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The Last Groups Standing: Living Abandonment at the Ancient Maya Center of Minanha, Belize

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Maxime Lamoureux-St-Hilaire ,
Scott Macrae ,
Carmen A. McCane ,
Evan A. Parker  and
Gyles Iannone
Maxime Lamoureux-St-Hilaire
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118 ([email protected])
Scott Macrae
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 ([email protected])
Carmen A. McCane
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Tulane University, OH 45221 ([email protected])
Evan A. Parker
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Buffalo, New Orleans, LA 70118 ([email protected])
Gyles Iannone
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Trent UniversityBuffaloPeterborough, ON K9J 7B8 ([email protected])
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Abstract

The most archaeologically visible dimension of the Classic Maya Collapse is the abandonment of monumental royal courts. Yet, in some cases, non-elite populations lived for centuries in and around Classic Maya centers without rulers. Processes of abandonment among Classic Maya commoners are detectable and reflect their own ritual and social practices divorced from the ritual performances undertaken by the ruling elite. We study the abandonment context and chronology of three domestic groups from the Contreras Valley, an agricultural community located on the outskirts of the Classic Maya center ofMinanha, Belize. There, several artifact assemblages were deposited at the time of abandonment, representing termination rituals. This study goes beyond the ideological dimension of termination rituals to examine how these ceremonies helped reshape the identity of social groups who were about to abandon their home. We explore how the last inhabitants of a mostly abandoned landscape lived through this process of gradual depopulation. Moreover, we evaluate potential explanations for the archaeological processes behind the occurrence or non-occurrence of termination rituals in different domestic groups.

Resumen

Resumen

El aspecto arqueológico más visible del colapso Maya Cldsico es el abandono de las cortes reales monumentales. Sin embargo, en algunos casos, poblaciones que no pertenecían a la élite vivieron por siglos en centros Mayas Clásicos sin la presencia de gobernuntes. Los procesos de abandono de la gente común durante el periodo Clásico pueden ser discernibles y reflejar sus propias prácticas ritualesy sociales, las cualesfueron distintas de la élite. En este artículo estudiamos el contexto de abandono y la cronología de tres grupos domésticos del Valle de Contreras, los cuales formaron parte de una comunidad agrícola ubicada en los alrededores del centro Maya Clásico de Minanha, Belice. Varios conjuntos de artefactos fueron depositados durante el abandono de este valle, los cuales representan rituales de terminacion. Este estudio va más aliá de las dimensiones ideológicas para examinar cómo estas ceremonias transformaron la identidad de los grupos sociales que estuvieron a punto de abandonar sus casas. Exploramos cómo estos ultimos habitantes de un paisaje prácticamente abandonado vivieron este proceso de despoblación gradual .Además ,evaluamos explicaciones potenciales para los procesos arqueologicos responsables de la presencia o ausencia de rituales de terminación en diferentes grupos residenciales.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , December 2015 , pp. 550 - 569
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1999

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