The Dynamics of the Preclassic in the Heart of the Maya Lowlands

Understanding the Preclassic period (900 BCE - 150 CE), and in particular the Middle Preclassic (900 – 300 BCE), is essential for grasping the dynamics of Maya society. However, while our knowledge regarding the development of early communities in the tropical lowlands of the Maya region has advanced greatly in the past decade, important questions still remain. Since 2011, a multidisciplinary project at the site of Yaxnohcah, located in southern Campeche, has focused on the early processes that led to the emergence of massive, archaic city-states during the Late Preclassic (300 BCE – 150 CE) and Classic (150 CE – 850 CE) periods in the Central Karstic Uplands. How did early settlers adapt to the environment, which was dominated by seasonally inundated wetlands? How did inhabitants manage early infrastructure projects involving extensive landscape modification? What forces served to integrate dispersed communities? What processes led to the emergence of political centralization? What factors led to the development of a unique form of urbanism in the Maya area? The papers in this session address these and other questions, and situate Yaxnohcah in a network of Preclassic cities, including Calakmul, Nakbe, El Mirador, and Tintal, within the Central Karstic Uplands.