The Emergence of a Large Community at Aguada Fénix, Tabasco, Mexico, and Its Legacy

Summary

This is an abstract from the "States, Confederacies, and Nations: Reenvisioning Early Large-Scale Collectives." session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The site of Aguada Fénix features an artificial plateau, which measures 1,400 × 400 m horizontally and 10–15 m vertically. Nine causeways and corridors radiate from the plateau. These monumental constructions were built between 1050 and 750 BC. This building, discovered in 2017, turned out to be the largest and oldest monumental structure in the history of the area that is conventionally called the Maya lowlands. We do not have any evidence of marked social inequality. Aguada Fénix was built probably during the transitional period from mobile lifeways to more sedentary ones and from mixed subsistence practices to more intensive maize agriculture. Collective ceremonies and construction projects likely served to bring a large number of people together and to promote shared cultural values during this period of significant social change. Early community leaders in this region possibly provided templates for rulership in later periods, which continued to emphasize the elite control of astronomy, calendar, and public ritual.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• States, Confederacies, and Nations: Reenvisioning Early Large-Scale Collectives.   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38051.0