Presentation on Maya Archaeology at the Ancient Maya Site of Holtun

Presentation by Melvin Rodrigo Guzman Piedrasanta, Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Central Florida'

4 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 13, in the William Johnston Building - Room G40

A Landscape of Water and Ritual: Explorations at the Ancient Maya site of Holtun, Guatemala.

Water management was a significant source of power among the ancient Maya. Although traditional research has often characterized water management as homogeneous and monolithic, recent studies have shown that it was highly variable and adapted according to the local landscape. The case of Holtun, a modest-sized site, adds to the growing body of water management research in Maya archaeology, as most case studies have been investigated in large primary centers. Despite water resources at Holtun that are relatively small, they supported the development of a large community. Holtun developed social complexity during the Middle Preclassic period (1000 – 350 BCE) and flourished with some centralized and neighborhood-based water catchments. However, most of the springs remained outside of formal control on the outskirts of the site. During the Classic period (250-900 CE), permanent settlement with signs of social status emerged outside of the civic-ceremonial center, claiming territory around water springs, seasonal creeks, and modified water reservoirs. Although the relationship between the settlement location and water is not completely clear at Holtun, the location on this external settlement and the archaeological materials suggest that water procurement and control were in part a strong motivation. Research on water management and settlement distribution at Holtun demonstrates the complexity of heterogeneity of the ancient Maya in the process of developing and maintaining social complexity.

THIS PRESENTATION IS SPONSORED BY FSU ANTHROPOLOGY, ART HISTORY, AND NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES.