Archaeological Investigations in the Valle de Naco, Northwestern Honduras: A Preliminary Report

Abstract

Cornell University investigations in the Valle de Naco, NW Honduras, are producing new insights into cultural relationships in the eastern Maya frontier zone. Since 1975, survey, mapping, and excavation have produced new data which modify the traditional view of the valley's culture history. By the Late Preclassic period, the Valle de Naco had at least one centerSanto Domingo -with sizable public architecture. During the Late Classic period, La Sierra, a large Maya center, dominated the valley. Naco was the largest Late Post classic settlement in the region and one of the major conquestperiod centers in NW Honduras. Both La Sierra and Naco maintained extensive economic relationships with distant regions. External connections included interaction with other sectors of the Maya area as well as strong ties with non-Maya Central America.

Enacting power through networks

“…What is known of the local occupation sequence is based on 10 field seasons during which a near-total survey of the basin and its immediate environs identified 464 prehispanic settlements, of which 64 were excavated (Henderson et al, 1979;Douglass, 2002;Urban, 2004, 2011a;Urban and Schortman, 2002;Wonderley, 1981). Analyses of this material suggest that demographic growth and the pace of political change reached a local crescendo during the Late (600-800 AD) and Terminal Classic (800-1000 AD) phases.…”

Politics with Style: Identity Formation in Prehispanic Southeastern Mesoamerica

“…Research conducted over ten seasons between 1975 and 1996 has reconstructed an occupation sequence extending from the Middle Preclassic (1000-400 B.C.) through to the Spanish Conquest in the sixteenth century (Henderson et al 1979;Schortman and Urban 1994;Schortman and Urban, eds. 1994;Wonderley 1981).…”

Central-Place Analyses in the la Entrada Region, Honduras: Implications for Understanding the Classic Maya Political and Economic Systems

“…As discussed below in more detail, during the Late Classic period the La Entrada region appears to have been situated at a crossroads of different cultures from surrounding regions, namely, Copan, Quirigua, and the Naco, Sula, lower Motagua Valley, central Santa Barbara, and Yojoa regions. Our task of determining cultural affiliations of La Entrada settlements was greatly facilitated by the fact that prior research had been conducted in the adjacent areas (Baudez 1983;Baudez and Becquelin 1973;Henderson et al 1979;Joyce 1991;Sanders 1986Sanders -1990Schortman 1993;Sharer 1990; also see papers in Boone and Willey [1988]; Robinson [1987]; and Urban and Schortman [1986]).…”