Marcello A . Canuto | Tulane University (original) (raw)

Books by Marcello A . Canuto

The first volume to focus on the Early Classic context (A.D. 400-650) of the Maya city of Copán c... more The first volume to focus on the Early Classic context (A.D. 400-650) of the Maya city of Copán combines and synthesizes many different research methods and disciplines, interpreting data that contradict, enhance, and supplement previous work. Its methods are conjunctive, including and integrating research in archaeological surveys and excavations with studies in art, hieroglyphics, history, forensic/biological anthropology, and chemical analyses of teeth, bones, and other materials. The book is not just multidisciplinary but interdisciplinary, linking, for example, the architecture of monuments with epigraphy, language concepts, and human events.

Until recently, scholars speculated as to whether K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' was an alleged or fictitious founding father of the Copán dynasty. This work presents new information on him and his accomplishments, showing how we almost certainly now have his skeleton with its parry fractures from the battlefield or the ball court, along with abundant descriptions of this and other burials.

The Archaeology of Communities develops a critical evaluation of community and shows that it repr... more The Archaeology of Communities develops a critical evaluation of community and shows that it represents more than a mere aggregation of households. This collection bridges the gap between studies of ancient societies and ancient households. The community is taken to represent more than a mere aggregation of households, it exists in part through shared identities, as well as frequent interaction and inter-household integration.
Drawing on case studies which range in location from the Mississippi Valley to New Mexico, from the Southern Andes to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Madison County, Virginia, the book explores and discusses communities from a whole range of periods, from Pre-Columbian to the late Classic. Discussions of actual communities are reinforced by strong debate on, for example, the distinction between 'Imagined Community' and 'Natural Community.'

The present dissertation represents a research project whose feasibility and relevance were secur... more The present dissertation represents a research project whose feasibility and relevance were secured long before I had the good fortune of joining the most recent archaeological research efforts in Copan, Honduras. There have been almost two decades of continuous archaeological research in the Copan drainage. This research has been headed by various research programs such as the Harvard Copan Valley project, the two Proyectos Arqueológicos Copán (PAC I and II), as well as the Rural Survey Program and the latest research project known as the Proyecto Arqueológico Acropolis Copán (PAAC).

Thanks to the efforts of the directors and participants of these various research projects – such as Dr. Gordon Willey, Dr. William Fash, Dr. William Sanders, Dr. David Webster, Dr. AnnCorinne Freter, and Dr. Nancy Gonlin – settlement-based research in the Copan drainage was advanced to levels almost unparalleled in Maya archaeology. As a result of their accomplishments ranging from 1975 through 1995, my research was not only feasible but also academically relevant.

These preceding efforts helped define the parameters of this research. They developed not only the basic typologies reflecting not only the variety of the settlement of the Copan pocket, but also of the rural regions outside it. Because of these accomplishments, this project did not have to complete such basic tasks. Rather, this dissertation research could and did rely heavily upon preceding advancements to help formulate questions and a research design.

Specifically, the recognition of a certain lacuna in the knowledge of the Copan drainage settlement even after two decades of research was recognized most acutely by both Dr. Robert J. Sharer and Dr. William L. Fash. They first presented me with the opportunity to begin research on the question of the nature of socio-political organization and development in the rural regions outside of the Copan pocket. As they predicted, furthermore, as my research focused on this question, it began to reveal evidence that both refined and expanded previous models regarding the interaction and development of the Classic period Maya polity of Copan. Furthermore, this research also helped to contribute to larger questions in anthropology such as the nature and constitution of community organization and its importance in the interaction that occurs between the urban center and rural hinterlands of a large complex polity.

The research I undertook involved five field seasons that included reconnaissance, survey, excavations, and analysis. All the details of these field efforts are recorded in annual field reports (1996- 2000) that have been stored in the library of the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia (IHAH). Only a portion of the data recovered and recorded throughout the operation of this dissertation research is presented here. Only the data deemed relevant to the specific analytical questions is reported in this work. In this sense, this dissertation cannot be regarded as a site report.

Journal articles by Marcello A . Canuto

Antiquity, 2024

As airborne lidar surveys reveal a growing sample of urbanised tropical landscapes, questions lin... more As airborne lidar surveys reveal a growing sample of urbanised tropical landscapes, questions linger about the sampling bias of such research leading to inflated estimates of urban extent and population magnitude. ‘Found’ datasets from remote sensing conducted for non-archaeological purposes and thus not subject to archaeological site bias, provide an opportunity to address these concerns through pseudorandom sampling. Here, the authors present their analysis of an environmental lidar dataset from Campeche, Mexico, which reveals previously unrecorded urbanism and dense regional-scale settlement. Both characteristics, the authors argue, are therefore demonstrably ubiquitous across the central Maya Lowlands.

