Archaic Origins of the Lowland Maya

Abstract

The earliest Lowland Maya are commonly recognized by permanent architecture and the appearance of pottery. However, when other lines of evidence are considered, strong continuities with late Archaic populations can be seen. Reconciling these views relies on more than simply gathering more data. It is also necessary to consider the effect of decades of scholarship that defines the precolumbian Maya as “civilization” rather than considering the historical contexts of important transitions, such as the one that culminated with sedentism, the adoption of new technologies, and participation in long-distance exchange. The Archaic-to-Preclassic transition was relatively brief and largely obscured by the practices of establishing permanent dwellings. Nevertheless, this period must have been extremely dynamic and marked by significant cultural change, making it important to researchers interested in early Mesoamerica. Using three lines of evidence—subsistence, economy and technology, and stratigraphically controlled radiocarbon data—this article argues that the Lowland Maya had their cultural origins at least in the late Archaic and that the case for pottery before ca. 1000 B.C. remains uncertain. Future research is needed to determine precisely how far back in time certain cultural practices that characterize Preclassic and Classic Maya society can be documented.

Development of sedentary communities in the Maya lowlands: Coexisting mobile groups and public ceremonies at Ceibal, Guatemala

“…Although some archaeologists have argued that the use of ceramics began in the Maya lowlands around 1200 B.C., we agree with Lohse that there is no unequivocal evidence of ceramics in this area before 1000 B.C. (11). The nearly simultaneous adoption of ceramics marked a major step in the transition toward sedentism in the Maya lowlands.…”

The Earliest Maya Farmers of Peten: New Evidence from Buenavista-Nuevo San José, Central Peten Lakes Region, Guatemala

“…Furthermore, Wahl and Estrada-Belli have found maize pollen during the second millennium BC in the Holmul region of eastern Peten ( [1]: 320), and, in a separate study, Wahl and his colleagues [11] discovered Zea pollen as early as 2650 BC in the Mirador Basin of northern Peten. Although only one grain was identified at this early date, it was associated with pollen of the Ambrosia genus, which consists of agricultural weeds like ragweed ( [11]: 384-385).…”

“…The origins of the first fully sedentary Maya communities of the southern Maya lowlands have garnered recent attention, as well as much debate [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. In spite of recent efforts, evidence for the earliest agricultural pottery-making villages in central Peten, the heartland of Maya civilization, remains spotty and elusive.…”

“…Second, recent projects on the Archaic Period in Belize have shown that the region was populated, albeit sparsely, long before the first millennium BC [1,7,13,14]. Lohse because, in the absence of Zea mays pollen (which first appears in their lake cores around 1000 BC), they argue that the vegetation change was caused by the "onset of climatic drying" (138) or what Rosenswig [15] discusses as the 2200-1900 BC drought.…”

“…The Early Preceramic is characterized by the introduction of macroblade technology which continues into Preclassic and Classic Maya times, supporting cultural continuity between the Archaic and Formative peoples [1,13,14,32]. The Early Preceramic in Belize is also characterized by a particular point type tradition, called Lowe, and possibly also by Sawmill points [7,13,14].…”