This work addresses varying interpretations of the production, circulation, and consumption of jades in the Maya area from the Preclassic through the Postclassic periods (600 b.c.–a.d. 1697). Traditionally, exchange of jades has been seen as a dyadic relationship between elites (gifting and tribute). Some have argued for gradations of value in the circulation of jades, which probably circulated in both elite and commoner spheres. More recent research argues that jade blanks were commoditized because they could be standardized. In this article, we evaluate this last claim, concluding there is no evidence for standardization and commodification of jade blanks, and a dearth of jade blanks in archaeological deposits. We critique the expectation that commodities in some nonindustrial economies should be standardized, and make suggestions about what kinds of jade objects, if any, have greatest potential to become commodities in the Maya area.

Practices and features that many researchers have identified as “Olmec,” even when found outside of the Gulf Coast of Mexico, supposed by some to be the heartland of an Olmec culture, are often a minority within local assemblages with vast differences in style and form. This is the case in Honduras, where objects identified as “Olmec” were clearly locally made. Thus they cannot be explained simply in terms of the import to Honduras of “Olmec” objects made elsewhere. This paper seeks to address the question, “what did it mean to the inhabitants of Formative period Mesoamerican villages to make and use objects whose stylistic features made them stand out as different from others in their own communities?” Drawing on data from original fieldwork at multiple sites in Honduras and reanalysis of museum collections, this paper proposes a model for understanding this phenomenon rooted in social theories of materiality, the phenomenological experience of personhood, and the creation of identity through entanglement with things.

This paper summarizes the results of an analysis of the formal stone tools from the Maya site of Tipu, Belize. The lithic tools are dominated by one form, the small, side-notched projectile point. These tools were recovered from Colonial-period contexts at the site. These points were manufactured from prismatic blade and flake blanks and were fairly uniform in terms of their size and method of manufacture, although distinct base styles were observed. A brief discussion of both quantitative and qualitative attributes and a description of the technology used in the manufacture of these points are presented. Also, several ideas on how researchers may be able to see ethnic or subethnic expressions of style in Colonial-period tools is offered. The possible functions of these projectile points is discussed using information from different sources. The use of these small projectile points, a component of bow-and-arrow technology, will be discussed in light of the often hostile nature of the Spanish Conquest, and in particular, the conquest and reconquest of the Tipu area.

The widespread appearance of obsidian prismatic blades and polyhedral cores in ancient Mexican writing and art provides important information regarding ancient mesoamerican lithic technology. One common central Mexican epigraphic convention, a hooklike black element, is identified as a curving prismatic blade, here providing the phonetic value itz. The placement of blade segments on the edges of wooden clubs is one of the most commonly cited uses of prismatic blades. However, it will be noted that representations of such clubs are extremely rare until the Late Postclassic period. Rather than primarily serving as bladed edging on wooden weapons, prismatic blades were more commonly used as lancets and razors. Postclassic and early Colonial depictions of prismatic blades in use reveal that they were usually held directly in the hand, with no attempt at hafting.

Chronology is a fundamental prerequisite for problem-oriented, anthropologically relevant archaeology. It is also the shaky foundation that has hampered attempts to reconstruct the culture history of Cholula, Mexico. Cholula is among the oldest continuously occupied urban centers of the New World, yet it remains one of the most enigmatic. This paper evaluates previous cultural sequences for the site, and summarizes recent evidence to construct a chronology using absolute dates and ceramic assemblages from primary depositional contexts. This revised sequence features a clearer understanding of Middle Formative settlement and the definition of ritual and domestic contexts from the Classic period. In addition, there is now evidence for a gradual transition between Late Classic and Early Postclassic material culture; and for the evolution of the Postclassic polychrome tradition within a sequence of short, clearly defined phases.

