Traditionally, the analysis of ceramics has played a major role in archaeological research the world over, and this is particularly true in the Maya area where until recently ceramic studies have been used for the sole purpose of chronological ordering. This dissertation discusses the historic development of ceramic research in Maya archaeology, as well as documenting the present role of ceramic analyses, as preface to the analysis of the ceramics from Cuello, a small site in northern Belize. Excavations at the site indicate that the area under study, Platform 34, was occupied from the Early Formative at about 2,000 b.c. until the Late Formative at about a.d. 250, when Platform 34 was apparently largely abandoned, although other areas of the site continue to be occupied. The analysis of the ceramics from Cuello proceeds utilizing the traditional type: variety classification system to order the ceramics chronologically. The Cuello typology, in accordance with the major period of occupation of Platform 34, spans a period of time beginning in the Early Formative with the Swasey Complex, and ending in the Late Formative with the Cocos Complex. While some typological comparisons of ceramics among sites in the Maya Lowlands are made to place Cuello securely within a chronological framework, the main thrust of the analysis is to understand intra-site ceramic variability. Unlike earlier maya ceramic analyses, the present one continues with a vessel form classification, since forms are considered sensitive indicators of functional variability within the site. It is shown, through this analysis, that ceramic analyses are useful for more than chronological ordering,and when ceramic variability is examined within the archaeological contexts in which the ceramics are found, has the potential of informing on functional and social patterns on an intra-site level.

This dissertation intends to demonstrate the impact of numerology in every aspect of the lives of ancient precolombian people as well as several contemporary American Indian tribes. For this reason numerology may be viewed as a true science, that is both an esoteric and a philosophical one. Thus, numbers may be looked upon not only as abstract signs, but as all inclusive entities in and of themselves. To the ancients, numerical symbols had an occult connotation that transcended the restrictive boundaries of simple computation. For instance, numerology had an integral role in Maya, Aztec, and some contemporary American Indian religious ceremonies. As an example, the high priests were able to predict future events by making intricate numerological computations. Further still, Maya and Aztec calendars were so accurate that they demonstrated an extraordinary knowledge of astronomical events. In order to accurately study the intricate subject of numerology it was necessary to divide the dissertation in several parts. These parts include a concise discussion of the Maya, the Aztec, and certain contemporary American Indian tribes. A general account of Maya, Aztec, and Contemporary American Indian culture and society was included, using the available data of present day archeological and written documents, in order to accurately describe the philosophy of these people. From an examination of the life and culture of these ancient societies, the basis for their myths of creation and the impact of numerology on those particular myths may be easily ascertained. The conclusion discusses how numerology shaped two great civilizations, that of the Maya and Aztecs, and how these basic esoteric numbers were absorbed and changed, to suit the needs and culture of some present day American Indian tribes.

Two excavation seasons in Punta de Chimino's E-Group Acropolis provide a record of monument construction, refurbishment, desecration, and abandonment. This evidence is used to explore the material dimensions of social emplacement--any act, event, practice, or behavior that affects the way a community and its descendants relate to a particular locality over time. The attributes and treatment of monuments are taken to signify cultural and political dispositions. An extensive overview of Preclassic and Protoclassic Maya archaeology situates Punta de Chimino's monumental remains in different historical settings. Bayesian analysis of the stratified sequence of radiocarbon and luminescence dates is used to accurately pinpoint the timing of specific cultural events. Stratigraphy and radiometry allow refinement of the Punta de Chimino ceramic sequence. In the end, varied lines of material evidence are garnered to infer changing social orientations toward Punta de Chimino's ceremonial precinct and the ancient Mesoamerican world at large.

