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Contextualizing the Protoclassic and Early Classic Periods at Caracol, Belize

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Contextualizing the Protoclassic and Early Classic Periods at Caracol, Belize 1 SAMPLING AND TIMEFRAMES: CONTEXTUALIZING THE PROTOCLASSIC AND EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS AT CARACOL, BELIZE Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase The era of transition between the Late Preclassic (300 B.C. – A.D. 250) and the Early Classic (A.D. 250-550) Periods is one which saw great change within ancient Maya society. This change is reflected in the ceramics of this transitional era. Ceramicists have had difficulty isolating distinct ceramic complexes within the transitional era and have instead tended to focus on specific stylistic markers (e.g., mamiform tetrapods) that were thought to be hallmarks for this transition. These stylistic markers became known as the “Protoclassic” and, while easily identified, they were never securely anchored within broader patterns of change. To this day the Protoclassic Period remains enigmatic within Maya archaeology. There are disagreements on whether or not the term should be used in Maya archaeology and, if used, how and to what the term should refer. Much of what has been used to identify the Protoclassic falls within the realm of ceramics and, thus, that data class will be the primary one utilized here. This paper first examines the history of and use of the term Protoclassic in Maya archaeology; it then uses data from Caracol, Belize to assess the relevance of the term both to Maya Studies and to interpretations of ancient Maya society. Introduction reflected in the kinds of samples that are used to A solid chronology of the ancient Maya build chronologies and phases and to model past is key to outlining the development of the trade linkages. ancient Maya. This chronology is continuously Given the limited hieroglyphic record for undergoing review and refinement in both the the Protoclassic and Early Classic Periods in the highlands and the lowlands using comparative Southern Maya lowlands, pottery has generally analysis of individual site chronologies based on been used to determine temporal occupation and ceramics, stratigraphy, and radiocarbon dating. often these temporal interpretations are derived Perhaps the most difficult time to assess is the from a limited sample of archaeologically- transition from the Preclassic to Classic Period – recovered remains. While the total sample of a time that is also of clear import in assessing the primary deposits containing well-dated pottery rise and development of Maya civilization. samples has been increasing each year, Krejci Among the issues relating to the transition from and Culbert (1995: 104) correctly pointed out a the Preclassic to Classic Periods in the Maya quarter century ago that Preclassic and Early area are the relative paucity of excavated Classic contexts in the Southern Lowlands Protoclassic remains and preconceptions by “provides a rather slim representation of small researchers about both ceramics and this structure burials and caches” and are “far from a temporal era that are not grounded in contextual balanced sample.” They (1995: 114) further information. argued that “the beginning of the Early Classic In the highlands there remains does not mark a break in ritual patterns, but that disagreement over exactly how the sequences of the break occurs a century or so later” … “in the the various early sites articulate with each other mid-fourth and early fifth centuries” (see also (e.g. Inomata et al. 2014; Love 2017). A large Patino-Contreras 2016). In contrast to Krejci part of this disagreement resides in the nature of and Culbert’s (1995) assessment, the the data being used and in how researchers archaeological data from Caracol, Belize instead constitute phases and undertake ceramic suggest a continuous development in ritual analysis. While radiocarbon dating is useful in patterns through the Early Classic Period and resolving some of these issues, it still needs to indicate that these patterns were not limited to be anchored in high quality archaeological data elite contexts, but were present among various (Bayliss 2015). The same chronological issues levels of society. Thus, the archaeological data that are found in the Maya highlands also from Caracol, Belize not only provide a solid reverberate in the Maya lowlands and are chronological sequence for this transition, but Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, Vol. 15, 2018, pp. 3-15. Copyright © 2018 by the Institute of Archaeology, NICH, Belize. Contextualizing the Protoclassic and Early Classic Periods at Caracol they also significantly add to the contextually- Nohmul, Belize, unfortunately from a single collected sample, enabling better interpretations. building that was devoid of real context because Although the ceramic modes that of bulldozing (Anderson and Cook 1944) – and, constituted the Protoclassic had a broad again leading to questions of dating, seriation, distribution (e.g., Pring 1977), most past and interpretation (Hammond 1984). An early assessments of the Protoclassic and Early tomb excavated at the Belizean site of Pomona Classic eras were often largely dependent on added grist to the discussion (Kidder and whole vessels from burials and tombs derived Eckholm 1951). Gordon Willey’s excavations at from limited excavation loci, sometimes only a Barton Ramie in the early 1950s recovered four single structure at any one site. Because the Protoclassic burials and led to an interpretation pottery vessels within these burials contained a of these ceramics as having resulted from a variety of exotic ceramic forms and decorative migration of peoples into the Southern lowlands modes that were not well-represented in the from the Pacific Coast of El Salvador (Willey sherd material from general excavations, they and Gifford 1961; Sharer and Gifford 1970), were often viewed as being elite-related (e.g., something now considered unlikely (Demarest Culbert 1977; Callaghan 2013: 311; Callaghan and Sharer 1986). and Nievens des Estrada 2016:209-210) or In 1955 Robert Smith (1955: 22-23) ritual-specific (Reese-Taylor and Walker segmented the Early Classic into three parts at 2002:102), meaning that how they articulated Uaxactun based on the presence of specific with the rest of society was fairly unclear (see vessel forms: a z-angle bowl for Tzakol 1; a Lincoln 1985 for initial discussion of basal-flanged bowl for Tzakol 2; and, a tripod “Preclassic” ceramics in “Early Classic” cylinder for Tzakol 3; he had originally defined contexts). a Protoclassic phase called Matzanel (between Protoclassic ceramics first had been Chicanel and Tzakol), based on Merwin and organized as a category by George Vaillant Vaillant’s [1932] Homul data, but after analysis (1927, 1935) in relation to what he referred to as decided that the Uaxactun ceramics did not the “Q Complex,” which was viewed as having support its existence (believing that it had just origins in Central or South America and as not been well-sampled in the Carnegie comprising the introduction of polychrome, Institution excavations at the site). The mammiform tetrapod feet on vessels, ring and University of Pennsylvania excavations at Tikal annular bases, pot-stands, and spouted vessels also did not recover a detailed sequence of these into the Maya lowlands. The first published expected deposits (e.g. Culbert 1993), but such reference that recognized the early nature of remains were recovered in subsequent these materials in the Maya area was in 1931 excavations undertaken by Juan Pedro Laporte and related to four burials excavated in several (1995; Laporte and Fialko 1987, 1995) in Tikal’s residential groups in the Mountain Cow region Lost World Complex. Ritual ceramics of Caracol (Thompson 1931), although Gann associated with Naj Tunich Cave in Guatemala (1918: Plate 13b) had previously published a also proved to be largely of Protoclassic and complete mammiform tetrapod from Santa Rita Early Classic date (Brady et al. 1998). Finally, Corozal in 1918. A year later, a large sample of several more recently excavated interments from Protoclassic and Early Classic transitional various sites in northern Belize have provided deposits, originally recovered by Merwin in significant ceramic associations (e.g., Guderjan 1912 in Structure B of Group II at Holmul, were et al. 2014; Houk and Valdez 2011; Houk et al. published (Merwin and Vaillant 1932); because 2010; Kosakowsky et al. 2016; Sullivan and Merwin had died and Vaillant wrote up the final Valdez 2006); other materials have come from published report from notes, there were Nakum, Guatemala (Zralka et al. 2014). unresolved issues in the interpretation of these These combined data continue to show materials in terms of their dating, seriation, and that there are major issues in archaeological meaning (e.g., Hammond 1984; Callagan 2013). sampling for this temporal era. The history of An extensive deposit of ceramic vessels relating the Early Classic Period in the Maya Southern to this temporal era was also recovered at lowlands is one of relatively small population 4 A.F. Chase and D. Z. Chase levels (see Culbert and Rice 1990), likely the polychrome bowls (2 with ring-bases), 2 result of the collapse of early Preclassic states in tetrapod jars (one with Usulatan-style the northern Peten (Hansen 2015). While decoration), 1 tetrapod bowl, 6 miniature vessels populations increased over time, there are far (2 with tetrapods), 1 large dish, 1 large jar, 15 fewer primary deposits to recover when labial-flanged bowls, and 2 resist composite- compared to the omnipresent Late Classic angle bowls (A. Chase and D. Chase 2006: Period; additionally, many of these earlier fig.1). The composite angle bowls are similar to deposits have been transposed and redeposited others known from Nohmul, Belize (Hammond by later activities; thus, the smaller recovered 1984, vessel 17). The second Caracol deposit samples have led to difficulties in characterizing (S.D. C52A-1) comes from a chultun burial the transition from the Late Preclassic into the located approximately 3 km distant from the site Early Classic Period. Because of the longevity epicenter; the chultun burial was associated with of the Caracol Archaeological Project (D.
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