SHIFTING SOCIAL RELATIONS DURING THE TERMINAL CLASSIC PERIOD (ca. a.d. 810–950/1000): CERAMICS FROM THE LOWLAND MAYA SITE OF UCANAL

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Jean-Baptiste LeMoine ◽  
Christina T. Halperin
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Economic Networks ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Political Economic

Abstract The end of the Classic period was a tumultuous moment in Maya history, not only because the power of many dominant political centers waned, but because the ways in which elites and non-elites related to each other were increasingly called into question. To understand the nature of changing social relations in the southern Maya lowlands during this time, this study examines the distribution and provenance of decorated ceramics during the Late Classic (ca. a.d. 600–810) and Terminal Classic (ca. a.d. 810–950/1000) periods from the archaeological site of Ucanal, Peten, Guatemala. Comparisons of ceramics from different households across the site reveal that differences in access to decorated and imported ceramics decreased between these periods, suggesting that socioeconomic distinctions leveled out over time. In turn, chemical analysis of ceramics using a portable X-ray fluorescence instrument reveals that the site shifted its political-economic networks, with greater ties to the Petexbatun and Usumacinta regions and continued ties with the Upper Belize Valley.

MORTUARY RITUALS AND CRANIAL MODIFICATIONS AT CEIBAL: FROM THE EARLY MIDDLE PRECLASSIC TO THE TERMINAL CLASSIC PERIOD

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 305-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Manuel Palomo ◽  
Takeshi Inomata ◽  
Daniela Triadan
Keyword(s):  
Public Spaces ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Ceramic Vessels ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Terminal Classic Period

AbstractSkeletal remains excavated from the lowland Maya site of Ceibal, representing approximately 117 individuals, provide significant data for the study of changes in bodily treatments and mortuary practices from 1000b.c.toa.d.900. The early Middle Preclassic residents of Ceibal apparently did not bury their dead inside residential structures, which represents a burial practice different from those found at contemporaneous Belizean sites. During this time, tabular erect cranial deformations were found among possible local residents. Sacrificial burials were present by the end of this period, but skeletal remains of violent rituals deposited in public spaces increased from the Middle Preclassic to the Late Preclassic. During the Late Preclassic, tabular erect cranial deformations coexisted with tabular oblique shapes. The Classic period witnessed a prevalence of tabular oblique forms, which were probably tied to local residents. The common placement of the dead under house floors and the preference of ceramic vessels as burial goods also indicate Ceibal's strong affinities with other parts of the Maya lowlands during the Late Classic period. During the Terminal Classic period, there was a resurgence in the placement of sacrificial burials in public spaces and tabular erect cranial deformations were found in possible non-local individuals.

CONVERGENCE ZONE POLITICS AT THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF UCANAL, PETEN, GUATEMALA

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 476-493
Author(s):  
Christina T. Halperin ◽  
Jose Luis Garrido Lopez ◽  
Miriam Salas ◽  
Jean-Baptiste LeMoine
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Convergence Zone ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Cultural Interaction ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Political Networks ◽  
Interaction Spheres ◽  
Maya Area

AbstractThe Maya archaeological site of Ucanal is located in Peten, Guatemala, close to the contemporary border with Belize. In pre-Columbian times, the site also sat at the frontiers of some of the largest political centers, Naranjo in Peten, Guatemala, and Caracol, in Belize. Entangled between these dominant centers and with ties to peoples in the Upper Belize Valley, the Petexbatun region in Guatemala, northern Yucatan, and elsewhere, Ucanal was a critical convergence zone of political and cultural interaction. This paper synthesizes archaeological research by the Proyecto Arqueológico Ucanal to underscore the ways in which this provincial polity, identified epigraphically as K'anwitznal, maneuvered within and between different cultural affiliations and political networks. We find that the site's role as a political frontier during the Late Classic period was more of a bridge than an edge. During the later Terminal Classic period, the K'anwitznal kingdom gained independence, but continued to serve as a critical convergence of influences and interaction spheres from throughout the Maya area and beyond.

DATING THE RISE AND FALL OF XUNANTUNICH, BELIZE

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa J. LeCount ◽  
Jason Yaeger ◽  
Richard M. Leventhal ◽  
Wendy Ashmore
Keyword(s):  
Tenth Century ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Political Autonomy ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Regional Center ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Ceramic Chronology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Maya Site

This article presents the chronological framework used to reconstruct the political history of the ancient Lowland Maya site of Xunantunich in the upper Belize River valley. Extensive excavations from 1991 to 1997 by the Xunantunich Archaeological Project produced the ceramic, architectural, and epigraphic data needed to place the site within a temporal context. Refinement of the Barton Ramie ceramic chronology was the first step toward clarifying the Xunantunich chronology. Seriation of well-known Spanish Lookout types and modes from stratified deposits established a framework for understanding Late and Terminal Classic assemblages. Twenty-two radiocarbon samples place these ceramic complexes in absolute time. Obsidian hydration and masonry techniques were found to be less reliable chronological markers. The results indicate that Xunantunich emerged as a regional center during the Samal (A.D. 600–670) and Hats' Chaak (A.D. 670–780) phases of the Late Classic period. Arguably, this rapid growth and florescence was initiated under the auspices of nearby Naranjo. Although the polity achieved political autonomy in the following Tsak' phase (A.D. 780–890) of the Terminal Classic period, civic construction diminished and rural populations declined until the site collapsed sometime during the late ninth or early tenth century.

ON THE TRAIL OF QUETZALCOATL/KUKULCAN: TRACING MYTHIC INTERACTION ROUTES AND NETWORKS IN THE MAYA LOWLANDS

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Folan ◽  
David D. Bolles ◽  
Jerald D. Ek
Keyword(s):  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Oral Histories ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
Political Economic

AbstractThis paper examines ethnohistoric accounts and oral histories accumulated during the last 50 years concerning the movements of the mythical personage of Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan (Kukul Can) and the role of these narratives in political ideologies between the Epiclassic and Postclassic periods. These narratives outline the movements of Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan by way of terrestrial, celestial, and subterranean routes that connected pilgrimage centers across the Maya lowlands in the peninsula of Yucatan. Ethnographic and ethnohistoric data presented in this paper describe linkages between important political, economic, and ritual centers that had roots in pan-Mesoamerican social dynamics originating as early as the Terminal Classic or Epiclassic period. Links between cities included not just the physical intersite connections evidenced by causeways that are so prominent in the archaeological record but also intangible, mythical, and symbolic connections embodied in mythical histories of subterranean passageways and celestial umbilical cords. These accounts and oral histories highlight the importance of migration and founding events in the establishment of new cities during the major political, economic, and social reorganizations that took place after the end of the Late Classic period. As a whole, these linkages comprised a political infrastructure connecting a network of cities within the highly integrated and international Postclassic Mesoamerican world. The indigenous histories outlined in this paper complement archaeological data, reflecting an increase in internationalism, economic integration, and the spread of new religious movements beginning in the Terminal or Epiclassic periods across Mesoamerica.

GREAT DEVELOPMENT IN TROUBLED TIMES: THE TERMINAL CLASSIC AT THE MAYA SITE OF NAKUM, PETEN, GUATEMALA

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarosław Źrałka ◽  
Bernard Hermes
Keyword(s):  
Classic Period ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Great Development ◽  
Terminal Classic Period

AbstractRecent investigations carried out at the Maya site of Nakum, located in the northeastern part of Guatemala, revealed traces of very intense Terminal Classic period occupation and architectural construction and renovation. Archaeological excavations in the site's core and its periphery indicate that the apogee of Nakum's cultural prosperity and demographic increase occurred during the Terminal Classic period when many new structures were constructed and almost all old constructions were rebuilt. The growth and prosperity of Terminal Classic Nakum stands in stark contrast to the prevailing pattern of collapse and abandonment seen at many other lowland Maya sites during this turbulent period. Archaeological and epigraphic data suggest that Nakum survived the collapse of other major cities such as Tikal or Naranjo by at least a century. Nakum's success can be attributed to its role as a fluvial port that controlled commercial activities within this region. Its advantageous location on the banks of the Holmul River, combined with weakened competition from formerly more powerful neighbors such as Tikal and Naranjo, apparently permitted Nakum's ruling elite to actively expand its trade relationships in spite of the broad economic and political crisis that profoundly affected the Southern Maya Lowlands. However, its success was relatively brief, for by the end of the Terminal Classic (ca.a.d.950) Nakum apparently succumbed to the same forces that had caused the collapse and abandonment of most Southern Maya Lowland cities.

Contextualizing the Glyphic Texts of Tipan Chen Uitz, Cayo District, Belize

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Andres ◽  
Christophe Helmke ◽  
Shawn G. Morton ◽  
Gabriel D. Wrobel ◽  
Jason J. González
Keyword(s):  
Classic Period ◽  
Archaeological Survey ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
Small Collection ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Cayo District ◽  
Written Sources

The 2011 investigations of the Caves Branch Archaeological Survey at the large and recently documented Maya site of Tipan Chen Uitz resulted in the discovery of the site's first monument with a glyphic inscription. Prior to this discovery, the site's glyphic corpus was limited to a small collection of texts rendered on fragmentary ceramics. In this paper, we describe these sherds as well as the monument (Monument 1), report on their archaeological contexts, provide an epigraphic analysis of the texts, and consider these written sources relative to our growing understanding of Tipan and its place in the ancient political landscape. The discovery of Monument 1 is important, for it stands to contribute to sociopolitical reconstructions in this part of the central Maya Lowlands and has significant implications for the possible presence of other, as yet undiscovered, Late Classic period (A.D. 550-830) monuments at Tipan.

FIGURINES ARE US? THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF JAINA ISLAND, CAMPECHE, MEXICO

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald McVicker
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
The Social ◽  
Economic Developments

AbstractDespite the recognition by many scholars of the high esthetic value of Jaina-style figurines, they present a number of analytic problems. Their functions remain obscure, and their role in Late Classic period Maya society has not been adequately examined. Throughout southeastern Mesoamerica, with few exceptions, all figurines and fragments are found in domestic contexts, mostly trash heaps; on Jaina, most examples come from graves. This article addresses the question of Jaina exceptionalism. It places its unique features in the broader context of Terminal Classic political and economic developments that were sweeping across the northern Maya Lowlands. Here I argue that the use of figurines in domestic rituals determined their appropriateness for placement in a particular grave, rather than the age, sex, or occupation of the deceased.

scholarly journals Drought, agricultural adaptation, and sociopolitical collapse in the Maya Lowlands

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (18) ◽  
pp. 5607-5612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. J. Douglas ◽  
Mark Pagani ◽  
Marcello A. Canuto ◽  
Mark Brenner ◽  
David A. Hodell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Agricultural Adaptation ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Paleoclimate Records ◽  
Early Classic Period ◽  
Plant Wax ◽  
Terminal Classic Period

Paleoclimate records indicate a series of severe droughts was associated with societal collapse of the Classic Maya during the Terminal Classic period (∼800–950 C.E.). Evidence for drought largely derives from the drier, less populated northern Maya Lowlands but does not explain more pronounced and earlier societal disruption in the relatively humid southern Maya Lowlands. Here we apply hydrogen and carbon isotope compositions of plant wax lipids in two lake sediment cores to assess changes in water availability and land use in both the northern and southern Maya lowlands. We show that relatively more intense drying occurred in the southern lowlands than in the northern lowlands during the Terminal Classic period, consistent with earlier and more persistent societal decline in the south. Our results also indicate a period of substantial drying in the southern Maya Lowlands from ∼200 C.E. to 500 C.E., during the Terminal Preclassic and Early Classic periods. Plant wax carbon isotope records indicate a decline in C4 plants in both lake catchments during the Early Classic period, interpreted to reflect a shift from extensive agriculture to intensive, water-conservative maize cultivation that was motivated by a drying climate. Our results imply that agricultural adaptations developed in response to earlier droughts were initially successful, but failed under the more severe droughts of the Terminal Classic period.

Changing Patterns of Ritual Activity in an Unlooted Cave in Central Guatemala

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent K.S. Woodfill ◽  
Stanley Guenter ◽  
Mirza Monterroso
Keyword(s):  
Classic Period ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Interregional Trade ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
Ritual Activity ◽  
Trade Route ◽  
Northern Highlands

AbstractThe Cave of Hun Nal Ye, located in central Guatemala, was discovered unlooted by a local landowner in 2005 and was immediately subject to investigation by the authors. The cave contained ritual remains dating to between the Terminal Pre-classic and Terminal Classic. In addition to allowing a detailed reconstruction of ritual activity in the northern highlands, its presence along the Great Western Trade Route allows archaeologists to examine hypotheses about interregional trade during the Classic period. In particular, changes in the ritual assemblage between the Early and Late Classic indicate that the cave was an important trade shrine for merchants and travelers passing between the highlands and lowlands until ca. A.D. 550, at which point it became a local shrine used to reinforce elite power. These changes are then linked to larger patterns occurring in other parts of the trade route, especially to Tikal and the kingdoms along the Pasión and Usumacinta rivers.

Analysis of the Context and Contents of an Ulua-Style Marble Vase from the Palmarejo Valley, Honduras

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Christian Wells ◽  
Karla L. Davis-Salazar ◽  
José E. Moreno-Cortes ◽  
Glenn S. L. Stuart ◽  
Anna C. Novotny
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Residential Group ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Political Economic

Ulúa-style marble vases played important social, political, economic, and religious roles in southern Mesoamerica during the seventh through eleventh centuries A.D. However, most such vessels known to archaeologists are part of looted collections or else were unearthed before the advent of modern archaeological practices. As a result, little is known about the context, use, and chronology of these objects. Recent investigations at the site of Palos Blancos in northwest Honduras discovered an Ulúa-style marble vase in an undisturbed mortuary context. Excavation of the burial context, along with bioarchaeological and stable isotope analysis of the human remains, suggests that the vase was placed as an offering, possibly to an ancestor of the residential group. Phosphate and pollen studies indicate that the vase once held a corn-based beverage . Radiocarbon dating of four charcoal samples from immediately below and adjacent to the vase yielded a range of dates from the beginning of the Late Classic period, ca.A.D. 600-800. Through analyses of the context and contents of the vase, this research contributes to a more holistic understanding of the use and meaning of Ulúa-style marble vases in southern Mesoamerica.

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