Significance of Provenance Ages from the Chiapas Massif Complex

(Southeastern Mexico): Redefining the Paleozoic Basement

of the Maya Block and Its Evolution in a
Peri-Gondwanan Realm

Bodo Weber, Victor A. Valencia,1 Peter Schaaf,2 Valerie Pompa-Mera,2

and Joaquin Ruiz1
División Ciencias de la Tierra, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada
(CICESE), km. 107 carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
(e-mail: bweber@cicese.mx)

ABSTRACT
Medium- to high-grade metasedimentary rocks are exposed as isolated domains in mostly metaigneous crystalline rocks
of the Chiapas Massif Complex (CMC), which forms the basement of the southern Maya Block, southeastern Mexico.
Laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U-Pb isotope analyses on inherited detrital
zircon cores show two principal age distributions: (a) Group I, with its highest peak at 500–650 Ma and smaller peaks at
∼380–400 Ma, 1.0–1.2 Ga, 1.5–2.0 Ga, and 2.6–3.1 Ga, and (b) Group II, with its highest peak at 1.0–1.2 Ga, a minor peak
at 1.5–1.6 Ga (or ∼1:0-Ga zircon cores only), and a lack of 500–650-Ma zircons. The cores are commonly surrounded by
metamorphic or anatectic overgrowths, and some zircon ages were reset by a tectonothermal event at ∼250 Ma. The age
distribution of zircon cores from Group I metasediments are similar to detrital zircon ages in Carboniferous-Permian
sediments (Santa Rosa Formation) in southeastern Chiapas, which were shed mostly from continental crust dominated
by Pan-African–Brasiliano orogenic cycles. Group II metasediments have different sources, principally from Grenville
orogens, such as the Oaxacan Complex, and early mid-Proterozoic sources, such as the Rio Negro–Juruena Province of
western Amazonia. The lowest stratigraphic unit in the CMC (the Jocote Unit) is intruded by lower Ordovician S-type
granite and contains only 1.5–1.6-Ga and older detrital zircons. The protoliths of the CMC can be correlated with
Paleozoic strata across the southern Maya Block, and they show parallels with the geologic history and provenance
patterns of protoliths from the Acatlán Complex (Mixteca Terrane) of central southern Mexico. The geologic history of
the CMC and the Maya Block can be interpreted in terms of tectonothermal events accompanying accretion of the CMC
and polarity reversal during formation of the western Pangea margin.

Online enhancements: appendix tables.

Introduction
Analytical improvement of laser ablation multicol-
lector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrom-
etry (LA-MC-ICPMS) has recently facilitated the
determination of U-Pb ages of individual spots on
zircon crystals (Gehrels et al. 2006). The statistical
analysis of U-Pb ages from individual detrital grains
has become a powerful tool for determining possible
source regions of sediments and sedimentary precur-
Manuscript received April 16, 2008; accepted July 14, 2008.
1
Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1040
East Fourth Street, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0077, U.S.A.
2
Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma
de México (UNAM), Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Coyoacán,
Distrito Federal, Mexico.
sors (e.g., Fedo et al. 2003). In metamorphosed sedi-
mentary rocks, zircons tend to register complex
histories because detrital zircons may either lose
part of their radiogenic Pb or develop rims of newly
formed or recrystallized zircon. Thus, it is still a
challenge to date tiny detrital zircon cores in meta-
sedimentary rocks by the laser ablation technique.
Mexican geology is characterized by a patchwork
of crustal fragments evolved through the Phanero-
zoic by the assembly and fragmentation of crustal
blocks (Sedlock et al. 1993; Dickinson and Lawton
2001). The occurrence of several ∼1:0- Ga granulite
exposures in central and southern Mexico has been
interpreted in terms of a single microcontinent,

[The Journal of Geology, 2008, volume 116, p. 619–639] © 2008 by The University of Chicago.
All rights reserved. 0022-1376/2008/11606-0006$15.00 DOI: 10.1086/591994

619
620 B. WEBER ET AL.

referred to as Oaxaquia (Ortega-Gutiérrez et al.
1995), that was incorporated into the Rodinia
supercontinent during the Grenville orogeny.
Paleozoic sedimentary rocks discordantly overlay
the Oaxaquia Terrane in southern Mexico (Pantoja-
Alor and Robinson 1967) and in northeastern
Mexico (Stewart et al. 1999). Paleozoic igneous
and metamorphic rocks in southern Mexico are
exposed in the Mixteca Terrane (Acatlán Complex;
fig. 1) and record a complex history of rift magma-
tism, high-pressure metamorphism, decompression
melting, low-grade metamorphism, thrusting, and
transtension throughout the Paleozoic (e.g., Keppie
et al. 2008a and references therein).
The general term (cratonic) “Middle America”
was suggested by Keppie and Ortega-Gutiérrez
(1999) and Keppie (2004) for land masses in Mexico,
Central America, and northwestern South America
that have Precambrian or Paleozoic basement and
a likely Gondwanan provenance. Middle America
is inferred to have formed a belt along the
northwestern margin of the Amazon craton of South
America in the Late Proterozoic and early Paleozoic
(Keppie and Ramos 1999). However, there is an on-
going debate about the location of these land masses
after the rifting of Rodinia and before the late
Paleozoic assembly of the Pangea supercontinent
(Keppie 2004). Existing models suggest that these
landmasses represent peri-Gondwanan blocks or
outboard terranes related to either the Iapetus
(Talavera-Mendoza et al. 2005; Vega-Granillo et al.
2007) or Rheic oceans (Keppie et al. 2006, 2008a;
Murphy et al. 2006; Nance et al. 2006, 2007). Because
of reported U-Pb and Rb-Sr ages in the range of the
Pan-African–Brasiliano orogenic cycle (Krogh et al.
1993; Schaaf et al. 2002; Weber et al. 2006 and
forthcoming), the Maya Block, or at least part of
it, has been interpreted as peri-Gondwanan. On the
other hand, Grenville-type granulites (Weber and
Köhler 1999) link the Maya Block with Oaxaquia.
Therefore, the geologic history and basement char-
acteristics of the Maya Block are of particular
interest.
In this article, we present new LA-MC-ICPMS
U-Pb zircon ages from metasedimentary domains in
the Chiapas Massif Complex (CMC) of southern