While research has revealed the important role that textiles have played in Mesoamerica from the Classic period through contemporary cultures, few studies have explored the importance of textiles in earlier Mesoamerican cultures. Scant preservation thwarts research on Formative-period cultures such as the Gulf Coast Olmec, for which only a few fragments of cordage and woven mats have yet been recovered. However, considerable additional evidence of textiles is available through other material culture, such as the rich pictorial record of fibers and cloth shown in Olmec sculpture. Further evidence exists in textile-related ceramic artifacts recovered from Gulf Coast sites, and still more evidence can be found through the reevaluation of greenstone artifacts recovered from Gulf Coast sites and “heirloom caches” of Formative-period objects. Careful analysis of the form and iconography of certain types of provenienced greenstone artifacts reveals that these may have served as elite textile-making tools; replication studies confirms their functionality as implements for spinning, weaving, and making cordage. All together, this study suggests that the Gulf Coast Olmec already held not only textiles but textile making in high esteem during the Formative period, foreshadowing the great significance of textiles in later Mesoamerican cultures.

This paper reexamines the art and architecture of the Upper Temple of the Jaguars, Chichen Itza, in light of new unpublished digital images of Adela Breton's copies of the murals. Following discussion of the construction date of the building and previous interpretations of the murals, examination of costume, setting, and house form suggests that rather than depicting mythic or symbolic episodes, these murals illustrate actual military encounters between Chichen and its enemies. The occasion for their production seems to be the utilization of the Upper Temple of the Jaguars by a specific sector of Chichen Itza's military, perhaps for rites of investiture. This sector is argued to have been associated with the Cloud Serpent, either as the title of its leader or as a patron deity, and the structure itself is perhaps related to later Nahua buildings associated with penitential rites involving warfare and investiture.

The series of papers on climate change published in this issue are the result of the symposium “Environmental Change in Mesoamerica: Physical Forces and Cultural Paradigms in the Preclassic to Postclassic,” held at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in March 2000 in Philadelphia. The authors bring their expertise in paleoclimatological studies to bear on the Maya Lowlands and Highlands from the beginning of the Holocene to the Postclassic and modern times. The studies reveal that climate has changed during the past 4,000 years to a considerable degree that correlates in a reasonable way with archaeological periodizations. Several climate-change models are presented as an effort to understand better past cultural and natural events.

Traditionally, research on the Preclassic Maya has focused on settlements found in the Southern Maya Lowlands. Apart from work at a few well-known archaeological sites in the Northern Lowlands, such as Komchen, Dzibilchaltun, and Yaxuna, the Preclassic Northern Maya had received relatively little attention from scholars. In recent years, however, many previously unreported archaeological sites with Preclassic materials have come to light. In northwest Yucatan, Mexico, a survey carried out by Proyecto Costa Maya encountered 140 sites with Preclassic components, including the site of Xtobo. Xtobo stood out from its neighboring Preclassic sites due to its extent and the size and complexity of its architecture. In addition, initial surveys of the site suggested that it was never reoccupied after the Preclassic period, thereby making it a valuable site for studying the Preclassic period in the Northern Maya Lowlands. After three seasons of fieldwork, the Proyecto Arqueologico de Xtobo was able to build substantially on the initial findings of the Proyecto Costa Maya, mapping 67 ha of settlement, including 387 structures, and carrying out a stratified sample of test pit excavations throughout the site. The project documented a dense and well-organized settlement, which included complex architectural features, such as pyramids, triadic groups, elite residences, and a ballcourt. The settlement at Xtobo shows many signs of a complex sociopolitical organization and interaction with other areas of the Maya region and Mesoamerica. The results of the Proyecto Arqueologico de Xtobo indicate that the Northern Maya Lowlands were an important and integral part of Preclassic Mesoamerica and should be considered in larger cultural reconstructions of the time period.

This paper analyses the imagery on two different Zapotec ceramic forms: an open-ended cylinder and an effigy vessel, both from the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. In this study, I propose that the figures on these objects represent impersonators of the Zapotec storm god Cocijo. The impersonators would probably have been rulers playing the role of this god and are carrying out a ritual associated with the agricultural cycle of corn. A comparative method that combines historical archaeology, ethnography, and iconographic analysis reveals clues to the function and significance of the vessels. The study leads to the conjecture that these objects were used in connection with blood offerings during corn-harvest rituals. These conclusions address the nature of ancient Zapotec religion and cosmology and provide evidence that the Zapotec performed rain and fertility rituals associated with the corn harvest similar to those of other cultural groups in Mesoamerica.

