Maya: Classic (Other Keyword)

1-25 (688 Records)

The 2022 Petén Lakes Lidar/GPS Georectification Project (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Marc Wolf.

This is an abstract from the "Recent Research in the Petén Lakes Region, Petén, Guatemala" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Remotely sensed lidar data has proven to be a boon for Maya archaeology, from its beginnings at Caracol in Belize, Copan in Honduras, to consortiums of various archaeological projects like Salinas de los Nueve Cerros, La Corona, Holmul, and elsewhere. In a relatively simple regiment of sensing, detailed cartographic maps can be...


3D Models of Small Artifacts: A Visual Workflow of the Structure-from-Motion Photography of Pottery Sherds and Vessels (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Luke Stroth.

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This presentation consists of video demonstrations with live commentary in which the author describes how to create 3D models of small ceramic artifacts using structure-from-motion photography (photogrammetry). In particular, the focus will be on troubleshooting common issues that arise during model generation of sherds and fragmentary and complete...


3D Scanning the Virgin Mary in the Toast: Using Handheld Digital Imaging Technologies to Explode the Myth of Pareidolic Illusions in the Ancient Maya Underworld (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Cameron S. Griffith.

Cave archaeologists around the world are increasingly utilizing many new platforms and techniques to document subterranean artwork, including digital imaging and scanning technologies. In this presentation I demonstrate a portable and cost-effective approach to digital imaging of parietal art. To this end, I used an Occipital Structure Sensor 3D scanner, mounted on an iPhone 6, to document various monumental modified speleothem sculptures in the subterranean realm of the ancient Maya of Belize,...


3D Visualization of Cultural and Archaeological Features in the Dos Hombres to Gran Cacao Archaeology Project (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Hannah Vizcarra. Amanda Zetz. Marisol Cortes-Rincon, Ph.D.. Raylene Borrego. Kristen Harrison.

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The development of digital technologies and the use of advanced photogrammetry programs for modeling archaeological excavations and sites have opened new possibilities for spatial analysis in archaeology and the reconstruction of archaeological contexts. Among its main objectives, the Dos Hombres to Gran Cacao Archaeology Project investigates the...


A 5,000-Year History of Landscape Evolution in the Rio Blanco Valley of Uxbenká, Belize (2021)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Marina Lemly. Keith Prufer.

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaic people and Classic Period Maya played important roles in shaping their environments. Through early deforestation and later agricultural erosion humans have modified the world they lived in. This study aims to show the role the Maya had in the environmental change in their region. We report results of analysis of a 5,500-year-long profiles soil from...


86Sr/87Sr Evidence for the Role of Animals in Ritual Economies among the Ancient Maya in the Belize River Valley (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Ian Roa. Ashley Sharpe. Claire Ebert. Julie Hoggarth.

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Traditional zooarchaeological methods studying trade rely on the identification of animals found outside their natural habitat ranges. More recently, strontium isotope (86Sr/87Sr) analyses have proven to be a powerful tool for studying the movement of animals found in archaeological contexts. Strontium isotopic evidence from the Maya lowlands has...


An Account of the Kings of Kanu’l as Recorded on the Hieroglyphic Stair of K’an II of Caracol (2021)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Christophe Helmke. Sergei Vepretskii.

This is an abstract from the "New Light on Dzibanché and on the Rise of the Snake Kingdom’s Hegemony in the Maya Lowlands" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Much remains unknown as to the hieroglyphic stair dedicated by 642 AD by K’an II, the great king of Caracol. Constituent panels were discovered at a number of different sites, including Caracol, Ucanal, Naranjo, and Xunantunich. The most recently discovered panels contribute greatly to our...


African Archaeology and the Ancestral Maya World (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Lisa Lucero.

This is an abstract from the "Essential Contributions from African to Global Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Lidar mapping has revealed extensive ancestral settlement patterns signifying a low-density urban system. Maya archaeologists are tasked with interpreting how the ancestral Maya interacted and kept this system working for over 1,000 years (ca. 100 BCE–900 CE) in the southern Maya lowlands of Central America. It was a complex...


Age Estimation Using Dental Development and Long Bone Length for the Children in the Late Classic Copan Maya Civilization (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Meagan Pennington.

