The Site of Noh K'uh, Chiapas, Mexico: A Late Preclassic Settlement in the Mensäbäk Basin

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Juarez ◽  
Sebastián Salgado-Flores ◽  
Christopher Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Complex Societies ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
River Region ◽  
Western Frontier ◽  
Maya Area

In this report we introduce the site of Noh K'uh, a Late Preclassic (400 BC–AD 250) community in the western frontier of the Maya Lowlands. This new body of data contributes to the study of how complex societies emerged both within the Usumacinta River region and the Maya area overall.

CLIMATE-CHANGE STUDIES IN THE MAYA AREA

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel D. Gunn ◽  
Ray T. Matheny ◽  
William J. Folan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Annual Meeting ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Change Models ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Paradigms ◽  
Physical Forces ◽  
Maya Area

The series of papers on climate change published in this issue are the result of the symposium “Environmental Change in Mesoamerica: Physical Forces and Cultural Paradigms in the Preclassic to Postclassic,” held at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in March 2000 in Philadelphia. The authors bring their expertise in paleoclimatological studies to bear on the Maya Lowlands and Highlands from the beginning of the Holocene to the Postclassic and modern times. The studies reveal that climate has changed during the past 4,000 years to a considerable degree that correlates in a reasonable way with archaeological periodizations. Several climate-change models are presented as an effort to understand better past cultural and natural events.

The Economic Geography of Chert Lithic Production in the Southern Maya Lowlands: A Comparative Examination of Early-Stage Reduction Debris

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Scott Speal
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Geographic Scale ◽  
Tool Manufacture ◽  
Specialized Production ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
Maya Area ◽  
Analytical Approaches ◽  
Comparative Examination

AbstractIt has been known for several decades that certain regions of the Maya Lowlands were characterized by specialized production of chert tools in ancient times. The extent, intensity, organization, and net social effects of centralized lithic production in the Maya area as a whole, however, are not well understood. In order to address issues of broader relevance to social and economic processes, lithicists working in the Maya region need to develop analytical approaches suited to the study of complex economies. The research presented here attempts to establish simple baseline measures for use in comparing the production of siliceous stone tools, both formal and expedient, at different scales across the Maya area. Scholarship in this region has been chronically plagued by prolonged, unresolved debates—mostly a factor of the multitude of single-site-focused projects employing different methodologies and research emphases. The present study therefore proposes a new direction in Maya lithic studies with the goal of enhancing comparability of data on ancient economic structure through the use of standardized statistics that facilitate spatial analysis. Using the proportion of early-stage core reduction debris to the total of all debitagefrom a given context, for instance, enables the analyst to roughly assess the amount of tool manufacture taking place locally. By extension, inferences can be made about the degree of economic integration and interdependence characterizing any given geographic scale, including the architectural group, site, region, and so on. Preliminary analysis of patterns in early-stage reduction illustrates differential spatial distributions of chert tool production and consumption at several scales from across the southern Lowlands, allowing for the refinement of current models of ancient Maya lithic economy.

THE MIDDLE FORMATIVE OF YUCATAN IN CONTEXT: The view from Yaxuna

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis W. Stanton ◽  
Traci Ardren
Keyword(s):  
Complex Societies ◽  
The South ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Cultural Complexity ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Middle Formative ◽  
Formative Ceramics

Assumptions concerning the late dating of Middle Formative ceramics in the northern Maya lowlands and similarities between this region and areas to the south underlie mainstream interpretations that the northern Maya lowlands was slower to develop cultural complexity. This paper is a re-evaluation of these assumptions and their impact on interpretations of Formative interaction. Recent research at Yaxuna, Yucatan, Mexico is discussed in light of alternative approaches to the study of sociopolitical interaction among early complex societies.

