scholarly journals An atlas of paste fabrics and supplemental paste compositional data from late middle preclassic-period ceramics at the Maya site of Holtun, Guatemala

Data in Brief ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 55-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael G. Callaghan ◽  
Daniel Pierce ◽  
Brigitte Kovacevich ◽  
Michael D. Glascock
Keyword(s):  
Compositional Data ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Maya Site

Preclassic Round Structures of the Upper Belize River Valley

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Aimers ◽  
Terry G. Powis ◽  
Jaime J. Awe
Keyword(s):  
River Valley ◽  
Architectural Form ◽  
Maya Architecture ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Preclassic Maya ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
The World ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Maya Site

Round structures are considered a rarity in Maya architecture. Four late Middle Preclassic period (650-300 B.C.) round structures excavated at the Maya site of Cahal Pech demonstrate that this was a common architectural form for the Preclassic Maya of the upper Belize River Valley. These open platforms are described, and compared to similar forms in the Belize Valley and elsewhere. An interpretation of their significance is offered that uses information from artifacts, burials, and ethnohistory as well as analogy with round structures in other parts of the world. We suggest that these small round platforms were used for performance related to their role as burial or ancestor shrines.

scholarly journals AFTER 40 YEARS: REVISITING CEIBAL TO INVESTIGATE THE ORIGINS OF LOWLAND MAYA CIVILIZATION

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Inomata ◽  
Daniela Triadan ◽  
Kazuo Aoyama
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Pattern ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Field Investigations ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Maya Civilization ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Lowland Maya

AbstractThe Ceibal-Petexbatun Archaeological Project has been conducting field investigations at the lowland Maya site of Ceibal since 2005. Previous research at this site by Harvard University allowed us to develop detailed research designs geared toward specific research questions. A particularly important focus was the question of how lowland Maya civilization emerged and developed. Comparison with contemporaneous sites in central Chiapas led us to hypothesize that the residents of Ceibal established a formal spatial pattern similar to those of the Chiapas centers during the Middle Preclassic period (1000–350b.c.). Through excavations of important elements of this spatial pattern, including a probable E-Group assemblage and large platforms, we examined how the Ceibal residents participated in interregional interactions with Chiapas, the Gulf Coast, and other areas, and how construction activities and architecture shaped the course of social change.

scholarly journals Development of sedentary communities in the Maya lowlands: Coexisting mobile groups and public ceremonies at Ceibal, Guatemala

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (14) ◽  
pp. 4268-4273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Inomata ◽  
Jessica MacLellan ◽  
Daniela Triadan ◽  
Jessica Munson ◽  
Melissa Burham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Changes ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Collaborative Activities ◽  
Diverse Groups ◽  
Ground Structures ◽  
Different Levels

Our archaeological investigations at Ceibal, a lowland Maya site located in the Pasión region, documented that a formal ceremonial complex was built around 950 B.C. at the onset of the Middle Preclassic period, when ceramics began to be used in the Maya lowlands. Our refined chronology allowed us to trace the subsequent social changes in a resolution that had not been possible before. Many residents of Ceibal appear to have remained relatively mobile during the following centuries, living in ephemeral post-in-ground structures and frequently changing their residential localities. In other parts of the Pasión region, there may have existed more mobile populations who maintained the traditional lifestyle of the preceramic period. Although the emerging elite of Ceibal began to live in a substantial residential complex by 700 B.C., advanced sedentism with durable residences rebuilt in the same locations and burials placed under house floors was not adopted in most residential areas until 500 B.C., and did not become common until 300 B.C. or the Late Preclassic period. During the Middle Preclassic period, substantial formal ceremonial complexes appear to have been built only at a small number of important communities in the Maya lowlands, and groups with different levels of sedentism probably gathered for their constructions and for public rituals held in them. These collaborative activities likely played a central role in socially integrating diverse groups with different lifestyles and, eventually, in developing fully established sedentary communities.

scholarly journals High-precision radiocarbon dating of political collapse and dynastic origins at the Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (6) ◽  
pp. 1293-1298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Inomata ◽  
Daniela Triadan ◽  
Jessica MacLellan ◽  
Melissa Burham ◽  
Kazuo Aoyama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Precision ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Social Instability ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
History Of ◽  
External Power ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Maya Site

The lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, had a long history of occupation, spanning from the Middle Preclassic Period through the Terminal Classic (1000 BC to AD 950). The Ceibal-Petexbatun Archaeological Project has been conducting archaeological investigations at this site since 2005 and has obtained 154 radiocarbon dates, which represent the largest collection of radiocarbon assays from a single Maya site. The Bayesian analysis of these dates, combined with a detailed study of ceramics, allowed us to develop a high-precision chronology for Ceibal. Through this chronology, we traced the trajectories of the Preclassic collapse around AD 150–300 and the Classic collapse around AD 800–950, revealing similar patterns in the two cases. Social instability started with the intensification of warfare around 75 BC and AD 735, respectively, followed by the fall of multiple centers across the Maya lowlands around AD 150 and 810. The population of Ceibal persisted for some time in both cases, but the center eventually experienced major decline around AD 300 and 900. Despite these similarities in their diachronic trajectories, the outcomes of these collapses were different, with the former associated with the development of dynasties centered on divine rulership and the latter leading to their downfalls. The Ceibal dynasty emerged during the period of low population after the Preclassic collapse, suggesting that this dynasty was placed under the influence from, or by the direct intervention of, an external power.

