Activity Areas, Form, and Social Inequality in Residences at Late Postclassic Zacpetén, Petén, Guatemala

Abstract

Zacpeten) Peten) Guatemala was densely'settled front the Late Postclassic to Contact periods. During initial contact with the Spaniards and after the conquest of Peten in 1697) a group called the [(owoj occupied the area where the site is located. Excavations in domestic contexts at Zacpeten revealed that occupants of la'0er residences had greater accessto resources.Many common trade artifacts such asgreenstone) serpentine) and obsidian strongly correlate with residence size) indicating that inequality in spatial resources was associated with accessto trade. The scarcest non-local items) including copper alloy artifacts) were limited to public ceremonial areas and the residences of the highest [(owoj elite. Instead of corresponding with accessto trade) the possession of these items was relatedto high-level participation in the religious hierarchy. There are a variety of activity areas that were structured by a dualistic division in domestic space that was not overtly related togender.

Material Expressions of Wealth and Social Class at Aztec-Period Sites in Morelos, Mexico

“…Although archaeologists have long debated the nature of wealth and social class in Mesoamerica, the number of studies that apply explicit models to quantitative data remains small (e.g., Carmean 1991; González Licón 2009; Hirth 1993; Pugh 2004). Our study contributes to this body of work, in the hope that ancient Mesoamerica will someday yield sufficient quantitative economic data to reconstruct the kinds of broad patterns of social and economic change documented archaeologically in other parts of the ancient world.…”

A Late Postclassic (ca. AD 1350–1521) Border Shrine at the Site of Tayasal, Petén, Guatemala

“…The density of blades is unusually high and concentrated primarily by the altar and the interior room of the building. Compared with Late Postclassic residential buildings from nearby Zacpeten, which range from 0.239 to 0.834, with an average of 0.626 obsidian pieces per square meter excavated (Pugh 2004:Table 1), the T247 shrine obsidian densities were much higher, at 2.898 obsidian pieces per square meter.…”

Visualizing Tayza, Capital of the Petén Itzas: Teasing Meanings From Postclassic Pottery Styles

“…One apparently settled one day's travel north of Lake Petén Itzá (Atran et al 2004:6; Jones 1998:280), perhaps at the Tikal ruins. Another faction, better known historically and archaeologically, began aggressively moving westward, usurping former Itza territory, establishing a center at Zacpeten in Lake Salpetén and constructing two of their signature architectural temple assemblages there (Pugh 2001, 2003, 2009). By the late seventeenth century, this expansionist group had taken over the Itza port town of Ixlu on the narrow isthmus separating Lakes Salpetén and Petén Itzá, where they built another temple assemblage (Rice and Rice 2016) and established settlements over much of the northern shore of the latter.…”