Spiral motifs, reminiscent of the decoration found at Tajín and at other sites from the remote state of Veracruz, all but cover the southern façade of the Las Monjas upper story. It is known that Maya-speaking traders settled the Gulf of Mexico coast as far north as northern Tabasco, so contact with the Veracruz cultures through them seems very plausible. Such contacts could explain the importation of these motifs (and their attending ideology) far into the Maya heartland. Chichen Itza, after all, is thought to have been a major trading force in the Yucatan.