//
Photo: Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The settlement at Izapa extended over 2 km, making it the largest site in Chiapas. The site reached its apogee between 850 BC and 100 BC; several archaeologists have theorized that Izapa may have been settled as early as 1500 BC, making it as old as the Olmec sites of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán and La Venta.
Izapa is a very large pre-Columbian era archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Chiapas; it is best known for its occupation during the Late Formative period. The site is situated on the Izapa River, a tributary of the Suchiate River, near the base of Volcán Tacaná, the sixth-tallest mountain in Mexico.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
A small museum that has a collection of Mayan & Olmec artifacts from the region. This building houses a number of pieces from the various archeological sites of the region, especially Izapa and several coastal sites. One special piece is a skull covered in gold and incrusted with turquoise. Another is a stele called Number 25, because of the quality of its engravings.