The Yalahau Regional Settlement Pattern Survey (YRSPS) addresses the complex negotiations that constituted ancient Maya society through an investigation of the distribution of settlement across the Yalahau region of northern Quintana Roo, Mexico. This paper begins with a brief culture-historical background of the Yalahau region where occupation ranges from the Middle Preclassic period (700–200 b.c.) to the Postclassic period (a.d. 1100–1521). The region had its peak occupation during the Terminal Preclassic period (75 b.c./a.d. 100–a.d. 400), and this paper explores how monumental architecture, through its size and the rituals conducted in and around it, materialized an enduring sense of community identity during this time period. In so doing, this paper examines the tensions within and between communities as sociopolitical strategies are negotiated and contested in the continually messy process of constituting society.

The geochemical analysis of soil samples collected in association with archaeological remains has proven to be an effective tool in the identification of past human behaviors. These methodologies are here applied to the study of notable features from the site of Xtobo, Yucatan, Mexico. Xtobo is a Preclassic Maya regional center in northwest Yucatan exhibiting a complex settlement pattern, including a well-defined plaza, multiple raised causeways, and a ballcourt. In addition, the site includes a large defined open area, which was initially thought to be a potential marketplace. The results of the geochemical soil analyses identified several areas of food production and consumption throughout the site, along with potential craft production zones. The results in association with the potential marketplace were intriguing, but inconclusive.

Recent research at Río Bec has revealed that interments in residential structures were limited to a very small portion of the population. Although these burials are relatively modest compared to those found in many other Classic period Maya sites, the funerary procedure suggests that they were important individuals in the household. Grave wealth and the size/elaboration of the burial structure do not correlate with the striking socioeconomic differences expressed in residential architecture. In fact, it seems that Río Bec funerary ritual was a private affair focused within the domestic unit, rather than a public display. A study of the variation found among these residential burials reveals two important patterns of mortuary ritual that seem more reflective of ancestor veneration than of social hierarchy: (1) “transition burials” (stressing centrality, verticality, the link to earth, and the transformations of the dwelling) and (2) “occupation burials” (stressing laterality, horizontality, a link to fire and the domestic hearth, and the permanence of the domestic space).

This paper describes 15 stone monuments documented until the 1995 field season at Río Viejo, the largest settlement in the alluvial plains of the Río Verde drainage in Coastal Oaxaca from 100 B.C. to A.D. 1100. The monuments, all seemingly dating to the Classic period (A.D. 600–900), include mainly carved stelae that most often depict elaborately dressed human figures accompanied by their calendrical names. The large size of these monuments and the political primacy of Río Viejo strongly suggest that the named individuals were local rulers. We posit that additional flattened sculptures and slabs riddled with small circular depressions were foci of sacred activities aimed at petitioning favors from supernatural forces. The analysis of the inscriptions is framed in terms of graphic similarities with highland scribal traditions in the central valleys of Oaxaca, the Mixteca Baja, and the Mexican Highlands.

This article begins with a historical review of the study of ancient Mixtec civilization and how codices became alienated from the Oaxaca region and culture. Current interpretations of codices' geographic reality, their religious dimension, and the problems of chronology are discussed. Accurate interpretation of the Mixtec codices is shown to be very much dependent on the collaboration of modern Mixtecs, as the inheritors of the ancient culture.

Swidden agriculture in Mesoamerica is commonly associated with the hot and humid lowlands and with small isolated communities. Charcoal-rich sediments discovered in Tlaxcala, however, suggest that it was practiced in the cold highlands in the Formative and Classic periods. The headwaters of the Xilomantla drainage incised a nine-meter deep channel shortly before 200 b.c., in response to increased runoff from slopes degraded by agriculture. It was filled back within a few hundred years with sands and muds containing recurrent laminae of charred plant matter that reflect the annual burning of secondary scrub in fallowed fields. A gully in the La Ladera drainage received high inputs of charcoal from the surroundings of a nearby settlement between ca. a.d. 400 and 900. The farming practices inferred from these deposits have no exact ethnographic analog. They inflicted lasting environmental damage, but were upheld for several centuries despite changes in settlement patterns.