This dissertation is a theoretical and experimental investigation of number marking in Yucatec Maya, a language in which number marking has different properties than better known Indo-European languages with inflectional plural marking and obligatory number agreement. The primary goal of this thesis is to propose a formal syntactic analysis of plural marking in Yucatec Maya in the nominal and verbal domains. I do this by examining the distribution and interpretation of the plural morpheme and by proposing an analysis within a Minimalist framework. The secondary goal is to investigate how the formal representation of plural marking interacts with real-time sentence processing mechanisms. I do this through timed translation experiments (and a picture description experiment) with bilingual speakers of Yucatec Maya and Spanish, two languages in which the formal representation of number marking and agreement differs. These experiments are tests of the formal syntactic analyses proposed in this thesis, and they examine the effect of language-particular syntax on sentence processing mechanisms. In the nominal domain, I argue that the plural marker is adjoined to the Determiner Phrase, rather than heading a Number Phrase, following the syntax of plural marking proposed by Wiltschko (2008). It merges as an adjunct to the DP, lacking the ability to change the label of the element with which it merges. This analysis explains the distributional and interpretational properties of plural marking as well as the otherwise peculiar lack of morphosyntactic persistence in certain conditions in an experimental translation task. I also propose an analysis of plural marking in the verbal domain and its relationship to word order. In verb-initial clauses, the aspect-mood particle is the main predicate in T⁰ which is φ-deficient. There is no Agree for number between the plural-marked full DP and verb due to the absence of C⁰ (Chomsky 2008). For DP-initial clauses, a DP bearing plural morphology moves to the CP domain, triggered by a topic or focus feature. The uninterpretable number feature on C⁰ probes via T⁰ for an interpretable valued feature in its domain (Chomsky 2001). This analysis predicts asymmetric number agreement in Yucatec Maya, which is tested experimentally.

Tesis para optar al grado de Magíster en Estudios Latinoamericanos / Autor no autoriza el acceso a texto completo de su documento. / Esta tesis se plantea el estudio de la representación del sujeto latinoamericano en la fotografía realizada por Graciela Iturbide y su obra Juchitán de las Mujeres (1979), y de Maya Goded y su obra Plaza de la Soledad (2006). En estas fotografías la aparición de nuevas identidades de género, en donde se entrelazan lo muxe, lo queer, lo étnico y lo racial, en el que el sujeto en cuestión será reconocido como “sujeto latinoamericano débil”, concepción que se buscará puntualizar desde las nociones de un pensamiento posmoderno, feminista y de género cruzado por la teoría latinoamericana. Como bien sabemos, tradicionalmente, la práctica fotográfica más extendida e identificada con la región es la documental y es en ésta en que aparece con mayor fuerza un “sujeto latinoamericano fuerte”. Como bien indica su denominación, el género documental se fundamenta en la consideración de sus fotografías como “documentos” fidedignos en los que es posible conocer identidades particulares. Todas estas modalidades de representación tienen por “objeto” privilegiado al “sujeto latinoamericano” y han contribuido a conformar una constelación de imaginarios que ha generado una identificación general de lo latinoamericano con la categoría de exótico respecto del centro occidental; práctica de exotización que se advierte, incluso, desde el interior de la propia Latinoamérica, lo que ha contribuido a la representación de un sujeto “latinoamericano fuerte”. Por otra parte nuestra intención es identificar las representaciones de un “sujeto latinoamericano débil”, el cual estaría fuera de los estereotipos de lo exótico.

The lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, had a long history of occupation, spanning from the Middle Preclassic Period through the Terminal Classic (1000 BC to AD 950). The Ceibal-Petexbatun Archaeological Project has been conducting archaeological investigations at this site since 2005 and has obtained 154 radiocarbon dates, which represent the largest collection of radiocarbon assays from a single Maya site. The Bayesian analysis of these dates, combined with a detailed study of ceramics, allowed us to develop a high-precision chronology for Ceibal. Through this chronology, we traced the trajectories of the Preclassic collapse around AD 150–300 and the Classic collapse around AD 800–950, revealing similar patterns in the two cases. Social instability started with the intensification of warfare around 75 BC and AD 735, respectively, followed by the fall of multiple centers across the Maya lowlands around AD 150 and 810. The population of Ceibal persisted for some time in both cases, but the center eventually experienced major decline around AD 300 and 900. Despite these similarities in their diachronic trajectories, the outcomes of these collapses were different, with the former associated with the development of dynasties centered on divine rulership and the latter leading to their downfalls. The Ceibal dynasty emerged during the period of low population after the Preclassic collapse, suggesting that this dynasty was placed under the influence from, or by the direct intervention of, an external power.

This essay is a close reading of the novels Beloved by Toni Morrison and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou with the purpose of analyzing the impact and role of the African American community in two characters’ formation of self. The aim is to contrast and compare the two chosen characters’ experiences with their respective African American communities and discuss common ground, similarities and differences. A postcolonial approach is applied to the analysis by using concepts and theory from Fanon’s arguments on the psychological effects on the oppressed, Cohen’s description of diaspora communities and Bhabha’s notion of hybridization and culture.

