Since Kaminaljuyu was first systematically excavated in the 1930s, the chronology of the site has been fraught with confusion and scholarly disagreement. In recent years, scholars generally adopted the chronology presented by Shook and Popenoe de Hatch (1999) as the most authoritative account. In 2014, however, Inomata and colleagues proposed a revision of this chronology by shifting its Preclassic portion (including the Las Charcas and Providencia phases) roughly 300 years later in time. In this article, we analyze a total of 108 radiocarbon dates with Bayesian statistics, tying them to detailed ceramic analysis. These dates include previously reported dates, measured after the year 2000, as well as 68 new radiocarbon dates obtained from Kaminaljuyu and nearby sites. The results largely support Inomata and coauthors’ (2014) revised Preclassic chronology, placing the Las Charcas–Providencia transition around 350 BC and the Providencia–Verbena transition around 75 BC. In addition, we present new dates on the Early Classic period, although some ambiguity remains for the Esperanza phase, when Teotihuacan-related elements were introduced to Kaminaljuyu. The revised chronology, combined with environmental data, suggests an explosive increase in population and construction activity during the Verbena and Arenal phases.

This study examines the ritual and socioeconomic significance of animals in ceremonial contexts at Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala. Kaminaljuyu was once the largest and most politically powerful highland Maya center. We compare faunal remains from different contexts, including burials and dedicatory offerings in and around monumental features, to better understand the role of animals in these deposits. We then compare ceremonial activities across Mesoamerica to identify similarities alluding to widely recognized practices. Late and Terminal Preclassic (350 BC–AD 250) ceremonies at Kaminaljuyu contain some of the earliest marine fish recovered from a Maya highland site, demonstrating the ability of early elites to obtain exotic species for special events. Dogs, including perhaps the first evidence for Preclassic hairless dogs in Guatemala, appear in deposits that resemble canine sacrificial offerings in central Mexico. The new faunal data in this study provide a novel perspective on Kaminaljuyu's sociopolitical role in the region.

This study provides an isotopic examination of both human and animal paleodiets and mobility patterns at a highland Maya community. Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala, was a large Prehispanic center located in a distinctly cooler, drier setting compared with the majority of Maya sites in the surrounding lowlands. Previous archaeological research at Kaminaljuyu revealed it played an important political and economic role in the Maya region, assisting in the obsidian trade network and maintaining ties with communities as far away as Teotihuacan in central Mexico. By examining the strontium (87Sr/86Sr), carbon (δ13C), and oxygen (δ18O) isotope values from dental enamel of humans and terrestrial mammals at the site, this study provides direct evidence of long-distance animal trade, explores the nature and timing of such activities, and compares highland dietary patterns with faunal studies in the lowlands. Our results indicate that isotopically non-local humans and animals are most frequently found in special and ceremonial contexts, indicating that long-distance movements of people and products were motivated for politically or ritually significant events. Although dietary patterns showed cross-species variation, diets within species were similar between highland and lowland settings.

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