This article presents a study of ceramic production in San Marcos Acteopan, a small village in the southern part of the state of Puebla, Mexico. Field observation and interviews with the families of two potters document the different steps of the ceramic production process. The approach is ethnographic and aims at better understanding ancient ceramic production. Special emphasis is given to raw material acquisition and paste preparation to provide comparative data for analysis of archaeological material and clay preparation strategies. This study adopts the perspective of ceramic ecology, which situates the information on ceramic production in environmental and socioeconomic contexts.

A critical review of the history of research devoted to the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan shows that over the past twenty years, and in several publications, this goddess has been transformed gradually into a universal nature deity, has received the title “Great,” and has been regarded by many authorities as the principal deity of Teotihuacan. This has become accepted even though, in my judgment, the goddess was created through a highly speculative line of argument, fusing several different iconographic complexes under that name, and despite the fact that the greater part seem to have nothing to do with each other. As a consequence, the concept of this omnipotent goddess has become a serious obstacle holding back the progress of iconographic research on the Teotihuacan supernatural world. The discussion here reaches the conclusion that in place of a Great Goddess, we are able to identify at least six different gods and goddesses, several among them not yet subjected to analysis.

During the years 2000 and 2001, a project was carried out to determine the paleoclimate in the Valley of Guatemala. There were two main objectives: (1) to compare and contrast the Highland data with that already obtained from the Maya Lowlands and the Caribbean region; and (2) to understand the relationship between climate and the disappearance of lakes and irrigated agriculture at the archaeological site of Kaminaljuyu in the Valley of Guatemala. Sediment cores have been recovered from Lake Amatitlan and the extinct Lake Miraflores associated with Kaminaljuyu. The samples have been transported to the United States for radiocarbon dating and for analysis of microfossils and pollen content. The paper summarizes the work and the results of the analysis obtained to the present.

Two genera of nonhuman primates that include howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata and Alouatta pigra) and spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) currently are located throughout the Maya region. It has been suggested that the Classic Maya associated these monkeys, especially howler monkeys, with the arts. This view is exemplified in the Popol Vuh and in depictions of monkey-man scribes on Late Classic (c. a.d. 550–900) ceramics. This paper provides evidence that a third genus, the capuchin monkey (Cebus capucinus), is also located in the southern Maya region and may have extended as far north as Belize within the last century. Supporting data are drawn from historic accounts, artifact and faunal analysis, and linguistic data. It is also proposed, based on an interspecific comparison of morphological and behavioral characteristics, that capuchin monkeys rather than howler monkeys are the animals represented in depictions of monkey scribes.

Ethnohistoric documents characterize the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in central Mexico as an era of endemic warfare and mass migration, processes that archaeologists have causally related to the development of the Aztec Empire. In this paper, we explore a striking transition in this dynamic, but poorly understood period at the Otomi capital of Xaltocan. The archaeological record reveals that with the adoption of Aztec II Black-on-Orange pottery by a.d. 1240, Xaltocan witnessed the expansion of the island to accommodate more residents, construction of the chinampa agricultural system, and the emergence of two subpopulations with distinct household organization, consumption, and funerary practices. We link a microscale examination of domestic activities with contextual understanding of macrolevel population dynamics, ethnic politics, and political-economic processes, and argue that this shift is due to an influx of migrants. These findings have significant implications for shifting conceptions of identity associated with the emergence of large polities.

Salvage excavation of a small mound on the south coast of Guatemala revealed evidence of Late Preclassic salt production. Most potsherds are of a crude, thin-walled utility ware believed to have been used in evaporating salt water over fires. Level-by-level attribute analysis suggests evolution of a more efficient vessel form for this purpose. A typological study of fine ware and radiocarbon dating firmly position the mound chronologically. Charcoal was abundant; daub and elongated hearths probably figured in the technology. Also, the absence of edible plant remains and the scarcity of obsidian blades and animal bone add to the picture of a specialized, salt-producing locality. The represented salt-making technology is partially reconstructed using comparative ethnographic, ethnohistorical, and archaeological sources from southern Mesoamerica.

