Pottery, practice, and place: A communities of practice approach to commoner interaction in the Late to Terminal Classic Belize River Valley

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 101148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian M. Jordan ◽  
Julie A. Hoggarth ◽  
Jaime J. Awe
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Practice Approach ◽  
Late To Terminal Classic

THE LAST HURRAH: EXAMINING THE NATURE OF PERI-ABANDONMENT DEPOSITS AND ACTIVITIES AT CAHAL PECH, BELIZE

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime J. Awe ◽  
Claire E. Ebert ◽  
Julie A. Hoggarth ◽  
James J. Aimers ◽  
Christophe Helmke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Contextual Analysis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Limited Support ◽  
Remnant Population ◽  
Activity Areas

AbstractArchaeological investigations by the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project at Cahal Pech uncovered several Terminal Classic (a.d. 750–900) peri-abandonment deposits and activity areas at this Belize River Valley center. The deposits contained a diverse assemblage of cultural remains located above and between collapsed architecture, associated with evidence for burning activities. In the past, archaeologists have generally interpreted similar assemblages as “problematic deposits”—“de facto” refuse (garbage)—as associated with building termination and desecration, or as evidence for rapid abandonment during the violent destruction of these ancient cities. It is argued here that the microstratigraphic excavation and contextual analysis of these features provide limited support for these explanations. Alternatively, we suggest that the deposits are more likely associated with peri-abandonment rituals that were conducted by a reduced remnant population at Cahal Pech, or by small groups who continued to reside in the site's periphery during the last stages of the Terminal Classic period.

Preclassic Round Structures of the Upper Belize River Valley

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Aimers ◽  
Terry G. Powis ◽  
Jaime J. Awe
Keyword(s):  
River Valley ◽  
Architectural Form ◽  
Maya Architecture ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Preclassic Maya ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
The World ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Maya Site

Round structures are considered a rarity in Maya architecture. Four late Middle Preclassic period (650-300 B.C.) round structures excavated at the Maya site of Cahal Pech demonstrate that this was a common architectural form for the Preclassic Maya of the upper Belize River Valley. These open platforms are described, and compared to similar forms in the Belize Valley and elsewhere. An interpretation of their significance is offered that uses information from artifacts, burials, and ethnohistory as well as analogy with round structures in other parts of the world. We suggest that these small round platforms were used for performance related to their role as burial or ancestor shrines.

PERFORMING POWER

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miranda K. Stockett
Keyword(s):  
Political Power ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Late To Terminal Classic ◽  
Terminal Classic Period

AbstractArchaeological research can draw on material remains to understand the ways that individuals may have expressed their identities in pursuit of specific goals. Here ritual performances in ancient Mesoamerica are considered for their role in shaping identities deployed to gain social and political power. The Late to Terminal Classic period (a.d. 650–960) site of Las Canoas, Honduras, is offered as a case study. In particular, the monumental Main Plaza Group at Las Canoas is examined as a spatial setting for the performance of rituals involving the use of incense burners and ceramic anthropomorphic figurines. These performances are argued to have facilitated the efforts of certain members of the community to take advantage of shifting political and economic alliances in the region and make a bid for power. Ultimately, however, their efforts to establish spiritual and political leadership did not endure.

SITES OF MEMORY IN THE MAKING: POLITICAL STRATEGIZING IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND DECONSTRUCTION OF PLACE IN LATE TO TERMINAL CLASSIC SOUTHEASTERN MESOAMERICA

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miranda Stockett
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Social Memory ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Political Strategies ◽  
Community Initiatives ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Late To Terminal Classic ◽  
Terminal Classic Period

AbstractArchaeological spaces can be viewed as material manifestations of human drama—sites for the production, expression, and manipulation of social life, power, and history. By viewing such spaces as stages for the enactment of processes of social memory, we may further enrich considerations of the interplay of materiality and history. Here I address the insights archaeologists may gain from engaging with theories of social memory by exploring their application to the analysis of settlements occupied during the Late to Terminal Classic period transition (a.d. 650–900) in pre-Columbian southeastern Mesoamerica. I also consider their relevance to community initiatives engaged by archaeologists today. Ultimately, I argue that processes of making, altering, and remaking place are one among many ways that memory may have served as a tool for political strategies and discourses about power.

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