Ancient Maya (Other Keyword)
26-31 (31 Records)
All cultural groups must respond to and adapt within their surrounding environment, as was the case for the ancient Maya. The Maya area consists of various distinct ecological zones, from volcanic highlands through swampy bajos and across a dry karstic plain punctuated by wetlands, each providing distinct adaptation opportunities. Seasonal fluctuations provide further texture to the flow of each landscape. This paper explores and attempts to characterize the temporality of the ancient Maya...
Seeding the Clouds: A Model of Late Classic Puuc Political Process (2016)
This paper synthesizes the growing body of chronological, settlement, economic, epigraphic, and iconographic data generated from recent research to critically examine traditional models of a short Terminal Classic occupation for the Puuc. The Late Classic period (600-800 AD) was the period in which the political and economic systems of Puuc states crystallized. Settlement patterns suggest that land was a widely available resource during the seventh century, but that the rapid infilling of the...
Structure 20 and 9 chert data from Corozal Postclassic Project 1978 and 1979 excavations of Nohmul, Belize (2019)
"Stone tools and debitage recovered from Terminal Classic Period contexts at the site Nohmul, Belize were collected in 1978 and 1979 as part of a dissertation project. Our analysis of this Nohmul chert assemblage has found evidence for local reduction of cobbles and core maintenance, as well as the production and maintenance of tools. Nohmul is situated roughly 30 kilometers from the Northern Belize Chert Bearing Zone, and the site of Colha, Belize – the argued center of lithic production in the...
Territorial Organization in the Upper Belize River Valley: Multi-Scalar Settlement Patterns at Baking Pot (2015)
Evidence suggests that the influence of regional polities in the Upper Belize River Valley shifted through time, with political centers ascending and declining in power. Archaeological research by the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance (BVAR) project utilizes a regional approach to understand the political development and disintegration of three major centers: Cahal Pech, Baking Pot, and Lower Dover. This paper uses a multi-scalar settlement approach to understanding territorial...
Vision and Revision in the Use of Residential and Non-Residential Space at Middle Preclassic Maya Sites: A View from Pacbitun, Belize (2015)
Most Maya archaeologists never take advantage of excavating into plazas. The perception might be that there isn’t much information other than recovering artifacts to date successive constructive phases associated with the buildings they are investigating along the edges of the plaza. Over the years, some archaeologists have seen the utility of this approach – one that emphasizes locating early Maya buildings, even entire communities - beneath plaza surfaces in site centers. The amount of data...
Within and Between: A comparative discussion of Intra-site Variability and Hinterland Complexity at the sites of Yaxché, Yucatan and Cerén, El Salvador (2015)
Long-standing research at sites like Cerén exemplifies the increased interest in rural households and settlements and the shift away from the elite-centric nature of many earlier projects in Maya archaeology. Our expanding knowledge of ancient Maya hinterlands has allowed us to consider the heterogeneity that these smaller settlements displayed and revise our western binary perspective of "urban versus rural". Recent investigations by members of the Ucí-Cansahcab Regional Integration Project...