Preclassic Maya Archaeology

Street grids commonly reflect the administration of urban populations and attempts to enhance city life. Planned grids are not typical of ancient Mesoamerican and especially Maya settlements, yet recent research at Nixtun-Ch'ich', Petén, Guatemala, has revealed a modular grid layout that is also diagrammatic. Excavations determined that the grid was constructed before 500 BC, making it the earliest currently known in Mesoamerica. Its construction accompanied the emergence of complex society in the Maya lowlands, and leaders would have used the grid to organize and control the newly urbanized population—as seen in other parts of the world. The planned city was also likely a form of governmental conceit and a proclamation of social order. At the same time, the grid and the settlement's dense population enhanced social interaction, promoting communication, exchange, and interconnectivity. Nevertheless, urban grids do not appear to have spread to other parts of the Maya world.

This article examines large-scale spatial and temporal patterns in the agricultural demographic transition (ADT) of Mesoamerica and southwestern North America (“the Southwest”). An analysis of published settlement and subsistence data suggests that the prolonged ADTs of these regions involved two successive eras of rapid population growth. Although both periods of growth were fueled by the introduction or development of more productive domesticates, they had distinctive demographic and social consequences. The first phase of the ADT occurred only in a scattering of favorable regions, between 1900 and 1000 BC in Mesoamerica and 1200 BC–AD 400 in the Southwest. Its demographic consequences were modest because it was underwritten by still rather unproductive maize. During this phase, increased population was confined mainly to a few agricultural heartlands, whereas surrounding regions remained sparsely populated. The second phase of the ADT was more dramatic in the spatial scale of its impact. This “high productivity” phase unfolded between 1000 and 200 BC in Mesoamerica and AD 500–1300 in the Southwest, and it was fueled by more productive maize varieties and improving agricultural technologies. It was accompanied by sweeping social, economic, and political changes in both regions.

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Este artículo examina la estructura espacial y temporal de la transición agrícola-demográfica (ADT por sus siglas en inglés) en Mesoamérica y el Suroeste estadounidense. El análisis de los datos de patrones de asentamientos publicados hasta la fecha sugiere que las ADT prolongadas que han ocurrido en estas regiones involucraron dos épocas sucesivas de rápido crecimiento de la población que resultaron en estructuras espaciales de gran escala características particulares. La primera fase de la ADT fue más débil a la escala espacial del impacto demográfico, probablemente porque estuvo basada en un maíz todavía poco productivo. Esta fase temprana de crecimiento rápido ocurrió tan solo en algunas regiones relativamente favorables, ampliamente dispersas en el área de interés, durante el segundo milenio aC en Mesoamérica y durante finales del segundo milenio/principios del primer milenio aC en el Suroeste estadounidense. La segunda fase del ADT fue más dramática en la escala espacial de su impacto. Esta fase de “alta productividad” probablemente fue impulsada por variedades más productivas de maíz. Esta fase se desarrolló durante el primer milenio aC en Mesoamérica y el primer milenio dC en el sudoeste estadounidense, en numerosas regiones, incluidas aquellas que experimentaron la primera fase de expansión y muchas otras que no la experimentaron. Fue acompañado por cambios sociales, económicos y políticos radicales en ambas regiones.

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.

The Terminal Classic Period (AD 750–1000) collapse of lowland Maya social, economic, and political systems has been temporally correlated with severe and extended drought in regional paleoclimate records. Ancient Maya society also experienced a protracted multicentury drought earlier during the end of the Late Preclassic Period (AD 100–300). While some large Preclassic polities declined,many more flourished through the Early Classic. Why were the effects of the Terminal Classic drought more dramatic? What allowed some earlier Maya communities to be more resilient in the face of climate change? Accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating and stable carbon
and nitrogen isotope analyses of human skeletal remains from 50 individuals at the ancient Maya community of Cahal Pech from this critical time period suggest that more diverse diets may have promoted resilience in the face of changing socioecological systems at the end of the Preclassic. During the Late Classic Period (AD 600–800), isotopic data indicate that high-status individuals had a narrow and highly  diet,
which may have created a more vulnerable socioeconomic system that ultimately disintegrated as a result of anthropogenic landscape degradation and severe drought conditions during the Terminal Classic.

This study uses neutron activation analysis of ceramics to examine economic change and increasing social complexity at the Preclassic Maya site of Cahal Pech in Belize (1200 cal BC–cal AD 300). Seven compositional groups were identified from the site’s civic-ceremonial
centre and two peripheral residential groups. Analyses indicate that both utilitarian and non-utilitarian ceramics were locally produced as early as 1200 cal BC, and that by c. 700 cal BC, fineware vessels were being exported into neighbouring parts of Guatemala. These results provide direct evidence for economic interaction between Maya lowland communities and for their increasing socio-political complexity.

