Social Memory in Maya Hinterland Communities: Recent Excavations at San Lorenzo, Belize

Summary

During the Preclassic period in the Maya lowlands, public structures became the materializations of ideology and memory, functioning to add permanence and significance to the growing ritual landscape. Most Preclassic public ritual structures, however, are documented within formal ceremonial centers. Little is known about Preclassic public spaces within hinterland communities. Recent excavations at the Xunantunich hinterland site of San Lorenzo have uncovered a Preclassic round platform buried beneath a Late-to-Terminal Classic settlement cluster. This platform sits on an expansive tamped marl surface and based on preliminary ceramic analysis dates to the Terminal Preclassic period. Comparative data suggests that this platform may have served a ritual or public function due to its size and form. The reuse and rebuilding on this location during the Late Classic has further implications for the maintenance of meaning and social remembrance of sacred places on the landscape outside formal ceremonial centers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage