BOSTON UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES Dissertation HYDROLOGY AND CLASSIC MAYA URBAN PLANNING: A GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS OF SETTLEMENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT AT XULTUN, GUATEMALA by JONATHAN DONALD RUANE A.L.B., Harvard University, 2008 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 © 2015 – Jonathan Ruane All rights reserved. ii Approved By First Reader _______________________________ William Saturno, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Archaeology Boston University Second Reader _______________________________ David Carballo, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Archaeology Boston University Third Reader _______________________________ John M. Marston, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology Boston University iii Acknowledgements There are many people who contributed to my understanding of archaeology, digital archaeology and Maya civilization, all of which led to the formulation of this dissertation. All of my committee members were supportive of my work, and conclusions, and provided me with insights into how to better structure my arguments. Within the Boston University community, many professors and graduate students contributed to my development as an archaeologist. Interacting with the many scholars who work on the San Bartolo- Xultun project over the last five years has had a great impact on my interpretations. Finally, my family has been an incredible support through graduate school. My advisor, William Saturno, has provided invaluable support both through encouragement and financial resources. As director of the San Bartolo-Xultun project he allowed me access to the project and the freedom to explore my research interest at Xultun. Financially, Bill provided me with teaching fellow positions for two of the three field seasons in which my research was completed. He also provided assistance in my being awarded a GRAF which provided funding for the third field season. Bill provided me with full access to the remote sensing and geospatial data contained within the projects GIS as well as the technological equipment necessary for mapping at Xultun. Finally, he guided me in the fundamentals of remote sensing which started me along the research path I chose. iv My other readers have provided invaluable feedback and advice on how to structure my dissertation. Not to mention the incredible encouragement they provided and the long hours they spend making suggested revisions. David Carballo provided great assistance in editing from the proposal phase, through grant applications, and onto the final project. He also expanded my focus beyond the Maya to understand this culture as part of greater Mesoamerica. Jon Marston provided insight into how to improve the overall structure and appearance of my dissertation. This included editing tips for many of my figures. Vernon Scarborough’s research provided the foundation upon which my research is based. He selflessly provided me with drafts of unpublished research at Tikal to let me know where current research on water management was directed. His feedback on my dissertation drafts was instrumental in the development of the finished product. Other professors at Boston University contributed to my development as an archaeologist and Maya scholar. Francisco Estrada-Belli, now at Tulane University, provided me with a strong foundation in both the Maya and greater Mesoamerica as well as GIS analysis and hydrological modeling of the landscape. Norman Hammond influenced my historic approach to the development of research philosophies and provided me with a strong foundation in both archaeology and Maya studies. Ricardo Elia provided me with the opportunity to experience fieldwork in the Mediterranean, which gave me insights v into how archaeology is performed differently depending on region and climate. He also provided endless advice and encouragement along the way. Mary Beaudry was a great help during the first few years of graduate school providing invaluable advice and guidance. Interacting with fellow graduate students both at Boston University and in the field provided me with constant intellectual conversation which aided me in the development of my research ideas. Franco Rossi and Jenny Wildt were steadfast companions both in the classroom and the field. Benjamin Vining provided me with the technical expertise needed to begin the mapping project at Xultun. Alex Smith, of Brown University, helped me increase my understanding of survey methodology and interpretation. Lauren Santini, of Harvard University, provided countless insights into the environment at Xultun and past settlement in the area. Mary Clarke created incredible field drawings, of the excavated stela fragment, which contributed to my dissertation. There were many others who I worked with in the field, without whom this research could not have been completed. T. U. Walter Omar Schwendener S. who supervised excavations, under my direction, within an elite compound at Xultun provided me with a great deal of data. Conversations with him also provided me with insights into the overall organization of settlement in this part of Xultun. My students Alex Kara, Josue Nieves, and Dan Cline provided invaluable assistance during the excavation process, providing field drawings, vi and their own insights into the reservoir and drainage system. The many workers who assisted with the survey and excavation provided their knowledge of the environment and region and I could not have completed any of the work here without them. Finally, I would like to thank my family. They have been by my side through the long and often difficult path of graduate school. They have provided support both emotionally and financially without which I surely would not have finished this journey. I would like to thank my mother Theresa, my sister Allison, and my brother-in-law James, all of whom visited me in Guatemala. Most of all I would like to thank my wife Natasha who has encouraged, supported, and often pushed me to become the archaeologist and person that I am today. vii Hydrology and Classic Maya Urban Planning: A Geospatial Analysis of Settlement and Water Management at Xultun, Guatemala Jonathan Ruane Boston University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 2015 Graduate Advisor: William Saturno, Assistant Professor of Archaeology ABSTRACT In this dissertation, I explore the relationship between water management, urbanism, and socio-political organization at the Classic Maya site of Xultun, Guatemala. In an area without permanent surface water, provisioning and maintenance of large stores of water was a necessity for agricultural stability. Combining evidence from archaeological survey, excavation, remote sensing, and geospatial analysis I demonstrate that settlement at Xultun was organized topographically. Elite ritual structures were concentrated on the highest areas, and in proximity to reservoirs. This gave leaders control over the release of water, and by extension control over their subjects. Xultun was built on a natural hill. Urban space was concentrated into three topographic areas: administrative on the summit, residential on lower terraces, and agricultural on the lowest land. Using geospatial analysis, I modeled the relationship between the site’s public and private buildings, its 15 reservoirs, and viii its hydrology. Water was collected and stored within each of the three topographic zones for local use; however, administrative neighborhoods were located close to reservoirs in order to maintain tight control. Excavations at the site’s summit revealed that the central reservoir was in use since the late Preclassic (400 BC-250 AD). They also revealed a complex drainage system that diverted water into an aqueduct that emptied into a canal feeding this reservoir. Overflow from the reservoir was directed to reservoirs farther downhill. Drainage flowed from the administrative center to the cardinal directions in accordance with Maya cosmological principles. The link between water and authority is further illustrated by the discovery, in an administrative neighborhood, of a stela depicting a royal ancestor in the act of impersonating Chak, the Maya Rain God. At Xultun, the association of administrative neighborhoods with reservoirs in all three topographic areas reflects centralized control and management of urban water resources. The arrangement of hydrological systems emphasized cosmological principles and reinforced authority through ritual association with the rain deity. Water management was instrumental in the maintenance of power. As a key element of statecraft, its stratified spatial organization supported the hierarchical social order that took root in the Preclassic and came to characterize Maya urbanism. ix Table of Contents Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………..iv Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………viii Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………..x List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………..xiv List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………..xv Chapter 1: Introduction and Theoretical Approach…….……………………….1 Introduction…………………………..…………………………………………..1 Theoretical Perspective………………………………...………………………2 Urban Geography…………………...………………………….……….3 Hierarchy, Heterarchy, and Hydrology……………………...………...5 Relevant Framework and Studies…………………………………..…7 Social Area Analysis and the Urban Mosaic………………………………..13 Categories of Spatial Analysis………………………………………………..17 Outline of Dissertation Chapters…………………………………………..…20 Chapter 2: Settlement, Water Management, and Urbanism…………………..24