June 2011

Transitions in Preclassic Maya Residential Organization

Mon, May 09, 2011

By Paul Wren

 

The Late Preclassic period in the Maya lowlands was a time of sweeping change.  It witnessed the rise of grand monumental architecture, the emergence of hierarchical societies, and the development of the Maya version of urban centers.  As important as these manifestations were, profound changes occurred earlier that have generally been obscured from our view by the later, more impressive construction.

We have a restricted window into the history of the egalitarian villages which were scattered across the landscape in the Middle Preclassic.  Nearly all of the artifacts and structures from this time have been found several meters below the prominent Classic structures which are visible today, and complete community layouts are simply not available.

Nevertheless, I hoped to find some evidence of the institutions which bound households together into larger groups, and how those institutions changed or were replaced over time.  In other parts of the world, residential clusters have been identified which seem to demonstrate a local focus (whether social or economic) for the people living there, i.e., neighborhoods.  Examples include regions and times as diverse as the Neolithic in Turkey (Düring and Marciniak 2006), and the 13^th century American Southwest (Lowell 1991).   In these places, the neighborhoods eventually dissolved as the communities became integrated at a higher level, or the populations were absorbed into communities at other locations.  This paper looks at Middle and Late Preclassic data from the Maya lowlands in an attempt to detect similar patterns as small villages grew into something larger.

APPROACH

Using the existing literature addressing Maya lowland sites with known Preclassic occupations, I have collected details on excavation units at these sites which revealed architectural evidence associated with the Middle and Late Preclassic.  The amount and type of available data varied from one site to another, rendering a unified classification approach useless.  I will present summaries of the information organized by site and then by phase, rather than enumerating individual excavation units at each site.

ALTAR DE SACRIFICIOS

Named for an altar discovered at the site, Altar de Sacrificios is located at the confluence of the Rio Pasión and Rio Salinas in southwestern Peten, Guatemala.  Major excavations were conducted in the early 1960s, beginning in 1959, under the direction of Gordon R. Willey.  The site was occupied into the Postclassic, with the earliest documented occupation represented by Xe ceramics (Smith 1972).

At Altar de Sacrificios, Preclassic occupations were identified at many operations across the site (Smith 1972).  The most illustrative chronology of this period was found in and around the B Group (Willey 1973).

The Xe phase (900-600 B.C.) community at Altar de Sacrificios probably numbered around 100 individuals.  Houses were perishable structures constructed from wooden poles and other organic materials (there was some evidence of waddle and daub), and were built directly on the ground.  Fragments of ceramic figurines in the form of human effigies may indicate ritual practice within the households.  All ground stone artifacts were utilitarian in nature.

The first low, artificial clay household mounds appear in the San Felix phase (600-300 B.C.).  Household artifacts remain about the same, and no evidence was found of a significant increase in the community population.  Changes were happening in the center of the B Group, however.   The first earthen platforms around the plaza at the B Group appeared (Structures B-I, B-II, and B-III), some with terraces and stairs (Smith 1972).  And while domestic artifacts were still found within and outside the plaza area, what seemed to be ceremonial items were discovered only within the B Group.  The most notable of these were 9 red sandstone tables.  None of these items were found in the residential mounds outside of the plaza (Willey 1973).

By the beginning of the Plancha phase (300 B.C. - A.D. 150), Structure B-1 at the plaza was a 3-meter high pyramid which would continue to grow in size throughout the phase.  The residential area to the West now consisted of 28 house mounds built over San Felix floors, many faced with almeja in a style similar to the Group B ceremonial structures.  Multiple residential mounds across the site also showed thick floors of almeja, such as Mounds 6 and 20 (Smith, 1972). Only a few Plancha figurines were found.  This long phase saw continuous enlargement of the structures in the B Group, creating a significant monumental core for the settlement (Willey 1973).

During the Preclassic at Altar de Sacrificios, a simple egalitarian community grew into a differentiated one with a ceremonial and/or civic center.  The settlement began humbly in the Xe phase as a village of simple houses built directly on the ground.  Differentiation in terms of household construction and size is seen with the appearance of some plastered house floors on low platforms during the San Felix phase, and near the end of the San Felix phase the plaza at B Group emerges as a public space with mounds that do not seem to be residential (although they are built where some higher-quality houses once stood).  This plaza blossomed in the Plancha phase, and became a significant public center edged by pyramids (Willey 1973).

