Interpersonal relationships connect household groups and communities into the social interaction networks that characterize all human societies. Interaction networks structure, and are structured by, relationships created and maintained through time, which may serve a variety of social, economic, and political purposes for those who engage in them. These relationships are important aspects of social organization that must be distilled from the archaeological record when written accounts are unavailable. Such is the case with the Middle Preclassic (c. 900 – 350 B.C.) in the Maya Lowlands, which was pivotal in the development of complex society in the region. Its temporal position between the earliest permanent settlements and the Late Preclassic, when clear evidence for hereditary inequality became widespread, makes the relationships and structures that characterized Middle Preclassic society critical targets for understanding the origins of Maya social complexity. This dissertation explores Middle Preclassic Maya social organization and development through the lenses of materials exchange and consumption, which are used to analyze participation in socioeconomic networks by different social groups. It synthesizes data from six seasons of excavation at Cahal Pech, Belize, where previous research revealed substantial Middle Preclassic occupation and suggested the early development of social ranking. I present analyses of architectural investment and depositional patterns across multiple artifact categories that suggest prevalent models of Middle Preclassic social organization do not adequately explain variability in the data, and I develop a new framework to interpret social relationships in terms of network structures. The network model combines sociological research on small-world networks with anthropological conceptions of household and community interactions. It can be employed to analyze interactions at the local, regional, and interregional scales and is grounded in an understanding of material sources and how goods move across the landscape. Socioeconomic networks are defined by linking the depositional contexts of artifacts with known source areas, and networks can be compared among different groups to discern differences in internal and external exchange connections. My research suggests that dynamic interactions within small-world networks created increasingly complex social relationships throughout the Middle Preclassic, which likely influenced the development of institutionalized hierarchy and later Maya civilization. / 1 / Sherman W Horn III

This study examines the emergence of status differentiation during the Early and Middle Preclassic periods (1200/1100-300 BC) in the Maya lowlands through the examination of pottery and its status as a valued object. Through macroscopic, contextual, and compositional analyses of previously excavated pottery from four sites in the Petén lakes region of Guatemala—Nixtun-Ch’ich', Tayasal, Ixlú, Zacpetén—this project focuses on the ways value was encoded into vessels. Unlike later polychrome wares, Middle Preclassic pottery displayed little status-marking decoration, suggesting that the "object-value" of pottery was based on function and use ("use-value") rather than attributes related to production (“production-value”). By integrating production attributes with contexts of recovery, this project explores the ways early pottery was produced, used, and deposited at a time when societal differentiation became identifiable archaeologically through the appearance of substantial architectural endeavors and access to exotic goods. This connects to the larger anthropological question of how emerging status differentiation in communities impacts the notion of value in material culture and the process through which prestige goods developed in complex societies.Data generated from this study of 27,870 sherds provide multiple lines of evidence for ways that value was encoded on early Maya pottery. To examine factors relating to production-value, macroscopic (type-variety analysis and modal analysis) and compositional (petrographic analysis of thin sections, INAA, and LA-ICP-MS) analytical methods are used to assess the presence of production-value markers. Attributes ranging from paste composition to surface decoration reveal the diversity in valuation at the beginning of vessel use-life. Use-value is examined through a contextual analysis of pottery and its deposition, with primary focus on the extensive excavations at Mound ZZ1 at Nixtun-Ch'ich'. On the basis of the findings, I conclude that the construction of value and prestige was carried out in many ways by emerging elites in the western Petén lakes area, but it appears that pottery’s role in this was not prescriptive, but supportive.Beyond investigating how early Maya pottery was valued, this study demonstrates the importance of an integrated methodological approach to artifact analysis that considers both contextual and physical attributes. This provides a way to operationalize a concept like object value, which can be difficult to access through the archaeological record. The complementary data presented here reflect the myriad ways in which object-value is affected by both production choices and social behaviors.

Since the move of Guatemala´s capital from the Panchoy Valley to the Ermita Valley, the archaeological remains were doomed to be destroyed and 200 years later this could not be more true. Urban development is erasing the traces of a rich cultural past now hidden under modern houses, malls and football fields. Although the Cultural Heritage Law establishes that archaeological remains must be protected, the same law allows sites to be destroyed if they are excavated first. This has lead to an increase of the “Archaeological Rescue Projects”, where time and pressure restrict the scientific nature of the excavation. In this work I explore the theory behind rescue projects and how ethical issues can play a big role in th way rescue archaeology is been done in Guatemala. Also, i explore the history of the rescue projects in Guatemala to demonstrate how important is to have a strong cultural law but also a strong sense of responsibility towards our profession. I use the example of rescue projects, Santa Isabel, to highlight the importance of scientific oriented investigations but also the common mistakes that can be done in these projects. Finally, a proposed a series of steps that can improve the quality of the rescue projects with hopes that they can be implemented in other parts of Guatemala. / text

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.