Figure 1. a, Plate tectonic overview of Central America, showing Oaxaquia, Maya, and Chortis blocks. b, Geologic
map showing pre-Mesozoic rocks exposed in southern Mexico and central America (modified after Ortega-Gutiérrez
et al. 1992, 2007 and French and Schenk 1997). BVF ¼ Baja Verapaz Fault, CMC ¼ Chiapas Massif Complex,
CUI ¼ Cuicateco Terrane, MFZ ¼ Motagua Fault Zone, MM ¼ Maya Mountains, PFZ ¼ Polochic Fault Zone, Z ¼
Zapoteco Terrane (Oaxaquia Terrane).
Journal of Geology C H I A PA S MA S S I F AG E S
Mexico, together with U-Pb zircon and Sm-Nd
garnet–whole-rock ages of a granite that intrudes
metasedimentary rocks. New constraints on strati-
graphic age and the comparison of detrital zircon
ages with provenance ages from Paleozoic sedimen-
tary rocks provide new insights into the Paleozoic
history of the Maya Block and important constraints
on the tectonic evolution of Middle America.
Geologic Frame and Previous Work
The Maya Block. The Maya Block (Dengo et al.
1985) is the southeasternmost of the Mexican
terranes and includes the Yucatan Peninsula and
southeastern Mexico from the Tehuantepec isth-
mus to Guatemala (fig. 1). The Yucatan Peninsula is
mainly composed of a Cretaceous carbonate plat-
form with an important 200-km-wide impact struc-
ture, the Chicxulub crater, which was formed at the
Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary (e.g., Alvarez et al.
1980; Blum et al. 1993). Zircons found in ejecta
from the Chicxulub event have been dated at about
545 Ma (Krogh et al. 1993), indicating that base-
ment rocks include zircons that were formed during
the Pan-African–Brasiliano orogenic cycle. Pre-
Mesozoic rocks are exposed only in the southern
part of the Maya Block: La Mixtequita (Guichicovi
Complex), the Chiapas Massif, central Guatemala,
and the Maya Mountains of Belize (fig. 1).
The southern boundary of the Maya Block is
defined by the roughly east-west-trending Motagua
and Polochic fault systems, which separate the
North American Plate from the Caribbean Plate
(Chortis Block; fig. 1). The fault zone is a complex
composite structural boundary on which left-lateral
displacement is accommodated along several faults
(Guzmán-Speziale 2000). To the west, in Chiapas,
these individual faults splay into diffuse structural
lineaments that may or may not continue to the
Pacific Ocean (Muehlberger and Ritchie 1975;
Burkart and Self 1985; Keppie and Morán-Zenteno
2005) and the southern margin of the Chiapas
Massif.
In central Guatemala, the Chuacús “group”
(Dengo 1985) or “complex” (Ortega-Gutiérrez et al.
2004) is situated between the Polochic and Motagua
faults (fig. 1). Dengo (1985) correlated the Chuacús
“group” with metasediments from the Maya Block
in Chiapas. However, recent studies suggest that the
Chuacús “complex” is possibly an independent,
fault-bounded terrane between the Maya and
Chortis blocks (Ortega-Gutiérrez et al. 2007) that
extends south of the Polochic Fault as far as the Baja
Verapaz shear zone (fig. 1; Ortega-Obregón et al.
2008). The Chuacús “complex” thrusts toward
621
the northeast over Paleozoic metasediments
(San Gabriel Sequence) that are intruded by an
Ordovician granite (Rabinal Suite; Ortega-Obregón
et al. 2008). North of the Polochic Fault, in the Sierra
Los Cuchumatanes (fig. 1), metasedimentary rocks
intruded by a Devonian (391 ± 7 Ma) granitoid
(Solari et al., forthcoming) are exposed.
At the southwestern edge of the Maya Block,
west of the Tehuantepec isthmus, ∼1- Ga granulites
of the Guichicovi Complex (fig. 1) are similar to
∼1- Ga rocks from the Oaxacan Complex (fig. 1;
Ruiz et al. 1999; Weber and Köhler 1999; Weber and
Hecht 2003). The Guichicovi Complex is intruded
by Late Permian granitoids (Damon et al. 1981;
Murillo-Muñetón 1994; Weber 1998).
The Chiapas Massif. The Chiapas Massif, which
covers an area of more than 20; 000 km2 parallel to
the Pacific coast in southeastern Mexico, is the
most voluminous Permian batholithic complex in
Mexico. This complex forms the crystalline base-
ment of the southwestern Maya Block (fig. 1) and is
dominated by strongly deformed orthogneisses,
anatexites, and amphibolites intruded by less de-
formed granitoids (Schaaf et al. 2002).
Parts of the magmatic precursors of the ortho-
gneisses are less than 20 m.yr. older (∼272 Ma) than
a medium- to high-grade metamorphic event that
culminated in anatexis and the intrusion of the main
plutonic masses in the latest Permian (254–252 Ma;
Weber et al. 2007). Inherited zircon cores from or-
thogneisses with ∼1:0- Ga upper-intercept ages (de-
termined by isotope dilution–thermal ionization
mass spectrometry [ID-TIMS] on abraded zircons;
Weber et al. 2005), together with T DMðNdÞ model ages
between 1.0 and 1.4 Ga (Schaaf et al. 2002), indicate
the possible influence of mid-Proterozoic crust
during the evolution of the Chiapas Massif. This
makes it likely that the Chiapas Massif is underlain
by a ∼1- Ga basement similar to the granulitic
Guichicovi and Oaxacan complexes. Such lower-
crustal rocks, however, are not exposed east of the
Tehuantepec isthmus.
The metaigneous units of the Chiapas Massif
are interlayered with metasedimentary rocks
(Weber at al. 2002, 2007; Hiller et al. 2004; Estrada-
Carmona et al. 2007) that provide important in-
formation about the prebatholithic history and
possible correlation within the southern Maya
Block. The provenance of these metasediments is
the main topic of this article. In accord with strati-
graphic nomenclature for high-grade metamorphic
terranes where primary stratigraphic relations have
been essentially destroyed (Whitaker et al. 1991),
we propose the new name “Chiapas Massif Com-
plex” (CMC) in preference to “Chiapas Batholith”
622 B. WEBER ET AL.
(e.g., Morán-Zenteno 1984), which does not include
the metamorphic basement, or “Chiapas Massif”
(Weber et al. 2005, 2007), which is a geographic
feature.
Pre-Mesozoic Stratigraphy of the Maya Block. In
Chiapas, east of the CMC, Mississippian-Permian
sedimentary rocks of the Santa Rosa Formation
(SRF) constitute a thick, laminated sequence of
mainly siltstone, minor sandstone, and some cal-
careous horizons (upper SRF) that is best exposed in
the Chicomuselo area. The Pennsylvanian age of the
upper SRF is documented by fossils (Hernández-
García 1973). This sequence is underlain by a
monotonous sequence of grayish slates and phyllites
(lower SRF) that crop out south of La Concordia
(fig. 2; Hernández-García 1973; Weber et al., forth-
coming). The SRF is unconformably overlain
by siliceous shales and limestones (Grupera
Formation) containing Early Permian fusulinids
Figure 2. Simplified geologic map of the study area, showing sample locations (modified from Jiménez-Hernández et al.
2005 and Martínez-Amador et al. 2005).
(Hernández-García 1973; López-Ramos 1979).
Fossiliferous gray limestones of Leonardian age
(Paso Hondo Formation; fig. 2; Hernández-García
1973) concordantly overlie the Grupera Formation.
On the most recent geologic map (Jiménez-
Hernández et al. 2005), Paleozoic schists and
phyllites are identified in contact with the south-
eastern part of the CMC (fig. 2), but no details have
been reported on the age and contact relationships of
these sedimentary rocks.
On the basis of lithological similarities and
stratigraphic relations, the Pennsylvanian-Permian
strata of the SRF in Chiapas have been correlated
with the Santa Rosa Group of central Guatemala
(Bohnenberger 1966; Clemons and Burkart 1971).
In the Baja Verapaz area of central Guatemala (south
of the Polochic Fault; fig. 1), conglomerates, shales,
and limestones with Mississippian conodonts
(Ortega-Obregón 2005) overlie clastic metasedi-
Journal of Geology C H I A PA S MA S S I F AG E S
ments of the San Gabriel sequence (Solari et al.,
forthcoming), which are intruded by the S-type
Rabinal granite of Ordovician age (∼462–453 Ma;
Ortega-Obregón et al. 2008). In the Altos Cuchuma-
tanes (north of the Polochic Fault; fig. 1), limestones
of the Santa Rosa Group are underlain by low- to
high-grade metamorphic rocks that are intruded
by Permian (269 ± 29 Ma) and Early Devonian
(391 ± 7 Ma) granites (Solari et al., forthcoming).
In the Maya Mountains of Belize, Dixon (1956)
suggested subdivision of the Paleozoic sedimentary
rocks into two series: (1) the Macal series, with
abundant Pennsylvanian to middle Permian fossils,
and (2) the mildly deformed Maya series of unknown
age, which discordantly underlies the Macal series.
Bateson and Hall (1977) proposed combining these
sequences and considered them to be equivalent to
the Santa Rosa Group. Steiner and Walker (1996)
obtained Silurian U-Pb crystallization ages (404–418
Ma) from granites that have contact aureoles in the
sediments of the Maya Mountains, indicating that
these sequences are older than the fossils described
from the Macal series and the Santa Rosa Group.
Recently, Martens et al. (2006) demonstrated the
existence of a lower sequence of Silurian or older
strata underlying the Pennsylvanian to middle Per-
mian strata of the Santa Rosa Group equivalent
sequence in the Maya Mountains.
Metasediments of the CMC
