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Pyburn, K. Anne

doi:10.1023/a:1018770907863

Cited by 30 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…This pattern probably reflects founding households settling prime locations early and then subsequently being able to build up wealth over time [23] (pp. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. This pattern was also noted in the survey transects of the Belize River Archaeological Settlement Survey (BRASS) established by Ford and Fedick [5], and analyzed by Fedick [167] (Table 7.3 and 7.4), who argued that the Class I alluvial bottomlands were controlled by wealthy households that maintained cacao plantations.…”

Section: Residential Patterns and Soil Classmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…The higher proportions of both commoner and intermediate elite residences situated on highly productive Class I soil is probably not surprising, but this pattern diverges from the settlement structure in the Mopan foothills to the west, where Fedick notes higher proportions of commoner households situated on Class II soil [23] (pp. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34], which was still fairly productive (Table 5). These differences are associated with variability in the terrain the two surveys covered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Slow-draining lowlands dominated the upper Belize River Valley, where Baking Pot and Lower Dover are situated, although well-drained alluvial soils are prevalent around the Baking Pot core, and the minor centers of BR-180/168 (Barton Ramie), North Caracol Farm, and Spanish Lookout [170] (pp. [20][21][22][23][24]. The thin, but well-drained upland soils common along the flanks of the Belize River Valley were likely far more productive under swidden cultivation than modern mechanical cultivation [167] (pp.…”

Section: Integrating Landscape Productivity Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, unlike surrounding regions, riverine and closed-depression seasonal swamps which pose issues for cultivation are almost non-existent in the region [23] (pp. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. Some Class III soils in the region clearly had drainage related issues however, a good example being those situated on the southwestern periphery of Baking Pot around Bedran [7] (p. 22).…”

Section: Integrating Landscape Productivity Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second research question being: to what extent did highly productive agricultural land play a role in structuring settlement patterns in the area? Hypothetically, given the fact that most Classic Maya commoners were farmers [20][21][22], highly productive soils would have been the focus of commoner residential aggregation [23]. Settlement aggregation away from productive lands would suggest commoners had different priorities in situating their residences, or top-down policies impacted their ability to settle in ideal locales.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Classic Maya Settlement Systems Reveal Differential Land Use Patterns in the Upper Belize River Valley

Walden

Hoggarth

Ebert

et al. 2023

Land

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Land use practices have had important implications for structuring household inequalities and broader political systems in the past. Our contribution examines settlement patterns in relation to political structure, household wealth, ecological productivity and agricultural techniques. Combining settlement pattern data with high–precision soils data, we examine the extent to which different trajectories of polity formation impact the settlement location and land use practices of intermediate elites and commoners. The Classic Maya (CE 250/300–900) polities of Baking Pot and Lower Dover in the Upper Belize River Valley serve as enlightening case studies because despite being situated near one another, the two centers emerged along very different trajectories. Whereas the polity of Baking Pot arose slowly, in tandem with surrounding demography, the neighboring polity of Lower Dover arose rapidly in the Late Classic period (CE 600–900) in an area which was already home to established local populations. Our analysis shows that while Baking Pot had substantial settlement clustering around its epicenter, populations at Lower Dover aggregated around secondary and tertiary centers farther away from the polity core. Analyses also demonstrate that most commoner and intermediate elite residences were situated on the most productive agricultural lands in the region, though some intermediate elite households were situated on hilltops or in border zones with marginal soil productivity for political and tactical reasons. Commoner households were situated on a range of productivity zones reflecting diverse land–use practices which had implications for household wealth. Our case study illustrates the importance of integrating land use practices into our reconstructions of ancient political hierarchies, especially in terms of understanding political strategies and household wealth.

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Section: Residential Patterns and Soil Classmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Integrating Landscape Productivity Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Integrating Landscape Productivity Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Classic Maya Settlement Systems Reveal Differential Land Use Patterns in the Upper Belize River Valley

Walden

Hoggarth

Ebert

et al. 2023

Land

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Prohibido Tocar Este Cenote: The Archaeological Basis for the Titles of Ebtun

Alexander

2012

Int J Histor Archaeol

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Ebtun, Kaua, Cuncunul, Tekom, and Tixcacalcupul are a group of related communities on the Yucatán peninsula described in the corpus of Maya-language documents known as The Titles of Ebtun. In this paper I explore transformations in agrarian practice and material expressions of identity after the Spanish invasion by analyzing archaeological variation in the life histories of places over the last 500 years. As new plants, animals, and technologies were adopted, landscape organization changed, and locales took on new meanings. Ebtun's landscape reflects a historically contingent process that has transformed place and identity, fostering autonomy of cultural practice and renewal of tradition.

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New World States and Empires: Economic and Social Organization

Smith

Schreiber

2005

J Archaeol Res

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We take a critical perspective in discussing recent publications on the archaeological study of the ancient state-level societies of Latin America. For some topics, such as intensive agriculture and exchange, data are far ahead of theory, whereas for others (e.g., gender and ethnicity), theory has outstripped data. Craft production, a topic that has achieved a good balance of data and theory, is one of the success stories of recent Latin American archaeology. After a discussion of sources of data, we review these and other topics (e.g., consumption patterns, household studies, social organization) in terms of both data and theory. In a second review article, we cover the topics of politics, religion, urbanism, and the processes of change.

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Untitled

Cited by 30 publications

References 38 publications

Classic Maya Settlement Systems Reveal Differential Land Use Patterns in the Upper Belize River Valley

Classic Maya Settlement Systems Reveal Differential Land Use Patterns in the Upper Belize River Valley

Prohibido Tocar Este Cenote: The Archaeological Basis for the Titles of Ebtun

New World States and Empires: Economic and Social Organization

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