Classic Period Integration at Yaxnohcah: A “Bottom-Up” Perspective from Ximbal Che

Summary

This is an abstract from the "New and Emerging Perspectives on the Bajo el Laberinto Region of the Maya Lowlands, Part 2" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Recent investigations at the Ximbal Che group at Yaxnohcah have documented intriguing new data with implications for understanding sociopolitical and economic integration in the Bajo el Laberinto region. These data include diverse cultural assemblages that show radical changes to the built environment of Ximbal Che, ritual activities associated with this construction program, and pronounced shifts in inhabitants' wealth, status, and economic practices. We directly link these patterns to broader sociopolitical transformations following the arrival of the Kanu’l kings at Calakmul in the seventh century CE. This paper argues that these material outcomes reflect the integration of the Ximbal Che Maya into the Kanu’l political and socioeconomic apparatus as intermediate elites who oversaw Yaxnohcah’s Sakjol neighborhood marketplace. This was not, however, a unilateral process of subordination. Instead, our findings suggest this was a historically contingent and multifaceted process involving a complex and dynamic interplay between top-down forces and bottom-up strategies, including negotiation, cooperation, and, at times, resistance. The implications of this data set are discussed, with emphasis on what it tells us about integrative processes in the Bajo el Laberinto region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• New and Emerging Perspectives on the Bajo el Laberinto Region of the Maya Lowlands, Part 2   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38980.0