Orange Walk (State / Territory) (Geographic Keyword)
926-950 (1,092 Records)
This is an abstract from the "Preclassic Maya Social Transformations along the Usumacinta: Views from Ceibal and Aguada Fénix" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Most of the Yucatan has no vestige of rivers; humans and ecosystems rely on rainwater catchment and soil and ground water. Along the southern margins of the Peninsula, however, lie rivers in Belize and Quintana Roo to the southeast and Tabasco and Campeche to the southwest. This paper...
Soil Carbon Persistence and Influence in the Early Anthropocene of the Maya Lowlands (2023)
This is an abstract from the "2023 Fryxell Award Symposium: Papers in Honor of Timothy Beach Part I" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Coupled studies of Maya Lowlands soils and geoarchaeological exploration provide insight into neotropical soil and atmospheric carbon cycle dynamics in space and time, and soil carbon’s role in defining the Early Anthropocene. This paper tests the hypothesis that soil carbon persistence differs in time, space, and...
Soil Differences and Their Implications for Plaza Function and Site Organization at Maax Na, Belize (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Ancient Maya Landscapes in Northwestern Belize, Part I" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In 2016 the Maax Na Archaeology Project systematically tested the soils of two major plazas at Maax Na, a large prehispanic site located in the Three Rivers Region of Belize. Tests in the West Plaza sought to determine whether phosphorus levels there supported its identification as a marketplace during the Late Classic (C.E....
The Soils and Geoarchaeology of Aguada Fénix and the Middle Usumacinta Region (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Aguada Fénix and the Middle Usumacinta Region: Interregional Interactions and Social Transformations in the Middle Preclassic Period" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Three years of soil, water, and lidar analyses for the Middle Usumacinta Region indicate a diversity of soils, paleosols, and several areas of wetland rectilinear features that indicate a range of wetland farming and other uses. For the soils, we...
Soils, Water, and Agriculture in the Maya Lowlands: Lidar and Paleoproxies Reveal New Perspectives on Complexity and Resilience (2024)
This is an abstract from the "“The Center and the Edge”: How the Archaeology of Belize Is Foundational for Understanding the Ancient Maya, Part II" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Questions of human subsistence, impacts, and response to environmental change have driven decades of research on ancient life in the Maya Lowlands. While traditional geoarchaeology and paleoecology methods have already documented a rich variety of agricultural and...
Something Different or More of the Same? Lowland Maya Polities and Regimes as Viewed from El Perú-Waka’, Guatemala (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Regimes of the Ancient Maya" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Classic period (250–900 CE) politics of the Lowland Maya have been the subject of intense debate among scholars for decades. Having long ago moved beyond unsupported models of peaceful theocracies and vacant ceremonial centers, investigators nevertheless continue to wrestle with characterizing the nature of Classic political structure. This paper will...
Sourcing Maya Lowland Chert Resources: A Multimethod Perspective (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Within the Maya region, chert artifacts remain one of the most common material types recovered from archaeological excavations and are a core line of evidence when reconstructing ancient economy. However, methods for sourcing of chert through Mesoamerica have largely been underutilized. Archaeologists are often left wondering how these artifacts moved...
Sourcing Stones: PXRF Use at Pacbitun (2018)
The Maya site of Pacbitun in Belize has produced large amounts of granite ground stone tools, debitage, and debris. Determining provenance is integral to reconstructing the chaîne opératoire of ground stone tool production at the site. Portable X-Ray fluorescence (pXRF) is becoming widely used in the field for quick and accurate geochemical assessments. Most prior archaeological work has focused on fine-grained materials, rather than coarse-grained rocks like granite. This project used geologic...
Space and Time for the Milpa-Forest Garden Cycle: A Model of the Ancient Maya Landscape of El Pilar (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Landscapes: Archaeological, Historic, and Ethnographic Perspectives from the New World / Paisajes: Perspectivas arqueológicas, históricas y etnográficas desde el Nuevo Mundo" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. As a critique of the temperate prejudice of the tropics, we embrace the hypothesis that the Maya forest represents a domesticated landscape to examine the settlement and environmental patterns of the ancient Maya of...
The Space of Liminality: Between Ritual and Theater in Late Classic Ancient Maya Cave Rites (2018)
Performance theory recognizes that the boundaries between ritual and theatrical performances are often quite blurred, allowing shared methods of analysis between the two. While many have argued for a theater-state among the ancient Maya, few have ventured beyond the large ceremonies conducted in great plazas to consider the more esoteric nature of public, semi-public, and private rites taking place in the natural landscape. Ancient Maya caves were used exclusively as ritual spaces, yet there has...
The Spatial Distribution of Wealth throughout the Neighborhoods of the Late Classic Maya Polity of Lower Dover, Belize (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The formation of neighborhoods and their integration into polities necessarily involves changes to the wealth of their inhabitants, especially as certain economic activities such as craft production intensify. For example, households that were among the first in a community, especially in low-density agricultural communities such as those of the ancient Maya,...
Spindle Whorls and World Creation at Balankanche' Caverns, Yucatan (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This poster examines the implications of imagery identified as relating to Mesaomerican “Flower Worlds” on spindle whorls left in situ in Balankanche’ Caverns by actors who used the caverns in the Terminal Classic period (ninth and tenth centuries) to invoke ritual-mythic time within this underworld space that was seen as the place of human creation and...
