Over the last half-century, Maya archaeologists have variously identified “minor centers” as small-scale ceremonial or administrative centers, elite residential compounds, dower houses, manor houses, astronomical stations or markers, and boundary markers. Arguments for these identifications have ranged from simple assertions to elaborate analyses. What has emerged most clearly is that, as with any form of monolithic type, the “minor center” category—based in this case on relative size—represents something of a functionally mixed hodgepodge. Such architectural complexes in fact served and represented a multiplicity of as yet incompletely appreciated sociocultural functions and roles. We examine one such center, Nohoch Ek, and its likely role within the Late to Terminal Classic social landscape of the upper Belize Valley, based on investigations carried out by the authors in 1985, and by Michael Coe and William Coe in 1949. The study combines in-depth artifactual, depositional, and contextual analyses of an extensive body of data that was recovered using strategically placed purposive stripping and sampling trenches. We conclude that Classic period Nohoch Ek looked and functioned very much like a medieval European agricultural manor.

Latin American archaeology has been influenced by the world theoretical context, from which it has developed original approaches. Currently, a culture-history conceptual foundation still predominates in the region, with some modern variants that have emphasized environmental aspects and approached specific problems. Processual archaeology, especially the North American varieties, remains minor in the region despite many Latin American archaeologists’ belief that their work falls within this camp. Post-processual trends are even less well represented, although a growing number of researchers focus in an eclectic fashion on subject matter that corresponds to the post-processual agenda (e.g., identity, multivocality, etc.). Researchers in certain areas within the region are producing original research linked to political economy and its relation to ideology, and others are focusing on symbolic and cognitive aspects (in some cases within a structuralist framework). In Latin America several interesting methodological developments are emerging, among which ethnoarchaeology and vertebrate taphonomy stand out. In recent years historical archaeology has been one of the disciplines that has grown the most and achieved the greatest popularity. Despite the still-limited nature of Latin American archaeology’s contributions in the field of theory and methodology, there is nonetheless sustained growth in this direction, fundamentally in the generation of models for the interpretation of regional processes. However, these contributions are not visible at the level of international debate and are generally ignored by archaeologists from the central countries. The multiple causes of this phenomenon are analyzed.

In this paper, the imperial Inka ceramic assemblage is examined in terms of its functional and culinary significance. Information culled from ethnohistoric sources, archaeological reports, and ethnographic studies is used to draw functional inferences about Inka vessel forms and to outline the features of an imperial “haute cuisine.” In the Inka empire, the relationship between rulers and subjects was largely mediated through the prestation of food and drink. The elaboration of a distinctive state vessel assemblage suggests a conscious strategy aimed at creating material symbols of class difference in the context of state-sponsored feasting events. An empire-wide analysis of the distribution of Inka vessels indicates the particular importance of the tallnecked jar form (aríbalo) to state strategies in the provinces. Analyzing Inka pottery as culinary equipment highlights the links among food, politics, and gender in the processes of state formation. Such an approach also illuminates the important role of women in the negotiation and consolidation of Inka state power.

Archaeologists working with complex societies are concerned with the administration of political economies. Beginning with the premise that there are differing forms of administration and that bureaucracy, in the classic formulation of Max Weber, is one of these, I develop a heuristic dichotomy between two types of administrators: stewards (who closely supervise goods and people) and bureaucrats (who process and control information). Bureaucracy is often linked to written records, but in the Central Andes alternative methods of record keeping were developed, such as the quipu or knotted string record. I argue that one alternative record-keeping device was an architectural form, the U-shaped structure. U-shaped structures are closely identified with the administrative architecture of the Chimu kingdom (ca. A.D. 850–1470) on the north coast of Peru. Four independent lines of argument demonstrate the development of bureaucracy from stewardship at Chan Chan, the capital of the Chimu kingdom. Brief comparisons are made between the Chimu administrative pattern and commodity and information flow in the earlier Huari and Tiwanku civilizations, and with the later Inka pattern. These comparisons show how record-keeping technology affects political economy and the strategy of expansion.

