Melissa Burham | University of Arizona (original) (raw)

Papers by Melissa Burham

Research paper thumbnail of Defining Ancient Maya Communities the Social Spatial and Ritual Organization of Outlying Temple Groups at Ceibal Guatemala

The University of Arizona., 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Sacred Sites for Suburbanites: Organic Urban Growth and Neighborhood Formation at Preclassic Ceibal, Guatemala

Journal of Field Archaeology, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Sometimes You Just Have to go Back

This resource is a single blog post created as part of the Day of Archaeology initiative. The Day... more This resource is a single blog post created as part of the Day of Archaeology initiative. The Day of Archaeology project aimed to provide a window into the daily lives of archaeologists from all over the world. The project asked people working, studying or volunteering in the archaeological world to participate in a 'Day of Archaeology' each year by recording their day and sharing it through text, images or video on the Day of Archaeology blog.<br>The project asked anyone with a personal, professional or voluntary interest in archaeology to get involved, and help highlight the reasons why archaeology is vital to protect the past and inform our futures. The resulting Day of Archaeology project archive demonstrates the wide variety of work the archaeological profession undertakes day-to-day across the globe, and helps to raise public awareness of the relevance and importance of archaeology to the modern world.<br>The first ever Day of Archaeology was held in 2011 a...

Research paper thumbnail of Minor Temple Groups, Water Management and Community Formation at Ceibal, Guatemala

INTRODUCTION Recent investigations of aguadas (man-made or natural reservoirs, Fig 1.) associated... more INTRODUCTION Recent investigations of aguadas (man-made or natural reservoirs, Fig 1.) associated with minor temple groups at the lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala shed light on the role of water management in local community organization. Over the course of the Late and Terminal Preclassic periods (ca. 350 BC-AD 200), as Ceibal grew into an urban center, minor temples were built at regular intervals around the site core. These temples were the centers of local communities that were integrated primarily through ritual practices. Many temple groups are associated with potential aguadas or other sources of water. As many scholars have noted, aguadas would have been important locations for day-today interactions, and crucial sources of water for agriculture and human consumption (e.g. Akpinar-Ferrand 2011; Wahl et al. 2007). In addition, water management may have played a central role in sociopolitical organization at the local community and polity levels. Some scholars have argued that rulers consolidated their political power by controlling central water sources and performing associated rituals (e.g. Lucero 2002; Scarborough 1998). Other research suggests ancient Maya neighborhoods and communities were organized around perennial and seasonal waterholes (Davis-Salazar 2003; Smith 2011). Although communal aguadas may have been overseen by local elites, the act of maintaining these features and participating in seasonal water ceremonies would have provided venues for social and political negotiations (Davis-Salazar 2003). Thus, water management may have been central to local community power dynamics, while also playing a key role in reinforcing social ties among all members. This poster presents results of the use of aguadas at Ceibal and explores how water management related to community formation.

Research paper thumbnail of Ancient Urbanites: The Spatial and Social Organization of Outlying Temple Groups at Ceibal, Guatemala

Research paper thumbnail of Defining the Spatial to Find the Social: Applying Generative Planning Theory and GIS to Distinguish Communities at Ceibal, Guatemala

Research paper thumbnail of Urbanization, Minor Temple Construction, and Local Community Formation at Ceibal, Guatemala

Research paper thumbnail of Out With The Old and In With The New: The Termination and Reoccupation of Outlying Temples at Ceibal, Guatemala

Research paper thumbnail of Social Transformations in a Middle Preclassic Community: Elite Residential Complexes at Ceibal

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2017

Excavations in large platforms in the center of Ceibal revealed extensive early Middle Preclassic... more Excavations in large platforms in the center of Ceibal revealed extensive early Middle Preclassic constructions. They consisted of extensive clay platforms that supported low basal structural platforms. Although the function of the earliest platform, Sulul, during the Real-Xe 1 and 2 phases (950–775 b.c.) is not clear, the one built during the Real-Xe 3 phase (775–700 b.c.) likely supported multiple residential buildings. The emphasis on elevating this domestic space above the natural land surface and the communal labor involved in these constructions indicate that they were most likely inhabited by an emergent elite. These places were continuously remodeled and used until the end of the Middle Preclassic. This new data from Ceibal contributes significantly to our understanding of the processes involved in the transition to a sedentary lifestyle and the development of social and political differentiation in the Maya lowlands.