In 1969, Paul Tolstoy commented that archaeological investigation at La Venta had become "a fairly long and at times tortuous story of excavation, interpretation, re-interpretation, and depredation at the famous site found by Stirling." This thesis adds to the torture by describing and illustrating the architecture, burials, offerings, and stone sculpture of La Venta Complex A in an effort to reconcile data into an accurate sequence of meaningful cultural events. The details derive from excavation reports, field notes, maps, photographs, and correspondence of the early investigators of the site. This study addressed three myopic perceptions regarding La Venta: (1) the secludedness of Complex A, in particular the Ceremonial Court, from its inception to its termination, (2) the classification and identification of real human burials in Complex A, and (3) the analytical decontextualization of objects, offerings, and monuments from connected ritual activities there.

The purpose of this thesis is to document the changes in archaeological origin narratives concerning the lowland Preclassic Maya. This was accomplished by tracking the changes in four major narratives over several decades. These narratives include Herbert J. Spinden's Ancient Civilizations of Mexico and Central America; The Ancient Maya written by Sylvanus G. Morley, with additional editors, George Brainerd, Robert J. Sharer, and Loa Traxler; Michael D. Coe's The Maya, and Richard E.W. Adams's Prehistoric Mesoamerica. The specific parts of the narratives analyzed were the origins of agriculture, ceramic technology, writing, and monumental architecture. Changes in metaphorical language and illustrations that accompanied these texts were also analyzed. Shifts in narratives were tracked through the changes made to the texts in sequential editions, and were then compared between editions, and between books. The analysis of these narratives showed that the changes in the narratives resulted from a number of factors, including new technology, such as radiocarbon dating; new discoveries, in the form of artwork, sites, and artifacts; the decipherment of the Maya glyphs; and changes in the field of archaeology. The largest change that archaeological research has shown that Maya civilization is older than first imagined. Writing, ceramic technology, and monumental architecture are all now known be to centuries older than previously thought, all of which require a much different narrative than first told in 1841 by John Lloyd Stephens.

The use of Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) technology is revolutionizing Maya archaeology, as it penetrates through thick vegetation prevalent in Maya environments, uncovering the structures and features below. At the site of El Mirador in the Petén Department of Guatemala, lidar data has been analyzed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map features, such as residential buildings and quarries, that other technologies like satellite imagery have missed. El Mirador is a large site dating to the Preclassic through Post Classic periods (1000 BCE to 1500 BCE) and is argued to have the largest monumental architecture built by the Lowland Maya, but the nature of socioeconomic and political coordination at the site is poorly understood. Through analysis of quarry and residential structure volumes outlying areas of El Mirador at various distances from the city center, this research seeks to understand more about the nature of coordination at the site in terms of limestone production. Buffer zones of 150m and 300m were created around a central residence group in each selected area. This research shows that zones closer to the city center produced a greater volume of limestone than those further away; however, the quarries within each buffer zone did not produce enough stone even for the structures within their immediate zone. The total quarry volumes in the 150m buffer zones are greater than the combined volumes in the area between the 150m and 300m buffers, indicating a measure of coordination from each central structure group. Further research of quarrying at residential groups could help uncover the nature of supra-household coordination at Preclassic sites where the exact nature of elite involvement in quarrying is still not completely understood.

This dissertation examines El Marquesillo, a settlement in an archaeologically unexplored region of the Southern Gulf Lowlands of Veracruz, Mexico. Evidence suggests the site has been consistently occupied from the Early Formative period (c. 1500 BC) to the present. Thus, this investigation presents an opportunity to re-examine the sociopolitical continuum encompassing the Olmec cultural phenomenon (c. 1150-300 BC), the emergence of which has been used repeatedly as an example of incipient social complexity. Theorists have portrayed the development of sociopolitical complexity as a mosaic process in which environmental, social, political, economic, ideological, and demographic variables act independently or in combination to bring about change. In order to examine these variables, a suite of traditional and progressive archaeological techniques -- remote sensing, geophysical survey, GIS, mapping, anthropogenic soil survey -- were employed to prospect, document, and analyze the natural and built environments along with the material record documented at El Marquesillo. I argue that the resulting data do not fit many of the traditional models that have been offered to explain the development of Olmec sociopolitical complexity. The term "traditional Olmec paradigm" is used to describe a collective array of conjectural concepts that have been proposed by theorists to explain how Formative people of the Southern Gulf Lowlands constructed and experienced their reality. Findings from El Marquesillo and other recent Heartland investigations suggest that much of this traditional Olmec paradigm may not be accurate. The Gulf Olmec were not a homogeneous and uniform entity across space and time. At El Marquesillo, idiosyncratic behaviors of the ancients relating to ancestor veneration and their connection to the landscape and worldview have been identified. These noted variations in social expression and the lack of adherence to the traditional Olmec paradigm suggest that some hypotheses regarding the Formative people of the Southern Gulf Lowlands be re-visited and possibly revised in the light of new evidence.

