Journal•ISSN: 1045-6635
Latin American Antiquity
Cambridge University Press
About: Latin American Antiquity is an academic journal published by Cambridge University Press. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Population & Maya. It has an ISSN identifier of 1045-6635. Over the lifetime, 1161 publications have been published receiving 23413 citations.
Topics: Population, Maya, Pottery, Politics, Context (language use)
Papers published on a yearly basis
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TL;DR: Wetland research in northern Belize provides the earliest evidence for development of agriculture in the Maya Lowlands as discussed by the authors, which occurred in the context of a mixed foraging economy.
Abstract: Wetland research in northern Belize provides the earliest evidence for development of agriculture in the Maya Lowlands. Pollen data confirm the introduction of maize and manioc before 3000 B.C. Dramatic deforestation, beginning ca. 2500 B.C. and intensifying in wetland environments ca. 1500-1300 B.C., marks an expansion of agriculture, which occurred in the context of a mixed foraging economy. By 1000 B.C. a rise in groundwater levels led farmers to construct drainage ditches coeval with the emergence of Maya complex society ca. 1000-400 B.C. Field manipulations often involved minor modifications of natural hummocks. Canal systems are not as extensive in northern Belize as previously reported, nor is there evidence of artificially raised planting platforms. By the Classic period, wetland fields were flooded and mostly abandoned.
269 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the model and its archaeological evaluation at Copan and discuss interpretive implications of the specific results obtained, in the context of other ongoing studies in epigraphy, iconography, and archaeology.
Abstract: Many societies use architecture for symbolic expression, and often buildings or other constructions constitute maps of a culture's worldview. Archaeological identification of such ideational expressions is receiving renewed attention, in the Maya area as in many other regions. Excavations in 1988-1989 in Groups 8L-10 through 8L-12, Copan, Honduras, were designed to examine a particular model of ancient Maya site planning and spatial organization, in which the principles of architectural arrangement and their directional associations derive from Maya cosmology. This paper describes the model and its archaeological evaluation at Copan and discusses interpretive implications of the specific results obtained, in the context of other ongoing studies in epigraphy, iconography, and archaeology.
199 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conclude that fully sedentary and relatively large populations emerged in a variety of Amazonian settings prehistorically, not necessarily correlated with the distribution of one or another narrowly defined ecological variable (e.g., high fertility soils).
Abstract: Recent archaeological investigations along the lower Negro and upper Xingu Rivers in the Brazilian Amazon provide important new evidence bearing on long-standing debates about the size and permanence of Amerindian settlements in the region. Preliminary regional surveys and more in-depth study of selected large (30-50 ha) sites, particularly analyses of the associations between structural features, anthropogenically altered soils, and artifact distributions, lead us to conclude that large, permanent settlements, likely associated with fairly dense regional populations, existed prehistorically in both areas. These findings cast doubt on the view that environmental limitations prevented sedentism and demographic growth among Amerindian populations throughout much or all of the region. Specifically, we conclude that fully sedentary and relatively large populations emerged in a variety of Amazonian settings prehistorically, not necessarily correlated with the distribution of one or another narrowly defined ecological variable (e. g., high fertility soils). Thus, a critical evaluation of core concepts in Amazonian anthropology, such as the varzea/terra firme dichotomy or tropical forest culture, is advised.
186 citations
TL;DR: In the case of the Yucatecan Lowlands, the authors of as mentioned in this paper suggest the widespread use of artificially altered, natural depressions for the collection and containment of water, both for potable consumption and agricultural ends.
Abstract: How the ancient Maya of the central Yucatecan Lowlands managed their water and land resources remains poorly knownX although crucial to an understanding of ancient political economy. Recent archival research and field data suggest the widespread use of artificially altered, natural depressions for the collection and containment of water, both for potable consumption and agricultural ends. During the Classic period (A.D. 250-900) several of the principal cities in the Maya area constructed their largest architecture and monuments at the summit of hills and ridges. Associated with these elevated centers-"water mountains"-were sizable, life-sustaining reserroirs quarried into their summits. The effect of this town-planning design was the centralization of a primary and fundamental resource. Although elite managers controlled the water source, other decentralizing forces prevented anything similar to Wittfogel's "total power. " However, by ritually appropriating the everyday and mundane activities associated with water by the sustaining population, elites used high-performance water ritual as manifest in the iconography to further centralize control. The significance of modifying the urban landscape in the partial image of the ordinary water hole defines the extraordinary in Maya ritual. El tema de como los mayas antiguos de las tierras bajas del centro de Yucataon administraron sus recursos de agua y tierra permanece raqufticamente explicado, aunque esto se considera muy importante para llegar a entender la economfa polftica antigua. Recientes investigaciones de los archivos e informacion del campo insinuan el extenso uso de las depresiones naturales modificadas artificialmente, para la recoleccion, y el represamiento del agua, para los consumos domeosticos y agrfcola. Durante el perfodo Cla'sico (250-900 d. C.) varias de las ciudades principales en el aorea Maya construyeron la arquitectura mayor y los monumentos en la cima de los cerros y lomas. En asociacion con estos centros elevados-"las montanas de agua"-habfa grandes depositos de agua, las reservas de sostenimiento de vida excavados en sus cimas. El efecto de este diseno de planificacion de asentamientos fue la centralizacion de un recurso principal y fundamental. Aunque los admi
175 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the imperial Inka ceramic assemblage in terms of its functional and culinary significance, using information culled from ethnohistoric sources, archaeological reports, and ethnographic studies to draw functional inferences about Inka vessel forms.
Abstract: In this paper, the imperial Inka ceramic assemblage is examined in terms of its functional and culinary significance. Information culled from ethnohistoric sources, archaeological reports, and ethnographic studies is used to draw functional inferences about Inka vessel forms and to outline the features of an imperial “haute cuisine.” In the Inka empire, the relationship between rulers and subjects was largely mediated through the prestation of food and drink. The elaboration of a distinctive state vessel assemblage suggests a conscious strategy aimed at creating material symbols of class difference in the context of state-sponsored feasting events. An empire-wide analysis of the distribution of Inka vessels indicates the particular importance of the tallnecked jar form (aribalo) to state strategies in the provinces. Analyzing Inka pottery as culinary equipment highlights the links among food, politics, and gender in the processes of state formation. Such an approach also illuminates the important role of women in the negotiation and consolidation of Inka state power.
141 citations