Home Region: Mexico (North America)

Early Formative Basin of Mexico

1200 BCE 801 BCE

D G SC WF R

EQ 2020 mx_basin_of_mexico_3 / MxFormE

Preceding Entity: Add one more here.

2000 BCE 1201 BCE Initial Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_2) [population replacement]

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.

800 BCE 401 BCE Middle Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_4) [population replacement]

General Description

The Basin or Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly corresponding to modern-day Mexico City. Here, we are interested in the phase of its prehistory known as the Early Formative period (c. 1200-801 BCE). During this period, sociopolitical hierarchies emerged and expanded throughout much of Mesoamerica more broadly, including the southern Valley of Mexico. This is evident, for example, in the establishment of a two-tiered settlement system, ^[1] as well in the emergence of craft specialisation, specifically with regards to the manufacture of obsidian blades at sites such as Coapexco. ^[2] Moreover, the Early Formative saw the earliest shared style in Mesoamerica, characterised by a standardized set of symbols, typically carved or incised on black, black-and-white, and white or white-slipped ceramics. ^[3]
Sanders et al. (1979) tentatively estimated that there were approximately 5,000 people in the Basin of Mexico around 1150 BC. ^[4] However, no estimates could be found for the population of the average autonomous political unit. The largest known settlement, Tlatilco, may have had a population of as little as 1,000 inhabitants over 40 hectares, ^[5] or between 2,000 and 4,000. ^[6]

[1]: (Evans 2004: 124) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/EWW3Q2TA.

[2]: Paul Tolstoy. (1989) "Coapexco and Tlatilco: sites with Olmec material in the Basin of Mexico", In Regional Perspectives on the Olmec, Robert J. Sharer & David C. Grove (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 96.

[3]: (Pool 2012: 176) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KISGMGK6.

[4]: Sanders, William T., Jeffrey R. Parsons, and Robert S. Santley. (1979) The Basin of Mexico: Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization. Academic Press, New York, pg. 183.

[5]: Paul Tolstoy. (1989) "Coapexco and Tlatilco: sites with Olmec material in the Basin of Mexico", In Regional Perspectives on the Olmec, Robert J. Sharer & David C. Grove (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pg. 87-121.

[6]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to G. Nazzaro and E. Cioni)

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Utm Zone

1 Original Name

5 Alternative Name

Temporal Bounds

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

2 Suprapolity Relations

1 Succeeding Entity

1 Scale of Supracultural Interaction

2 Relationship to preceding Entity

2 Polity Succession

1 Degree of Centralization

Language

1 Linguistic Family

1 Language Genus

Religion

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

1 Population of the Largest Settlement

1 Polity Territory

1 Polity Population

Hierarchical Complexity

1 Settlement Hierarchy

1 Religious Level

1 Administrative Level

Professions

1 Professional Soldier

1 Professional Priesthood

1 Professional Military Officer

Bureaucracy Characteristics

1 Specialized Government Building

1 Merit Promotion

1 Full Time Bureaucrat

1 Examination System

Law

1 Professional Lawyer

1 Judge

1 Formal Legal Code

1 Court

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

1 Market

2 Irrigation System

1 Food Storage Site

1 Drinking Water Supply System

Transport Infrastructure

1 Road

1 Port

1 Canal

1 Bridge

Special-purpose Sites

1 Mines or Quarry

1 Other Special Purpose Site

Information / Writing System

1 Written Record

1 Script

1 Phonetic Alphabetic Writing

1 Nonwritten Record

1 Mnemonic Device

Information / Kinds of Written Documents

1 Scientific Literature

1 Sacred Text

1 Religious Literature

1 Practical Literature

1 Philosophy

1 Lists Tables and Classification

1 History

1 Fiction

1 Calendar

Information / Money

1 Precious Metal

1 Paper Currency

1 Indigenous Coin

1 Foreign Coin

1 Article

Information / Postal System

1 Postal Station

1 General Postal Service

1 Courier

1 Fastest Individual Communication

Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications

1 Settlements in a Defensive Position

Military use of Metals

1 Steel

1 Iron

1 Copper

1 Bronze

Projectiles

1 Sling

1 Self Bow

1 Javelin

1 Atlatl

Handheld weapons

1 War Club

1 Sword

1 Spear

1 Polearm

1 Dagger

1 Battle Axe

Animals used in warfare

1 Horse

1 Elephant

1 Donkey

1 Dog

1 Camel

Armor

1 Wood Bark Etc

1 Shield

1 Limb Protection

1 Leather Cloth

1 Helmet

1 Breastplate

Naval technology

1 Small Vessels Canoes Etc

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.

Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

Crisis Consequence Cases Coding in Progress.

Power Transitions Coding in Progress.

Instability Events Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range	Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3) was in:
(1200 BCE 801 BCE)	Basin of Mexico

Home NGA: Basin of Mexico

General Variables

Identity and Location Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Utm Zone	14 Q Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Original Name	Early Formative Basin of Mexico Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Alternative Name	Zacatenco Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Alternative Name	Manantial Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Alternative Name	Bomba Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Alternative Name	El Arbolillo Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Alternative Name	Ixtapaluca Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Temporal Bounds Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Duration	[1200 BCE ➜ 801 BCE] Expert
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Political and Cultural Relations Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Suprapolity Relations	alliance with [---] Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Suprapolity Relations	unknown [---] Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Succeeding Entity	MxFormM Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Scale of Supracultural Interaction	40,000 km² Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity	population migration Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity	cultural assimilation Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Succeeding Entity 800 BCE 401 BCE	Middle Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_4) [population replacement] Expert
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Preceding Entity 2000 BCE 1201 BCE	Initial Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_2) [population replacement] Expert
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Degree of Centralization	quasi-polity Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Language Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Linguistic Family	Proto-Otomanguean Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Language Genus	uncoded Undecided Expert	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Religion Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Population of the Largest Settlement	[1,000 to 4,000] people	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Polity Territory	- Suspected	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Polity Population	- Suspected	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Hierarchical Complexity Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	[2 to 3]	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Religious Level	1	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Administrative Level	[1 to 2]	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Professions Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Soldier	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Professional Priesthood	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Professional Military Officer	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Government Building	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Merit Promotion	Unknown Suspected	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Full Time Bureaucrat	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Examination System	Unknown Suspected	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Law Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Lawyer	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Judge	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Formal Legal Code	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Court	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Market	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Irrigation System	Unknown Suspected	1200 BCE 901 BCE
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Irrigation System	Present	900 BCE 801 BCE
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Food Storage Site	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Drinking Water Supply System	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Transport Infrastructure Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Unknown Suspected	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Port	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Canal	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Bridge	Unknown Suspected	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Special-purpose Sites Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Mines or Quarry	Present Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Other Special Purpose Site	Uncoded Undecided	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Information / Writing System Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Script	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Nonwritten Record	Present	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Mnemonic Device	Present	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Scientific Literature	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Sacred Text	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Religious Literature	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Practical Literature	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Philosophy	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Lists Tables and Classification	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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History	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Fiction	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Calendar	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Information / Money Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Precious Metal	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Paper Currency	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Indigenous Coin	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Foreign Coin	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Article	Present Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Information / Postal System Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Postal Station	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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General Postal Service	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Courier	Unknown Suspected	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Fastest Individual Communication	- Undecided	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Information / Measurement System Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlements in a Defensive Position	Present	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Military use of Metals Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Steel	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Iron	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Copper	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Bronze	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Projectiles Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Sling	Present Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Self Bow	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Javelin	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Atlatl	Present Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Handheld weapons Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
War Club	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Sword	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Spear	Present Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Polearm	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Dagger	Present	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Battle Axe	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Animals used in warfare Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Horse	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Elephant	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Donkey	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Dog	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Camel	Absent	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Armor Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wood Bark Etc	Unknown Suspected	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Shield	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Limb Protection	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Leather Cloth	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Helmet	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Breastplate	Absent Inferred	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Naval technology Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Small Vessels Canoes Etc	Unknown Suspected	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Moralizing Enforcement is Broad	Unknown	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Moralizing Supernatural Concern is Primary	Unknown	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Agentic	Unknown	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement in This Life	Unknown	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Moralizing Supernatural Punishment And Reward	Unknown	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Commoners	Unknown	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Targeted	Unknown	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement in Afterlife	Unknown	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Elites	Unknown	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement of Rulers	Unknown	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Certain	Unknown	1200 BCE 801 BCE
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Human Sacrifice Early Formative Basin of Mexico (mx_basin_of_mexico_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More