Site and Community at Chunchucmil and Ancient Maya Urban Centers

Hutson, Scott R.; Hixson, David R.; Magnoni, Aline; Mazeau, Daniel E.; Dahlin, Bruce H.

doi:10.1179/009346908791071439

Cited by 39 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Interregional variability is also pronounced, to some degree responding to ecological parameters (Scarborough et al 2003), when one contrasts the complex political economy and ecology of a northern lowland center, particularly a port city, such as Chunchucmil (Dahlin 2009;Hutson et al 2008), with the majority of southern lowland Classic Peten sites. Interregional variability is also pronounced, to some degree responding to ecological parameters (Scarborough et al 2003), when one contrasts the complex political economy and ecology of a northern lowland center, particularly a port city, such as Chunchucmil (Dahlin 2009;Hutson et al 2008), with the majority of southern lowland Classic Peten sites.…”

Section: Recent Relativistic Perspectives On Ancient Maya Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

Economy, Exchange, and Power: New Evidence From the Late Classic Maya Port City of Cancuen

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The site of Cancuen held a strategic position as "head of navigation" of the Pasión River and the physical nexus of land and river routes between the southern highlands, the Maya lowlands, and the transversal route to Tabasco and Veracruz. For that reason, the well-defined ports of Cancuen were critical to both Classic Maya highland/lowland commerce and interactions with the far west. All aspects of Cancuen were related to its role as a port city. By the late eighth century, evidence suggests that in the site epicenter peninsula ports and other aspects of the economy were elite controlled and supervised, based on associated architectural complexes, artifacts, imports, and placement. Recent evidence indicates that, in addition to previously discussed long-distance exchange in exotics such as jade and pyrite, Cancuen also was involved in very large-scale obsidian transport and production, as well as probable exchange of other piedmont commodities such as cacao, cotton, salt, achiote (Bixa orellana), and vanilla.Distribution of architectural, epigraphic, and iconographic evidence and an administrative/ritual palace all indicate growing roles for nobles in these economic activities, particularly the ports. It would appear that, as elsewhere, nobles were taking a more direct mercantile role and that many aspects of the multepal system of power, characteristic of Postclassic period societies, were already in place at Cancuen by the late eighth century. The failure of Cancuen's early transition to a Terminal Classic political economy may be related to its dependence on highland resources and overextended trade networks.

show abstract

Section: Recent Relativistic Perspectives On Ancient Maya Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

Economy, Exchange, and Power: New Evidence From the Late Classic Maya Port City of Cancuen

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…From archaeological data recovered at Caracol, we now know that Maya sites were not merely small centers controlled by the elaborate ritual of a local elite (e.g., Mathews 1991) but rather could be complex urban centers with city planning and heterogeneous populations (e.g., Dahlin et al 2005;Hutson 2016;Hutson et al 2008). City size and population numbers at Caracol exceed traditional expectations for a Maya city; the Classic period site was home to at least 100,000 people, with contiguous settlement covering 200 km 2 that was integrated through a dendritic causeway system (A.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caracol, Belize, and Changing Perceptions of Ancient Maya Society

Chase

2016

J Archaeol Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Archaeological research at Caracol, an ancient Maya site that was rediscovered in 1937, has become a major resource in the interpretation and understanding of the ancient Maya. Caracol, in west-central Belize, is situated in a subtropical region once characterized as being unsuitable for the development or maintenance of complex societies, yet it is one of the largest, if not the largest Classic period Maya site in the southern Maya Lowlands, home to over 100,000 people at its height between AD 600 and 700. The investigations at Caracol underscore the utility of long-term archaeological projects incorporating large-scale settlement study that combine excavation with varied research designs and the use of a contextual approach. By employing Maya epigraphic history, traditional archaeology, and modern technology like LiDAR, research at Caracol details the rise, maintenance, and fall of an ancient Maya city, affording a large window into ancient Maya lifeways. Archaeological work provides evidence of sustainable agriculture, a market economy, city planning that included a road system, the impact of warfare on the site's inhabitants, the sociopolitical status of women, the role that archaeology can play in refining written history, and the significance of commemorating the cyclical passage of time to the ancient Maya. This article

show abstract

“…Most houselots at Chunchucmil are enclosed by low stone walls, and most share these walls with little or no unclaimed space between houselots (Hutson et al, 2004(Hutson et al, , 2006. PREP mapped 11.77 square kilometers of Chunchucmil (Hutson et al, 2008). Within that area, a representative sample of 392 (or 36%) walled houselots were mapped.…”

Section: Chunchucmilmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of infield agriculture in Maya cities

Fisher

2014

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Site and Community at Chunchucmil and Ancient Maya Urban Centers

Cited by 39 publications

References 21 publications

Economy, Exchange, and Power: New Evidence From the Late Classic Maya Port City of Cancuen

Economy, Exchange, and Power: New Evidence From the Late Classic Maya Port City of Cancuen

Caracol, Belize, and Changing Perceptions of Ancient Maya Society

The role of infield agriculture in Maya cities

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About