Maya (Other Keyword)
151-175 (504 Records)
Open plaza spaces are a commonality among Maya sites. Excavating through the sealed contexts of these plaza surfaces can yield reliable data on the construction history of the site and how the space may have changed over time. This paper details the results from two seasons of excavations, which took place in May-June of 2012 and 2013 at the Maya site of Chan Chich in Northwestern Belize. Our investigations focused on the Upper Plaza, located at the acropolis of the site. Our investigations...
An Ethnoarchaeological Approach to Understanding the Role of Root-crops in Ancient Lowland Maya Subsistence. (2015)
Dr. Scott Fedick’s research goals have always emphasized the importance of understanding the diversity and ingenuity of lowland Maya subsistence. Through his guidance and mentorship my dissertation focus was developed to explore the role of root-crops in ancient Maya subsistence. Recent paleoethnobotanical research has demonstrated that the ancient Maya diet included a wide array of plant foods.Currently lacking is enough evidence for the role of roots-crops.To begin to acquire an understanding...
Ethnoarchaeology of a Three Generation Yucatec Maya House Compound (2016)
Since our team began work at the Ancient Maya political center of Mayapán (1150-1450), we have increasingly relied on insights derived from working with the modern residents of the nearby village of Telchaquillo, Yucatán. We have successfully applied the Direct Historical Approach to explore the function and remains of house groups, food production, lime plaster production and ritual activity. During the 2015 season of the Economic Foundations of Mayapán Project, we had the opportunity to...
Evidence for Quarrying at Medicinal Trail, A Maya Hinterland Community in Northwestern Belize (2016)
Excavations associated with Structure A-7, a 9 x 4 m isolated mound near Group A of the Medicinal Trail Community in northwestern Belize, have revealed evidence for the extraction of stone blocks from the limestone bedrock. The evidence for quarrying consists of rectangular scars outlining stone blocks that appear to have been in the process of being harvested. Additionally, there was an artificially created bowl-shaped depression, 2 m in diameter and approximately 1 m deep. A problematic...
The Evolution of Anthropomorphic Imagery at Cahal Pech, Belize and its Implications for the Rise of Kingship in the Middle Preclassic Maya Lowlands. (2015)
In a series of articles published in the 1980’s, and in the subsequent volume "A Forest of Kings", David Freidel, and Linda Schele and Freidel demonstrated that the institution of kingship had been firmly established in the Maya lowlands by the Late Preclassic period. Twenty five years later, ongoing research in Belize and the Peten now suggests that this level of cultural complexity may have actually arisen by the Middle Preclassic period. One line of evidence that strongly supports this...
The evolution of Classic Maya ceramic shape-classes through time; new evidence from El Peru-Waka, Guatemal (2015)
This paper present new work from the analysis of recovered ceramic vessels from the Classic Maya site of El Peru-Waka'. The research focuses on the development and evolution of four shape-classes from AD 300 to AD 1000. These include presentation platters, cacao vessels, small drinking cups, and bowls. These were serving vessels, designed not only to hold foodstuffs, but as social and political currency in their own right. They were to be present at Classic feasting events to display the...
Examination of Mortuary Ritual Associated with Construction Events in peripheral sites of the Motul de San Jose polity, Peten, Guatemala (2015)
This poster presents preliminary mortuary and human osteological data from the Proyecto Arqueologico Periferia de Motul de San Jose 2013 and 2014 field seasons, examining several aspects of mortuary ritual associated with periods of construction and site expansion at the sites of Kante’t’u’ul and Chachaklu’um, located approximately 2 and 5km from the core of the Motul de San Jose polity, respectively. Occupation at Kante’t’u’ul ranged from the Late Preclassic to the Early Post-Classic, while...
An examination of regional variation in early Middle Preclassic ceramics of the Puuc Region, Yucatan, Mexico (2016)
In the last decade, major strides have been made in the study of early ceramics in the northern Maya lowlands. Long considered to lack ceramic occupations dating before the late Middle Preclassic (600-300 B.C.) it is now recognized that communities were founded throughout much of the northern Maya lowlands, particularly in the Puuc and northwestern Yucatan peninsula, by 900-800 B.C. This paper examines similarities and differences among these early pottery complexes at various occupations in the...
