Preclassic Platforms at Yaxnohcah: Central Eminences for a multinucleated site.

Summary

Yaxnohcah is an important Maya settlement in the southern Campeche lowlands, which, according to what present evidence suggests, had its main civic development during the Middle and Late Preclassic periods. The city’s layout includes some features that are specific to Yaxnohcah, as well as others shared with nearby and distant centres. One of central features of the Yaxnohcah settlement, which it shares with other sites, has been described as "clustered nucleation" or "dismembered" pattern for neighboring Southern Quintana Roo region. During the Preclassic at Yaxnohcah, this type of settlement pattern centred around huge terraces and building platforms, with an acropolis-like form. In this paper, we will examine the formal and architectonic characteristics and construction sequences of Yaxnohcah’s early civic complexes. In addition, we will analyse their placement in the landscape and the spatial relationships between groups. Finally, we will address the possible meanings of those characteristics.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• The Dynamics of the Preclassic in the Heart of the Maya Lowlands

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16789