Monumental Landscapes, Changing Ideologies, and Political Histories in the Mopan Valley

Focal Nodes and Ritual Economy in Ancient Maya Hinterland Communities: A Case Study From San Lorenzo, Belize

“…This phase of Late Classic construction coincides with Xunantunich's rise to political prominence in the valley (Brown and Yaeger 2020;LeCount et al 2002LeCount et al , 2022. Yaeger (2000a) argued that the rulers of Xunantunich sponsored the construction of the North Patio buildings as part of their efforts to extend their authority over the surrounding hinterlands, creating a new, restricted space (the North Patio) where new practices of affiliation-feasts and other spectacles-could be undertaken.…”

“…The Mopan River valley witnessed a succession of regional capitals that drew on different sources of authority and sequentially dominated the politics of the region (Figure 1; Brown and Yaeger 2020;LeCount et al 2022). In the Middle Preclassic, Early Xunantunich (Figure 2; 800 m east of the Late Classic Xunantunich core) dominated the landscape with an E-Group complex and multiple plazas and monumental structures (Brown et al 2017).…”

“…Therefore, we examine SL-13 diachronically to assess long-term community political and economic dynamics, as well as the signification of community identity through time. Our ongoing research is specifically focused on identifying the structural and material changes at SL-13 that reflect the dialectical relationship between the community and the larger polities that rose and fell in the valley (Brown and Yaeger 2020;LeCount et al 2022;Leventhal and Ashmore 2004). Here, we describe the major architectural components of SL-13 and discuss how these may reflect the organization of the community and the shifting nature of authority and power over time.…”

“…On a larger scale, monumental centers like Early Xunantunich served similar purposes for emerging apical elite and early kings (Brown 2017). Normalizing and entrenching social hierarchies, the ritual practices and spectacles at Early Xunantunich established the ideological foundations for political complexity in the Mopan Valley (see Brown and Yaeger 2020;Rawski 2020). These spectacles created larger imagined communities and formed enduring social memories (see Isbell 2000;Yaeger 2003b).…”

“…This burial is especially interesting. During the Terminal Preclassic period, the burial of important ancestors becomes increasingly central to civicceremonial spectacles and political legitimation at larger centers in the region such as Early Xunantunich (Brown 2017;Brown and Yaeger 2020;Lytle 2020;McAnany 2013). This particular individual may have been buried in SL-13 to establish this ancestor's place in the physical and spiritual center of the community, infusing the space with further spiritual energy and anchoring social memories around the burial and subsequent commemoration of this individual.…”