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Crossing the Usumacinta Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries in the Preclassic and Early Classic Period Northwest Maya Lowlands Joshua Englehardt Department of Anthropology, Florida State University 1847 W. Tennessee St., Tallahassee, FL 32306 USA [email protected] Introduction n this article, I explore processes of regional boundary formation in ancient IMaya society by evaluating variable stylistic attributes and distributions of ceramic artefacts that date to the transition from the Late Preclassic to Early Classic periods (200 BCE–600 CE) in the mid-lower Usumacinta River basin of southeastern Tabasco, Mexico (fig. 1). This northwest region of the Maya lowlands has long been considered a boundary area within south– eastern Mesoamerica and a nexus of communication between discrete Preclassic period interaction spheres. I employ ceramic data from four sites to evaluate stylistic and distributional variability in and between ma- terial assemblages in order to characterise the interaction that occurred within and across this boundary area. Formal and distributional variation in the material data along parameters of type–variety and shape class permits an assessment of the permeability and social maintenance of the Archaeological Review from Cambridge - 25.2 - 2010 58 Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries boundary, adding res- olution to inferences regarding regional interaction. Such stylistically defined zones of social inter- action, and overlaps in archaeologically identified regional exchange networks, may parallel previous- ly identified linguistic or ethnic divisions, Fig. 1. The light grey overlay demarcates the northwest Maya lowlands of the the presence of which Middle and Lower Usumacinta River basin in Tabasco, south-eastern Mexico (af- ter Hernández Ayala 1981: 68, fig. 1). The micro-regional study area is outlined in provides a useful the cross-hatched black rectangle. Map by the author, modified and reproduced comparative baseline. from original by Hans Braxmeier under terms of GNU Free Documentation I offer a preliminary license. comparative and qualitative analysis of the ceramic data and interpret these results to suggest the existence of a more fluid social boundary in earlier, Late Preclassic period temporal contexts which subsequently ‘closed’ as the lowland Maya region at once expanded and turned inward during the Preclassic-Classic period transition. An increasingly complex system of social integration within the Early Classic period Maya low- lands appears to be associated with a more rigidly defined socio-cultural boundary. I conclude with an observation on the ways in which changes in social organisation may be related to both material variation and the permeability and conservation of socio-geographic boundaries. Theoretical Considerations A central problem in archaeology is the placement of the boundaries investigators use to circumscribe and define archaeological ‘cultures’ (Green and Perlman 1985: 6–9; Kowalewski et al. 1983; Parkinson 2006: 33–34; Stark 1998). To elucidate variability in socio–cultural boundaries, archaeologists have effectively employed stylistic and distributional analyses of material variables, particularly ceramic assemblages, in a Archaeological Review from Cambridge 25.2: 57–76 Joshua Englehardt 59 variety of spatial and temporal contexts (Hirth 1998; Hodder 1978, 1982, 1985; O’Shea and Milner 2002; Parkinson 2006: 34; Skibo et al. 1989). The association of style with boundary is complex and highly contextualised, since material culture systems are historically situated phenomena (Stark 1998: 8–9). Variation in material data may be used to define a boundary, but the boundary does not necessarily enclose a particular suite of material culture. Moreover, drastic changes in material culture are not always explained by coeval transformations in socio–cultural organisation or a concurrent redefinition of social boundaries. It is more fruitful to approach the relationship between material culture and boundary from a dynamic perspective (see Barth 1969; Kowalewski et al. 1983). From this perspective, continuity in material culture across social boundaries is a function of multiple factors, including relative degrees of integration, interaction and interdependence of the cultural group(s) that occupy the landscape on either side of a supposed boundary. Measuring stylistic variability in material objects, or lack thereof, thus speaks to the relative permeability and social maintenance of the boundary itself, and may yield clues regarding the temporal contexts of boundary formation or diachronic changes in socio-political organisation. Such methods have been applied to questions of interaction and the relationship between material