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.

THE WEIGHT OF WATER: A NEW LOOK AT PRE-HISPANIC PUUC MAYA WATER RESERVOIRS

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Isendahl
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Yucatan Peninsula ◽  
Water Reservoir ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Water Reservoirs ◽  
Seasonally Dry ◽  
Yucatán Peninsula ◽  
Early Postclassic ◽  
Urban Settlements

AbstractIn the Maya lowlands ancient water management was multi-componential, diverse across space, and shifted over time. In the seasonally dry Puuc region of the northwestern Yucatan Peninsula, large reservoirs dominated water management during the Late Classic to Early Postclassic periods (a.d. 600–1250). Research reported here suggests that reservoirs were central components of Puuc urban settlements and that natural depressions—from which water reservoirs could be made in the Puuc terrain—were key settlement attractors in the region. In particular, new evidence of the pre-Hispanic construction of a berm of monumental proportions along the perimeter of a water reservoir at Xuch—a Late Classic to Early Postclassic Puuc Maya agro-urban settlement in Campeche, Mexico—stresses the political, economic, and symbolic importance of water and water reservoirs in pre-Hispanic Maya communities, previously demonstrated by colleagues working elsewhere in the Maya lowlands. This article discusses the “weight” of water reservoirs in Classic period Puuc Maya landscapes, adds to the literature on water management in other regions of the Maya lowlands, and explores aspects of economy, power, environment, and cosmology in water management systems of the dry regions of the northern Yucatan Peninsula.

The Chronology of Yaxuna

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Suhler ◽  
Traci Ardren ◽  
David Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Urban Center ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Formative ◽  
Middle Formative

AbstractResearch at the ancient Maya city of Yaxuna, located in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula, has provided sufficient data to suggest a preliminary chronological framework for the cultural development of this large polity. Primary ceramic and stratigraphie data are presented to support a five-phase scheme of cultural history, encompassing the Middle Formative through Postclassic periods (500 b.c.–a.d. 1250). In addition to chronological significance, the political ramifications of a pan-lowland ceramic trade are addressed. Yaxuna experienced an early florescence in the Late Formative–Early Classic periods, when it was the largest urban center in the central peninsula. A second renaissance in the Terminal Classic period was the result of Yaxuna's role in an alliance between the Puuc and Coba, in opposition to growing Itza militancy. This paper proposes a chronological framework for the cultural development of one northern Maya region in order to facilitate an understanding of this area as part of the overall history of polity interaction and competition in the Maya lowlands.

scholarly journals Lidar survey of ancient Maya settlement in the Puuc region of Yucatan, Mexico

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0249314
Author(s):  
William M. Ringle ◽  
Tomás Gallareta Negrón ◽  
Rossana May Ciau ◽  
Kenneth E. Seligson ◽  
Juan C. Fernandez-Diaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Archaeology ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Civic Architecture ◽  
Sensing Technology ◽  
Cultivable Land ◽  
Middle Formative ◽  
Storage Technologies

The application of lidar remote-sensing technology has revolutionized the practice of settlement and landscape archaeology, perhaps nowhere more so than in the Maya lowlands. This contribution presents a substantial lidar dataset from the Puuc region of Yucatan, Mexico, a cultural subregion of the ancient Maya and a distinct physiographic zone within the Yucatan peninsula. Despite the high density of known sites, no large site has been fully surveyed, and little is known about intersite demography. Lidar technology allows determination of settlement distribution for the first time, showing that population was elevated but nucleated, although without any evidence of defensive features. Population estimates suggest a region among the most densely settled within the Maya lowlands, though hinterland levels are modest. Lacking natural bodies of surface water, the ancient Puuc inhabitants relied upon various storage technologies, primarily chultuns (cisterns) and aguadas (natural or modified reservoirs for potable water). Both are visible in the lidar imagery, allowing calculation of aguada capacities by means of GIS software. The imagery also demonstrates an intensive and widespread stone working industry. Ovens visible in the imagery were probably used for the production of lime, used for construction purposes and perhaps also as a softening agent for maize. Quarries can also be discerned, including in some cases substantial portions of entire hills. With respect to agriculture, terrain classification permits identification of patches of prime cultivable land and calculation of their extents. Lidar imagery also provides the first unequivocal evidence for terracing in the Puuc, indeed in all northern Yucatan. Finally, several types of civic architecture and architectural complexes are visible, including four large acropolises probably dating to the Middle Formative period (700–450 B.C.). Later instances of civic architecture include numerous Early Puuc Civic Complexes, suggesting a common form of civic organization at the beginning of the Late Classic demographic surge, (A.D. 600–750).

