The emergence of agriculture during the Formative period in the southern Lake Titicaca Basin played a crucial role in the development of the region’s first complex societies. Our study of Chenopodium seeds from the site of Chiripa, Bolivia, sheds light on some of the small-scale processes contributing to the development of agricultural systems between 1500 B.C. and A.D. 100. Using a combination of scanning electron and light microscopy, we identified the crop/weed complex of the domesticate, quinoa (C. quinoa Willd.), and its weedy relative, quinoa negra (C. quinoa var. melanospermum Hunziker), at Chiripa by 1500 B.C. Analyses of quinoa/quinoa negra morphometry and seed frequencies suggest that during the Early Formative period, farmers maintained gardens where both the crop and weed grew and were harvested for consumption. Around 800 B.C., however, we find samples almost entirely of quinoa at Chiripa’s social and political center, the Montículo. The paucity of quinoa negra seeds suggests that Middle Formative period farmers became more meticulous cultivators of quinoa, perhaps through weeding, careful seed selection, and construction of fields. This study complements previous investigations of settlement patterns, landscape modification, and stone tool use in this region, providing a richer understanding of Formative period agriculture.

This study examines variability in size, staple crop production, and wealth among households in the community of K'axob, Belize, from the ninth century B.C. until the ninth century A.D. Staple crop consumption and production are reconstructed from stable bone isotopes of 25 adults from 21 households. The formation of larger corporate households is documented from the spatial layout of 62 residences. Wealth differentiation is reconstructed by comparing architectural and ritual elements from 69 households. The formation of larger corporate households, the diversification of staple crop production, and the emergence of interhousehold wealth differentiation beginning in the fourth century B.C. coincided with the emergence of regional elites. However, changes in household size and staple crop production should be understood in terms of the high degree of continuity in the local agrarian economy. These findings suggest that elite political strategies had repercussions for the ways farming households managed staple crop production but that elites did not directly control production. The study also expands on current models of complex society that question the degree to which political elites directly managed the agrarian economy.

A number of previous authors have suggested, based on limited data, that Pachychilus spp., freshwater gastropods often called jute, may have played a role in ancient Maya ritual. Data collected by the authors demonstrate that jute shells consistently appear as part of faunal assemblages in ceremonial caves across the southern Maya Lowlands. At surface sites, jute are often associated with ceremonial architecture, particularly ballcourts. Previous ethnographic accounts are reviewed for clues to ancient Maya jute use. New ethnographic data suggest a role not previously considered by archaeologists. A Q‘eqchi’ Maya informant states that shells are gathered up after meals and deposited in caves as an offering in thanks to “Mother Earth” (Madre Tierra) who provided the mollusks. This practice suggests that the ancient shells may represent a secondary deposition rather than reflecting consumption occurring in the cave. The presence of jute shells may document ancient religious beliefs and ritual activities surrounding an important subsistence resource.

Arguments for the cosmological significance of ancient Maya city layouts are plausible, but empirical applications are subjective and lack rigor. I illustrate this contention through brief comments on a recent article by Ashmore and Sabloff. I first discuss some of the complexities and pitfalls in studying cosmology from ancient city plans, and then focus on one component of the authors’ cosmological model—the hypothesized north-south axis at Classic Maya cities. My goal is not to down-play or rule out the role of cosmology in Maya city planning, but rather to encourage the use of explicit assumptions and rigorous methods that will provide the study of Maya city planning with a more secure empirical foundation.

In response to Smith’s critique, we situate our work within the scientific method. We review how our hypotheses arose, how and by whom they have been tested, and with what results. Like Smith, we focus on whether Maya civic centers include emphatic expression of a north-south axis, and on the inference of a partially cosmological basis of Maya axial orders. We indicate sources of our inferences and review explicitly the criteria that Smith faults us for having omitted. We reaffirm that these ideas merit further testing, and welcome renewed and expanded collaboration as to the best methods for doing so. In the spirit of collaboration, we offer specific programmatic suggestions for how this inquiry might proceed.