Digital Commons Network^™

Expanding The Orbit Of Maya Culture: Creating A Non-Profit In The United States, Apollo Liu, Callie Passwater, Skyler Steckler, Ryan Rowberry

Journal of Maya Heritage

Archaeologists Without Borders of the Maya World (AWBMW) is a Mexican non-profit organization focused on promoting and preserving Mayan history, particularly archaeological sites and tangible culture. To assist its mission, AWBMW wants to be able to solicit donations from U.S. entities to assist in spreading awareness of Maya culture worldwide. Using the U.S. tax code and laws from state of Georgia, this article outlines the legal steps and strategies a foreign non-profit organization must consider when desiring to start a non-profit organization in the United States. Strategies on opening a U.S. branch of an existing foreign non-profit, linking a new …

Analysis Of Briquetage (Brine-Boiling Pots) At Paynes Creek Salt Works: Implications For Classic Maya Salt Production, Rianna Bowen

LSU Master's Theses

Abstract

The Classic Maya period (A.D. 300-900) is characterized by large urban centers, distinct material culture, and long-distance trade of both utilitarian and elite goods. The rise in population during this time created a necessity for essential, everyday goods, to move along these trade routes; one of which was salt. Additionally, much of the production of utilitarian goods was occurring outside of urban centers and political control at smaller, specialized production locales. The Paynes Creek Salt Works in southern Belize was one of these specialized production locales. The number of salt works located in the Punta Ycacos lagoon suggests salt …

Investigating Ancient Maya Late Postclassic Period Households And The Associated Function Of The Buildings At Santa Rita Corozal, Belize, Melissa Badillo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Previous archaeological research conducted by the Corozal Postclassic Project (1979-1985) focused primarily on the Postclassic Period at the site of Santa Rita Corozal in northern Belize. Through that research, Santa Rita was demonstrated as an important Postclassic Maya city which likely served as the capital of the ancient Maya province of Chetumal. Given the major reorganization that occurred in the Maya Lowlands at the end of the Classic Period, the assessment of a Postclassic site would demonstrate what, if any changes in the organization of Postclassic Period sites, took place. An extensive analysis of the associated artifact assemblages of six …

The Shortcomings Of Maize: Using Tipu To Assess Maize Consumption And Its Impact On Stature And Limb Proportions Among The Maya, Peter Mercier

Master's Theses

A reliance on maize among the ancient and modern Maya has been reasoned to cause short statures and short legs compared to overall height. The goal of this study was to test this proposition using a sample of contact period Maya from the site of Tipu in western Belize. Long bone length data from 100 individuals were compared to that from two other prehistoric maize agriculturalist societies: the Schild site in Illinois and Pecos Pueblo in New Mexico.

Four hypotheses were tested: 1) Tipu would be the shortest, 2) Tipu would have the shortest femora relative to tibiae, 3) Tipu …

Subadult Cortical Bone Analysis As An Indicator Of Childhood Health Status Among The Tipu Maya Population, Jaime Thomas

Master's Theses

This thesis explores juvenile health at the contact Maya site of Tipu in western Belize. The associated cemetery was excavated and provided a large and well-preserved population. Although Tipu has been a focus of many studies, few studies have focused on subadults and none on their cortical development, which can allow insight into access to necessary nutritional resources.

Some 108 femora belonging to individuals aged birth to 13 years with femora previously sectioned at midshaft provided the sample. External dimensions taken included diaphyseal length, circumference, medial-lateral diameter and anterior-posterior diameter. Additionally, cortical thickness was measured at four points, and 95 …

Monumentality, Fortification, And Movement: Preclassic Maya Developments As Seen At Muralla De León, Petén, Guatemala, Justin D. Bracken

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Analysis of settlement patterning in relation to natural and constructed defensive elements expands understanding of the impact of warfare well beyond the relatively brief period of active battle. Advance preparation in advance of conflict, including reshaping the landscape for defensibility and conscription of labor toward that end, alters patterns of movement, social interaction, and physical settlement, effects that can extend for generations beyond the cessation of hostilities. This project investigates the role played by warfare in shaping the physical and social landscape of the Maya of the central Petén during the Late Preclassic period (400 B.C. – A.D. 150), as …