BLACKMAN EDDY

Excavations were begun in 1990 at Blackman Eddy as part of the Belize Valley Archaeological Project.  They revealed occupations stretching from the Early Preclassic period (around 1100 B.C.) to the Late Classic (Garber et al. 2003b).

Plaza B shows an excellent chronology of the Preclassic phases of the site.  The earliest evidence of occupation in Plaza B are bedrock-level buildings from the Kanocha phase (1100-900 B.C.) represented in the form of postholes in level B1-13 of Structure B1.  Later in this phase, levels B1-9 and B1-8 reveal low apsidal platforms supporting perishable houses.  These structures were constructed with limestone retaining walls, and were associated with tamped earth patios.  Associated middens show evidence of feasting.

At the beginning of the early facet of the Jenney Creek phase (900-700 B.C.), a rectangular platform made from a limestone block retaining wall and capped with a plaster floor appears (level B1-7).  There is a dense midden of feasting debris near the platform which was filled and capped, apparently in a single event.  A .5-meter high platform identified as level B1-6 directly overlays this earlier platform, and is an example of much improved construction quality: 6 courses of trimmed blocks make up a retaining wall, and the platform is capped by a thick plaster floor.  Near the end of the early facet, level B1-6 is buried and replaced by three rectangular platforms (level B1-5) arranged linearly with the higher platform in the center (Garger et al. 2003a).

Beginning in the late facet of the Jenney Creek phase (700-350 B.C.), A large single structure (level B1-4) replaces the triadic arrangement of level B1-5.  It features the earliest facade masks known in the Maya lowlands flanking the structure's staircase.  By this time, the middens surrounding Structure B1 contain no domestic material.  Larger versions of structure B1 continue to be built throughout this phase (Garber et al. 2003a).

The pattern of increasing complexity in the Preclassic at Blackman Eddy is similar to that seen at Altar, but the initial occupation and the subsequent appearance of larger structures and public architecture all seem to have occurred earlier in time, with a large ceremonial pyramid emerging near the beginning of the Late Preclassic.  Ground-level structures which appear to be residential  give way to low apsidal platforms, which are later replaced by taller and larger rectangular platforms.  It seems likely that the high-status residences became the location for public ceremonial structures in the Late Preclassic, and repeated evidence of feasting over time hints at social processes which integrated the community at this location.           

CEIBAL

Major excavations were undertaken by the Peabody Museum at Ceibal (also known as Seibal) from 1964 to 1968, also under the direction of Gordon R. Willey (Tourtellot 1988).  This significant Maya site lies along the Rio Pasión in southern Peten, about 50 Km almost due East of Altar de Sacrificios.

Group A at Ceibal presents an excellent chronology framing the Preclassic.  The initial settlement (as known) was limited to a contiguous area centered around Group A and the path of the future Causeway II.  A number of residences from the Real phase (900-600 B.C.) were already begin built on plaster floors and low platforms.  Tourtellot (1988) believes the center of this early village was at the location of the later Group A, and suggests that houses were spaced between 150 and 200 meters apart.

The first known boulder-walled platforms (e.g. Structure 31a-sub) appear in the Escoba phase (600-300 B.C.).  Group A continues as the center of the community, and house loci in this area (which were also occupied in the Real phase) are the most likely within the entire site to become elevated patio groups later in the Escoba.

The early facet of the Cantutse phase (300-0 B.C.) saw continued and significant population growth accompanied by the construction of many smaller boulder-walled terraces and platforms, assumed to support residential structures.  Peripheral temples and plazas appear in the area surrounding Group A, and seem to function as local centers or wards.  At least 13 minor temple pyramids have been identified in this period.  Tourellot (1988) interprets this arrangement as a network of interconnected temple groups/wards with the larger ceremonial and/or civic plaza at Group A serving as its center.  Each of the peripheral wards served 10 or more household sites.

The late facet Cantutse (0-270 A.D.) is a time of big changes in community organization.  Group A significantly declines, and a completely new complex appears in a location somewhat away from the existing community: Group D.  Tourtellot (1988) hypothesizes that this group represents an elite residential zone built by elite families who felt a need to locate themselves away from the rest of the community.

Ceibal began as a simple egalitarian village in the Middle Preclassic.  As it grew, differentiation became visible as some houses remained on the ground or on low plaster floors, while others were built on low platforms retained by stone walls.  In the late Escoba phase, patio groups appeared (probably representing the residences of higher status families).  By the early Cantutse phase, plazas and/or small temples serving multiple households signal the appearance of local community organization, yet the highest concentration of what appear to be elite residences remains at Group A, implying that multiple levels of organization exist.

