Although Cuello appears to have been a typical, relatively unimportant rural village in the Preclassic era, it participated in regional trade networks with obsidian being imported from the Maya highlands from 800 BC onwards, and a small amount of jade arriving in the community a few centuries later.

This was then coated in a smoothed layer of clay and finished with a white lime wash.[8] Archaeological investigation has revealed that the diet of the Preclassic occupants of Cuello consisted of less than 30% maize, compared with up to 75% for the modern Maya.

White-tailed deer made up over half the meat in their diet, followed by freshwater turtles and domestic dogs, the last of which represents 7% of the animal remains found at the site.

The earliest phases of the Middle Classic included both adults and children accompanied by offerings of jade and shell ornaments, indicating social differentiation.

[11] It consists of an individual interred in a cist, accompanied by two ceramic vessels and ornaments that included tubes fashioned from deer bones and engraved with a mat design that in later times became associated with royalty.

[11] The site of this burial remained important in later times, with the residential patio being converted into a ceremonial platform upon which was built a small pyramid temple.