Urbanization, Minor Temple Construction, and Local Community Formation at Ceibal, Guatemala

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Preclassic Maya Social Transformations along the Usumacinta: Views from Ceibal and Aguada Fénix" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Excavations and geospatial analyses of outlying residential settlement at Ceibal, Guatemala, shed light on the relationships between ritual and urbanization during the Preclassic period. The site epicenter, which consists of an E-Group assemblage carved out of bedrock, was established around 1000 BC. The settlement slowly grew during the late Middle Preclassic period (ca. 700-350 BC). However, over the course of the Late Preclassic (ca. 350-75 BC) and Terminal Preclassic (ca. 75 BC-AD 175) periods, as Ceibal grew into an urban center, minor temple-plaza complexes were constructed at regular intervals in outlying residential areas. These complexes were not built contemporaneously, and vary in their size, shape, and construction materials. This evidence suggests localized groups of people built their own temples as they moved into new areas of the site, and thus, that ritual practice was a key consideration in early urban planning. Furthermore, in contrast to previous periods, rituals performed in public, semi-public, and domestic contexts became remarkably similar. Ritual may have simultaneously differentiated local communities while also promoting social cohesion among the entire Ceibal population. This trend continued until the end of the Terminal Preclassic, when outlying communities buried their temples and depopulated the site.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Preclassic Maya Social Transformations along the Usumacinta: Views from Ceibal and Aguada Fénix

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23758