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Childhood growth and development remains difficult to estimate in past populations, yet, it provides a unique window into childhood experiences in prehistory. This study considers subadult skeletal remains estimated to be 1-21 years of age at the time of death from the ancient Maya population in Copan, Honduras based on the end of the eruption/development...


Agricultural Strategies and Intensification: A Study of Risk Management in the Southern Maya Lowlands (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Scott Macrae.

The decisions and consequences behind the intensification of agricultural strategies among past societies has long been a topic of debate among archaeologists. These discussions are often dominated by factors of population dynamics and production capacity. This paper will explore the less discussed factor of risk management. Controlling the variation of production in regard to fluctuating natural and social pressures was critical to past agrarian societies and undoubtedly played a role in the...


Agriculture, Land Management and Expressions of Elite Control at the Ancient Maya City of Tikal (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only David L. Lentz. Nicholas Dunning. Vernon Scarborough.

While it seems evident that the elites and royal personages at Tikal influenced at least some aspects of day-to-day activities of the Maya inhabitants, it has not been clear how this influence became manifest, particularly in regard to agriculture and other aspects of land management decisions. Recent paleoethnobotanical and archaeological studies at Tikal, however, bring some insight to this cultural black box. Three examples from the paleoethnobotanical record provide empirical evidence that...


Albarradas, Solarés, and Classic Maya Land Tenure in Northwestern Belize (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Thomas Guderjan. Jopshua Kwoka. Colleen Hanratty. Sara Eshleman.

The traditional, but yet poorly-defined, view of Classic Maya (AD 250-850) land tenure was that control was somehow vested in the royal and elite parts of society with "commoners" occupying land at royal pleasure. The exceptions to this pattern were known in "urban" cities such as Coba and Chunchucmil in the northern Yucatan and some coastal locations such as Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. However, the latter instances are commonly thought to date to the Postclassic period and were believed to...


All Politics Isn’t Local: The Role of Oxpemul in Classic Maya Geopolitics (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Jerald Ek. Ricardo Armijo Torres. William Folan. Hubert Robichaux.

Oxpemul was one of several centers surrounding the city of Calakmul, within the region known as Uxte’tuun. Archaeological research at Oxpemul reflects occupation continuity from the Formative through Classic periods. However, hieroglyphic inscriptions indicate a late fluorescence in the mid to late eighth century. This paper explains this seeming contradiction from the perspective of broader geopolitical dynamics, particularly the rivalry between Calakmul and Tikal. Unlinke other centers in...


The Allegory of Xibalba: Confronting Shadowy Realities in the ancient Maya Underworld (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Cameron S. Griffith.

This is an abstract from the "Technique and Interpretation in the Archaeology of Rock Art" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Cave archaeologists around the world are increasingly utilizing many new platforms and techniques to document subterranean artwork, including digital imaging and scanning technologies. In this presentation I "throw shade" at these high-tech approaches by revisiting and focusing upon the oldest of the old-school technologies...


Ally, Client or Outpost? Examining the Relationship between Xunantunich and Naranjo in the Late Classic Period (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Jaime Awe. Christophe Helmke.

This is an abstract from the "Making and Breaking Boundaries in the Maya Lowlands: Alliance and Conflict across the Guatemala–Belize Border" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Investigations at Xunantunich indicate that this important site in the Belize River Valley, rose rapidly to regional prominence during the Late Classic Hats’ Chaak Phase (AD 670 – 780). While the social, political, and economic reasons for this late and rapid rise are still not...


Alternative Interpretive Lenses for Landscape at Mulch’en Witz, La Milpa, Belize (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Toni Gonzalez.

This is an abstract from the "Archaeology as an Engine or a Camera?" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper discusses ongoing archaeological investigations at the Late Classic Period (CE 600-800) Maya site of Mulch’en Witz, La Milpa, Belize. Survey and excavation at the site have revealed an unconventional geographical density of man-made subterranean spaces ("chultuns") in association with provocative architectural and geological features....


Analysis of Marine Sediment by Chemical Signatures to Discover Evidence of Ancient Maya Activities at Site 74, Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Kobi Weaver. Heather McKillop.

