The Albion Island Settlement Pattern Project: Domination and Resistance in Early Classic Northern Belize

Pyburn, K. Anne; Dixon, Boyd; Cook, Patricia L.; McNair, Anna

doi:10.2307/530457

Cited by 8 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…Pyburn 1987Pyburn , 1989Pyburn et al 1998). To discover invisible structures archaeologists almost certainly will need to employ two complementary subsurface surveying strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Elsewhere (Johnston 2002:5-12) I have suggested that in bottomland settings, such as slope bases and floodplains, the principal environmental causes are alluviation and colluviation (see also Pyburn et al 1998). Elsewhere (Johnston 2002:5-12) I have suggested that in bottomland settings, such as slope bases and floodplains, the principal environmental causes are alluviation and colluviation (see also Pyburn et al 1998).…”

Section: Invisible Settlement: the Research Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

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The “Invisible” Maya: Minimally Mounded Residential Settlement at Itzán, Petén, Guatemala

Johnston¹

2004

Latin Am. antiq.

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.Through analyses of data recovered at Itzdn, Guatemala, this paper examines the architectural morphology and the probable functions of "invisible" building remains in the Maya Lowlands. Invisible building remains are buried, leave no surface traces, and cannot be detected during surface survey, which is the principal settlement detection technique employed by Mayanists. Data at Itzdn and other sites suggest that Maya invisible buildings are a more abundant settlement category than many archaeologists have supposed.A travis de informaci6n recuperada en Itzdn, Guatemala, examino la arquitectura y lasfunciones probables de las construcciones no visibles en las tierras bajas de los mayas. Los vestigios de las construcciones no visibles son completamente sepultados, y no pueden ser descubiertos mediante el reconocimiento de terreno, que es la base de la ticnica utilizada por los mayistas para establecer patrones de asentamiento. La informacidn de Itzdn y otros sitios sugiere que las construcciones no visibles Mayas son de una categoria residencial mds comdn que los arquedlogos han supuesto. For 50 years archaeologists have collected settlement data in the Maya Lowlands almost exclusively through surface survey.While it is true that subsurface testing has been an important component of many settlement surveys, generally it has been conducted with the goal of dating and establishing the function of surface-visible mounds rather than discovering buried architectural remains that leave no surface traces. Even as they rely on surface survey, archaeologists have expressed concern that culturally important components of the Maya settlement system could be buried and that surface-collected survey data, consequently, could be incomplete and nonrepresentative. In the literature, this possibility is described as the "invisible settlement" problem (settlement data have been collected predominantly through surface survey, archaeologists are expressing doubts about how representative those data may be. Partly in response to these concerns, study of the environmental and archaeological factors that affect the exposure (or the lack thereof) of settlement remains on landscapes has emerged during the last two decades as a major research topic (e.g.ing discoveries at the site of Itzain, Guatemala. Specifically, I examine the architecture and artifact assemblages of eight invisible structures, several of which are clustered in patio groups. As indicated by their architecture and artifacts, the structures are house remains. The discovery at ItzLin and other sites of invisible structures has important ramifications for Maya archaeology. "Invisible settlement" consists of largely or completely buried settleme...

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“…Pyburn 1987Pyburn , 1989Pyburn et al 1998). To discover invisible structures archaeologists almost certainly will need to employ two complementary subsurface surveying strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Invisible Settlement: the Research Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

The “Invisible” Maya: Minimally Mounded Residential Settlement at Itzán, Petén, Guatemala

Johnston¹

2004

Latin Am. antiq.

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“…Surveyed areas are small, yet the accumulating information is impressive. Pyburn et al (1998) surveyed 2.5 km 2 on Albion Island, Belize; after decades of attention paid to the site center, we now have 37 km 2 of Palenque's hinterland surveyed (Liendo 2002). O'Mansky and Dunning (2004) mapped 200-m-wide transects in the Petexbatun region of Guatemala, and the Xunantunich project used 400-m-wide transects (Ashmore et al 2004).…”

Section: Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional Settlement Pattern Studies

Kowalewski

2008

J Archaeol Res

110

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This is a critical review of regional settlement pattern archaeology published in the last decade. The regional approach proves to be highly productive of new ideas and lasting results. Cultural resource/heritage databases are increasingly important. Notable advances have been made in regional studies of Paleolithic and Holocene foragers, the reciprocal relations between Neolithic communities and their regional societies, and in understanding states and empires. There are new research potentials in comparisons, macroregional analysis, long-term change, and alternative pathways. Research designs should specify systematic coverage at the regional scale and carry out spatial analysis in which social groups are the primary focus.

