Andrew K. Scherer

Bioarchaelogical evidence for social and temporal differences in Diet at Piedras Negras

In this bioarchaeological study of Classic Maya subsistence, we analyzed porotic hyperostosis, dental caries, and stable isotopes on skeletal remains recovered from 118 burials at Piedras Negras, Guatemala. The abundant porotic hyperostosis and dental caries at Piedras Negras, coupled with a high mean ?13C (mean -9.2 ? 1.0%c) provide evidence for high levels of maize consumption. The isotope data show slight differences among social status groups. Chronological changes in diet are more evident. The Early Classic (A.D. 350?625) skeletons are characterized by moderate heterogeneity in isotope ratios relative to skeletons of the Yaxche phase of the Late Classic (A.D. 625-750). In Yaxche phase skeletons, a prosperous time for Piedras Negras, 813C and S15N are homogenous, with an emphasis on dietary maize and terrestrial fauna. In Chacal haaz times (A.D. 750-825) isotope signatures became much more diverse, with some individuals consuming less maize and/or more freshwater fish. We attribute these changes to significant perturbations in the system of food production and distribution at Piedras Negras in the late eighth century, a process that may have been linked to the disintegration of dynas tic kingship at the site and its collapse.

Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan: Divergent Political Trajectories in Adjacent Maya Polities

espanolEn este articulo presentamos la vision sintetica y los resultados de los analices preliminares de los datos recolectados por los miembros del Proyecto Arqueologico Sierra del Lacandon (PRASL) durante los cuatro temporadas de campo, desde 2003 a 2007. Discutimos el crecimiento, el desarrollo, y la transformacion de las entidades politicas mayas del periodo Clasico de Piedras Negras, Guatemala y Yaxchilan, Mexico, ambos ubicados en la cuenca media del Rio Usumacinta. Utilizamos un metodo conjuntivo, que incluye los analisis de iconografia, epigrafia, patrones de asentamiento, la ceramica, patrones funerarios, y estilos arquitectonicos. Durante el periodo Preclasico (c. 250 a.C. � d.C. 350) los asentamientos fueron ubicados en un gran parte de la region del estudio, y Piedras Negras y Yaxchilan constituyeron solamente dos sitios entre varias comunidades Preclasicos sin una jerarquia politica entre ellos. Durante el periodo Clasico temprano (c. d.C. 350--600) las dinastias reales fueron establecidos en Piedras Negras y Yaxchilan, y las poblaciones regionales abandonaron el gran parte del paisaje y se concentraron dentro de nucleos y los alrededores del los dos sitios. Durante el periodo Clasico tardio (c. d.C. 600--810) el limite politico entre los reinos fue reocupado y transformado, volviendolo una zona fronteriza contestada. La expansion territorial culmino en guerra endemica en el siglo octavo y noveno, lo cual formo parte de la destruccion de ambas entidades politicas. EnglishIn this article we present a synthetic overview and preliminary analysis of the data collected by members of the Sierra del Lacandon Regional Archaeology Project (SLRAP) during four field seasons of research from 2003 to 2007. We examine the growth, development, and transformation of the Classic Maya polities of Piedras Negras, Guatemala, and Yaxchilan, Mexico, located in the Middle Usumacinta Basin. This analysis uses a conjunctive approach, incorporating analyses of iconography, epigraphy, settlement patterns, ceramics, mortuary patterns, and architectural styles. During the Late Preclassic period (c. 250 B.C.�A.D. 350) settlement was scattered widely across the study region and Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan were only two of a number of other equally powerful Preclassic communities. In the Early Classic period (c. A.D. 350--600) royal dynasties were established at both Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan and the population of the region became concentrated at these two sites. During the Late Classic period (c. A.D. 600--810) the political frontier between Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan was repopulated and transformed into a contested border zone surrounding a political boundary. This territorial expansion culminated in endemic warfare by the eighth century A.D., which may have ultimately led to the demise of these two Maya polities

STONES, BONES, AND CROWDED PLAZAS: Evidence for Terminal Classic Maya warfare at Colha, Belize

This study provides a synthetic review of the Terminal Classic collapse of the Maya site of Colha, Belize, based on new data drawn from recent lithic and osteological studies and previously reported information. The well-known Colha skull pit has figured prominently in previous hypotheses of the sites collapse, which focus on either warfare or ritual termination. In this review, these two hypotheses are reexamined using data from: (1) shifts in settlement patterns; (2) transitions in lithic production; and (3) the death en masse of at least 55 individuals coincident with the sites abandonment. Based on the evidence presented here, we argue that warfare precipitated Colhas collapse. In light of Colhas role as a secondary site that functioned primarily as a lithic-production locality, the Terminal Classic destruction of the site illustrates the significance of material motivations in Maya warfare and accents the diversity of collapse processes in the Maya Lowlands.

