Burnt lime production and the Pre-Columbian Maya socio-economy: A case study from the northern Yucatán

Seligson, Kenneth E.; Negrón, Tomás Gallareta; Ciau, Rossana May; Bey, George J.

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2017.09.003

Cited by 3 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The prevalence of lime production features and their great average depth in the Eastern Puuc (Sabloff and Tourtellot 1991; Seligson et al 2017a, 2017b, 2017c) likely reflects the high density of sites and the frequency of masonry structures in the region during the seventh through tenth centuries a.d. , when the pit-kilns were in use (Gallareta Negrón et al 2014; Seligson et al 2017b). Based on the dense concentration of sites, much of the fertile flat tracts of land between the hills in the Puuc region would have been cleared for agricultural purposes by the end of the Terminal Classic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar annular pit-kilns to those identified at Sayil were documented during the Labna-Kiuic inter-site survey (Gallareta Negrón et al 2014). The excavation of a sample of nine of these structures in and around the Kiuic site core indicated that they were, in fact, used for the production of burnt lime and dated to the Late and Terminal Classic periods ( a.d. 600–900; Seligson 2016; Seligson et al 2017a, 2017b). The majority of these features had deeper central depressions than lime pit-kilns identified in other subregions of the Maya area.…”

Section: The Identification Of Sub-regional Lime Production Industriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whether using aboveground pyres or permanent kiln structures, lime production requires substantial fuel resources and labor. This suggests that local lime production industries would have played important roles in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican socio-economies (Barba Pingarrón et al 2009; Barba Pingarrón and Córdova Funz 1999:169; Murakami 2010:354; Murakami et al 2013:962), and pre-Hispanic Maya socio-economies in particular (Seligson 2016; Seligson et al 2017b, 2017c). After the lime powder was produced, it had to be transported and/or mixed with other materials to create finished and usable products.…”

Section: The Identification Of Sub-regional Lime Production Industriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After the lime powder was produced, it had to be transported and/or mixed with other materials to create finished and usable products. All of these steps required organization, cooperation, and direction (Abrams 1987:493–496, 1996:206; Schreiner 2002:68–72, 99–102; Seligson et al 2017c).…”

Section: The Identification Of Sub-regional Lime Production Industriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water is then added to the calcium oxide, either manually or gradually through rainfall and atmospheric vapor, to produce the fine white powder known as burnt or hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide). The burnt lime can then be used for a host of purposes, including architectural, dietary, sanitary, storage, and others (Abrams and Freter 1996; Barba Pingarrón 2013; Mathews 2001; Morris et al 1931; Russell and Dahlin 2007:407; Schreiner 2002, 2004; Seligson et al 2017a, 2017b, 2017c; Villaseñor Alonso 2010:47; Wernecke 2005, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prehispanic Maya Burnt Lime Industries: Previous Studies and Future Directions

Seligson

Ortiz-Ruiz²,

Pingarrón

2018

Ancient Mesoam

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Burnt lime has played a significant role in daily Maya life since at least as far back as 1100 b.c., and yet its ephemeral nature has limited archaeological studies of its production. The application of new surveying and remote sensing technologies in recent decades is now allowing for a more in-depth investigation of the burnt lime industries that existed in different subregions of the Maya area. This article provides an overview of the current understanding of pre-Hispanic Maya burnt lime production. It then presents an analysis of the factors influencing the development and identification of distinct subregional lime production industries, including: lime consumption requirements and inter-site spacing; natural environment; local social and economic trajectories; and the objectives and survey universes of archaeological investigations. In reporting the tremendous advances made over the past few decades, this paper encourages archaeologists to include a focus on identifying lime production features in their research agendas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Identification Of Sub-regional Lime Production Industriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Identification Of Sub-regional Lime Production Industriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Identification Of Sub-regional Lime Production Industriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Prehispanic Maya Burnt Lime Industries: Previous Studies and Future Directions

Seligson

Ortiz-Ruiz²,

Pingarrón

2018

Ancient Mesoam

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Ancient Maya water management, agriculture, and society in the area of Chactún, Campeche, Mexico

Šprajc

Dunning

Štajdohar

et al. 2021

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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Archaeological landscape, settlement dynamics, and sociopolitical organization in the Chactún area of the central Maya Lowlands

et al. 2022

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Until recently, an extensive area in the central lowlands of the Yucatán peninsula was completely unexplored archaeologically. In 2013 and 2014, during initial surveys in the northern part of the uninhabited Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in eastern Campeche, Mexico, we located Chactún, Tamchén and Lagunita, three major Maya centers with some unexpected characteristics. Lidar data, acquired in 2016 for a larger area of 240 km2, revealed a thoroughly modified and undisturbed archaeological landscape with a remarkably large number of residential clusters and widespread modifications related to water management and agriculture. Substantial additional information was obtained through field surveys and test excavations in 2017 and 2018. While hydraulic and agricultural features and their potential for solving various archaeologically relevant questions were discussed in a previous publication, here we examine the characteristics of settlement patterns, architectural remains, sculpted monuments, and ceramic evidence. The early Middle Preclassic (early first millennium BCE) material collected in stratigraphic pits at Tamchén and another locale constitutes the earliest evidence of colonization known so far in a broader central lowland area. From then until the Late Classic period, which was followed by a dramatic demographic decline, the area under study witnessed relatively constant population growth and interacted with different parts of the Maya Lowlands. However, a number of specific and previously unknown cultural traits attest to a rather distinctive regional development, providing novel information about the extent of regional variation within the Maya culture. By analyzing settlement pattern characteristics, inscriptional data, the distribution of architectural volumes and some other features of the currently visible archaeological landscape, which largely reflects the Late Classic situation, we reconstruct several aspects of sociopolitical and territorial organization in that period, highlighting similarities with and differences from what has been evidenced in the neighboring Río Bec region and elsewhere in the Maya area.

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Burnt lime production and the Pre-Columbian Maya socio-economy: A case study from the northern Yucatán

Cited by 3 publications

References 37 publications

Prehispanic Maya Burnt Lime Industries: Previous Studies and Future Directions

Prehispanic Maya Burnt Lime Industries: Previous Studies and Future Directions

Ancient Maya water management, agriculture, and society in the area of Chactún, Campeche, Mexico

Archaeological landscape, settlement dynamics, and sociopolitical organization in the Chactún area of the central Maya Lowlands

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