Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeological investigation has established that Chiapas was a place of cultural and economic fluorescence throughout the precolumbian past. From the Central Depression to the highlands and beyond, ancient peoples of Chiapas cultivated interregional connections, constructed sophisticated site centers, and created innovative artistic and architectural traditions. One of the unique aspects of this region is its past and present cultural diversity, including groups with linguistic roots in several different Mayan languages, as well as Zoque and Chiapanec. Relationships between different polities and cultural groups waxed and waned over time, shifting with the formation and dissolution of political alliances, trade networks, migrations, and new technologies. Archaeologically, such shifts can be traced through changes in the origin of goods or stylistic attributes of a wide range of material culture, from settlement patterns, to elite offerings, to ordinary household consumption patterns. This symposium seeks to shine light on the dynamic frontiers of Chiapas, and to highlight recent archaeological research in the region. Papers may address interactions between Maya and other Indigenous groups, relationships across frontiers within the westernmost Maya area, or recent archaeological investigations of sites in Chiapas.

Other Keywords
Maya: Classic • Landscape Archaeology • Trade and exchange • Survey • Remote Sensing/Geophysics • Maya: Postclassic • Lithic Analysis • Political economy • Ceramic Analysis • Craft Production

Geographic Keywords
North America (Continent) • United Mexican States (Country) • Belize (Country) • Republic of Guatemala (Country) • Peten (State / Territory) • Cayo (State / Territory) • Stann Creek (State / Territory) • Toledo (State / Territory) • Mesoamerica: Maya highlands • Republic of El Salvador (Country)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-11 of 11)

  • Documents (11)
Documents
  • Comitan, “Place of Potters”: Evidence of Specialized Potters in the Valley of Comitan (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Ramon Folch.

    This is an abstract from the "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Recent work documenting the stored artifacts in museums in Chiapas has led to the identification of large pottery urns, pots, and jars from the region of Comitan that share surprising similarities in manufacture and decoration. Dating to the Postclassic and Late Classic periods, it suggests that specialization was present in the Valley of...

  • Dieta, movilidad y etnicidad en la antigua ciudad de Toniná, Chiapas (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Judith Ruiz. Eric Taladoire. Edith Cienfuegos. Francisco Otero. Gabriela Solis.

    This is an abstract from the "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. En este trabajo presentamos evidencia de sacrificio humano y tratamientos póstumos de victimas recuperadas en la antigua ciudad maya de Toniná, en el sureste de México. El deposito ritual data de Posclásico mesoamericano que comprende desde 950 hasta 1521 dC. El objetivo es conocer las huellas isotópicas de individuos que fueron parte del...

  • Geopolitics and Style in the Eastern Highlands of Chiapas during the Late Classic (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Ángel Sánchez Gamboa. Caitlin Earley.

    This is an abstract from the "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The scarce glyphic corpus recorded in the Eastern Highlands of Chiapas makes it difficult to reconstruct dynastic lineages in this western frontier region of the Maya world; Chinkultic is the only case of study in which we find important epigraphic evidence. As a result, material culture and style are key elements to understand political...

  • Household Diversity in a Palenque Neighborhood: Preliminary Considerations (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Lisa Johnson. Lucas Johnson. Arianna Campiani. Rodrigo Liendo Stuardo. Rosemary Joyce.

    This is an abstract from the "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Increasingly, archaeologists working in Classic period Maya cities have focused their attention on defining “neighborhoods” as a means to reconcile both a bottom-up and top-down approach. A consideration of Palenque’s urban form and patterns in the clustering of stone structures along built terraces makes the existence of neighborhoods...

  • Los Chimalapas, the Connection of the Zoque with Oaxaca (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Emiliano Gallaga.

    This is an abstract from the "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The archaeological community of the Zoque is still under development in the state of Chiapas. Most of the archaeological research focuses on the Maya and some on the Soconusco Coastal region, but very little research on the Zoque themselves. We know that the Zoque had a very complex long-distance regional trade network from where they...

  • The Production and Exchange of Obsidian in the Monumental Zone of Tenam Puente, Chiapas, Mexico (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Elizabeth Paris. Ashley Megan Williams. Gabriel Laló Jacinto.

    This is an abstract from the "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper presents an analysis of obsidian artifacts from the ancient Maya city of Tenam Puente. The site is located in the eastern Chiapas highlands, and was occupied from approximately AD 500 to 1100. We analyze a sample of 859 obsidian artifacts from the site’s monumental zone, which were excavated by the Proyecto Tenam Puente,...

  • Recent Archaeological Work in the Kingdom of Sak Tz’i’ and the Santo Domingo-Lacanja Valley (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Andrew Scherer. Charles Golden.

    This is an abstract from the "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Santo Domingo-Lacanja Valley hosted a number of small but important Classic period centers, including Bonampak, Lacanha, Plan de Ayutla, and Lacanja Tzeltal (seat of the Sak Tz’i’ dynasty). It was also an important corridor of travel between the major polities of Yaxchilan, Tonina, and Palenque, among others. Here, we review the...

  • Regional Patterns in Lithic Procurement and Production in the Middle Usumacinta (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Alejandra Roche Recinos.

    This is an abstract from the "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Middle Usumacinta River was a politically fragmented and contested region during the Classic Maya period, with neighboring polities vying for territory, prestige, and wealth. Recent archaeological and epigraphic work is continuing to delineate the shifting borders and alliances of this time period, with the goal of understanding the...

  • Revisiting the “Lost Shores” and “Forgotten Peoples” of the Southeastern Chiapan Lowlands (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Brent Woodfill.

    This is an abstract from the "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In spite of the intensity of interest in the ancient Maya, very little research has been conducted to date in lowland eastern Chiapas. This region, crossed by several important rivers and trade routes, connects multiple important areas, including the southern Maya lowlands, the Guatemalan and Caribbean highlands, and the Gulf and Caribbean...

  • Risk and Resilience in the Dynamic Lower Lacantun River Landscape (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Whittaker Schroder.

    This is an abstract from the "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Maya have inhabited diverse environments in southern Mesoamerica, typified by marked seasonal contrasts between wet and dry periods. Access to water as a resource for agriculture and transportation varied spatially and seasonally for Maya communities, with scholarly and public attention often focusing on the challenges posed by...

  • A Rural Travel Stopover at the Late Postclassic Maya Site of Mensabak, Chiapas, Mexico: Overland Trade, Cross-Cultural Interaction, and Social Cohesion in the Chiapas Frontier (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Joel Palka. Fabiola Sánchez.

    This is an abstract from the "Dynamic Frontiers in the Archaeology of Chiapas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. A small rural stopover site in the frontier along overland Late Postclassic (ca. 1300–1500 CE) Maya and Aztec trade and travel routes was identified at Mensabak, Chiapas, Mexico. This site is similar in function to rural Old World and Andean caravan stop overs, such as caravanserai and way stations, where travelers and traders obtained...