Conquest as Revival in the Sixteenth-century Maya Highlands: Excavations at Chiantla Viejo, Guatemala

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Art, Archaeology, and Science: Investigations in the Guatemala Highlands" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeological investigations at Chiantla Viejo, in the western Guatemalan highlands, focused on studying how

public ritual in spaces for communal gatherings mediated changes and continuities in small Maya communiies

during the Spanish conquest. Excavations revealed a short occupation at Chiantla Viejo at the very end of the

Late Postclassic period, as well as episodes of abandonment and reoccupation of the site during the first decades

of the colonial era. These episodes included the destruction and remodeling of some structures and the building

of a new architectural complex of small ceremonial platforms in the plaza. Archaeological evidence from

Chiantla Viejo and Zaculeu, along with data coming from archival research, suggests a steady revitalization

movement of ancient ritual architectural traditions along the basin of the Selegua River during both the K’iche

and Spanish invasions of the Mam-speaking area of western Guatemala. Investigations at Chiantla Viejo also

highlight methodological issues for the study of Late Postclassic and early colonial sites in the Maya Highlands.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Art, Archaeology, and Science: Investigations in the Guatemala Highlands

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23264