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MIDDLE PRECLASSIC HYDRAULIC PLANNING AT NIXTUN-CH'ICH', PETEN, GUATEMALA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 November 2022

Timothy W. Pugh Open the ORCID record for Timothy W. Pugh [Opens in a new window] ,
Prudence M. Rice Open the ORCID record for Prudence M. Rice [Opens in a new window] ,
Evelyn M. Chan Nieto ,
Marie L. Meranda  and
David S. Milley
Timothy W. Pugh*
Affiliation:
Queens College and Graduate Center, City University of New York, Flushing, New York, United States
Prudence M. Rice
Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois, United States
Evelyn M. Chan Nieto
Affiliation:
Facultad de Arquitectura, Universidad San Carlos, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Marie L. Meranda
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States
David S. Milley
Affiliation:
Queens College and Graduate Center, City University of New York, Flushing, New York, United States
*
E-mail correspondence to: [email protected]
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Abstract

Nixtun-Ch'ich', on the western edge of Lake Peten Itza in Peten, northern Guatemala, features an axis urbis and an urban grid dating to the Middle Preclassic period (800–500 b.c.). New research reveals that Middle Preclassic constructions—five circular or oval artificial pools and planned surface drainage—facilitated or impeded the movement of water. Large limestone rubble lines at least two of the pools (aguadas) in the city's core; two pools lie on the axis urbis, demonstrating that they were central ceremonial constructions. The gridded streets facilitated drainage: they consistently slope from west to east and from the center to north and south. In some areas seeing intense water flow, the streets divide into waterways and pedestrian-ways and/or were given special paving. Many scholars argue that water management contributed to the power of despotic kings, but no evidence of such rulers exists among the Middle Preclassic Maya. Nonetheless, we believe that such systems emerged in the Middle Preclassic. Nixtun-Ch'ich' appears to have been cooperative in its organization and its water management system was a public good.

Type
Special Section: Sociopolitical and Economic Transformations in the Maya Lowlands During the Middle Preclassic Period (1000–300 B.C.)
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 33 , Issue 3 , Fall 2022 , pp. 589 - 603
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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