CERROS

Cerros is located near Chetumal Bay in northern Belize, where major excavations were undertaken between 1974 and 1976 by archaeologists from Southern Methodist University (Freidel 1986).

Buried beneath the main plaza at Cerros are deposits which represent the chronology of the community.  Feature A, as these deposits are known, will be the focus of this section, as it provides evidence of Cerros' transition from an egalitarian village to a large stratified ceremonial center, all within the Late Preclassic (Cliff and Crane 1989).

Cliff and Crane (1989) define five stages of development at Cerros.  Stage I (325-275 B.C.) is represented by Ixtabal ceramics (although the Ixtabal phase extends to 250 B.C.).  Stage I structures at Feature 1A are ground-level perishable houses, each with an associated earthen patio.  There is no apparent arrangement to the residences, and it is assumed that each houses a single nuclear family (Cliff and Crane 1989).

The houses in the early part of Stage II (275-175 B.C.) are similar to those in Stage I, but have interior floors of clay and the exterior patio floors are hard plaster.  They are also more numerous, and there is evidence of private ritual in the form of dedicatory burials and caches.  The first public architecture appears during this stage: Structure 2A-sub.2 appears to be a dock on the water's edge (Cliff and Crane 1989).

The later part of Stage II brings domestic compounds, featuring out-buildings such as kitchens.  The first signs of inequality appear with some homes being built on higher platforms, but there is still no particular pattern to the settlement.  Stage II overlaps the parts of the Istabal and C'oh (250-150 B.C.) phases.

During Stage III (175-100 B.C.), the public dock (Structure 2A-sub.2) is enlarged and improved, and the entire occupation area is reorganized around a central plaza (Cliff 1988).  Note that this stage overlaps parts of the C'oh and Early Tulix (150-250 B.C.) ceramic horizons.  More variation is seen is the sizes of houses and their associated patios, which seems to be further indication of differentiation within the community with higher status families possessing more property area (Cliff and Crane 1989). Cliff (1988)  argues that this local community represents a barrio, or neighborhood.  He notes that there are two other similar house and patio clusters at Cerros, and the ceramics at these three neighborhoods support his argument: C'oh ceramics are found in quantity at all three clusters, but not in the areas between them.  He hypothesizes that these neighborhoods represented extended kin groups.

At the beginning of Stage IV (100-50 B.C.), the first ceremonial public structure appears in Feature 1A: structure 2A-Sub.4 is a small pyramid.  By the middle of this stage, two distinct status levels are apparent in the domestic architecture.  Higher status residences are perishable houses with attached patios atop raised plastered platforms, while lower status homes are still build directly on the ground and lack patios.  By the end of this stage, domestic stone architecture for elite residences appears.  Cliff (1988) sees this as firm evidence that a ranked society had emerged.

Sometime during the brief Stage V (50-25 B.C.), non-elite residences disappear entirely from Feature 1A.  By the end of the stage, the entire area is buried and capped with the first phase of the new main plaza/ceremonial center.

The Cerros neighborhoods probably developed to fill the need for economic and social integration. Cliff (1988) believes that the transition from a rural village to an urban center was facilitated by the emergence of higher status extended family groups which superseded the neighborhoods as the focus for economic and production  activities.  The neighborhoods disappear at the time when public architecture is first seen, and are replaced by the familiar Classic arrangement of plazuelas around the Cerros site.

CUELLO

The Preclassic site of Cuello is located roughly 40 Km southwest of Cerros in northern Belize.  Major excavations spanned over a decade from 1975 to 1987 at what is thought to be the earliest known Maya settlement (Hammond 1991).

The Main Trench is a large excavation of the occupation levels underneath Platform 34, represented by almost four vertical meters of deposits which are divided into 20 stratigraphic levels, or phases.  During the occupation of Cuello, the patio area represented in the Main Trench underwent major reconfigurations several times.  Nearly every phase contained evidence of firepits, burials, and trash middens containing domestic refuse (Hammond 1991).

