The ceramic assemblage which characterizes the enigmatic Tlatilco burials is duplicated in the stratigraphy of the El Terror phase at Iglesia Vieja, Morelos, where two components have been isolated and defined. The earlier of the two is found to be regional, pre-eminent, and pre-Olmec, rather than Olmec-inspired as previously thought. Radiocarbon dates from charcoal associated with Olmec figurines and vessels are as early as those from the Olmec heartland.