Aline Magnoni

RECONSTRUCTING AGRICULTURAL SELF-SUFFICIENCY AT CHUNCHUCMIL, YUCATAN, MEXICO

The Pakbeh Regional Economy Program is studying the vexing questions of economic life among the ancient Maya in northwestern Yucatan, Mexico. The region constitutes an ideal laboratory in which to investigate these questions, as it has very limited agricultural potential and fewer options for intensification than are found in the southern and central lowlands, yet many times more people lived here during the Classic period than can eke out a living today, and it has abundant evidence of market trade. Because crop yields in outfields are very low, and known intensification techniques are possibly incapable of sufficient yield enhancement, we anticipated that it would be an easy task to demonstrate that this population was dependent on imports of food and other necessities of life from beyond the region and therefore had a complex exchange economy. Twelve years later, we report on how wrong we were. We are still struggling with an evaluation of agricultural insufficiency. We explore the many and varied lines of evidence we have pursued and the confounding factors inherent in them, including problems with reconstructing ancient population size, equating contemporary and historical crop yields and farming practices, as well as ancient with modern environmental conditions, and hypothesizing potential forms of agricultural intensification, including intensive fertilization and other yield enhancement techniques, and reliance on alternative crops. The best that we can say at this juncture is that using contemporary production and consumption standards, the most conservative population estimates, and the most liberal estimates of available land in the surrounding region, we can conclude only that regional agricultural self-sufficiency remains unlikely but not proved. What initially seemed like an archaeological “no-brainer” has required us to delve into the realm of archaeological epistemology that we would like to share with our colleagues.

Site and Community at Chunchucmil and Ancient Maya Urban Centers

Abstract Classic Period lowland Maya urban centers often lack sharp boundaries due to progressive dispersal of residential settlement. This dispersal gives rise to questions about the concept of site and the notion of community affiliation. Research on settlement patterns at Chunchucmil, an urban center in NW Yucatan, Mexico, dating to the 5th and 6th centuries A.D., explores the issue of site boundaries and the social and economic implications of such boundaries. Detailed mapping, test pitting, and reconnaissance reveal that Chunchucmil had three densely occupied, concentric, contemporaneous zones of settlement covering between 20 and 25 sq km and inhabited by a population of up to 42,500. Data from both within and beyond the density thresholds marking the edge of the city imply the existence of communities whose boundaries do not always follow those of the site. A portion of the hinterland settlement close to the edge of the city shows stronger economic and social connections with the city, for example. These connections enable the delineation of Greater Chunchucmil, extending 5 km from Chunchucmils center. The work at Chunchucmil also allows comparison with other large Maya cities that have been systematically documented. This comparison highlights considerable variability in Maya urban forms and in how these cities relate to their peripheries.

HOUSE RULES?: The practice of social organization in Classic-period Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico

This paper presents results of excavations from three house lots at Chunchucmil, a Classic-period site in northwestern Yucatan, Mexico. Each of the three house lots contains multiple residential structures organized around patios with temples on the east side of the patio. The boundaries of the house lots are clearly marked by low walls that encircle the architecture and non-mounded space. These house lots were occupied by multiple-family groups that held a common identity. Inequality existed within these groups insofar as one residence in each group was larger and better constructed than the others. In discussing the succession of leadership within these groups, we argue that social organization resembled the flexible house society model presented by Claude Lévi-Strauss, as opposed to rule-guided models based solely on descent or kinship. The practical nature of social organization is seen in the type of modifications found on the east structures of these groups.

Detection Thresholds of Archaeological Features in Airborne Lidar Data from Central Yucatán

Abstract In this article we evaluate ∼48km2 of airborne lidar data collected at a target density of 15 laser shots/m in central Yucatán, Mexico. This area covers parts of the sites of Chichén Itzá and Yaxuná, a kilometer-wide transect between these two sites, and a transect along the first few kilometers of Sacbé 1 from Yaxuná to Cobá. The results of our ground validation and mapping demonstrate that not all sizable archaeological features can be detected in the lidar images due to: (1) the slightly rolling topography interspersed with 1-6 m-high bedrock hummocks, which morphologically mimic house mounds, further complicated by the presence of low foundations; (2) the complex forest structure in central Yucatán, which has particularly dense near-ground understory resulting in a high number of mixed-signal ground and low vegetation returns which reduces the fidelity and accuracy of the bare-earth digital elevation models; and (3) the predominance of low archaeological features difficult to discern from the textural noise of the near-ground vegetation. In this article we explore different visualization techniques to increase the identification of cultural features, but we conclude that, in this portion of the Maya region, lidar should be used as a complement to traditional on-the-ground survey techniques.

