Re-dissecting an Old Friend: Looking Back at the Evidence of Kiuic’s First Court

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Bolonchen Regional Archaeological Project: 25 Years of Research in the Puuc" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

From 2007 to 2016, a team of archaeologists under the direction of George J. Bey III excavated Structure N1065E1025, a pyramid temple dated to the Terminal Classic period and located at the Yaxché group in the heart of the archaeological site of Kiuic, Yucatán. The structure had a complex construction history that started around 800 BC and concluded at about AD 900 when the site was periodically depopulated. N1065E1025 underwent significant renovations and changes over a thousand years. In the Late Classic period, the Yaxché group served as the location of Kiuic’s court at its most expansive configuration. During the Terminal Classic period, N1065E1025 was transformed into a towering temple that stood at a height of 12 m with a masonry room and a stone bench on its top. Our previous papers discussed how the Yaxché group exemplifies the traditional Puuc Courts, defined by their religious, administrative, and residential spaces. In this paper, I revisit the evidence and critically assess how it aligns with our current understanding of Royal Courts in the Puuc region and the origins of the Late Terminal Classic authority of its urban centers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• The Bolonchen Regional Archaeological Project: 25 Years of Research in the Puuc

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38264.0