Household Socio-economic Organization in Puuc Maya Suburbia: Excavations at Escalera al Cielo, Yucatán

Summary

Investigation of a hilltop residential complex at the Terminal Classic (A.D. 800-1000) Maya site of Escalera al Cielo in the Puuc region of Yucatán, Mexico has yielded one of the most holistic data sets on household life in this area of the Maya world. Horizontal excavations of over nine buildings, many with on-floor assemblages, have unveiled evidence for both the discrete and general functions of architectural spaces in the complex, including evidence of spaces used for storage, culinary activities, dormitories, and masonry work. Combined with data gleaned from discard areas, the evidence from this suburban hilltop site permits one of the most complete characterizations of consumption behavior and socio-economic organization in the Puuc region. This robust and still bourgeoning occupation was interrupted by a planned abandonment with an anticipated return, though an assemblage from a nearby water cistern indicates some ritual re-visitation may have occurred later. The site abandonment is examined in the larger context of the demographic collapse in the Puuc region at the end of the Terminal Classic period.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage