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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Contact And Missionization At Tayasal, Peten, Guatemala, Timothy W. Pugh Dec 2011

Contact And Missionization At Tayasal, Peten, Guatemala, Timothy W. Pugh

Timothy W Pugh

Until their conquest by the Spanish in 1697, many Itza Maya occupied a large village at Tayasal, Peten, Guatemala. After the conquest, two missions were built there. The village and missions are located within 2 km of modern Flores, which was once Nojpete´n, the Itza capital, and later the Spanish presidio (fortified administrative center). Our excavations uncovered the San Bernabe´ mission on the Tayasal peninsula and defined the Late Postclassic-period (A.D. 1400–1525) occupation of the site. San Bernabe´ was established in the early 18th century as part of Spanish efforts to control indigenous populations in Peten. Our research demonstrates that …


Complexities Of Collapse: The Evidence Of Maya Obsidian As Revealed By Social Network Graphical Analysis, Gary M. Feinman, Mark Golitko, James Meierhoff, Patrick Ryan Williams Dec 2011

Complexities Of Collapse: The Evidence Of Maya Obsidian As Revealed By Social Network Graphical Analysis, Gary M. Feinman, Mark Golitko, James Meierhoff, Patrick Ryan Williams

Gary M. Feinman

The authors use a social network analysis to map the changing patterns of obsidian supply among the Maya during the period of Classic to Postclassic transition. The quantity of obsidian received from different sources was calculated for 121 sites and the network analysis showed how the relative abundance of material from different sources shifted over time. A shift from inland to coastal supply routes appears to have contributed to the collapse of inland Maya urban centres. The methods employed clearly have a high potential to reveal changing economic networks in cases of major societal transitions elsewhere in the world.