Research paper thumbnail of High-precision radiocarbon dating of political collapse and dynastic origins at the Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Feb 7, 2017

The lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, had a long history of occupation, spanning from the M... more The lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, had a long history of occupation, spanning from the Middle Preclassic Period through the Terminal Classic (1000 BC to AD 950). The Ceibal-Petexbatun Archaeological Project has been conducting archaeological investigations at this site since 2005 and has obtained 154 radiocarbon dates, which represent the largest collection of radiocarbon assays from a single Maya site. The Bayesian analysis of these dates, combined with a detailed study of ceramics, allowed us to develop a high-precision chronology for Ceibal. Through this chronology, we traced the trajectories of the Preclassic collapse around AD 150-300 and the Classic collapse around AD 800-950, revealing similar patterns in the two cases. Social instability started with the intensification of warfare around 75 BC and AD 735, respectively, followed by the fall of multiple centers across the Maya lowlands around AD 150 and 810. The population of Ceibal persisted for some time in both cas...

Research paper thumbnail of The Migrant Border Crossing Study: A methodological overview of research along the Sonora-Arizona border

Population studies, Jul 13, 2017

Increased border enforcement efforts have redistributed unauthorized Mexican migration to the Uni... more Increased border enforcement efforts have redistributed unauthorized Mexican migration to the United States (US) away from traditional points of crossing, such as San Diego and El Paso, and into more remote areas along the US-Mexico border, including southern Arizona. Yet relatively little quantitative scholarly work exists examining Mexican migrants' crossing, apprehension, and repatriation experiences in southern Arizona. We contend that if scholars truly want to understand the experiences of unauthorized migrants in transit, such migrants should be interviewed either at the border after being removed from the US, or during their trajectories across the border, or both. This paper provides a methodological overview of the Migrant Border Crossing Study (MBCS), a unique data source on Mexican migrants who attempted an unauthorized crossing along the Sonora-Arizona border, were apprehended, and repatriated to Nogales, Sonora in 2007-09. We also discuss substantive and theoretical...

Research paper thumbnail of The Construction of Public and Domestic Spheres in the Preclassic Maya Lowlands

American Anthropologist, 2015

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Development of sedentary communities in the Maya lowlands: Coexisting mobile groups and public ceremonies at Ceibal, Guatemala

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015

Our archaeological investigations at Ceibal, a lowland Maya site located in the Pasión region, do... more Our archaeological investigations at Ceibal, a lowland Maya site located in the Pasión region, documented that a formal ceremonial complex was built around 950 B.C. at the onset of the Middle Preclassic period, when ceramics began to be used in the Maya lowlands. Our refined chronology allowed us to trace the subsequent social changes in a resolution that had not been possible before. Many residents of Ceibal appear to have remained relatively mobile during the following centuries, living in ephemeral post-in-ground structures and frequently changing their residential localities. In other parts of the Pasión region, there may have existed more mobile populations who maintained the traditional lifestyle of the preceramic period. Although the emerging elite of Ceibal began to live in a substantial residential complex by 700 B.C., advanced sedentism with durable residences rebuilt in the same locations and burials placed under house floors was not adopted in most residential areas unti...

Research paper thumbnail of The Maya Preclassic to Classic transition observed through faunal trends from Ceibal, Guatemala

PLOS ONE

It is well known that the development of the ancient Maya civilization had significant and long-l... more It is well known that the development of the ancient Maya civilization had significant and long-lasting impacts on the environment. This study assesses a large collection of faunal remains (>35,000 specimens) recovered over a span of several kilometers in and around the archaeological site of Ceibal, Guatemala, in order to determine whether the composition of animal resources was continuous throughout the site's history between 1000 BC and AD 1200, or whether there were any changes that could be attributed to sociopolitical or environmental causes. Results show a steep uniform decline in the number of freshwater mollusks across the site that occurred during the Preclassic to Classic transition, when large region-wide political changes, including the development of more complex and centralized political organization, took place throughout the Maya region. Evidence of species introductions (e.g., turkeys from central Mexico and possibly the Dermatemys river turtle from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec) and variations in resource exchange (e.g. marine shells) over time indicate that Ceibal was one of likely many communities involved in long-distance animal exchange networks. The results of the faunal analysis at Ceibal show how the ancient Maya had a complex and ever-changing relationship with the local wildlife, with outcomes that can still be observed in the environment today.

