Dissertation Research: Residential Architecture and Warfare in the Northern Maya Lowlands

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Under the direction of Dr. David Freidel, Mr. Travis Stanton will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. Building on Dr. Freidel's prior work, Mr. Stanton will analyze material collected during archaeological excavation at the Mayan site of Yaxuna located in the Northern Peten region of Mexico. Through an analysis of changes in architectural style over time it will, Mr. Stanton postulates, be possible to determine the extent to which site layout and building techniques reflect the organization of regional political power. The core area of Yaxuna covers approximately one square kilometer and includes an acropolis, causeways and raised stone structures as well as numerous smaller earthen mounds. Although significant in size, Yaxuna was never a dominant regional power and over its long prehistory the Mayan inhabitants fell within the sphere of three larger political groups. Extensive burning and destruction of structures indicates that the city was conquered more than once. Mr. Stanton wishes to determine the extent to which the spatial and physical organization was reorganized after the first of these conquests and to accomplish this goal he will compare the architectural configuration of the site and the design of individual buildings to those of the conquering power as well as to its pre-conquest counterpart. In addition, analysis of material remains will provide insight into how social organization developed in pre-conquest times and how it was subsequently transformed. Archaeologists recognize that individual Mayan sites were integrated into larger political networks and that by discovering the extent of each and tracing how they changed over time it is possible to understand the principles which underlie political organization. At Yaxuna, non-architectural data strongly suggest how site domination changed over time and this provides an excellent controlled context to determine whether architecture in fact reflects these changing power patterns. If such, in fact, is the case, it will provide an powerful tool for archaeological analysis. The project will also assist in training a promising young scientist.