Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2005 Identifying Social Drama in the Maya Region; Fauna from the Lagartero Basurero, Chiapas, Mexico Kristin L. Koželsky Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES IDENTIFYING SOCIAL DRAMA IN THE MAYA REGION; FAUNA FROM THE LAGARTERO BASURERO, CHIAPAS, MEXICO By KRISTIN L. KOŽELSKY A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2005 Copyright © 2005 Kristin L. Koželsky All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Kristin Koželsky defended on March 16, 2005. _________________________________ Mary E. D. Pohl Professor Directing Thesis _________________________________ Rochelle Marrinan Committee Member _________________________________ William A. Parkinson Committee Member _________________________________ Kitty Emery Committee Member Approved: ___________________________________________ Dean Falk, Chair, Department of Anthropology The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to offer gratitude to Dr. Mary Pohl, who made this thesis possible and provided thoughtful critique and support throughout this research and my studies at Florida State University. I would also like to extend special thanks to Dr. Rochelle Marrinan and Dr. William Parkinson whose critique and intellectual rigor have shaped my approach to archaeology. I would like to acknowledge Dr. Kitty Emery of the Florida Museum of Natural History, whose work has been influential for me; I appreciate her willingness to be a part of this thesis and the opportunity she has given me to work with the zooarchaeological collections at the Museum. Dr. Kathryn Josserand has generously devoted endless hours to private Spanish instruction with me and provided me with a basic skill required for research in this region. Conversations with Dr. Joseph Hellweg and my colleague Daniel Sosna have substantially shaped this thesis; I am grateful for their perspectives, encouragement, and passions for anthropology. I owe deep gratitude to my fellow graduate students, friends, and family for their continued support, especially to Dr. Mara Koželsky, a fountain of advice and inspiration to her younger sister. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES . vi LIST OF FIGURES . v ABSTRACT . x 1 PROBLEM ORIENTATION . 1 Fauna from Lagartero . 2 Deposit Interpretation . 2 Summary . 6 2 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SETTING . 7 Western Maya Region . 7 Lagartero . 10 Comparative Assemblages . 18 Summary . 25 3 METHODOLOGY. 27 Identification of the Lagartero Fauna . 27 Comparative Assemblages . 31 Feasting . 31 Social Drama . 32 Summary . 34 4 DATA PRESENTATION . 35 Lagartero Fauna . 35 Comparative Assemblages . 69 Feasting . 76 Summary . 77 5 INTERPRETATION . 79 Lagartero Assemblage . 79 Social Drama . 85 Summary . 91 6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . 93 APPENDIX A Supplemental Ecological Information . 97 APPENDIX B. Lagartero Species Sheet . 107 APPENDIX C. Lagartero Fauna . 109 REFERENCES . 142 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH . 153 v LIST OF TABLES Table 2-1: Chronology in the Maya Region . 8 Table 2-2: A Summary of Samples Included in this Study . 19 Table 4-1: Distribution by Class . 35 Table 4-2: Vertical Distribution of Modified Elements . 37 Summary of Identifiable Remains from the Lagartero Basurero Table 4-3: Ranked by NISP . 40 Table 4-4: Summary of Mammal Remains . 42 Table 4-5: Vertical Distribution of Canid Fragments . 43 Table 4-6: Vertical Distribution of Cervid Fragments . 47 Table 4-7: Cervid Age Range from Dentition . 48 Table 4-8: Vertical Distribution of Rabbit Fragments . 52 Table 4-9: Summary of all Avian Remains . 52 Table 4-10: Summary of all Reptile Remains . 62 Table 4-11: Amphibian Remains . 62 Table 4-12: Summary of MNI of Lagartero and the Composite Assemblages . 70 Table 4-13: Primary Taxa for Comparative Assemblages and Lagartero . 71 Table 4-14: Comparative Calculations . 71 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2-1: Map of the Maya Region . 9 Figure 2-2: Mound at Lagartero . 10 Figure 2-3: Lake in Lagartero Tributary System . 11 Figure 2-4: Lagartero Site Plan . 11 Figure 2-5: Limonal Group with Basurero Indicated by Black Arrow . 12 Figure 2-6: Excavation Units of the Basurero . 13 Figure 2-7: Cacao Vessel from Lagartero . 14 Figure 2-8: Section of Polychrome Vessel from Lagartero with Chuen-like Pseudo- glyph Around Rim . 14 Figure 2-9: A Comparison of the Chuen Glyph and the Pseudoglyph from Lagartero . 15 Figure 2-10: Reconstruction of Plate from Lagartero . 15 Figure 2-11: Reconstruction of Polychrome Vessel with Dog Effigy Head from Lagartero . 16 Figure 2-12: Elite Female Figures from Lagartero Portrayed in Elaborate Textiles . 16 Figure 4-1: Vertical Distribution of Fragments . 36 Figure 4-2: Horizontal Distribution of Fragments . 