Social Reorganization and Household Adaptation in the Aftermath of Collapse at Baking Pot, Belize
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SOCIAL REORGANIZATION AND HOUSEHOLD ADAPTATION IN THE AFTERMATH OF COLLAPSE AT BAKING POT, BELIZE by Julie A. Hoggarth B.A. in Anthropology (Archaeology), University of California, San Diego, 2004 B.A. in Latin American Studies, University of California, San Diego, 2004 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2012 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Julie A. Hoggarth It was defended on November 14, 2012 and approved by: Dr. Olivier de Montmollin (Chair), Associate Professor, Anthropology Department Dr. Marc P. Bermann, Associate Professor, Anthropology Department Dr. Robert D. Drennan, Distinguished Professor, Anthropology Department Dr. Lara Putnam, Associate Professor, History Department ii Copyright © by Julie A. Hoggarth 2012 iii SOCIAL REORGANIZATION AND HOUSEHOLD ADAPTATION IN THE AFTERMATH OF COLLAPSE AT BAKING POT, BELIZE Julie A. Hoggarth, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2012 This dissertation focuses on the adaptations of ancient Maya households to the processes of social reorganization in the aftermath of collapse of Classic Maya rulership at Baking Pot, a small kingdom in the upper Belize River Valley of western Belize. With the depopulation of the central and southern Maya lowlands at the end of the Late Classic period, residents in Settlement Cluster C at Baking Pot persisted following the abandonment of the palace complex in the Terminal Classic period (A.D. 800-900). Results from this study indicate that noble and commoner households in Settlement Cluster C continued to live at Baking Pot, developing strategies of adaptation including expanding interregional mercantile exchange and hosting community feasts in the Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic periods. Breaking from the strict social hierarchies of the Classic period, households were increasingly participating in mercantile exchange in the Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic periods, with exotic luxury items becoming more evenly distributed throughout the community, particularly among commoner households. The even distributions of exotic items, coupled with low-level production of local resources, suggests that households were engaging in interregional networks of exchange, although this did not involve a complete reorganization of economic production. New relationships between noble and commoner households were forged, as noble iv households hosted large-scale community feasts during the Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic periods. Although households were not found to have been utilizing Pan- Mesoamerican symbols as a form of status differentiation, they did display local Maya iconography on ceramics and other media, displaying a sense of shared identity and cohesion. However, this and other forms of shared identity, such as burial practices, shifted in the transition to the Postclassic period. Overall, households at Baking Pot developed innovative strategies to adapt to the changing social landscape following the sociopolitical collapse of the Classic Maya polity, playing a prominent role in the in the processes of social reorganization in the Postclassic period. v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................1 1.1 SOCIAL REORGANIZATION AND ADAPTATION IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE COLLAPSE OF CLASSIC MAYA DYNASTIC RULERSHIP ........................................................ 3 1.1.1 Collapse of Classic Maya Sociopolitical Organization .............................................................. 7 1.1.2. Household Approaches to Collapse ........................................................................................... 8 1.2 RESEARCH FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................................... 11 1.2.1. Research Methodology ........................................................................................................... 14 1.3 CHAPTER SUMMARIES AND ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION ................... 17 2.0 ADAPTATION SCENARIOS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPECTATIONS ............22 2.1 ‘MERCANTILE’ SCENARIO ...................................................................................................... 24 2.1.1. Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 24 2.1.2. Archaeological Correlates and Expectations ........................................................................... 26 2.2 POLITICAL FEASTING SCENARIO ........................................................................................ 28 2.2.1. Research Questions .................................................................................................................. 28 2.2.2. Archaeological Correlates and Expectations ............................................................................ 30 2.3 PAN-MESOAMERICAN SYMBOL HORIZON SCENARIO .................................................. 32 2.3.1. Research Questions .................................................................................................................. 32 2.3.2. Archaeological Correlates and Expectations ............................................................................ 34 3.0 BAKING POT RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY .....................................................36 3.1 GEOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................ 36 3.2 NETWORK OF POLITIES IN THE UPPER BELIZE VALLEY ............................................ 38 3.2.1 Overview ................................................................................................................................. 38 3.2.2 Political Capitals in the Belize Valley ..................................................................................... 39 3.2.3. Baking Pot ............................................................................................................................... 40 3.2.4. Late to Terminal Classic Collapse and Partial Depopulation of the Belize Valley ................. 41 3.3. BAKING POT POLITY .............................................................................................................. 48 3.3.1. Previous Research ................................................................................................................... 48 3.4 FIELD METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................ 51 3.4.1 Baking Pot Settlement Survey ................................................................................................... 53 3.4.2. Classification Typology for House Group Socioeconomic Status ........................................... 56 3.4.3. Demographic Survey of Test-Pit Excavations and Surface Collections .................................. 59 3.4.4. House Group Excavations in Settlement Cluster C .................................................................. 63 3.4.4.1. Sampling Strategy ............................................................................................................................ 63 3.4.4.2. Excavation Methods ......................................................................................................................... 65 3.4.5. Laboratory Methods and Quantitative Analysis ...................................................................... 66 3.3.5.1. Ceramics ........................................................................................................................................... 66 3.3.5.2. Lithics ............................................................................................................................................... 68 3.3.5.3. Faunal Remains ................................................................................................................................ 68 3.3.5.4. Human Remains ............................................................................................................................... 69 3.3.5.5. Other Artifacts .................................................................................................................................. 69 3.3.5.6 Quantitative Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 69 vi 4.0 HOUSE GROUP CHRONOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION IN SETTLEMENT CLUSTER C .................................................................................................................................71 4.1 HOUSEGROUP EXCAVATIONS IN SETTLEMENT CLUSTER C ...................................... 71 4.2 EXCAVATIONS AT THE M-99 GROUP ................................................................................... 74 4.3 EXCAVATIONS AT THE M-96 GROUP ................................................................................... 77 4.4.EXCAVATIONS IN THE M-90 GROUP .................................................................................... 81 4.5 EXCAVATIONS AT THE M-108 HOUSE GROUP .................................................................. 84 4.6 EXCAVATIONS AT THE M-100 GROUP ................................................................................. 86 4.7 EXCAVATIONS AT THE M-184 GROUP ................................................................................