Research paper thumbnail of Ritual Practice, Urbanization, and Sociopolitical Organization at Preclassic Ceibal, Guatemala

Research paper thumbnail of Community Engagement around the Maya Archaeological Site of Ceibal, Guatemala

Heritage

The Ceibal-Petexbatún Archaeological Project has built long-standing relationships in the area ar... more The Ceibal-Petexbatún Archaeological Project has built long-standing relationships in the area around Ceibal, Guatemala, particularly in the Q’eqchi’ Maya village of Las Pozas. Both Q’eqchi’ and ladino (non-indigenous) people in the region face serious, systemic problems, including a loss of access to land and an absence of economic opportunities. The ancient Maya sites in the area have been damaged by deforestation and looting. Project archaeologists seek to improve economic conditions in local communities while encouraging the preservation of cultural heritage. Here, we describe past microfinance and classroom outreach projects conducted in Las Pozas and discuss future initiatives that could make archaeological heritage more beneficial to multiple communities.

Research paper thumbnail of Community Engagement around the Maya Archaeological Site of Ceibal, Guatemala

Heritage, 2020

The Ceibal-Petexbatún Archaeological Project has built long-standing relationships in the area ar... more The Ceibal-Petexbatún Archaeological Project has built long-standing relationships in the area around Ceibal, Guatemala, particularly in the Q'eqchi' Maya village of Las Pozas. Both Q'eqchi' and ladino (non-indigenous) people in the region face serious, systemic problems, including a loss of access to land and an absence of economic opportunities. The ancient Maya sites in the area have been damaged by deforestation and looting. Project archaeologists seek to improve economic conditions in local communities while encouraging the preservation of cultural heritage. Here, we describe past microfinance and classroom outreach projects conducted in Las Pozas and discuss future initiatives that could make archaeological heritage more beneficial to multiple communities.

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeological application of airborne LiDAR to examine social changes in the Ceibal region of the Maya lowlands

Research paper thumbnail of The Maya Preclassic to Classic transition observed through faunal trends from Ceibal, Guatemala (Sharpe et al. 2020)

PLoS ONE, 2020

It is well known that the development of the ancient Maya civilization had significant and long-l... more It is well known that the development of the ancient Maya civilization had significant and long-lasting impacts on the environment. This study assesses a large collection of faunal remains (>35,000 specimens) recovered over a span of several kilometers in and around the archaeological site of Ceibal, Guatemala, in order to determine whether the composition of animal resources was continuous throughout the site's history between 1000 BC and AD 1200, or whether there were any changes that could be attributed to sociopolitical or environmental causes. Results show a steep uniform decline in the number of freshwater mol-lusks across the site that occurred during the Preclassic to Classic transition, when large region-wide political changes, including the development of more complex and centralized political organization, took place throughout the Maya region. Evidence of species introductions (e.g., turkeys from central Mexico and possibly the Dermatemys river turtle from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec) and variations in resource exchange (e.g. marine shells) over time indicate that Ceibal was one of likely many communities involved in long-distance animal exchange networks. The results of the faunal analysis at Ceibal show how the ancient Maya had a complex and ever-changing relationship with the local wildlife, with outcomes that can still be observed in the environment today.

Research paper thumbnail of High-precision radiocarbon dating of political collapse and dynastic origins at the Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala (Inomata et al. 2017)

The lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, had a long history of occupation, spanning from the M... more The lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, had a long history of occupation, spanning from the Middle Preclassic period through the Terminal Classic (1000 BC to AD 950). The Ceibal-Petexbatun Archaeological Project has been conducting archaeological investigations at this site since 2005 and has obtained 154 radiocarbon dates, which represent the largest collection of radiocarbon assays from a single Maya site. The Bayesian analysis of these dates, combined with a detailed study of ceramics, allowed us to develop a high-precision chronology for Ceibal. Through this chronology, we traced the trajectories of the Preclassic collapse around AD 150-300 and the Classic collapse around AD 800-950, revealing similar patterns in the two cases. Social instability started with the intensification of warfare around 75 BC and AD 735, respectively, followed by the fall of multiple centers across the Maya lowlands around AD 150 and 810. The population of Ceibal persisted for some time in both cases, but the center eventually experienced major decline around AD 300 and 900. Despite these similarities in their diachronic trajectories, the outcomes of these collapses were different, with the former associated with the development of dynasties centered on divine rulership and the latter leading to their downfalls. The Ceibal dynasty emerged during the period of low population after the Preclassic collapse, suggesting that this dynasty was placed under the influence from, or by the direct intervention of, an external power.