Sea-Level Rise And Settlement At Ta’Ab Nuk Na, Belize: Analyses Of Marine Sediment From The I-Line, 4m Transect, Conner B. Flynt

LSU Master's Theses

The ancient Maya of Mesoamerica created a culture with writing, religion, and vast trade networks. These trade networks are evident on the southern coast of Belize, where archaeologists have found sites dedicated to salt making. One of these sites, Ta’ab Nuk Na, was the subject of this thesis. Sediment and charcoal samples were collected from this site by the Underwater Maya Research Group led by Heather McKillop and E. Cory Sills. For my thesis research, I subjected these samples and components within them to loss-on ignition, radiometric dating, and microscopic analysis. Loss-on ignition was used to ascertain organic material percentage …

When Leaders Surrender Their Divine Lineage: The Loss Of Cosmic Connection Between Maya Local Lords And Their Supernatural Deities, Amy S. Peterson

Anthropology Department: Theses

The Maya who lived during the Classic Period (200 CE to 900 CE) went through many changes in their daily lives. In the Late Classic Period (600 to 900 CE), social, political and economic stressors caused even more change to their routines, leading to the “collapse” around 800-900 CE. Current hypotheses for this collapse included warfare, environmental factors, human degradation of landscapes, as well as internal and external influences. I hypothesize that in the Early Classic (200 to 600 CE), rulership of local communities by Maya lords, or ajawob, related mainly to their connection to a pantheon of supernatural …

Nutrition At Tipu: A Comparative Analysis Of Juvenile Health In Maya Populations, Sydnie A. Bianchi

Master's Theses

The site of Tipu in west central Belize provided a foothold for Spanish missionaries in the 17^th century. The effects of contact on adults among the 550 burials recovered in the cemetery there have been well studied, but the children have received less attention. Therefore, this study examined juvenile health through four markers: Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH), a non-specific marker of health disruptions; Porotic Hyperostosis (PH), an indicator of anemia; and Periostitis, an indicator of infection. Some 131 individuals were evaluated using criteria developed by Steckel, Sciulli, and Rose (2002). The results were compared to Late Classic Copán (Storey, …

Applying Settlement Scaling At Copán: Furthering Exploration Into Ancient Maya Urban Dynamics, Ellis Owen Arnold Codd

Anthropology Department: Theses

For decades, many archaeologists did not consider ancient Maya centers such as Tikal, Palenque, and Copán to be cities. While today most archaeologists would agree that large Maya centers were cities, the nature of Maya urbanism is still little understood. Maya cities seem different, and in attempt to explain these differences, they have been termed “garden cities” and “low-density agrarian-based cities.” In this thesis, I apply Settlement Scaling Theory (SST) — a quantitative framework for examining the mathematical relationships between human population, social connectivity, and other socioeconomic urban properties — to examine the quantitative relationship between population and area for …

Investigating The Contents Of A Maya Tomb: An Analysis Of The Milwaukee Public Museum's Ceramic Collection From Chajul, Guatemala, Emma Eisner

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines a collection of 120 artifacts recovered from a tomb at the highland Maya site of Chajul, Guatemala, and currently housed at the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM). Prior to this study, research on the MPM collection was very limited and there were few publications related to Chajul. The study focuses primarily on the 84 ceramic objects in the Museum’s collection. Detailed analysis of these artifacts was undertaken in order to collect data on their likely dates of production, forms, surface treatment’s, functions, and iconography. Contextual information from the tomb is also considered, including details of its construction as …

Reflecting On Pasuc Heritage Initiatives Through Time, Positionality, And Place, Scott R. Hutson, Céline Lamb, Daniel Vallejo-Cáliz, Jacob Welch

