THE CHRONOLOGY OF MAYAPAN : New Radiocarbon Evidence

Lope, Carlos Peraza; Masson, Marilyn A.; Hare, Timothy S.; Kú, Pedro Candelario Delgado

doi:10.1017/s0956536106060135

Cited by 31 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…In addition, archaeological investigations there have uncovered evidence of violent episodes. These precede the site's abandonment and include deliberate destruction and burning of structures, a mass grave of at least six individuals haphazardly strewn near the main plaza's principal northern entrance, and the violent termination of the outlying Itzmal Chen group (Adams, ; Peraza et al, ). While there is little doubt that violent events occurred, the nature of the evidence uncovered thus far does not lend itself easily to objective comparisons of the frequency of violence with earlier periods as well as with other regions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioarchaeological investigation of ancient Maya violence and warfare in inland northwest Yucatan, Mexico

Serafin

Lope

González

2014

American J Phys Anthropol

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This study investigates evidence of changes and continuities in ancient Maya violence and warfare in inland northwest Yucatan, Mexico from the Middle Preclassic (600-300 BC) to the Postclassic (AD 1050-1542) through bioarchaeological analysis of cranial and projectile trauma. It is hypothesized that the frequency of violence increases before the Classic Maya collapse and remains high during the Postclassic period. It is also hypothesized that the flat, open terrain was conducive to warfare and resulted in higher trauma frequencies than in other parts of the Maya area. Results show that the frequency of cranial trauma decreases before the Classic collapse and increases in the Postclassic, partially matching the expected chronological trends. The frequency of cranial trauma does not differ significantly from other Maya regions but the pattern does: for all periods, males have more healed injuries than females and they are concentrated on the left side of the anterior of the skull. Some injuries appear to be from small points hafted in wooden clubs. In addition, projectile trauma is evident in a scapula with an embedded arrowhead tip, the first such case reported in a Maya skeleton. Overall, these results suggest greater reliance on open combat and less on raids in this region compared with other parts of the Maya area, possibly due to the flat, open terrain, though the identification of perimortem trauma in both women and men indicates surprise raids on settlements were also practiced.

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confidence: 99%

Bioarchaeological investigation of ancient Maya violence and warfare in inland northwest Yucatan, Mexico

Serafin

Lope

González

2014

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…More precise chronologies exist for other northern Maya sites during the Postclassic period. A radiocarbon chronology for the site of Mayapán supports the beginning of monumental construction at the Late Postclassic regional capital by AD 1150 (Peraza Lope et al 2006). The culmination of Mayapán's power occurred with the establishment of a confederacy of provincial lords from across Yucatán.…”

Section: Environmental and Cultural Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 87%

The political collapse of Chichén Itzá in climatic and cultural context

Hoggarth

Breitenbach

Culleton

et al. 2016

Global and Planetary Change

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Chichén Itzá dominated the political landscape of the northern Yucatán during the Terminal Classic Period (AD 800-1000). Chronological details of the rise and fall of this important polity are obscure because of the limited corpus of dated hieroglyphic records and by a restricted set of radiocarbon dates for the site. Here we compile these and review data and evaluate them within the context of political and climatic change in northern Yucatán at the end of the Classic period. The available data point to the end of elite activity at Chichén Itzá around AD 1000, a century after the collapse of Puuc Maya cities and other interior centers. Evidence supports a population shift in the eleventh century towards some coastal locations during a time associated with the end of monumental construction and art at Chichén Itzá. Our results suggest that regional political disintegration came in two waves. The first was the asynchronous collapse of multiple polities between AD 850 and 925 associated with a regional drying trend and punctuated by a series of multi-decadal droughts in the ninth and tenth centuries. The second wave was the political collapse at Chichén Itzá that coincides with the longest and most severe drought recorded in regional climate records between AD 1000 and 1100. This is a time that some scholars have characterized as a "dark age" across the northern Maya lowlands. Political developments during the Postclassic period (AD 1000-1517) correspond with a return to higher rainfall. These patterns support a strong relationship between political disintegration and climatic stress in the Maya lowlands. This research employs Bayesian radiocarbon models in conjunction with calendar dates on carved monuments and climate proxies to evaluate the rise and fall of Maya political centers and serves as an example of the impact of climate change on rainfall-dependent societies in Mesoamerica.

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“…A similar example was found embedded in a victim's ribs from a burial near Q-79/Q-80 (Adams 1953:Figure 1). Masson and Peraza Lope (2014) argue that this mass grave and another excavated near structures Q-79/Q-80 in the site center most likely contain war victims tied to a period of internal strife in the mid-1300s that foreshadowed its eventual fall (Paris and Russell 2012; Peraza Lope et al 2006; Serafin 2010). The Itzmal Chen mass grave contained 18–20 individuals, mostly adults who had been killed, their bodies burned then their bones smashed to small pieces.…”

Section: New Evidence Of Warfare and Militarism At Mayapanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Calibrated radiocarbon dating of bone samples collected from the Itzmal Chen material produced a date of a.d. 1271–1394. Dating for the Q-79/Q-80 deposit is similar yielding a.d. 1200 to 1390 (Peraza Lope et al 2006). Consistent with this are data showing the burning and abandonment of a number of buildings around the same time, one of these buildings was the adjacent H-15 colonnade.…”

Section: New Evidence Of Warfare and Militarism At Mayapanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fortress Mayapan: Defensive Features and Secondary Functions of a Postclassic Maya Fortification

Russell

2013

Ancient Mesoam

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One of the most distinctive features of the Postclassic capital of Mayapan is the immense wall that encloses large portions of the site's settlement zone. This 9.1 km-long feature is the largest example of a walled enclosure known in Mesoamerica. Based on ethnohistoric references, it seems that the construction was well known to Postclassic and Colonial period residents of the Northern lowlands. The most common assertion regarding the enclosures is that the wall had primarily defensive functions. Unfortunately, little solid archaeological evidence or cross-cultural comparison has been offered to support this interpretation. In this paper, I correlate the form of the gates with cross-culturally derived and unambiguously defensive features, finding that the design of the gates strongly suggests that they are indeed defensive. Possible secondary functions of the wall are also explored, such as the control of people and goods entering the city, as ritual barrier, the control of internal populations and its symbolism.

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THE CHRONOLOGY OF MAYAPAN : New Radiocarbon Evidence

Cited by 31 publications

References 10 publications

Bioarchaeological investigation of ancient Maya violence and warfare in inland northwest Yucatan, Mexico

Bioarchaeological investigation of ancient Maya violence and warfare in inland northwest Yucatan, Mexico

The political collapse of Chichén Itzá in climatic and cultural context

Fortress Mayapan: Defensive Features and Secondary Functions of a Postclassic Maya Fortification

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