Geochemical analysis of Late Classic and Post Classic Maya marketplace activities at the Plazas of Cobá, Mexico

Abstract Lines of evidence for ancient exchange plazas may include trade routes and trade artifacts, urban open space near public structures, and rock alignments denoting market stalls, but regular patterns in soil chemical concentrations also point to marketplace use. We applied geochemical and geospatial analysis of the floors of the main Plaza of Group B and Plazas A, H, and J of Group D at Cobá, Mexico, to discover the chemical residues of phosphorus (P) and metals associated with the exchange of foodstuffs and mineral workshop items that may have been marketed there. The patterns of chemical residues in the floor of the Group B Plaza suggest ritual activities while the linear, parallel patterns of elevated Mehlich phosphorus and chelate extractable zinc concentrations in Plaza A support the hypothesis of market exchange at that location. Plaza H is associated with several Postclassic buildings, including the Pinturas Structure D-33. During the Postclassic period, Cobá had lost much of its population, though chemical residues from Plaza H are congruent with marketing. We argue that Plazas A and H were not permanent marketplaces but rather multi-purpose locations that also hosted large ceremonies.

LIVING IN THE CITY: SETTLEMENT PATTERNS AND THE URBAN EXPERIENCE AT CLASSIC PERIOD CHUNCHUCMIL, YUCATAN, MEXICO

Abstract In this paper we illustrate the distinctive settlement patterns of the city of Chunchucmil during its largest occupation in the middle of the Classic period (a.d. 400–650). The unusually dense urban settlement showcased a network of boundary walls and chichbes surrounding residential groups and narrow streets winding between the tightly bounded houselots. Using a sample of 392 completely and unambiguously bounded houselots, we review the basic characteristics, the structural composition, and variability of late Early Classic and early Late Classic residential groups. Then, we explore how these city dwellers may have experienced their urban environment. Our focus is on understanding how the material aspects of the socially constructed space affected peoples practices and how this materiality helped create and define specific household identities as well as extra-household social bonds.

Whose Culture is it Anyway? Anthropological Perspectives on Identity and Representation in the Context of Ethnic and Heritage Tourism

This collection of articles explores anthropological studies of identity – past and present – and the contrasting representations of these identities put forth by different groups and stakeholders in the context of ethnic and heritage tourism. Following a dramatic increase in travel and tourism both in the number of travellers and money spent, ethnic and heritage tourism has grown in popularity in recent years. In a number of cases, tourism has become one of the main sources of national income for many countries, especially developing ones. Thus, in the context of the proliferation of a globalised tourism industry, it is critical to understand how identity claims are developed, negotiated, and experienced by different stakeholders involved in this process. In this edition, we explore how different groups formulate their own ideas of identity and heritage, and how these are translated into (mis) representations by local communities, tourist operators, governments, institutions, and the actual tourists. The results of these multifarious (mis) representations may be problematic and often come into conflict. The politics of representation put forth by governments and institutions can often clash with those of the people being represented. Institutionalised representations that agree with national and international agendas of tourism promotion and as well as the conservation and preservation of cultural patrimony may stand in sharp contrast to those representations held by the people living close to heritage sites or the groups showcased as the object of ethnic tourism. In some cases, a culturally dominant group can exploit and manipulate heritage and living ethnic groups’ identities, often without their consent, to package cultural identity in a more consumer friendly format for the tourist market. In other instances, culturally dominant groups can push their heritage and identity claims to the fore while marginalising minority groups’ representations. Moreover, the diverse public audiences will experience and perceive these identity and heritage claims through their own individual and sociocultural lenses, thereby increasing the fragmentation of representations. Tourism gained credibility as a topic of academic inquiry in the late 1970s with the publication of several pioneering works, including Smith’s (1977) edited volume Hosts and Guests and Dean MacCannell’s (1976) book The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class. In the last three decades, scholars have explored such topics as tourists’ search for the ‘Other’ (e.g. Desmond,

“ALL THAT IS SOLID…”: SACBES , SETTLEMENT, AND SEMIOTICS AT TZACAUIL, YUCATAN

Abstract This paper applies structuration theory and semiotics to interpret the results of a recently completed total coverage pedestrian survey to the east of Yaxuna, Yucatan. Data from this survey suggest that a social group centered at the site of Tzacauil vied for political clout in the Late Preclassic period through the construction of a triadic acropolis 3 km from Yaxuna. This group also initiated but did not complete a new experimental construction: a long-distance causeway between the two sites. A central facet of structuration is the instability of social practice. Rules can be altered when transposed to new contexts, while durable resources, such as causeways and acropolis groups, do not ensure the solidity of the coalitions they are meant to represent. Despite an outlay of labor never again seen to the east of Yaxuna, Tzacauil had a rather short occupation. Though they never completed the causeway, the people of Tzacauil did succeed in transforming the conventional understanding of causeways. These events support a semiotic approach since they show that materiality is contingent: it has a potential that people may or may not work to realize.