Excavation and Analysis of a Preclassic Chultun (2016)
During the 2014 and 2015 field season excavations were carried out on a chultun at the ancient Maya site of El Mirador, Petén, Guatemala. This chultun was situated near the Grán Acrópolis, with a 10-meter pyramid located directly to the north and a large L-shaped structure directly to the east, in an elite district. Over the course of excavations the site was found to contain both Middle and Late Preclassic ceramics, including fragments of an elaborate incensario in the shape of an...
Excavation of a Rural Middle Preclassic Maya Village: Investigations at Paso del Macho, Yucatán, México (2017)
Paso del Macho is a Middle Preclassic village settlement located in the eastern Puuc region of the Yucatán Peninsula. Excavations of mounded architecture, the main plaza, and ballcourt of the site have established a chronological range beginning in the early Middle Preclassic and ending by the Late Preclassic. The earliest architecture at the settlement includes at least three small raised platforms associated with Ek ceramics, the earliest pottery complex in Northern Yucatán. Following this,...
Exchange and the economy over time (2016)
Exchange drove Maya economy at many levels, yet the political landscape changed dramatically from the Preclassic to early colonial period. How did exchange networks respond to these changes? Or, we might ask instead if political change or upheaval was instigated by fluctuations or upsets in what might be called the market economy and those who sought to manage or control networks of supply? Did the ability to exact tax/tribute provide rulers and nobles with the economic power to invest and...
Exchanging and Sharing Food In the Classic Maya polity of Motul de San José (2017)
Anthropologists often describe food as the cement that holds people together both by symbolizing shared values and by the practice of sharing food. But in Maya archaeology, "food" is also often assumed to have been acquired locally and consumed primarily at the family level, therefore having a limited role in creating and maintaining alliances except in special circumstances. In contrast, our recent interdisciplinary research at the Classic period Motul de San José polity, Guatemala, argues...
Exemplary Centers as Quintessential Places: Migrants and Architectural Quotations in Late Postclassic Petén, Guatemala (2017)
Exemplary centers are physically schematized archetypes which represent and communicate social realities and political orders. Such exemplary centers are quintessential places, as they represent identity and memory. Migrating populations frequently reconstruct exemplary centers that replicate homelands through materials and images demonstrating their identity. Such "architectural quotations" help the migrants to legitimate social and political positions in the new locations. Members of groups...
Exhibiting Maya Archaeology in the Developed World: A Developing Country Perspective (2016)
Mounting exhibitions that highlight the achievements of Mesoamerican civilizations can be a daunting task for curators of even the most affluent museums in America, Europe or Asia. In the case of smaller museums with ever decreasing budgets, the challenges posed by these projects are greater, and sometimes even cost-prohibitive. But what about the situation faced by the lending institutions in the developing world? Are there challenges and benefits that result from their collaboration with...
Exotics for the Gods: Lowland Maya Ritual Consumption of European Goods along a Spanish Colonial Frontier. (2017)
As a number of researchers who have focused attention on Maya – Spanish interaction along the Belize colonial frontier have noted, the relationship between these two contrasting cultures was anything but amicable. As a result of this bellicose relationship, few material goods of European origin were traded into frontier settlements. The only exception were a few objects that were brought in by overzealous friars as gifts to the "heathen" Maya they sought to convert to their Christian faith. And...
Expansion of an Eastern Shrine at the Tapir Group of the Medicinal Trail Community in Northwestern Belize (2016)
Excavations within the Tapir Group at Medicinal Trail, a Maya hinterland community in northwestern Belize, have revealed evidence for multiple phases of expansion of both Structure B-1, a large pyramidal structure on the eastern side of the courtyard group, and the plaza platform on which it rests. The Tapir Group is a relatively large, formal Plaza Plan 2 courtyard group (as defined by Becker). Excavations indicate that Structure B-1 was expanded at least twice and, in order to accommodate the...
Experimental Ceramic Technology Studies: Programme for Belize Archaeology Project (2016)
This is a multifaceted approach utilizing environmental, ethnographical, and ceramic studies from various instructors with feedback from students, faculty, and experienced potters. Incorporating this project in our field school, generates more knowledge and curiosity in the observation of materials in the field pertaining to this technology.The environment and its contribution to our needs such as clay, water, temper, fuel, and firing methods are some of the most important aspects of research....
