The Creation of Late Preclassic Urban Landscapes at the site of Noh K’uh in Chiapas, Mexico

Summary

The site of Noh K’uh in Chiapas, Mexico is a mid-sized ceremonial center that is found near the boundary between the Southern Lowlands and the highlands of Chiapas. Abandoned during the Late Preclassic (400 B.C.- A.D. 200), the site of Noh K’uh has provided an opportunity to study the Late Preclassic settlement patterns without the overburden of later period remains. Recent investigations in 2016 and 2017 have provided new evidence that allows me to compare the construction techniques utilized in different areas of the site, ranging from the ceremonial core to the humblest occupations. Combined with previous data, the city of Noh K’uh reveals a construction program that was responsible for forever altering the landscape that supported the site. Survey and excavations over commoner contexts provide evidence that such activities were guided by cosmological rituals, especially the common practice of centering.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22057