Identifying connections between land use, population change, and natural and human-induced environmental change in ancient societies provides insights into the challenges we face today. This dissertation presents data from archaeological research at the ancient Maya center of Uxbenká, Belize, integrating chronological, geomorphological, and settlement data within an ecological framework to develop methodological and theoretical tools to explore connections between social and environmental change or stability during the Preclassic and Classic Period (~1000 BC to AD 900). High-precision AMS 14C dates from Uxbenká were integrated with stratigraphic information within a Bayesian framework to generate a high-resolution chronology of sociopolitical development and expansion in southern Belize. This chronology revises the previous understanding of settlement and development of Classic Maya society at Uxbenká and indicates specific areas of investigation to elucidate the Late and Terminal Classic periods (AD 600-900) when the polity appears to disintegrate. A geoarchaeological record of land use was developed and interpreted with respect to regional climatic and cultural histories to track landscape transformations associated with human-environment interactions at Uxbenká. The first documented episode of landscape instability (i.e., erosion) was associated with farmers colonizing the area. Later, landscape stability in the site core parallels Classic Period urbanization (AD 300-900) when swidden agriculture was likely restricted in the core. Another erosional event followed political disintegration as farmers resumed cultivation in and around the abandoned city. Maize yields derived from contemporary Maya farms in the area were used to estimate the maximum population size of Uxbenká during its Classic Period peak. The maximum sustainable population is estimated between 7500 and 13,000, including a potential population of ~525 elites in the core, assuming low levels of agricultural intensification. This accords well with the lack of archaeological evidence for intensive land management during the Classic Period (e.g., terraces). An ecological model developed using maize productivity and other environmental/social datasets largely predicts the settlement pattern surrounding Uxbenká. Settlements in marginal areas may be evidence of elite intra-polity competition during the Late Preclassic Period (ca. AD 1-300), though it is possible that marginal areas were settled early as garrisons to mediate travel into the site core.

This study applies a life history approach to analyzing the identities of 52 Maya individuals who lived between 2000 BC and AD 900 in and around the city of Holmul, within the Petén region of Guatemala. Primary goals were to: (1) identify migrant and local individuals within the urban population; (2) determine 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio signatures for the sites of Holmul, Cival, La Sufricaya, K’o, and Hamontun; (3) compile osteobiographies, personal life histories revealed through skeletal remains, of the individuals in the sample; and (4) evaluate evidence bearing on the identities of inhabitants of the Holmul region and how they were represented within economic, political, and cultural landscapes of the ancient Maya. This work demonstrates how bioarchaeologists can implement osteobiographical analyses to advance the understanding of multifaceted social identities and individual experiences of life and death. By integrating osteological study, stable isotope analysis, and consideration of mortuary context, material culture, inscriptions, and monumental architecture, the individual, rather than the population, becomes the focus. This aggregate approach allows for an in-depth consideration of human remains as former social beings with complex identities. The findings of this research suggest that most elite inhabitants in this ancient Maya city were local to the Holmul region, with the few outliers having originated from elsewhere in the Maya lowlands. This conclusion aligns with Maya elite ideologies of establishing lineages and reinforcing power through ancestor veneration. The local 87Sr/86Sr ratio signature of the Holmul region is comparable to other archaeological sites in the southern Maya lowlands. The osteobiographies reveal life histories, which personalize prior interpretations that considered the population only as an aggregate. This project also elucidates identities of sacrificed children, elite/royal women, and the local Holmul elite. Results of the study support the use of the isotopic analysis of human remains as an essential tool for approaching complex archaeological questions and evaluating hypotheses previously addressed primarily using architectural, iconographic, and artifactual evidence. Further, this study demonstrates the benefit of the isotopic analysis of dental enamel, especially in the Maya region and other environments characterized by difficult excavation conditions and the poor preservation of human remains.

This paper details the design and development process for two technical projects, both of which were developed for use in Autodesk Maya to enhance the workflow processes of 3D character animation. The first project is focused on advanced character rigging using mathematical concepts and Maya nodes, while the second project is focused on plugin development in python 2.7, making full use of the PySide2 library which binds to the Qt5 user-interface framework.