The Analysis and Distribution of Volcanic Ash-Tempered Pottery in the Lowland Maya Area

1979 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Simmons ◽  
Gerald F. Brem
Keyword(s):  
El Salvador ◽  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Petrographic Analysis ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Maya Area ◽  
Lowland Maya

Petrographic analysis of potsherds from Dzibilchaltun and other Maya sites conclusively establishes the presence of volcanic ash temper in ceramics from northern Yucatan. The distribution of ash-tempered ceramics in time and space suggests import of ash in bulk from sources in highland Guatemala or El Salvador in exchange for salt. The homogeneous nature of the ash in northwestern Yucatan supports the idea that certain trading organizations enjoyed exclusive access to that region, while competing for markets in other lowland areas.

Preclassic Ceramics from Chalchuapa, El Salvador, and Their Relationships with the Maya Lowlands

1970 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Sharer ◽  
James C. Gifford
Keyword(s):  
El Salvador ◽  
Ceramic Material ◽  
Analytical Procedure ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
East Central ◽  
Analytic Procedure ◽  
Maya Area ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Lowland Maya

AbstractApplication of the type-variety analytical procedure to Preclassic ceramic material excavated from mound-fill deposits at Chalchuapa, El Salvador, has provided important indications of possible ceramic relationships between this site-zone and the Maya Lowlands. Of the five ceramic complexes, the earliest (the Tok ceramic complex) seems related to the Early Preclassic (Cuadros phase) of south coastal Guatemala and Mexico. Pottery of the early Middle Preclassic (the Colos and Kal ceramic complexes) appears to involve certain direct type-variety relationships with the Lowland Maya Xe and Mamom ceramic spheres. Late Middle Preclassic pottery (the Chul ceramic complex) is evidently almost exclusively affiliated with Highland Guatemala (the Providencia phase at Kaminaljuyu). Pottery of the Late Preclassic and "Protoclassic" (the Caynac ceramic complex) at Chalchuapa continues to reflect these ties (now with the Miraflores, Arenal, and Santa Clara phases at Kaminaljuyu). Apart from such ties, however, there are also significant indications of renewed ceramic connections with the Maya Lowlands during this time interval that we believe might have been of some consequence for the development of the Classic Lowland Maya. The implications of these ceramic relationships for the problem of the initial occupation of the east-central Maya Lowlands and the later intrusive Floral Park ceramic sphere at Barton Ramie are discussed. The paper also considers the implications of this evidence for the type-variety analytic procedure and proposes a tentative outline of Preclassic ceramic relationships in the Maya area.

Apercu sur le Quaternaire de Salvador (Amerique centrale)

1961 ◽  
Vol S7-III (1) ◽  
pp. 59-68
Author(s):  
Jean Tricart
Keyword(s):  
El Salvador ◽  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Explosive Activity ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Volcanic Region ◽  
Relative Dating ◽  
Late Tertiary

Abstract El Salvador is essentially a volcanic region in which an older, presumably late Tertiary, complex of andesite and basalt flows and breccias and younger, more acid Quaternary rocks are represented. Following a long period of inactivity during which the Tertiary volcanic masses were considerably eroded, episodic explosive activity occurred in the Quaternary, accompanied by the formation of extensive calderas and ejection of considerable ash. Paleosols were developed in the intervals between explosions, which permit relative dating of the successive episodes. The last stages of activity were characterized by extrusion of mud flows, torrential gullying, and deposition of thick piedmont detrital beds accompanied by reworking of volcanic ash which was redeposited in dammed lakes and other depressions. The development of calcareous crusts in places constitutes evidence of significant climatic fluctuations. There is also evidence of differential subsidence in coastal areas.

Modeling Maya Markets

2020 ◽  
pp. 14-27
Author(s):  
Eleanor M. King
Keyword(s):  
Economic Importance ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
The Future ◽  
Maya Area ◽  
Over Time

An abundance of data now supports the existence—long doubted—of markets in the Maya area in the Classic period (C.E. 250–900) and their economic importance. Why, however, did it take so long for Maya markets to be recognized? And how are they best conceptualized? After briefly reviewing the assumptions that hindered archaeological research on markets, especially among the Maya, this article uses ethnohistorical and ethnographic information to suggest an agent-centered model for how Maya markets worked. The intent is not to create a single, overarching template, because Maya economy varied over time and space, but rather to infuse more of a Maya perspective into current views and inspire others to continue doing so in the future.

CERAMIC ROOF ORNAMENTS (ALMENAS) FROM CIHUATAN, EL SALVADOR: CONTEXTS, DESCRIPTIONS, AND INFERENCES FROM OTHER SITES

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-60
Author(s):  
Marshall Joseph Becker
Keyword(s):  
El Salvador ◽  
Western Margin ◽  
Specific Shape ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
The Many ◽  
The One ◽  
Cultural Connections ◽  
Preliminary Program ◽  
Reconstructed Sample ◽  
Lowland Maya

AbstractDiscovery of dozens of broken ceramic roof ornaments (almenas) on the floor abutting the front (western) margin of an elite residence (Structure Q-1) at Cihuatan, El Salvador provides a new context for this category of artifacts. While relatively well-known from sites in the Valley of Mexico, elsewhere in Mesoamericaalmenashave been documented only from a single Teotihuacan-style structure at the lowland Maya site of Tikal, one structure at Mayapan, and possibly at a few other sites in Yucatan. A preliminary program to reconstruct a portion of the many box-likealmenasat Cihuatan, of a date much later than the one from Tikal, generated seven relatively complete examples of this form, indicated that fragments of perhaps another 50 had been recovered, and that they were used in pairs. The reconstructed sample provides an important demonstration of the ornamentation on an elite residence and also reveals much about how Structure Q-1 and surrounding buildings came to an end, arounda.d.1200. At least eight other buildings at Cihuatan had been adorned withalmenas,each building having examples of one specific shape, possibly unique to this city. Comparisons with Aztec and earlier Mexican forms suggest cultural connections, perhaps via Tula. These findings strongly suggest Mexican influences for the use and forms of roof ornaments at Cihuatan.

Rainforest conservation in Mexico’s lowland Maya area: Integrating local meanings of conservation and land-use dynamics

2019 ◽  
Vol 448 ◽  
pp. 300-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malloni Puc-Alcocer ◽  
A. Minerva Arce-Ibarra ◽  
Sergio Cortina-Villar ◽  
Erin I.J. Estrada-Lugo
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Dynamics ◽  
Maya Area ◽  
Lowland Maya

A Southern Maya-Peten Pottery Correlation

1942 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-396
Author(s):  
John M. Longyear
Keyword(s):  
El Salvador ◽  
The Other ◽  
Lower Phase ◽  
Western Border ◽  
Maya Area ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Arbitrary Line

This paper represents an attempt to correlate, as far as is now possible, the ceramic sequence of the southern Maya area with that established in the Guatemalan Peten. The southern Maya region includes the Republic of El Salvador from its western border east to the lower Lempa River and the Republic of Honduras from its western border east to an arbitrary line slightly beyond the Ulua River and Lake Yojoa. Generally speaking, there have been defined in this region two principal ceramic phases, one stratigraphically below the other. The lower phase contains monochrome and bichrome wares and handmodeled figurines. The upper horizon consists of the polchrome pottery typical of the region, plus mould-made figurines and whistles.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document