Did restructuring at the end of the Maya Classic period include the beginnings of private land tenure?

Summary

The archaeological study of land tenure in non-literate societies is methodologically complex. However, by examining situations before, during and after transitions, insight can be gained. The end of the Maya Classic period, complexes of field walls were built, especially in coastal locations. These appear to not have water control or land management functions but instead delineate space similarly to house lots in contemporary, but traditional, Maya villages. Land tenure at the center of Blue Creek in Belize, specifically the Chan Cahal residential group, coastal field wall complexes and the use of house perimeter walls in the Yucatec village of Yaxunah are compared to better understand the purposes and importance of the development of field walls in understanding changing patterns of Maya land tenure.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes": Transitions and Thresholds throughout Central America and Beyond

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Spatial Coverage