Abandonment at Isla Cilvituk: Ceramics as Evidence

Author(s): Amanda L. Martinez

Year: 2005

Summary

Spanish contact with the New World has long been of interest to archaeologists

and historians. Abandonment is another issue that has been studied in archaeology

for decades. This paper is an examination of the abandonment at a Postclassic period

(occupied A.D. 900-1525) Maya site, Isla Cilvituk, Campeche, Mexico. The mode of

abandonment is of utmost import because it indicates the relationship between native

Maya and Spaniards in the early 16th century, the period of initial contact. Was the

abandonment of Isla Cilvituk rapid or gradual? Was there an anticipation of return to

the site? In this paper, I use a spatial analysis of the ceramic distribution at the site to

determine the speed of abandonment, and the anticipation of return. I analyzed the

results of an ethnoarchaeological study at Silvituc, the modern-day village just across

the lake from Isla Cilvituk, to distinguish intra-site from whole site abandonment.

Through these analyses, I have determined that the probable mode of abandonment at

Isla Cilvituk was rapid, indicating that abandonment was a social process that allowed

the Maya to avoid the Spanish altogether.

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Cite this Record

Abandonment at Isla Cilvituk: Ceramics as Evidence. Amanda L. Martinez. Masters Thesis. New Mexico State University (NMSU), Anthropology. 2005 ( tDAR id: 502941) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8502941

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

URL: https://library.nmsu.edu/


Keywords

Culture
LOWLAND MAYA

Material
Building Materials • Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Dating Sample • Fauna • Ground Stone • Macrobotanical • Metal • Pollen • Shell

Site Name
Isla Cilvituk, Campeche, Mexico

Site Type
Agricultural Field or Field Feature • Ancient Church / Religious Structure • Ancient Governmental Structure • Ancient Structure • chultun • House • House Mound • Platform Mound • Plaza • Pyramid • Stairway • stelae • Temple • Terrace • Town / City • Water Control Feature

Investigation Types
Archaeological Overview • Data Recovery / Excavation • Historic Background Research • Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis • Reconnaissance / Survey • Site Evaluation / Testing

General
Household Archaeology • Lacustrine settlement • Postclassic Lowland Maya • Resilience • Settlement Ecology • Terminal Classic-Postclassic transition

Geographic Keywords
Northern Maya Lowlands

Temporal Keywords
Terminal Classic through Late Postclassic period (AD 600-1500)

Temporal Coverage

Radiocarbon Date: 1324 to 387 (14C Age BP, 9 radiocarbon dates from animal bone)

Calendar Date: 600 to 1500 (Architecture and Ceramics)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -90.312; min lat: 18.608 ; max long: -90.26; max lat: 18.655 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Principal Investigator(s): Rani T Alexander

Record Identifiers

Consejo de Arqueologia, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH)(s): Oficio #: C.A. 401-36/492, C.A. 401-36/188, C.A.401-36/427

New Mexico State University, Institutional Review Board, Human Subjects Research(s): Permit 5711 (expedited) 2003

Notes

General Note: This archaeological project was not born digital.

File Information

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