The Origins of Complex Maya Societies: The Middle Preclassic Period in the Mirador-Calakmul Basin

Summary

Recent multidisciplinary investigations in the Mirador-Calakmul Basin have provided evidence of human sedentary occupation by about 2600 B.C. Data from coring of shallow lakes and from small residential structures with postholes in bedrock below Middle Preclassic platforms show evidence of corn pollen, isotopes, and human presence by this early period. Archaeological investigations at sites such as Nakbe, El Mirador, Xulnal, Wakna and El Pesquero, among others, have identified architectural constructions dating to the Middle Preclassic period between 1000 and 400 B.C, indicating a rapid and sophisticated cultural ascent. The results indicate that the origins of the first Maya state begins by the early Middle Preclassic period, resulting in the construction of some of the largest stuctures in the ancient world, as well as architectural systems for the collection and distribution of water, architectural art, agricultural systems, murals, platforms, dikes, terraces, palaces, dams, causeways, and sophisticated commerce and trading systems centuries before Christ.

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): 16700