Sharing Wares and Waging Wars: The Politics of Ceramic Exchange at the Classic Maya Site of El Zotz, Guatemala

Summary

The Classic Maya city of El Zotz, relatively small compared to its neighbors, is situated geographically, and at times politically, between El Perú-Waka’ to the west and Tikal to the east. The archaeological site occupies an elevated position within the Buenavista Valley, a southwest to northeast corridor running for some 32 km to the north of the Lake Petén Itza region. The valley connects the northeast and northwest Petén, from Chetumal Bay to the Bay of Campeche, placing the site in a strategic position along major trade routes in the region. Research by the El Zotz Archaeological Project (2006 – present) demonstrates that the city’s fortunes and misfortunes were heavily influenced by political developments (both collaborative and antagonistic) in the surrounding region. Yet, even as the geopolitical landscape became increasingly fractured during the course of the Classic period, ceramic evidence suggests that El Zotz maintained connections with its neighbors in the Western Petén. This paper will evaluate the ceramics of El Zotz from a regional perspective, bringing to light the politics of ceramic exchange for this Classic Maya city.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Ceramics and Society among the Classic Maya Cities of the Western Petén

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16175