The Late Terminal Classic in the Cochuah Region: Neither Classic, Nor Postclassic

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Over the course of three field seasons, eight round foundation braces supporting perishable pole-and-thatch buildings were excavated in the Cochuah region of west-central Quintana Roo, Mexico. Dating to the period immediately after the region was largely abandoned during what is known as the “Maya collapse,” the structures reveal small populations living in the residential zones of larger sites and on dispersed hillocks in agricultural regions. Excavated in 50-cm quadrants, the patterning of soil chemistry and artifact distributions, as well as the varied natures of the structures themselves, reveal both struggle and resilience during what must have been a time of major social restructuring. Utilizing ceramics and lithics that had been left in other abandoned structures and suffering from at least periodic food shortages, occupants still made surprising investments in features such as plaster floors, multi-course stone walls, and burials in traditional Maya styles. This Late Terminal Classic phase is distinct from the florescent Terminal Classic time that saw the largest population ever in the region, yet also unlike the Postclassic period with its small shrines and temples dotting the landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35689.0