Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Environmental Variability, Settlement and Status Differentiation at Uxbenka

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Under the supervision of Dr. Keith M. Prufer, Mr. Ethan K. Kalosky will conduct a study of household decision-making strategies and the origins of wealth/status inequalities at the Classic Period (ca. AD 250 -900) Maya site of Uxbenká. Located in southern Belize, Uxbenká is an ideal site to undertake this study. Ongoing research at Uxbenká has revealed that the site possesses the oldest and longest occupational history in the region. Most settlements consist of small rubble mounds that are the household remains of Uxbenká's agricultural populous. Mr. Kalosky has spent a number of field seasons surveying the landscape at Uxbenká to produce a more detailed understanding of the spatial distribution and extent of settlement at this site. His dissertation will examine social and ecological variables that may have influenced household decisions regarding where to settle on the landscape, the potential impact of those decisions on status and wealth differences that are evident between households.The intellectual merit of this project resides in its contribution to ongoing discourse regarding the origins of social complexity in the Maya Lowlands and throughout the world. Furthermore, the resulting model may prove to have utility for similar environmental-settlement studies conducted elsewhere. The work can provide insight and place in deep chronological context patterns observed in small scale village organization in a contemporary context in many regions of the developing world.Previous research on the origins of social complexity in the Maya Lowlands has often taken a top-down approach, focusing on the role of elite political actors in shaping the fabric of society. More contemporary research, however, suggests that societal organization may in fact be more influenced by the aggregate decisions of individuals and households who make up the majority of a society's populous. This project will employ a combination of continued archaeological and landscape survey, excavation of household remains, and chronology building to generate a predictive model for the most suitable areas for habitation on the Uxbenká landscape. The model will in turn allow one to better understand factors that influenced household decisions regarding where to settle on the landscape across space and time. Consequently, one can then begin to explore how settlement location acted as a potential source for variation in household organization and status in the context of demographic expansion throughout the Classic Period occupation of the site. It is suspected that in-filling of the landscape generated new opportunities for previously equitable households to differentiate their status, leading to more hierarchical and heterarchical forms of social organization throughout Uxbenká's Classic Period growth. One of the primary hypotheses is that established occupation and use of highly valued settlement locations provided one means by which households could achieve increased status in a dynamic social environment. Determining how certain variables influenced the values placed on different settlement locations is a critical component for better understanding the circumstances in which social complexity emerges and is maintained.The broader impacts involve aiding in the intellectual and professional development of young scholar. Additionally, this project places emphasis on collaboration with modern descendants of the ancestral Maya to directly engage in educational programs related to their own cultural heritage. Results will be disseminated to broader audiences via peer-reviewed journal publications, and presentations at public forums in the US and abroad.