Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Howie ◽  
Terry G. Powis ◽  
Elizabeth Graham
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Petrographic Analysis ◽  
Urban Center ◽  
Exchange Networks ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Material Goods ◽  
Late Postclassic

In this chapter the authors examine change in interregional exchange networks across time. They focus on the movement of pottery across short distances between Chetumal Bay and the study site, Lamanai. The large urban center is 80 kilometers inland on the New River Lagoon. Rather than exotic goods, the authors isolate the movement of “redundant” material goods, presumed to have had less intrinsic value since they were produced locally in abundance. Using geological sourcing and petrographic analysis, they compare the origins of samples of Lamanai pottery in three transitional eras, the Terminal Preclassic, Terminal Classic, and Late Postclassic periods, to measure the connectedness of the trading communities. In terms of redundant ceramics, it appears the bay area influenced Lamanai at the Preclassic-Classic transition, while Lamanai provided a stronger influence on the bay area at the Terminal Classic–Postclassic boundary. At the time of European contact, Lamanai was again aligned with the bay area, particularly in terms of effigy censer distribution.

scholarly journals Ceramic composition diversity at Mayapan, the last Maya capital

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Carmen G. Sanchez-Fortoul
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Petrographic Analysis ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Sample Number ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Invaluable Tool ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
The Many

This study focuses on the variability of pottery fabrics from Mayapán, the Maya capital during the last pre-Hispanic period (Late Postclassic, A.D. 1200-1519). Traditionally, the materials selected by Late Postclassic potters have been considered a reflection of the carelessness of a decadent society using only what the geology of the region provided. For instance, unlike the variety of inclusions found in the earlier Terminal Classic pottery, Mayapán pottery presents a limited array of raw materials: limestone, the most common rock in the region, is almost the sole inclusion found in its pottery. However, the main mineral in limestone, calcite, is found in nature in a variety of textures. While some fabric analyses have been performed for the pottery of the earlier centres of Chichén Itzá and the Puuc area, analyses targeting the fabrics of Late Postclassic pottery are almost nonexistent. This study aimed to investigate the variability and seek patterns in the fabrics of pottery from Mayapán by performing low-magnification, petrographic, and X-ray diffraction analyses. This study also aimed to clarify associations between fabrics and the local typology. The results revealed multiple fabrics based on the many textural varieties of carbonate rocks. While trends showing the association between types of inclusions and ceramic types were uncovered, no clear-cut correlations between fabrics and typology were observed due to the small sample number. This study also showed that petrographic analysis is an invaluable tool to characterise carbonates in ceramics due to its ability to discern textural variations.

The Chronology of Yaxuna

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Suhler ◽  
Traci Ardren ◽  
David Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Urban Center ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Formative ◽  
Middle Formative

AbstractResearch at the ancient Maya city of Yaxuna, located in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula, has provided sufficient data to suggest a preliminary chronological framework for the cultural development of this large polity. Primary ceramic and stratigraphie data are presented to support a five-phase scheme of cultural history, encompassing the Middle Formative through Postclassic periods (500 b.c.–a.d. 1250). In addition to chronological significance, the political ramifications of a pan-lowland ceramic trade are addressed. Yaxuna experienced an early florescence in the Late Formative–Early Classic periods, when it was the largest urban center in the central peninsula. A second renaissance in the Terminal Classic period was the result of Yaxuna's role in an alliance between the Puuc and Coba, in opposition to growing Itza militancy. This paper proposes a chronological framework for the cultural development of one northern Maya region in order to facilitate an understanding of this area as part of the overall history of polity interaction and competition in the Maya lowlands.

Regional Expressions of the Postclassic Effigy Censer System in the Chetumal Bay Area

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Milbrath ◽  
Debra S. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Trace Element ◽  
Annual Cycle ◽  
Political Capital ◽  
Contact Period ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
Deer Hunting ◽  
Public Events ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Dresden Codex

This chapter describes the remains of Late Postclassic to Contact period pottery censers from Cerro Maya, Belize. Trace element studies reveal that these vessels were made nearby at the Late Postclassic political capital of Santa Rita Corozal and deposited at the site during pilgrimage ritual. The Cerro Maya material is compared to the Chen Mul Modeled effigy censers from Mayapán in northern Yucatan and elsewhere. Various deities were depicted on these censers, and these are compared to documentary evidence, such as in the Madrid Codex and the Dresden Codex, for their use in calendared public events linked to specific celebrations in the annual cycle. Iconographic detail on the Cerro Maya materials documents a distinct set of deities not present at Mayapán, especially the bee deity and the god of deer hunting.

Migration of the Zoques to the Mountain Region of Tabasco, Mexico

2021 ◽  
pp. 223-232
Author(s):  
Eladio Terreros-Espinosa
Keyword(s):  
Mountain Region ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Significant Area ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Exchange Network

The mountain region of Tabasco was a significant area in the interregional exchange network in pre-Hispanic times and during the colonial period. Additionally, the exchange of various regional products followed the intricate network of trade routes within the coastal plain and Chiapas. Therefore, the role played by the settlements of the Sierra Tabasqueña within the commercial chain that existed between pre-Hispanic times and the first half of the last century was undoubtedly reflected among these territories. Trade was an important part of the economy of the Zoque settlements established in the Tabasqueña mountain range. Linguistic evidence suggests that the Proto-Mixe-Zoque speakers from several centuries BC were among the first foreign groups to migrate to Tabasco, merging with the local inhabitants. The documents written by Spaniards in the first half of the 16th century state that the Province of the Sierra de Tabasqueña was occupied by Zoque-speaking inhabitants. Based on the analysis of pre-Hispanic pottery recovered in this region, a chronology can be proposed from the Early Preclassic to the Protoclassic period, continuing into the Late-Terminal-Classic through the Late-Postclassic 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.