The earliest occupation was associated with the Swasey ceramic complex, with four distinct occupation phases (pases 0 through II) being identified with Swasey.  Two apsidal buildings on the ground surface (Structures 328 and 329) with plastered floors are the earliest structures.  These buildings are destroyed and covered over by the first constructed patio floor (Patio Floor I), upon which three new structures facing the patio (creating a courtyard) were built.  These buildings featured single-course limestone retaining walls supporting plastered platforms averaging 20 cm in height, and perishable superstructures.  Multiple episodes of reflooring were found (Hammond 1991).

During the phases associated with Bladen, and then Lopez Mamom ceramics (levels III, IIIa, IV, and IVa), four different patio floors are laid down, with many new buildings atop them replacing the old ones.  Some structures are built on increasingly higher platforms, the buildings are of better quality, and the total area of the patio also increases over time.  Of particular note is Structure 324, found only in level III.  Located in the center of the patio, it was round, plastered, and showed no evidence of a superstructure.  Its surface showed evidence of burning, and was later covered by the new patio floor in Phase IIIa.  The two buildings constructed on Patio Floor V are rectangular platforms supporting stone-walled superstructures (Hammond 1991).

In phase V, all existing structures were destroyed and burned.  A jade cache was placed near the south end of the patio, and a large mass burial was placed near the center of the patio.  The ritual burial contained the remains of 32 whole or partial  skeletons.  All had been butchered, and interred with Chicanel vessels.  Following the placement of the cache and the mass burial, the first stage of Platform 34 was laid down: Plaza Floor I (Hammond 1991).

Ten successive phases (Va through XIII) associated with Coco Chicanel ceramics showed a series of repeated reconstructions in the Main Trench. eight new Plaza floors and 11 structures are built and later demolished to make way for the next construction.  Structures became gradually larger and more robust during this time.  It is likely that the first ceremonial pyramid in the Structure 35 sequence (Structure 351) was built just to the west of the Main Trench area and was contemporaneous with level VIa.  Stela I was placed in the center of the plaza during phase XI, positioned immediately above the first mass grave from Phase V.  At the same time, the remains of 15 more individuals were interred together in Feature 128.  Some were bone bundles placed in the laps of full skeletons buried in seated positions (Hammond 1991).

The final phase consists of the construction of the last plaza floor which covers the previous structures.  Plaza Floor X abutts Structure 35, an Early Classic pyramid built atop Structure 350 (Hammond 1991).

Overall, the Main Trench excavations showed a progression which is becoming rather familiar:  Perishable structures build on the ground, followed by some buildings on low platforms, followed by some structures being built on higher platforms, leading to differentiation in household size, quality, and elaboration.  Ceremonial structures make their appearance after this societal inequality seems to develop.  Unfortunately, even with the Main Trench being as large as it is, the window into Cuello's past that it provided may not have been big enough.  While the configuration of the patio and following plaza changed over time, it remained basically the same:  multiple houses facing a shared open space.  Within the context of the Main Trench, it is not possible to detect larger changes in the overall settlement pattern at the site.

K’AXOB

A moderate-sized Maya settlement, K'axob is situated between Cerros and Cuello in northern Belize.  Excavations were performed over three field seasons ending in 1993, and all material in this section was obtained from a reconstruction by Patrica McAnany and Sandra López Varela (1999).

Operation 1 in Plaza B is the largest excavation unit in terms of area (6 by 8 meters), and provides evidence of continuous occupation from the Middle Formative to the Early Classic.  Phase I at Operation 1 is represented by 29 post holes in the ground surface, sherd-lined pits and firepits, and two burials accompanied by shell beads.  Phase I is associated with Chaakkax (800-400 B.C.) ceramics (as are phases II and III), part of the Mamom sphere.

The Phase II level contains the remains of an apsidal platform retained by a single course of stones, capped by a plastered floor and a wattle-and daub superstructure (Structure 1i).  Structure 4, which appears to be a kitchen, is attached to Structure 1i.  The associated middens contained a large quantity of cut/drilled shells in addition to substantial domestic refuse, and there were six associated burials.

Phase III showed that the floor of Structure 1i was re-plastered multiple times.  The associated burials were accompanied by shell beads and complete vessels.

Phases IV through VII showed several episodes of floor resurfacing for Structure 1i, and throughout these four phases, a number of single-phase structures are built and then disappear again.  The ceramics in these levels are early facet K'atabche'kax (400-200 B.C.), from the Chicanel sphere.

