ORCID
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9300-8404
Date of Award
Summer 8-15-2020
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Many ancient Maya lowland cities developed water-rich landscapes that met the multiple needs of growing populations. The development of landesque capital, in which permanent changes in infrastructure, water procurement, and agricultural productivity are best understood at sites with a long history of occupation. Salinas de los Nueve Cerros was an ancient Maya center that was occupied for approximately 2000 years, surviving the ‘Maya Collapse.’ This site, located in the Maya lowlands, had ties to both highland and lowland communities through its primacy in exporting salt. However, what is not yet understood is whether the commercial population of Nueve Cerros practiced landesque capital, which would have allowed for long-term occupation and a large sedentary population to exist for millennia. To achieve this goal, this project uses a multi-scalar approach to identify and determine the full scale of the engineered landscape. Aerial remote sensing and GIS, excavations, materials analyses and a community-oriented framework were conducted used for interpreting Nueve Cerros community organization and landscape management. In this dissertation I argue that protecting water sources for long-term uses through community-level settlement decisions were crucial for the creation for a landesque capital landscape. Along with these landscape interpretations, the Nueve Cerros laborers were able to take advantage of participation in long-term interregional interactions and exchange networks stemming from collaborative organizing principles. The results of this project show how an ancient city thrived and survived turmoil through community-oriented landesque capital, with direct implications for landscape management in the Neotropics today.
Language
English (en)
Chair and Committee
David A. Freidel Michael Frachetti
Committee Members
Nicola Aravecchia, Helina S. Woldekiros, Brent K. Woodfill,
Recommended Citation
Rivas, Alexander Ernesto, "Landesque Capital and Community Organization in a Maya Economic Center: A Case Study at Salinas de los Nueve Cerros, Guatemala" (2020). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2339.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/2339
Included in
Environmental Sciences Commons, Geographic Information Sciences Commons, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons