Zooarchaeological Habitat Analysis of Ancient Maya Landscape Changes
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Edwin M. Shook Archival Collection, Guatemala City, Guatemala
FAMSI © 2004: Barbara Arroyo and Luisa Escobar Edwin M. Shook Archival Collection, Guatemala City, Guatemala Research Year: 2003 Culture: Maya Chronology: Pre-Classic to Post Classic Location: Various archaeological sites in Guatemala and México Site: Tikal, Uaxactún, Copán, Mayapán, Kaminaljuyú, Piedras Negras, Palenque, Ceibal, Chichén Itzá, Dos Pilas Table of Contents Abstract Resumen Background Project Priorities Conservation Issues Guide to the Edwin M. Shook Archive Site Records Field Notes Photographs Correspondence and Documents Illustrations Maps Future Work Acknowledgments List of Figures Sources Cited Abstract The Edwin M. Shook archive is a collection of documents that resulted from Dr. Edwin M. Shook’s archaeological fieldwork in Mesoamerica from 1934-1998. He came to Guatemala as part of the Carnegie Institution and carried out investigations at various sites including Tikal, Uaxactún, Copán, Mayapán, among many others. He further established his residence in Guatemala where he continued an active role in archaeology. The archive donated by Dr. Shook to Universidad del Valle de Guatemala in 1998 contains his field notes, Guatemala archaeological site records, photographs, documents, and illustrations. They were stored at the Department of Archaeology for several years until we obtained FAMSI’s support to start the conservation and protection of the archive. Basic conservation techniques were implemented to protect the archive from further damage. This report lists several sets of materials prepared by Dr. Shook throughout his fieldwork experience. Through these data sets, people interested in Shook’s work can know what materials are available for study at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala. Resumen El archivo Edwin M. Shook consiste en una colección de documentos que resultaron de las investigaciones arqueológicas en Mesoamérica realizadas por el Dr. -
Determination of Late Postclassic Kaqchikel Maya Diet, Disease, and Cause of Death Through Analysis of Skeletons from Iximché, Guatemala
FAMSI © 1999: Stephen L. Whittington Determination of Late Postclassic Kaqchikel Maya Diet, Disease, and Cause of Death through Analysis of Skeletons from Iximché, Guatemala Research Year : 1995 Culture : Maya Chronology : Late Postclassic Location : Guatemala Site : Iximché Table of Contents Introduction Fieldwork Analysis List of Figures Sources Cited Introduction Iximché was the capital of the Kaqchikel realm, founded by refugees from the Quiché kingdom in the 1470s or 1480s ( Figure 1 ). The Quiché attacked and tried to conquer the city at least once. This attempt met with failure and the Kaqchikel captured many Quiché warriors. Spaniards under Pedro de Alvarado arrived in the highlands in 1524. With the Kaqchikel as allies, they conquered the Guatemalan polities which had been enemies of Iximché. On July 25, Alvarado founded the first colonial capital of Guatemala near Iximché. This action led to the outbreak of hostilities between the Kaqchikel and the Spanish and the ultimate destruction and abandonment of Iximché in 1526. George Guillemin, a Swiss archaeologist, excavated Iximché between the late 1950s and the early 1970s. His main interest was architecture, and his crews uncovered large expanses of the site, exposing and then restoring plazas, palaces, altars, and temples. Unfortunately, Guillemin was much less interested in analyzing the large amounts of materials that came from the digging. His excavation notes, archived at the Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamerica (CIRMA) in Antigua, do not mention the location, associated artifacts, or basic layout of some complete skeletons. Even worse, for years the excavated materials were stored in what was essentially a chicken coop. Bags broke open, artifacts and bones from various contexts became mixed together, and tags with provenience information rotted away or became separated from their bags. -
Geographical Distribution and Niche Conservatism in Populations of Orthogeomys Dariensis (Rodentia: Geomyidae) in the Chocó Biogeographical Region Therya, Vol
Therya ISSN: 2007-3364 Asociación Mexicana de Mastozoología A. C. Valencia-Mazo, Juan David; Solari, Sergio; Arias-Alzate, Andres Geographical distribution and niche conservatism in populations of Orthogeomys dariensis (Rodentia: Geomyidae) in the Chocó Biogeographical region Therya, vol. 8, no. 3, 2017, pp. 233-240 Asociación Mexicana de Mastozoología A. C. DOI: 10.12933/therya-17-428 Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=402352772008 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System Redalyc More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America and the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Project academic non-profit, developed under the open access initiative THERYA, 2017, Vol. 8 (3): 233-240 DOI: 10.12933/therya-17-428 ISSN 2007-3364 Geographical distribution and niche conservatism in populations of Orthogeomys dariensis (Rodentia: Geomyidae) in the Chocó Biogeographical region JUAN DAVID VALENCIA-MAZO1*, SERGIO SOLARI1, 2 AND ANDRES ARIAS-ALZATE , 3 1 Grupo Mastozoología, Universidad de Antioquia. Calle 67 No. 53-108. Medellín, Colombia. Email [email protected] (JDVM). 2 Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia. Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, AA 1226. Antioquia, Colombia. Email sergio.solari@ udea.edu.co (SS). 3 Laboratorio de Análisis Espaciales, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Ciudad de México, México. Email [email protected] (AAA). *Corresponding author The Chocó biogeographic region is among the richest in terms of natural resources, species richness and number of endemisms. Among the species endemic to this region, the pocket gopher, Orthogeomys dariensis (Geomyidae), presents a disjunct distribution on both sides of Serranía Darien-Baudó. -
Chwa Nima Ab'aj ( Mixco Viejo)
1 2 Chwa Nima Ab’aj ( Mixco Viejo) “Recordación Florida”, o, “Historia del Reyno de Goathemala”, es una obra escrita por el Capitán Francisco Fuentes y Guzmán en 1690, o sea unos 165 años después de que fuerzas invasoras españolas ocuparan el territorio de la actual Guatemala. A Fuentes y Guzmán se le considera el primer historiador criollo guatemalteco, ya que en esta obra narra lo que se acredita como la primera historia general del país. Por los cargos ocupados: Cronista de Ciudad nombrado por el Rey, Regidor Perpetuo del Ayuntamiento y Alcalde Mayor tuvo acceso a numerosos documentos (muchos desaparecidos) que le permitió hacer esa monumental obra. Hoy día, con la aparición de otros antiguos documentos con narraciones tanto de indígenas, como de españoles y mestizos, algunos de los datos y hechos consignados en la famosa “Recordación Florida” han sido refutados, negados o impugnados, sin que por esos casos se ponga en cuestión la trascendencia de la obra del “Cronista de la Ciudad”. Esta obra es de capital importancia pues en ella se consigna por vez primera la existencia de Mixco, (Chwa Nima Ab’aj) así como los sucesos acaecidos en la batalla que finalizó con su destrucción por parte de los españoles. Sin embargo, a pesar de la autenticidad narrativa de Fuentes y Guzmán sobre la batalla librada para ocupar Mixco, el nombre que le dio a esta inigualable ciudadela ceremonial, así como los datos sobre la etnia indígena que la habitaba y defendió ante la invasión española, los Pokomames, han sido impugnados sobre la base de estudios antropológicos, arqueológicos y documentos indígenas escritos recién terminada la conquista. -
Hunting Shrines in the Guatemalan Highlands
J Archaeol Method Theory (2008) 15:300–337 DOI 10.1007/s10816-008-9055-7 Negotiations with the Animate Forest: Hunting Shrines in the Guatemalan Highlands Linda A. Brown & Kitty F. Emery Published online: 10 October 2008 # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2008 Abstract Ethnoarchaeological research at highland Maya hunting shrines docu- ments the material remains of interactions between two types of animate beings: humans and the forest. When either active agent enters the others’ domain there are accompanying ceremonial activities to assuage the inherent danger, often leaving physical traces in the material record. These traces, if found in the archaeological record, might reveal similar ancient interactions. Using the material correlates of modern hunting rituals, we explore the utility of ethnoarchaeological research in identifying negotiations with non-human agents associated with the animate forest – an active agent in many societies. Keywords Maya . Ethnoarchaeology . Hunting ceremonialism . Zooarchaeology Introduction Ethnoarchaeology, the study of modern material remains as analogs for ancient activities, can provide valuable data for inferring agency from the archaeological record. This is particularly true in the case of animistic religious practices, where one or more actors are non-physical entities or material objects not afforded agency in our own culture but active participants in other societies. In the pursuit of evidence for interactions between human and non-human agents, the material remains of repeated ceremonial negotiations are valuable. As these negotiations often occur at the boundaries between agent realms, they physically mark important thresholds where human and non-human actors interact. L. A. Brown (*) Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA e-mail: [email protected] K. -
Prehistoric Human-Environment Interactions in the Southern Maya Lowlands: the Holmul Region Case
Prehistoric Human-Environment Interactions in the Southern Maya Lowlands: The Holmul Region Case Final Report to the National Science Foundation 2010 Submitted by: Francisco Estrada-Belli and David Wahl Introduction Dramatic population changes evident in the Lowland Maya archaeological record have led scholars to speculate on the possible role of environmental degradation and climate change. As a result, several paleoecological and geochemical studies have been carried out in the Maya area which indicate that agriculture and urbanization may have caused significant forest clearance and soil erosion (Beach et al., 2006; Binford et al., 1987; Deevey et al., 1979; Dunning et al., 2002; Hansen et al., 2002; Jacob and Hallmark, 1996; Wahl et al., 2007). Studies also indicate that the late Holocene was characterized by centennial to millennial scale climatic variability (Curtis et al., 1996; Hodell et al., 1995; Hodell et al., 2001; Hodell et al., 2005b; Medina-Elizalde et al., 2010). These findings reinforce theories that natural or anthropogenically induced environmental change contributed to large population declines in the southern Maya lowlands at the end of the Preclassic (~A.D. 200) and Classic (~A.D. 900) periods. However, a full picture of the chronology and causes of environmental change during the Maya period has not emerged. Many records are insecurely dated, lacking from key cultural areas, or of low resolution. Dating problems have led to ambiguities regarding the timing of major shifts in proxy data (Brenner et al., 2002; Leyden, 2002; Vaughan et al., 1985). The result is a variety of interpretations on the impact of observed environmental changes from one site to another. -
Central America
Zone 1: Central America Martin Künne Ethnologisches Museum Berlin The paper consists of two different sections. The first part has a descriptive character and gives a general impression of Central American rock art. The second part collects all detailed information in tables and registers. I. The first section is organized as follows: 1. Profile of the Zone: environments, culture areas and chronologies 2. Known Sites: modes of iconographic representation and geographic context 3. Chronological sequences and stylistic analyses 4. Documentation and Known Sites: national inventories, systematic documentation and most prominent rock art sites 5. Legislation and institutional frameworks 6. Rock art and indigenous groups 7. Active site management 8. Conclusion II. The second section includes: table 1 Archaeological chronologies table 2 Periods, wares, horizons and traditions table 3 Legislation and National Archaeological Commissions table 4 Rock art sites, National Parks and National Monuments table 5 World Heritage Sites table 6 World Heritage Tentative List (2005) table 7 Indigenous territories including rock art sites appendix: Archaeological regions and rock art Recommended literature References Illustrations 1 Profile of the Zone: environments, culture areas and chronologies: Central America, as treated in this report, runs from Guatemala and Belize in the north-west to Panama in the south-east (the northern Bridge of Tehuantepec and the Yucatan peninsula are described by Mr William Breen Murray in Zone 1: Mexico (including Baja California)). The whole region is characterized by common geomorphologic features, constituting three different natural environments. In the Atlantic east predominates extensive lowlands cut by a multitude of branched rivers. They cover a karstic underground formed by unfolded limestone. -