and Sample Descriptions
Samples were collected in areas of the CMC that are
dominated by metasedimentary rocks. Compared
with the abundance of igneous and metaigneous
rocks, metasedimentary rocks are extremely rare in
the CMC, making correlations between units or
even individual outcrops difficult or impossible.
The geology and petrography of the key units or
outcrops and the analyzed samples are briefly
described in this section.
The Sepultura Unit. Metasedimentary rocks in
the Chiapas Massif were first described from the El
Tablón River valley at Los Angeles and named the
Sepultura Unit (fig. 2; Weber et al. 2002). At its type
locality, the sequence is mainly composed of meta-
psammites and of metagreywackes with intercalated
calcsilicates and marbles. The rocks have mineral
assemblages that indicate medium- to high-grade
metamorphism with local anatexis (Weber et al.
2007), yielding peak P-T conditions at 730°–780°C
and ∼5:8 kbar and retrograde thermal overprinting at
∼540°C and ∼4:5 kbar (Hiller et al. 2004).
Sample CB54 (93.6138°W, 16.2819°N) is a meta-
greywacke with a fine-grained, granular texture and
623
is composed of quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase, and
clinopyroxene. Granular titanite is an abundant
accessory mineral, together with zircon, apatite,
and alteration minerals such as sericite and epidote.
K-feldspar is mostly microcline, but in some cases
microperthitic exsolutions are still preserved. The
metagreywacke is in contact with calcsilicate rocks
mainly composed of quartz and zoned garnet with
anomalous interference colors. The contact zone is
rich in clinozoisite.
Sample CB36 (93.6126°W, 16.2748°N) is a two-
mica gneiss with reddish-brown biotite, two
generations of white mica (>1- mm laths and fine-
grained fibrolithic mica), quartz, plagioclase, and
minor K-feldspar, together with myrmekite.
Anhedral opaque minerals, of which pyrite is the
most abundant, are a major constituent. Occasional
sillimanite needles (fibrolite) occur within and
around white mica crystals, and cordierite was ob-
served in quartz-rich bands. Further accessory min-
erals are titanite, zircon, and apatite. We interpret
this sample as having a pelitic precursor.
About 15 km south of Los Angeles (Chiapas),
south of the main escarpment of the Chiapas Massif
mountain range, metapelites are more common.
Sample CB33 (93.6636°W, 16.1059°N) is from a river
outcrop east of Tonalá (fig. 2). Sillimanite and Ti-rich
biotite define a crenulated foliation in these rocks.
Andalusite is the dominant aluminosilicate phase
and forms 2–5-mm anhedral crystals that overgrow
the foliation. Aluminosilicate, biotite, and quartz
are the major rock-forming minerals. Opaque min-
erals and large apatite crystals are abundant. Occa-
sional plagioclase and K-feldspar with perthitic
lamellae were also observed. Biotite occurs in two
generations, of which the later one is contempora-
neous with fine-grained muscovite, crosscutting the
foliation. The mineral assemblages indicate that in
outcrop CB33, the high-T/medium-P dynamic meta-
morphism (sillimanite þ biotite 1 þ K-feldspar) was
followed by a static medium- to high-T/low-P over-
print (andalusite þ biotite 2 þ muscovite).
At the only road outcrop on the federal road
between Tonalá and Arriaga (fig. 2), massive
calcsilicate rocks with a matrix of carbonate, quartz,
epidote, and wollastonite contain large (up to
10-cm), euhedral vesuvianite crystals and garnet.
These rocks are intercalated with intensely folded
quartz-feldspar-(hornblende)-gneisses. Sample CB44
(93.8052°W, 16.1364°N) is from a quartzite inter-
layered in these calcsilicates. This fine-grained
quartzite contains brown biotite (not Ti-rich) that
defines the foliation and also small (<1- mm)
idiomorphic biotite of the same color in the matrix.
Minor constituents are muscovite, plagioclase,
624 B. WEBER ET AL.
garnet, secondary actinolite, and Mg-rich chlorite.
Small lithic fragments composed of plagioclase and
quartz (±muscovite ± biotite) can be identified by
their larger grain size with respect to the matrix.
The absence of high-T minerals, such as Ti-rich
reddish-brown biotite, suggests that outcrop CB44
represents a higher crustal level with metamor-
phism in the lower amphibolite facies. A secondary
static overprint is accompanied by metasomatism,
forming monomineralic zones of epidote and sulfide
aggregates in the calcsilicates.
The Custepec Unit. In the central-southeastern
part of the CMC, anatectic amphibolites with or
without garnet define the Custepec Unit, with a
type locality close to “Finca Custepec” (fig. 2;
Weber et al. 2007). Because of the strong composi-
tional layering in the amphibolites and the presence
of metapelites, marbles, and calcsilicate layers or
pebbles, the Custepec Unit has been interpreted as
being of sedimentary or volcanosedimentary origin
(Estrada-Carmona et al. 2007). However, it cannot
be completely excluded that the metasedimentary
layers and pebbles are deformed xenoliths in an
igneous amphibolite. The garnet-biotite geother-
mometer and several geobarometers in metapelite
and amphibolite yielded peak metamorphic condi-
tions above 800°C and 9 kbar (Estrada-Carmona
et al. 2007). These data, together with the presence
of brown Ti-rich hornblende in garnet-amphibolite
and sillimanite and rutile in metapelite, place the
metamorphic peak in the upper amphibolite- to
granulite-facies transition at a 25–30-km depth
(Estrada-Carmona et al. 2007). Hence, the Custepec
Unit not only originated from different protoliths
but also represents a deeper crustal level than the
Sepultura Unit.
Sample CB47 (92.9627°W, 15.7240°N) is from
an anatectic garnet-amphibolite from an outcrop
south of Custepec. This rock has a medium-
grained gneissic texture and is mainly composed
of brown hornblende, plagioclase, garnet, and quartz
(±biotite). The brown hornblende is rimmed by retro-
grade green hornblende. Epidote, clinozoisite, seri-
cite, and chlorite were also formed during retrograde
metamorphism. The presence of a relic bluish am-
phibole inclusion in garnet documents the prograde
path at lower temperatures but similar pressures,
relative to peak conditions (Estrada-Carmona et al.
2007). Pebbles of marble and calcsilicate at outcrop
CB47 demonstrate the sedimentary origin of these
rocks (see above).
The Southern CMC and the Jocote Unit. Close to
the Guatemalan border west of Motozintla, east-
west-trending branches of the sinistral Polochic
Fault dismember the southernmost part of the
CMC into discrete blocks, making correlations dif-
ficult. In addition, late Miocene to Pliocene
magmatism at the southern edge of the CMC
(Damon and Montesinos 1978) has hydrothermally
altered the host rocks in this area.
Sample CB64 (92.3808°W, 15.3396°N) is a mus-
covite paragneiss from an outcrop along the dirt
road to San José Ixtepec, close to the southern
highway to Motozintla (fig. 2). This outcrop is
located south of the main trace of the Polochic
Fault (after Burkart et al. 1987). The sample is
mainly composed of muscovite and quartz. Feldspar
was not observed, but abundant secondary epidote
is probably the result of the retrogression of plagio-
clase, forming pseudomorphs of former porphyro-
clasts. Garnet, which is partly chloritized, is locally
present. Muscovite, together with abundant opaque
minerals, defines an east-west-trending mylonitic
foliation containing a steep stretching lineation
(180°=74°). Shear indicators give top-to-north move-
ment, indicating that the southern block has been
elevated with respect to the northern. These para-
gneisses are either intruded by or thrust over
gabbros and weakly serpentinized pyroxenites of
unknown age that crop out about 1.5 km northeast
of sample site CB64.
Sample SR05 (92.3270°W, 15.3850°N) is a meta-
sandstone (quartz-phyllite) and is the least meta-
morphosed of all the analyzed metasediments. It
comes from an outcrop north of the Polochic Fault,
on the road from Motozintla to Siltepec (fig. 2), that
we define as the Jocote Unit. On the geologic map,
the Jocote Unit is located within an area mapped as
Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in direct contact with
the CMC igneous and metamorphic rocks (fig. 2).
The Jocote Unit is intruded by grayish-white garnet-
bearing S-type granite (sample 705). Sillimanite
occurs directly at the intrusive contact. The meta-
sandstone is composed of quartz and fine-grained
white mica that, together with opaque minerals,
define a crenulated foliation dipping steeply to the
south (180°=65°). Some larger (∼0:5 -mm) laths of
white mica crosscut the foliation, and some plagio-
clase is also present.
Analytical Techniques
Zircons were separated by standard procedures at
the Geology Department of the Centro de Inves-
tigación Científica y de Educación Superior de
Ensenada Baja California (CICESE) by using a
Wilfley table, a Frantz isodynamic separator, heavy
liquids, and handpicking techniques. LA-MC-
ICPMS was conducted according to the method
described by Gehrels et al. (2006). Zircon cores were
Journal of Geology C H I A PA S MA S S I F AG E S 625