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2024

The ancient Maya political landscape was permeated by regional systems of political asymmetry. Th... more The ancient Maya political landscape was permeated by regional systems of political asymmetry. These hegemonic networks fluctuated through time, but the steady presence of a few especially dominant polities shows that they were a persistent feature with very real sociopolitical effects. Based on research carried out at the sites of La Corona and Achiotal, and epigraphic studies in many other sites in the Maya Central Lowlands, we offer a general interpretation of the historical and sociopolitical development of one of these hegemonic polities: the Kaanul dynasty. Combining epigraphic and archaeological data, we discuss the Early Classic political landscape in the northern Peten region ("Chatahn" Winik, Suutz', and Sak Wahyis), as well as the development and maintenance of political relations with the Kaanul dynasty for over two centuries. These data allow us to suggest that the northwestern Peten was not only a strategic point for the initial expansion of the Kaanul dynasty in the sixth century A.D., but also an important lynchpin for the maintenance of its hegemonic control in the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. We suggest that epigraphic and archaeological data of the northern Peten from the Classic period help to illuminate how a unique regional hegemony over the Maya Lowlands was achieved and maintained.

Quaternary International, 2024

Maize (Zea mays) was a fundamental part of the diet for the Classic period Maya (ca. 250–900 CE) ... more Maize (Zea mays) was a fundamental part of the diet for the Classic period Maya (ca. 250–900 CE) and other Mesoamerican societies. Nixtamalization, the process whereby maize is cooked in an alkaline solution, is important as it enhances the nutritional value of maize, among other reasons. However, documenting this process in the archaeological record is not straightforward. A microbotanical study of residues collected from ceramic vessels and grinding stones from Late Classic (ca. 600–900 CE) contexts at the Lowland Maya site of La Corona (Peten, Guatemala), revealed the presence of starch spherulites. Their authenticity was confirmed by polarized microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) imaging combined with iodine staining. We argue that nixtamalization as a cooking technique was occurring at La Corona during the 7th and 8th centuries CE. We present evidence from ceremonial contexts, specifically burial and feasting/commensal events. This is the earliest evidence of lime-treated maize in the Maya area recovered directly from ceramic vessels linked to preparation and/or consumption of food.

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2023

Measurements of inequality, like many other analytical phenomena, are affected by the definition ... more Measurements of inequality, like many other analytical phenomena, are affected by the definition of analytical units (for example, buildings or residential groups) and the spatial unit within which those units are aggregated (for example, sites or polities). We begin by considering the impact of secondary or seasonal residences on the calculation of Gini scores when dealing with regional-scale settlement data, which is a common consideration in regional-scale population estimates. We then use LiDARderived settlement data from northwestern Guatemala to calculate Gini coefficients for two ancient Maya sites: Late Classic La Corona and Late Preclassic Achiotal. We investigate how the scale of the spatial unit of aggregation affects our interpretations of inequality using various architecture-based indices. Finally, we provide some preliminary interpretations for the differences calculated between these two centers.

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2021

Settlement research in the Maya lowlands has struggled to reconcile its goals to model a tropical... more Settlement research in the Maya lowlands has struggled to reconcile its goals to model a tropical forest civilization in ecological terms with the logistical constraints imposed by the forest itself. In this paper, we argue that the methodological challenges facing settlement research in this tropical lowland setting limited researchers’ confidence in the representativeness of their data, nudging the discipline toward community-scale analysis and away from quantitative macro-scale settlement pattern research. As a result, many basic facts of human geography have remained unsettled. These challenges can now be overcome thanks to advances in remote sensing. Here, we use lidar derived settlement and topographic data from the Corona-Achiotal region of northwestern Guatemala to develop a settlement suitability model that reveals patterns in the distribution of archaeological remains vis-à-vis landforms. Applying this model to a much larger published settlement dataset, we demonstrate how it is not only widely applicable in the interior Maya Lowlands, but also capable of identifying historical contingencies in the distribution of settlement, namely the crowding of less-suitable areas of the landscape, linked to urban densification.

