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Collective Memory and Political Reorganization at Actuncan, Belize David Williams Mixter Washington University in St

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Collective Memory and Political Reorganization at Actuncan, Belize David Williams Mixter Washington University in St Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations Arts & Sciences Summer 8-15-2016 Surviving Collapse: Collective Memory and Political Reorganization at Actuncan, Belize David Williams Mixter Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds Recommended Citation Mixter, David Williams, "Surviving Collapse: Collective Memory and Political Reorganization at Actuncan, Belize" (2016). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 872. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/872 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Arts & Sciences at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS Department of Anthropology Dissertation Examination Committee: David A. Freidel, Chair Michael D. Frachetti Gayle J. Fritz Lisa J. LeCount Tristram R. Kidder James V. Wertsch Surviving Collapse: Collective Memory and Political Reorganization at Actuncan, Belize by David W. Mixter A dissertation presented to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences of Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2016 St. Louis, Missouri © 2016, David W. Mixter ii Table of Contents List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ xi Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... xii Abstract of the Dissertation ..................................................................................................... xvii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Collapse and a Framework for Research .............................................................................. 4 1.3 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Organization of this Dissertation ........................................................................................ 10 Chapter 2. PHYSICAL CONTEXT AND CULTURE HISTORY ........................................ 16 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Settlement and Geographic Setting of the Upper Belize River Valley ............................... 21 2.3 Culture History of the Maya with Particular Reference to the Belize River Valley .......... 23 2.3.1 Terminal Early Preclassic Period (1100–900 B.C) ...................................................... 23 2.3.2 Middle Preclassic period (900–400 B.C.) .................................................................... 26 2.3.3 Late Preclassic (400 –150 B.C) and Terminal Preclassic (150 B.C.–A.D. 250) Periods ............................................................................................................................................... 27 2.3.4 Classic Period (A.D. 250–780) .................................................................................... 29 2.3.5 Terminal Classic Period (A.D. 780–1000) .................................................................. 32 2.3.6 Terminal and Postclassic Sociopolitical Transformations ........................................... 34 2.3.7 Postclassic Period (A.D. 1000–1567) .......................................................................... 37 2.4 Actuncan’s History from Households and Monumental Architecture ............................... 38 2.4.1 Actuncan’s Political History ........................................................................................ 41 2.4.2 Actuncan’s Household History .................................................................................... 51 2.5 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 60 Chapter 3. COLLAPSE, RESILIENCE, AND COLLECTIVE REMEMBERING ............ 63 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 63 3.2 Resilience Theory and Collapse ......................................................................................... 65 3.3 Hypotheses for Political Reorganization ............................................................................ 72 3.4 Collective Memory ............................................................................................................. 79 3.4.1 Collective Remembering: A Relational Approach to Collective Memory .................. 83 3.5 Collective Remembering, Landscapes, and Narratives ...................................................... 85 3.6 Variability in Memory: Communities and Alternative Narratives ..................................... 88 3.7 Collapse and Memory: Identifying Collective Remembering among the ancient Maya ... 91 3.8 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 92 Chapter 4. METHODS ............................................................................................................... 94 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 94 4.2 Excavation Methods and Recording System ...................................................................... 96 iii 4.2.1 Recording System ........................................................................................................ 98 4.2.2 Analytical Units – Aggregating Lots for Analysis .................................................... 102 4.3 Laboratory Analysis .......................................................................................................... 103 4.3.1 Analysis of Ceramic Macroartifacts .......................................................................... 106 4.3.2 Analysis of Flaked Chert Macroartifacts ................................................................... 111 4.3.3 Analysis of Flaked Obsidian Macroartifacts .............................................................. 115 4.3.4 Analysis of Ground Stone Macroartifacts and Other Stone Objects ......................... 117 4.3.5 Analysis of Microartifacts .......................................................................................... 118 4.3.6 Analysis of Soil and Plaster Chemistry Samples ....................................................... 141 4.4 Methods for Landscape Analysis ...................................................................................... 143 Chapter 5. EXCAVATIONS IN GROUP 4 AND AROUND PLAZA D ............................. 146 5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 146 5.2 Description of Group 4 ..................................................................................................... 150 5.3 Excavations on and around Group 4 ................................................................................. 153 5.3.1 Overview and Timeline of Excavations ..................................................................... 154 5.4 Excavations on Group 4 .................................................................................................... 156 5.4.1 Excavations into Group 4’s Architectural History (Units 8A to 8F) ......................... 156 5.4.2 Excavations on Structure 35 (Operation 36) .............................................................. 166 5.4.3 Excavations on Structure 34a (Operation 42) ............................................................ 174 5.4.4 Excavations on Structure 34b (Operation 8, Units G-II and PP-AAA) ..................... 184 5.4.5 Excavations on Structure 33a and 34c (Operation 44) .............................................. 186 5.4.6 Excavations into Group 4’s Basal Platform ............................................................... 193 5.4.7 Excavations South of Structure 35 (Operation 35) .................................................... 195 5.4.8 Excavations East of Structure 35 ............................................................................... 197 5.4.9 Excavations in the Ravine East of Group 4 (Operation 37) ....................................... 199 5.4.10 Excavations of the Patio Surface (Operation 40 and Operation 8 Units BBB-KKK) ............................................................................................................................................. 202 5.5 Summary and Discussion .................................................................................................. 207 5.5.1 Group 4 in the Context of Plaza D ............................................................................
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