Anthropology Faculty Publications

This paper reports on heritage initiatives associated with a 12-year-long archaeology project in Yucatan, Mexico. Our work has involved both surprises and setbacks and in the spirit of adding to the repository of useful knowledge, we present these in a frank and transparent manner. Our findings are significant for a number of reasons. First, we show that the possibilities available to a heritage project facilitated by archaeologists depend not just on the form and focus of other stakeholders, but on the gender, sexuality, and class position of the archaeologists. Second, we provide a ground-level view of what approaches work well …

The Built Environment At Plaza H, Cahal Pech: A Study In Resiliency, Rachel A. Steffen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis seeks to understand the human response to extreme environmental, social, and political change during the Terminal Classic (750-1050 CE) at Cahal Pech. Across the Maya lowlands, this period is distinguished by the end of divine kingships, the cessation of new monumental architecture, rapid changes in prestige goods and trade networks, and population decline at many major centers. Cahal Pech, a medium-sized ceremonial center, experienced great shifts in political power and access to resources during the Terminal Classic. This thesis attempts to understand the last occupation of the site, prior to abandonment. Field data for this study is derived …

Social Change And Games Of Chance At The Site Of Gallon Jug, Nicholas C. Kopp

Honors Undergraduate Theses

During the 2019 field season of the Chan Chich Archaeological Project (CCAP)/Belize Estates Archaeological Survey Team's (BEAST) work in northwestern Belize, excavations commenced at an elite household at the site of Gallon Jug, named Courtyard B-1. Excavations revealed intriguing details about the lives of the inhabitants through the presence of burials, ceramics, architecture, and – as is central to this research – Patolli boards. Patolli, a prehistoric game of chance played throughout Mesoamerican, is a relatively under researched topic within the field of archaeology. In this thesis I argue that the patolli boards at Gallon Jug portray evidence of elite …

Re-Interpreting A Complex Maya Burial At Tutu Uitz Na, Justine Marie Bye

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

In 2017, John Walden led an excavation of the Tutu Uitz Na intermediate elite center, found in the Maya site of Lower Dover, Belize. He and his team uncovered two burials, designated SG1-BU2 and SG1-BU3. Their initial report claims that there were three individuals, all sacrificially bound and killed within an eastern triadic shrine. In 2019, Dr. Kirsten Green-Mink and Justine Bye, both of the University of Montana, re-analyzed the Tutu Uitz Na burials and performed a comprehensive bioarchaeological analysis. SG1-BU2 was found to contain three individuals – 2 adults and 1 subadult. SG1-BU3 contained one adult, likely of high …

Comparative Processes Of Sociopolitical Development In The Foothills Of The Southern Maya Mountains, Amy E. Thompson

Anthropology ETDs

Human behaviors and settlement decision-making can be evaluated through an assessment of settlement patterns. This dissertation examines the human behaviors that guide settlement selection, first through an analysis of settlement patterns to assess intra-site social communities, and second how communities develop over time. Three case studies examine settlement structure and what influences settlement selection within archaeological and modern contexts from the same region, southern Belize. Specifically, this dissertation focuses on two Classic period (250-800 CE) Maya centers, Uxbenká and Ix Kuku’il, and more than 50 modern Maya villages. Extensive survey and excavations were conducted to compare the development of settlements …

Monkey Pots: Inferring Meaning Through Time And Space From Function, Decoration, And Context, Benjamin Jacob Skousen

Jacob Skousen

In this thesis, I interpret the meaning of “monkey pots,” a pottery vessel found throughout the Maya world. This study looks at three kinds of monkey pots recovered from the Mirador Basin. Carmelita Incised and Zacatal Polychrome monkey pots date to the Late Classic period (AD 680-800) and were manufactured in the Basin; Telchac Composite monkey pots date to the Terminal Classic period (AD 780-830) and were made in the Usumacinta River region. These monkey pots are described, followed by an analysis and comparison of the function, the monkey genus on the vessels, and the contexts from which the vessels …

Using Virtual Reality And Remotely Sensed Data To Explore Object Identity And Embodiment In A Virtual Mayan City, Cole F. Juckette

