The Role Of Environmental Structures In The Emergence Of Cultural Complexity

Davidson College, Davidson NC

Investigators

Abstract

The research team of Dr. William Ringle (Davidson College), Dr. Tomás Gallareta Negrón (INAH/ Mexico), and Dr. George J. Bey (Millsaps College) will examine relationships between cultivation, topography, settlement, and regionalism among the ancient Maya inhabitants of the Puuc region of Yucatan, Mexico. Although agriculture usually dominated the economies of archaic civilizations, the manner in which production was organized is often unclear, especially cases in which investment in agricultural facilities appears minimal. Nor is it clear, in many pre-monetary societies, how agricultural produce was converted into "bankable" wealth and political capital. A related question is the role of elites in such activities. Were they primarily courtiers or warriors, dependent upon the largesse of a ruler, were they absentee landlords resident in towns, or did they more actively direct agricultural production (and perhaps that of other commodities)? At a broader level, do agricultural regimes contribute to inter-community forms of social integration via cooperation in landscape management, perhaps leading to the genesis of regional forms of identity? The Puuc region is interesting in being both well-defined topographically and a distinct regional Maya subculture, famous for its elegant architectural style. Soils are generally fertile, but cultivable tracts were limited by numerous karst hills often supporting residences. Virtually no surface water was available and instead had to be collected in cisterns or reservoirs. Nearly abandoned after about AD 1000, the Puuc had until then had hosted one of the highest site densities in the tropical lowlands. It was also prosperous, with many residing in masonry houses faced with superb stonework. Such houses may have been one way of "banking" tribute revenues and creating political capital Thus this research will be of value in demonstrating how such a landscape was successfully managed for centuries as well as providing insight into its eventual collapse. The project will also foster the project's long history of training both Mexican and US undergraduate and graduate students, a substantial number of whom have come from traditionally under-represented populations. Because these questions play out across distances too great to be covered by pedestrian survey, this study will commission LiDAR imagery of a 138 km2 study sample. The sample will target two major physiographic zones of the Puuc, the Bolonchen hills and the Yaxhom Valley, to assess how differences of terrain affected urban settlement and organization. To date no Puuc site of significant size has been fully mapped; this sample will provide complete coverage of at least six, as well as several small centers and the hinterlands connecting them. LiDAR will aid in identifying water storage features and masonry structures. It will also allow assessment of the construction industry by determining the distribution of lime kilns. Visual classification will be followed up by ground verification of approximately 15% of the sample, as well as test excavations to assess chronology. Results will permit development of rational plans for management of the archaeological remains within the study zone and will provide data useful to agencies interested in Puuc forest conservation.