Copyright by Deanna Marie Riddick 2014 The Dissertation Committee for Deanna Marie Riddick Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Late to Terminal Classic Household Strategies: An Exploration of the Art of Feasting, Storage, and Gifting at La Milpa, Belize Committee: Fred Valdez, Jr., Supervisor Maria Franklin Circe Sturm Julia Guernsey Takeshi Inomata Late to Terminal Classic Household Strategies: An Exploration of the Art of Feasting, Storage, and Gifting at La Milpa, Belize by Deanna Marie Riddick, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December 2014 Dedication This is dedicated to my family, those in this world and the next, and to my friends whose love and support has been invaluable. Acknowledgements There are several people who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this dissertation and deserve mention and many thanks. First is my committee chair and advisor, Dr. Fred Valdez, Jr., who has provided me with a great excavation project and the freedom to explore the Maya at my own will. I thank you for your unwavering support and encouragement through this process. To my committee members, thank you for your support and encouragement and for serving on my committee. Dr. Maria Franklin has had a great impact on my development as a scholar and has provided me with endless assistance and mentorship, which has proved to be invaluable. Dr. Circe Sturm has provided many valuable critiques and critical insights about my research and has made a huge impact on its development. Thank you for your kindness, tough words of academic wisdom, and critiques; these have actually served me well! Dr. Julia Guernsay has provided me with valuable insights about the ancient Maya and helpful research references, and I extend my gratitude threefold as your assistance was desperately needed. Dr. Inomata has kindly agreed to serve on this committee and has provided me with priceless feedback about my research. Many many thanks! Dr. Lauren Sullivan is the project ceramicist at PfBAP and has served as a committee member in spirit. I am indebted to you as you have been instrumental in the birthing of my ideas for my dissertation. Thank you for all of your assistance in the field with analyzing ceramics and out of the field as well. I truly appreciate all of your kindness and helpfulness. Part of the research support for the archaeological investigations at Sak Ch’en came from the Alphawood Foundation through a grant to Dr. Fred Valdez of the University of Texas at v Austin. I thank Dave Horwich and the Alphawood Foundation for the much valued interest and support. There have been many colleagues, friends, and field assistants whose steadfast support has helped me survive this entire process: Maria Martinez, Jannie Scott, Casey Hanson, Nedra Lee, Chelsi West, Sophia Lopiaradou, and Krystle Kelly: I am beyond appreciative for all of your support, assistance, and continuous encouragement. Dr. Maria Martinez, many eternal thanks for your endless support, love, honesty, and trust! Abigail Helton, I extend a great deal of appreciation. You have been my rock throughout my crazy academic career. To my parents, I want to thank you for your love and support through the years; believe it or not, I am finally out of school and I'm not 40 years old. To my grandparents now in the spirit world, thank you for your many blessings! To my sisters, I love you all more than words can express. Thanks for always being my iron fists and for supporting me during temporary moments of insanity throughout this process. To Wim, I owe an incredible deal of gratitude and endless appreciation. Thank you eternally for your love and devotion, and for supporting me in a multitude of ways as I finished this dissertation! I am completely indebted to your kindness and generosity of spirit! Finally, thank you God and my angelic helpers, there is absolutely no way I could have completed this dissertation without you. vi Late to Terminal Classic Household Strategies: An Exploration of the Art of Feasting, Storage, and Gifting at La Milpa, Belize Deanna Marie Riddick, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2014 Supervisor: Fred Valdez, Jr. This dissertation explores the social and political strategies performed by an intermediate elite household, Sak Ch'en, in an effort to maintain their social status and power in the evolving landscape of La Milpa during the Late to Terminal Classic Transition (A.D. 800-850/900). Explicitly, this research investigates how Sak Ch'en preserved the continuity of social order by exercising their funds of power and by feasting, gifting, and storing socially charged goods. Excavations were conducted at one residential complex during the 2009-2012 field seasons at the site of La Milpa, Belize, to delineate the political, social, and economic dimensions of intermediate elite household life during large-scale structural changes of the polity. Analyses of recovered ceramic assemblages and additional artifacts demonstrate the presence of feasting, the storage of socially valuable goods, and the production of cloth items during the Late to Terminal Classic period. Feasting in Maya society was enacted as a social, political, and economic strategy, which enabled the ruling elite to attract political support and create exclusive alliances. It is my deduction that at Sak Ch'en, feasting operated as a forum to display vii household rank, validate status, and maintain power through food acquisition, production, consumption, and distribution. By hosting a feast, Sak Ch'en inhabitants solidified existing political and socioeconomic relationships and encouraged the development of new household associations. Analyses of spindle whorls at Sak Ch'en revealed the production of cloth goods for local consumption and possibly gift exchange. Gift-giving may have been employed at Sak Ch'en as a strategy that binded individuals or groups into reciprocal debt relationships. Further, the gifting of food during this unstable period publicly displayed access to, or possession of, surplus at Sak Ch'en, which strongly reiterated asymmetrical economic power relations between households. Lastly, the storage of goods reassured the replication of activities and rituals tied to ideological concepts of social order. These strategies were implemented at Sak Ch'en as reiterative mechanisms operating to guarantee the reproduction of household power and status. viii Table of Contents List of Tables ...................................................................................................... xiv List of Figures ........................................................................................................xv Chapter I: Introduction, Historical Explorations, Environmental Context, and the Settlement of La Milpa ...................................................................................1 Chapter Summaries .........................................................................................6 The History of Exploration of La Milpa .........................................................8 The Environmental Context: Vegetation, Climate, and Physiography .........12 The Settlement of La Milpa..........................................................................15 The History of the Explorations of La Milpa................................................22 The Cultural History of the Three Rivers Region. ........................................24 Middle Preclassic .........................................................................................24 Late Preclassic ..............................................................................................26 Early Classic .................................................................................................28 Late Classic ..................................................................................................29 Terminal Classic ...........................................................................................32 Chapter II: Research Design, Methodology, and Excavations ..............................35 Research Design............................................................................................35 Methodology .................................................................................................37 Field Methods ...............................................................................................38 Test-pitting Program .....................................................................................42 Summary ......................................................................................................49 Architectural History and Chronology..........................................................50 ix Chultun Excavation .......................................................................................82 Proposed Activities and Activity Areas at Sak Ch'en ...................................86 Chapter III: Identifying Intermediate Elites in the Archaeological Record ...........90 Elites ............................................................................................................90 Commoners ...................................................................................................93 Intermediate Elites ........................................................................................98