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Understanding the stratigraphic context of the maya postclassic in belize
Author(s) -
Masson Marilyn A.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.3340100503
Subject(s) - maya , mesoamerica , period (music) , context (archaeology) , stratigraphy , archaeology , civilization , geography , geology , paleontology , physics , acoustics , tectonics
The Maya Postclassic (A. D. 900–1500) is a complex and poorly understood period of history which represents a conspicuous gap in the understanding of processes of social change in lowland Mesoamerica. Difficulties in interpreting this period are directly related to the stratigraphic context of Postclassic deposits such as those described in this examination of the site of Laguna de On, northern Belize. Belize Postclassic settlement has been heavily underestimated due to difficulties in detecting remains from this period in disturbed surface deposits. A lack of priority placed on Postclassic research in the southern Maya lowlands has also contributed to the relatively low number of large scale projects and refined descriptions of Postclassic remains that would enable regional synthetic reconstruction. Given the combined effect of problematic stratigraphy and limited professional attention, it is not surprising that the southern Maya lowlands are generally thought to have been drastically depopulated at the time of the collapse of Maya “civilization” around A.D. 900. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.