This dissertation presents an analysis of Preclassic period (1000 B.C. – A.D. 250) funerary attributes of three Maya sites in northern Belize, Central America: Colha, Cuello, and K’axob. The dataset is comprised of 133 interments from Colha, 131 interments from Cuello, and 98 interments from K’axob for a total of 362 Preclassic interments. Analysis has been conducted on a suite of 12 variables representative of this dataset and their interrelatedness: age, sex, artifact material type, artifact material form, cranial orientation, burial position or posture, functional designation of architecture in which an interment is placed, presence or absence of indications of burning, presence or absence of red mineral pigmentation, functional designation of artifacts, presence or absence of a cross motif, and presence or absence of a head cover (vessel covering the cranium). This research project has four main objectives: 1) provide a structured presentation of Preclassic interment data for Colha, Cuello, and K’axob, 2) present a thorough and cogent analysis of the interrelatedness of the suite of variables abovementioned, 3) document any significant trends and anomalies that are evidenced within the funerary attributes of these sites, and finally 4) to offer an interpretation of those patterns and deviations seen within the analysis as they relate to intrasite and intersite social differentiation and dynamics through the Preclassic. The analysis within this volume demonstrates that the elaboration and variation of interment attributes increase over time in Preclassic at the three sites of study. This is paralleled by a development of ritual and ceremonial architecture for public activities. Differential access to materials and forms is indicated throughout the Middle, Late and Terminal Preclassic, with the level of disparity between the apparent elite and non-elite increasing over time. Adult males are generally accompanied by higher numbers and a greater variety of goods than are females and subadults. This indicates a power and/or status differential between the two sexes and age groups, with male adults being the most highly esteemed individuals within the social stratification system. This study demonstrates the dynamic and multifaceted material representations with which Preclassic Maya of Northern Belize expressed their identity in death. / text

Ce travail vise à déterminer s’il existe ou non une norme du subjonctif en français préclassique, et dans l’affirmative de la décrire et de la saisir. D’un point de vue morphologique, on constate que le français préclassique simplifie les paradigmes du subjonctif par un effet d’analogie, alors que l’ancien français avait tendance à les différencier nettement de l’indicatif. Nous noterons de plus l’importance du yod « désactualisant » qui se généralise aux première et seconde personnes du pluriel, devenant le marqueur privilégié de l’indétermination. La syntaxe du subjonctif de cette période se caractérise par une exceptionnelle liberté, la seule règle suivie par le locuteur étant d’utiliser le subjonctif lorsque l’énoncé appartient au « monde des possibles » et l’indicatif lorsqu’il entre dans le « monde du probable » (terminologie empruntée à Robert Martin). Aussi, tout au long de la période préclassique le système modal ne connaît aucune servitude grammaticale, n’obéissant à aucune règle mécanique mais seulement à des tendances et à une concordance d’ordre cinétique et modal. Malgré cette autonomie, le subjonctif est souvent écarté au bénéfice de l’indicatif, auquel nous incluons la forme en –rais, quand le discours ne traduit aucun effet stylistique ou rhétorique, car l’indicatif indique précisément le temps sur la chronogénèse. En revanche l’image temporelle du subjonctif est incomplète et insécable, « amorphe » et « in fieri » (terminologie de Gustave Guillaume). Pourtant, malgré cette inhérente imprécision temporelle, le subjonctif demeure irremplaçable en français préclassique pour son extraordinaire poésie. / The purpose of this work is to determinate whether or not a method of subjunctive mode existed in Preclassic French, and in the affirmative, to describe and to explain it. From a morphological point of view, we notice Preclassic French was the age of simplification and analogy, while medieval system was marked, on the contrary, by a tendency to differentiate the subjunctive’s forms in a characteristic way. Besides, the presence of the yod at first and second plural persons becomes widespread, expressing in a better way the indetermination and “desactualisation” compared to the medieval system devoid of the yod. Regarding the syntax of the subjunctive mode during this period, it is characterized by an incredible freedom: the only rule actually followed by the speaker consisted, in case of doubt, in using the subjunctive tense, the “world of the possible”, in opposition to the “world of the likely” which is specific to the indicative mode, both concepts belonging to Robert Martin’s terminology. All along the aforesaid historical period, it is particularly interesting to see to what extent the modal system remains free from restrictive grammatical regulations. Indeed, the subjunctive mode doesn’t obey mechanical rules, except some tendencies. It only obeys kinetic and modal concordances. Despite its autonomy, subjunctive mode was nevertheless frequently ruled out to the benefit of indicative mode, including the “forme en –rais”, especially when authors showed no interest in stylistic or rhetorical effects. In a matter of fact, while indicative mode gives a precise indication of the time, mental representation of the verb within the subjunctive has the distinctive characteristic to be incomplete and indivisible as well, qualified as “amorphe” and “in fieri” according to Guillaume’s terminology. However, despite its inherent temporal imprecision, writers of that time widely used the subjunctive mode, judged exceptionally poetic and therefore irreplaceable.