Aboriginal Trade in Fish and Seafoods to Settlers in Nineteenth-Century South-East Queensland: A Vibrant Industry?

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Kerkhove
Keyword(s):  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Native People ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Exchange Networks ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
Aboriginal Society ◽  
European Trade ◽  
Colonial Economy ◽  
The Impact

Aboriginal peoples have been ‘doing business’ with foreigners for centuries (McCarthy 1939; Langton, Mazel and Palmer 2006), yet research to date has focused either on traditional exchange networks (Donovan and Wall 2004) or the impact of Western goods. Thus Harrison (2002) and Jones (2007) plotted Aboriginal exchange values and redistribution systems for iron and cloth. The general impression from such works is that, following European contact, Aboriginal society was radically transformed, while Europeans received curios. For example, Western goods stimulated a ‘glass artefact industry’ (Harrison 2003) and Aboriginal ‘doggers’ controlled dingos (Young 2010), but only officials or anthropologists had use for the resultant spearheads and scalps. At best, Aboriginal–European trade is considered inconsequential — ‘trinkets for trash’ — while Noel Butlin's (1994) analysis of the colonial economy entirely ignores it. Discussion of profitable exchange seems limited to the post-1950s arts trade (Kleinert 2010: 175). The notion that Aboriginal people might ‘flourish’ in trade or labour with Europeans (e.g. Anderson 1983) is discarded as absurd (White 2011: 81). This is perplexing, because colonial expansion saw commercial exchanges with Indigenous peoples all over the globe. Trade between Europeans and native people forms the opening chapter of national histories — for example, those of Canada and New Zealand (Innis 1999; Salmond 1997; McLusker 2006).

ECKIXIL: Understanding the Classic to Postclassic Survival and Transformation of a Peten Maya Village

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin R. Schwarz
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Cultural Continuity ◽  
The Political ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Complete Replacement ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Political Complexity ◽  
Architectural Styles ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Early Historic

AbstractThis study uses architectural and activity area analyses to examine the Classic-Postclassic transition and the resulting Postclassic-Early Historic (A. D. 1000–1697) Maya society in the Petén Lakes region of Guatemala. The research combines a detailed temporal comparison of architectural styles and an analysis of changing architecture as the restructuring of everyday social action. The methods have significance beyond Maya studies in addressing questions of cultural continuity or in-migration. Archaeological data from recent excavations, including new radiocarbon dates, document the intensive settlement of the Quexil Islands in the Terminal Classic period (A. D. 800–1000) and its occupation thereafter. Architectural evidence from the Quexil Islands and other Petén Lakes sites indicates a mosaic pattern of change, reflecting to varying extents Classic-Postclassic continuity and external contacts, with differences among sites rather than the complete replacement of populations. Evidence of the later incorporation of this small village, known ethnohistorically as “Eckixil,” in the Late Postclassic-Early Historic Itza polity, demonstrates a strong linkage with the political core, illustrating the political complexity of this hinterland region.

Resource Variation and the Development of Cohesion in Exchange Networks

2009 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Schaefer
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Causal Model ◽  
Exchange Process ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Structural Power ◽  
Exchange Networks ◽  
Power Exchange ◽  
Material Goods ◽  
Resource Characteristics ◽  
Resource Variation

Social exchange theories have identified social structural factors and interaction processes that build cohesion through the everyday exchange of valued resources. However, the types of resources considered in previous research do not reflect the properties of many commonly exchanged resources, namely information, social support, and material goods. In this article, I identify two resource dimensions that underlie and affect exchange: (1) duplicability, that is, whether a resource's provider retains control of the resource after exchange and (2) transferability, that is, whether a resource's recipient can exchange the resource in another relation. I present a causal model to explain how these dimensions affect cohesion through the mediating effects of structural power, exchange frequency, and uncertainty. Notably, resource variation alters the source of structural power, making it necessary to specify when different power mechanisms will operate and their disparate effects on the other mediating factors. A laboratory experiment provides support for the causal model. Resource characteristics fundamentally shape both the exchange process and the outcomes actors experience.

Who Was Who in Ninth-Century Chichen Itza

1990 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Ringle
Keyword(s):  
Ninth Century ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Early Colonial ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Organizational Features ◽  
Art And Architecture ◽  
Chichen Itza ◽  
State Form ◽  
Terminal Classic Period

AbstractHieroglyphic inscriptions from Chichen Itza are examined for possible light they might shed on its ethnic and political makeup during the Terminal Classic period (a.d. 800–1000). It is suggested that many of the name glyphs include patronyms known to be important at contact. This continuity of elite occupation is reinforced by decipherment of a title common to many of them ás holpop, a title also known from early colonial Spanish and Maya documents. Finally, a reading of the event of the lintel as yul is suggested. The implications of these readings suggest the genesis of at least some Late Postclassic organizational features in the Terminal Classic. Also arguing against a severe rupture of elite life at the end of the Terminal Classic is the persistence of patronyms in northern Yucatan. Colonial sources make frequent mention of migrations and invasions as the source of the distinctive art and architecture, yet if the arguments herein are correct, there was instead a remarkable stability of ruling families in northern Yucatan. Finally, the dedication of several monuments by different individuals, each having different patronyms and marked by epithets such as “holy,” suggests considerable autonomy of these lesser officials consistent with a segmentary state form of organization.

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