Classic to Postclassic at Ek Balam, Yucatan: Architectural and Ceramic Evidence for Defining the Transition

1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
George J. Bey ◽  
Craig A. Hanson ◽  
William M. Ringle
Keyword(s):  
Yucatan Peninsula ◽  
Complex Societies ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
General Study ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Contemporary Debate ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Yucatán Peninsula ◽  
Ek Balam

The Classic-to-Postclassic transition in the Maya Lowlands is a focus of contemporary debate. At the site of Ek Balam, Yucatán, excavation of Structure GS-12 provided an architectural stratigraphy that spans this period. GS-12-sub was a Late Classic (Pure Florescent) building razed during the construction of GS-12-1, a C-shaped structure of a form generally identified with Postclassic occupations on the Yucatán Peninsula. At Ek Balam the building is associated with Cehpech-sphere ceramics and dated to the Terminal Classic. These data are in general agreement with the dating of such structures at other lowland sites including Uxmal. We contend that C-shaped structures, when found associated with Cehpech-sphere ceramics, are a horizon marker for the Terminal Classic-to-Postclassic transition on the Yucatán Peninsula, and that they illustrate the culture changes that occurred at this still poorly understood boundary. They may be the remains of administrative buildings used by the Maya following the cessation of monumental construction at major centers. Besides contributing to our understanding of the ancient Maya, the implications of this article extend to the general study of collapse and abandonment of complex societies.

Exchange Systems among the Ancient Maya

1972 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gair Tourtellot ◽  
Jeremy A. Sabloff
Keyword(s):  
Social Groups ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Maya Area ◽  
Differential Access

AbstractMost studies of trade in the Maya area of Mesoamerica have been descriptive examinations of exchanged objects and have relied heavily on ethnohistoric sources. This paper, on the other hand, relies mainly on archaeological data and offers several hypotheses about the socio-political significance of intra- and inter-community exchange systems.It is proposed that in the relatively uniform environment of the Maya Lowlands, subsistence arti-facts and goods were generally exchanged within communities while prestige artifacts were exchanged between communities. This hypothesized situation is contrasted with the environmentally differentiated Mexican Highlands where subsistence items were traded widely. Following the theoretical leads of M. Coe, Webb, and Fried, we offer the hypothesis that prior to the introduction of foreign influences, the lack of differential access to basic resources among the ranked social groups of the Maya Lowlands did not stimulate the development of the state in this area.

Drone-Mounted Lidar Survey of Maya Settlement and Landscape

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (03) ◽  
pp. 630-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy M. Murtha ◽  
Eben N. Broadbent ◽  
Charles Golden ◽  
Andrew Scherer ◽  
Whittaker Schroder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Piedras Negras ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
River Region ◽  
Surface Models ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

We conducted unmanned aerial vehicle lidar missions in the Maya Lowlands between June 2017 and June 2018 to develop appropriate methods, procedures, and standards for drone lidar surveys of ancient Maya settlements and landscapes. Three site locations were tested within upper Usumacinta River region using Phoenix Lidar Systems: Piedras Negras, Guatemala, was tested in 2017, and Budsilha and El Infiernito, both in Mexico, were tested in 2018. These sites represent a range of natural and cultural contexts, which make them ideal to evaluate the usefulness of the technology in the field. Results from standard digital elevation and surface models demonstrate the utility of deploying drone lidar in the Maya Lowlands and throughout Latin America. Drone survey can be used to target and efficiently document ancient landscapes and settlement. Such an approach is adaptive to fieldwork and is cost effective but still requires planning and thoughtful evaluation of samples. Future studies will test and evaluate the methods and techniques for filtering and processing these data.

Characterization of Ceramics of the Maya Protoclassic Period in Izamal, Yucatan, Mexico

2014 ◽  
Vol 1618 ◽  
pp. 73-79
Author(s):  
C. M. del Rosario Domínguez ◽  
V. Rafael Burgos ◽  
C. Yoly Palomo ◽  
C. Eric Reyes ◽  
R. Efraín Rubio
Keyword(s):  
Political Behavior ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
X Ray ◽  
The Social ◽  
Maya Area

ABSTRACTAs a result of archaeological investigations carried out in the pre-Hispanic city of Izamal, Yucatan, Mexico a large number of fragments of pottery vessels were recovered from the period known as maya protoclassic. The most important of this collection was its similarity to ceramic style representative recognized as Holmul, whose production has been identified mostly in the region of the Central Maya Lowlands. This style includes Ixcanrio Orange Polychrome ceramic type as diagnostic type more easily distinguished by its orange slip and tetrapods supports. Izamal, is the only place in the Northern Maya Lowlands has reported a large amount of pottery of this ceramic type. In this study we try to identify the origin of manufacture using X-ray diffraction technique. This will allow us to understand the social and political behavior of this ceramic tradition and their presence in this region of the Maya area.

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