Early to Terminal Classic Maya Diet in the Northern Lowlands of the Yucatán (Mexico)

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.

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The Ballcourt Markers of Tenam Rosario, Chiapas, Mexico

Ancient Mesoamerica ◽

10.1017/s0956536100000778 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 55-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

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.

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

Ancient Mesoamerica ◽

10.1017/s0956536119000191 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 151-160 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

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.

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MAYA HETERARCHY AS INFERRED FROM CLASSIC-PERIOD PLAZA PLANS

Ancient Mesoamerica ◽

10.1017/s0956536104151079 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 127-138 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

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.

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

Latin American Antiquity ◽

10.2307/972053 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 149-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

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.

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

Cambridge Archaeological Journal ◽

10.1017/s0959774312000078 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 115-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

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.

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Survival and Revival of Terminal Classic Traditions at Postclassic Mayapán

Latin American Antiquity ◽

10.1017/s1045663500002881 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 581-606 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Susan Milbrath ◽

Carlos Peraza Lope

Keyword(s):

East Coast ◽

Political Power ◽

Classic Maya ◽

Carnegie Institution ◽

Terminal Classic ◽

International Style ◽

Archaeological Project ◽

Local Traditions ◽

The City ◽

Chichen Itza

AbstractRecent INAH excavations and reanalysis of data from the Carnegie Institution archaeological project document the survival and revival of Classic and Terminal Classic traditions at Postclassic Mayapán, the last Maya capital in Mexico. The survival of some Terminal Classic ceramic types and architectural forms at Mayapán around A.D. 1100–1200 reflects a pattern of continuity. A revival of earlier traditions is notable in the erection of stelae marking the katun endings and in Postclassic architecture that incorporates iconographie elements from Terminal Classic Puuc sites and the city of Chichén Itzá. The rulers and priests of Mayapán displayed their connection with the Terminal Classic Maya heritage to assert political power. The Puuc revival at Mayapán is linked with the Xiu priests, whereas the revival of the Itzá heritage of Chichén Itzá is affiliated with the Cocom rulers. Between A.D. 1250 and 1400, revival-style architecture at Mayapán was inspired by local traditions in the area of Yucatán. After A.D. 1400, trade contact with the East Coast inspired new art forms linked with the international style associated with Mixteca-Puebla art.

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Stature at Tikal Revisited

Bones of Complexity ◽

10.5744/florida/9780813062235.003.0003 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Lori E. Wright ◽

Mario A. Vásquez

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

Classic Maya ◽

Growth Processes ◽

Stunted Growth ◽

Isotope Data ◽

Terminal Classic ◽

Social Variation ◽

Lower Status ◽

Stable Isotope Data ◽

New Look

Lori Wright and Mario Vásquez take a new look at William Haviland’s classic (1967) study to reexamine stature variation at the Maya center of Tikal, Guatemala, spanning the Preclassic through the Terminal Classic periods (1 B.C.–A.D. 950). They also include new samples and stable isotope data to develop an understanding of temporal and social variation in Maya growth processes. The results demonstrate that archaeological distinctions between elites and commoners are associated with weak overall correlations between hierarchy and stature. Still, significantly shorter women are found in mid- and low status domestic settings that correlate to isotopic indications of poorer nutrition and stunted growth. Tentatively, middle and lower status male stature may have declined slightly over the span of Tikal’s history, perhaps indicating subtly declining nutrition as Classic Maya society peaked and faded.

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