Interest in the lowland Maya collapse is stronger than ever, and there are now hundreds of studies that focus on the era from approximately A.D. 750 to A.D. 1050. In the past, scholars have tended to generalize explanations of the collapse from individual sites and regions to the lowlands as a whole. More recent approaches stress the great diversity of changes that occurred across the lowlands during the Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic periods. Thus, there is now a consensus that Maya civilization as a whole did not collapse, although many zones did experience profound change.

E-group architectural assemblages, constructed and used for more than a millennium in the Maya Lowlands, are among the most distinctive and enduring forms in Mesoamerican monumental architecture. Since the 1920s, E-groups have been thought to mark the solstices and equinoxes, but more recent investigations have shown that these alignments were rarely accurate. We argue that accurate solar alignment was probably only a minor element, and primarily an early one, of a larger set of metaphorically linked design considerations that included concepts of sacred geography, ritual performance in reference to yearly solar and agricultural cycles, and longer cycles of time, especially katuns, that played a role in Lowland Maya geopolitical structuring.

The discovery of cultural remains on or above the floors of rooms and courtyards at several Maya sites has been interpreted by some archaeologists as problematic deposits, squatter's refuse, as evidence for feasting, termination rituals, de facto refuse, or rapid abandonment as a result of warfare. Investigations by the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project have recorded similar deposits at several surface and subterranean sites in Western Belize. Our regional, contextual, and methodological approaches for studying these deposits, coupled with ethnohistoric and ethnographic information, provide limited support for the interpretation of these remains as de facto refuse or due to rapid abandonment. Instead, we argue that these deposits are more likely the result of peri-abandonment activities such as propitiation rituals and/or pilgrimages during and after the gradual abandonment of sites in the Belize River Valley.

The term “problematical deposits” was coined decades ago at Tikal to refer to special deposits that were neither burials nor caches. Since that time, the term has been expanded to refer to a range of deposits that have puzzled archaeologists. In this paper we review the various interpretations that have been offered for these deposits including de facto refuse, squatter deposits, and the remains of dedication or termination ritual, feasting, or pilgrimage. We argue that the superficial similarity of these deposits can make it difficult to identify the range of activities that they represent and that detailed contextual analysis is required to distinguish them. We offer some of the archaeological correlates that have been associated with different types of problematic deposits.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. 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 architecturalform for the Preclassic Maya of the upper Belize River Valley. These open platforms are described, and compared to similar forms in the Belize Valley andelsewhere. 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. En Mesoamerica las estructuras redondas han sido consideradascomo unaforma arquitectonica pocofrecuente. Aun asi, la presencia de cuatro plataformas circulares pertenecientes al Periodo Precldsico Medio Tardio (650-300A. C.) halladas en Cahal Pech (Belize) demuestran que esta era una forma arquitect6nica comutn entre los mayas precldsicos de la zona alta del Rio Belize.Dichas construcciones no proporcionan pruebas de superestructuras. Las interpretaciones de las estructuras ya mencionadas, cuyos estilos son variados, han sido multiples. Han sido descritas como viviendas, saunas, sepulcros, monumentos de ascensi6n, o estructuras asociadas con la actuacion y la oratoria. Las plataformas del Valle de Belize son analizadas y comparadas conformas similares que se hallan extendidas por las llanuras mayas y por otras zonas de Mesoamerica. La interpretaci6n que se ofrece de su significado e importancia utiliza pruebas arqueologicas, relatos etnohistoricos y analogias interculturales. Creemos que dichas plataformas circulares estaban relacionadas a sufunci6n de sepulcro o capilla ancestral.