Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T21:09:04.322Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Copan and Ceren

Two perspectives on ancient Mesoamerican households

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

David Webster ,
Nancy Gonlin  and
Payson Sheets
David Webster
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 409 Carpenter Bldg., Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Nancy Gonlin
Affiliation:
Department of Public Administration and Human Services, Kennesaw State College, Marietta, GA 30064, USA
Payson Sheets
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The volcanic eruption that buried Cerén, El Salvador, at a.d. 590 preserved an extraordinary array of artifacts and features in or near their original positions. Household inventories are virtually complete, and activities can be reconstructed in almost ethnographic detail. It is therefore tempting to think that Cerén will automatically make less-well-preserved contexts at similar sites more explicable. This proposition is tested by comparing Cerén with a well-excavated set of household remains from seven small rural sites in the Copan Valley, Honduras, which have been much more heavily transformed by cultural and natural processes. Comparison is especially attractive because both the Cerén and Copan sites were small domestic places with similar social, residential, and economic functions. Both sets of sites also share a common basic cultural tradition on the southern periphery of Mesoamerica, and are in reasonably similar upland environmental settings.

Type
Articles
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , Spring 1997 , pp. 43 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abrams, Elliot 1984 Systems of Labor Organization in Late Classic Copán, Honduras: The Energetics of Construction. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Abrams, Elliot 1989 Architecture and Energy: An Evolutionary Approach. In Archaeological Method and Theory, vol. 1, edited by Schiffer, Michael B., pp. 47–87. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Abrams, Elliot 1994 How the Maya Built Their World. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Beaudry, Marilyn 1983 The Ceramics of the Zapotitan Valley. In Archaeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador, edited by Sheets, Payson D., pp. 161–190. University of Texas Press, Austin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beaudry, Marilyn 1984 Ceramic Production and Distribution in the Southeastern Maya Periphery: Late Classic Painted Serving Vessels. BAR International Series 203. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Becker, Marshall Joseph 1982 Ancient Maya Houses and Their Identification: An Evaluation of Architectural Groups at Tikal and Inferences Regarding Their Functions. Revista Espa˜ola de Antropología Americana 12:111–129.Google Scholar
Becker, Marshall Joseph 1986 Household Shrines at Tikal, Guatemala: Size as a Reflection of Economic Status. Revista Española de Antropología Americana 14:81–85.Google Scholar
Black, Kevin 1983 The Zapotitan Valley Archaeological Survey. In Archaeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador, edited by Sheets, Payson D., pp. 62–97. University of Texas Press, Austin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryant, Douglas D., Calnek, Edward E., Lee, Thomas A. Jr, and Hayden, Brian 1988 Archaeology, Ethnohistory, and Ethnoarchaeology in the Maya Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Papers Nos. 54–56. New World Archaeological Foundation. Provo, UT.Google Scholar
Chandler, Susan M. 1983 Excavations at the Cambio Site. In Archaeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador, edited by Sheets, Payson D., pp. 98–118. University of Texas Press, Austin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deal, Michael 1985 Household Pottery Disposal in the Maya Highlands: An Ethnoarchaeological Interpretation. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 4:243–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamanti, Melissa 1991 Domestic Organization at Copán: Reconstruction of Elite Maya Households Through Ethnographic Models. Unpublished Ph.D.dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Evans, Susan T. 1991 Architecture and Authority in an Aztec Village: Form and Function of the Tecpan. In Land and Politics in the Valley of Mexico, edited by Harvey, H.R., pp. 63–92. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Fash, William L. Jr 1983a Maya State Formation: A Case Study and Its Implications. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University.Google Scholar
Fash, William L. Jr 1983b Reconocimiento y excavaciones en el valle. In Introducción a la Arqueológia de Copán, edited by Baudez, Claude F., pp. 229–470. Secretaría del Estado en el Despacho de Cultura y Turismo, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Google Scholar
Fash, William L. Jr 1991 Scribes, Warriors, and Kings: The City of Copán and the Ancient Maya. Thames and Hudson, Ltd., London.Google Scholar