The Mayanist 2(2), 2021

This paper traces the life-history of a Classic Maya building at the site of La Corona in northwe... more This paper traces the life-history of a Classic Maya building at the site of La Corona in northwest Petén, Guatemala. Structure 13R-10 is a looted range structure located in La Corona’s ceremonial core, the Coronitas Group. Structure 13R-10’s construction stages and associated caching episodes, feasting deposits, and domestic refuse were used to reconstruct its life-history from its foundation in the Early Classic period until present day. While several archaeological life-history studies have typically focused on the shifting meanings of places, we use this approach to identify the active participation of groups underrepresented in elite-dominated hieroglyphic texts. By doing this we show how epigraphy and archaeology complement each other to offer a fuller historical narrative. La Corona’s rich hieroglyphic record provides ample information on its sociopolitical history. As a heavily looted site, detailed archaeological research at La Corona has been key to reconstruct and differentiate between primary contexts, monuments in secondary contexts following relocation by the ancient Maya during spolia events, and recent looting activities. Shifts in the use of space and reinterpretation of the historical past are identified in this case study as mechanisms of biographical change.

Geoarchaeology, 2019

This paper presents the results of a multiproxy approach to the ancillary activities which suppor... more This paper presents the results of a multiproxy approach to the ancillary activities which supported the ancient Maya royal court of the center of La Corona (750–900 CE). This approach sampled both the plaster floors and their overlaying soil matrix from areas of the palace of La Corona, resulting in a data set comprised of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry geochemical, soil‐flotation derived microartifac- tual, and macrobotanical data. These data complemented the architectural and artifactual record, documenting elusive aspects of the economic, ancillary functions of the Northwest Group of the La Corona regal palace. Specifically, this approach revealed that distinct portions of this architectural group were regularly used for preparing foods and craft objects, carrying products and items, discarding ash, using and/or grinding cinnabar‐based pigments, and illuminating nighttime activities. These results not only revealed activity areas in patios, but also provided evidence regarding the functions of adjacent buildings. This paper significantly contributes to our understanding of the pragmatic economic functions of ancient Maya royal courts. In addition, the presented data sets are methodologically valuable for students of archaeological activity areas.

Lowland Maya civilization flourished in the tropical region of the Yucatan peninsula and environs... more Lowland Maya civilization flourished in the tropical region of the Yucatan peninsula and environs for more than 2500 years (~1000 BCE to 1500 CE). Known for its sophistication in writing, art, architecture, astronomy, and mathematics, Maya civilization still poses questions about the nature of its cities and surrounding populations because of its location in an inaccessible forest. In 2016, an aerial lidar survey across 2144 square kilometers of northern Guatemala mapped natural terrain and archaeological features over several distinct areas. We present results from these data, revealing interconnected urban settlement and landscapes with extensive infrastructural development. Studied through a joint international effort of interdisciplinary teams sharing protocols, this lidar survey compels a reevaluation of Maya demography, agriculture, and political economy and suggests future avenues of field research.

Paleoclimate records indicate a series of severe droughts was associated with societal collapse o... more Paleoclimate records indicate a series of severe droughts was
associated with societal collapse of the Classic Maya during the
Terminal Classic period (∼800–950 C.E.). Evidence for drought
largely derives from the drier, less populated northern Maya Lowlands
but does not explain more pronounced and earlier societal
disruption in the relatively humid southern Maya Lowlands. Here
we apply hydrogen and carbon isotope compositions of plant wax
lipids in two lake sediment cores to assess changes in water availability
and land use in both the northern and southern Maya lowlands.
We show that relatively more intense drying occurred in the
southern lowlands than in the northern lowlands during the Terminal
Classic period, consistent with earlier and more persistent
societal decline in the south. Our results also indicate a period of
substantial drying in the southern Maya Lowlands from ∼200 C.E.
to 500 C.E., during the Terminal Preclassic and Early Classic periods.
Plant wax carbon isotope records indicate a decline in C4 plants in
both lake catchments during the Early Classic period, interpreted
to reflect a shift from extensive agriculture to intensive, waterconservative
maize cultivation that was motivated by a drying
climate. Our results imply that agricultural adaptations developed
in response to earlier droughts were initially successful, but failed
under the more severe droughts of the Terminal Classic period.

Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences , 2016

Paleoclimatologists have discovered abundant evidence that droughts coincided with collapse of th... more Paleoclimatologists have discovered abundant evidence that droughts coincided with collapse of the Lowland Classic Maya civilization, and some argue that climate change contributed to societal disintegration. Many archaeologists , however, maintain that drought cannot explain the timing or complex nature of societal changes at the end of the Classic Period, between the eighth and eleventh centuries CE. This review presents a compilation of climate proxy data indicating that droughts in the ninth to eleventh century were the most severe and frequent in Maya prehistory. Comparison with recent archaeological evidence, however, indicates an earlier beginning for complex economic and political processes that led to the disintegration of states in the southern region of the Maya lowlands that precedes major droughts. Nonetheless, drought clearly contributed to the unusual severity of the Classic Maya collapse, and helped to inhibit the type of recovery seen in earlier periods of Maya prehistory. In the drier northern Maya Lowlands, a later political collapse at ca. 1000 CE appears to be related to ongoing extreme drought. Future interdisciplinary research should use more refined climatological and archaeological data to examine the relationship between climate and social processes throughout the entirety of Maya prehistory. 613

