A Model for Interpreting the Royal Court Puuc Tradition

Summary

Throughout sixteen years of research at the archaeological site of Kiuic, located in the Puuc zone of the Yucatán Peninsula, explorations have yielded the complete construction sequence of its Late Classic Period royal court and central architectural group, Yaxché. Deep and detailed excavations at the group’s central building, Str. N1065E1025, have produced a unique picture of the evolution of architecture, modification of the landscape, and its role in the consolidation of royal power through the use of ritual, domestic, and administration spaces. Moreover, evidence of royal behavior, and the dynamics of the royal court institution at Kiuic suggest a local tradition of highly specialized architecture and ceramic wares which can be seen at large Classic Period Puuc sites such as Uxmal and Labna. In this paper, I use data from detailed stratigraphic analysis, AMS dated contexts, architectural reconstruction, and midden analysis to generate a Royal Court Model to interpret the continuities and transformations of Puuc elite behavior during the Late and Terminal Classic Periods.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• The Bolonchén Regional Archaeological Project: Sixteen Years of Investigating Maya Society in the Eastern Puuc Region from the Preclassic through the Historical Period

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