Freter, AnnCorinne 1988 The Classic Maya Collapse at Copán, Honduras: A Regional Perspective. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Freter, AnnCorinne 1992 Chronological Research at Copan: Methods and Implications. Ancient Mesoamerica 3:117–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerstle, Andrea 1987 Maya-Lenca Ethnic Relations in Late Classic Period Copán, Honduras. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of California. Santa Barbara.Google Scholar
Gonlin, Nancy 1993 Rural Household Archaeology at Copán, Honduras. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Gonlin, Nancy 1994 Rural Household Diversity in Late Classic Copán, Honduras. In Archaeological Views from the Countryside: Village Communities in Early Complex Societies, edited by Schwartz, Glenn M. and Falconer, Steven E., pp. 177–197. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Haviland, William A. 1965 Prehistoric Settlement at Tikal, Guatemala. Expedition 7:14–23.Google Scholar
Haviland, William A. 1985 Excavations in Small Residential Groups of Tikal: Groups 4F-1 and 4F-2. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Haviland, William A. 1988 Musical Hammocks at Tikal: Problems of Reconstructing Household Composition. In Household and Community in the Mesoamerican Past, Case Studies from the Maya Area and Oaxaca, edited by Wilk, Richard R. and Ashmore, Wendy, pp. 121–134. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Hendon, Julia Ann 1987 The Uses of Maya Structures: A Study of Architecture and Artifact Distribution at Sepulturas, Copán, Honduras. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Hendon, Julia Ann 1991 Status and Power in Classic Maya Society: An Archaeological Study. American Anthropologist 93:894–918.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, Kevin J. 1994 The “Invisible” Maya: Late Classic Minimally -Platformed Residential Settlement at Itzán, Petén, Guatemala. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven.Google Scholar
Kievit, Karen A. 1994 Jewels of Cerén: Form and Function Comparisons for the Earthen Structures of Joya de Cerén, El Salvador. Ancient Mesoamerica 5:193–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Killion, Thomas 1992 Gardens of Prehistory. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Killion, Thomas W., Sabloff, Jeremy A., Tourtellot, Gair, and Dunning, Nicholas P. 1989 Intensive Surface Collection of Residential Clusters at Terminal Classic Sayil, Yucatan, Mexico. Journal of Field Archaeology 16:273–294.Google Scholar
Lentz, David 1991 Maya Diets of the Rich and Poor: Paleoethnobotanical Evidence from Copán. Latin American Antiquity 2:269–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leonard, Robert D., and Jones, George T. (editors) 1990 Quantifying Diversity in Archaeology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
MacEachern, Scott, Archer, David J. W., and Garvin, Richard D. (editors) 1989 Households and Communities. Proceedings of the 21st Chacmool Conference. The Archaeological Association of the University of Calgary, Calgary.Google Scholar
McAnany, Patricia A. 1993 The Economics of Social Power and Wealth Among Eighth-Century Maya Households. In Lowland Maya Civilization in the Eighth Century A.D., edited by Sabloff, Jeremy A. and Henderson, John S., pp. 65–89. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Mallory, John K. III 1984 Late Classic Maya Economic Specialization: Evidence from the Copan Obsidian Assemblage. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Manzanilla, Linda (editor) 1987 Cobá, Quintana Roo. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Manzanilla, Linda, and Barba, Luis 1990 The Study of Activities in Classic Households: Two Case Studies from Coba and Teotihuacan. Ancient Mesoamerica 1:41–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naroll, Raul 1962 Floor Area and Settlement Population. American Antiquity 27:587–589.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pyburn, K. Anne 1989 Maya Cuisine: Hearths and the Lowland Economy. In Prehistoric Maya Economies of Belize, edited by McAnany, Patricia A. and Isaac, Barry L., pp. 325–344. Research in Economic Anthropology, Supplement 4. JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.Google Scholar
Reed, David M. 1994 Ancient Maya Diet at Copán, Honduras, as Determined Through the Analysis of Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes. In Paleonutrition: The Diet and Health of Prehistoric Americans, edited by Sobolik, Kristin D., pp. 210–221. Occasional Paper No. 22. Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.Google Scholar
Redfield, Robert, and Rojas, Alfonso Villa 1962 Chan Kom: A Maya Village. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Sanders, William T., and Killion, Thomas W. 1992 Factors Affecting Settlement Agriculture in the Ethnographic and Historic Record of Mesoamerica. In Gardens of Prehistory, edited by Killion, Thomas W., pp. 14–32. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Santley, Robert S., and Hirth, Kenneth G. (editors) 1993 Prehispanic Domestic Units in Western Mesoamerica. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.Google Scholar
