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Architecture, Caching, and Foreign Contacts at Chac (II), Yucatan, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michael P. Smyth
Michael P. Smyth*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL 32789-4499
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Abstract

The Puuc region of northern Yucatan was one of the most important areas of Maya civilization during the Terminal Classic florescent period. Despite its importance to Maya prehistory, there is little understanding of the times prior to the great cultural florescence. Eight seasons of research at Chac II provide new information regarding an important Maya center between the Classic and Terminal Classic periods (A.D. 300–800), including the changing nature of influence and contacts with foreign groups reaching central Mexico. The great antiquity of Chac, the presence of numerous substructures, and the variety of architectural styles in the Great Pyramid Plaza suggest that the site was an originator of the Early Puuc architectural style. It is argued that the major ritual offering below the central monument at the Gran Plaza re-creates the “turquoise” hearth reenacting the birth of the Fifth Sun at Teotihuacan. These new data are transforming understanding of the Puuc Maya and their relations with greater Mesoamerica.

La región Puuc del norte de Yucatán fue una de las áreas más importantes de la civilazación maya durante el período Clásico Terminal. A pesar de su importancia, hay poco conocimiento sobre las épocas anteriores a este gran surgimiento cultural. Ocho temporadas de investigaciones en el sitio Chac II proveen nueva información sobre este importante centro para los períodos Clásicos Temprano y Terminal (d.C. 300–800) en la región Puuc; que incluye el cambio de la naturaleza de la influencia, los contactos, o los dos, con grupos extranjeros que llegan hasta México central. La gran antigüedad de Chac, la presencia de numerosas subestructuras y la variedad de estilos arquitectónicos en la Plaza de la Gran Pirámide sugieren que allí se originó el estilo arquitectónico Puuc Temprano. Se argumenta que la ofrenda ritual más importante bajo del monumento central en la Gran Plaza recrea el fogón “turquesa”, reactuando así el nacimiento del Quinto Sol en Teotihuacan. Estos nuevos datos están transformando el entendimiento de los Mayas del Puuc y sus relaciones con la gran mesoamérica.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , June 2006 , pp. 123 - 149
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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