During the emergence of regional hierarchy around the site of Uci in northwest Yucatan, Mexico, ordinary people affected power relations in at least two ways. First, in the Late Preclassic and Early Classic periods, Uci had the largest ceremonial center and the largest population within a 20 km radius. Uci also physically linked itself to smaller settlements, such as Kancab and Ucanha, by means of a broad stone causeway. Yet Kancab and Ucanha's quadripartite placement of causeways and central plaza suggests that its households created a sacred landscape that gave them a degree of ritual autonomy. Ordinary people impacted power relations a second way by participating in the development of the megalithic architectural style, which was used in the region's most authoritative buildings. The use of this style in domestic platforms illustrates the ability of modest households to make their own decisions and to act in ways that constituted society at large.

Excavations at the site of Río Viejo in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico, yielded evidence of intensive cotton thread production during the Early Postclassic (a.d. 975–1220). Spindle whorls were recovered in relatively large quantities in and around houses at Río Viejo, indicating that thread production was interspersed with other household activities and residents likely produced enough thread for local use and for export. Measurements of coastal spindle whorls show that the Río Viejo thread was unique compared to other coastal and highland sites in Oaxaca and Mesoamerica beyond. I argue that this uniqueness may in part stem from the particular variety of cotton that they were spinning, but also might reflect an interregional demand for their thread. The whorl data are presented in multiple ways to compare to other sites where intensive thread production has been proposed. Here, I discuss the problems inherent in whorl calculations and make a call for more standardized recording, ideally with volumetric density measures. In the final section of the paper, I use mortuary data and other lines of evidence to re-evaluate the ethnohistorically-documented relationship between women and textile production. In coastal Oaxaca, the evidence suggests that thread production was not linked to specific gender identities in a way that is marked archaeologically. Instead, adult members of households in coastal Oaxaca materially emphasized a shared group identity over any specific gender-based identities. The production of thread was a broadly shared household-level practice that involved multiple producers, which both created and reinforced social bonds between residents and provided Early Postclassic residents with secure and comfortable access to highland goods, paving the way for the more developed thread production industry in the Late Postclassic period.

Painted ceramic vessels of the Late Classic Maya, depicting scenes of the royal court, provide an entry into understanding the courtly community as an institution built on relationships and embodied through lived practice. By examining these ceramics both as circulating objects, representing the materialized form of courtly values, and as vehicles for imagery that conveys idealized representations of the court hierarchy and how it was enacted, archaeologists may more profoundly integrate material and iconographic investigations. Assertions of identity and status are examined through the ways in which they are “contained” by these decorated vessels and emerge as characterized by a series of simultaneous unifications and oppositions. A focus on bodily behaviors and interactions, and the ways in which objects played courtly roles in their own right, yields an animated understanding of a dynamic court and a larger perspective on the enactment of identity and difference in Classic Maya contexts.

Los análisis de los artefactos de obsidiana provenientes de la región de Zacapu y de la vertiente meridional del Río Lerma evidenciaron transformaciones significativas entre el final del Clásico (600–900 d.C.) y el Posclásico tardío (1200–1450 d.C.). En lo que concierne la producción de navajas, se observan cambios que afectan el sistema productivo, desde las estrategias de adquisición de la materia prima y la organización de la producción, hasta las opciones técnicas y las modalidades de distribución y de consumo. Durante el Epiclásico y el Posclásico temprano, se desarrolla una producción de macronavajas y navajas obtenidas con la técnica de percusión y destinadas al mercado regional. Al inicio del Posclásico medio (alrededor de 1200 d.C.), se desarrolla la tecnología de la navajilla prismática, la cual substituye al sistema de producción anterior. Este artículo presenta los mecanismos que regían la producción de navajas entre el final del Clásico (600–900 d.C.) y el Posclásico tardío (1200–1450 d.C.) y discute las razones que pueden explicar las transformaciones. Propone que tanto los cambios tecnológicos como los cambios en la organización de las producciones pueden vincularse con la estructura de los sistemas sociales y políticos en los cuales se desempeñaron.

Recognition of architectural patterning among groups of structures at lowland Maya sites dating from the Classic period provides insights into the ways that residences and ritual complexes were organized. Each structured group arrangement, or Plaza Plan (PP), reveals an architectural grammar that provides the database enabling us to predict urban as well as rural settlement patterns. Wide variations in sizes among examples of residential PPs suggests that heterarchy was an important aspect of Classic Maya society. Examination of PP2 at Tikal indicates that a heterarchic pattern of organization existed. Heterarchy may relate to the fragility of the structure of lowland Maya kingship, and this may explain the gradual demise of states during the Terminal Classic and Postclassic periods and their replacement by re-emergent Maya chiefdoms.