Research paper thumbnail of Defining Ancient Maya Communities the Social Spatial and Ritual Organization of Outlying Temple Groups at Ceibal Guatemala

The University of Arizona., 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Sacred Sites for Suburbanites: Organic Urban Growth and Neighborhood Formation at Preclassic Ceibal, Guatemala

Journal of Field Archaeology, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Sometimes You Just Have to go Back

This resource is a single blog post created as part of the Day of Archaeology initiative. The Day... more This resource is a single blog post created as part of the Day of Archaeology initiative. The Day of Archaeology project aimed to provide a window into the daily lives of archaeologists from all over the world. The project asked people working, studying or volunteering in the archaeological world to participate in a 'Day of Archaeology' each year by recording their day and sharing it through text, images or video on the Day of Archaeology blog.<br>The project asked anyone with a personal, professional or voluntary interest in archaeology to get involved, and help highlight the reasons why archaeology is vital to protect the past and inform our futures. The resulting Day of Archaeology project archive demonstrates the wide variety of work the archaeological profession undertakes day-to-day across the globe, and helps to raise public awareness of the relevance and importance of archaeology to the modern world.<br>The first ever Day of Archaeology was held in 2011 a...

Research paper thumbnail of Minor Temple Groups, Water Management and Community Formation at Ceibal, Guatemala

INTRODUCTION Recent investigations of aguadas (man-made or natural reservoirs, Fig 1.) associated... more INTRODUCTION Recent investigations of aguadas (man-made or natural reservoirs, Fig 1.) associated with minor temple groups at the lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala shed light on the role of water management in local community organization. Over the course of the Late and Terminal Preclassic periods (ca. 350 BC-AD 200), as Ceibal grew into an urban center, minor temples were built at regular intervals around the site core. These temples were the centers of local communities that were integrated primarily through ritual practices. Many temple groups are associated with potential aguadas or other sources of water. As many scholars have noted, aguadas would have been important locations for day-today interactions, and crucial sources of water for agriculture and human consumption (e.g. Akpinar-Ferrand 2011; Wahl et al. 2007). In addition, water management may have played a central role in sociopolitical organization at the local community and polity levels. Some scholars have argued that rulers consolidated their political power by controlling central water sources and performing associated rituals (e.g. Lucero 2002; Scarborough 1998). Other research suggests ancient Maya neighborhoods and communities were organized around perennial and seasonal waterholes (Davis-Salazar 2003; Smith 2011). Although communal aguadas may have been overseen by local elites, the act of maintaining these features and participating in seasonal water ceremonies would have provided venues for social and political negotiations (Davis-Salazar 2003). Thus, water management may have been central to local community power dynamics, while also playing a key role in reinforcing social ties among all members. This poster presents results of the use of aguadas at Ceibal and explores how water management related to community formation.

Research paper thumbnail of Ancient Urbanites: The Spatial and Social Organization of Outlying Temple Groups at Ceibal, Guatemala

Research paper thumbnail of Defining the Spatial to Find the Social: Applying Generative Planning Theory and GIS to Distinguish Communities at Ceibal, Guatemala

Research paper thumbnail of Urbanization, Minor Temple Construction, and Local Community Formation at Ceibal, Guatemala

Research paper thumbnail of Out With The Old and In With The New: The Termination and Reoccupation of Outlying Temples at Ceibal, Guatemala

Research paper thumbnail of Social Transformations in a Middle Preclassic Community: Elite Residential Complexes at Ceibal

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2017

Excavations in large platforms in the center of Ceibal revealed extensive early Middle Preclassic... more Excavations in large platforms in the center of Ceibal revealed extensive early Middle Preclassic constructions. They consisted of extensive clay platforms that supported low basal structural platforms. Although the function of the earliest platform, Sulul, during the Real-Xe 1 and 2 phases (950–775 b.c.) is not clear, the one built during the Real-Xe 3 phase (775–700 b.c.) likely supported multiple residential buildings. The emphasis on elevating this domestic space above the natural land surface and the communal labor involved in these constructions indicate that they were most likely inhabited by an emergent elite. These places were continuously remodeled and used until the end of the Middle Preclassic. This new data from Ceibal contributes significantly to our understanding of the processes involved in the transition to a sedentary lifestyle and the development of social and political differentiation in the Maya lowlands.