Recientes estudios en la cordillera andina de Chile Central nos han permitido identificar la coexistencia de dos modos de vida distintos en el mismo territorio durante el período Alfarero Temprano (350 a.C. a 900 d.C). Estos dos modos de vida corresponden, por un lado, a poblaciones de cazadores recolectores continuadores de la tradición Arcaica, especialmente en los aspectos económicos y en la tecnología lítica orientada curatorialmente, pero poseedores de algunas vasijas de cerámica adquiridas desde otros grupos propiamente alfareros y, por otro lado, a poblaciones semi-sedentarias con una economía hortícola, una desarrollada industria alfarera y una tecnología lítica principalmente expeditiva. Ambas poblaciones coexistieron e interactuaron en este territorio hasta fechas cercanas al 900 d.C.

En Cuba, la orientación de los entierros aborígenes del período arcaico ha sido objeto de especulación e indagación por parte de numerosos especialistas. Dentro de la arqueología del Caribe ha llamado la atención la propuesta de algunos arqueólogos de la mayor de las Antillas relacionada con la dependencia del este como punto cardinal y la orientación de los cráneos de los primeros habitantes. Sin embargo, los elementos discutidos en este artículo demuestran que las orientaciones de estos entierros en cuevas generalmente se relacionan con el lugar de acceso al espacio fúnebre y las partes naturales que limitan el acceso al lugar.

This paper explores patterning in ceramic data from an Early Formative component at the site of La Joya, located in southern Veracruz, Mexico. The discussion uses ceramic paste characteristics, in addition to vessel form and decoration data, to suggest that this Early Formative pottery assemblage undergoes an in situ transformation between the “pre-Olmec” Tulipan phase and the “Olmec” Coyame phase. This conclusion is then used to revisit the hypothesis of a Chicharras phase (ca. 1250 B.C.) immigration of Pacific coastal groups into the southern Gulf lowlands (e.g., Clark 1990, 1997; Clark and Blake 1989; Coe and Diehl 1980). A consideration of ceramics from several Isthmian lowland contexts does not support this scenario. The discussion suggests that an over-reliance on the surface characteristics of ceramics at San Lorenzo may have encouraged an erroneous Gulf Olmec origin story.

Recent research on prehispanic water management throughout the Americas has made significant contributions to our understanding of the diversity of adaptive systems employed in regions where water is seasonally scarce, such as the Maya Lowlands. Since much of this workfocuses on large-scale technologies, the political and economic consequences of these systems for smaller social units remain poorly understood. Social dynamics associated with less-intensive forms of water use and control are investigated at Late Classic (A.D. 600–900) Copán, in a water-rich setting of western Honduras. Ethnographic, iconographic, and archaeological datasets suggest that lagoons located in Copán’s urban residential sectors may have been conceptualized, utilized, and maintained as communal property with ancestral ties by the inhabitants of surrounding domestic groups. By shifting the scale of analysis from the polity to the community level, these lagoons can be viewed as forms of communal property that created an economic and ideological basis for local social integration but offered limited opportunity for the centralization of power through monopolistic control. Yet, toward the end of the Late Classic, the appropriation of water-related dynastic symbolism and possibly ritual seems to have provided nonroyal elites with a means for creating local social identities, which undercut and eroded royal authority.

Assignment by instrument of Maya obsidian artifacts to geological sources has demonstrated the presence of several sources and variations in their distribution over time and space. Of special interest is the minor, but long-standing, presence of green and gray obsidian from Central Mexico. More attributions of large, carefully selected samples are necessary to continue the considerable progress already achieved in understanding Maya obsidian procurement and use. However, assignment by visual means is not an appropriate method for the Maya area because of the range of optical characteristics exhibited by gray Guatemalan and Central Mexican obsidians, some of which are common to several geological sources. Moreover, the determination of obsidian sources must not be considered an end in itself. Combining source results with behavioral typology and archaeological data can further our understanding of obsidian procurement and use in past cultural context. Finally, it would be helpful if analysts reported trace element composition in a standardized manner, so that archaeologists can easily compare the results from different laboratories.

