Geochemical characterization of inorganic residues on plaster floors from a Maya palace complex at Actuncan, Belize

Abstract

This report describes the results of a geochemical analysis using a mild acid extraction and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy of 198 samples from plaster surfaces at the palace complex at Actuncan, a prehispanic Maya city located in a karst landscape of western Belize.Archaeologists working in the Maya region of Central America often refer to many different kinds of building complexes as "palaces" without a clear understanding of how they functioned.Often, the rooms inside these structures are devoid of features and artifacts, making it difficult to infer how they were used. Geochemical characterization of inorganic residues on plaster floors as a means of prospecting for activity areas is therefore critical for studying the function and meaning of ancient Maya palaces. At Actuncan, due to the high degree of preservation of many of the floors, overlying plaster surfaces were able to be sampled, thus informing not only how the buildings were used, but how their uses changed over time. Multivariate quantitative modeling and spatial interpolation of the chemical data demonstrate that a variety of domestic, ritual, and possibly administrative activities took place in the palace complex, a finding that challenges previous assessments of palaces as primarily royal residential compounds.

Preclassic ceramic economy in Belize: neutron activation analysis at Cahal Pech

“…The Cunil complex also includes slipped bichrome serving vessels incised with symbols that connect them to widespread Mesoamerican iconography (Figure 4; Garber & Awe 2009). Excavations at peripheral residential settlements and at other Belize Valley sites, such as Xunantunich, Actuncan and Blackman Eddy, provide further evidence for Cunil-phase occupation within small village settlements (Brown 2003; Garber et al 2004; LeCount et al 2017).

Figure 3.Cahal Pech centre (top) and peripheral settlements examined in this study (bottom; maps by C. Ebert).

Figure 4.Incised Cunil-complex ceramics.

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Ancillary economic activities in a Classic Maya regal palace: A multiproxy approach

“…Different scientific methods have recently been applied to study elusive proxies left in the surfaces of interior and exterior ancient Maya architectural space. Geochemical analyses of samples taken from occupational layers (i.e., soil samples) and floors (i.e., plaster samples) have tackled questions of activity areas and architectural functions (Cap, ; LeCount, Wells, Jamison, & Mixter, ; Wells et al, ). Several such studies have targeted sizable horizontal areas, enabling archaeologists to study differential elemental concentrations, with a specific emphasis on studying large‐scale food consumption, refuse disposal, or potential marketplace activities (Anderson, Bair, & Terry, ; Barba, ; Canuto, Charton, & Bell, ; Dahlin, Jensen, Terry, Wright, & Beach, ; Mixter, ; Terry, Fernandez, Parnell, & Inomata, ; Wells, ; Wells, Novotny, & Hawken, ).…”

“…Several such studies have targeted sizable horizontal areas, enabling archaeologists to study differential elemental concentrations, with a specific emphasis on studying large‐scale food consumption, refuse disposal, or potential marketplace activities (Anderson, Bair, & Terry, ; Barba, ; Canuto, Charton, & Bell, ; Dahlin, Jensen, Terry, Wright, & Beach, ; Mixter, ; Terry, Fernandez, Parnell, & Inomata, ; Wells, ; Wells, Novotny, & Hawken, ). While geochemical studies generally first relied on single elements—especially phosphorus or iron (e.g., see Parnell, Terry, & Golden, , or Canuto et al, )—to recognize activities, techniques such as inductively coupled plasma: mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) and inductively coupled plasma: activation emission spectrometry (ICP‐AES) have allowed scholars to study more than one element simultaneously (Cook, Kovacevich, Beach, & Bishop, ; Wilson, Davidson, and Cresser, ; LeCount et al, ).…”

“…The geochemical data resulting from these studies are traditionally mapped onto architectural space using various interpolation methods. Multivariate statistical analyses have helped archaeologists comprehend the complex data sets resulting from these interdisciplinary methods (e.g., see LeCount et al, ; Mixter, ; Parnell & Terry, ). Some studies also report adopting standardization procedures for optimizing comparison among detected elements (see Hutson & Terry, ), especially by using Logarithm 10 (i.e., Log 10 ; see Lecount et al, ; Wells, ).…”

“…Multivariate statistical analyses have helped archaeologists comprehend the complex data sets resulting from these interdisciplinary methods (e.g., see LeCount et al, ; Mixter, ; Parnell & Terry, ). Some studies also report adopting standardization procedures for optimizing comparison among detected elements (see Hutson & Terry, ), especially by using Logarithm 10 (i.e., Log 10 ; see Lecount et al, ; Wells, ). In some cases, the sampling of occupational layers for geochemical testing was also combined with soil sampling for flotation analyses for recovering microartifacts or botanical remains (e.g., see Manzanilla, ; Mixter, ).…”