IMPACTS OF POLITICS ON MATERIAL CULTURE: EVALUATING THE YAXUNA-COBASACBE

Abstract

Over the past thirty years, Mayanists have increasingly discussed the relationships between large polities. Advances in our understanding of epigraphy have largely driven this increased focus. Yet in areas where the epigraphic record is less understood, as is the case with the northern Maya lowlands, archaeologists have turned to other data to piece together political relationships. These data often consist of architectural and ceramic styles. Models based on such data generally assume that styles of material culture will cluster among social groups that are more closely knit than others (familial or political ties) or will occur in an area after it has been subordinated by a particular polity. One case where such a model has been applied is the site of Yaxuna, which was connected to the metropolis of Coba by a 100 km-long causeway during the Late Classic period. The difference between this case and others is that not only do the two sites share some aspects of material culture during this period, but we can also physically see that the sites were integrated by an actual road. In most cases where stylistic models have been applied, the possible routes connecting sites do not preserve, making the correlation between styles and social interaction more speculative. In this paper, we reevaluate the Yaxuna-Coba case using a modal analysis of the Arena ceramic group shared by Yaxuna and Coba during that time. Our data suggest that one particularly important type (Arena Red) was produced in Yaxuna and exported in a limited range of forms down the causeway toward sites in Quintana Roo. Although several archaeologists have argued that the causeway represents the subordination of Yaxuna by an expanding Late Classic Coba polity, our data suggest that the resulting impact on material culture may be more complex than current models imply. Ceramic economies operating in a very limited fashion within or outside of spheres of political action may have been common among the Maya, although the idea that trade follows flag certainly appears to have existed in this case.

Interregional Interaction in Terminal Classic Yucatan: Recent Obsidian and Ceramic Data From Vista Alegre, Quintana Roo, Mexico

“…All of these types are well to very well represented at occupied Middle and Late Classic northern coastal plain and eastern Lowland sites (Ball 1978). The absence of Arena Red at the site is also of note, given its considerable importance at inland Coba and Yaxuna during the Late Classic period (González and Stanton 2013; Johnstone 2001). We believe it significant that ceramic diagnostics of the late fifth to sixth century occur in substantially smaller quantities than do those of the late second through early fifth centuries, and that wares indicative of a late sixth to early seventh century presence appear in even lower frequencies.…”

A preliminary revised life history of Punta Laguna, Yucatan, Mexico: A persistent place

“…(Robles Castellanos 1990:91), and Muyil continued to expand in size and population, though slowly (Witschey 1993, 2005). Yaxuna, on the other hand, experienced a population decline, and one associated with the “reduction and reorientation of monumental construction” (Glover and Stanton 2010:70; Loya González and Stanton 2013:28). Glover and Stanton (2010:69) suggest that this demographic shift may have been associated with changes in ideology that emphasized the “cult of kingly ancestors” and “elite mortuary monuments.” Population declined in the Cochuah region at this time (Shaw 2015:11), and most sites in the Yalahau region were all but abandoned (Glover 2012; Glover and Esteban Amador 2005).…”

“…Vista Alegre ceramics have been found throughout the eastern Yucatan Peninsula, including at coastal sites such as Muyil (Witschey 1993), Xelha (de la Cruz Canché Manzanero 1992:119–126), and Xcaret (Ochoa Rodríguez 2004:164–167). Batres Red ceramics are particularly common at Coba (Robles Castellanos 1990) and may have been produced there (see Loya González and Stanton 2013:39). These ceramics, however, are noticeably infrequent at some nearby sites, including Muyil (Witschey 1993), Ek Balam (Bey III et al 1998), and Yo'okop (Johnstone 2005:162; Shaw 2005:150).…”

“…Arena Red ceramics were likely produced at Yaxuna, between approximately a.d. 600 and 700. These ceramics have been found in significant numbers at Coba (Loya González and Stanton 2013) and at coastal sites, including Xelha (de la Cruz Canché Manzanero 1992:129).

Figure 13.Ceramics produced during the Late Classic period: (a–b) Batres red: Batres; (c–d) Lakin impressed composite: Lakin; (e) Encanto striated: Sacná; (f) Arena red: Arena.

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Ancient Maya Commerce : Multidisciplinary Research at Chunchucmil

“…Analysis of soils and sediments at Chunchucmil reveals that local clays were acceptable for making pottery (Tim Beach, personal communication 2015). Loya gonzález and Stanton (2013) provide a precedent for trade of a common pottery type by showing that Arena Red pots were traded from Yaxuná to Cobá (99 km), but the authors note that this trade was limited. At Tikal and Palenque, two sites with some of the best-known ceramic sourcing research, most pottery was produced from local clays by potters residing within 15 km of these sites (Fry 1979;Rands and Bishop 1980).…”