Anthropology Department: Theses

3D visualization, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and 3D modeling are not new concepts in archaeology, however when combined they represent a growing body of research that seeks to understand both how these tools can help us to study the people of the past, and the past itself. Recently, archaeologists have been creating large amounts of 3D digital assets because of new and more advanced technologies. Along with these digital assets has come a myriad of single object viewers—both web and desktop based. These platforms specifically focus on visualizing individual objects (i.e., artifacts or buildings). In contrast, 3DGIS and Virtual …

Constructing Social Identity Through The Past: The Itza Maya Community Identity Through The Late Postclassic Period (1250–1525ce), Yuko Shiratori

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation focuses on the construction of social identity of the Itza Maya during the Late Postclassic period (1400-1525 CE) at Tayasal in the Petén lakes region, Guatemala. The Itza were the last indigenous group conquered by the Spaniards in the Americas in 1697. Various ethnohistorical documents describe the people and socio-political organization of the Itza during sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Avendaño y Loyola 1987; Edmonson 1982, 1986; Jones 1998; López de Cogolludo 1971; Roys 1967; Villagutierre Soto-Mayo 1983). According to the documents, the Itza of the Petén claimed to have migrated from the great city of Chich'en Itza in …

Minimum Number Of Individuals: A Methodological Comparison Using Human Remains From Caves Branch Rockshelter In The Cayo District Of Belize, Caitlin Elizabeth Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The analysis of human remains in archaeological contexts is often complicated by the presence of highly fragmented and commingled remains. The standard methods used to help quantify the number of individuals and elements in these contexts are based upon the segmentation of whole bones. The methods provide standardization and are flexible enough to allow for the idiosyncratic nature of each context. However, this results in a lack of transparency, which is necessary to reanalyze the same sample or to compare “like” contexts, as the data collected will vary.

Sex Determination Using Discriminant Function Analysis Of Carpals From Maya Sites In Belize From Pre-Classic To Spanish Colonial Period, Michelle D. Labbe

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The sexing of human skeletal remains is important for identification and demographic purposes. It is made more difficult when elements such as the skull and pelvis are not recovered or are in too poor of a condition to assess. Previous studies have used carpal (wrist) bones of contemporary populations to assess the viability of these skeletal elements exhibiting sexual dimorphism, as these bones are small, compact elements that are usually recovered in good condition. This study evaluates the use of carpal bones recovered from an ancient Maya population from Belize to determine the biological sex of individuals. The study sample …

Lithic Resources, Workshops, And Consumption In Northwestern Belize, Hollie Lincoln

Culminating Projects in Cultural Resource Management

Stone tools played an important role in the everyday life of the ancient Maya. Whether for ritual or domestic uses, stone tools were required to complete everyday tasks. Access to stone resources used to make tools, including chert, likely influenced the sociopolitical relationships between communities and cities across the ancient landscape. Through various methods including field survey, lab analysis, and statistical analysis, various chert resources in Northwestern Belize are identified and analyzed in order to recognize chert procurement locations and possible tool production sites or workshops. In addition, an overall analysis of chert quality is included to form a better …

Reconstructing Ancient Lives Using 3d Technology: A Case Study Of Pork And Doughboy Point, Belize, Jane Fiegel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation

3D technology can preserve cultural heritage resources and enhance museum collections and exhibits. Through 3D scanning, an exact digital replica of an artifact is created, which can be printed out or used to create a digital display. For this project, 3D scanning was used to reconstruct ancient Maya lives at Pork and Doughboy Point, Belize. By studying and classifying an inventory of selected artifacts, we were able to determine what activities occurred at the site. goal of this project was to showcase the growing importance of 3D technology in cultural preservation and the variety of ways in which it can …

Analysis Of Marine Sediment By Chemical Signatures And Loss-On Ignition To Discover Evidence Of Ancient Maya Activities At Site 74, Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize, Kobi Weaver