Estudios de Cultura Maya, 2011

El Proyecto regional arqueológico la corona estudia la región del noroeste de Petén, Guatemala, d... more El Proyecto regional arqueológico la corona estudia la región del noroeste de Petén, Guatemala, donde se localiza la antigua ciudad maya de la corona, que recientemente fue identificada como el sitio Q. la investigación ha incluido las excavaciones de arquitectura monumental, asentamientos, la elaboración de mapas, el uso de sensores remotos y la reali-zación de estudios paleoclimatológicos y ecológicos. Desde el punto de vista de los modelos de la organización política, las investigaciones en la corona presentan una oportunidad para estudiar la naturaleza y las relaciones políticas de los sitios secundarios. los datos epigráficos relatan una afiliación directa entre la corona y la dinastía gobernante en calakmul, por lo que el primer centro seguramente fungió como punto clave para las estrategias de expansión de calakmul por las tierras Bajas Mayas durante los siglos vI y vII d.c. aquí se presentan algunos resultados obtenidos en las investigaciones llevadas al cabo entre 2005 y 2009. PalabRas cl ave: la corona, sitio Q, noroeste Petén, organización política, sitios secundarios. abstRact: the la corona regional archaeological Project is studying the northwestern Peten region (Guatemala), where the ancient Maya city of la corona is located. this site has been recently identified as the unknown site Q. the research at la corona has included excavations of monumental and settlement architecture, mapping, use of remote sensing and ecological and paleo-climate studies. Viewed from the political organization models, investigations at la corona present an opportunity to study the nature and political relations of secondary sites. Epigraphic data show a direct affiliation between la corona and the ruling dynasty of calak-mul, suggesting that la corona could have been a key center for the expansionistic strategies of calakmul during the sixth and seventh centuries a.D. In this paper we present some of the results obtained in the investigations carried out between 2005 and 2009.

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2013

Antiquity, 2024

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2024

Quaternary International, 2024

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2023

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2021

The Mayanist 2(2), 2021

Geoarchaeology, 2019

Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences , 2016

Estudios de Cultura Maya, 2011

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2013

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2010

Phosphorus analysis of earthen and plaster floors has been used in Mesoamerica to locate and iden... more Phosphorus analysis of earthen and plaster floors has been used in Mesoamerica to locate and identify activities at ancient sites. This study uses phosphorus analysis to discern if the inhabitants of two Late Classic coeval and proximal sites located in the El Paraíso Valley of Honduras were different culturally from each other. The buried earthen and plaster surfaces of both sites were systematically sampled and analyzed for phosphorus remains. The patterns of elevated phosphorus from these open spaces were subsequently compared to determine if differences in the habitual use and treatment of open spaces could be discerned. These differences are evaluated as a function of behavioral norms, functional responses, and cultural dispositions in order to evaluate the extent to which these two populations were indeed different from each other.

Yaxkin, 2004

En los últimos cuatro años se ha llevado a cabo un proyecto arqueológico enfocado en las poblacio... more En los últimos cuatro años se ha llevado a cabo un proyecto arqueológico enfocado en las poblaciones prehispánicas ubicadas en las periferias del sitio Clásico Maya de Copán. Estas investigaciones, a través de mapeo topográfico, reconocimiento, excavaciones arqueológicas, y análisis de material cultural, han enfocado en cuatro grandes sitios rurales-Río Amarillo, Piedras Negras, Los Achiotes, y El Raizal. Se ha examinado la hipótesis que, en el clásico tardío, el colapso y derrumbe político de la dinastía Copaneca combinado con el desgaste y deterioro del ambiente ecológico del valle de Copán urgieron un éxodo de población del valle y el establecimiento de nuevos poblados en las zonas rurales que perduraron siglos después del abandono final de Copán. Nuevos datos cronológicos de las investigaciones recientes contradicen esta hipótesis porque indican un asentamiento rural temprano, aun anticipando por siglos el establecimiento de la dinastía Copaneca. Basado en estos datos nuevos, se expone una interpretación alterna de un desarrollo social precoz en las zonas rurales alrededor de Copán.

