Symbolic Notation of Teotihuacan: Elements of writing in a Mesoamerican culture of the Classic period

AbstractRecent excavations at Tula Chico, the monumental center for Tula's earliest settlement, revealed a long and complex history of occupation, beginning with its initial settlement in the Middle Classic period by Coyotlatelco peoples, when much of the region was under Teotihuacan's direct control. During the Epiclassic period, a program of monumental construction began that developed the monumental complex seen today over a period of about 200 years. Although Tula Chico was superseded by Tula Grande, the monumental center for the Early Postclassic city, it continued to be occupied and maintained until its destruction by fire. Tula Chico and Tula Grande show evidence of clear cultural continuity in ceramics, architecture, and sculpture, including “Toltec style” sculpture characteristic of Tula Grande that is present in temporally early contexts at Tula Chico.

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

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1419133112 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 112 (18) ◽

pp. 5607-5612 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

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.

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

Latin American Antiquity ◽

10.7183/1045-6635.23.1.93 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 93-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

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.

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

Latin American Antiquity ◽

10.7183/1045-6635.25.1.82 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 82-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

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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The Sociopolitical Economy of an Ancient Maya Village: Cerén and its Sacbe

Latin American Antiquity ◽

10.7183/1045-6635.26.3.341 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 341-361 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Payson Sheets ◽

Christine Dixon ◽

David Lentz ◽

Rachel Egan ◽

Alexandria Halmbacher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Household Archaeology ◽

Classic Period ◽

Agricultural Products ◽

Archaeological Record ◽

Significant Progress ◽

Community Members ◽

Research Focus ◽

Sociopolitical Organization ◽

Politics And Religion ◽

The Village

The intellectual, artistic, and architectural accomplishments of Maya elites during the Classic period were extraordinary, and evidence of elite activities has preserved well in the archaeological record. A centuries-long research focus on elites has understandably fostered the view that they controlled the economy, politics, and religion of Maya civilization. While there has been significant progress in household archaeology, unfortunately the activities, decisions, and interactions of commoners generally preserve poorly in the archaeological record. Therefore, it has been challenging to understand the sociopolitical economy of commoners, and how it related—or did not relate—to elite authority. The exceptional volcanic preservation of the site of Cerén, El Salvador, provides a unique opportunity to explore the degree to which elites controlled or influenced commoner life. Was society organized in a top-down hierarchy in which elites controlled everything? Or did commoners have autonomy, and thus the authority to decide quotidian, seasonal, and annual issues within the village? Or was there a mixture of different loci of authority within the village and the region? Research at Cerén is beginning to shed some light on the sociopolitical economy within the community and in relation to elites in the Zapotitan valley. A domain in which there was considerable commoner-elite interaction in the Cerén area was the marketplace. Elites and their attached specialists provided products, and commoners decided which marketplace they would attend to exchange their items. Evidence from Cerén also suggests that there were numerous other domains of authority within the community that had no detectable control or influence from outside. For instance, people in the village decided what crafts or specialized agricultural products to produce as surplus to be exchanged within the community for different products from other households. Cerén community members acted independently as individuals, as households, or in other domains within the community. Understanding the multiple layers of authority at Cerén sheds light on the sociopolitical organization in one non-elite Classic period Maya community.

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