36 Figure 4-3: Modified Elements . 38 Figure 4-4: NISP and MNI of Diagnostic Specimens . 41 Figure 4-5: NISP, Mass, and Biomass Calculations . 41 Figure 4-6: Horizontal Distribution of Canid Fragments . 43 vii Figure 4-7: Distribution of Canid Fragments . 44 Figure 4-8: Distribution of Canid Elements by Side . 45 Figure 4-9: Dog Figurine from the Lagartero Basurero . 46 Figure 4-10: Late Classic Figurine from Altar de Sacraficios of a Woman Holding a Cup and a Dog . 46 Figure 4-11: Horizontal Distribution of Cervid Elements . 47 Figure 4-12: Distribution of Cervid Elements . 48 Figure 4-13: Distribution of Cervid Elements by Side . 49 Figure 4-14: Deer and Woman on Polychrome Bowl . 50 Figure 4-15: Deer on Vessel from Actun Balam . 50 Figure 4-16: Horizontal Distribution of Rabbit Fragments . 52 Figure 4-17: Moon Goddess with Rabbit . 53 Figure 4-18 The Rabbit as a Scribe . 53 Figure 4-19: Jaguar, Composite Animal, and Monkey with Deer Elements Journeying Through the Underworld with Drinking Vessel . 54 Figure 4-20: A Procession of Dancing Animals: Armadillo, Rabbit, Deer, Jaguar, Puma (?), Paca (?), and Opossum or Coatimundi . 55 Figure 4-21: Bird and Coatimundi Pendants from Lagartero . 56 Figure 4-22: Bird on Polychrome Vessel . 61 Figure 4-23: A Snake Coiled Around a Deer . 63 Figure 4-24: Maize God Emerging from Turtle as Earth . 64 Figure 4-25: Pacal's Sarcophagus Lid Picturing Pacal with Turtle Pendant . 65 viii Figure 4-26: Stone Turtle Found on Altar or Bench in Structure 5 at Caye Coco . 66 Figure 4-27: Toad (Bufo marinus) Portrayed on Vessel . 67 ix ABSTRACT The primary goals of this study were to present a complete analysis of the faunal material recovered from an unusual deposit at Lagartero in Chiapas, Mexico, and to introduce an alternative approach to the interpretation of ambiguous archaeological deposits by applying Turner’s (1986) concept of social drama integrated with Wiessner’s (2001) ethnoarchaeological study of Enga feasting to material recovered archaeologically. This study also presents eight contemporaneous faunal assemblages, providing a picture of faunal usage during the Late and Terminal Classic Periods. Despite the fact that many details of the event that led to the creation of the basurero remain unclear, some general hypotheses can be made. It is plausible that the unique deposit was the result of a single or brief series of public events that took place during the Terminal Classic period, included feasting, emphasized an unusual combination of animals (dog, deer, and rabbit), was possibly related to the role of women or the Moon Goddess, and might have functioned to assert or reaffirm the status of Lagartero at the regional level. x CHAPTER 1 PROBLEM ORIENTATION The Late and Terminal Classic Maya site of Lagartero in Chiapas, Mexico, is located at a crossroads between the Highland and Lowland Maya regions, Central Mexico, and the Pacific coast. Lagartero appears to have been a significant ceremonial center and locus of high-quality cotton textile production that enjoyed trade relations within the region. The site is oriented towards water; it is situated on a series of islands and peninsulas in the Grijalva river basin in the southwest Maya region (Ekholm 1979: 185). Excavations led by Susanna Ekholm (1990, 1985, 1984, 1979, 1976; Gurr-Matheny 1990, 1988) and more recently Sonia Rivero Torres (1997) have focused on the ceremonial center where an unusual basurero (lit. ‘refuse dump’) was found (Ekholm 1990, 1985, 1984, 1979, 1976). This study presents an analysis of the faunal material from the basurero and investigates the hypothesis that the basurero was formed as the result of a large-scale feasting event or series of events. Activities associated with this event may have been focused on women and Ixchel, Maya goddess of the moon, fertility, childbirth, and weaving. This thesis also presents an interpretation of the deposit based on Turner’s (1986) concept of social drama, a public event that allows social roles and relationships to be negotiated and reveals the embedded values of the group through symbols and actions. The Lagartero basurero was a very large Terminal Classic period deposit located adjacent to the largest mound in the ceremonial center of the site and included a variety of artifacts, such as plain and polychrome ceramics, figurines, ceramic pendants, faunal and human bone, shell ornaments, musical instruments, weaving implements, and stone tools. The majority of artifacts appear to have been locally made in a unique Lagartero style that reflects the crossroads nature of the site. The basurero is anomalous; there are no records of other deposits of this size and composition at other sites in the Maya world. Although Ekholm (1990) compares this deposit with a number of deposits, the Lagartero basurero does not 1 resemble these deposits closely..