A B S T R A C T The lowland Maya city of Nixtun-Ch'ich' (Petén, Guatemala) exhibits an atypical gridded layout featuring quadrilateral blocks of architectural construction, established in the Middle Preclassic period (~ 800–500 BCE). Early levels of some excavated structures revealed unusual dark-colored, sticky sediments used as architectural footings overlying limestone bedrock and as adhesives for binding construction stones. Physical, mineralogical, and soil nutrient (chemical) properties of two samples of this material were analyzed. The samples were found to be highly organic (high %LOI), and composed primarily of smectite clay. They are characterized by low green strength, marked swelling when mixed with water, and corresponding shrinkage on drying, suggesting low load-bearing capacity. Chemical analyses revealed a slightly elevated pH of 7.8 and high levels of six soil nutrients but low phosphorus, likely making the material unsatisfactory for agriculture. We conclude that these sticky organic clays, probably of lacustrine origin, functioned as bonding agents in early architectural construction.

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.

This study uses type: variety-mode classification, digital stereomicroscopy, and Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) to characterize the paste composition of Late Middle Preclassic-period pottery at the site of Holtun, Gua-temala. The sample consists of 98 sherds including unslipped utilitarian ware, slipped serving ware, and Mars Orange fine paste serving ware. NAA reveals four paste composition groups that approximate types produced through type: variety-mode classification and paste groups recognized by digital stereomicroscopy. The analysis suggests a pattern of production in which unslipped utilitarian vessels, slipped serving vessels, and Mars Orange fine paste serving vessels were produced using different paste recipes. While unslipped utilitarian vessels and slipped serving vessels may have been produced and consumed locally, Mars Orange fine paste serving vessels were likely produced in or around Holtun but consumed more widely. Results of this research suggest the Late Middle Preclassic-period ceramic economy at Holtun was characterized by incipient specialized production, and exchange of at least one ceramic ware. These results advance our understanding of Late Middle Preclassic-period ceramic production and exchange at Holtun, and inform the study of the development of socio-political complexity in the Maya lowlands.

This study examines the origins of complex society in the Maya Lowlands during the Middle Preclassic period. Excavations at Cahal Pech - a mid-sized Maya settlement in the Belize River Valley - revealed complex architectural sequences over a 600-year developmental period, which spans the time of the earliest permanent villages in the area and the emergence of institutionalized hierarchy characteristic of later Maya civilization. The author uses spatial analysis to investigate artifact distribution patterns related to architectural change and marshals a diverse dataset to support a network framework for understanding developing complexity. This new theoretical framing expands on studies of long-distance exchange to examine how households and communities could gain advantage by participating in interaction networks, and how the positioning of some entities in networks could have produced socioeconomic inequalities that became entrenched through time.

Research on ancient Maya cities is generally modeled after large sites with massive architecture, dynastic burials, and written records documenting the activities of divine rulers. However, the development of these cities is the exception, rather than the norm, since the majority of Maya sites did not reach such enormous proportions, yet many of them likely qualified as cities from a functional standpoint. Hence, a research on non-massive cities, " from the bottom up, " is crucial to have a more complete picture of the development of ancient Maya urbanism. Investigations at the archaeological sites of Chan Chich, in northwestern Belize, and Kiuic, in the Puuc zone of the Yucatán Peninsula, have recovered evidence of emerging and established monumental precincts during the early Middle Preclassic and Late Classic period, respectively. The different social and political developments of these sites are in tandem with the construction of architectonic complexes defined as royal courts, the heart of ancient cities. In this paper, using stratigraphic, architectural, and artifactual evidence, we examine the role of non-dynastic cities in the urbanization of the Maya lowlands. Research at these two sites illustrates different urbanization processes, at different times and places, both of which resulted in local urban traditions and court authority.

The ancient city of El Mirador is surrounded by subsidiary centers forming a state level organization indicated by a strong sociopolitical organization. This paper illustrates the results of Total Station mapping, Remote Sensing, Global Positioning Systems, and GIS applications in archaeological investigations at El Mirador conducted by the Mirador Basin Project over a 12 year period and covering approximately 50 km2. This program initiated a comprehensive survey and mapping program designed to document all mounds and features associated with El Mirador, including the causeway network, definition of bajos and vegetation changes. An inductive predictive modeling approach was used to identify areas of high archaeological potential such as residential suburbs, intensive agriculture areas and hydraulic systems, among others.  From these data several maps of the region have been derived which is used to identify the relationship of settlement with environmental resources.