The ceremonial architecture of Late Postclassic Mayapán (A.D. 1268–1441) in Yucatán, Mexico, included repetitive arrangements of buildings known as temple assemblages. Archaeological investigations conducted by the Proyecto Maya Colonial in Petén, Guatemala, revealed a pocket of temple assemblages in a zone occupied by the seventeenth century Kowoj Maya. The Kowoj claimed to have migrated from Mayapán sometime after the city’s collapse in A.D. 1441. Indigenous documents also describe Kowoj in Mayapán and linguistic data indicate migrations between Yucatán and Petén as well. A specific variant of temple assemblage defines the location of the Kowoj in both Mayapán and Petén. I argue that these assemblages were the exemplary centers or microcosms of the Kowoj social and physical universe and they were transplanted as the Kowoj re-centered themselves in new or, perhaps, reclaimed lands. The temple assemblages also communicated a prestigious connection with Mayapán and differentiated the Kowoj from their neighbors in Petén.

The Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1000–1476) was a time between empires in the Andes when many regional groups reorganized and gained power. In the Nasca drainage this period has often been misrepresented, in part due to a focus on earlier cultural developments that were considerably different. Recent research attempts to provide a clearer picture of this time period by investigating sociopolitical and economic organization, and in particular the nature of local elites. Regional settlement patterns reveal that during this period population in the drainage was at its height with increased aggregation at town-size settlements. Excavations at the small village site of Pajonal Alto have identified local elites through variations in architecture and material culture. Evidence from Pajonal Alto reveals that there was a reformation of society in the Late Intermediate Period and local elites were no longer primarily associated with ceremonial centers but instead were present at every level of the settlement hierarchy. Elites obtained and maintained power in a variety of ways including participation in the production of utilitarian items, exchange, feasting, and community/exclusive ritual. Instead of integration through communal ritual on a regional level during certain times of the year, integration was based on a large network of local elites who had power that was wielded on a day-to-day basis.

Long before they devised a written calendar, the Maya articulated their seasons by means of an “orientation calendar” that consisted of visual alignments involving their architecture. One specialized set of buildings, Group Eat Uaxactún, Guatemala, in the Petén lowlands, has been regarded as the prototype of such a calendar. We present new data based on precise measurements made in the field at 12 Group E complexes and obtained for a number of additional sites from reliable maps where on-site astronomical fixes were acquired. Statistical analysis of the resulting 99 alignments supports the hypothesis that, at least at some stage of development, certain of these specialized complexes did indeed function astronomically. The earliest version of the orientation calendar seems to have developed in the Petén; it was focused on the solstices. A later orientation calendar seems to have functioned principally during the season leading up to the onset of rain and crop planting. It consisted of a division of the dry season into 20-day months prior to the first annual passage of the sun across the zenith (approximately May 10 in the Christian calendar). We argue that this later orientation calendar was derived from Teotihuacan during the Early Classic period (A.D. 278–593).

An archaeological survey on the Azuero Peninsula in Panama has recently discovered a Paleoindian quarry/workshop at the base of a quartz outcrop. The Nieto site contains seldom-seen preforms and flake blanks that provide new information on early-stage reduction strategies used by Clovis-like point makers in the Neotropics. Finished tools recovered at the site include gravers, side scrapers, and large scraper planes. The production of flake blanks followed a core reduction and rejuvenation strategy already observed at other Paleoindian sites in Costa Rica and Florida. Although the quartz outcrop is located only a few kilometers away from better-quality sources of jasper and chert, Paleoindians appear to have preferred this translucent stone for their weaponry. This new information, when combined with late-stage production strategies previously recorded from other Panamanian sites, brings us closer to tracing a complete manufacturing trajectory for Clovislike points on the Isthmus. It is hoped that data from the Nieto quarry/workshop will eventually help archaeologists determine if the presence of the fluting technique in Central and South America is attributable to a migration of Clovis-related people or a technological diffusion among pre-established southerly populations.

The ancient Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions of the upper Usumacinta region record an intensive interaction that took place among its regional capitals. The precise geographic locations of some of these sites are presently unknown. Through the application of the Gravity Model within the framework of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we present the probable locations and possible territorial extents of a few of these: Sak Tz’i’, Hix-Witz, and the “Knot-Site.” On this occasion, however, we concentrate our discussion on the role that the kingdom of Sak Tz’i’ played in the geopolitical scenario of the region. It is our belief that this case study constitutes a good example of how, through a conjunctive approach that integrates the archaeological with the epigraphic data, GIS can represent an excellent analytical tool to approach archaeological issues such as the political organization of the Maya Lowlands during the Late Classic period.