The C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of amber and jet beads found at Tipu, a Colonial-period Maya site in Belize, Central America, indicate that these materials are of European origin. The two jet beads were found in association with the burial of children in a Christian cemetery, and the single amber bead was in a midden from the early years of Spanish occupation. Both the cemetery and the midden probably date to the late sixteenth century. The amber is clearly of Baltic origin. The jet spectrum is consistent with a Spanish origin.

The archaeological evidence for pre-Columbian roadways in the northern Mayan area is well documented. These range from broad intracity causeways and long, raised intercity roadways to small local pathways. In the colonial Mayan–Spanish and Spanish–Mayan dictionaries written by Franciscan friars in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries there are various references to roadways. These references were located through a computer-aided search through the dictionaries. Supplementing these references is the information given in various documents written by Franciscan historians, as well as the variety of documents written by the Maya. This information was also located through searches in computerized versions of these documents. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate these references to determine how the information in them can be used to broaden our understanding of Mayan roadways, culture, and society.

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of Middle and Late Postclassic and Early Colonial period decorated and plain ware ceramic sherds from Brainerd's excavation collections at Cerro Portezuelo highlight diachronic changes in commercial pottery exchange prior to and during the Aztec empire and during the first century of Spanish colonial rule. The INAA results show that before the Aztec empire (Middle Postclassic period; a.d. 1150–1350), most pottery used at Cerro Portezuelo was made locally or imported from various sources in the southern Basin of Mexico. After the empire formed (Late Postclassic period; a.d. 1350–1521), local pottery exchange continued, but Tenochtitlan became the primary source of imported pottery in Cerro Portezuelo, despite its location within Texcoco's domain, which was likely attributable to Tenochtitlan merchants' successful exploitation of lake trafficking. After the Spanish Conquest (Early Colonial period; a.d. 1521–1625), Texcoco became the principal supplier of pottery in Cerro Portezuelo. Tenochtitlan persisted as a commercial exporter of pottery after the conquest but on a smaller scale, probably because of the degradation and infilling of the lakes, especially Lake Texcoco.

In the territories of the former lakes in the Basin of Mexico, a tlatel was an insular settlement associated with the exploitation of lacustrine resources. This study examines the stratigraphy and geomorphological context of three tlateles in the eastern part of the former Lake Texcoco and correlates their phases of development with regional paleoclimatic trends from the seventh century b.c. to the sixteenth century. The results of this research indicate that fluvio-lacustrine (i.e., deltaic) sedimentation and freshwater springs in the lake basin were important features for the establishment of tlatel settlements in the highly dynamic and saline lacustrine environment. The formation and abandonment of the studied tlateles correlate with changes in other settlements and developments recorded in other parts of Lake Texcoco. Sites and sediments in the eastern part of Lake Texcoco provide proxy information on the lacustrine changes that accompanied the development of Tenochtitlan and other lacustrine settlements in its western part.

Izapa is famous for its monumental architecture and extensive corpus of carved stelae dated to the Late Formative Guillén phase (300–100 cal b.c.). The site was first established, however, as the capital of a kingdom during the second half of the Middle Formative period (750–300 cal b.c.). Little is known of the first centuries of the site's occupation or how this early kingdom coalesced with Izapa as its capital. In 2012, the Izapa Regional Settlement Project (IRSP) excavated 21 test units and ran 10 radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates in order to begin correcting this lacuna. These excavations were the first at the site to screen soil matrices and recover artifact samples that can be quantitatively analyzed.

We undertook excavations in areas north and south of Group B, the original center of Izapa. This work dates the northern expansion of the site's main platform (under Mound 30a) to the Terminal Formative Itstapa phase (cal a.d. 100–300) that resulted in a doubling of the platform's size. Further, we documented that there were three distinct construction episodes in the Terminal Formative expansion and that a central staircase and ramp were built of stone during the second episode. Buried below the Terminal Formative platform expansion was a white clay surface built during the Escalón phase (750–500 cal b.c.) and used through to Guillén times. At the long, linear Mound 62 that defines the eastern edge of Izapa's site core, we documented two episodes of Guillén-phase monumental construction. Buried below this construction fill at Mound 62, a hearth feature and stone alignment are dated to the late Middle Formative based on radiocarbon assays and the results of ceramic analysis. Excavations at Mound 72 and 73 documented that Izapa's E-Group (newly recognized with lidar [light detection and ranging] data) was established in the late Middle Formative period and then significantly augmented during the Guillén phase. The architectural program at Izapa saw its apogee during the Late Formative period, but was first established during the preceding centuries of the Middle Formative. Ten new AMS dates confirm the dating of the Escalón, Frontera, and Guillén phases to 750–100 cal b.c.

