Cuyamel Caves
Honduras
The Cuyamel Caves are a group of archaeological sites that consist of a series of limestone caves in northeast Honduras in the hills above the village of Cuyamel. The sites are located near the Cuyamel River, which drains into the much larger Aguán River. The importance of these sites stems from their distinct ceramics, which differ from others in the region and show stylistic resemblances to those of far more northern Mesoamerican cultures, including the Olmecs. The connection of Olmec culture to northeastern Honduras has broad implications: that this region of Honduras was occupied in the Early Formative period, that the trade networks of northern cultures extended as far south as Honduras, that the flourishing of civilizations in Mesoamerica could have had an effect on the emergence of social complexity in this region, and that the occupants had an industry that actively produced items for trade with northern cultures.
Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).