The Antigua Valley, Guatemala: Dating and Contexts of the Middle Preclassic Period

Summary

Evidence of sedentism in the Antigua Valley begins in the Middle Preclassic Period at the archaeological sites of Urias and Rucal, located at the head of a corridor to the Pacific coast. This area has evidence of mobile Early Preclassic peoples as early as 1400 B.C. Middle Preclassic finds at Urias and Rucal include middens, bottle-shaped pits, stone markers, platforms, a burial, and pottery similar to Charcas types from Kaminaljuyu and Naranjo. Radiocarbon dating and stratigraphy could support interpretation of settlement beginning at 800 B.C., rather than 1,000. B.C. This later date would suggest discontinuity with the Early Preclassic remains.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Preclassic Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala: New Interpretations on Social Processes

Keywords

Spatial Coverage