Phases VIIIa through VIIId are associated with late facet K'atabche'kax (200-50 B.C.), and feature many changes.  A new version of Structure 1i appears in the form of a rectangular platform with a multiple-course stone retaining wall.  The first cache known at the site was buried under the plaza West of this structure.  The toss zone around Structure 1i continues to reveal domestic refuse, but evidence of cooking is now absent.  Lastly, flexed and secondary burials completely replace extended burials. These are more labor intensive, and they were accompanied with significantly more elaborate grave goods.

At Operation 10, Phase I and II occupations were represented by plastered floors and some K'atabche'kax ceramics.  Later occupations in Phases III to V revealed the previous single residential structure has been replaced by a multi-dwelling complex with an interior plaza.   A unique three-stone cache was placed under the plaza floor.

The Middle Preclassic deposits of Operation 1 are the only pure Middle Preclassic material excavated at K'axob, making it likely that the settlement started in the area of Plaza B and expanded outward.  Within Operation 1, we see ground-level perishable structures at the earliest level, followed by a low apsidal platform supporting a perishable superstructure.  Later, the apsidal structure is replaced by a stone-walled, rectangular platform, yet it persists as a residential structure.  The familiar increase in architectural complexity over time is accompanied by a parallel increase in burial elaboration.

KOMCHEN

The Preclassic site of Komchen lies in the extreme northwest Yucatan.  The site was subject of an extensive survey and accompanying test excavations in 1980 (Ringle and Andrews V 1988).

While early facet Nabanche (600-450 B.C.) ceramics were encountered, there was no evidence for structures.  Ringle and Andrews (1988) attribute this to the likelihood that residences from this phase were perishable and built on the ground.

Six living surfaces were attributed to the Ek phase (450-350 B.C.).  Some were packed earth, but masonry lined platforms were also found (Ringle and Andrews V 1988).

Specific detail regarding the late facet of the Nabanche phase (350-150 B.C.) is lacking, but the survey data revealed this phase to have more Type 1 platforms (i.e., less than 40 square meters in area) than the subsequent phase, yet still had a large number of Type 2 mounds (greater than 40 m2).  Even so, the average mound size was notably smaller for the late Nabanche (Ringle and Andrews V 1988).

Some residential platforms in the Xculul phase (150 B.C. - A.D. 250) were round or oval, had stone foundations, opened onto a patio on a platform, but were quite small (around 17 m2).  Rectangular Typ 2 platforms were more numerous in this phase than in the earlier Nabanche phase, late facet (Ringle and Andrews V 1988).

A total of 505 mounds/platforms were mapped at Komchen, and test units were dug in 162 of them.  While the data gathered from such an endeavor can provide a big picture view of the entire settlement, it has not proved very useful in assessing residential patterns in detail.  Nevertheless, one can still catch a glimpse of the pattern seen at other Preclassic sites: ground-level structures in the earliest occupation, rounded low platforms next, giving way to rectangular house platforms retained by stone walls.  The authors (Ringle and Andrews V 1988) make of point of stating that they found no evidence for wards or barrios.

YAXHA-SACNAB

The Florida State Museum conducted settlement surveys in the area of Lakes Yaxhá and Sacnab in 1974.  861 mounds or platforms were mapped as part of the survey, and 204 of them were excavated (Rice 1976).

The earliest materials at the site are associated with early facet Ah Pam (700-600 B.C.), which is related to Eb at Tikal.  The lowest level of Mound 340, associated with Ah Pam, is a limestone mortar floor.  This early platform was on the East side of Plaza A, and featured a stair to a stone superstructure atop the platform. (Rice 1976).

Four platforms represent the late facet Ah Pam (600-500 B.C.), and are all taller than 50 cm, and Rice (1976) suggests they had a special function.  He posits that "it is probable that the residences were integrated around specialized construction of ceremonial or civic function."

During the Yancotil phase (500-250 B.C.), many platforms were built at Yaxhá-Sacnab.  Many are as low as 12 cm in height, while some approach 260 cm.  More than a dozen of them exceed a height of 70 cm.  Some of these platforms were larger, and likely not residential.  Mounds 742 and 738 are both over 40 m2 in area.  Rice (1976) estimates the construction volume for these two platforms at almost 10,000 cubic meters-- a sign that significant labor was available for public construction projects.

