Commemorating the Preclassic Monumental Construction at Tayasal, Guatemala

Summary

Research into the Main Group at Tayasal, Guatemala, revealed that the Postclassic inhabitants re-occupied areas and buildings that were constructed during the Preclassic period. Most of those buildings in the Main Group stand on a massive elevated platform, which was also constructed during the Preclassic period. The Preclassic period was the period during which the construction of monumental architecture such as E-groups and Triadic Group occurred at numerous sites including Tayasal. It was also the period during which ritualistic ideologies and collective identity were established and permeated. At Tayasal, the massive platform was elevated by a natural hill and held several platform groups. Two Triadic groups were constructed at the margin of the site, probably indicating the boundary of the community. The construction effort required for such monumental architecture may be a result of the emergence of a collective community identity and political authorities. In this paper we discuss Preclassic monumentality at Tayasal and how later occupants perceived and incorporated these constructions into their landscapes. Repeated occupation and remodeling of Preclassic architectures in the Postclassic period may mark the commemoration of ancestors.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20493