This commentary addresses ethnographic and theoretical problems in the recent debate over lineages and houses in Classic Maya society. On the one hand, proponents of segmentary lineage models miss ambiguities between filiation and descent, residential and corporate groups in the Maya ethnographies they use for their analogies. On the other hand, supporters of Lévi-Strauss's house model fail to appreciate the relative instead of absolute differences between descent theory and alliance theory that underlie lineage and house models and make it difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between them archaeologically. Both look to descriptive, largely static types derived from elsewhere and then argue which best fits Classic Maya society rather than build models that define the relevant components of social organization—filiation, descent, alliance, residence—and then theorize how differently patterned relations between these components might yield the institutional groupings we find on (or in the case of archaeology, in) the ground.

Inequality and changing responses to food scarcity may create a stigmatization complex around certain foods. Here, we conduct a literature search to develop a working definition of “famine foods” in the Maya lowlands, centering qualities such as hardiness, productivity, nutrition, preparation, and stigmatization complexes. An analysis of the nutritional characteristics that might make up such a food yields the idea that famine foods are likely members of a time- and place-specific arsenal of plant resources. We compare the results of the literature search to botanical data from a rejollada survey from Xuenkal and a solar (house garden) survey conducted in Yaxunah. Examining the data through the lens of a history of manipulation of food access, shifting relations of power, and modern responses to food insecurity illuminates cultural plasticity and resilience in diet and agricultural strategies in the Maya lowlands. We conceptualize solares and rejolladas as food-related resilience strategies.

Archaeological investigations at the minor center of Caobal provide clues about local traditions of civic-ceremonial architecture as well as the relationship between these buildings and broader social and political transformations during the Preclassic period. The remains of pre-Hispanic Maya architecture represent a series of actions, decisions, and repeated practices, which contribute to long sequences of construction observed in the archaeological record. In particular, these data shed light on two major building campaigns that took place within Caobal's central precinct from about 850 b.c.–a.d. 250. By examining the materiality and temporality of minor temple architecture beyond primary centers of power, we examine how these buildings were constructed and, in turn, how these structures may have transformed the daily practices, identity politics, and religious values of pre-Hispanic Maya communities. Repeated construction of buildings in the temple precinct of Caobal provides a long and detailed archaeological record that allows us to reconstruct the history of material and social practices that shaped this local community beyond the Ceibal center.

Teotihuacan's Tlajinga district is a cluster of neighborhoods on the southern periphery of the city best known for earlier investigations at Compound 33:S3W1. New research includes excavations at two other apartment compounds and along the southern extension of the Street of the Dead. Excavation contexts, major finds, chronology, and preliminary interpretations are the subject of this article. We highlight evidence attesting to a major obsidian-blade workshop at Compound 17:S3E1, offerings, and other features at that compound and Compound 18:S3E1, and the tempo and processes of urbanization viewed through well-recorded stratigraphic sequences of the compounds and the Street of the Dead. We conclude that significant occupation began in the Miccaotli phase, but it was not until some point in the Early Tlamimilolpa phase that the dominant housing type became apartment compounds; the continuation of the axis of Street of the Dead in the district was accomplished by excavating in the volcanic tuft substrate (tepetate) and could have been undertaken by the inhabitants of the district themselves; and the presence of items such as a sculpted stone face, marine shell, and polychrome pottery demonstrates that commoners at Teotihuacan enjoyed some access to finer items within the interregional economy.

The term “problematical deposits” was coined decades ago at Tikal to refer to special deposits that were neither burials nor caches. Since that time, the term has been expanded to refer to a range of deposits that have puzzled archaeologists. In this paper we review the various interpretations that have been offered for these deposits including de facto refuse, squatter deposits, and the remains of dedication or termination ritual, feasting, or pilgrimage. We argue that the superficial similarity of these deposits can make it difficult to identify the range of activities that they represent and that detailed contextual analysis is required to distinguish them. We offer some of the archaeological correlates that have been associated with different types of problematic deposits.