The Monuments of Chocolá and Nearby Sites

A groundbreaking catalog of over thirty previously undocumented sculptures from the Chocolá site, including stelae, pedestal monuments, and cupule altars, reveals a rich artistic corpus blending Olmec and Maya motifs. The study also suggests that the enigmatic 'Shook Altar' likely originated at Chocolá, potentially linked to water worship rituals. By analyzing recovered fragments and historical records, researchers expanded the known corpus from a single stela fragment to diverse monuments, including a potbelly monument and a 'capture' monument, while tracing the diaspora of other carved artifacts from the region.

Kaplan, J., & Umaña, F. P. (2018). The Monuments of Chocolá and Nearby Sites. Water, Cacao, and the Early Maya of Chocóla, 224–262. https://doi.org/10.5744/florida/9780813056746.003.0006