Shells, Turtles, and Ancestors: The Ancient Prehispanic Settlement of “El Meco”

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Maritime Maya: Current Archaeology of Coastal Yucatan, Mexico, and Belize" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The archaeological site “El Meco” is located in the northeastern region of the Yucatan Peninsula, on the coast of the Caribbean Sea. The first explorations by W. Sanders in 1954 and the latter by Andrews, Robles, and colleagues in 1977 provided the basis to know the different moments of occupation that the site had and its nature. Seventy years later, the recent research conducted as part of the first season of the Proyecto de Investigación y Conservación “El Meco” (2023-2024), has allowed us to delve into the proposal of the hamlet or fishing village for the Classic period, in the Middle and Late Classic hiatus, as well as in the settlement proposed for the Terminal Late Classic, and the Postclassic. This shows the relevance of the site's location for the maintenance of its population, the supply of raw materials, and likewise, its geopolitical situation within the maritime network of the flow of material and immaterial goods At the same time, these different elements would be part of the symbolic and ideological construction of the groups that inhabited the site, showing a close relationship with the shells, turtles, and their ancestors.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• The Maritime Maya: Current Archaeology of Coastal Yucatan, Mexico, and Belize

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51978