scholarly journals A New Radiocarbon Sequence from Lamanai, Belize: Two Bayesian Models from One of Mesoamerica’s Most Enduring Sites

Radiocarbon ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 771-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan A Hanna ◽  
Elizabeth Graham ◽  
David M Pendergast ◽  
Julie A Hoggarth ◽  
David L Lentz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Models ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Long Tail ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Spanish Conquest ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Early Postclassic ◽  
Complete Set

AbstractThe ancient Maya community of Lamanai, Belize, is well known for its span of occupation from the Early Preclassic (before 1630 BC) to the present. Although most centers in the central and southern Maya Lowlands were abandoned during the Terminal Classic period (AD 750–1000), ceramic and stratigraphic evidence at Lamanai has shown continuous occupation from the start of the Early Preclassic to the Spanish Conquest. In this paper, we present the first complete set of radiocarbon dates from this important site, including 19 new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)14C dates. We use these dates to build Bayesian models for a Terminal Classic structure and an Early Postclassic structure in the site center. This method assists in the refinement of older, conventional dates and provides key chronological information about the site during this volatile time. Adjustments to the standard, uniform distribution model are made using exponential, long-tail, and trapezoidal distributions to incorporate outlier samples and more accurately portray ceramic phases. Because of changes in construction behavior in the Terminal Classic, it is difficult to acquire primary samples from this period, but there remains enough overlap between dates and ceramic phases to deduce persistent occupation at Lamanai during the transition from Late Classic to Postclassic times.

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.

Maya political history - Ellen E. Bell, Marcello A. Canuto & Robert J. Sharer (ed.). Understanding Early Classic Copan. xvii+439 pages, 135 figures, 14 colour photographs, 11 tables. 2004. Philadelphia (PA): University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology; 1-931707-51-0 hardback $59.95. - Vernon L. Scarborough, Fred ValdezJr . & Nicholas Dunning (ed.). Heterarchy, political economy, and the ancient Maya: the Three Rivers region of the east-central Yucatán peninsula. xx+172 pages, 54 figures, 4 tables. 2003. Tucson (AZ): University of Arizona Press; 0-8165-2273-1 hardback $55. - Matthew G. Looper. Lightning Warrior: Maya art and kingship at Quirigua. xi+265 pages, 241 figures, 12 tables. 2003. Austin (TX): University of Texas Press; 0-292-70556-5 hardback $59.95. - Arthur A. Demarest, Prudence M. Rice & Don S. Rice (ed.). The Terminal Classic in the Maya lowlands: collapse, transition, and transformation. xix+676 pages, 125 figures, 27 tables. 2004. Boulder (CO): University Press of Colorado; 0-87081-739-6 hardback. - C. Roger Nance, Stephen L. Whittington & Barbara E. Borg with George Guillemin & Sergio Rodas Manrique. Archaeology and ethnohistory of Iximché. xxiv+408 pages, 161 figures, 80 tables. 2003. Gainesville (FL): University Press of Florida; 0-8130-2633-4 hardback $65.

Antiquity ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (303) ◽  
pp. 210-214
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Graham
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
University Of Pennsylvania ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
East Central ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
University Of Arizona ◽  
Three Rivers Region ◽  
Three Rivers
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