos.
The three Izapa sites are spread about a mile apart, one near the main
road , Group F, and two a mile distant at the end of a dirt road, group A
and B.
The complex was once a huge city but is now not much more than
un-excavated mounds except for group F. The three groups have some
unique stone carvings and glyphs, however, and one , a snake or frogs
head is made of magnetic stone with the animals head polarized
towards magnetic north.

Hotels, are plentiful in Tapachula near the lively center. (20-45 USD,
200 - 400 Pesos )
An archaeological museum near the center houses a great collection
of ceramic and stone artifacts from Izapa and the many smaller sites in
the area.

The Group B site is most notable
for the standing stones that are
located in a large plaza at the base
of a large un-excavated pyramidal
platform. In this view looking north,
the small green roof structures
protect the stones that are laid out
at the four cardinal points. To the
right in this photo, the top of an
un-excavated mound can be seen
having just been cleared of
vegetation and in the center right
the edge of an un-excavated ball
court .

Izapa Group F Magnetic turtle

The New World Archaeology
Foundation has conducted
extensive studies at Izapa,
primarily because a carved
stone discovered and
designated Stele 5 by Mathew
Sterling in a 1940s dig
reportedly shows a depiction of
the tree of life and is offered by
the NWAF, a Mormon group, as
a validation of the Book of
Mormon.
Other investigators cite the
depiction of a boat and the
eastern (Asian) trappings as
proof of a connection by sea to
Near Eastern or Asian
seafarers. (Egyptians)
Stele 5 is located in Group A but
is very hard to read at this time
because it has been subjected to
weathering over many years.