Ceramic analysis allowed us to differentiate quantitatively between midden deposits and construction fill through the site's occupation and to recognize domestic versus public spaces during the first centuries of the Izapa kingdom's coalescence. We identify late Middle Formative period middens based on the high density of ceramics in addition to good surface preservation of sherds and a lack of temporal mixing of types. The designation of high-artifact density middens contrasts with the contents of Late and Terminal Formative construction fill with lower ceramic sherd densities and mixing of temporally diagnostic types. Off-mound contexts (where construction fill was mined) had even lower ceramic densities than construction fill and the sherds were very eroded. Analysis of ceramic remains from late Middle Formative period midden deposits also allowed us to infer differences in public and domestic areas of the site during the first centuries of its occupation. Formal and metric variables from these ceramic assemblages identify dish-to-jar ratios that differentiate domestic contexts (with an assortment of vessel forms) from more publically oriented areas of the site (with more serving dishes). The differential distribution of rim diameters of fancy and plain dishes allows us to identify areas of Izapa where domestic activities predominate and indicate that more publically oriented feasting practices occurred at the site center near the main pyramid (Mound 30a) during the late Middle Formative period.

Costume is one of the most significant forms of material culture in ethnographic contexts, yet remains of cloth are extremely rare at most archaeological sites. Artifacts that typically relate to textile production include spindle whorls and bone tools. This paper summarizes results of analyses of a large corpus of whorls and a remarkably extensive assemblage of bone tools from the Early Postclassic site of Santa Isabel in Pacific Nicaragua. Ethnohistoric sources identify several Mesoamerican groups as living in the region during the Postclassic period, with the Oto-Manguean-speaking Chorotega likely candidates for the cultural group at Santa Isabel. Textiles were probably made from cotton, among other plant fibers. In addition to cloth production, we consider the importance of spinning thread for fishnets and hammocks.

More than four decades ago, instrumental developments, such as those involving neutron activation and X-ray florescence, began to generate relatively large quantities of data from the analysis of archaeological materials. These data served as the basis for many models of long-distance exchange as a means of explaining the development of cultural complexity. I review aspects of this early history and the how use of compositional data is now more directed toward localized investigations of economic activity. Even with this refocus of research interest, studies involving material characterization appear to be declining. Using traditional citation, personal experience, and highly selective examples, I discuss the use of analytical techniques for studies of long-distance trade, as it developed and now confronts interpretive difficulties that are inherent in the data and rendered more so by use of abstract constructs and resource limitations.

The authors challenge the argument by other world-system scholars that Lower Central America fell outside the Mesoamerican world-system during the late Postclassic period. Drawing on ethnohistoric and archaeological information, it is argued that native peoples along the Pacific Coast of Central America from El Salvador to the Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica) are best understood as part of the Mesoamerican periphery. The Central American peoples south of Nicoya formed both a chiefly world-system of their own and part of the Mesoamerican frontier by engaging in networks of trade and preciosity exchanges with the coastal Mesoamericans in Nicoya and Nicaragua. Support for this argument is based primarily on two “microhistoric” case studies of peoples located on both sides of the Mesoamerican/Lower Central America border, specifically the Chorotegans of the Masaya/Granada area of Nicaragua and the Chibchans of the Diquis/Buenos Aires area of Costa Rica. Archaeological information on sites in both areas and documentation from Spanish colonial sources that refer to native peoples in these areas strongly indicate that the Masaya/Granada peoples were active participants in the Mesoamerican regional network. In contrast, information from the Diquis/Buenos Aires area for this period reveals only weak Mesoamerican ties but strong relations with a Chibchan intersocietal network of chiefdoms.