Broken Molds, Burned Wealth, and Scattered Monuments: Defining the Terminal Classic Period at Pacbitun

Summary

The Terminal Classic period in the southern Maya Lowlands was one of great social transition, witnessing the disruption of long-standing economic systems, and the downfall of divine kingship. The manifestation of this "collapse" in the artifactual record has been well documented at many sites throughout the Belize Valley, yet how it does so at the site of Pacbitun, on the southern rim of the Belize Valley, remains poorly understood, in spite of nearly three decades of archaeological research there. This paper is the first attempt to define the Terminal Classic period at Pacbitun, focusing on three main aspects of this time period. The first is on changing patterns in the ritual landscape, where we have documented a marked uptick in intensity and geographic extent of the use of landmarks such as caves, rockshelters, and bedrock outcrops. The second area is related to economic exchange and rising power of secondary elites manifest in the appearance of molded-carved pottery, and lastly, we discuss the breaking, scattering, and reuse and abandonment of monuments in the site core.

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): 22076