The Isthmian Origins of the E Group and Its Adoption in the Maya Lowlands
Recent investigations at Ceibal (Seibal) and other Preclassic Period (1000 BCE–250 CE) sites indicate that the E Group assemblage was originally developed around 1000-900 BCE as an element of a standardized site plan called the Middle Formative Chiapas pattern (MFC) through interactions among diverse groups inhabiting the Isthmian region, including the southern Gulf Coast, Chiapas, the southern Pacific Coast, and the southwestern end of the Maya lowlands. The Maya in the central and eastern lowlands began to adopt the E Group after 800 BCE and to create their own cultural tradition by applying their construction methods, by developing new symbolism and ritual, and by discarding most other elements of the MFC pattern. After many of the Isthmian centers collapsed at the end of the Middle Preclassic Period (ca. 350 BCE), the lowland Maya became the most avid builders of E Groups in Mesoamerica.