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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Supervisors: Lynn C Miller and David Stuart. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Texte remanié de: Tesis de maestría--México--Escuela nacional de antropología e historia, 1989. / Bibliogr. p. 155-176.

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Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Interdisciplinary Studies. / Typescript. Title of accompanying DVD: Conversations with Maya Deren. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-158). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11796

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acase@tulane.edu / This dissertation models integrative strategies pertaining the Classic Period (AD 200-900), Copan polity of western Honduras on the frontier of the Maya world. Past scholarship on integrative strategies is largely based on comparative analyses of empires, the largest and most diverse political entities of the ancient world. However, as is argued on the basis of new fieldwork, integrative strategies can be successfully employed at smaller scale polities, such as Maya polities, since these strategies are not sensitive to either population size or heterogeneity. The unique location of the Copán polity on the southeastern frontier of the Maya world in a multi-ethnic area, makes it an attractive area to study Classic Maya integrative strategies. The surrounding populations were non-Maya at the time of Copán’s dynastic foundation making subsequent structural transformations to political systems and styles in those regions highly visible in the archaeological record. The Cucuyagua and Sensenti valleys on the southeastern frontier of the Copán polity were systematically surveyed and excavated as part of this research. A model was created to evaluate whether the Copán polity cultivated territorial relations, hegemonic or transactional relation with the respective valleys. Using this model, I discovered greater convergences in settlement patterns, artistic styles, and economic interaction between Late Classic settlement in the Cucuyagua and Copán valleys than with the more distant Sensenti valley. The construction of a Copán-style secondary center in the Early Classic with nucleated settlement, Copán-style sculpture, and Copán-style palace suggests that this valley was territorially integrated within the Copán polity. In contrast, elites from the Sensenti valley emulated Copán-style residential architecture and consumed Madrugada model-carved pottery that was produced in Copán for inter-elite gift-giving. However, its Late Classic settlement lacked a nucleated center or public imagery referencing the rulers of Copán. Due to that combination of factors, I conclude that this area was hegemonically integrated within the Copán polity. Furthermore, smaller polities, like the Copán polity used the same varied integrative strategies carried out by larger, better known empires. / 1 / Erlend M. Johnson

acase@tulane.edu / Scholarship on premodern ruling elites tends to minimize the complexity of ancient politics and to focus on the decisions of individual kings and their charismatic swaying of entire populations. This dissertation departs from this tendency by investigating the exercise of power by the governments of premodern complex societies, or how ancient politicians organized their institutions. I argue the politics of ancient civilizations may best be studied by focussing on their regime: the political community which coalesced when rulers assembled their allies within the seat of government. This approach emphasizes practices of communication between a ruling body and its political network, as reflected by the exchange of information and goods. Among premodern complex societies ruled by divine kingship, the regime is best described as a royal court, whose architectural institution corresponds to a regal palace. In order to address this anthropological political model, I examine the multi-dimensional archaeological record of the regal palace of La Corona, a small polity of northwest Guatemala that emerged during the Classic Period of Maya civilization (AD 250-950). I rely on an assemblage of complementary datasets – architecture, macro-artifacts, hieroglyphic monuments, micro-artifacts, geochemical elements, and macro-botanical remains – to study how the La Corona royal court exercised political power. I study the last three construction phases of the north section of the La Corona regal palace and their two-century-long occupation to address a set of pragmatic questions. By examining residences, political stages, passageways, administrative space, ancillary buildings, and middens, I seek to understand how Classic Maya politicians relied on economic and ritualized exchanges to effectively manage their regime. In addition, thanks to the rich historical record of La Corona and to a fine-tuned architectural sequence, I explore how the changing historical and geopolitical contexts of this polity transformed its government. Through this rich diachronic empirical case-study, I build upon and contribute to an anthropological archaeology of politics, to ancient political economy, and to Classic Maya historical archaeology. In addition, I wish to highlight why the study of ancient politics may be relevant for us today, and perhaps, our near future. / 1 / Maxime Lamoureux-St-Hilaire

This thesis investigates a high school scholarship program created by a bioreserve in Yucatan Mexico for local Maya-speaking students. The scholarship program experienced difficulty retaining scholarship students and placing students in jobs after graduating high school. This thesis uses ethnographic and historical research to understand why the scholarship program was not as successful as expected. The main conclusion of this thesis is that the scholarship program unintentionally created division among students and the community. Future research and project development should focus on creating educational programs that engage whole communities and use education as a means to an end, not an end in itself. / 1 / Phillip Lee Boyett

acase@tulane.edu / Given that the economy involves all actors in a society, anthropological archaeology studies of the economy tend to be reductionist in their modelling, particularly of the ancient Maya, as by failing to examine certain segments of the ancient economy the full range of questions and complexities concerning economic interactions cannot be addressed. While much of the current framework for studying the past economy is due to the fragmentary nature of the archaeological record, traditional approaches tend to emphasize top-down studies, focusing on elites and their use of the economy for obtaining and maintaining power, and bottom-up studies which focus on the economic independence of small-scale farmers and householders. Studies of the economy should take a middle ground as it should be seen as a system of multiple economies in which different goods circulated. This dissertation seeks to model the multiple ways economies articulated in the past focusing on utilitarian goods which circulated through different economies. The articulation of economies becomes apparent through studies of the extraction and production of raw materials as access to and exchange of such goods occurs at the intersection of various economies. This dissertation asks, what was the relative role of various actors in the management of raw materials for utilitarian resource production? Examining the access to materials for utilitarian goods highlights the variability in economic practices and the involvement of actors of varying socio-economic statuses in lowland Maya economies. This dissertation focuses on lithic production at a chert quarry and production area in the upper Belize River valley of western Belize during the Late to Terminal Classic Periods (A.D. 670-890). This dissertation finds that local residents managed resources to produce utilitarian tools, indicating economies were a source of integration with and insulation from regional political dynamics. These data suggest we should view lowland Maya economies as complex systems where individuals of different socio-economic statuses negotiated wealth and power. / 1 / Rachel A. Horowitz