scholarly journals Play and Purpose: The Relationship Between Patolli and Graffiti at Xunantunich, Belize

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosamund Fitzmaurice ◽  
Tia B Watkins ◽  
Jaime J Awe
Keyword(s):  
Classic Maya ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
The Relationship

Patolli is a “dice game” found in Classic andPostclassic period (CE 250-900/1000, CE 900/1000-1492) contexts throughoutMesoamerica. This paper provides an overview of ethnohistoric sources andprevious archaeological research on patolli to contextualize recent discoveriesof boards and other graffiti at the Classic Maya centre of Xunantunich, Belize.We examine the placement of patolli boards relative to graffiti figureswithin two galleries in the site’s north palace complex to understand theirrelationship with each other and their possible significance within the centreitself. Finally, we present possible interpretations for patolli andgraffiti from the Terminal Classic Maya centre of Xunantunich, Belize rangingfrom commemoration, competition, and divination or ritually related activities.

Trace Element Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts from a Classic Maya Residential Group at Nohmul, Belize

1984 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 815-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Hammond ◽  
Mary D. Neivens ◽  
Garman Harbottle
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Trace Element Analysis ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Residential Group ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Before And After

Forty-nine obsidian artifacts from a Classic period residential group at Nohmul, northern Belize, have been analyzed by neutron activation analysis. The majority of the samples originated from Ixtepeque, and the remainder from El Chayal. Increasing prominence of the Ixtepeque source from the Late Classic into the Terminal Classic (i.e., before and after ca. A.D. 800) suggests greater use of a coastal distribution route known to have originated in the Formative and to have remained in use through the colonial period.

The Ballcourt Markers of Tenam Rosario, Chiapas, Mexico

1993 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gerard Fox
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Blood Sacrifice ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Coast Site

AbstractThis study is an iconographic analysis of ballcourt markers from the Late/Terminal Classic Maya site of Tenam Rosario, Chiapas, Mexico. The squatting posture of the two figures depicted on these markers, while rare in Lowland Maya art, is compared to Late Postclassic images of the earth deities Tlaltecuhtli and Tlaloc from Central Mexico. Contemporaneous examples of this posture are presented from the Gulf Coast site of El Tajin where squatting figures are associated with the rain god specifically and with the themes of ballgame sacrifice and regeneration in general. Tlaloc imagery in Classic Maya art is related to blood sacrifice as a complex, which includes both ritual warfare and autosacrifice. These forms of sacrifice are discussed as engendered categories in both Classic Maya and Aztec society. The Tenam Rosario markers are found to express themes that are consistent with ballgame symbolism throughout Mesoamerica, while conflating male and female aspects of blood sacrifice as regenerative ritual.

THE LONG GOODBYE: PROBLEMATIC POTTERY AND PILGRIMAGE AT CAHAL PECH, BELIZE

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Aimers ◽  
Jaime J. Awe
Keyword(s):  
Classic Maya ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Spindle Whorls ◽  
Valley Site

ABSTRACTInvestigations in the site core of Cahal Pech have recovered a range of data reflecting Terminal Classic Maya activity at this Belize Valley site. The materials, which were recovered in a tomb, a burial, and in epicentral plaza deposits, include a diverse assemblage of cultural remains including whole and partial vessels, projectile points, obsidian blade fragments, deer antlers, figurines, pottery flutes, spindle whorls, and jade beads. Similar deposits at other Maya sites in western Belize have been interpreted as evidence for de facto refuse or rapid abandonment. Contextual analyses of the Cahal Pech data suggest that the deposits are more likely associated with post-abandonment activity such as pilgrimage from the still-occupied periphery of the site.

MAYA HETERARCHY AS INFERRED FROM CLASSIC-PERIOD PLAZA PLANS

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marshall Joseph Becker
Keyword(s):  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Rural Settlement ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Lowland Maya

Recognition of architectural patterning among groups of structures at lowland Maya sites dating from the Classic period provides insights into the ways that residences and ritual complexes were organized. Each structured group arrangement, or Plaza Plan (PP), reveals an architectural grammar that provides the database enabling us to predict urban as well as rural settlement patterns. Wide variations in sizes among examples of residential PPs suggests that heterarchy was an important aspect of Classic Maya society. Examination of PP2 at Tikal indicates that a heterarchic pattern of organization existed. Heterarchy may relate to the fragility of the structure of lowland Maya kingship, and this may explain the gradual demise of states during the Terminal Classic and Postclassic periods and their replacement by re-emergent Maya chiefdoms.

Dogs

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between humans and dogs has garnered considerable attention within archaeological research around the world. Investigations into the lived experiences of domestic dogs have proven to be an intellectually productive avenue for better understanding humanity in the past. This book examines the human-canine connection by moving beyond asking when, why, or how the dog was domesticated. While these questions are fundamental, beyond them lies a rich and textured history of humans maintaining a bond with another species through cooperation and companionship over thousands of years. Diverse techniques and theoretical approaches are used by authors in this volume to investigate the many ways dogs were conceptualized by their human counterparts in terms of both their value and social standing within a variety of human cultures across space and time. In this way, this book contributes a better understanding of the human-canine bond while also participating in broader anthropological discussions about how human interactions with domesticated animals shape their practices and worldviews.

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.

Paleoecological Evidence of an Early Postclassic Occupation in the Southwestern Maya Lowlands: Laguna Las Pozas, Guatemala

2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J. Johnston ◽  
Andrew J. Breckenridge ◽  
Barbara C. Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Classic Maya ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Refugee Population ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Early Postclassic ◽  
Maya Collapse ◽  
Terminal Classic Period

Magnetic, palynological, and paleoecological data indicate that in the Río de la Pasión drainage, one of the most thoroughly investigated areas of the southern Maya lowlands, a refugee population remained in the Laguna Las Pozas basin long after the Classic Maya collapse and the Terminal Classic period, previously identified by archaeologists as eras of near-total regional abandonment. During the Early Postclassic period, ca. A. D. 900 to 1200, agriculturalists colonized and deforested the Laguna Las Pozas basin for agriculture while adjacent, abandoned terrain was undergoing reforestation. After discussing the archaeological utility of magnetic analyses, we conclude that following the Maya collapse, some refugee populations migrated to geographically marginal non-degraded landscapes within the southern lowlands not previously occupied by the Classic Maya.

Terminal Classic Maya Heterodoxy and Shrine Vernacularism in the Sibun Valley, Belize

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. McAnany
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Ninth Century ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
New Information ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Sibun Valley

A monolithic view of Classic Maya society as dominated by divine rulers who inexplicably ceased to erect monuments with long-count dates during the ninth century is examined by reference to new information from Terminal Classic sites in the Sibun Valley of Belize. In this locale and elsewhere, the construction of circular one-room buildings — with striking associated artefacts — may be interpreted as signalling social tensions between the orthodoxy of Classic Maya divine rulers and the more heterodoxic beliefs and practices associated with circular structures built at the end of the Classic period. The round buildings are contextualized within the diversity of architectural expressions of the Sibun Valley and also within a peninsula-wide network of shrines. The chronological placement and character of the Sibun shrines is discussed by way of radiocarbon assays, obsidian sourced by INAA, and raw materials used for groundstone at sites throughout the valley. The presence of marine shell and speleothems — likely used as architectural adornment — found in close association with Sibun Valley round buildings permits discussion of the manner in which elements of the local effected a translation of heterodoxic tenets into vernacularized shrine architecture.

scholarly journals EDITORIAL

Antiquity ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (343) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
Chris Scarre
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship

The world is changing rapidly, and archaeology with it. Globalisation is rewiring the relationship that connects Europe and North America, with their long histories of archaeological research, to other regions, where archaeologists are throwing new light on prehistories and early histories that have hitherto been less intensively studied. The outcome is a shifting but more balanced picture of the human past at a global scale, and a better appreciation of the interactions that have shaped the modern world.

Excavations at D85 (Santa Maria in Cività): An Early Medieval Hilltop Settlement in Molise

1980 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 70-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hodges ◽  
Graeme Barker ◽  
Keith Wade
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Landscape Change ◽  
Field Survey ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Human Settlement ◽  
History Of ◽  
Hilltop Settlement ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Santa Maria

Between 1974 and 1978 the settlement archaeology of the Biferno valley in Molise in southern Italy was investigated by a programme of field survey, excavation and allied archaeological research directed by one of us (GB) and termed the Molise Project. For the historic periods the archaeology has been combined with documentary studies; both have then been integrated with geomorphological research into the environmental history of the valley, forming an inter-disciplinary investigation of the relationship between human settlement and landscape change in the valley from prehistoric times to the present day. For interim reports on the project, see Barker (1976, 1977), Barker et al. (1978), and Lloyd and Barker (1981).

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