Living in a Contested Landscape: Adapting Settlement Decisions in the Buenavista Valley, Peten, Guatemala

Summary

Conflict pervaded the civilizations of ancient Mesoamerica from an early time. In the Maya lowlands, the physical vestiges of defensive fortifications date to the Late Preclassic period, while textual evidence of conflict comes from the subsequent Early Classic period. This paper examines settlement changes within the context of a contested landscape. The Buenavista Valley, largely controlled during the Classic period by the kingdom of El Zotz, extends out west from the great city of Tikal. However, the Preclassic city of El Palmar preceded this kingdom, established by the first lowland settlers on the western edge of a large wetland. Originally considered a minor site, LiDAR data reveals that El Palmar was in fact a sizeable early community that would have rivaled the emerging kingdom at Tikal. El Palmar was suddenly abandoned between AD 100-200 and a century later, elite settlements emerged on heavily fortified, escarpment edge hilltops. The pervasive Preclassic residential platforms on the valley floor were never matched during the Classic period. Household construction techniques varied by elevation during the Classic period, suggesting that the geopolitical interactions of the local dynasty at El Zotz did in fact affect the greater population and not simply elites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21602