George J. Bey

The Return of Quetzalcoatl

Continuing analysis of the site of Chichen Itza suggests that its construction dates primarily to the Late Classic period, ca. a.d. 700–1000, rather than the Early Postclassic. This paper examines the implications of this redating for the well-known “Toltec” problem. Since Chichen largely antedated Tollan-phase Tula, we conclude that what is usually identified as Toltec imagery in fact dates to an earlier Epiclassic horizon extending from Morelos and Puebla to the Gulf Coast and Yucatan. Chichen Itza, we suggest, was the eastern node in a network of shrine centers dedicated primarily to Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan. This network transcended political boundaries and included such sites as Cholula, Cacaxtla, El TajIn, Xochicalco, and ultimately Tula. The Quetzalcoatl cult is manifested by a specific complex of traits and seems to have expanded militarily with messianic vigor. Pilgrimage was also an important activity at these centers. This cult axis apparently continued into the Postclassic period, and was responsible for the distribution of the Mixteca-Puebla art style. In Yucatan, Mayapan would seem to have assumed Chichens position as the major Yucatecan node, although accompanied by several new shrines along the Caribbean coast.

Excavation and Preliminary Analysis of an Obsidian Workshop in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico

Abstract Previous survey of the Toltec site of Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, revealed what is believed to have been a zone of obsidian workshops within the Early Postclassic city. Tulane University conducted excavation of part of one topographic complex within the zone, revealing a workshop complex consisting of a linear arrangement of residential compounds, peripheral refuse dumps, and open work areas, the latter tentatively identified by microscopic analysis of soil samples. Over 500,000 pieces of obsidian were recovered, revealing an exclusively core/blade industry that imported percussion macrocores from at least two different sources and produced prismatic blade cores, blades, and certain blade products. The reduction sequence and differences in the processing of obsidian from different sources are well documented. Ceramic and stratigraphic data suggest the locality was originally marginal land settled relatively early in Tulas history, possibly by immigrants from the Basin of Mexico.

The Ceramic Chronology of Ek Balam, Yucatan, Mexico

Since 1984, the Ek Balam Project has been investigating the organization and developmental history of a large Maya polity in the northeastern part of the Yucatan Peninsula. The survey included both urban Ek Balam, the largest regional center during the Late Classic period ( a.d. 600–900), covering a minimum of 12 km 2 , and its rural hinterland. One result of this project has been the construction of a preliminary ceramic history of the region, the subject of this report. Evidence supports a sequence of occupations extending from the Middle Preclassic through the Hispanic period (600 b.c. – a.d. 1600). The ceramic sequence, constructed from a type-variety analysis of more than a quarter of a million pieces of pottery from surface survey and excavations, consists of six preliminary ceramic complexes. This ceramic analysis extends our understanding of Maya cultural development in the northern Maya lowlands to a largely unknown area of the peninsula.

Trowels, trenches and transformation: A case study of archaeologists learning a more critical practice of archaeology

The purpose of this research was to explore how archaeologists who are working at a new archaeological project in Yucatan, Mexico have arrived at new understandings and practices of archaeology that are more environmentally friendly and community inclusive. We position these archaeologists as adult learners, and, using the framework of critical transformational learning, we explore how the transformational journeys of these archaeologists are integrated with social and contextual factors. Findings show that these archaeologists are currently undergoing critical transformational learning but are struggling with how to transform their new critical visions into a more critical practice of archaeology. We conceptualize this struggle as a result of moving from enacting technical action towards enacting practical action and conclude that traditional archaeological training needs to be restructured to provide more guidance on how to enact practical action.

Evidence from Escalera al Cielo: Abandonment of a Terminal Classic Puuc Maya Hill Complex in Yucatán, Mexico

Abstract Excavations at the hilltop site of Escalera al Cielo, located in the Puuc Maya region of Yucatán, Mexico, have uncovered evidence of a planned abandonment at the end of the Terminal Classic period (a.d. 800–950). Six buildings investigated among three residential groups contain rich floor assemblages similar to those known from only a few rapidly abandoned sites in the Maya area. Through an analysis of de facto refuse—most of which was recovered in locations of storage and provisional discard—and midden refuse, this paper illustrates how the assemblages represent an example of household-level abandonment with anticipated return. We also consider Escalera al Cielo in light of our present understanding of the political and environmental history of the Puuc region during the late 9th century a.d.

Lime Powder Production in the Maya Puuc Region (A.D. 600–950): An Experimental Pit-Kiln

ABSTRACT Powdered lime was one of the most significant materials in the daily lives of the Prehispanic Maya, yet archaeologists have uncovered relatively little evidence of production methods or locales prior to the Spanish conquest. The recent identification of a series of pit-kilns dating to the Late and Terminal Classic periods (ca. a.d. 650–950) in and around the site of Kiuic in the Puuc region of the northern lowlands of the Yucatán Peninsula provides the opportunity to investigate a sub-regional Prehispanic lime production technology. Here we present the preliminary excavation results of nine pit-kilns and then describe the experimental reconstruction and firing of a lime pit-kiln. The results indicate that the pit-kilns are more fuel-efficient than the aboveground pyres used during the post-conquest period. This in turn suggests that Prehispanic inhabitants of the Puuc managed their consumption of natural resources for producing lime during a period of sociopolitical, demographic, and environmental stresses.