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People Who Lived in Stone Houses: Local Knowledge and Social Difference in the Classic Maya Puuc Region of Yucatan, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kelli Carmean ,
Patricia A. McAnany  and
Jeremy A. Sabloff
Kelli Carmean
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond KY 40475
Patricia A. McAnany
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Campus Box 3115, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC 27599
Jeremy A. Sabloff
Affiliation:
Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe NM 87501
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Abstract

This study builds on the premise that local knowledge of limestone—and its workable characteristics—was foundational to landscape inhabitation in the Puuc region of Yucatán, México. Classic Maya architecture of the northern Yucatán generally is considered to represent the apogee of Maya construction prowess with extensive use of core-veneer masonry and the creation of tall, wide corbelled vaults. Less commonly discussed is the variable distribution of high-quality limestone across the Yucatán, the social matrix that undergirds the quarrying, transporting, and working of limestone, and the pronounced social differences materialized in stone architecture. This study explores these three topics by bringing to bear Yucatec Mayan linguistic evidence and excavation data from the archaeological site of Sayil, in the hilly Puuc region of Yucatán. That information provides a basis for understanding the development of a sprawling residential complex, the role that variable limestone quality played in its expansion, and serves as an index of intra-compound social difference. Late additions to the dwellings indicate that recognition of the cultural value of carved stone persisted long after masonry skills became attenuated. The durability of stone renders it a particularly effective—if underutilized—medium for interpreting social landscapes of the past.

Resumen

Resumen

Este estudio amplifica la premisa de que el conocimiento de la piedra caliza—y sus propiedades arteseanales—fue una base fundamental para la ocupación del paisaje de la Región Puuc, Yucatán, México. En general, la arquitectura de los mayas de la época Clásica del norte de Yucatán se considera representativa del apogeo de su proeza arquitectónica con el uso extensivo de núcleos de piedra burda recubiertos de piedra labrada y la creación de habitaciones con bóvedas altas y anchas. Menos mencionados son la distribución geográfica variable de piedra caliza de alta calidad a través de Yucatán, la matriz social que permite la explotación de canteras y el transporte y trabajo de los bloques, y la diferencia social profunda que se nota en la arquitectura en piedra. Este estudio explora estos tres temas usando evidencia de la lengua maya yucateca y datos de excavaciones del sitio arqueológico de Sayil, en la serranía Puuc. Esta información proporciona las bases para entender el desarrollo de un grupo residencial expansivo y el papel que la calidad variable de la piedra caliza tuvo en su expansión, y sirve como índice de diferencias sociales entre los habitantes del mismo grupo. Adiciones tardías a los edificios indican que el reconocimiento del valor cultural de la piedra trabajada persistió mucho tiempo después de la disminución de las técnicas especializadas de albañilería. La durabilidad de la piedra la hace un buen instrumento, aunque poco utilizado, para interpretar los paisajes sociales del pasado.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , June 2011 , pp. 143 - 158
Copyright
Copyright ©2011 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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