Questioning “Centralization”: Ritual, Minor Temple Complexes and Social Integration at Ceibal, Guatemala

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Theorizing Prehistoric Large Low-Density Settlements beyond Urbanism and Other Conventional Classificatory Conventions" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, became a preeminent center in the Pasión Region of the southern lowlands over the Preclassic period (ca. 950 BCE-350 CE). During the latter centuries of this period, minor temple complexes were built at regular intervals within the Ceibal urban center and across the rolling Ceibal horst. Although the presence of minor centers has often been linked to increased political centralization and the establishment of regional settlement hierarchies, systematic excavations in outlying areas of Ceibal have complicated our understanding of core-periphery dynamics. The data have revealed the temples were built at different times with variable construction techniques and materials, and populations settled around them following their construction. The evidence suggests local groups built their own ceremonial precincts as they settled in new areas around Ceibal. Rituals resembling those performed in the ceremonial epicenter were also conducted regularly at the temples, revealing some people in outlying areas had access to specialized ritual knowledge from the epicenter. These outlying communities appeared to be largely autonomous yet integrated into a larger Ceibal society. This paper draws from collective action and generative planning theory to question notions of centralization and explore heterarchical sociopolitical complexity and integration.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Theorizing Prehistoric Large Low-Density Settlements beyond Urbanism and Other Conventional Classificatory Conventions   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38028.0