Investigations of a Classic Maya Council House at Copan, Honduras

Domestic and Political Lives of Classic Maya Elites: The Excavation of Rapidly Abandoned Structures at Aguateca, Guatemala

“…Ringle and Bey (2001 :276) suggest that colonnaded halls of Mayapan with abundant remains of incense burners were popol nahs (council houses documented in Colonial sources) (see also Fash et al 1992). Although we are reluctant to equate Structure M7-34 of Aguateca with Colonial-periodpopol nahs, it probably served as a communal house of some kind that was used for feasting, gatherings, or rituals.…”

Recovering social and cultural dynamics from plaster floors: chemical analyses at ancient Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico

“…Some material that gets trampled into the reactive zone may have been tracked in from elsewhere and is therefore in secondary or even tertiary context. Finally, woven mats, whose use among the ancient Maya is suggested by multiple sources [19,55], catch many residues. Phytoliths from the reeds and rushes of the mat itself often remain in situ [22,36].…”

On Classic Maya political economies

“…If there were a jolpop in the Classic lowlands, he probably organized the feasts and banquets sponsored by the palace. These events might have been held in formal council house structures called popol naj, of which two have been excavated at Copán, Honduras (see Fash et al, 1992).…”