Early development
Aguateca and the nearby city ofStructures and society
The structural complexes of this ancient Mayan site have provided archaeologists with invaluable information about the societal composition at Aguateca. This includes the significance and role of different social classes, their placement in society, and their daily routines. In addition to this, households, as the most basic socioeconomic units, interacted dynamically with larger social, economic, and political institutions. The examination of these aspects at Aguateca is critical for understanding various aspects of human societies and behavior.Inomata, Takeshi, Daniela Triaden, Erick Ponciano, Estela Pinto, Richard Terry, and Markus Eberl. "Domestic and Political Lives of Classic Maya Elites: The Excavation of Rapidly Abandoned Structures at Aguateca, Guatemala." Latin American Antiquity 13.3 (2002): 307. Web.Elite households and lifestyle
In most traditional societies, like Aguateca, what we call private and public merge inseparably, in contrast to modern societies, in which the division between "home" and "work" is relatively common. Houses in the elite residential area of Aguateca commonly consist of three main rooms and smaller additions. These included numerous domestic objects including serving vessels, grinding stones, and a variety of stone tools. Obsidian blades, probably used for bloodletting, were also found, as well as stone mortars for pigment reparation. The central rooms appear to have served as locations to receive visitors, perform scribe work, and store ritual objects as well as food. The presence of ''Main plaza and performance
The Classic Maya strongly emphasized the theatrical performance and visibility of rulers. The large plaza at Aguateca, like other Classic Maya centers, was designed to accommodate a large number of individuals. These plazas held the majority of the community members on ceremonial occasions. Residents made a significant effort to secure spaces for mass spectacles by creating plazas outside of core areas and constructing large causeways. Prominent representations of rulers on stone monuments were also placed in plazas. Theatrical events probably held together a Maya community around the ruler and royal court. The presence of plazas of varying sizes suggests that theatrical events also divided the community, separating those who were allowed to participate in exclusive performance from the less privileged.Inomata, Takeshi. "Plazas, Performers, and Spectators: Political Theaters of the Classic Maya." Current Anthropology 47.5 (2006): 805-42. Print.Palace group and the royal family
The overall site layout, architectural configurations, storage of objects, and post-abandonment treatment all point to the unique qualities of the Palace Group as the royal palace complex. These buildings also served administrative functions with the central rooms used as settings for royal audience and other political meetings. The configuration of this royal palace complex suggests that the ruler maintained a certain level of visibility. For example, meetings held in one of the Palace Group structures were visible to those who were not allowed in. The prominence of meeting scenes in Maya ceramic paintings suggests that certain gatherings in royal palaces were meant to be witnessed. It appears that before the final attack on Aguateca took place, the royal family cleaned out the rooms of the palace and left the center.Temple construction and commoners
One structure that has been discovered has been identified as an unfinished temple. It is believed that it was still in the process of construction when it was attacked and abandoned at the beginning of the 9th century. Its discovery has provided valuable information on Maya building methods and processes, as well as the likelihood for specialization. It is possible that construction labour was organized into different groups, such as workers carrying rocks to the site, stone cutters quarrying blocks for dressed stone, masons or plaster workers setting stones with mortar, and stone sculptors carving monuments. All of these people worked side by side, and elite architects or supervisors most likely coordinated the tasks of various workers.Inomata, Takeshi, Erick Ponciano, Oswaldo Chinchilla, Otto Roman, Veronique Breuil-Martinez, and Oscar Santos. "An Unfinished Temple at the Classic Maya Centre of Aguateca, Guatemala." 798-811. Print.Material culture