analyzed with a Micromass Isoprobe multicollector

ICPMS linked to a New Wave ArF Excimer laser
ablation system, which has an emission wavelength
of 193 nm. The collector configuration allows mea-
surement of 204 Pb with an ion-counting channel,
whereas 206 Pb, 207 Pb, 208 Pb, 232 Th, and 238 U are
measured simultaneously with Faraday detectors.
All analyses were conducted in static mode with a
laser beam diameter of 35 or 25 μm, operated with
output energy of ∼32 mJ (at 23 kV) and a pulse rate of
8 Hz. Each analysis consisted of one 20-s integration
on peaks with no laser firing for backgrounds and
12 1-s integrations on peaks with the laser firing.
Hg contribution to the 204 Pb mass position was
removed by subtracting on-peak background values.
Interelement fractionation was monitored by
analyzing an in-house zircon standard that has a
concordant ID-TIMS age of 563:5 ± 3:2 Ma (2σ;
Gehrels et al. 2008). This standard was analyzed
once for every five unknown zircon grains. Uranium
and thorium concentrations were monitored by an-
alyzing a standard (NIST 610 Glass) with ∼500 ppm
Th and U. The lead isotopic ratios were corrected for
common Pb by using the measured 204 Pb, assuming
an initial Pb composition according to Stacey and
Kramers (1975) and respective uncertainties of
1.0, 0.3, and 2.0 for 206 Pb=204 Pb, 207 Pb=204 Pb,
and 208 Pb=204 Pb.
Systematic errors were propagated separately and
include the age of the standard, calibration correc-
tion from standard analyses, composition of
common Pb, and U decay constant uncertainties.
For these samples, the systematic errors were 0.9%
for 206 Pb=238 U and 1.3% for 207 Pb=206 Pb. The age
probability plots (Ludwig 2003) and the “best ages”
were based on the 206 Pb=238 U age for young
(<0:9- Ga) zircons and the 207 Pb=206 Pb age for older
(>0:9- Ga) grains. This division at 0.9 Ga was chosen
because of the increasing uncertainty of 206 Pb=238 U
ages and the decreasing uncertainty of 207 Pb=206 Pb
ages as a function of age. All U-Th-Pb data and
apparent ages are shown in table A1, available online
or from the Journal of Geology office.
About 200 mg of garnet was separated from
granite sample 705 at Universidad Nacional
Figure 3. Cathodoluminescence images of zircons from
Autónoma de México (UNAM). The dissolved samples CB36 (a), CB44 (b; numbers are best apparent
garnet sample was split into two aliquots. The ages for individual spots), and CB54 (c), showing laser pits
smaller (1=3) aliquot and two whole-rock aliquots of 35-μm diameter on zircons with inherited cores and
were spiked for isotope dilution analysis (ID run) for metamorphic/anatectic rims.
both Sm and Nd; the larger dissolved garnet aliquot
was for a Nd isotope composition run, to achieve
precise isotope ratios. Sm and Nd isotopic ratios
were measured in static mode on a Finnigan MAT Nd isotopic ratios were corrected for mass frac-
262 mass spectrometer at the Laboratorio Univer- tionation by normalizing to 152 Sm=147 Sm ¼
sitario de Geoquímica Isotópica (UNAM). Sm and 1:78308 and 146 Nd=144 Nd ¼ 0:7219. Sm-Nd isotope
626 B. WEBER ET AL.
Figure 4. Concordia diagrams for U-Pb isotope ratios of
zircons from the Sepultura Unit samples CB36 (a) and
CB33 (b). Inset, weighted average calculated with the
TuffZirc algorithm (Ludwig 2003) yields a coherent group
of 13 spots (black bars). The asterisk indicates that propa-
gated age errors include 0.9% of systematic error for
206 Pb=238 U ages. Error ellipses and bars of individual spots
are 1σ. c, U=Th versus best age of data from both samples,
discriminating between igneous and metamorphic zircon.
For best ages, 206 Pb=238 U apparent ages were used for
average apparent ages <900 Ma, and 207 Pb=206 Pb apparent
ages were used for average apparent ages >900 Ma.
data are shown in supplementary table A2, avail-
able online or from the Journal of Geology office.
Results
Metapelite Samples CB36 and CB33 (Sepultura Unit).
Zircons from sample CB36 are mostly rounded or
short and prismatic, having xenocrystic cores with
variable size and appearance (fig. 3a). Zircons from
sample CB33 are similar but considerably smaller
(100–50 μm). We measured 55 spots on zircons from
sample CB36, of which 47 have 207 Pb=206 Pb ages
greater than 900 Ma. The 207 Pb=206 Pb ages of U-Pb
isotope data with less than 10% discordance range
from 959 to 1078 Ma. The concordia plot (fig. 4a)
shows that the data for several individual spots are
discordant but plot on a discordia line with an upper
intercept at 1045 ± 20 Ma, which we consider the
best estimate for the age of most detrital cores from
sample CB36. Only one detrital core has a Silurian
age (206 Pb=238 U age ¼ 428 ± 15 Ma ½2σ
), but this is
not a reliable age group (minimum of three zircons
required; Gehrels et al. 2006). The other spots with
Paleozoic ages either are more than 20% discordant
or reflect the age of metamorphism (241–252 Ma),
which is also defined by the lower-intercept age,
calculated at 225 ± 54 Ma. The metamorphic
zircons from sample CB36 can be identified by
their high U=Th (35.5–48.1) and high U contents
(894–1137 ppm). By contrast, the Proterozoic detri-
tal cores have U contents ranging from 50 to 900
ppm (average 200 ppm) and low U=Th (0.6–4.3),
indicating an igneous origin (fig. 4c).
Unfortunately, the cores of zircons from meta-
pelite sample CB33 are too small to have conserved
the age information of their provenance. All but one
of 20 analyzed zircons were formed during high-
grade metamorphism, having 206 Pb=238 U ages
between 213 and 252 Ma, high U=Th (5.7–50.4,
average 29.4), and high U contents (477–1553
ppm, average 933 ppm). The isotope data from spots
that yield the youngest ages are slightly discordant
(fig. 4b), indicating open-system behavior and pos-
sible lead loss. This interpretation is consistent
with the petrographic observations on sample
CB33. Only one grain, with a 206 Pb=238 U age of
292 ± 18 Ma (2σ), reflects the age of an inherited
component or a mixed age of inheritance and meta-
morphism (fig. 4b). In view of the negative (from
lead loss) and positive (from inherited cores) age
biases of isotope data from sample CB33, we con-
sider an age calculation using “TuffZirc Age” algo-
rithm (Isoplot 3.0; Ludwig 2003) to provide the
most reliable estimate for the age of high-grade
metamorphism, at 248:5þ2:7 7:5 Ma (2σ). This age is
Journal of Geology C H I A PA S MA S S I F AG E S
identical, within errors, to ages for the high-grade
metamorphism reported from the CMC (Weber
et al. 2007).
Quartzite Sample CB44 (Sepultura Unit). Zircons
from sample CB44 are of variable shape and size
(fig. 3b). Apparent ages of 100 analyzed grains range
from 284 to 3004 Ma. Most of the U-Pb isotope
ratios are concordant (fig. 5a, 5b). A group of six
zircons have Archean 207 Pb=206 Pb ages (2.65–
3.00 Ga). Another seven spots yielded Early Prote-
rozoic ages from 1540 to 2325 Ma. Twenty-nine
grains have 207 Pb=206 Pb ages in the range from 943
to 1290 Ma. The highest probability peak of this
provenance group is at 1067 Ma (fig. 5c). A small
fraction of two grains is ∼850 Ma old.
The most prominent provenance group of 25
zircons from sample CB44 has apparent ages
between 500 and 650 Ma, with the highest proba-
bility peak at 543 Ma (fig. 5c). A smaller group of eight
grains has ages between 704 and 781 Ma. A total of
eight grains have Ordovician to Devonian apparent
ages, but this group of zircons does not define any age
peak. The youngest apparent age of 284 ± 19 Ma (2σ)
may reflect the maximum age of deposition rather
than the age of metamorphism, because the spot was
measured in the center of a zircon grain showing
igneous zoning (fig. 3b), no visible metamorphic
overgrowth, and a low U=Th of 1.1. In general, all
but eight spots yielded U=Th < 7, indicating prov-
enance from igneous rocks.
Metagreywacke Sample CB54 (Sepultura Unit).
The provenance groups for 100 analyzed spots from
sample CB54 are similar to those from sample
CB44, but their isotope data are more complex
