Defining Rurality at La Joyanca and Naachtun (Guatemala): Land Use, Architecture and Social Dynamics

Author(s): Eva Lemonnier; Charlotte Arnauld

Year: 2018

Summary

Based on the study of two Classic Maya Lowland sites, La Joyanca and Naachtun (Guatemala), this paper explores the topic of rurality through the parameters of potential land use, visible architectural variation, and plausible population mobility. La Joyanca was a medium-sized settlement surrounded by villages and hamlets all of which were recorded by means of conventional surface mapping, whereas Naachtun was a regional capital located amidst extended communities linked by causeways that have been identified through recent LIDAR survey. Paleoenvironmental information on land use is available in both cases. We aim at assessing ancient ‘heartland’ and ‘hinterland communities’, and their relationships, as an attempt at furthering the implied concepts. Relevancy of rural and urban categories is discussed.

Cite this Record

Defining Rurality at La Joyanca and Naachtun (Guatemala): Land Use, Architecture and Social Dynamics. Eva Lemonnier, Charlotte Arnauld. Presented at The 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC. 2018 ( tDAR id: 443842)

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Spatial Coverage

min long: -94.197; min lat: 16.004 ; max long: -86.682; max lat: 21.984 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21968