Tecolote, Guatemala: Archaeological Evidence for a Fortified Late Classic Maya Political Border

Abstract A newly discovered system of fortifications at Tecolote, Guatemala, a Late Classic period (A.D. 600–900) Maya secondary center in the Yaxchilan polity, consists of a series of stone walls and hilltop watchtowers. The stone walls appear to have been used as foundations to secure wooden palisades, as suggested previously for other Classic Maya sites, and were used in concert with strategic settlement at the site to maximize overall defensibility. We interpret the site core of Tecolote together with its associated walls and watchtowers as part of an integrated polity-wide system of defense meant to protect the kingdom of Yaxchilan against attack from the polity of Piedras Negras. Furthermore, Tecolote and other sites along Yaxchilans northern border were used as staging grounds for attacks into the Piedras Negras kingdom. We use epigraphic and archaeological data to discuss the significance of this new find for understanding 8th-century geopolitics in the western Maya lowlands and the role of regional warfare and fortification systems in the expansion and demise of Classic polities of this region. Our analysis seeks to develop models for ancient warfare beyond the basic assessment of site-based defense.

Territory, Trust, Growth, and Collapse in Classic Period Maya Kingdoms

Drawing on theoretical understandings of the relationship between civil society and the state, the authors argue that the collapse of the kingdoms of Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan in the ninth century AD resulted from the same political processes that permitted the expansion of dynastic power in preceding centuries. Populations initially clustered around the dynastic capitals of these kingdoms, where daily spheres of interaction facilitated trust building among its residents. The image and performance of the polity was focused on the monarch, and participation in communal efforts, such as construction, warfare, and feasting, nurtured generalized trust within society as a whole, strengthening the polity. As populations expanded over the course of the Classic period and polities grew in territorial extent, spheres of interaction were more diffuse and trust-building efforts were increasingly focused on activities and individuals outside of the king and his court. The result was a breakdown of uniform trust across the kingdom and the failure of dynastic polities. Beyond a study of historical particularities in two kingdoms, this article is intended to suggest ways to more broadly frame interpretations of political processes in Maya polities within the broader context of ancient and modern complex societies worldwide. The model may also be applicable in other cultural contexts where emergent states contended with the challenges of maintaining coherency across an expanding territory.

Dental Morphometric and Strontium Isotope Evidence for Population History at Tikal, Guatemala

We explore the evidence for population mobility at the Classic Maya center of Tikal, Guatemala through the analysis of dental morphometric and strontium isotope ratios measured in human remains excavated at the site. Both lines of investigation are concerned with mobility and immigration yet rely on significantly different methodologies. As we will demonstrate here, both approaches have their limitations in the assessment of ancient migration. However, we suggest that when the two methods are integrated a more robust understanding of population mobility emerges. Our results have implications for not only our understanding of population history at Tikal, but also for the application of biological distance analysis to the Classic Maya. This research originated in the late 1990s as part of Wright’s large-scale bioarchaeological study of the ancient skeletons of Tikal. Aspects of the migratory isotope and dental morphometric research have been published previously (Dental analysis of Classic period population variability in the Maya area, Doctoral Dissertation, Texas AM American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 132, 367–380, 2007; Journal of Archaeological Science, 32(4), 555–566, 2005; Ancient Mesoamerica, 16, 89–100, 2005; Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 31(3), 334–352, 2012). This publication integrates these data in a combined analysis of population mobility at Classic period Tikal.

Danse Macabre: Death, Community, and Kingdom at El Kinel, Guatemala

We explore the inhumation (and occasional exhumation) of the dead within the framework of ritual practice at El Kinel, Guatemala. Over the course of this chapter, we argue that mortuary rites served to both (re)constitute society at El Kinel and reified that community’s participation within the greater Yaxchilan polity of the eighth century AD. To make our case, we reconstruct the ideology of these mortuary practices through the study of 12 burials from El Kinel. In our analysis, we draw on data from archaeology, osteology, taphonomy, iconography, ethnohistory, and ethnography. Although the veneration of ancestors and perhaps the validation of lineage are evident in our analysis, more salient in our results is a ritual tradition that reflected localized (at the level of kingdom) interpretations of pan-Maya beliefs regarding the treatment of the dead. We conclude that in the eighth century AD, funerary rites served as an integrative mechanism within the Yaxchilan kingdom, uniting king and commoner through shared ritual practice.

A royal Maya country house: Archaeology at Bejucal, Guatemala

This article presents three years of archaeological investigations at the minor Maya center of Bejucal, Guatemala. A complete site history is presented relying on data from artifact analysis, architectural study, epigraphy, and bioarchaeology, with a goal towards identifying the sites function within the broader El Zotz polity. The authors argue that Bejucal underwent significant transformation following its establishment as a sacred hilltop site during the Late Preclassic period (400 b.c.–a.d. 250). The El Zotz royal family gradually appropriated the space, converting it into a royal country house and elite burial place. Bejucals proximity to a large permanent water source suggests that the country house was situated within favorable hunting grounds. The research contributes to a broader discussion about the role of minor centers in regional settlement patterns, highlighting the benefit of textual data in making interpretations. The article also highlights the important role of salvage work in lowland Maya archaeology.