An Ancient Maya Reservoir and Dam at Tamarindito, El Peten, Guatemala

1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Beach ◽  
Nicholas Dunning
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Small Reservoir ◽  
Main Site ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
El Peten ◽  
Residential Water

We report a Prehispanic dam and remnants of a small reservoir at the ancient Maya site of Tamarindito in the Río de la Pasión region of Guatemala's Petén district. The remnants of the dam are on the Petexbatún escarpment, to the east of the main site in the midst of an area of residential groups and numerous and varied agricultural terracing. The dam was about 60 m long and would have held a reservoir of about 2,000 m3. This volume of water was sufficient to irrigate nearby terraced fields. The dam and reservoir probably date to the Late Classic period (A.D. 550-800), a period during which Tamarindito was involved in regional warfare. In addition to producing irrigation water, we hypothesize that the system was built to provide a supplemental, more defensible, residential water supply and to protect a spring located below the dam.

Stature at Tikal, Guatemala: Implications for Ancient Maya Demography and Social Organization

1967 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Haviland
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Class Division ◽  
Lower Status ◽  
Simple Class ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Maya Site

AbstractThis paper presents an analysis of stature of the prehistoric population from the Maya site of Tikal, Guatemala. From this analysis, based on 55 skeletons from the Tikal burial series, three important conclusions emerge with respect to ancient Maya demography and social organization. (1) Tikal was settled by people of moderate stature, and this remained relatively stable over several centuries. A marked reduction in male stature in Late Classic times may be indicative of a situation of nutritional stress, which may have had something to do with the collapse of Classic Maya civilization. (2) Stature differences between those buried in tombs and others at Tikal suggest that, in the last century B.C., a distinct ruling class developed at Tikal. This simple class division of rulers and commoners may have become more complex in Late Classic times. (3) There was a marked sexual dimorphism in stature between males and females at Tikal. This is probably partially genetic and partially a reflection of relatively lower status for women as opposed to men in Maya society.

Ritual among the Masses: Deconstructing Identity and Class in an Ancient Maya Neighborhood

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea Blackmore
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Class System ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Tacit Assumptions ◽  
Group Part

AbstractEquating a single cultural group to a classificatory scheme has implications for not only how archaeologists develop the concept of cultural identity but how we investigate and theorize about internal social dynamics within that same society. For the ancient Maya, social organization remains largely understood as a two-class system—that of commoner and elite. While these categories reflect the extreme ends of known social strata, they inadequately characterize the reality of day-to-day interactions. This has led to tacit assumptions that commoners did not participate in or comprehend the political and social complexity of the world around them. This paper examines how occupants of a Late Classic Maya neighborhood employed ritual and public practices as a means of social differentiation. Excavations at the Northeast Group, part of the ancient Maya site of Chan, Belize, identified considerable diversity between households, suggesting that occupants shaped status and identity through the control and centralization of ritual. Understanding how people distinguished themselves within the context of a neighborhood provides direct evidence of class complexity, challenging traditional models of commoner behavior and more importantly the role they played in ancient Maya society as a whole.

Sak Tz’i’, a Classic Maya Center: A Locational Model Based on GIS and Epigraphy

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armando Anaya Hernández ◽  
Stanley P. Guenter ◽  
Marc U. Zender
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Information Systems ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Maya Lowlands

AbstractThe ancient Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions of the upper Usumacinta region record an intensive interaction that took place among its regional capitals. The precise geographic locations of some of these sites are presently unknown. Through the application of the Gravity Model within the framework of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we present the probable locations and possible territorial extents of a few of these: Sak Tz’i’, Hix-Witz, and the “Knot-Site.” On this occasion, however, we concentrate our discussion on the role that the kingdom of Sak Tz’i’ played in the geopolitical scenario of the region. It is our belief that this case study constitutes a good example of how, through a conjunctive approach that integrates the archaeological with the epigraphic data, GIS can represent an excellent analytical tool to approach archaeological issues such as the political organization of the Maya Lowlands during the Late Classic period.