Elite artisans
A significant portion of Maya elites, both men and women, engaged in artistic creation and craft production at Aguateca, and they were often involved in independent and attached production. Artistic and craft production appears to have been a common pursuit among classic Maya elites at Aguateca, including courtiers of the highest rank and even members of the royal family. They manufactured not only luxury goods and weaponry but also utilitarian items for consumption both within and outside the household. Items produced included wood carvings and hide or leather goods. Because of this, several kinds of craft production overlapped in various households. At the same time, particular households and individuals emphasized specific artistic creation and craft activities. One household might carveObsidian
Animals
Production of goods from animal products for the community and rulers seems to have been common. All members of the community were involved in animal related craft production, but some aspects of this crafting were only carried out in specific households. Activities included meat/hide production and initial bone-tool production. Some animals were used as luxury goods and foods, access to which was differentially available on the basis of social rank or authority. The upper class had greater access to animal sources that were considered to be more ritual or exotic. Such species included marine shells (for decoration) and wild cats such asTheatre
The Main Plaza of Aguateca contained numerous stone monuments and provided an adequate environment for theatrical performances. Theatrical performances not only communicate pre-existing ideas but also define political reality as it is experienced by participants. Theatrical events constitute a critical process of integration and conflict and have particularly significant effects on the maintenance and transformation of societies. The performances of rulers, which is depicted on stone monuments, involved a large audience. This makes the Main Plaza at Aguateca highly significant because its use as a theatrical space was a primary concern in the design of the city. These events gave physical reality to the community and counteracted the tendencies of non-elite populations to move away from the center of the city. The elite may have taken advantage of these performances to advance their political agendas, but they were at the same time under constant evaluation by viewers. Theatrical events set the stage for creation and imposition of power relations and associated ideologies, as well as resistance to and subversion of them.Main Chasm rituals
The ''Main Chasm'' is a naturally formed deep fracture of limestone karst running NE-SW through the middle of the Aguateca site. It measures approximately 850 m long, 10–70 m deep and 1,5 – 15 m wide. Embodying the maya conception of mountain-cave, it has strong evidence of a variety of ritual practices. This suggests that chasms, like caves, represent potent cosmological and religious places where ancestral and supernatural spirits can be reached. The features and natural phenomena observed at the Main Chasm at Aguateca provide a window into the complex manipulation of the transformative properties of the elements and their significance. At Aguateca, within the interiors of the earth where the wind blows clouds onto the hill from the depths of the chasm, wind instruments were played and fires were burned. It is possible these fires containedFarming
The subsistence environment at Aguateca, like at other Classic Maya sites, was limited by shallow, sloped soils and unpredictable weather patterns until theirWar and weapons
Both the royal family and elite scribes/artists at Aguateca used spear and dart points for "inter-group human conflict" as well as for artistic and craft production under enemy threat. The ruler and elite were also warriors, and owning these weapons and participating in warfare established and perpetuated their supremacy. Spear and dart points were more important than the bow and arrow, but notches in these points do indicate that the bow and arrow was in use. Inter-valley conflict may have been a crucial factor that lead to the development of Classic Maya complex societies such as Aguateca. This warfare had a fundamental effect on society, and is what ultimately led to the demise of Aguateca.Destruction and abandonment