LSU Master's Theses

In this thesis, archaeological sediment chemistry, loss-on ignition and microscopic analysis of marine sediment are used to study Site 74 of the Paynes Creek Salt Works in southern Belize. Site 74 was once an ancient Maya salt work. Due to sea-level rise, sea water and mangrove peat now cover the site. Sediment from the site was exported under permit to the Louisiana State University Laboratory. I prepared and delivered the samples to the Louisiana State University Agricultural Chemistry Laboratory for inductively coupled plasma- atomic emission spectroscopy testing (ICP-AES). ICP-AES measured the amount of 20 elements in the sediment. Maps showing …

The Structural Violence Of Maya Sacrifice: A Case Study Of Ritualized Human Sacrifice At Midnight Terror Cave, Belize, C. L. Kieffer Nail

Anthropology ETDs

The site of Midnight Terror Cave is located in the karstic Roaring Creek Valley near the village of Springfield in the Cayo District of Belize. The site was discovered in 2006 and fieldwork was conducted by the Western Belize Regional Cave Survey Project and California State University, Los Angeles, between 2008 and 2010. This dissertation focuses on the osteological analysis of the bones of 118 individuals recovered and recorded at the site. The osteological, contextual, and demographic evidence is framed within ritual and costly signaling theory of structural violence and viewed with the ethnohistoric and ethnographic literature of the ancient …

Human-Environment Interactions: Sea-Level Rise And Marine Resource Use At Eleanor Betty, An Underwater Maya Salt Work, Belize, Valerie Renae Feathers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Dissertation excavations were performed in the spring of 2013 at the underwater site of Eleanor Betty in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize. The marine environment preserved wooden architecture associated with the salt works. Excavation goals included: 1) excavating and defining the boundaries of the submerged shell midden; 2) collecting sediment samples for paleoenvironmental analyses; and 3) recovering cultural remains to determine the site’s purpose (residence versus production workshop).

Four transects were added to the existing transect from excavations performed during the 2011 field season. The shell midden measured 5 meters in length (north-to-south throughout all transects) by 0.5-to-1 meters in …

Some Observations And New Discoveries Related To Altar 3, Pacbitun, Belize, Sheldon Skaggs, Christophe Helmke, Jon Spenard, Paul F. Healy, Terry G. Powis

Publications and Research

The Pre-Columbian Maya city of Pacbitun, Belize (Fig. 1) is distinguished by the high number of stone monuments (n- 20) identified during the roughly three decades of archaeological research conducted there (Healy et al. 2004:213). Altar 3, recovered in a cache within the main pyramidal structure of the site in 1986, was one of those monuments, but, unlike most of the others from the site, it is carved and bas a short hieroglyphic text. Yet, similar to several of the others, it had been broken in the past and, its pieces scattered. Archaeological excavations in 2016 recovered another piece of …

From Maya Pyramids To Paleoindian Projectile Points: The Importance Of Public Outreach In Archaeology, D Clark Wernecke, Thomas J. Williams

Journal of Archaeology and Education

Public outreach in archaeology can have a valuable impact on education, culture, society and even on the economy. However, it should not be relegated to the addendum of our research projects. Here we present two case studies that the authors have been actively involved in where outreach was a central part of the investigations. Following this, we outline a basic framework for conducting outreach in both the short- and long-term. While these are not perfect examples, they are intended to get archaeologists, as a community, thinking about the real and practical implications of conducting public outreach. Beyond the educational value, …

The Diet And Subsistence Methods Of The Maya: Their Health And Cultural Consequences From The Pre-Classic Era To Today, Rachel E. Watson

Honors Undergraduate

The Maya, a once great civilization, seemingly vanished without an obvious reason, before the Spanish landed in the region. Some say that their downfall was a result of famine and inadequate nutrition. Surprisingly, most of the archaeological evidence surrounding the Classic Maya diet and subsistence methods indicates that they both adequately sustained the population to the point where there has been practically no change over hundreds of years. Change did not occur to the Maya diet or the classic subsistence methods until the late twentieth century when the tourism industry exploded in the area of the former Maya empire. The …

Connections Beyond Chunchucmil, Traci Ardren, Scott R. Hutson, David R. Hixson, Justin Lowry

Anthropology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.