Latin American Antiquity, 2009

Archaeological research within the Classic Maya center of Copan and in its surrounding rural regi... more Archaeological research within the Classic Maya center of Copan and in its surrounding rural regions has generated new data relating to the periods both preceding and following the center's Classic period dynasty. Recent excavations at both Late Preclassic and Early Postclassic settlements have revealed more similarities between the inhabitants of these two " non-Classic " time periods than to the inhabitants of the intervening and better known Classic period. We explore this striking set of similarities in terms of settlement pattern, spatial organization, architecture, material culture, and ritual deposits and spaces. We suggest that the similarities between the Copan region's Late Preclassic and Early Postclassic populations and their mutual differences with intervening Classic period peoples reflect a cultural connection between these two populations. Investigaciones arqueológicas en el centro Maya de Copan, Honduras y en sus alrededores rurales han generado sorprendentes datos sobre las poblaciones anteriores y posteriores a la época dinástica Clásica (D.C. 400 – 800) del centro. Excavaciones recientes de asentamientos del preclásico tardío y del posclásico temprano compararon una variedad de características independientes: patrones de asentamiento, organización espacial, estilo de arquitectura, tipo de cultura material, y depósitos y espacios rituales. Estos datos revelan que los habitantes de los dos periodos " no-Clásicos " se asemejan más uno al otro que a los habitantes del sobresaliente periodo Clásico. Se propone que estas las semejanzas entre poblaciones copanecas del preclásico tardío y del posclásico temprano (y sus divergencias mutuas con la población copaneca del periodo clásico) implica que 1) estas dos poblaciones compartieron un vínculo cultural, y 2) que la población del periodo clásico representa una discontinuidad en las tradiciones locales de la región de Copan.

Ancient Mesoamerican Population History: Urbanism, Social Complexity, and Change, 2024

In this chapter, we endeavor to reconstruct the population of Late Classic Peten, the nucleus of ... more In this chapter, we endeavor to reconstruct the population of Late Classic Peten, the nucleus of the southern Maya lowlands and—being the location of Tikal and Calakmul—the region most closely associated with lowland Maya civilization’s Late Classic fluo escence in both scholarly focus and popular imagination.

Early Mesoamerican Cities: Urbanism and Urbanization in the Formative Period, 2022

Approaches to Monumental Landscapes of the Ancient Maya, 2020

One of the most important developments in the last several decades in Maya studies has been the a... more One of the most important developments in the last several decades in Maya studies has been the appreciation for how thoroughly and comprehensively interconnected was the ancient world of the lowland Maya. Even a few decades ago, the overriding vision of the lowland Maya landscape was one peppered with scores of autonomous small kingdoms crafting separate political histories

Monumental Landscapes of the Ancient Maya, 2021

The Real Business of Ancient Maya Economies: From Farmers’ Fields to Rulers’ Realms, 2020

Teotihuacan, The World Beyond the City, 2020

Detachment from Place: Beyond an Archaeology of Settlement Abandonment., 2019

Before they collapsed, Classic Maya royal courts were anchored, within urban centers, in a monume... more Before they collapsed, Classic Maya royal courts were anchored, within urban centers, in a monumental architectural landscape epitomized by regal palaces. e political and economic power of royal courts was both manifested and embedded—or entangled—within these landscapes. Since Classic Maya regimes ranged from small principalities to large hegemonic kingdoms, these political landscapes greatly varied in form and size. As governments collapsed, these distinct landscapes were abandoned in varying fashions: “Sometimes the kings and their institution[s] appear to have been suddenly extinguished and in other instances they seem to have faded away slowly and gradually” (Taylor 2016:xv). The study of these processes of detachment from power, beyond helping us date the collapse of individual centers, can shed light on how distinct institutions collapsed, and on how political power was detached from its seat.
This chapter presents a case study of detachment from power during the Classic Maya collapse, complementing similar studies (e.g., Child and Golden 2008; Inomata 2016; Schwake and Iannone 2016; Yaeger 2010), by examining the gradual abandonment of the regal palace of La Corona, Guatemala. We believe our study of political disentanglement to be interesting not just because of its rich dataset, but also because La Corona was uniquely situated in the Classic Maya geopolitical world. Sak Nikte’ (its Classic Mayan name) may only have been a small urban center, but it was intimately tied to the most powerful Classic Maya regime: the Snake Kingdom, Kaanul.
We first address how the development of the political institution of Sak Nikte’ was overseen by Kaanul, after which we discuss its transformation fol- lowing the implosion of that hegemonic kingdom in the early eighth century. The presented dataset reveals how this royal court adapted to its new political reality and endured for a century, but inevitably reduced its activities and was gradually abandoned.

