LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of northern Guatemala has identified a concentration of Preclassic Maya sites (ca. 1000 b.c.–a.d. 150) connected by causeways, forming a web of implied social, political, and economic interactions. This article is an introduction to one of the largest, contiguous, regional LiDAR studies published to date in the Maya Lowlands. More than 775 ancient Maya settlements are identified within the MCKB, and 189 more in the surrounding karstic ridge, which we condensed into 417 ancient cities, towns, and villages of at least six preliminary tiers based on surface area, volumetrics, and architectural configurations. Many tiered sites date to the Middle and Late Preclassic periods, as determined by archaeological testing, and volumetrics of contemporaneously constructed and/or occupied architecture with similar morphological characteristics. Monumental architecture, consistent architectural formats, specific site boundaries, water management/collection facilities, and 177 km of elevated Preclassic causeways suggest labor investments that defy organizational capabilities of lesser polities and potentially portray the strategies of governance in the Preclassic period. Settlement distributions, architectural continuities, chronological contemporaneity, and volumetric considerations of sites provide evidence for early centralized administrative and socio-economic strategies within a defined geographical region.

Durante la época prehispánica, la obsidiana se caracterizó por ser una materia prima de primera necesidad para la elaboración de gran variedad de objetos. La tecnología de talla para la extracción de diversos artefactos fue una importante actividad económica. En el occidente de México, la obsidiana resultó un recurso fundamental debido a su abundancia y a la diversidad de yacimientos presentes. Sin embargo, no todos los vidrios volcánicos disponibles tienen las características idóneas para la talla especializada. En la región Valles, dentro de las cuencas centrales del estado de Jalisco, se encuentran dispersos nódulos de obsidiana, con un alto grado de inclusiones, que ha sido referida meramente como “obsidiana de baja calidad”. Hasta ahora, en pocas ocasiones se le ha dado la importancia debida en cuanto al estudio de su composición geoquímica, a pesar de que este sirva para contrastarlo con aquellas que sí fueron empleadas como materia prima. El siguiente trabajo busca establecer las características de la obsidiana disponible en el sitio Atitlán, ubicado en la antigua Cuenca de Magdalena, para compararla con los desechos de un espacio en el que son evidentes talleres especializados de talla intensiva para la extracción de láminas que sirvieron para elaborar piezas útiles. Entre los objetivos primordiales del artículo, es comparar sus particularidades con las de la obsidiana empleada en el proceso productivo proveniente del sitio La Joya. Gracias a esta investigación, demostramos que la obsidiana disponible en la isla no fue aprovechada debido al tamaño de los nódulos disponibles y al alto grado de porosidad e inclusiones.

At La Venta, Mexico, the Middle Formative Olmec regional center, the existence of individual leaders is interpreted from the evidence of monumental stone portraiture and several tombs believed to house the bodies of a sequence of kings late in La Venta's history. The status of these latter features as graves, however, has been debated since soon after they were excavated in the 1940s, especially because they generally lacked osteological material. What remained was arrangements of costume items as if adorning a body, usually associated with a stone container. Most archaeologists have advanced the reasonable explanation that bones and teeth would not have survived in tropical environments and accepted both the tomb attribution and their function as individual funerary monuments. A detailed review of available information from the La Venta excavations reveals these assumptions are not warranted. Field data indicate the absence of expected taphonomic evidence of bodily decay. Analysis of the stratigraphy of Mound A-2, aided, by computer-enhanced imaging of field drawings, demonstrates its tomb-like features were erected in a single, short construction phase, not over a span of decades as individual kings died. These conclusions call for alternative explanations of these “surrogate burials,” absent bodies materially evoked by ritual officiants.

The Late Preclassic (400 b.c.–a.d. 200) site of Noh K'uh in Chiapas, Mexico, is home to extended residential groups that aggregated around a small ceremonial complex at the bottom of the Mensäbäk Basin. Evidence collected from domestic contexts indicates that the Late Preclassic households of this site were organized under corporate political systems that emphasized collective identity and cosmological renewal. This article reveals how the people of Noh K'uh integrated cosmological beliefs and practices within the construction of their dwelling spaces, particularly through using cache deposits and participating in other architectural renewal ceremonies. Residents of Noh K'uh may have engaged in these practices to create “semipublic” gathering spaces for administrative and ceremonial activities at the level of the household.

Arguably the most enigmatic of the Maya calendar cycles, the 819-day count has challenged modern scholars for decades. Even today it is not completely explained and there are several areas for further research, including its relationship with the synodic periods of the planets visible to the naked eye. Earlier research has demonstrated a four-part, color-directional scheme for the 819-day count such that each of the calendar stations progress in increments of 819 days in cycles of 4 × 819 days. Although prior research has sought to show planetary connections for the 819-day count, its four-part, color-directional scheme is too short to fit well with the synodic periods of the visible planets. By increasing the calendar length to 20 periods of 819-days a pattern emerges in which the synodic periods of all the visible planets commensurate with station points in the larger 819-day calendar.

