Processes of Collapse, Resilience, and Reorganization at El Infiernito, Chiapas

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Discussions of political collapse in archaeology have shifted recently to approaches that incorporate the adaptive cycles of resilience and reorganization that highlight the continuity of certain cultural practices, belief systems, and worldviews alongside the disintegration of political systems. This approach has garnered support especially in the Maya area to explain the processes of social transformation that took place during the Terminal Classic period. This paper introduces a case study in the Usumacinta region at the site of El Infiernito, Chiapas. This site was founded during the Late Preclassic period and resettled early in the Late Classic period through the Early Postclassic period. This occupational history is contextualized in terms of the site's proximity and political integration with nearby Piedras Negras, Guatemala throughout the Classic period. Furthermore, the processes of collapse and resilience are examined during the Terminal Preclassic period and the Terminal Classic period to understand how El Infiernito may have served as a refuge for populations during periods of political crisis and transformation. Changes and continuities at the site from the Late Classic to the Early Postclassic period are also examined, especially in terms of evidence for political reorganization and the maintenance of long distance trade.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23959