Spinning Makes the World Go Round: Spindle Whorls from Nohcacab, Q. Roo, Mexico (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. A spindle whorl was an integral tool in textile production, it had social, religious, political, and economic significance for the ancient Maya. The spindle whorls carried many roles such as functional tools, symbolic displays, gender, and status representations while interconnecting traditions, mastery, and the artistic expression of a weaver.
The Stable Isotope Ecology of Agriculture in the Eastern Maya Lowlands from the Preclassic through Colonial Periods (2018)
The reconstruction of subsistence strategies using stable isotope analyses is integral to understanding the role of maize agriculture in the development and decline of ancient Maya society. Here we present stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur isotope data from over 230 radiocarbon dated human skeletal remains from western Belize dating from the Preclassic through Colonial periods (~1000 BC-AD 1700). Stable isotope data are also compared to paleoclimate proxy records to interpret the climatic...
Statecraft, Politics, and Kingship in the Northern Maya Lowlands, with a Focus on the Puuc Region (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Regimes of the Ancient Maya" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper examines the nature of northern Maya lowland statecraft, politics, and kingship and how they differ and parallel that of the southern lowlands. In keeping with the goal of the symposium this paper focuses on the concept of “regime” recognizing the Maya, especially when considering the northern and southern areas, created distinct political...
The Status of Excavations and Research at Blue Creek - 1997 (1997)
This report provides an overview of six years of fieldwork and research at the Blue Creek site. At this stage the project is designed to be an investigation of the internal structure of a single Maya city, with consideration of the city's temporal and functional dynamics as well as relationships with its neighbors. This report summarizes the status of these efforts both topically and in terms of fieldwork accomplished and future field seasons.
Stela and Altar Rituals: Caches, Inscriptions and Iconography in Tikal, Petén, Guatemala (250-950 AD) (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Mayan stelae and altars are a key epigraphic and iconographic source for understanding the political history of the Classic period (250-900 AD). Tikal produced a particularly large number of these monuments in a variety of architectural contexts: Twin Pyramids Groups, Plazas, Great Temples, residential groups and even remote areas, probably corresponding...
Stephen D. Houston’s Bloody, Courtly, Fiery, and Luxurious Contributions to Exhibitions of Maya Art (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Decipherment, Digs, and Discourse: Honoring Stephen Houston's Contributions to Maya Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. As a graduate student, Stephen Houston contributed references as well as two personal communications to the catalogue for The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art, including drawing Linda Schele and Mary Miller’s attention to key details of an exhibition centerpiece: the Kimbell Art...
Stephen Houston's Impact on Maya Archaeology: Celebrating His Completion of 3 K'atuns (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Decipherment, Digs, and Discourse: Honoring Stephen Houston's Contributions to Maya Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Stephen Douglas Houston was drawn to archaeology and ancient scripts from a young age, fascinated by the rune stones of his mother’s native Sweden. While he is most widely seen as an epigrapher to outsiders, Mayanists recognize that he is, in fact, a world class field archaeologist that knows...
Stone Goods and the Organization of Late Classic Period Regional Economies of the Middle Usumacinta River Region (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Ancient Maya Embedded Economies" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In this paper we present the results of the analysis of nearly 42,000 chert and obsidian artifacts from sites in the Middle Usumacinta River region to examine economic production and exchange at the level of the polity. Our study includes a range of household and non-household contexts, revealing entanglements of the lithic economy within the...
Stories in Stone: Scribal Traditions and Practices of the Dolores-Poptun Corridor (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Varying facets of ancient Maya visual expression have long documented cultural elements of identity, political relationships, and social organization. These components manifest in a spectrum of archaeological material and cultural remains. Within the abundant regions and polities, evidence suggests the existence of local artistic and scribal traditions....
Strontium Isotopic Evidence Reveals Sustained Levels of Intraregional Migration at the Postclassic City of Mayapán (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. We examine the process of migration using strontium isotope ratios from human enamel to shed light on the organization of the Mayapán polity during the formation (1200–1250 CE), apogee (1250–1400 CE), and decline (1400–1500 CE) of the city (N = 58). Our results support consistent local aggregation within the Chicxulub Basin and immigration from across the...
Structuring Liminality: Terminal Classic C-shaped Structures in the Puuc Region (2024)
This is an abstract from the "The Bolonchen Regional Archaeological Project: 25 Years of Research in the Puuc" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper discusses excavations between 2006 and 2008 in the Grupo Chanchich at Huntichmul, Yucatán. Huntichmul is one of the larger sites in the eastern Puuc, with a strong Terminal Classic apogee. The Grupo Chanchich is of interest because it is a formal arrangement of C-shaped structures nestled in the...
Study of Historical Visualization: Case Study in Process Documentation at Xno'ha (2018)
The presentation of heritage sites is critically important to the perception of historical narratives. A key goal is to help both scholars and the general public to see heritage as dynamic and living. This project explores the visualization of archaeological excavations through preservation technologies, specifically photogrammetric data. Our study focuses on a patio group at the Maya site of Xno’ha (occupation dates range from the Late Preclassic to the Terminal Classic) in northern Belize, and...
Stylistic and Cultural Change at a Cosmopolitan Site: The Early Postclassic Period Pottery of Lamanai and Northern Belize (2023)
This is an abstract from the "The Movement of People and Ideas in Eastern Mesoamerica during the Ninth and Tenth Centuries CE: A Multidisciplinary Approach Part I" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Maya site of Lamanai is strategically located in northern Belize on the New River, which connects the Caribbean coast to the interior of the Maya area. In the Preclassic period into the early part of the Classic, Lamanai pottery shows close connections...