Evidence for Ritual Engineering in the Late/Terminal Classic Site Plan of La Milpa, Belize

Abstract

Proponents of site-planning studies argue that the Ancient Maya expressed both political and cosmological symbolism in architecture and site plans, while detractors fault site-planning advocates for not being scientifically rigorous in their methods. Recently, the debate between the two sides has focused on whether or not the Maya created cosmograms in the layouts of their sites. Our recent investigations at La Milpa, Belize attempt to redirect site-planning studies back to a more encompassing approach that searches for meaning at various scales. In doing so, we propose that planning and engineering be considered together and that engineering can include ritual or symbolic components. This paper focuses on two contemporaneous caches, each of which contains incised jar lids decorated with a mat design. We argue the caches are ritually engineered deposits that integrate otherwise discrete architectural components into a coherent Late/Terminal Classic royal precinct plan. Furthermore, the mat design on the jar lids suggests royal sponsorship of the engineering and construction of the plaza. While much of the symbolism in the caches is unclear, we are able to recognize that political and/or cosmological symbolic communication has occurred as part of a ritually engineered component of Plaza B at La Milpa.

The Growth and Decline of the Ancient Maya City of La Milpa, Belize: New Data and New Perspectives From the Southern Plazas

“…Excavations targeted each of the range structures on the north, west, and south sides of Plaza B, the Structure 21 pyramid to the east, and the plaza surface itself (Houk and Zaro 2010, 2011). Ceramic analysis identified predominantly TR-Tepeu-2 and 3 ceramic types from most overburden and building collapse contexts, corroborating previous conclusions regarding a Late-to-Terminal Classic phase of construction for the latest architecture surrounding the plaza (Hammond and Tourtellot 2004).…”

Community Resilience and Urban Planning during the Ninth-Century Maya Collapse: A Case Study from Actuncan, Belize

“…In turn, both the processes of political failure and subsequent reorganization are etched in the built landscape of community centres. This can be seen in urban redesign evident in the construction of new civic spaces and repurposing of existing places to house newly conceived institutions (Houk & Zaro 2011; Navarro-Farr 2016; Simova et al 2015; Stanton & Magnoni 2008).…”