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The Rapid Rise and Fall of Cerros, Belize: A Generational Approach to Chronology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2020

Jeffrey R. Vadala Open the ORCID record for Jeffrey R. Vadala [Opens in a new window]  and
Debra S. Walker
Jeffrey R. Vadala*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, College of New Jersey, Social Sciences Building Room 317, P.O. Box 7718, 2000 Pennington Rd., Ewing, NJ08628, USA
Debra S. Walker
Affiliation:
Courtesy Curator, Florida Museum of Natural History, 68 Bahama Avenue, Key Largo, FL33037, USA ([email protected])
*
([email protected], corresponding author)
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Abstract

In this article, we use the precision of Bayesian modeled radiocarbon dates to reconstruct a generational history of Late Preclassic (300 BC–AD 250) Cerros (Cerro Maya), Belize. This research was made possible by long-curated excavation records and material remains now housed at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville. Our interpretations build on earlier research and refine the temporal resolution significantly, enabling us to view site development from the perspective of adjacent generations sharing a lived experience. Here we examine material evidence of their collective actions as they built new buildings and renovated aging ones, characterizing their roles in inventing a visual future for the Late Preclassic Maya port that engaged ancestral actions while reinventing the landscape.

En este trabajo utilizamos la precisión de las fechas de radiocarbono aplicando el modelaje Bayesiano con la finalidad de reconstruir una historia generacional del Preclásico tardío en Cerros (Cerro Maya), Belice. Esta investigación fue posible gracias a los registros de excavación conservados durante mucho tiempo y los restos materiales resguardados en el Museo de Historia Natural de Florida, en Gainsville. Nuestras interpretaciones están fundamentadas en investigaciones previas y refinan de manera sustancial la resolución temporal, lo que permitió observar el desarrollo del sitio desde una perspectiva de generaciones adyacentes que compartían una experiencia vivida. Aquí examinamos la evidencia material de sus acciones colectivas a medida que construyeron edificios nuevos y renovaron antiguos, caracterizando sus roles en la invención de un futuro visual para el puerto del Preclásico tardío maya que involucró acciones ancestrales a la vez que reinventaban el paisaje.

Keywords

Preclassic MayaCerro MayaradiocarbonBayesian modelinggenerational analysisPreclásico mayaCerro Mayaradiocarbonomodelado Bayesianoanálisis generacional
Type
Article
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 143 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by the Society for American Archaeology

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