Mexico), a Riverine Settlement in the Usumacinta Region
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE From Movement to Mobility: The Archaeology of Boca Chinikihá (Mexico), a Riverine Settlement in the Usumacinta Region A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology by Nicoletta Maestri June 2018 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Wendy Ashmore, Chairperson Dr. Scott L. Fedick Dr. Karl A. Taube Copyright by Nicoletta Maestri 2018 The Dissertation of Nicoletta Maestri is approved: Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation talks about the importance of movement and – curiously enough – it is the result of a journey that started long ago and far away. Throughout this journey, several people, in the US, Mexico and Italy, helped me grow personally and professionally and contributed to this accomplishment. First and foremost, I wish to thank the members of my dissertation committee: Wendy Ashmore, Scott Fedick and Karl Taube. Since I first met Wendy, at a conference in Mexico City in 2005, she became the major advocate of me pursuing a graduate career at UCR. I couldn’t have hoped for a warmer and more engaged and encouraging mentor. Despite the rough start and longer path of my graduate adventure, she never lost faith in me and steadily supported my decisions. Thank you, Wendy, for your guidance and for being a constant inspiration. During my graduate studies and in developing my dissertation research, Scott and Karl offered valuable advice, shared their knowledge on Mesoamerican cultures and peoples and provided a term of reference for rigorous and professional work. Aside from my committee, I especially thank Tom Patterson for his guidance and patience in our “one-to-one” core theory meetings. -
Site Q: the Case for a Classic Maya Super-Polity
Site Q: The Case for a Classic Maya Super-Polity Simon Martin 1993 As the historical record left to us by the Classic Maya is slowly pieced together from various epigraphic clues, a single political entity, the state Peter Mathews has dubbed "Site Q", shows an ever greater presence. Over the last few years, and certainly since Mathews' original manuscript discussing Site Q (1979), a great deal of new data has emerged. These come not only from new finds provided by archaeological investigations, but more general advances in epigraphic research that have allowed us to reassess well-known texts, giving a fuller picture of Site Q's place in the political geography of the Classic Period. The original Mayan name of the Site Q polity, expressed in its Emblem Glyph, was Kan "snake". Glyphically, it is usually preceded by the phonetic complement ka and often followed by the nominal ending -al to give K'ul Kanal Ahaw as a full reading for the compound (the suffix is not apparent in all examples and it is not clear whether this is an optional feature or was always read by context). In this, it joins Piedras Negras (Yokib), Yaxha (Yaxha), Palenque (Bak), Caracol (K'an-tu-mak), Pomona (Pakab) and Ucanal (K'an Witz Nal) in having a readable ancient name. It is tempting to use Kan or Kanal instead of 'Site Q', since it avoids the difficulty of assigning this Emblem to any single site and will be equally relevant when Site Q is identified and the term becomes redundant, but for this present study I will stick with the Mathews moniker. -
30 Explorations at the Site of Nacimiento, Petexbatún, Petén
30 EXPLORATIONS AT THE SITE OF NACIMIENTO, PETEXBATÚN, PETÉN Markus Eberl Claudia Vela Keywords: Maya archaeology, Guatemala, Petén, Petexbatún, Nacimiento, minor architecture In the 2004 season the archaeological excavations at the site of Nacimiento, in the Petexbatún region, continued. The site of Nacimento, or more precisely, Nacimiento de Aguateca, to make a proper distinction with other sites and towns with the same name, is located approximately 2.5 km south of the site of Aguateca (Figure 1). The hieroglyphic inscriptions of Aguateca and other neighbor sites like Dos Pilas, narrate the history of the Petexbatún region during the Classic period. One crucial event was the entering of the Dos Pilas dynasty in the region in the VII century AD. The Dos Pilas dynasty substituted the dynasty of Tamarindito and Arroyo de Piedra as a regional power. In which way did this political change affect the population of the Petexbatún region? This is the question that guided archaeological investigations conducted at the minor site of Nacimiento, occupied before and after the arrival of the Dos Pilas dynasty. Extensive excavations conducted at residential groups in Nacimiento have made it possible to analyze the effect that this political shift exerted on local inhabitants. Figure 1. Map of the Petexbatún region (by M. Eberl). 