The peoples of southern Mesoamerica, including the Classic period Maya, are often claimed to exhibit a distinct type of spatial organization relative to contemporary urban systems. Here, we use the settlement scaling framework and properties of settlements recorded in systematic, full-coverage surveys to examine ways in which southern Mesoamerican settlement systems were both similar to and different from contemporary systems. We find that the population-area relationship in these settlements differs greatly from that reported for other agrarian settlement systems, but that more typical patterns emerge when one considers a site epicenter as the relevant social interaction area, and the population administered from a given center as the relevant interacting population. Our results imply that southern Mesoamerican populations mixed socially at a slower temporal rhythm than is typical of contemporary systems. Residential locations reflected the need to balance energetic and transport costs of farming with lower-frequency costs of commuting to central places. Nevertheless, increasing returns in activities such as civic construction were still realized through lower-frequency social mixing. These findings suggest that the primary difference between low-density urbanism and contemporary urban systems lies in the spatial and temporal rhythms of social mixing.

RESUMEN El estudio del aprovechamiento animal en las ciudades mayas de tierras bajas ha ido en considerable aumento durante los últimos años, incorporando metodologías que han permitido discernir prácticas de cacería, manejo, y cautiverio de algunas especies. En Palenque, los estudios zooarqueológicos poseen una tradición netamente biológica, los cuáles han sido relevantes para entender el aprovechamiento de la fauna en el sitio. Sin embargo, orientados casi en su totalidad en identificar las especies encontradas, carecen de un enfoque social. Desde 2016, el Proyecto Regional Palenque (PREP) ha llevado a cabo estudios zooarqueológicos en el Grupo IV de Palenque, un conjunto habitacional de élite del clásico tardío, en dónde a través de la flotación de sedimentos se ha recuperado una variada fauna, principalmente peces dulceacuícolas, así como restos botánicos que nos permite una interpretación más detallada de los paleopaisajes que rodeaban los asentamientos y discernir prácticas de manejo de poblaciones animales dentro y en los alrededores de las ciudades mayas.

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The Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, Mexico, is an outstanding example of Classic Maya architecture erected in the seventh century as the funerary building for ruler K'inich Janab Pakal. For decades, scholars have speculated on its construction sequence and the potential existence of hidden rooms on either side of Pakal's mortuary chamber. This article aims to advance understanding of the Temple's architectural context in light of new 3D data. After reviewing the application of drone-based photogrammetry and terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging in the Maya area, we argue that these techniques are capable of enhancing the architectural analysis of the Temple of the Inscriptions and showing that this structure was part of a larger architectural project, encompassing the adjacent Temple XIII, and the connecting stepped building platform. Our findings demonstrate that the basal platforms for the Temple of the Inscriptions and Temple XIII were erected contemporaneously and that the design of their mortuary chambers follows a tripartite layout we identified in Palenque's elite funerary architecture and associated mortuary practices. We conclude that these three buildings were part of a mausoleum architectural project, the construction of which was initiated by Pakal to reshape Palenque's site-core and enshrine the ruling family's power and ancestors.