1 A View from the South: Prehistoric Exchange in Lower Central America 1 John W. Hoopes 2 I. Introduction Lower Central America comprises the geographic region situated between the southeastern periphery of the Maya area in Honduras and El Salvador and the region of Darien in eastern Panama (Fig. 1). It forms a natural bridge between Mesoamerica and the Andes, each of which saw the emergence of complex, state-level societies before the arrival of the Spaniards (cf. Santley and Pool, this volume; McAnany, this volume). However, in spite of the fact that lower Central America was home to some of the earliest sedentary villages in the Americas, its indigenous societies never attained levels of sociopolitical integration enjoyed by their neighbors to the north and south. The region was instead characterized by an enormous number and variety of societies representing a number of different levels of sociopolitical complexity at any given time in prehistory. Prehistoric exchange systems were equally complex, forming networks of interaction between diverse groups within the region as well as contacts with societies to the north and south. This chapter examines evidence for trade and exchange systems in lower Central America with reference to both internal networks and contacts with cultures of Mesoamerica. Given the latter emphasis, and in the interest of a continuity in themes, one very important region -- Panama -- will not be discussed in detail. This is not for lack of information or the region's important contributions to our study of lower Central American trade in general, but simply be- cause the principal external foci of prehistoric Panamanian trade systems was oriented more to the south, towards Colombia, than to the north and Mesoamerica.1* The identification of trade and exchange systems in prehistoric lower Central America is still very difficult. The prehistory of many regions, especially the vast tropical lowlands of eastern Honduras and Nicaragua, remains almost completely unknown. Many others are well understood for only a portion of the cultural sequence. The discussion which follows may there- fore reflect more accurately the nature and intensity of archaeological research than the most important economic networks of indigenous societies. However, as the bibliography reflects, the 1980s have seen a veritable "boom" in contributions of our knowledge of this region. Advanced techniques of materials sourcing, such as neutron activation, have been applied to both ceramic and jade artifacts from Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Sourcing of other materials, such as gold, copper, shell, and even human bone cannot be too far off, and the 1990s will un- doubtedly see major advances in our understanding of trade throughout the Americas. 1 Published as: Hoopes, John W. (1992) A View from the South: Prehistoric Exchange in Lower Central America. In Prehistoric Exchange Systems in North America, Jonathon Ericson and Timothy G. Baugh, eds. Plenum Press, New York, pp. 247-282. 2 Dept. of Anthropology, University of Kansas, 1415 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045. Email: hoopes@ku.edu.