The Origins of Maya States, 2016

"The Only True People": Linking Maya Identities Past and Present , 2017

Continuities and Changes in Maya Archaeology: Perspectives at the Millennium, 2003

The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, 2012

This article reviews research showing the importance of an archaeology of communities for Mesoame... more This article reviews research showing the importance of an archaeology of communities
for Mesoamerica. Methodologically, the community is situated between the scales of
household and polity, which permits researchers to have new insights into the broader
social and political dynamics through which these other social institutions were
constituted and changed over time. As a paradigm, this approach treats communities as
emergent social institutions in which local identities were constituted as a consequence
of shared quotidian and extraordinary practices. Because they often were important
nodes within regional political and economic structures, communities also become the
key arenas for the negotiation of relationships and affiliations that linked its members
with other social groups, institutions, and networks.

The Archaeology of Communities: A New World Perspective, 2000

Ruins of the Past: The Use and Perception of Abandoned Structures in the Maya Lowlands, 2008

Ancient Maya Settlement, 2023

There are various noteworthy ruins along the stretch of Mexico's Highway 186 that goes from Escár... more There are various noteworthy ruins along the stretch of Mexico's Highway 186 that goes from Escárcega to Chetumal in southern Campeche, including Xpujil, Balamku, and Chicanna. Becan, nonetheless, is the largest of these. It is to this site that we now turn our attention in our ongoing attempt to provide digital access to essential (and charismatic) legacy settlement data.

Ancient Maya Settlement, 2022

Beginning with the pioneering survey at Caracol in the Vaca Plateau of Belize (Chase et al. 2011a... more Beginning with the pioneering survey at Caracol in the Vaca Plateau of Belize (Chase et al. 2011a; Chase et al. 2011b) roughly a decade ago, the application of lidar in the Maya lowlands initiated a sea change in settlement research in the Maya area. Since then, a raft of studies has shown how this technology is inundating Maya settlement studies with data of unprecedented precision and scale.

Ancient Maya Settlement, 2022

As Maya archaeology enters the age of lidar, it risks disregarding earlier settlement data gather... more As Maya archaeology enters the age of lidar, it risks disregarding earlier settlement data gathering endeavors. Lest such efforts now be deemed superseded, we suggest that it remains profoundly incumbent to recognize, digitize, and analyze the ground survey efforts so doggedly and painstakingly acquired using traditional “boots on the ground” methods. These vital data can help with digitization training—for instance, the Carr & Hazard map (1961) was fundamental to our analysis of the central Peten lidar data. Pre-lidar surveys can also provide “ground-truthed” data ready-made for comparisons with digitized data. These data and their accompanying excavations can even offer the chronological or functional interpretations that visual inspection of a digital terrain model cannot gather with sufficient reliability. Suffice it to say, data from pre-lidar settlement surveys have yet a considerable role to fulfill.

Ancient Maya Settlement, 2022

Coming up on one year ago, we published an analysis of landforms and archaeological settlement in... more Coming up on one year ago, we published an analysis of landforms and archaeological settlement in the interior central Maya lowlands (Canuto and Auld-Thomas 2021; article access via Academia.edu), with special reference to the Corona-Achiotal region of the northwest Petén. The paper argues that Maya settlement archaeology is strengthened by a quantifiable and generalizable understanding of how archaeological features are distributed across the landscape. In this post, we’d like to elaborate some on that argument, without retreading too much of the ground covered in our paper.

Ancient Maya Settlement, 2023

From the moment that I began to study the ancient lowland Maya, I learned about the ground-breaki... more From the moment that I began to study the ancient lowland Maya, I learned about the ground-breaking research conducted at Pulltrouser Swamp in northern Belize by Peter Harrison and B. L. Turner II in the 1970s and 80s (see Harrison and Fry 2000; Turner II and Harrison 1981; Turner II and Harrison 1983a). I first heard the name of the place in 1985 while a student on a field school based at Kichpanha. I distinctly remember finding the name hilarious and probably apropos! Sadly, we never visited the spot as part of the field school despite its proximity to our camp.

XXXI Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2017, 2018

Recent excavations conducted during the period 2010-2017 at the archaeological site known as El A... more Recent excavations conducted during the period 2010-2017 at the archaeological site known as El Achiotal, has exposed the shifting process occurred at the religious and political institutions at the Maya Lowlands during the transition from the Late Preclassic period to the Early Classic. El Achiotal is located at the top of a small plateau, near the San Pedro River watershed, at the southern border of El Mirador Region.
During the Late Preclassic (300 B.C. - 250 A.D.) local architecture is clearly related to the regional ideological and political conventions that, during the following Early Classic period (250 - 550 A.D.), will show
a shift towards a more centralized power adopted by rulers. Therefore, the previous cult focused on sacred bundles will move towards the image of the Ajaw. Later political arenas, will include El Achiotal in the
events associated to “La Entrada”, and its main character: Sijay K’ahl’; to finally decline in front of the dramatic dynastic events and changing geopolitical alliances that occurred during the Late Classic period
(550 - 900 A.D.).

