Revealing La Milpa: Integrating Residential Data from the Core and Periphery

Summary

The Programme for Belize Archaeological Project represents a regional research program aimed at elucidating the nature of Maya political, social, and economic integration within the northeastern Peten. Toward this end, extensive research is being undertaken at the primary center of La Milpa. Research conducted by the authors has been motivated by numerous objectives. Of specific interest is understanding the role of La Milpa within the changing political landscape of the region. In addition, our research examines the degree to which social status affects both economic and ideological activities at the courtyard level. To address these questions, we draw upon a large corpus of residential data collected over the past 25 years. We integrate an intensive analysis of elite lineages within the La Milpa core with an extensive examination of residential space throughout the periphery. Contrary to original interpretations, our results suggest that La Milpa was home to an entrenched elite class as early as the Late Preclassic. Consequently, we propose a revised model of political growth and power. Furthermore, we revisit population estimates for La Milpa and examine the extent to which status affected differential economic and ideological activities across the social hierarchy.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Polities, Hinterland Communities, and Everything in Between: Twenty-Five Years of Archaeological Research in Northwest Belize   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16337