1 During 2003 a structure was excavated, nearby presumed agricultural terraces. This season work continued with the extensive excavation of two structures from two residential groups located at the core of Nacimiento. THEORETICAL FRAME The investigation at Nacimiento was carried out as part of the Aguateca Archaeological Project, whose second phase, under the direction of Daniela Triadan, was initiated on June of 2004. -
Latepostclassicperiodceramics Ofthewesternhighlands,Guatemala
Yaxchilan Us um a c G in r t ij a Maya Archaeology Reports a Bonampak R lv i a v R e iv r er LatePostclassicPeriodCeramics ChiapasHighlands AltardeSacrificios DosPilas of theWesternHighlands,Guatemala Greg Borgstede Chinkultic MEXICO GUATEMALA Cancuen HUEHUETENANGO Lagartero ELQUICHE ALTAVERAPAZ – SanMiguelAcatan HUISTA ACATECREGION Jacaltenango Cuchumatan Mountains NorthernHighlands SanRafaelPetzal Nebaj Zaculeu SierraMadre Tajumulco his report describes the ceramics of the Late Postclassic 1986, Culbert 1965, Ichon 1987, Nance 2003a, Nance 2003b, and BAJAVERAPAZ Utatlan/Chisalin or Protohistoric period (AD 1200 to 1500) uncovered in a Weeks 1983. recent archaeological investigation in the western Maya The Late Postclassic period remains one of the most intensely highlands. The Proyecto Arqueológico de la Región Huista- studied in the Maya highlands, in terms of archaeology and CentralHighlands MixcoViejo T Acateco, directed by the author, investigated the region in the ethnohistory. The existence of competing Maya kingdoms, Iximche Cuchumatan Mountains currently occupied by the Huista and including those of the K’iche’, the Kaqchikel, and the Mam, Acatec Maya (Figure 1), documenting 150 archaeological sites and coupled with the persistence of written documentation LakeAtitlan GuatemalaCity an occupation sequence spanning the Terminal Preclassic to Late immediately prior to, during, and after the Spanish invasion, Postclassic/Protohistoric periods, AD 100 to 1525 (see Borgstede provide the Protohistoric period with an abundance of 2004). The modern towns of Jacaltenango and San Miguel Acatan anthropological data for understanding this complex era. are the center of the region. Archaeological evidence, particularly ceramics, has played a The ceramics described here are from the Late Postclassic role in interpreting the cultures, histories, and structures of these Archaeologicalsites period, also known as the “Protohistoric” period in the societies. -
Terminal Classic Occupation in the Maya Sites Located in the Area of Triangulo Park, Peten, Guatemala
Prace Archeologiczne No. 62 Monographs Jarosław Źrałka Terminal Classic Occupation in the Maya Sites Located in the Area of Triangulo Park, Peten, Guatemala Jagiellonian University Press Kraków 2008 For Alicja and Elżbieta CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER I: Introduction .................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER II: Triangulo Park – defi nition, geographical environment, history and methodology of research ............................................................. 19 CHAPTER III: Analysis of Terminal Classic occupation in the area of Triangulo Park ............................................................................................. 27 – Nakum ............................................................................................................ 27 – Naranjo ........................................................................................................... 135 – Yaxha .............................................................................................................. 146 – Minor sites ...................................................................................................... 175 – Intersite areas .................................................................................................. 187 CHAPTER IV: Summary and conclusions ......................................................... 191 – The Terminal Classic period in the Southern Maya Lowlands: an