(fig. 5d–5f). This is due to the high-grade metamor-
phism at site CB54, which produced metamorphic
overgrowth on these zircons (fig. 3c). For the same
reason, some inherited detrital cores have partly or
completely lost their radiogenic lead.
Twenty analyzed cores range from 224 to 299
Ma, and we suggest that the isotope ratios of these
analyses reflect the time of lead loss and resetting
during metamorphism. Age calculation using the
“TuffZirc age” algorithm yields a coherent group of
12 analyses with an age of 260 ± 8 Ma (2σ; fig. 5e).
The group of analyses giving ages ranging from 284
to 299 Ma may date the youngest detrital cores,
but it is also probable that these zircon cores lost
much but not all of their radiogenic lead during
metamorphism. Thus, we omitted the entire group
of the 20 youngest zircons from further provenance
considerations. It is noteworthy, however, that the
U=Th ratios of these analyses range from 0.4 to 5.7,
indicating igneous and not metamorphic origin.
Because we analyzed cores visible with cathodolu-
627
minescence imaging and not the metamorphic rims
(fig. 3c), we suggest that, whereas the detrital (igne-
ous) cores lost their radiogenic lead during meta-
morphism, the Th and U contents remained almost
unchanged.
The U-Pb isotope data for detrital zircon cores
from sample CB54 are often discordant, and a total
of eight zircon cores are most probably of Archean
and Early Proterozoic age (fig. 5d). Twelve zircon
cores have 207 Pb=206 Pb ages in the range from 968 to
1254 Ma, but several apparently younger zircon
cores are discordant and plot on a discordia line
with an upper-intercept age at 1019 ± 40 Ma (fig. 5e).
Thus, we consider most of the 206 Pb=238 U ages
between 700 and 900 Ma (fig. 5f) to date zircon
cores of Grenville age that lost part of their radio-
genic lead during Permian metamorphism. The
most prominent provenance group (n ¼ 25) are
zircon cores from Pan-African–Brasiliano orogenic
belts in the range from 517 to 669 Ma, with major
probability peaks at 605 and 560 Ma (fig. 5f).
Paleozoic ages are represented by Silurian,
Devonian, and two Carboniferous zircon cores.
Provided that no lead loss affected the latter
zircons, they define the maximum age of deposition
at ∼308 Ma. However, since lead loss also can be
expected for these grains, an older depositional age
may be plausible.
Amphibolite Sample CB47 (Custepec Unit). Only a
few analyses of laser spots on zircon cores from this
high-grade garnet amphibolite yielded reliable data
(fig. 6). Many laser experiments on these cores
started with isotope ratios corresponding to the
age of the core, but as the laser burned deeper into
the zircon, it passed through the cores and sampled
younger zones, making such analyses useless. Five
analyzed spots yielded reliable Grenville-type ages.
One discordant grain is clearly older, having a
207
Pb=206 Pb age of 1441 ± 50 Ma (2σ; fig. 6a). An-
other analysis yielded concordant 206 Pb=238 U and
207
Pb=235 U isotope ratios with a 206 Pb=238 U age of
445 ± 57 Ma (2σ). This is the youngest detrital core,
and it may indicate the maximum age of deposition
if the rock is sedimentary not igneous; however, it
is not a reliable group of at least three ages (Gehrels
et al. 2006).
Most analyzed spots from sample CB47 have
206
Pb=238 U ages ranging from 210 to 280 Ma and
have age biases due to either lead loss or inherited
components (fig. 6b). A coherent group of 47 spots
yielded an age of 250:2þ4:9
3:8 Ma (2σ; fig. 6b), which is
in agreement with the age of metamorphism and
anatexis reported by Weber et al. (2007).
Paragneiss Sample CB64. Twenty-two out of 38
concordant isotope ratios analyzed from sample
Figure 5. a, b, Concordia diagrams for U-Pb isotope ratios of zircons from sample CB44. c, Relative age probability and
histogram plot of best ages for zircons from sample CB44. d, e, Concordia diagrams for U-Pb isotope ratios of zircons
from sample CB54; upper-intercept age for CB54 calculated from isotope ratios of gray dots. e, inset, Weighted average
calculated with TuffZirc algorithm (Ludwig 2003), yielding a coherent group of 12 spots (black bars). f, Relative age
probability and histogram plot of best ages for zircon cores from sample CB54 (only ages older than Permian are shown).
Errors and definitions as for figure 4.
Journal of Geology C H I A PA S MA S S I F AG E S
Figure 6. Concordia diagrams for U-Pb isotope ratios of
zircons from sample CB47. a, Inset, Relative age proba-
bility plot for best ages of inherited cores. b, Inset,
weighted average calculated with the TuffZirc algorithm
(Ludwig 2003), yielding a coherent group of 47 spots
(black bars). Errors and definitions as for figure 4.
CB64 yielded 207 Pb=206 Pb ages from 968 to 1238 Ma,
with the highest probability peak at 1017 Ma
(fig. 7a). Another six spots yielding ages between
827 and 942 Ma are slightly (2.9%–5.5%) discordant
but of the same provenance. A group of five zircons
range in age from 1344 to 1648 Ma, with a proba-
bility peak at 1628 Ma. A third group of five small
zircons have early Paleozoic 206 Pb=238 U ages. Two
of these (∼407 and ∼426 Ma) are 8% and 4% dis-
cordant, with U=Th of 3.0 and 1.5, respectively. The
other three grains (435–461 Ma) are 10%–31% dis-
cordant and have high U=Th (32–93). It remains
unclear, however, whether the early Paleozoic zir-
cons are detrital grains that were affected by some
form of U gain or metamorphic zircons possibly
linked to neighboring mafic intrusives.
629
Metasandstone Sample SR05 (Jocote Unit) and S-Type
Granite Sample 705. Metasandstone sample SR05
contained only a few small (40–80 μm) rounded or
elongate zircons, from which 34 grains could be
separated. A group of 23 of those grains, of which
nine are more than 10% discordant, define a regres-
sion line with an upper-intercept age at 1546 ±
42 Ma and a Late Proterozoic to early Paleozoic
lower intercept (fig. 7b). These results indicate that
two-thirds of the analyzed grains have 1.5–1.6-Ga
provenance ages and that no younger zircons are
present. The 206 Pb=238 U ages of the remaining 11
grains range from 1602 to 1822 Ma.
The garnet-bearing S-type granite (sample 705)
that intrudes the metasediments of the Jocote Unit
has few zircons, most of which preserve inherited
ages. Twenty-three (out of 27) analyzed spots yield
mid-Proterozoic ages, with peaks at 931, 1229, and
1491 Ma. The oldest grain has an age of ∼1:88 Ga
(fig. 7c). Only three spots on zircon rims yielded
concordant isotope ratios that reflect the time
of intrusion, and these give a concordia age of
482 ± 5 Ma (2σ; fig. 7c).
To further document the crystallization age of
the S-type granite, we analyzed garnet and whole
rock from the same sample (705) for Sm-Nd. The
Early Ordovician age obtained from the U-Pb iso-
tope ratios of the zircon rims is consistent with the
Sm-Nd garnet–whole-rock isochron, which yielded
an age of 473 ± 39 Ma (fig. 7d).
Discussion
Provenance and Depositional Ages of CMC Group I
Metasediments. We define the metagreywacke
(CB54) and quartzite (CB44) samples from the
Sepultura Unit as CMC Group I metasediments.
Both samples are from outcrops with interlayered
calcsilicates, and both contain detrital zircon cores
that clearly differ from those of the metapelites (and
structurally related psammites) in the same area.
Detrital zircons from CMC Group I metasediments
were derived from regions dominated by rocks that
formed during the Pan-African–Brasiliano orogenic
cycle, together with Grenville, mid-Proterozoic,
Early Proterozoic, Archean, and early Paleozoic
sources (fig. 8a). The age distributions are similar
to those reported from the Carboniferous to Early
Permian SRF of southeastern Chiapas (fig. 8a; Weber
et al. 2006 and forthcoming). Alternating quartzites,
quartz-feldspar-rich layers with lithic fragments,
calcsilicates, and marbles observed in the Sepultura
Unit are also consistent with the stratigraphic suc-
cession reported from the SRF (Hernández-García
1973).
630 B. WEBER ET AL.

