Differentiating the material patterning between domestic refuse from squatters and ceremonial trash generated from termination rituals has been difficult for Maya archaeologists. Rich floor assemblages, especially from elite contexts, have been interpreted as “decadent” squatter refuse by some researchers and the remains of abandonment rituals by others. The identification and separation of these classes of behavior are essential for interpretations of floor assemblages. In this paper, we examine data from numerous contexts, in order to contextualize the debate over the interpretation of these two models. Ethnoarchaeological, ethnohistoric, and archaeological data indicate that close scrutiny of the context and material composition of such deposits are needed to distinguish these very different classes of behavior.

A major impediment to full reconstruction and characterization of ancient Maya civilization has been a persistent inability to adequately define the scope of ancient settlement. Because Maya ruins were usually located in areas of dense jungle, it was difficult to not only see but also to map and understand both the spatial extent of their ancient cities and the magnitude of their environmental ABSTRACT The use of airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) in western Belize, Central America, has revolutionized our understanding of the spatial dynamics of the ancient Maya. This technology has enabled researchers to successfully demonstrate the large-scale human modifications made to the ancient tropical landscape, providing insight on broader regional settlement. Before the advent of this laser-based technology, heavily forested cover prevented full coverage and documentation of Maya sites. Mayanists could not fully recover or document the extent of ancient occupation and could never be sure how representative their mapped and excavated samples were relative to ancient settlement. Employing LiDAR in tropical and subtropical environments, like that of the Maya, effectively provides ground, as well as forest cover information, leading to a much fuller documentation of the complexities involved in the ancient human-nature interface. Airborne LiDAR was first flown over a 200 km 2 area of the archaeological site of Caracol, Belize, in April 2009. In April and May 2013 an additional 1,057 km 2 were flown with LiDAR, permitting the contextualization of the city of Caracol within its broader region and polity. The use of this technology has transformed our understanding of regional archaeology in the Maya area.El uso de LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) instalado en un avión y sobrevolando el oeste de Belice en América Central, ha revolucionado nuestra comprensión de la din·mica espacial de los antiguos mayas y ha ayudado significativamente a establecer comparaciones con otras civilizaciones tropicales. Esta tecnologÌa ha permitido a investigadores demostrar con éxito las modificaciones humanas a gran escala realizadas en el antiguo paisaje tropical, revelando información sobre los patrones de asentamiento de una amplia región. La densidad y la extensión de la ocupación documentada por el LiDAR tienen implicaciones para los modelos sociales y polÌticos de la época cl·sica maya (550-900 d.C.). Antes de la llegada de esta tecnologÌa basada en l·ser, la densa cubierta forestal impedÌa la cobertura completa y la documentación de los lugares arqueológicos mayas. Mayanistas no podÌan recuperar plenamente o documentar el grado de ocupación antigua y nunca podÌan estar seguros de cu·n representativas eran sus muestras mapeadas y excavadas en relación al antiguo asentamiento. El empleo de LiDAR en ambientes tropicales y subtropicales, como el de los mayas, nos ofrece de manera efectiva información del terreno, tanto como la de la cubierta forestal, lo que lleva a una documentación mucho m·s completa de las complejidades involuc...

18 different sites within this region. Thus, a large body of archaeological research provides both the temporal and spatial parameters for the varied ancient Maya centers that once occupied this area; importantly, these data can be used to help interpret the collected LiDAR data. The goal of the 2013 LiDAR campaign was to gain information on the distribution of ancient Maya settlement and sites on the landscape and, particularly, to determine how the landscape was used between known centers. The data that were acquired through the 2013 LiDAR campaign have significance for interpreting both the composition and limits of ancient Maya political units. This paper presents the initial results of these new data and suggests a developmental model for ancient Maya polities.

We use the results of a high-resolution lidar survey to assess the advantages and limitations of archaeological applications of lidar data and address some of its methodological challenges. Our data come from the Mopan and Macal River valleys in western Belize, a region that includes several ancient Maya political centers and their hinterlands. Visual inspection of the lidar data has revealed many new sites and new features at previously mapped sites, and these findings significantly enhance our understanding of the valley's cultural history and political dynamics. By comparing data from prior systematic pedestrian surveys, visual and TPI analysis of the lidar data, and analysis of other remotely sensed data, we assess the limits of mound visibility in the lidar data and examine how vegetation and topographic factors impact those limits. We also present slope analysis as a useful tool for predicting whether mounds were constructed in the Preclassic period (1000 B.C.–A.D. 250) or the Classic period (A.D. 250–900).

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Many humans live in large, complex political centers, composed of multi-scalar communities including neighborhoods and districts. Both today and in the past, neighborhoods form a fundamental part of cities and are defined by their spatial, architectural, and material elements. Neighborhoods existed in ancient centers of various scales, and multiple methods have been employed to identify ancient neighborhoods in archaeological contexts. However, the use of different methods for neighborhood identification within the same spatiotemporal setting results in challenges for comparisons within and between ancient societies. Here, we focus on using a single method—combining Average Nearest Neighbor (ANN) and Kernel Density (KD) analyses of household groups—to identify potential neighborhoods based on clusters of households at 23 ancient centers across the Maya Lowlands. While a one-size-fits all model does not work for neighborhood identification everywhere, the ANN/KD method provides quantifiable data on the clustering of ancient households, which can be linked to environmental zones and urban scale. We found that centers in river valleys exhibited greater household clustering compared to centers in upland and escarpment environments. Settlement patterns on flat plains were more dispersed, with little discrete spatial clustering of households. Furthermore, we categorized the ancient Maya centers into discrete urban scales, finding that larger centers had greater variation in household spacing compared to medium-sized and smaller centers. Many larger political centers possess heterogeneity in household clustering between their civic-ceremonial cores, immediate hinterlands, and far peripheries. Smaller centers exhibit greater household clustering compared to larger ones. This paper quantitatively assesses household clustering among nearly two dozen centers across the Maya Lowlands, linking environment and urban scale to settlement patterns. The findings are applicable to ancient societies and modern cities alike; understanding how humans form multi-scalar social groupings, such as neighborhoods, is fundamental to human experience and social organization.

Melanoma can frequently metastasize to the brain with severe consequences. However, variation of melanoma brain metastases (MBM) development among populations is not well studied, and underlying mechanisms and risk factors for MBM development are not consistently documented. We conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) including a total of 39 articles to evaluate the proportion of melanoma patients who are diagnosed with, or develop, brain metastases, and summarize the risk factors of MBM. The average proportion of MBM was calculated and weighted by the sample size of each study. Meta-analyses were conducted for the selected risk factors using a random-effects model. The proportion of MBM at diagnosis was 33% (975 with MBM out of 2948 patients) among patients with cutaneous melanoma (excluding acral) and 23% (651/2875) among patients with cutaneous mixed with other types of melanoma. The proportion at diagnosis was lower among populations with mucosal (9/96, 9%) or uveal (4/184, 2%) melanoma and among populations outside the United States and Europe. Meta-analysis demonstrated that male vs. female gender and left-sided tumors vs. right-sided were significantly associated with increased risk of melanoma brain metastases. These data may help clinicians to assess an individual patient’s risk of developing melanoma brain metastases.