Research paper thumbnail of High-precision radiocarbon dating of political collapse and dynastic origins at the Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Feb 7, 2017

The lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, had a long history of occupation, spanning from the M... more The lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, had a long history of occupation, spanning from the Middle Preclassic Period through the Terminal Classic (1000 BC to AD 950). The Ceibal-Petexbatun Archaeological Project has been conducting archaeological investigations at this site since 2005 and has obtained 154 radiocarbon dates, which represent the largest collection of radiocarbon assays from a single Maya site. The Bayesian analysis of these dates, combined with a detailed study of ceramics, allowed us to develop a high-precision chronology for Ceibal. Through this chronology, we traced the trajectories of the Preclassic collapse around AD 150-300 and the Classic collapse around AD 800-950, revealing similar patterns in the two cases. Social instability started with the intensification of warfare around 75 BC and AD 735, respectively, followed by the fall of multiple centers across the Maya lowlands around AD 150 and 810. The population of Ceibal persisted for some time in both cas...

Research paper thumbnail of The Migrant Border Crossing Study: A methodological overview of research along the Sonora-Arizona border

Population studies, Jul 13, 2017

Increased border enforcement efforts have redistributed unauthorized Mexican migration to the Uni... more Increased border enforcement efforts have redistributed unauthorized Mexican migration to the United States (US) away from traditional points of crossing, such as San Diego and El Paso, and into more remote areas along the US-Mexico border, including southern Arizona. Yet relatively little quantitative scholarly work exists examining Mexican migrants' crossing, apprehension, and repatriation experiences in southern Arizona. We contend that if scholars truly want to understand the experiences of unauthorized migrants in transit, such migrants should be interviewed either at the border after being removed from the US, or during their trajectories across the border, or both. This paper provides a methodological overview of the Migrant Border Crossing Study (MBCS), a unique data source on Mexican migrants who attempted an unauthorized crossing along the Sonora-Arizona border, were apprehended, and repatriated to Nogales, Sonora in 2007-09. We also discuss substantive and theoretical...

Research paper thumbnail of The Construction of Public and Domestic Spheres in the Preclassic Maya Lowlands

American Anthropologist, 2015

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Development of sedentary communities in the Maya lowlands: Coexisting mobile groups and public ceremonies at Ceibal, Guatemala

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015

Our archaeological investigations at Ceibal, a lowland Maya site located in the Pasión region, do... more Our archaeological investigations at Ceibal, a lowland Maya site located in the Pasión region, documented that a formal ceremonial complex was built around 950 B.C. at the onset of the Middle Preclassic period, when ceramics began to be used in the Maya lowlands. Our refined chronology allowed us to trace the subsequent social changes in a resolution that had not been possible before. Many residents of Ceibal appear to have remained relatively mobile during the following centuries, living in ephemeral post-in-ground structures and frequently changing their residential localities. In other parts of the Pasión region, there may have existed more mobile populations who maintained the traditional lifestyle of the preceramic period. Although the emerging elite of Ceibal began to live in a substantial residential complex by 700 B.C., advanced sedentism with durable residences rebuilt in the same locations and burials placed under house floors was not adopted in most residential areas unti...

Research paper thumbnail of The Maya Preclassic to Classic transition observed through faunal trends from Ceibal, Guatemala

PLOS ONE

It is well known that the development of the ancient Maya civilization had significant and long-l... more It is well known that the development of the ancient Maya civilization had significant and long-lasting impacts on the environment. This study assesses a large collection of faunal remains (>35,000 specimens) recovered over a span of several kilometers in and around the archaeological site of Ceibal, Guatemala, in order to determine whether the composition of animal resources was continuous throughout the site's history between 1000 BC and AD 1200, or whether there were any changes that could be attributed to sociopolitical or environmental causes. Results show a steep uniform decline in the number of freshwater mollusks across the site that occurred during the Preclassic to Classic transition, when large region-wide political changes, including the development of more complex and centralized political organization, took place throughout the Maya region. Evidence of species introductions (e.g., turkeys from central Mexico and possibly the Dermatemys river turtle from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec) and variations in resource exchange (e.g. marine shells) over time indicate that Ceibal was one of likely many communities involved in long-distance animal exchange networks. The results of the faunal analysis at Ceibal show how the ancient Maya had a complex and ever-changing relationship with the local wildlife, with outcomes that can still be observed in the environment today.