Schiffer, Michael B. 1987 Formation Processes of the Archaeological Record. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Sharer, Robert, Sedat, David W., Traxler, Loa P., and Miller, Julia C. 1994 Classic Royal Power in Copán: The Origins and Development of the Acropolis (ca. A.D. 250–650). Paper presented at the School of American Research Advanced Seminar “Copán: The Rise and Fall of a Classic Maya Kingdom.” School of American Research, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. (editor) 1983a Archaeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 1983b Introduction. In Archaeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador, edited by Sheets, Payson D., pp. 1–13, University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 1992 The Cerén Site: A Prehistoric Village Buried by Volcanic Ash in Central America. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, Fort Worth.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D. 1994 Tropical Time Capsule. Archaeology 47(4):30–33.Google Scholar
Sheets, Payson D., Beaubien, Harriet F., Beaudry, Marilyn, Gerstle, Andrea, Dan Miller, Brian McKee C., Spetzler, Hartmut, and Tucker, David B. 1990 Household Archaeology at Cerén, El Salvador. Ancient Mesoamerica 1:81–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Michael E., Aguirre, Patricia, Heath-Smith, Cynthia, Hirst, Kathryn, O'Mack, Scott, and Price, Jeffrey 1989 Architectural Patterns at Three Aztec-Period Sites in Morelos, Mexico. Journal of Field Archaeology 16:185–203.Google Scholar
Storey, Rebecca 1992 The Children of Copán. Ancient Mesoamerica 3:161–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tourtellot, Gair 1988 Developmental Cycles of Households and Houses at Seibal. In Household and Community in the Mesoamerican Past, Case Studies from the Maya Area and Oaxaca, edited by Wilk, Richard R. and Ashmore, Wendy, pp. 97–120. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Tourtellot, Gair 1990 Population Estimates for Preclassic and Classic Seibal. In Precolumbian Population History in the Maya Lowlands, edited by Culbert, T. Patrick and Rice, Don S., pp. 83–102. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Tourtellot, Gair 1993 A View of Ancient Maya Settlements in the Eighth Century. In Lowland Maya Civilization in the Eighth Century A.D., edited by Sabloff, Jeremy A. and Henderson, John S., pp. 219–241. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Trembour, Fred 1983 Appendix 10-B. Obsidian Hydration Study of Prismatic Blade Fragments from the Cambio Site. In Archaeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador, edited by Sheets, Payson D., pp. 224–226. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Viel, Rene 1983 Evolución de la cerámica en Copán: Resultados preliminares. In Introducción a la arqueología de Copán, Honduras, tomo I, edited by Baudez, Claude F., pp. 473–549. Secretaría del Estado en el Despacho de Cultura y Turismo, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Google Scholar
Viel, Rene 1993 Copán Valley. In Pottery of Prehistoric Honduras: Regional Classification and Analysis, edited by Henderson, John S. and Beaudry-Corbett, Marilyn, pp. 12–19. Monograph No. 35. Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webster, David 1985 Recent Settlement Survey in the Copán Valley, Honduras. Journal of American Archaeology 5:39–51.Google Scholar
Webster, David 1992a Final Preliminary Report, 1990 Excavations at Group 8N-11 and Group 30–7 at Copán, Honduras. Manuscript on file, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, and the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia, Tegucigalpa.Google Scholar
Webster, David 1992b Sherds and Stone: Dating the Copán Ceramic Sequence. Paper presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Webster, David (editor) 1989 The House of the Bacabs, Copán, Honduras. Studies in PreColumbian Art and Archaeology No. 29. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Webster, David, and Freter, AnnCorinne 1990 Settlement History and the Classic Collapse at Copán: A Redefined Chronological Perspective. Latin American Antiquity 1:66–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webster, David, and Gonlin, Nancy 1988 Household Remains of the Humblest Maya. Journal of Field Archaeology 15:169–190.Google Scholar
Webster, David, Sanders, William T., and Rossum, Peter Van 1992 A Simulation of Copán Population History and Its Implications. Ancient Mesoamerica 3:185–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whittington, Stephen L. 1989 Characteristics of Demography and Disease in Low-Status Maya from Classic Period, Copán, Honduras. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Wilk, Richard R., and Ashmore, Wendy (editors) 1988 Household and Community in the Mesoamerican Past, Case Studies from the Maya Area and Oaxaca. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Willey, Gordon, and Leventhal, Richard M. 1979 Prehistoric Settlement at Copán. In Maya Archaeology and Ethnohistory, edited by Hammond, Norman and Willey, Gordon R., pp. 75–102. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Wingard, John 1992 The Role of Soils in the Development and Collapse of Classic Maya Civilization at Copán, Honduras. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar