Dissertation: Investigating Lineage Organization Among The Late Classic Maya of Northwestern Belize

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Under the direction of Dr. Don Rice, Mr. Jon Hageman will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. The goal of his research is to understand the basic principles which underlay prehistoric Mayan social organization and to achieve this he working in a region of Northwestern Belize which was occupied during the Late Classic Period. This marks the height of the Mayan civilization and because this portion of Belize was only occupied during this interval, chronological control can be achieved. Mayan peoples successfully colonized lowland tropical regions at population densities considerably greater than their present day counterparts and with relatively simple technologies they created social/political/economic entities which bound thousands of people over large areas into integrated functioning units. They created enough surplus labor, over and above that needed for subsistence, to build large pyramids and to produce non-utilitarian luxury goods. In this region of Belize they also created canal systems for irrigation and water management. Although it is clear that wealth differential existed within Mayan society, in many regions clear-cut class differences are hard to discern and "class", many archaeologists believe is not a primary organizing principle. Based on both ethnographic data and examples from many other parts of the world, Mr. Hageman argues that these northern Belize groups were organized along lineage principles and that individuals were assigned to essentially equivalent parallel groups based on birth. While relative status and wealth varied within individual lineages, each group was headed by a single individual, had shrines which reinforced group identity, shared visible material characteristics and occupied a spatially contiguous area. Mt. Hageman will continue his archaeological research in this northern Belize region to determine whether data in fact support such a model. To accomplish this he will complete an ongoing regional survey to search for boundary markers and examine the distribution of house mounds. He will also test and excavate at a series of sites to recover relevant information.This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and shed new light on the basic Mayan principles of social organization. It will also contribute to training a promising young scientist.