A Multidisciplinary Approach to Modern Maya Houses in Yucatan, Mexico Virginia J
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2004 Places to live: a multidisciplinary approach to Modern Maya Houses in Yucatan, Mexico Virginia J. Ochoa-Winemiller Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Ochoa-Winemiller, Virginia J., "Places to live: a multidisciplinary approach to Modern Maya Houses in Yucatan, Mexico" (2004). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3919. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3919 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. PLACES TO LIVE: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO MODERN MAYA HOUSES IN YUCATAN, MEXICO A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geography and Anthropology by Virginia J. Ochoa-Winemiller B.A. Universidad Autónoma de Yucatan, 1995 M.A. Louisiana State University, 1999 May 2004 8 Copyright 2004 Virginia J. Ochoa-Winemiller All rights reserved ii To my husband Terance L. Winemiller, your support made it possible. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to the institutions and people who contributed in various ways throughout the period of research and writing the dissertation. I gratefully acknowledge the assistance and encouragement I received from my advisor, Dr. Heather McKillop, during the different stages of my education and research enterprise. Dr. William V. Davidson and the late Dr. Carville Earle were instrumental in my learning of the geographic method and made my experience as a graduate student challenging. I wish to thank my committee members, Drs. Miles Richardson, Anthony Lewis, Michael Leitner, and Cameron Theis, for their guidance and support. Dr. Edward B. Kurjack has always offered suggestions and access to his personal library. He has been a source of encouragement since I was an undergraduate student at Dzibilchaltun. This dissertation is the result of a collaborative effort. It would not have been accomplished without the assistance of the people of Yucatan, specially the communities of Chicxulub Pueblo, Piste, San Felipe Nuevo, and Yaxche. Their friendship and cooperation made fieldwork a pleasant experience. To don Leonardo and Luis, thanks for your hospitality and friendship. Consejo Nacional para la Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT), Mexico offered financial support for my graduate education at Louisiana State University. A portion of the funds for this research project was provided by two awards from the Robert C. West Graduate Student Field Research Fund of the Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University. I would like to express my deepest appreciation for my husband Dr. Terance L. Winemiller, who with his patience and love made the process of writing more pleasant. I iv also owe him a debt of gratitude for the time he spent discussing my research and critically editing the text. I like to acknowledge my brother José Manuel Ochoa for helping me in Yucatan. His advice, sense of humor, and support made the process of data gathering bearable. Without his help my thesis would not be completed. To my mother, thanks for your love and support. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ...........................................................................................................iv List of Tables................................................................................................................. viii List of Figures..................................................................................................................ix Abstract .........................................................................................................................xvi Chapter 1. An Alternative to the Study of Maya Houses ................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem..................................................................................... 1 Research Design .................................................................................................. 3 Chapter 2. An Integrated Perspective to the Organization of Domestic Areas.............. 15 Anthropology of Households: Morphology, Function, and Material Culture ........ 15 Geography and Housing: Place, Habitus, and Landscape ................................. 22 Understanding the Built Environment and Use of Space.................................... 28 Chapter 3. The Physical and Cultural Landscape of the Study Area............................. 36 Physical Geography of the Study Area............................................................... 36 Human Geography ............................................................................................. 44 The Maya and the Spanish Conquest of Yucatan.................................... 44 Yucatan Today......................................................................................... 48 A Cornerstone for Maya Life: Milpa Agriculture ....................................... 54 Chapter 4. Studies of Maya Traditional Housing in the Yucatan Peninsula................... 61 Historic Accounts................................................................................................ 61 Contemporary Research: House-lot Organization.............................................. 66 Chapter 5. Traditional Houses in Yucatan..................................................................... 85 Municipio of Chicxulub Pueblo............................................................................ 85 The town of Chicxulub Pueblo ................................................................. 87 Traditional Houses at Chicxulub Pueblo........................................ 90 Municipio of Tinum ............................................................................................. 99 TheTown of Piste................................................................................... 101 Comisariado Ejidal San Felipe Nuevo.................................................... 103 Traditional Houses at Piste and San Felipe Nuevo ..................... 105 Municipio of Dzitas ........................................................................................... 119 Comisariado Ejidal Yaxche .................................................................... 120 Traditional Houses at Yaxche ..................................................... 122 Chapter 6. Yucatec Maya Housing: Change or Continuity? ........................................ 135 A Model for Maya Housing in Yucatan, Mexico ................................................ 136 Continuity, Change, or Reinvention? ................................................................ 160 vi Chapter 7. Final Considerations.................................................................................. 167 References.................................................................................................................. 175 Appendixes ................................................................................................................. 191 A. Dwelling Descriptions: Solares in Yucatan................................................... 191 Municipio of Chicxulub Pueblo............................................................... 192 Municipio of Tinum................................................................................. 214 Municipio of Dzitas................................................................................. 274 B. Additional Photographic Material.................................................................. 290 C. Field Questionnaire...................................................................................... 306 Glossary ...................................................................................................................... 314 Vita.............................................................................................................................. 316 vii LIST OF TABLES 3.1. Milpa activities throughout the year. Data from Perez Toro (1945) ........................ 55 3.2. Classes of corn identified by the Yucatec Maya. Adapted from Perez Toro 1945 .............................................................................................................................. 57 5.1. Communities and solares (house-lots) surveyed in 2002....................................... 85 5.2. Summary of dimensions for Chicxulub Pueblo lots, main structures, and kitchen areas in square meters.................................................................................................. 95 5.3. List of traditional material culture found in Maya houses and kitchens. From Wauchope 1938, Redfield and Villa Rojas 1934 ........................................................... 97 5.4. Summary of dimensions for both Piste and San Felipe Nuevo (SFN) lots, main structures, and kitchen areas in square meters........................................................... 115 5.5. Summary of dimensions for Dzitas lots, main structures, and kitchen areas