The survey identified seven minor centers at the site during the Middle Preclassic, 10 in the Late Preclassic, and then only eight still in use during the Early Classic.  Rice and Rice (1980) define "structure groups" as small groupings of 2-6 residential mounds, and identify nine such structure groups in the Middle Classic.  The number of these residential mound groups increases to 29 in the Late Preclassic, and expands to 43 by the Early Classic.  Population growth is seen throughout the Preclassic, even in the areas where minor centers are abandoned (Rice 1976).  This supports a model of authority shifting from a local ward to a regional center as the settlement grew.

DISCUSSION

The following residential sequence is observed at every site discussed:

1. The earliest houses are perishable structures, built on the ground.
2. Over time some perishable houses are built on top of low plastered platforms, but some continue to be built directly on the ground.
3. Later, even greater differences in house size, quality, and height become apparent as some houses are built upon platforms (often rectangular) retained by multiple-course stone walls.

Also, increasing differentiation in the size of houses and the amount of labor put into them is a likely clue to the emergence of elite families in these communities.  There’s no real surprise here—this same pattern holds across the entire Maya world.

Early on (probably before the emergence of elites), we also see some evidence of local community organization in the form of neighborhoods.  Of the sites discussed previously, Ceibal, Cerros, and Yaxhá-Sacnab show evidence of this.  At least 13 small peripheral temples were built within residential zones at Ceibal, implying local organization.   At Cerros, residential structures are re-arranged around a plaza in Stage III, a pattern interpreted by Cliff (1988) as a neighborhood.  The residential structure groups at Yaxhá-Sacnab are organized into minor centers which seem to function as wards.

Another pattern contributing to the local ward concept involves special-purpose structures observed at some of these sites, and at others.  Round platforms that do not seem to support residential structures begin to appear within residential zones, as noted earlier for Cuello (Str. 324) and Komchen (Str. 18J-3).  Similar structures have been found at Cahal Pech, Uaxactun, Altun Ha (Aimers et al. 2000), and Rio Azul (Hendon 1999),  and with the exception of Structures E and F at Uaxactun, the round structures are known to have been built among residential house mounds.  The specific features which were placed among residences are Structures 2-2^nd , 14, and 15 at Cahal Pech (Aimers et al. 2000), Structure 2 in operation 206 at Rio Azul (Hendon 1999), and Structure C-13-3^rd at Altun Ha (Hendon 1999).

Yet another pattern seen at Altar de Sacrificios, Blackman Eddy, and Cerros is the replacement of  elaborate (likely elite) residential platforms by non-residential public structures.  Increasing social inequality appears to have been expressed in the widening architectural differences.  That these elite families possessed economic influence is obvious.  It also seems likely that they acted as de facto leaders, exerting some general influence over the other members of their local community.  If so, the homes of these leaders would be seen as a physical focus within the ward.  As their influence grew and their larger role in the community became more formalized, it is a natural extension that the physical location of these leaders should become the public center of the neighborhood.

Similarly, many of the round platforms discussed above are replaced by pyramid platforms.  At Cahal Pech, the round platforms are later replaced by small temple pyramids (Aimers et al. 2000), and Hendon (1999) notes the same sequence at Cuello and at Altun Ha where C-13-3^rd is replaced by a four-sided temple platform.  William Ringle (1999) notes that small temples peppered the countryside at El Mirador, and believes that local temples “served as residential organizational nodes in the lowlands,” and were part of a multi-tiered hierarchy reporting to at a major ceremonial center in the area.  This same idea is echoed by Tourtellot (1988) regarding the temple network at Ceibal.

CONCLUSIONS

There is clear evidence for the existence of suprahousehold organizations at multiple Preclassic Maya sites, whether they are called wards, barrios, or neighborhoods.  It is not clear that these neighborhoods were always autonomous, and it seems likely that they often were not.  Even those sites where surging populations and growing differentiation fueled the evolution of a site hierarchy (such as the networks of minor temples seen at Ceibal and El Mirador, and the minor centers at Yaxhá-Sacnab) also revealed local residential groups organized via their own ceremonial center.  As more Preclassic sites are discovered and excavated, a clearer picture of residential organization in this formative time should emerge.

Cover Photo, Top: El Ceibal ruins. Photo by Chixoy, Wikimedia Commons.

About the Author

Pau Wren is an undergraduate student in Anthropology at Arizona State University, where he plans to graduate in August of 2011.  He served as an undergraduate research assistant to Dr. John F. Martin, and attended archaeological field schools in the American Southwest near Cortez, Colorado and Flagstaff, Arizona.

 

References Cited

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