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This poster examines multi-element chemical analysis on sediment at the underwater Site 74 in Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize. Site 74 was once an ancient Maya salt work. Due to sea-level rise, sea water and mangrove peat now cover the site. Sediment from the site was exported under permit to the Louisiana State University Laboratory for inductively coupled...


Analysis of the Built Environment of the Group B Acropolis at Baking Pot: Results of the 2019 Field Season (2021)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Gabriela Saldaña. Tia Watkins. Rosamund Fitzmaurice. Adam Jurský. Julie Hoggarth.

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The ceremonial center of Baking Pot, Belize is one of the longest occupied sites in the Belize River Valley, starting in the Late Middle Preclassic (600–300 BC) and spanning through the Terminal Classic (AD 750–900/1000) period, with some evidence of reoccupation during the Late Postclassic (AD 1200–1521) period. Considerable research efforts over the past...


Analyzing the Relationship between Peri-abandonment Deposits and the Eastern Shrine of Xunantunich, Group B (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Aimee Alvarado.

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Peri-abandonment deposits in the Maya region have been a source of contention in recent years given the varied artifact assemblages and the lack of clear understanding for their purpose. This research describes peri-abandonment deposits at Xunantunich, Group B, an elite residential plazuela group located approximately 150 meters from the site core. Excavations...


Ancient and Contemporary Maya Ruins as Living Landscapes (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Christina Halperin.

This is an abstract from the "The Vibrancy of Ruins: Ruination Studies in Ancient Mesoamerica" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Ruination studies allow one to see the past not as a fixed “thing” but as living landscapes that emerge from, enliven, and incorporate temporal dimensions, ancestors, and animating forces young and old, near and far. Furthermore, over the past two decades Mesoamerican scholars have increasingly recognized that ruins were an...


Ancient Maya Dentistry: New Evidence for Therapeutic Dental Interventions and Dental Care Practices (2021)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Joshua Schnell.

This is an abstract from the "Approaches to the Archaeology of Health: Sewers, Snakebites, and Skeletons" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The ancient Maya are often highly regarded for their skill in dentistry—evidenced by longstanding traditions of filing and inlaying teeth. These procedures had a considerable success rate suggesting a pervasive knowledge of dental anatomy among practitioners. However, this study of aesthetic practices has...


Ancient Maya Inequality and Oral Microbiome Ecologies from Classic Period Maya Contexts in Southern Belize (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Horvey Palacios. Tanvi P. Honap. Douglas J. Kennett. Keith M. Prufer. Cecil M. Lewis, Jr..

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Oral microbial ecologies are shaped by an interaction among environmental and cultural factors, including wealth and status inequalities, which were pervasive throughout ancient Maya society. Few studies have directly integrated the oral microbiome of ancient individuals with a detailed analysis of their status from archaeological contexts. To interrogate...


Ancient Maya Land Use: Water Management and Agricultural Production at Actuncan, Belize (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Theresa Heindel.

Research conducted during the 2015-2017 Actuncan Archaeological Project field seasons revealed several land use strategies utilized during the Late and Terminal Classic periods, including terracing, agricultural plots, and cobble mounds. Excavations conducted in the Northern Neighborhood of Actuncan exposed two terracing methods: 1) terraforming, in which earthen berms created to facilitate water drainage and 2) two small agricultural plot systems filled with a large amount of redeposited...


Ancient Maya Mobility: Hinterlands Sacbe Systems (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Marisol Cortes-Rincon. Jeremy McFarland. Jonathan Roldan. Cady Rutherford. Spencer Mitchell.

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. This paper will discuss investigations of two sacbeob in the hinterlands in northwestern Belize. These features connect ancient Maya household groups, aguadas, quarries, terraces and ritual features. The study of ancient causeway systems is crucial to the understanding of mobility, sociopolitical, and economic networks in the...


Ancient Maya Placemaking: An Isotopic Assessment of Ancestry, Memory, and Body Partibility (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only Angelina Locker.

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Migrations are a key feature of human populations past and present, and people moved across landscapes regardless of cultural affiliation, hierarchical structures, or place of birth. But, what does it mean when individuals and/or pieces of their remains are moved elsewhere posthumously? This paper builds upon discourse centered around social memory and...