Figure 7. a–c, Concordia diagrams for U-Pb isotope ratios, relative age probability plots, and histograms of zircons from
sample CB64 (a), sample SR05 (b; intercept ages calculated from isotope ratios indicated by black dots), and S-type
granite sample 705 (c). Errors and definitions as for figure 4. d, Sm-Nd isochron plot for two whole-rock analyses and
garnet from S-type granite sample 705.

The depositional age of these rocks is difficult to
estimate because the youngest zircons reflect the
time of metamorphism and lead loss in the zircon
cores. But one igneous zircon core from the
quartzite CB44 (286 ± 20 Ma ½2σ
), together with
two cores with similar ages from metagreywacke
CB54 (∼305 Ma), may tentatively define the maxi-
mum age of deposition in the Early Permian, re-
affirming the possible correlation with the upper
SRF, from which two similar but discordant detrital
zircon ages have been reported (fig. 8b; Weber et al.
2006). These data suggest that late Paleozoic strata
correlative with the SRF extend into the CMC as far
as the Arriaga-Tonalá area southwest of the main
mountain range escarpment of the Chiapas Massif.
Comparison of the detrital zircon age data from
the CMC Group I metasediments with published
data from other Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and
protoliths of southern Mexico reveals an outstand-
ing similarity in provenance age patterns of the
CMC Group I metasediments, the SRF (fig. 8a),
and Carboniferous to Permian metasedimentary
rocks of the Acatlán Complex in the Mixteca
Terrane (fig. 8b; Talavera-Mendoza et al. 2005;
Keppie et al. 2006, 2008a; Grodzicki et al. 2008;
Morales-Gámez et al. 2008). The comparable dis-
tributions of zircon ages suggest that at least part of
the Carboniferous to Permian sedimentary rocks
constituting the Acatlán Complex may correlate
with CMC Group I metasediments. On the other
hand, the Acatlán Complex also contains older (pre-
Silurian) sedimentary protoliths with age patterns
similar to those of CMC Group I (fig. 8b; Keppie
et al. 2008b).
Journal of Geology C H I A PA S MA S S I F AG E S
Provenance and Depositional Ages of the CMC Group
II Metasediments. We define the second group of
CMC metasedimentary rocks by the absence of Late
Proterozoic (Pan-African–Brasiliano) zircon cores in
their age patterns. Accordingly, the remaining meta-
sedimentary rocks sampled in the study are included
in CMC Group II. The metapelite samples from the
Sepultura Unit have only small mid-Proterozoic
detrital zircon cores. However, the results are con-
sistent with SHRIMP data from an anatectic meta-
psammite interbedded with metapelites from the
same unit (fig. 8c; Weber et al. 2007) and with the
average upper-intercept age of CMC othogneisses
analyzed by ID-TIMS (Weber et al. 2005). Since they
have only zircons of a single provenance, the meta-
pelites may have been deposited in an isolated basin
or in a distal environment that received detritus
principally from a Grenville-type continental mass.
A single grain with a Silurian (∼428-Ma) age may
indicate the maximum age of deposition of the
metapelites. This is not, however, a reliable prov-
enance group (Gehrels et al. 2006), and it must be
treated with caution. Furthermore, since the meta-
pelites from the Sepultura Unit are in the vicinity of
the calcsilicates and metagreywackes of Group I, it
is possible that the pelitic protoliths have deposi-
tional ages similar to those of Group I metasedi-
ments with different provenances.
In the Custepec Unit of the central CMC, high-
grade metamorphism and anatexis at depths prob-
ably greater than 25 km (Estrada-Carmona et al.
2007) are such that only a few detrital zircon cores
were large enough to retain information on their
origin. These provenance ages are poorly con-
strained but are consistent with SHRIMP data from
a similar sample from the same area (Weber et al.
2007) that contains two main provenance groups,
one with Grenville-age zircons (∼1:0–1:2 Ga) and
the other with ∼1:5–1:6-Ga zircons (fig. 8c).
In the southern part of the CMC, metamorphic
conditions reached only the lower amphibolite
facies, and consequently, major lead loss in the
zircon cores did not occur. Detrital zircons from
paragneiss CB64 from south of the Polochic Fault
have provenance groups similar to those of the
Custepec Unit, with an additional cluster of small
Silurian to lower Devonian zircons that may
indicate the maximum age of deposition (fig. 8c).
The Silurian to lower Devonian zircons have both
igneous and metamorphic U=Th signatures. There-
fore, the possibility of a Silurian to lower Devonian
metamorphic overprint can be considered, and
hence, lower Devonian also might be a mini-
mum age of deposition. This interpretation is
further supported by Rb-Sr and Ar-Ar ages of
631
∼392–413 Ma reported for white micas from the
Jocote Unit (Pompa-Mera et al. 2007).
The metasandstone from the Jocote Unit (fig. 8c)
contains zircons derived almost exclusively from a
∼1:5–1:6-Ga provenance, indicating that such a
source, which is atypical for Oaxaquia (fig. 8f), plays
an important role in the sedimentary precursors of
the CMC. The Jocote Unit is intruded by garnet-
bearing S-type granite of Early Ordovician age that
constrains the minimum age of deposition and
documents the first evidence for sedimentary pre-
cursors of pre-Ordovician age in the CMC, which is
the lowest stratigraphic unit recognized in the
CMC and which probably underlies the other
CMC Group II metasedimentary rocks.
The stratigraphic relationship between the indi-
vidual outcrops is unknown, but we propose that
the CMC Group II metasediments are a succession
of partly pelitic, psammitic, and volcanosedimen-
tary rocks whose depositional ages range from pre-
Ordovician (Jocote Unit) to lower mid-Devonian
(CB64 and possibly the Custepec Unit) and which
originally underlay CMC Group I metasediments.
The metapelites from the Sepultura Unit that con-
tain only Grenville-age cores either are part of this
early Paleozoic succession of CMC Group II or
represent stratigraphic intervals within CMC
Group I metasediments with different provenances.
Similar Early Ordovician S-type granites (Rabinal
Suite; Ortega-Obregón et al. 2008) that intrude the
San Gabriel Unit south of the Polochic Fault Zone
in central Guatemala suggest a correlation of CMC
Group II metasediments with early Paleozoic strata
from Guatemala (fig. 8f). Furthermore, the age dis-
tribution of zircon cores from Group II samples
is also similar to that from the pre-Devonian
sediments of Belize (fig. 8c; Martens et al. 2006;
U. Martens, B. Weber, and V. Valencia, unpub.
manuscript).
Early Paleozoic metasedimentary units that are
intruded by Ordovician rift-related leucogranites
are common in the Acatlán Complex (Mixteca
Terrane; fig. 1; Keppie et al. 2008a and references
therein). Recently published detrital zircon ages
from most of the pre-Silurian protoliths from the
Acatlán Complex have age distributions with
mainly 1.0–1.2-Ga zircons but also with appreciable
∼1:5–1:6-Ga peaks (fig. 8d; Sanchez-Zavala et al.
2004; Talavera-Mendoza et al. 2005; Vega-Granillo
et al. 2007; Morales-Gámez et al. 2008). Some post-
Ordovician metasedimentary rocks from the Acat-
lán Complex that contain detrital zircons from
Ordovician plutonic rocks also have age patterns
that indicate Grenville-type (1.0–1.2-Ga) and addi-
tional ∼1:5–1:6-Ga sources (fig. 8d; Sanchez-Zavala
Journal of Geology C H I A PA S MA S S I F AG E S 633

