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COMPLEXITY, FUNCTION, AND RURALITY: PREHISTORIC MAYA COMMUNITIES OF NORTHWEST BELIZE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2022

Fred Valdez Jr. Open the ORCID record for Fred Valdez Jr. [Opens in a new window] ,
Rissa M. Trachman  and
Marisol Cortes-Rincon
Fred Valdez Jr.*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2201 Speedway C3200, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
Rissa M. Trachman
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Elon University, CB 2035, Elon, North Carolina 27244, United States
Marisol Cortes-Rincon
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Humboldt State University, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, California 95521, United States
*
E-mail correspondence to: fredv@austin.utexas.edu
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Abstract

The northwest region of Belize, known as the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (RBCMA), is a research set-aside of interest for investigating hinterland communities of the prehistoric Maya. The hinterland or rural communities of the RBCMA are as diverse and complex as any across the Maya lowlands. The Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP), of northwest Belize, provides various data for identifying and interpreting ancient Maya interactions in the region. With more than 25 seasons of Maya archaeological research in the region, PfBAP researchers are well placed to present aspects of nonurban life that helped make Maya civilization possible. The PfBAP utilizes survey and mapping strategies, material culture analyses, Light Detection and Ranging, and theoretical interests for evaluating ancient Maya life in the region's rural areas. There are four essential components herein contained for the PfBAP investigations of ancient Maya rural settlements in northwest Belize: (1) hinterland study strategies, (2) rural settlements, (3) rural diversity, and (4) nonurban life and rural elites. Sociopolitical systems (and/or interactions) are also posited for the prehistoric rural Maya. Where possible, suggested relationships between communities of varying size and complexity are discussed. The manifestations of production, identity, and equality are also defined as appropriate and integrated into the discussion of function(s) associated with rurality.

Type
Special Section: Rethinking Rurality in Ancient Maya Studies
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , Spring 2022 , pp. 132 - 147
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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