According to Purepecha oral tradition, the ancestors of the Uacusecha dynasty that ruled Michoacan at the beginning of the sixteenth century began their epic in the Zacapu region. The importance of this region also lies in the research carried out since the early 1980s that led to the elaboration of a regional sequence outlining the trajectory of pre-Hispanic societies centuries before the emergence of the Tarascan state.

New research carried out on the area since 2009 has clarified this reference framework and opened new perspectives. The research focused on the Malpaís volcanic flows and its immediate surroundings. It addressed the transformations experienced by pre-Hispanic societies between a.d. 500 and a.d. 1580, and their interactions with the volcanic environment with unprecedented analytical detail. The joint contributions of remote sensing, archaeological fieldwork, dating, and geological study participate in renewing a diachronic approach of this unique landscape of northern Michoacan.

The Michoacán-Guanajuato volcanic field (MGVF) hosts >1,400 monogenetic structures younger than 5 Ma. Here we focus on the Malpaís de Zacapu Late Holocene cluster located in the western part of the Zacapu lacustrine basin, situated in the heart of native Purepecha province. The Malpaís de Zacapu comprises four distinct eruptions: the Infiernillo lava flow emitted at ~1450 b.c.; Malpaís Las Víboras, a purely effusive eruption at ~1000 b.c.; the Capaxtiro compound lava flow at ~150 b.c.; and the most recent eruption, the Malpaís Prieto lava flow at ~a.d. 900. Although these lava flows are not inhabited today, they were densely populated in pre-Hispanic times (before a.d. 1521), especially during the Milpillas phase (a.d. 1200–1450). Volcanological studies (geochemical studies and detailed mapping using high-resolution DEM from LiDAR) allowed us to characterize these eruptions in terms of their magma source (rock chemical composition, mineral assemblage), age (radiocarbon and paleomagnetic dating), magnitude and dynamics (volume, morphology of the deposits), as well as lava flow emplacement duration. The findings allow us to infer the potential impact that these eruptions had on the pre-Hispanic settlement history of the area.

El período de aproximadamente tres siglos (600–900 d.C.), que corresponde al epiclásico, fue el escenario de una notable expansión de los asentamientos en la cuenca de Zacapu y sus alrededores. Si bien la zona parecía carecer de núcleos monumentales mayores equivalentes a los que se conocían en las regiones vecinas del Bajío o del sur de las tierras altas michoacanas, los trabajos recientes en la parte noroeste del Malpaís de Zacapu cambian esta concepción. Los datos proporcionados por medio del LiDAR y nuevos trabajos de campo revelaron complejos monumentales de dimensiones inéditas para la zona que estructuran una red de asentamientos menores distribuidos en un amplio territorio. Estos descubrimientos ofrecen nuevos datos sobre la arquitectura pública y doméstica de la época. La distribución de estos asentamientos y su relación con áreas dedicadas a la explotación de recursos agrícolas y mineros permiten vislumbrar un sistema más complejo e integrado, el cual pudo tener elementos comunes al de un altepetl. El objetivo de este artículo es presentar esta nueva información y reevaluar, a partir de ella, la organización territorial del período considerado.

Recent research conducted in northern Michoacan, west Mexico, has yielded significant new datasets that can be used to reconsider the occupation of this region in the Postclassic period (a.d. 900–1541), prior to and during the rise of the Tarascan state. LiDAR data, in particular, has facilitated reassessment of the archaeological record and its implications concerning the population and social dynamics of this region. In this article, I combine data collected through traditional field-based research with LiDAR-derived data to reassess the population aggregation that occurred during a.d. 1250–1450 in the Zacapu Basin, resulting in the formation of a large urban system. Compared to prior population estimates and interpretations regarding the urban structure of the Zacapu Malpaís sites, the integration of these datasets enables both an increased scale of analysis and finer resolution, thus providing a clearer picture of one of the earliest episodes of urbanization in west Mexico.

Among the numerous archaeological remains that recent LiDAR flights revealed in Guatemala and Mexico, agrarian features are the most abundant. Archaeologists today are compelled to revise their paradigms in terms of methodology and assessment of environmental appropriation for agriculture. The Malpaís de Zacapu in west Mexico is one example. Besides the discovery of a substantial Epiclassic occupation near the well-documented Postclassic urban centers of the area, LiDAR imagery brought to light a deeply modified agrarian landscape and thereby dramatically changed our understanding of human settlement in this lava flows complex.

Focusing on the northern part of the Malpaís, this study uses archaeogeographical and soil science methods to assess ancient farming systems and their evolution. We updated the archaeological and soil maps of the area, combining traditional field survey techniques and LiDAR-derived data interpretation. This allowed us to identify residential zones and a wide range of associated agrarian features adapted to the variety and agronomic challenges of volcanic soils. We further implemented a production-consumption model to reconstruct agricultural strategies from the Epiclassic to the Middle Postclassic period, from self-reliance to the necessity of supra-local agricultural inputs, possibly foreshadowing the Tarascan state tribute system.

En la cuenca lacustre de Zacapu a lo largo de su ocupación prehispánica (100 a.C. a 1450 d.C.), la dacita, una roca de origen volcánico, fue un recurso estratégico dentro de la economía regional, con el cual los antiguos habitantes de la zona elaboraron una serie de artefactos líticos ligados tanto a actividades de subsistencia y artesanales como rituales. Las investigaciones iniciadas en 2011 en dos minas-taller del yacimiento de dacita del Cerro Vicente expusieron una explotación extensa y organizada en torno a este recurso. En 2015, a partir de la cobertura LiDAR, se identificó un tercer complejo minero con evidencias de una explotación a cielo abierto y subterránea, esta vez en el yacimiento de Las Minas. Con el fin de comprender los mecanismos de explotación de la dacita, se ha llevado a cabo un análisis espacial de este sitio con distintas escalas de aproximación, para caracterizar las evidencias materiales vinculadas con la actividad extractiva. La combinación en nuestra investigación de la información que aporta el LiDAR y la proveniente de la prospección en el campo, nos ofrece un panorama completo del yacimiento, su organización espacial y funcional en un contexto más amplio como un paisaje prehispánico de extracción.

En el siglo dieciséis, la conquista española se extendió rápidamente hacia lo que hoy se conoce como el occidente de México. A partir de 1522, el reino tarasco sucumbió frente a los españoles y con ello iniciaron su proyecto de colonización y expansión territorial. Desde las primeras décadas, los españoles moldearon las actividades cotidianas para asegurar el control sobre las poblaciones indígenas, incluyendo la evangelización y promoviendo la explotación económica de los nuevos territorios.

Uno de los primeros pasos fue reorganizar el patrón de asentamiento de las poblaciones tarascas. En vísperas de la Conquista, los tarascos habitaban en pequeñas aldeas situadas en las cumbres y laderas de las montañas. Los españoles modificaron el patrón de asentamiento a través de dos medidas principales: en primer lugar, el desplazamiento de los antiguos asentamientos (pueblos viejos) a los valles o llanuras cercanas, con el fin de evitar que los sitios se convirtieran en fortalezas; en segundo lugar, los españoles reagruparon a la población en centros más grandes, conocidos como congregaciones.

Más allá de la distribución espacial de los lugares, esta transformación afectó por completo la configuración del espacio y repercutió en la relación existente entre los pobladores y el paisaje y con ello en la geografía sagrada. A partir del ejemplo de la localización de dos pueblos en el norte del estado de Michoacán—el sitio prehispánico Mich. 68-El Caracol y el pueblo colonial Mich. 415-Las Iglesias, descubiertos gracias a la obtención de imágenes LiDAR del Proyecto Arqueológico Uacúsecha—discutiremos las características de la distribución espacial antes y después de la Conquista y sus implicaciones en la relación existente entre la sociedad, el paisaje y la cosmovisión de la población.

Inequality is present in all human societies, but building a robust understanding of how that inequality developed and persisted for centuries requires historical and archaeological data. Identifying the degree of inequality (or disparity) in ancient communities can be addressed through a variety of methods. One method becoming standard practice in archaeology evaluates inequality through quantitative analysis of robust settlement data. In this Compact Special Section, we assess household size as a potential reflection of wealth inequality among Classic period (a.d. 250–900) Maya settlements. First, we generate house-size data from both pedestrian and remotely sensed LiDAR surveys. Then we use those data to calculate Gini coefficients and Lorenz curves, which provide measures of variation. Gini coefficients range from 0 to 1, where 0 reflects perfect equality and 1 indicates perfect inequality, regardless of the actual values in the distribution. Both area (m2) and volume (m3) provide different, complementary metrics to investigate residential size as a metric for wealth inequality among Classic Maya Lowland settlements. Proposed mechanisms that generate inequality include the intergenerational transmission of wealth and differential access to resources; however, addressing these and other pathways for how inequality develops and persists, and how it was maintained in the past provides insight into similar processes of systemic inequality worldwide.

