Puerto Marqués facts for kids
Puerto Marqués is a beautiful bay on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. It is in the state of Guerrero, about 10 kilometers (6.5 miles) south of the city of Acapulco. It is also one of the closest Pacific ports to Mexico City.
Puerto Marqués has two main beaches that are popular with both tourists and local people: Puerto Marqués Beach and Majahua Beach.
This area is also famous for something very old! The oldest known pottery in Mesoamerica was found here. Mesoamerica was a large cultural area in parts of Mexico and Central America long ago. This special pottery, called "Pox" pottery, is about 3,500 years old, dating back to 2400 BC. Back then, most people were hunters and gatherers. They moved around a lot to find food, instead of staying in one place.
Geography of Puerto Marqués
Puerto Marqués is located just south of Acapulco in the Mexican state of Guerrero. The land around the bay is quite varied. About half of it is mountainous, while the rest is mostly flat or gently rolling.
The weather here is usually hot, with a tropical climate. This means it has clear wet and dry seasons. Temperatures stay warm all year, usually between 22 and 32 degrees Celsius (72 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit).
Puerto Marqués is at the southern end of a deep, almost circular bay. More and more buildings, like tall hotels, are being built here as the area grows.
Ancient History and Pottery
Finding pottery at old sites often tells us that people started to settle down in one place. But the pottery found at Puerto Marqués is from a time called the Archaic period. During this time, people were mostly hunters and gatherers. They moved from place to place because farming had not yet developed. They used up resources in one area and then moved on.
Pottery and ceramics are often found at ancient sites because they last a very long time. These old pieces can tell us a lot about the people who made them.
The very first layer of earth dug up at Puerto Marqués did not have any pottery. But the layer just above it had the special "Pox" pottery. It's called "Pox" because it has small marks on the inside. These marks were made when tiny bits of fiber, added to the clay, burned away during the firing process.
This fiber is called "temper." Temper is a material added to raw clay to make the pottery stronger and more durable. The type of temper used (like fiber, sand, or shell) can show how different groups of people shared ideas about making pottery.
"Pox" pottery also has a red coating on the outside. This is similar to pottery found in other coastal areas, like Soconusco, and even in Ecuador. Some of these other finds are even older!
The pottery found at Puerto Marqués helps us understand the social structures and daily lives of the people who lived there long, long ago.
See also
In Spanish: Puerto Marqués para niños