Explorando la diversidad socioeconómica en grupos domésticos mayas del período Clásico. El caso de Sihó, Yucatán. (2015)
En el sitio arqueológico de Sihó, Yucatán, conjuntos habitacionales intervenidos arqueológicamente sugieren una marcada diferenciación socioeconómica entre los grupos domésticos, que se manifiesta materialmente incluso en la zona central del asentamiento. El objetivo de esta ponencia es, con base en arquitectura, artefactos y ecofactos, ofrecer información sobre similitudes y diferencias respecto a las actividades llevadas a cabo, así como acerca del uso de los espacios en tres contextos...
Exploring the Changing Roles of Maya E-groups: Geochemical Analysis of E-group Plaster Floors at Actuncan, Belize (2017)
E-Groups were among the first monumental spaces constructed in Middle Preclassic Maya centers and served as important venues for negotiating social interactions and political integration of newly settled peoples. Starting in the Late Preclassic period, their roles began to shift. At some sites, such as Tikal and Uaxactun, votive offerings signifying communal ritual were replaced with dedicatory stelas or royal interments marking exclusionary practices and political appropriation of these spaces....
Exploring the Sacred Significance of Cave 2 at Chawak But'o'ob, Belize (2016)
The site of Chawak But'o'ob in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area of northwestern Belize is being investigated by the Rio Bravo Archaeological Survey. The site, located just two kilometers southwest of the minor Preclassic- and Classic-period city of Dos Hombres, is unusual in that it is a modestly sized commoner residential site with a ballcourt. Very unusually, the paired ballcourt buildings are the largest at the site and perhaps along with the adjacent sweat house, are the only...
Exploring the Use of Red Ochre at Midnight Terror Cave, Belize (2016)
The earliest use of red pigment in mortuary contexts has been documented in Neanderthal burials during the Upper Palaeolithic period (50,000- 12,000 BCE) in Europe (Roper 1991). The use of red pigment for both mortuary and decorative practices has been identified in Mesoamerica as early as the Early Preclassic. These practices include the sprinkling or encasing of various artifacts such as shell or bone in either red ochre or cinnabar. Investigations at Midnight Terror Cave (MTC) carried out...
Fedick-ian Approaches to Wetland Studies: Rock Alignments, Resilience, and the Pulse-Based Ecosystem (2015)
It was nearly ten years ago when Dr. Scott Fedick unleashed his graduate students Daniel Leonard and Jennifer Chmilar into the Yalahau wetlands. Upon their return, Scott asked what questions each had about the wetlands, and two projects were born. During the ensuing field seasons, and time in between, Scott helped to solidify and expand on background knowledge, encourage interdisciplinary collaborations, and offer much needed support. In time, both Dan and Jen emerged from the wetlands able to...
Finding Prehistoric Sources of Ceramic Raw Materials in Ticul, Yucatán, Mexico: Traditional Knowledge, Materiality, and Religion (2017)
Up until the tourist market and piped water forever changed the practice of making pottery in Ticul, potters’ raw materials came from sources in a unique socially-perceived and spatially-restricted landscape that served them well for at least a thousand years. Revealed by ethnographic research, potters’ traditional knowledge and utilization of these sources indicated that the unique sources of potters’ clay, palygorskite, and pottery temper were ancient and dated to the Terminal Classic Period....
Fine Dining and Social Position among the Classic period Maya and their Neighbors in Honduras (2017)
Drawing on the substantial body of information that has accumulated over decades of research on the kingdom of Copan and its southern and eastern neighbors, I address the question, What were the key components of Maya meals that turned dining into an important, flexible, and subtle way to embody status? This paper draws together information from a range of methods and bodies of data including ethnobotanical and archaeozoological studies, chemical analyses, research on human skeletal remains,...
Fire and smoke in Postclassic Petén: human remains, deity effigies, and codices (2015)
Fire and smoke were fundamental ritual forces in Mesoamerican religious worldview. Found in varied contexts (funerary processing, animation ceremonies, and desecratory rituals), fire and smoke were applied to multiple media (human bodies, architecture, and ceramics). In the Postclassic (AD 950–1524) Maya lowlands, burning both processed honored ancestors’ remains and violated enemies’ remains. Ceramic incense burners with deity effigies were used to burn resins to communicate with supernaturals....