The Maya and Their Central American Neighbors: Settlement Patterns, Architecture, Hieroglyphic Texts and Ceramics PDF
Preview The Maya and Their Central American Neighbors: Settlement Patterns, Architecture, Hieroglyphic Texts and Ceramics
THE MAYA AND THEIR CENTRAL AMERICAN NEIGHBORS The ancient Maya created one of the most studied and best-known civilizations of the Americas. Nevertheless, Maya civilization is often considered either within a vac- uum, by subregion, and according to modern political borders or with reference to the most important urban civilizations of central Mexico. Seldom are the Maya and their Central American neighbors of El Salvador and Honduras considered together, despite the fact that they engaged in mutually beneficial trade, intermar- ried, and sometimes made war on each other. The Maya and Their Central American Neighbors seeks to fill this lacuna by presenting original research on the archaeology of the whole of the Maya area (from Yucatan to the Maya highlands of Guatemala), western Honduras, and El Salvador. With a focus on settlement pattern analyses, architectural studies, hieroglyphs, and ceramic analyses, this ground-breaking book provides a broad view of this important relationship, allowing readers to understand ancient perceptions about the natural and built environment, the role of power, the construction of historical narrative, trade and exchange, multi-ethnic interaction in pluralistic frontier zones, the origins of settled agricultural life, and the nature of systemic collapse. Geoffrey E. Braswell is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego. This page intentionally left blank THE MAYA AND THEIR CENTRAL AMERICAN NEIGHBORS Settlement patterns, architecture, hieroglyphic texts, and ceramics Edited by Geoffrey E. Braswell First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Geoffrey E. Braswell for selection and editorial matter; individual contributions, the contributors The right of Geoffrey E. Braswell to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Braswell, Geoffrey E. The Maya and their Central American neighbors: settlement patterns, architecture, hieroglyphic texts, and ceramics / Geoffrey E. Braswell. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Maya pottery. 2. Maya architecture. 3. Inscriptions, Mayan. 4. Mayas— Antiquities. 5. Mexico—Antiquities. 6. Central America—Antiquities. I. Title. F1435.3.P8B73 2014 972.81—dc23 2013035980 ISBN: 978-0-415-74486-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-74487-4 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-79828-8 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Book Now Ltd, London To E. Wyllys Andrews V, scholar, advisor, mentor, and friend This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS List of figures xi List of tables xv List of contributors xvii 1 The ancient Maya and their Central American neighbors 1 Geoffrey E. Braswell PART I El Salvador and Honduras 23 2 Practices of spatial discourse at Quelepa 25 Wendy Ashmore 3 Ancient Quelepa, colonial San Miguel: shifting cultural frontiers and rogue colonialism in eastern El Salvador 56 Kathryn Sampeck 4 Shifting fortunes and affiliations on the edge of ruin: a ceramic perspective on the Classic Maya collapse and its aftermath at Copan 83 Cassandra R. Bill viii Contents PART II The highlands of Guatemala 113 5 The other Preclassic Maya: interaction, growth, and depopulation in the eastern Kaqchikel highlands 115 Geoffrey E. Braswell and Eugenia J. Robinson 6 The other Late Classic Maya: regionalization, defense, and boundaries in the central Guatemalan highlands 150 Eugenia J. Robinson PART III The southern Maya lowlands 175 7 A tangled web: ceramic adoption in the Maya lowlands and community interaction in the early Middle Preclassic as seen in the K’awil complex from Holmul, Peten, Guatemala 177 Niña Neivens de Estrada 8 The royal port of Cancuen and the role of long-distance exchange in the apogee of Maya civilization 201 Arthur A. Demarest 9 Real/fictive lords/vessels: a list of MARI lords on the newly discovered Andrews Coffee Mug 223 Markus Eberl PART IV The eastern periphery of Belize 243 10 The dynastic history and archaeology of Pusilha, Belize 245 Christian M. Prager, Beniamino Volta, and Geoffrey E. Braswell 11 Follow the leader: Fine Orange pottery systems in the Maya lowlands 308 James J. Aimers PART V Yucatan 333 12 The role and realities of popol nahs in northern Maya archaeology 335 George J. Bey III and Rossana May Ciau Contents ix 13 Alternative narratives and missing data: refining the chronology of Chichen Itza 356 Beniamino Volta and Geoffrey E. Braswell PART VI Before and beyond: a comparative perspective 403 14 Peer-polity interaction in the Norte Chico, Peru, 3000–1800 bc 405 Winifred Creamer, Jonathan Haas, and Allen Rutherford Index 426
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