Filling in the Gaps: Lidar-Aided Mapping of the Smallest-Scale Sites in the Northern Lowlands

Summary

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

The Proyecto Arqueológico de Sitios de Pesqueña Escala en el Puuc Oriental (PASPEPO) recently completed an intensive mapping and surface collection program at three small-scale sites in the eastern Puuc Region of the northern Maya lowlands. Using lidar-derived digital terrain models (DTMs) as a baseline for settlement pattern identification, we identified dozens of archaeological features not visible in the DTMs. The three study sites, Paso del Macho, Cerro Hul, and Xanab Chak are all located within a 2 km2 triangle and appear to have occupations that range from the Middle Preclassic Period (c. 900 BCE) through the Terminal Classic Period (c. 900 CE). This poster presents our preliminary findings, including geospatial comparisons of settlement patterns, landscape use, and potential for year-round habitation. Confirmation of Preclassic ballcourts at both Paso del Macho and Xanab Chak, but not at Late Classic Cerro Hul, mirrors a spatio-temporal pattern identified elsewhere in the northwestern Maya area. The identification of a large central platform at Xanab Chak suggests it may have played an intermediary socio-political role between the largest Preclassic sites like Yaxhom and the smallest Preclassic sites like Paso del Macho in the Puuc, and has implications for modelling interaction networks in the region.

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): 36648.0