MORTUARY RITUALS AND CRANIAL MODIFICATIONS AT CEIBAL: FROM THE EARLY MIDDLE PRECLASSIC TO THE TERMINAL CLASSIC PERIOD

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 305-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Manuel Palomo ◽  
Takeshi Inomata ◽  
Daniela Triadan
Keyword(s):  
Public Spaces ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Ceramic Vessels ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Terminal Classic Period

AbstractSkeletal remains excavated from the lowland Maya site of Ceibal, representing approximately 117 individuals, provide significant data for the study of changes in bodily treatments and mortuary practices from 1000b.c.toa.d.900. The early Middle Preclassic residents of Ceibal apparently did not bury their dead inside residential structures, which represents a burial practice different from those found at contemporaneous Belizean sites. During this time, tabular erect cranial deformations were found among possible local residents. Sacrificial burials were present by the end of this period, but skeletal remains of violent rituals deposited in public spaces increased from the Middle Preclassic to the Late Preclassic. During the Late Preclassic, tabular erect cranial deformations coexisted with tabular oblique shapes. The Classic period witnessed a prevalence of tabular oblique forms, which were probably tied to local residents. The common placement of the dead under house floors and the preference of ceramic vessels as burial goods also indicate Ceibal's strong affinities with other parts of the Maya lowlands during the Late Classic period. During the Terminal Classic period, there was a resurgence in the placement of sacrificial burials in public spaces and tabular erect cranial deformations were found in possible non-local individuals.

Ancient Agriculture and Population at Tikal, Guatemala: An Application of Linear Programming to the Simulation of an Archaeological Problem

1980 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 697-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Bruce Dickson
Keyword(s):  
Linear Programming ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Ancient Agriculture ◽  
Intensive Farming ◽  
Root Crops ◽  
Potential Population ◽  
Maya Site

Population estimated for the Late Classic period at the Lowland Maya site of Tikal, Guatemala, is reviewed. Linear programming is described and suggested as a method for simulating the agricultural carrying capacity of the sustaining area of the site, thereby inferring its potential population. Archaeological data on the estimated size of the Tikal sustaining area is presented along with modern agricultural production and caloric output figures for maize, root crops, and ramon seeds. These data are used in the computation of a linear program. The results of the computer runs calculating the maximum population supportable by different combinations of milpa, intensive farming, and aboriculture are discussed. These results suggest that a mixed subsistence strategy in which ramon seed aboriculture and intensive root cropping were combined and were supplemented by kitchen gardening, hunting, gathering, and trade might have supported a population as high as 69,705 to 76,699 people within the boundaries of the site of Tikal during the Late Classic period.

scholarly journals Classic Maya Dental Interventions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Schnell ◽  
Andrew Scherer
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Posterior Teeth ◽  
The Past ◽  
Piedras Negras ◽  
Ancient Health ◽  
Dental Procedures ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Tooth Extractions

Tooth extractions are among the most common dental procedures performed globally today; however, archaeological evidence for such procedures in the past is relatively scant and largely limited to the Classical world. We present a case of therapeutic dental extractions of pathological teeth at the ancient Maya site of Piedras Negras, Guatemala, during the Late Classic period (A.D. 600–800). The evidence comes from an assemblage of fractured, pathological teeth (n = 127) recovered from the marketplace at Piedras Negras during excavations in 2016 and 2017. We compare the Piedras Negras marketplace teeth to the broader Late Classic period mortuary population at the site along three lines of analysis: (1) distribution of teeth by type (incisors, canines, premolars, and molars), (2) pathologies, including dental caries and calculus, and (3) dental wear. We also explore in detail the fracture patterns apparent in the marketplace assemblage. Our results indicate that the marketplace teeth display a significantly greater caries rate than the broader mortuary population and that posterior teeth (premolars and molars) are overrepresented in the marketplace sample. These findings point toward therapeutic extractions intended to ameliorate pain associated with oral pathologies. This article presents one of the fewcase studies of ancient health care in the Americas and situates these practices within the market, an important, urban space across much of precolonial Mesoamerica. Las extracciones dentales se encuentran entre los procedimientos dentales más comunes realizados a nivel mundial en la actualidad. Sin embargo, la evidencia arqueológica para tales procedimientos es relativamente escasa en el pasado y se limita en gran medida al mundo Clásico. En este artículo, se presenta un caso de extracciones dentales terapéuticas de dientes patológicos en el antiguo sitio maya de Piedras Negras, Guatemala, durante el periodo Clásico Tardío (600-800 d.C.). La evidencia de este caso proviene de una colección de dientes patológicos y fracturados (n = 127) recolectados en el mercado de Piedras Negras durante las excavaciones realizadas en los años de 2016 y 2017. Estos dientes fueron comparados con otros dientes recolectados alrededor del sitio en contextos mortuorios del periodo Clásico Tardío a lo largo de tres líneas de análisis: (1) la distribución de los dientes por tipo (incisivos, caninos, premolares y molares), (2) las patologías, incluyendo caries dentales y cálculo y (3) el desgaste dental. Asimismo, se exploró en detalle los patrones de fractura aparentes en la colección del mercado. Los resultados de este análisis indican que los dientes del mercado muestran una tasa de caries significativamente mayor que los dientes recolectados en contextos mortuorios y que los dientes posteriores (premolares y molares) se encuentran sobrerrepresentados en la muestra proveniente del mercado. Estos hallazgos demuestran el uso de extracciones terapéuticas designadas a aliviar el dolor asociado a las patologías bucales. Este artículo presenta uno de los pocos estudios de caso de atención médica en el pasado en las Américas y sitúa estas prácticas dentro del mercado, un importante espacio urbano que se encuentra a través de la Mesoamérica precolombina.

