Where the Rich Folks Lived: Deranging Factors in the Statistical Analysis of Tikal Settlement

Abstract

In a recent statistical study of settlement patterns at Tikal, Guatemala, Arnold and Ford failed to find evidence for the concentric zonation model which specifies that high-ranking persons generally lived closer to the site center than persons of lesser rank. However, their conclusions are invalidated by their exclusion from consideration of the houses occupied by the wealthy and powerful members of Tikal society. Attention is called to other deranging factors which need to be considered before a valid test of the concentric zonation model can be carried out Tikal, or at any other large and complex site.