A revised chronology of the southeastern Maya area: An evaluation of new and existing radiocarbon dates from the Preclassic to Postclassic period

Summary

The establishment and refinement of chronology is a critical issue in archaeological practice worldwide. In the archaeology of the southern Maya area, Inomata et al. (2014) have currently proposed a new revised chronology for Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala, especially for the Preclassic period, using several calibrated radiocarbon dates and Bayesian statistics. They also highlight a new interpretation of the social process in southern Maya area. However, the data set for the southeastern Maya area, especially that located in the western part of present day El Salvador, has not been updated since the 1970s and 80s. This paper shows the latest updated radiocarbon dates for the southeastern Maya area. These include more than 100 dates collected from Chalchuapa, which is a key site in the region, and other sites by applying Bayesian statistics to further better the chronology. Based on this data, I present an enhanced local chronology from the Middle Preclassic to the Late Postclassic period. Furthermore, although it requires minor revisions, I support the validity of the chronology proposed by Inomata et al.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15668