Early Ceremonial Constructions at Ceibal, Guatemala, and the Origins of Lowland Maya Civilization

Abstract

The spread of plaza-pyramid complexes across southern Mesoamerica during the early Middle Preclassic period (1000 to 700 BCE) provides critical information regarding the origins of lowland Maya civilization and the role of the Gulf Coast Olmec. Recent excavations at the Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, documented the growth of a formal ceremonial space into a plaza-pyramid complex that predated comparable buildings at other lowland Maya sites and major occupations at the Olmec center of La Venta. The development of lowland Maya civilization did not result from one-directional influence from La Venta, but from interregional interactions, involving groups in the southwestern Maya lowlands, Chiapas, the Pacific Coast, and the southern Gulf Coast.

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

“…We sub- Our excavations during the 2005-2012 seasons revealed the earliest version of a probable E-Group assemblage that was constructed at the beginning of the Real 1 phase, around 950 B.C. (19). The western building [Structure (Str.)…”

Mayans: a Y chromosome perspective

“…Increasingly complex City-States such as Nakbe appeared during the subsequent Pre-Classic Period, also in the region of Petén. 9 The City-State system incited rivalries and warfare in the quest for control over trade routes between the lowlands and the highlands. 10 At the start of the Classic period (around 1800 ya), the Mayan empire had become a complex and dynamic entity, undergoing a series of population expansions and contractions.…”

"The Only True People": Linking Maya Identities Past and Present

“…Sustained interactions with other Mesoamerican groups were foundational to ideas about the nature of the universe and society, which were expressed, modified, and contested through material styles and practices. Olmec-style pottery and figurines, as well as standardized site plans and civic monument styles, were widespread from the highlands to the lowlands during the Early to Middle Preclassic period (Flannery and Marcus 2000), and Maya populations actively engaged in their creation and manipulation by 1000 bc (Inomata et al 2013). Highland-lowland interactions were also pronounced in the Early Classic period when Teotihuacanos and/or Teotihuacan-inspired groups influenced politics, architecture, and art at major Maya capitals including Kaminaljuyu, Tikal, and Copán .…”