Brett A. Houk, Marilyn A. Masson, Michael E. Smith, and John W. Janusek
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813060637
- eISBN:
- 9780813050973
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813060637.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This chapter introduces the eastern lowlands, an incredibly diverse area that makes an excellent laboratory in which to study ancient urbanism. The chapter argues that the diversity seen in the ...
More
This chapter introduces the eastern lowlands, an incredibly diverse area that makes an excellent laboratory in which to study ancient urbanism. The chapter argues that the diversity seen in the archaeology of the region, the rich data available on the cities of the eastern lowlands, and the fact that the area represents a significant gap in the mainstream archaeological literature on Maya cities and culture all combine to make this an important study. The history of archaeological research in Belize is summarized, and the chapter closes by looking ahead to the rest of the volume. The five areas and 14 cities that are covered in subsequent chapters are introduced here: Pusilhá, Uxbenka, Lubaantun, and Nim Li Punit in southern Belize; Caracol and Minanha in the Vaca Plateau/Maya Mountains area; Xunantunich and El Pilar in the Belize Valley; Chan Chich, Dos Hombres, and La Milpa in northwestern Belize; and Altun Ha, Lamanai, and Nohmul in northern Belize.Less
This chapter introduces the eastern lowlands, an incredibly diverse area that makes an excellent laboratory in which to study ancient urbanism. The chapter argues that the diversity seen in the archaeology of the region, the rich data available on the cities of the eastern lowlands, and the fact that the area represents a significant gap in the mainstream archaeological literature on Maya cities and culture all combine to make this an important study. The history of archaeological research in Belize is summarized, and the chapter closes by looking ahead to the rest of the volume. The five areas and 14 cities that are covered in subsequent chapters are introduced here: Pusilhá, Uxbenka, Lubaantun, and Nim Li Punit in southern Belize; Caracol and Minanha in the Vaca Plateau/Maya Mountains area; Xunantunich and El Pilar in the Belize Valley; Chan Chich, Dos Hombres, and La Milpa in northwestern Belize; and Altun Ha, Lamanai, and Nohmul in northern Belize.
Brett A. Houk
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813060637
- eISBN:
- 9780813050973
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813060637.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Within a challenging tropical environment, a remarkable urban tradition developed and flourished as an element of ancient Maya culture. This book is about the cities of the eastern lowlands, a small ...
More
Within a challenging tropical environment, a remarkable urban tradition developed and flourished as an element of ancient Maya culture. This book is about the cities of the eastern lowlands, a small but geographically diverse part of the homeland of the Maya. Using data collected by many different archaeological projects and researchers, the author presents detailed descriptions of 14 Classic period (ca. 250 to 900 CE) cities from five geographical areas of the modern nation of Belize, discussing the setting, the history of investigations, the site plan and urban features, culture history, and political history of each. For many of the cities discussed, this is the first time all of this information has been presented together. The data are viewed through the analytical lenses of site planning and the built environment. The final chapters consider the 14 cities as a group to examine urban planning and look for meaning, construed broadly here to encompass all the things that contributed to the final design of a place including mundane things like where water drains to esoteric things like worldview and cosmology. What the data in this book show are remarkable and nuanced variations in architectural assemblages across space and time, varied levels of political control over suburban landscapes, shared planning concepts combined with wildly different ideas about how to build a Maya city, and intriguing hints at possible relationships between cities based on planning principles. Flexibility in city design emerges from this study as a hallmark of ancient Maya urbanism.Less
Within a challenging tropical environment, a remarkable urban tradition developed and flourished as an element of ancient Maya culture. This book is about the cities of the eastern lowlands, a small but geographically diverse part of the homeland of the Maya. Using data collected by many different archaeological projects and researchers, the author presents detailed descriptions of 14 Classic period (ca. 250 to 900 CE) cities from five geographical areas of the modern nation of Belize, discussing the setting, the history of investigations, the site plan and urban features, culture history, and political history of each. For many of the cities discussed, this is the first time all of this information has been presented together. The data are viewed through the analytical lenses of site planning and the built environment. The final chapters consider the 14 cities as a group to examine urban planning and look for meaning, construed broadly here to encompass all the things that contributed to the final design of a place including mundane things like where water drains to esoteric things like worldview and cosmology. What the data in this book show are remarkable and nuanced variations in architectural assemblages across space and time, varied levels of political control over suburban landscapes, shared planning concepts combined with wildly different ideas about how to build a Maya city, and intriguing hints at possible relationships between cities based on planning principles. Flexibility in city design emerges from this study as a hallmark of ancient Maya urbanism.
