Postclassic Peten interaction spheres: the view from Tayasal

Chase, Arlen F. (Arlen Frank)

essay

Postclassic Peten interaction spheres: the view from Tayasal

lowland maya postclassic • Austin • Published In 1985 • Pages: 184-205

By: Chase, Arlen F. (Arlen Frank).

Abstract
In 1970 the University of Pennsylvania Tayasal Project, sponsored by the University Museum, began a series of excavations in the Tayasal-Paxcaman Zone in the central Petén region of Guatemala, in an attempt to delineate the Postclassic sequence in the area. 'These investigations resulted in the intensive excavation of 34 structures throughout the zone. An extensive sampling strategy, devised to test the large area called Tayasal …, resulted in the overall sampling of 99 loci at that site (largely for dating purposes); most often, these tests were placed into the summits of structures. During the 1971 season, other excavations were also carried out at the sites of Cenote and Punta Nima. Reconnaissance undertaken in 1977 as a continuation of the project supplemented the original work in the zone and produced archaeological data from the islands in Lakes Petén and Quexil' (p. 184). The data gathered from these excavations comprise the major portion of this document and deal with the structures uncovered, storage cists, burials, ceramics, stelae, and the chronological sequence at the site. The study concludes with a discussion of the various problems that arise in attempting to define a uniform archaeological situation for the central Petén.

Identification

Ceramic technology

Structures

Religious and educational structures

Miscellaneous structures

Settlement patterns

Burial practices and funerals

Sacred objects and places

Chronologies and culture sequences

Cultural stratigraphy

Typologies and classifications

Postclassic Maya