Understanding Late Classic Maya Mortuary Ritual in Caves

2018 ◽  
pp. 133-158
Author(s):  
Amy R. Michael ◽  
Gabriel D. Wrobel ◽  
Jack Biggs
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Dental Health ◽  
Health Data ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Mortuary Practice ◽  
Mortuary Ritual ◽  
Analytical Approaches

Bioarchaeology frequently investigates dental health in burial populations to make inferences about mortuary variability within and between ancient groups. In this chapter, micro- and macroscopic dental defects were examined in a series of ancient Maya mortuary cave and rockshelter burials in Central Belize. The nature of mortuary cave ritual use and funerary performance in the Late Classic is widely debated in the literature. This study utilizes two analytical approaches, mortuary practice and paleopathology, to better understand mortuary variability between two site types that may be distinguished by social status in life. Ethnohistoric accounts focused on mortuary activities in the Late Classic period have described sacrificial victims as individuals originating outside of the elite population. To test these accounts, this study compares the dental health data of individuals from non-elite (rockshelter) populations to elite (cave) burial contexts.

RITUAL EMULATION OF ANCIENT MAYA ELITE MORTUARY TRADITIONS DURING THE CLASSIC PERIOD (AD 250–900) AT CAHAL PECH, BELIZE

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna C. Novotny ◽  
Jaime J. Awe ◽  
Catharina E. Santasilia ◽  
Kelly J. Knudson
Keyword(s):  
River Valley ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
Mortuary Ritual ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Radiocarbon Data ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Valley Area

In this study, we employ multiple lines of evidence to elucidate the use of mortuary ritual by the ruling elite at the ancient Maya site of Cahal Pech, Belize, during the Early Classic and early Late Classic periods (AD 250–630). The interments of multiple individuals in Burial 7 of Structure B1, the central structure of an Eastern Triadic Assemblage or “E-group” style architectural complex, were in a manner not consistent with the greater Belize River Valley, the only multiple individual human burial yet encountered at Cahal Pech. The sequential interments contained a suggestive quantity of high-quality artifacts, further setting them apart from their contemporaries. Among these artifacts were a set of bone rings and a hairpin inscribed with hieroglyphs, some of the few inscriptions ever found at Cahal Pech. We analyzed regional mortuary patterns, radiogenic strontium values, and radiocarbon data to test hypotheses about who these individuals were in life, why they were treated differently in death, and to reconstruct the sequence of events of this complex mortuary deposit. We contend that the mortuary practices in Burial 7 indicate an attempt by the Cahal Pech elite to identify with cities or regions outside the Belize River Valley area.

scholarly journals POLITICAL ALLIANCES AND TRADE CONNECTIONS OBSERVED IN THE CERAMIC RECORD OF THE CLASSIC PERIOD: THE PERSPECTIVE FROM THE MAYA SITE OF NAKUM, GUATEMALA

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-475
Author(s):  
Jarosław Źrałka ◽  
Christophe Helmke ◽  
Bernard Hermes ◽  
Wiesław Koszkul ◽  
Carmen Ting ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eighth Century ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Political Connections ◽  
Large Collection ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
Ceramic Samples ◽  
Political Alliances ◽  
Maya Civilization ◽  
Maya Site

AbstractRecent research carried out at the Maya site of Nakum, located in northeastern Guatemala, has brought about the discovery of a large collection of ceramic artefacts. This substantial assemblage, apart from monochrome ceramics, includes fragments of polychrome vessels that are decorated with elaborate iconographic scenes and painted hieroglyphic texts. Most of them date to the Late Classic period (ca. a.d. 600–800), which represents the peak of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. The style of these ceramics, their iconography and accompanying glyphic texts, supplemented in many cases by mineralogical and physicochemical analyses of the ceramic samples, indicate that Nakum was part of a broad and complex network of political and economic interactions between various sites and polities of the southern Maya lowlands in the Classic period. During the first part of the Late Classic period, Nakum seems to maintain close relations with Naranjo, probably serving as its vassal at least from the reign of its renowned king Aj Wosal. After the victory of Tikal over Naranjo in the first part of the eighth century, Nakum shows closer cultural and political connections with Tikal. Nevertheless, towards the end of the Classic era, when we observe the profound collapse of lowland Maya civilization, Nakum elites gain political independence from their former overlords.

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