To variable degrees, inequality is present in all human societies, but how archaeologists measure inequality varies greatly. In recent research, we used the same unit of analysis, house size, to evaluate residential wealth inequality among the Classic (a.d. 250/300–800) Maya of southern Belize. Using a Gini coefficient, we found that even in this peripheral region, high degrees of inequality were present. However, nuances in inequality metrics vary based on the analytical parameters or units of measurement (area versus volume) and the unit of analysis (individual residential structures, all structures within a household group, or the entire household group, including the built environment). Generally, Gini coefficients calculated from volume are greater than those from area, and the unit of analysis affects the Gini coefficient and, thus, our interpretations of the degree of inequality present. We discuss the impact of the unit of analysis for house sizes, and how it affects our interpretations of residential wealth inequality in the past in conjunction with previous archaeological research. The findings are instrumental for comparative analyses of wealth inequality through the study of house size variation in ancient and modern societies, highlighting the value of clear definitions of the unit of analysis.

Gini coefficients for residential groups at Coba for roofed surface area, volume of architecture, and houselot space range from 0.423 to 0.551, fitting well within the range of many ancient and modern state-level cities and societies and other Mesoamerican centers. These values are also similar to other large, Classic period, Northern Lowland cities, such as Dzibilchaltun and Chunchucmil. These data do not support the idea that autocratic regimes exhibit greater wealth inequality. We also failed to find a pattern in which inequality grew over the course of the Classic period. The Lorenz curves for Coba and other sites do not indicate any breaks that would allow households to be sorted into wealth classes. Thus, wealth differences were fluid, continuous, and out in the open, giving these settlements the dynamism and attractiveness that helped them grow into some of the largest and most remarkable ancient Maya cities.

Being a form of labor investment, house size is frequently analyzed as an index of socioeconomic inequality. However, datasets that lack wide-ranging residential stratigraphic information are not reliable sources of labor investment estimates. This is the case for Late Classic domestic architecture data from three polities in the Rosario Valley (modern-day Chiapas) on the southwest Maya frontier: Rosario, Ojo de Agua, and Los Encuentros. Although the sample's house size inequality generally cannot index period-specific labor investment, it may signify prestige differentiation. For each polity we generated Lorenz curves and calculated Gini coefficients for five variables representing house size (area and volume). Results resemble inequality data from lowland Classic Maya centers. We also demonstrate that the smallest, shortest-lived polity had more equal house size values, likely due to the modesty of its apical elite architecture. In contrast, the two larger, older polities were more unequal because they had substantial palaces.

Located at the western edge of the Classic Maya heartland, El Peru-Waka' was one of the most densely aggregated urban cores in the Lowlands. With households packed next to each other, it can be difficult to define where one ends and another begins. Nevertheless, survey and excavation data suggest that differences in household provisioning and generational cycling created considerable variation in household wealth across the city. This paper employs household area (m2) and volume (m3) to calculate Gini coefficients for the El Peru-Waka' urban core and immediate hinterlands to quantify household differentiation across the urban landscape. Comparison of the coefficients for the total study area with those for individual urban zones (core, periurban, hinterland) demonstrate that while El Perú-Waka' exhibits high overall household differentiation, this differentiation is considerably muted within a given urban zone. This demonstrates the impact of settlement location on differences in household size and architectural investment.

Survey teams at the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve for Maya Flora and Fauna have mapped 70 percent of its 20 km2 area and revealed the extent of settlement around the city center. Large-scale civic architecture, and the distribution of smaller ceremonial groups and minor centers, reflect the wealth and power of Maya rulers presiding over the largest Classic period city in the upper Belize River area. Previous analyses suggest disparities in wealth at El Pilar were more nuanced than the elite/commoner dichotomy commonly invoked for Classic Maya society. This article works to understand wealth inequality at ancient El Pilar by computing Gini coefficients from areal and volumetric calculations of primary residential units—the class of settlement remains most likely to represent ancient households. Presentation of Gini coefficients and their potential interpretations follows a discussion of settlement classification and residential group labor investment. We conclude by contextualizing these results within prior settlement pattern analyses to explore how disparities in wealth may have been distributed across the physical and social landscape.

Measurements of inequality, like many other analytical phenomena, are affected by the definition of analytical units (for example, buildings or residential groups) and the spatial unit within which those units are aggregated (for example, sites or polities). We begin by considering the impact of secondary or seasonal residences on the calculation of Gini scores when dealing with regional-scale settlement data, which is a common consideration in regional-scale population estimates. We then use LiDAR-derived settlement data from northwestern Guatemala to calculate Gini coefficients for two ancient Maya sites: Late Classic La Corona and Late Preclassic Achiotal. We investigate how the scale of the spatial unit of aggregation affects our interpretations of inequality using various architecture-based indices. Finally, we provide some preliminary interpretations for the differences calculated between these two centers.