Research paper thumbnail of Ritual Practice, Urbanization, and Sociopolitical Organization at Preclassic Ceibal, Guatemala

Research paper thumbnail of Community Engagement around the Maya Archaeological Site of Ceibal, Guatemala

Heritage

The Ceibal-Petexbatún Archaeological Project has built long-standing relationships in the area ar... more The Ceibal-Petexbatún Archaeological Project has built long-standing relationships in the area around Ceibal, Guatemala, particularly in the Q’eqchi’ Maya village of Las Pozas. Both Q’eqchi’ and ladino (non-indigenous) people in the region face serious, systemic problems, including a loss of access to land and an absence of economic opportunities. The ancient Maya sites in the area have been damaged by deforestation and looting. Project archaeologists seek to improve economic conditions in local communities while encouraging the preservation of cultural heritage. Here, we describe past microfinance and classroom outreach projects conducted in Las Pozas and discuss future initiatives that could make archaeological heritage more beneficial to multiple communities.

Research paper thumbnail of Community Engagement around the Maya Archaeological Site of Ceibal, Guatemala

Heritage, 2020

The Ceibal-Petexbatún Archaeological Project has built long-standing relationships in the area ar... more The Ceibal-Petexbatún Archaeological Project has built long-standing relationships in the area around Ceibal, Guatemala, particularly in the Q'eqchi' Maya village of Las Pozas. Both Q'eqchi' and ladino (non-indigenous) people in the region face serious, systemic problems, including a loss of access to land and an absence of economic opportunities. The ancient Maya sites in the area have been damaged by deforestation and looting. Project archaeologists seek to improve economic conditions in local communities while encouraging the preservation of cultural heritage. Here, we describe past microfinance and classroom outreach projects conducted in Las Pozas and discuss future initiatives that could make archaeological heritage more beneficial to multiple communities.

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeological application of airborne LiDAR to examine social changes in the Ceibal region of the Maya lowlands

Research paper thumbnail of The Maya Preclassic to Classic transition observed through faunal trends from Ceibal, Guatemala (Sharpe et al. 2020)

PLoS ONE, 2020

It is well known that the development of the ancient Maya civilization had significant and long-l... more It is well known that the development of the ancient Maya civilization had significant and long-lasting impacts on the environment. This study assesses a large collection of faunal remains (>35,000 specimens) recovered over a span of several kilometers in and around the archaeological site of Ceibal, Guatemala, in order to determine whether the composition of animal resources was continuous throughout the site's history between 1000 BC and AD 1200, or whether there were any changes that could be attributed to sociopolitical or environmental causes. Results show a steep uniform decline in the number of freshwater mol-lusks across the site that occurred during the Preclassic to Classic transition, when large region-wide political changes, including the development of more complex and centralized political organization, took place throughout the Maya region. Evidence of species introductions (e.g., turkeys from central Mexico and possibly the Dermatemys river turtle from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec) and variations in resource exchange (e.g. marine shells) over time indicate that Ceibal was one of likely many communities involved in long-distance animal exchange networks. The results of the faunal analysis at Ceibal show how the ancient Maya had a complex and ever-changing relationship with the local wildlife, with outcomes that can still be observed in the environment today.

Research paper thumbnail of High-precision radiocarbon dating of political collapse and dynastic origins at the Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala (Inomata et al. 2017)

The lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, had a long history of occupation, spanning from the M... more The lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, had a long history of occupation, spanning from the Middle Preclassic period through the Terminal Classic (1000 BC to AD 950). The Ceibal-Petexbatun Archaeological Project has been conducting archaeological investigations at this site since 2005 and has obtained 154 radiocarbon dates, which represent the largest collection of radiocarbon assays from a single Maya site. The Bayesian analysis of these dates, combined with a detailed study of ceramics, allowed us to develop a high-precision chronology for Ceibal. Through this chronology, we traced the trajectories of the Preclassic collapse around AD 150-300 and the Classic collapse around AD 800-950, revealing similar patterns in the two cases. Social instability started with the intensification of warfare around 75 BC and AD 735, respectively, followed by the fall of multiple centers across the Maya lowlands around AD 150 and 810. The population of Ceibal persisted for some time in both cases, but the center eventually experienced major decline around AD 300 and 900. Despite these similarities in their diachronic trajectories, the outcomes of these collapses were different, with the former associated with the development of dynasties centered on divine rulership and the latter leading to their downfalls. The Ceibal dynasty emerged during the period of low population after the Preclassic collapse, suggesting that this dynasty was placed under the influence from, or by the direct intervention of, an external power.