XXXI Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2017, 2018

XXX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2016, 2017

XXIX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2015, 2016

XXVIII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2014, 2015

XXVII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2013, 2014

XXVI Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2012, 2013

During the Classic period, lowland Maya society was riven by rivalry between its two largest city... more During the Classic period, lowland Maya society was riven by rivalry between its two largest city-states: Calakmul in Campeche, Mexico and Tikal in Peten, Guatemala. One strategic factor in this rivalry was a " royal road " that gave Calakmul strategic access to the central lowlands and southern highlands while skirting Tikal's jurisdiction. Along a critical stretch of that road lay the Classic Maya center of La Corona. Although composed of few monumental architectural complexes, it was filled with many monuments whereon its rulers' recorded their numerous associations with Calakmul's dynasty. Curiously, La Corona's extensive monumental corpus is not consistent with either its modest size or its rulers' subordinate status. Does this inconsistency mean that La Corona is unique? Since 2008, large-scale field research at La Corona has revealed that the center's epigraphic record only reveals part of its history. Environmental studies, regional survey, settlement analysis, large-scale architectural excavations, household archaeology, and artifact analysis suggest the site's complex historical sequence, function, and composition. We suggest that La Corona—like many Classic Maya secondary centers—was the result of negotiations regarding how authority was properly constituted in Maya society. Although ancient societies often debated the legitimate sources of authority, Maya studies have tended to seek a single model to explain all variation. However, if we understand that, as a secondary center, La Corona was a forum where Classic Maya discourses on the nature of authority were expressed, Maya studies can begin to explain the confounding complexity of the Classic Maya political landscape INTRODUCCIÓN Esta ponencia presenta los datos correspondientes a los últimos descubrimientos realizados en el sitio La Corona por parte del Proyecto Regional Arqueológico La Corona de las Universidades de Tulane y Del Valle de Guatemala. Esta información ha servido para desarrollar nuevas interpretaciones con respecto a los modelos de organización sociopolítica en las Tierras Bajas Mayas durante el periodo Clásico, en especial el impacto que tuvo la expansión del Reino Kaan a lo largo de una ruta comercial que se extendió hasta el límite sur de lo que actualmente es el departamento de Petén. Esta propuesta

LA CORONA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT, RESULTS FROM THE 2009 INVESTIGATIONS In this work, we present t... more LA CORONA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT, RESULTS FROM THE 2009 INVESTIGATIONS In this work, we present the preliminary results obtained from mapping, reconnaissance, excavation, and analysis of materials undertaken at the end of 2008 and early 2009. The investigations have focused on defining the chronological sequence for the site of La Corona, as well as aspects of urban planning, water management, and settlement patterns. In addition, we debate the interpretations of the relationship of La Corona with Calakmul and the " Reign of the Serpent " , based on epigraphic and archaeological data, particularly in light of the search for the original location of looted sculptures from more than 40 years ago that had been cataloged previously under the name of " Site Q " .

THE PRECLASSIC PERIOD IN THE NORTHWESTERN PETEN: RECENT DATA AND INTERPRETATIVE MODELS Investigat... more THE PRECLASSIC PERIOD IN THE NORTHWESTERN PETEN: RECENT DATA AND INTERPRETATIVE MODELS Investigation at the archaeological site of El Achiotal was begun as part of research undertaken by the La Corona Regional Archaeological Project. Preliminary dating indicates a primary occupation during the Late Preclassic period. Investigation has also included the documentation of looting, test pits, and the creation of a site map. In addition, regional reconnaissance was initiated this past season, in particular to prove the existence of routes that connected the Central Peten with other regions of the Maya area during this period. Finally, we propose models to explain the political geography of the Late Preclassic period, not only for the region under study, but for the Central Lowlands as a whole.