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“…Archaeological research revealed the site had been occupied from the Early Preclassic period, about 1100 B.C., into the Late Postclassic period, beyond A.D 1500. Chau Hiix appears to have survived the Classic period collapse (Pyburn 1998(Pyburn , 2003, making it an important site for Mayanists trying to understand the factors involved in this intense period of decline. Chau Hiix appears to have survived the Classic period collapse (Pyburn 1998(Pyburn , 2003, making it an important site for Mayanists trying to understand the factors involved in this intense period of decline.…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given that these structures are indicative of dwellings, if accounted for, they could substantially change absolute population estimates and interpretations of change in population size and distributions over time (Johnston 2002; Pyburn 1990Pyburn , 1996Pyburn , 1997Pyburn et al 1998). Given that these structures are indicative of dwellings, if accounted for, they could substantially change absolute population estimates and interpretations of change in population size and distributions over time (Johnston 2002; Pyburn 1990Pyburn , 1996Pyburn , 1997Pyburn et al 1998).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting “Invisible” Dwellings in the Maya Area Using Electromagnetic Induction: Significant Findings of a Pilot Study at Chau Hiix, Belize

Sweely¹

2005

Latin Am. antiq.

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.Settlement studies of the prehispanic Lowland Maya have tended to rely upon dwelling remains that are visible at the ground surface, though floors and living surfaces that leave no surface indications are known to exist. Such "invisible" dwellings have been encountered beneath platforms and in "vacant terrain" lacking surface indications of architecture, and given more systematic attention, could represent a sizable and socially significant segment of the prehispanic populations in the region. This paper describes the application of electromagnetic induction, a geophysical technique, for locating nonplatform dwellings at Chau Hiix, Belize. A conductivity signature for nonplatform dwellings was identified that includes plaster, nonplatform floors, both in an area of vacant terrain and beneath a residential terrace, in association with trash pits and episodes of limestone bedrock mining, presumably for the acquisition of raw material for the floor. The technique also holds promise for locating ground-level floors, use-areas, and possibly footpaths. While this pilot study was limited in scope, it demonstrates the enormous potential of electromagnetic induction for locating these otherwise elusive features.El estudio de asentamientos prehispdnicos en las tierras bajas mayas ha dependido mucho en vestigios arquitect6nicos visibles en la superficie, aunque se ha conocido la existencia de pisos y superficies de ocupaci6n enterrados. Estos rasgos "invisibles," encontrados abajo de plataformas y en "terrenos vacantes," podrian representar un segmento importante de las poblaciones prehispanicas. En Chau Hiix, Belice, el metodo de excavar agujeros con barrenas result6 muy tardado y la informacidn obtenida fue limitada, por lo que buscd un metodo mds eficiente. Este documento describe la aplicacidn de la ticnica geofisica, inducci6n electromagndtica, para ubicar pisos que no son plataformas en Chau Hiix. Una sehial especial de conductividadpara pisos que no son plataformasfue identificada en dreas vacantes y abajo de una terraza residencial. Estos pisos se encuentran asociados con dep6sitos de basura y episodios de extracci6n de piedra caliza, presumiblemente usados para su construcci6n. La te'cnica tambien promete localizar niveles de ocupacidn, dreas de uso, y posiblemente veredas. Aunque el enfoque del estudio piloto fue limitado, demostrd el enorme potencial de la induccidn electromagnetica para localizar rasgos que muchas veces pasan desapercibidos. G iven the challenging conditions under which archaeological fieldwork is conducted in the tropical rain forests of Central America, spending precious resources of time and money on thorough and systematic subsurface sampling in areas of "vaca...

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The Albion Island Settlement Pattern Project: Domination and Resistance in Early Classic Northern Belize

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

The “Invisible” Maya: Minimally Mounded Residential Settlement at Itzán, Petén, Guatemala

The “Invisible” Maya: Minimally Mounded Residential Settlement at Itzán, Petén, Guatemala

Regional Settlement Pattern Studies

Detecting “Invisible” Dwellings in the Maya Area Using Electromagnetic Induction: Significant Findings of a Pilot Study at Chau Hiix, Belize

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