AMS¹⁴C Dating of Preclassic to Classic Period Household Construction in the Ancient Maya Community of Cahal Pech, Belize

Abstract

Archaeologists have traditionally relied upon relative ceramic chronologies to understand the occupational histories of large and socially complex polities in the Maya lowlands. High-resolution accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating can provide independent chronological control for more discrete events that reflect cultural change through time. This article reports results of AMS 14 C dating of stratified sequences at the residential group Tzutziiy K'in, associated with the major Maya polity of Cahal Pech in the Belize Valley. Cahal Pech is one of the earliest permanently settled sites in the Maya lowlands (1200 cal BC), and was continuously occupied until the Terminal Classic Maya "collapse" (~cal AD 800). We use Bayesian modeling to build a chronology for the settlement, growth, and terminal occupation of Tzutziiy K'in, and compare our results to chronological data from the monumental site core at Cahal Pech. The analyses indicate that Tzutziiy K'in was first settled by the Late Preclassic period (350-100 cal BC), concurrent with the establishment of several other large house groups and the growth of the Cahal Pech site core. Terminal occupation by high-status residents at this house group occurred between cal AD 850 and 900. This study provides a framework for interpreting patterns of spatial, demographic, and sociopolitical change between households and the Cahal Pech site core.

“In the days of my life.” Elite activity and interactions in the Maya lowlands from Classic to Early Postclassic times (the long ninth century, AD 760-920)

“…A third result conirms that changes in hegemonic hierarchies occurred at the expense of the Eastern cities-mainly Calakmul, Tikal, Naranjo, and Caracol-whose supremacy covered a large part of what Dunning calls the "elevated interior regions" (Dunning et al 2012). Therefore, the political transformation affected areas that overlapped with regions vulnerable to shortages in water resources and locations far from the new trading routes (Turner and Sabloff 2012).…”

Preclassic ceramic economy in Belize: neutron activation analysis at Cahal Pech

“…Samples were also chosen from Middle and Late Preclassic contexts at two peripheral residential groups: the Tzutziiy K'in ( n = 40) and Zopilote ( n = 27) Groups. Zopilote sherds originated from domestic late facet Kanluk and early/late facet Xakal contexts of Structure 1 ( c. 600 cal BC–cal AD 300; Ebert 2017), which were later covered by a series of Late Preclassic temple platforms. Samples from Tzutziiy K'in derive from domestic contexts at Structures 2 and 3, and date to the early/late facets of the Late Preclassic Xakal ceramic complex (300 cal BC–cal AD 300; Ebert 2017).…”

“…Radiocarbon dates from the site's centre indicate initial settlement during the Early Preclassic period, c . 1200 cal BC, in the form of a small farming village of relatively egalitarian and economically autonomous households (Awe 1992; Awe & Healy 1994; Ebert et al 2017; see Table S1 in the online supplementary material (OSM) for radiocarbon dates). Early occupation was associated with Cunil-complex ceramics, which include unslipped utilitarian wares, such as large jars, bowls and gourd-shaped tecomates (Sullivan & Awe 2013; Sullivan et al .…”

“…Within this settlement group, evidence for social stratification emerges after 350 cal BC in the form of differential house sizes. This was followed by the construction of multiple masonry platforms in the group's main plaza, which probably functioned as domestic architecture for a higher-status family (Ebert et al 2016). At the Zopilote Group, located approximately 0.75km south of the centre of Cahal Pech, the earliest occupation is associated with materials from the Early Preclassic period (Ebert et al 2017).…”

“…These were associated with the Xakal ceramic complex (300 cal BC–cal AD 300) and probably served as public temple buildings associated with nearby domestic structures. The contemporaneous construction of large public plazas and monumental temples containing elaborate tombs within Cahal Pech's monumental centre signals the development of a royal lineage (Awe 1992; Garber & Awe 2009; Ebert 2017). Diagnostic ceramics and direct dates from burials and several large house groups suggest that this pattern of social, economic and spatial growth occurred throughout the hinterlands of Cahal Pech during the Late Preclassic period (Ebert et al 2016, 2017; Awe et al 2017; Ebert 2017).…”