Although inter-group conflict, climate changes, and environmental degradation began to cause social upheaval towards the end of the reign of Aguateca, the ultimate destruction of the center was a result of warfare. Around 800 A.D. Aguateca appears to have been attacked by enemies. A series of defensive walls that were hastily constructed towards the end of the Late Classic period were probably in response to the escalation of warfare in the region. The elite residential area near the royal palace was burned, and residents fled or were taken away, leaving most of their belongings behind. The attacking army did not stay in the center, and soon the entire city was abandoned. Elaborately built structures, such as the Palace Group, contained highly valuable goods, such as greenstone beads, carvedKnown rulers
See also
*Bibliography
#Aoyama, Kazuo, and Kitty Emery. "Bone, Shell, and Lithic Evidence for Crafting in Elite Maya Households at Aguateca, Guatemala." Ancient Mesoamerica 18 (2007): 69-89. Print. #Inomata, Takeshi, Daniela Triaden, Erick Ponciano, Estela Pinto, Richard Terry, and Markus Eberl. "Domestic and Political Lives of Classic Maya Elites: The Excavation of Rapidly Abandoned Structures at Aguateca, Guatemala." Latin American Antiquity 13.3 (2002): 307. Web. pg 307 #Martin & Grube 2000, p. 65 #Miller (1999), p. 35. #Culbert, T. Patrick. Classic Maya Political History: Hieroglyphic and Archaeological Evidence. Cambridge [England: Cambridge UP, 1991. Print. #American Anthropological. Ancient Maya Commoners. University of Texas. Print. #Marcus, Joyce, and Gordon R. Willey. Emblem and State in the Classic Maya Lowlands : An Epigraphic Approach to Territorial Organization. Washington: Dumbarton Oaks, 1976. Print. #Nielsen, Axel E., and William H. Walker. Warfare in Cultural Context: Practice, Agency, and the Archaeology of Violence. Tucson: University of Arizona, 2009. Print. #Inomata, Takeshi, Daniela Triaden, Erick Ponciano, Estela Pinto, Richard Terry, and Markus Eberl. "Domestic and Political Lives of Classic Maya Elites: The Excavation of Rapidly Abandoned Structures at Aguateca, Guatemala." Latin American Antiquity 13.3 (2002): 307. Web. #Triaden, Daniela. "Elite Household Subsistence at Aguateca, Guatemala." Mayab (2000): 46-56. Print. #Aoyama, Kazuo. "Elite Artists and Craft Producers in Classic Maya Society: Lithic Evidence from Aguateca, Guatemala." Latin American Antiquity 18.1 (2007): 3-27. Print. #Inomata, Takeshi. "Plazas, Performers, and Spectators: Political Theaters of the Classic Maya." Current Anthropology 47.5 (2006): 805-42. Print. #Inomata, Takeshi, Daniela Triaden, Erick Ponciano, Richard Terry, and Harriet F. Beaubien. "In the Palace of the Fallen King: The Royal Residential Complex at Aguateca, Guatemala." Journal of Field Archaeology 28 (2001). Print. #Inomata, Takeshi, Erick Ponciano, Oswaldo Chinchilla, Otto Roman, Veronique Breuil-Martinez, and Oscar Santos. "An Unfinished Temple at the Classic Maya Centre of Aguateca, Guatemala." 798-811. Print. # Aoyama, Kazuo. "Political and Socioeconomic Implications of Classic Maya Lithic Artifacts from the Main Plaza of Aguateca, Guatemala." Journal De La Societe Des Americanistas 92.1-2 (2006): 7-40. Print. # Emery, Kitty F. "The Noble Beast: Status and Differential Access to Animals in the Maya World." World Archaeology 34.3 (2003): 498-515. Print. # Ishihara 2009, p. 1. # Ishihara 2009, p. 367. #Ishihara, Reiko. "Rising Clouds, Blowing Winds: Late Classic Maya Rain Rituals in the Main Chasm, Aguateca, Guatemala." World Archaeology 40.2 (2008): 169-89. Print. #Ishihara2009, p. 2. #Johnson, Kristofer D., David R. Wright, and Richard E. Terry. "Application of Carbon Isotope Analysis to Ancient Maize Agriculture in the Petexbatun Region of Guatemala." Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 22.3 (2007): 313-36. Print. #Aoyama, Kazuo. "Classic Maya Warfare and Weapons; Spear, Dart, and Arrow Points of Aguateca and Copan." Ancient Mesoamerica 16.2 (2005): 291-304. Print. #Inomata, Takeshi, and Ronald Webb. "War, Destruction, and Abandonment: The Fall of the Classic Maya Center at Aguateca." The Archaeology of Settlement Abandonment in Middle America (2003). Print. #Wright, Lori. Diet, Health, and Status Among the Pasión Maya: A Reappraisal of the Collapse. Vanderbilt UP. Print. #Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 409.References
* * * *Further reading
* * *External links