For the last two decades, archaeologists have believed that a ceramic type known as Indígena Ware was an imitation of European majolica, produced by colonial Nahuas in Mexico City for lower-class Spanish families. Ideas surrounding the production and consumption of Indígena Ware, as well as majolica in general, have been based on the concepts of Spanish domination and indigenous acculturation. These ideas emphasize European interests in displaying high-value imports to obtain distinction along racial and class lines, and fail to consider indigenous strategies for obtaining power through craft production and display. We begin by critically evaluating the stylistic, iconographic, and technical evidence archaeologists have used to suggest that Indígena Ware was an indigenous product. We present the results from neutron activation analysis of 250 ceramic sherds indicating that Indígena Ware forms its own compositional group, different from Aztec pottery and Spanish majolica, and suggest that Indígena Ware is most likely a Spanish import. The problems this ware presents for classification reveal the limitations of locating power exclusively in the hands of the Spanish and point to ways in which we could overcome this theoretical problem for the study of colonialism in Mexico.

During the Middle Horizon (A.D. 540–900) the Wari of the central highlands Ayacucho region expanded their control into many parts of the Andes. While different motives have been cited for Wari state expansion, we suggest that a severe and prolonged drought during the sixth century may have played a significant role. We posit that the Wari responded to this environmental crisis not only by seeking practical solutions, such as securing productive land outside the heartland, but also by implementing religious practices intended to cosmologically restore fertility to drought-stricken areas and validate acquisition of arable land in foreign territories. Using a model of Inka ideology developed by Peter Gose, we propose that a strong religious complex involving ancestor worship, huacas, and the cosmological control of water led the Wari to seek out and control locations where water could be drawn from supernatural sources. The presence of large bodies of water near major Wari administrative sites as well as other natural phenomena, particularly certain mountains, rock formations, and large stones, and site offerings of Spondylus, copper, and stone figurines support this model. A sacred Wari landscape is thus seen as complementary to the established political landscape and providing a supernatural justification.

Excavation of a small Maya ceremonial structure at the site of Piedras Negras, Guatemala, has revealed a Late Classic period (ca. A.D. 600–900) vaulted tomb containing the remains of a young member of the royal family whom we identify as “Night-time Turtle.” The artifact assemblage from the burial included a modest quantity of carved jade jewelry (38 pieces), an incised vessel dating to the early Yaxché (ca. A.D. 630–680) ceramic phase, and a ceremonial “bundle” of bloodletting implements. Although the sex of this adolescent was not determined during osteological examination, hieroglyphic evidence from a recovered stingray spine suggests that this was a prince, probably the son of Ruler 2 or 3. Placed at an entrance to the royal precinct atop its monumental staircase, his funerary structure was an integral part of the sacred landscape, accessed by visitors to the precinct or to the palace beyond. Following a description of the site, tomb, osteology, and artifacts, we discuss the nature of this landscape and the role in it played by this “guardian” of the Acropolis.

Agriculture in the arid and semi-arid regions that comprise much of present-day Peru, Bolivia, and Northern Chile is heavily dependent on irrigation; however, obtaining a dependable water supply in these areas is often difficult. The precolumbian peoples of Andean South America adapted to this situation by devising many strategies for transporting, storing, and retrieving water to insure consistent supply. I propose that the “elaborated springs” found at several Inka sites near Cuzco, Peru, are the visible expression of a simple and effective system of groundwater control and storage. I call this system “geologic water storage” because the water is stored in the pore spaces of sands, soils, and other near-surface geologic materials. I present two examples of sites in the Cuzco area that use this technology (Tambomachay and Tipón) and discuss the potential for identification of similar systems developed by other ancient Latin American cultures.

Computer simulations are used to shed light on the probable origins of the earliest Preceramic cultures of the Greater Antilles and to understand the navigation skills necessary for island colonization. These cultures, dating to between ca. 4000 B.C. and 2000 B.C., are found on Cuba, Hispaniola, and possibly Puerto Rico. Two areas, northern South America and northern Central America, have assemblages that bear resemblance to the assemblages of the Greater Antilles, but there are important differences. Chance discovery of the Greater Antilles is possible from three areas: northern South America, northern Central America, and southern Florida. Directed voyages have a high degree of success from all three areas. However, voyages from northern South America require the least navigational skill, making it the most likely source of colonization. From northern Central America, foreknowledge of the islands appears to be required, while directed voyages from southern Florida encounter considerable risk.