Cultural Settlement and Water Management Strategies at Holtun, Guatemala

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.

Water management is intrinsically associated with the development and support of complex societies. Water was a significant source of power among the ancient Maya. Although traditional research characterizes water management as homogeneous and monolithic, recent studies show that it was highly variable and adapted accordingly. The case of Holtun, a modest-sized site, adds to the research on water management as most case studies focus on large primary centers with significant sources of water. Despite water resources at Holtun are relatively small, they supported the development of a large community. Holtun developed social complexity during the Middle Preclassic period (1000–350 BC) and although some water catchments remained centralized, most of the springs remained outside of formal control on the outskirts of the site. However, during the Late Classic period (AD 500–900), permanent settlement with signs of social status emerged outside of the civic-ceremonial center, claiming territory around water resources. Although the function of this settlement is still not clear, its location suggests that water management was in part a strong motivation. Research on cultural settlement and water management at Holtun demonstrates the complexity and heterogeneity of the ancient Maya civilization in the process of developing and maintaining social complexity.

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)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41575.0