Middle Preclassic Maya buildings and burials at Cuello, Belize

Antiquity ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 66 (253) ◽  
pp. 955-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Hammond ◽  
Amanda Clarke ◽  
Francisco Estrada Belli
Keyword(s):  
Preclassic Maya ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Middle Formative ◽  
Grave Goods

Work in 1992 has significantly added to understanding of this important Maya site in the Middle Formative or Preclassic period (1000–450 BC). The known settled area now extends to 1.62 sq. km. One of the 14 burials was associated with rich grave-goods, suggesting that it was of a leading member of the Cuello community in the 5th century BC.

THE FIRST MAYA TRADE WARE? NEW DATA ON MIDDLE PRECLASSIC-PERIOD MARS ORANGE PASTE WARE FROM HOLTUN, GUATEMALA

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 821-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael G. Callaghan ◽  
Daniel E. Pierce ◽  
William D. Gilstrap
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Activation Analysis ◽  
Neutron Activation ◽  
Short Distance ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
The West ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Combined Data

This study reports on type: variety-mode classification, digital stereomicroscopy, petrography, neutron activation analysis, and previously published reports and characterizes production and distribution of Mars Orange Paste Ware in the Middle Preclassic-period Maya Lowlands. The sample consists of 2028 sherds of Mars Orange Paste Ware from Holtun, Guatemala, and 4105 sherds reported from sites in Central Belize and Peten Guatemala. The combined data suggest Mars Orange Paste Ware was a “short-distance” trade ware produced in the northeastern Maya Lowlands and distributed from Central Belize to the west.

Incipient Maya Burnt-Lime Technology: Characterization and Chronological Variations in Preclassic Plaster, Stucco and Mortar at Nakbe, Guatemala

1996 ◽  
Vol 462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric F. Hansen ◽  
Carlos Rodriguez-Navarro ◽  
Richard D. Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Critical Time ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Burnt Lime ◽  
Construction Methods ◽  
Random Aggregate ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Maya Site

ABSTRACTPatterned technological behaviors in the production and use of burnt-lime products can be characterized using optical microscopy and image analysis of pétrographie thin-sections to determine the texture (supplemented by X-ray diffraction analysis). Variations in technological styles have been identified in 21 samples from the ancient Maya site of Nakbe, Petén, Guatemala dating to the Middle Preclassic (1,000 B. C. - 300 B. C.) and Late Preclassic (300 B. C. - 150 A. D.) periods. Middle Preclassic floors exhibit a chaotic texture with a highly random aggregate particle size. Late Preclassic modeled stucco or painted fragments have a well-sorted texture with a low acid-insoluble content (<2%). Load -bearing mortar dating from the early Late Preclassic has a matrix with a high acid insoluble content (>15%), the major phases being quartz (-10%) and clays (∼5%). The variations correlate both with the time of occurrence and the function of the end-product. These issues of construction methods and levels of technology contribute data to aid our understanding of cultural development in this area at a critical time when the Maya were formulating power structures.

El Achiotal

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Jane Acuña
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Location ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Conventional Models ◽  
And Control

This chapter summarizes the archaeological and iconographic evidence from Structure 5C-01 that indicate rulership was established at the small center of El Achiotal in the Late Preclassic period. The symbolic vocabulary at El Achiotal suggests rulers were knowledgeable of the widespread ideology that was being institutionalized in the southern Maya lowlands as well as the more ancient symbolic vocabulary that represented the institution of kingship developed by the Middle Preclassic at La Venta and other centers in Mexico. Variables such as geographic location and control over knowledge provided Late Preclassic centers with leverage to negotiate their status and power within the broader regional geopolitics, thus challenging conventional models used to understand early political authority and its organization over the landscape.

Middle Preclassic Maya Shell Ornament Production

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bobbi Hohmann ◽  
Terry G. Powis ◽  
Paul F. Healy
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Large Scale Production ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Preclassic Maya ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Non Local ◽  
Degree Of Control ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Marine Shell

Extensive archaeological investigations at the site of Pacbitun, a medium-sized Maya center located in west-central Belize, have revealed the large-scale production of marine shell ornaments during Middle Preclassic period (900-300 B.C.). Non-local marine shell and the restricted nature of its distribution indicate that some degree of control may have been exerted over the production and/or distribution of marine shell or the finished shell products. The sheer quantities of shell working debris in the site core of Pacbitun suggest that these ornaments were intended for intra- or extra-community exchange. Two different scenarios are presented to account for the quantity and spatial distribution of Middle Preclassic shell and shell working materials at Pacbitun and in the Belize River valley.

The History, Function, and Meaning of Preclassic E Groups in the Cival Region

Maya E Groups ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Estrada-Belli
Keyword(s):  
Initial Function ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Place Making ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Archaeological Project ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Ritual Behavior ◽  
Single Locality

This chapter summarizes archaeological data and interpretations regarding 13 E Groups from the Cival region mapped and excavated by the Holmul Archaeological Project between 2000 and 2015. In the Middle (1000-350 BCE) and Late Preclassic (350 BCE-0 CE) periods Cival was the main political and ritual center in this region of northeastern Petén. Over the course of the Late Preclassic Period, four additional E Groups were built at Cival and nine more have been found so far at surrounding minor centers. These data from E Group complexes provide a coherent sample of architectural chronology, dimension, orientation and evidence of ritual behavior. Excavations in the Cival Main Plaza provide the most complete example of a Middle Preclassic E Group available to date. The ritual function of Cival’s earliest E Group focused on solar hierophanies that uniquely connected, calendrical, metereological and geomantic observations within a single locality. Subsequent Late Preclassic complexes in the region were built following the same principles according to each site’s peculiar topographic setting. In accordance with their initial function as place-making devices for emerging communities, E Groups in the Late Preclassic Period were associated with the emergence of regional political systems as centers of religious and political interactions.

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