Geochemical Soil Analysis of Sequential Public and Private Plaster Floor Surfaces from the Maya Site of Holtun

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Holtun: Investigations at a Preclassic Maya Center" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In this paper we present the results of an exploratory program aimed at providing multi-component soil sampling and analysis of plaster floor surfaces at the Maya site of Holtun, Guatemala. Our research sampled three different plaza settings at the site: the monumental E-Group plaza, an elite residential patio adjacent to the E-Group monumental core, and an elite residential patio distant from the E-Group. Sequential floors within these open spaces spanned from the Middle Preclassic through the Late Classic periods. Our research identified the chemical signatures for activities related to food production and consumption in sequential plaza floors across all sampled contexts, and suggests the locations of some of these activities changed over time. Importantly, our results suggest different activities took place in public as opposed to private spaces within the site, offering new avenues for future research in similar settings.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Holtun: Investigations at a Preclassic Maya Center   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41527.0