FROM THE FRONTIER OF THE KINGDOM OF COPAN: MODELING SOCIOPOLITICAL INTEGRATION OF THE MAYA CLASSI... more FROM THE FRONTIER OF THE KINGDOM OF COPAN: MODELING SOCIOPOLITICAL INTEGRATION OF THE MAYA CLASSIC The Paraíso Valley, located between the Maya centers of Copan and Quiriga, and with access to non-Maya sites to the east, represented a boundary area between the Classic dynasties of Copan and Quirigua. In addition, while two major centers in the valley, El Paraíso and El Cafetal, were contemporaneous, they present very different features in terms of settlement patterns, material culture, architectural styles, and spatial organization. These distinctions suggest that the Paraíso Valley was also an ethnic frontier. Based on recent investigations at El Paraíso, we address the development of the Copan reigning dynasty and the role of a " Maya " identity in its regional interaction. Aunque se haya avanzado de forma dramática el conocimiento acerca de los centros grandes que dominaron el área Maya en el periodo Clásico Tardío (200-900 DC) por los logros de sus reyes, en muchos casos, se quedan ocultos los mecanismos e interacciones responsables para la formación del panorama sociopolítico y económico que caracterizó la región. ¿Cómo, específicamente, lograron los reyes controlar sus territorios? ¿Lograron los residentes de centros secundarios implementar exitosamente estrategias de afiliación y resistencia que les sirvieron a ellos mismos, o se encontraban perpetuamente bajo el control de sus dominantes? ¿Cómo les afectaba a los habitantes de estos sitios secundarios los altibajos de la fortuna política de sus distantes capitales, tuvieron un efecto profundo, o ninguno? Se han propuesto varios modelos para describir e interpretar la organización política de los Mayas Clásicos.

Hidden Landscapes of the Past: Uncovering the Ancient World through LiDAR, 2021

Estudios De Cultura Maya Vol 37, 2011

Proyecto Arqueológico El Perú-Waka’: Informe No. 4, Temporada 2006

Proyecto Arqueológico El Perú-Waka': Inofrme No.3, Temporada 2005, 2005

Latin American Antiquity, 2003

Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2002

... In my perception, it is a strength of the book that the author rarely mentions 'cult... more ... In my perception, it is a strength of the book that the author rarely mentions 'cultures' and 'ages' but moves freely across the terrain, linking simi-lar ... The controlled fragmen-tation of anthropomorphic figurines in the Cucuteni-Tripolye group: towards an archaeology of gesture ...

Settlement research in the Maya lowlands has struggled to reconcile its goals to model a tropical... more Settlement research in the Maya lowlands has struggled to reconcile its goals to model a tropical forest civilization in ecological terms with the logistical constraints imposed by the forest itself. In this paper, we argue that the methodological challenges facing settlement research in this tropical lowland setting limited researchers’ confidence in the representativeness of their data, nudging the discipline toward community-scale analysis and away from quantitative macro-scale settlement pattern research. As a result, many basic facts of human geography have remained unsettled. These challenges can now be overcome thanks to advances in remote sensing. Here, we use lidar-derived settlement and topographic data from the Corona-Achiotal region of northwestern Guatemala to develop a settlement suitability model that reveals patterns in the distribution of archaeological remains vis-a-vis landforms. Applying this model to a much larger published settlement dataset, we demonstrate how...

The Real Business of Ancient Maya Economies, 2020

At a basic level, the lowland Classic Maya economy was a complex web of prestige exchange, centra... more At a basic level, the lowland Classic Maya economy was a complex web of prestige exchange, centralized distribution, and local market economies. While it is important not to consider the lowland Classic Maya economic system as monolithic, it is also as critical to understand how it articulated with the different levels of social hierarchy. In this chapter, we address the distribution of utilitarian goods in the ancient Maya economy through comparisons of lithic resources, particularly chert, in northwestern Petén and western Belize. We find that access to locally available raw materials affects the involvement of actors of differing sociopolitical status in lithic production and distribution.

Teotihuacan: The World Beyond the City, 2020

Science, 2018

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2013

Investigations of Classic period (a.d. 400–900) settlement in the El Paraíso Valley, western Hond... more Investigations of Classic period (a.d. 400–900) settlement in the El Paraíso Valley, western Honduras, have identified a pattern of paired centers that suggests a previously unrecognized model of political organization in the Maya area. In the El Paraíso Valley, the largely contemporary, equally-sized, and proximate centers of El Cafetal and El Paraíso differ radically from one another in their spatial organization, construction techniques, architectural embellishment, use of open space, and portable material culture. Analysis of these differences suggests that El Cafetal was inhabited by an autochthonous population while El Paraíso was founded under the auspices of the Copan dynasty as an administrative outpost. We suggest that the juxtaposition of these two sites results from a regional strategy of sociopolitical integration implemented by Copan rulers that was adapted to the ethnically diverse regions along the edge of the Copan kingdom.

Latin American Antiquity, 2009

Expedition, 2000

RefDoc Bienvenue - Welcome. Refdoc est un service / is powered by. ...

Quaternary International, 2024