traditions with success in Mesoamerican contexts (e.g. Cheetham 2007; Demarest and Sharer 1982; Neff et al. 1999). Greater material and dis- tributional uniformity across a border area suggests extended interaction on a wider scale and more relaxed structural integration, resulting in less defined, more fluid social boundaries. Conversely, increased variation in material assemblages indicates narrower interaction on a more localised scale, a greater degree of integration within larger cultural systems, and a less permeable, more established boundary. In this sense, the analy- sis and interpretation of stylistic and distributional patterns observed in material data can be related to social processes by focusing on changes in artefacts over space and through time (Green and Perlman 1985: 6; Parkinson 2006: 36; Skibo et al. 1989). Archaeological Review from Cambridge 25.2: 57–76 60 Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries Regional Context and Background The Usumacinta River and its tributaries form part of the frontier between the nations of Mexico and Guatemala, as well as internal boundaries between the Mexican states of Tabasco, Chiapas and Campeche. In antiquity, the wide alluvial floodplains of the mid-lower Usumacinta and lower San Pedro Mártir River basins comprised a region that was situated along established trade routes and has been traditionally considered a physiographic boundary between distinct Mesoamerican interaction spheres. These regions, including interior Chiapas, the Gulf Coast Olmec heartland and the southern Maya lowlands of the Petén, Guatemala, exhibit evidence of sustained, intensive interaction throughout the Preclassic period (Golden and Scherer 2006; Ochoa 1983). The mid– lower Usumacinta River basin of southeastern Tabasco has been long underrepresented in Mesoamerican archaeology, despite its promising location, with only a handful of systematic archaeological investigations directed at the area. The most notable of these was the Proyecto Tierras Bajas Noroccidentales, conducted in the late 1970s through the Centro de Estudios Mayas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México under the direction of Dr Lorenzo Ochoa. Various homologies in the material data derived from the project, as well as shared aesthetic traditions and similarities with adjacent regional sequences, suggest processes of interregional exchange between independent yet interdependent entities whose temporal depth extends far back into the Early and Middle Preclassic periods. Prior linguistic analyses (Justeson et al. 1985; Kaufman 1976; Lacadena and Wichmann 1999) and previous investigations of Late Classic period evidence from the region (García Moll 2005; González Moreno 2006; Hernández Ayala 1981; Hernández Pons 1984; Ochoa and Casasola 1991; Sanchez Caero 1979) confirm that this area was a nexus of interaction located in a frontier zone of the greater Maya lowlands during the Late Classic period and that the region formed a boundary between Late Classic Maya ceramic spheres. The formation of this boundary, however, likely occurred in earlier Preclassic or Early Classic period temporal contexts. Archaeological Review from Cambridge 25.2: 57–76 Joshua Englehardt 61 Ceramic Sample and Analytic Methods In order to explore these early processes of boundary formation, I cull information from both published sources and archaeological collections, and present a preliminary analysis of ceramic artefacts from four sites on the eastern edge of my focus area within the northwest Fig. 2. Detail of micro-regional focus area and location of sites which pro- Maya lowlands: Tiradero, vide ceramic evidence discussed in the text. Map by the author, modified Cenotes, Mirador and and reproduced from original by Hans Braxmeier under terms of GNU Free Documentation license. San Claudio (fig. 2). These sites are all second– and third–tier centres that exhibit evidence of long occupational histories dating from the Middle Preclassic through to the Late Classic period (González Moreno 2006; Hernández Ayala 1981). The sites were selected on the basis of their location within the study area, in the San Pedro Mártir valley approximately 35km to the east of the Usumacinta River, a flat area of intermediate plains between the low foothills of the Sierra del Lacandón to the south, and the wider Usumacinta floodplain to the north (Ochoa 1983; Ochoa and Casasola 1991; Rands 1987: 204, fig. 1). The site of Tiradero is located in the north of the study area near the floodplain, while San Claudio is situated approximately 60km to the south, adjacent to the low sierras. The sites of Mirador and Cenotes lie to the east of the San Pedro Mártir River on the intermediate plains between Tiradero and San Claudio. The ceramic
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