et al. 2004; Grodzicki et al. 2008). These age dis-
tributions are similar to those observed from the
CMC Group II metasediments, indicating similar-
ities between the Maya Block and at least part of the
early Paleozoic precursors that constitute the poly-
metamorphic Acatlán Complex. However, none of
the reported age spectra from metasedimentary
rocks of the Acatlán Complex or any other Paleo-
zoic rocks from southern Mexico show a single
∼1:5–1:6-Ga probability peak like that in our data
from the Jocote Unit.
Paleozoic sedimentary rocks covering the
1.0-Ga-old Oaxaquia Terrane (fig. 8e, 8f; Gillis et al.
2005) do not contain any appreciable amount of
∼1:5–1:6-Ga zircons. This indicates either (1) that
the lower Paleozoic sediments of the Maya Block
are derived not from Oaxaquia but from another
Grenville-type orogen that also included ∼1:5–
1:6-Ga-old precursors or (2) that the supply
of ∼1:5–1:6-Ga zircons did not play a role in
the Paleozoic sediments overlying the Oaxacan
Complex.
Conclusions and Paleogeographic Implications
Although medium- to high-grade metamorphic
conditions during the Late Permian caused partial
or total lead loss in many analyzed zircon cores, the
data provide useful information that enables us to
correlate the precursors of the CMC with Paleozoic
sedimentary rocks from the Maya Block and other
terranes, particularly the Mixteca Terrane. Impor-
tantly, the data reveal that two different types of
sedimentary protoliths can be distinguished.
CMC group I metasediments have provenance
ages that are dominated by 500–650-Ma sources that
are typical for Gondwanan protoliths, and they cor-
relate with the SRF (fig. 8). CMC Group II metasedi-
ments are dominated by ∼1:0–1:2-Ga sources typical
for Grenville-type orogens, and they show prove-
nances and depositional ages similar to those of early
Paleozoic strata from the Maya Mountains of Belize
(Martens et al. 2006; U. Martens, B. Weber, and
V. Valencia, unpub. manuscript) and from central
Guatemala (San Gabriel Unit; fig. 8f; Ortega-Obregón
et al. 2008). Ordovician to Devonian plutons
that intrude older sedimentary rocks have also
been reported from the Cuchumatanes area in
Guatemala (Solari et al., forthcoming) and from the
Mexican-Guatemalan border near Motozintla
(Salazar-Juárez et al. 2007). This suggests that pre-
Ordovician to lower Devonian strata such as the
Jocote Unit (this article), the San Gabriel Unit
(Ortega-Obregón et al. 2008), and strata of similar
age from the Maya Mountains of Belize (Martens
et al. 2006; U. Martens, B. Weber, and V. Valencia,
unpub. manuscript), all of which are discordantly
overlain by Late Carboniferous to Permian “flysch-
type” strata, are typical of the entire southern Maya
Block and can be stratigraphically correlated into the
CMC (fig. 8f). Therefore, we suggest an autochtho-
nous position for the CMC with respect to the un-
metamorphosed Maya Block in the Paleozoic. In such
a scenario, the sedimentary precursors of the CMC,
including the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian
strata similar to the SRF, must have been buried to
depths of about 15 km (5–6 kbar) in ∼20 m:yr: where
they were metamorphosed at ∼260–248 Ma (Weber

Figure 8. a–e, Age probability and histogram plots of detrital zircon ages (all histograms show number of analyses
within each 100-Ma interval) from Chiapas Massif Complex (CMC) Group I metasediments (a, top; samples CB44 and
CB54); the Santa Rosa Formation in Chiapas (a, bottom; data from Weber et al. 2006 and forthcoming); metasedimentary
rocks from the Acatlán Complex with mainly Pan-African–Brasiliano zircons (b): Carboniferous units (top; Cosoltepec
Formation, Salada and Coatlaco units; data from Talavera-Mendoza et al. 2005; Keppie et al. 2006; Grodzicki et al. 2008;
Morales-Gámez et al. 2008) and pre-Silurian units (bottom; Las Minas and Mal Paso units; data from Keppie et al.
2008b); CMC Group II metasediments (c, top three plots; data from Weber et al. 2007 and this work); the Maya series
from the Maya Mountains in Belize (c, bottom; data from U. Martens, pers. comm.); metasedimentary rocks from the
Acatlán Complex with mainly mid-Proterozoic ages (d): post-Ordovician units (top; Tecomate Formation and Canoas
Unit; data from Sanchez-Zavala et al. 2004; Grodzicki et al. 2008) and metasedimentary units intruded by Ordovician
granites (bottom; Tecomate and Xayacatlán formations, Esperanza Suite, and Amate Unit; data from Sánchez-Zavala
et al. 2004; Talevera-Mendoza et al. 2005; Vega-Granillo et al. 2007; Morales-Gámez et al. 2008); and Paleozoic
sedimentary rocks, overlaying the mid-Proterozoic Oaxacan complex (Oaxaquia Terrane) (e; data from Gillis et al. 2005).
f, Simplified revised pre-Mesozoic stratigraphy of the Maya Block, comparing Chiapas (this work, revised from
Hernandez-García 1973 and considering information from Salazar-Juárez et al. 2007), Guatemala (revised from Clemons
and Burkart 1971 and considering information from Ortega-Gutiérrez et al. 2007; Ortega-Obregón et al. 2008; and Solari
et al., forthcoming), and Belize (revised from Dixon 1956 but including information from Martens et al. 2006;
U. Martens, B. Weber, and V. Valencia, unpub. manuscript). Additional columns of comparable units are from the
Mixteca Terrane (e.g., Keppie et al. 2008a) and from Oaxaquia (Gillis et al. 2005).
634 B. WEBER ET AL.
et al. 2007 and this article). The marked difference in
the age spectra of the Group I and Group II detrital
zircons from the Maya Block suggests a major change
in provenance due to a different paleogeographic
situation, river drainage, or marine currents.
During the early Paleozoic, terranes with
Grenville affinity, such as Oaxaquia and Chortis,
were located on or outboard of the western margin
of Gondwana and so could have provided detritus
into a basin or to the continental rise of northern
Gondwana (fig. 9a, 9b). Since ∼1:5–1:6-Ga precur-
sors are not present in these terranes, we suggest
that the detrital zircons of this age were shed from
the ∼1:5–1:6-Ga-old Rio Negro–Juruena Province of
western Amazonia (Cordani et al. 2000 and refer-
ences therein). Occasional 1.4–1.5-Ga grains may
have come from the Rondônia-San Ignacio Province
adjacent to the Rio Negro–Juruena Province (fig. 9a,
9b; Geraldes et al. 2001).
During the Cambrian to Ordovician, peri-
Gondwanan terranes (e.g., Avalonia and Carolina;
fig. 9a) were transported from Gondwana to
Laurentia (e.g., Murphy et al. 2006) as the early
Paleozoic Iapetus Ocean closed and the Rheic
Ocean opened (fig. 9a, 9b). This drift was accom-
panied by rifting along the Gondwanan margin that
led to bimodal magmatism in southern Mexico
during Ordovician times and to the synchronous
deposition of sediments, especially in the Mixteca
Terrane (e.g., Keppie et al. 2008a). Interestingly, the
observed similarities between early Paleozoic rocks
from the Acatlán Complex and CMC Group II
metasediments, both of which contain Ordovician
leucogranites, indicate comparable geological envi-
ronments for the Mixteca Terrane and the Maya
Block. However, according to paleogeographic mod-
els proposed by Keppie et al. (2008a and references
therein), the Mixteca Terrane and the Maya Block
were located in quite different paleogeographic
positions during the Paleozoic, but both were
located along the Gondwana margin. As illustrated
in figure 9a, several individual (pull-apart) basins
may have formed during early Paleozoic drift-rift
tectonics. In such a scenario, sediments that con-
stitute the Jocote Unit in the Maya Block were
probably shed through a draining system that was
provided by detritus mainly from the Rio Negro–
Juruena Province (fig. 9a). In the Mixteca Terrane,
instead, the continental rise or rift basins were filled
preferentially by detritus from Oaxaquia or similar
Grenville-type sources, and detritus from the Rio
Negro–Juruena Province was less abundant.
Rift granites of Silurian age (Steiner and Walker
1996) and a Late Silurian to Early Devonian tuff
intercalated with sandstones and conglomerates of
the Maya Mountains (Martens el at. 2006) indicate
ongoing extensional tectonics in the Maya Block.
Parts of the CMC Group II metasediments that
contain Silurian zircons indicate synchronous
sedimentation from combined Grenville-type and
Rio Negro–Juruena sources. Silurian rocks are sup-
posed to be absent in the Mixteca Terrane (Keppie
et al. 2008a), but Silurian sedimentary rocks with a
Gondwanan fauna rest unconformably on Oaxaquia
in northeastern Mexico (Stewart et al. 1999), indi-
cating a possible connection between the Maya
Block and northeastern Mexico (Sierra Madre
Terrane; fig. 9b).
During the Late Carboniferous and Early
Permian, sediments were probably shed southwest-
ward from West Africa as a result of the erosion of the
newly formed mountain chains that resulted from
the collision of Gondwana with Laurentia (fig. 9c,
9d). This orogenic belt contains components of
Pan-African–Brasiliano crust that was probably
not exposed to erosion before the Carboniferous.
The outstanding accordance of detrital zircon age
patterns from Carboniferous rocks of the Maya
Block with sedimentary precursors of similar age
from the Acatlán Complex (fig. 8b) requires a
reexamination of the paleogeographic models dis-
cussed for the Acatlán Complex. A direct correlation
between the Mixteca Terrane and the Maya Block is
unlikely, however, because the Acatlán Complex is
thought to have been located west of Oaxaquia,
facing the Rheic Ocean, during the Carboniferous
and not east of Oaxaquia, as is thought for the Maya
Block (e.g., Keppie 2004). However, if similar detrital
age patterns indicate similar sources and trans-
portation currents, then it is likely that the
Carboniferous units of the Acatlán Complex, with
mainly Neoproterozoic Gondwanan sources (fig. 8b),
were deposited in close proximity to and within the
same geological realm as synchronous sediments
from the Maya Block (CMC Group I and the SRF).
This favors a position for the Carboniferous units of
the Acatlán Complex north of the Maya Block (X in
fig. 9c), similar to that proposed by Vega-Granillo
et al. (2007) for the entire Mixteca Terrane. This
hypothesis requires that these units came into con-
tact with the rest of the Acatlán Complex until
Permian dextral faulting and thrusting occurred
during the final amalgamation of Pangea.
In our model, progressive movement of the
continent-continent collision from northwest to
southeast (zipper tectonics; Hatcher 2002) caused
the westward tectonic escape of the Maya Block
(fig. 9c, 9d). During the Early Permian, arc magma-
tism occurred in Oaxaquia (∼275 Ma; Solari et al.
2001), the Mixteca Terrane (∼288 Ma; Yañez et al.
Journal of Geology C H I A PA S MA S S I F AG E S 635

Figure 9. a–c, Geotectonic reconstructions of northwest (after present coordinates) Gondwana, showing the proposed
positions of Proterozoic and Paleozoic crustal blocks of the Mexico, Central America (Chortis), Avalonia, and Carolina
terranes (modified after Keppie et al. 2008a). The present-day outlines of the Amazonian craton are shown, together with
the Rio Negro–Juruena Province (RNJ ), the Rondônoa–San Ignacio Province (RO), and the Pan-African–Brasiliano belts
(after Cordani et al. 2000). Arrows indicate probable sediment transport directions. a, Cambrian to Ordovician
separation of Avalonia from Gondwana, drift-rift producing independent (pull-apart) basins and rift magmatism in
the Mixteca Terrane and the Maya Block. b, Silurian to Early Devonian opening of the Rheic Ocean and further rifting in
the Maya Block. c, Late Carboniferous reconstruction showing the Acatlán Complex on a proposed active margin (after
Keppie et al. 2008a), sediment transport mainly from West Africa, and the Maya Block moving westward because of
tectonic escape induced by Gondwana-Laurentia collision. X indicates our hypothetical position of Carboniferous
sediments with Gondwana sources in the Acatlán Complex; open triangles west of the Maya Block illustrate
the proposed westerly-dipping subduction in the early Permian. d, Cartoon illustrating the formation of the Chiapas
Massif Complex (CMC) within the Maya Block. Top, Early Permian deposition of sediments of the uppermost Santa
Rosa Group from western Gondwana, overlying discordantly pre-Ordovician to Early Devonian sedimentary rocks;
approach of Oaxaquia toward northeast and westward motion of Gondwana. Bottom, stacking of the southern
Maya Block against Oaxaquia; flat, eastward subduction causes high-T metamorphism and batholith intrusion in
the CMC. Ac ¼ Acatlán Complex (Mixteca Terrane); BR ¼ Brasiliano belts; CA ¼ Colombian Andes; Car ¼ Carolina;
Cho ¼ Chortis; F ¼ Florida; M ¼ Mérida Terrane; Oax ¼ Oaxaquia; SM ¼ Sierra Madre Terrane.

1991), and the CMC (∼272 Ma; Weber et al. 2007)
that is explained by eastward oblique subduction
(e.g., Keppie et al. 2008a). In our hypothetical model,
coeval northeastward movement of Oaxaquia and
part of the Acatlán Complex (Elías-Herrera and
Ortega-Gutiérrez 2002) probably prevented contin-
ued westward movement of the Maya Block and,
consequently, convergence and accretionary tecton-
ics started by the Early Permian (∼280 Ma; fig. 9d).
We consider the development of a short-lived
westerly-dipping subduction beneath Oaxaquia a
possible explanation for arc magmatism in the
636 B. WEBER ET AL.
CMC during the Early Permian (fig. 9d), before the
development of the easterly-dipping subduction
zone in the Late Permian. We have two arguments
in favor of polarity reversal. (1) Paleogeographic
reconstructions (e.g., Dickinson and Lawton 2001)
place the Maya Block east of Oaxaquia, but in the
Early Permian, it was probably too far east to explain
arc magmatism in the CMC by an easterly-dipping
subduction zone in the proto–Pacific Ocean. (2)
Ultramafic rocks that occur in the southern CMC
may be relics of oceanic crust; however, nothing is
known about the age and emplacement mechanisms
of these ultramafic rocks.
We suggest that convergence culminated in
the collision of the western Maya Block with
eastern Oaxaquia in the Late Permian and produced
stacking, deformation, and metamorphism of the
Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the CMC (fig. 9d).
The high-grade metamorphic event was followed in
the Late Permian to Early Triassic by the intrusion
of voluminous calc-alkaline plutons (Damon et al.
1981; Schaaf et al. 2002) that constitute most of the
CMC as a result of eastward subduction (fig. 9d) and
that obscure the prebatholithic units for most parts
of the CMC. In conclusion, strong parallels between
the geologic history and provenance data of the
Maya Block and the reported data from the Acatlán
Complex suggest a correlation between the two
Paleozoic crustal blocks that requires both more
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