The 2001 Field Season of the Labná-Kiuic Archaeological Project
With contributions by:  Tomás Gallareta Negrón (INAH-Centro Yucatán) and George J. Bey III (Millsaps College)

Final Comments

We are as yet in the preliminary stages of our project and hesitate to offer any firm conclusions on the basis of our work to date. Nevertheless, our preliminary results suggest that pursuit of our original research strategy will provide continued insights into the settlement of the Puuc Hills. One of the stimulating results is the demonstration that occupation of the Puuc Hills was both far earlier and more complex than hitherto supposed. Excavations in the Plaza Dzunun, and mapping and surface collections from the rural site of Paso del Macho, indicate the construction of permanent stone architecture from the late Middle Preclassic onward, if not earlier. The ballcourt from Paso del Macho, and the formal stucco plaza floors from Kiuic, suggest these early occupants were more than simple subsistence farmers, but were in touch with the larger currents of the peninsula.

Mapping and excavations also demonstrate that Kiuic had a complex settlement history later during the Middle-to-Late Classic period. Several types of architecture have been identified, as have changes in ceramic production and usage. The connections between these are as yet tentative, as are the details of chronology, but clearly growth occurred over a considerable period of time. On one point, we concur with earlier studies: abandonment was precipitous and virtually complete, at least during the pre-hispanic period. Postclassic ceramics are extremely scarce and structures from the period are altogether absent in our current sample.

We can say relatively little positive with respect to political organization. We have no iconographic evidence for domination by another site, although images of warriors from Labná suggest all was not peaceful. Nevertheless, the population seems to be widely distributed across the landscape with little regard for defensibility. Abandonment may have been due to conflict, but careful directed excavations will be necessary to establish this cause.

We do see hilltops being used for residential purpose, but all indications are that these were preferred loci for elite occupations rather than defensible heights. This is not to say that they did not serve as lookouts, but they may have been observing agricultural workers as much as they were looking for potential invaders. The Escalera al Cielo structures show that on occasion these hilltop complexes served as more than just residences, and might almost be considered individual sites in themselves. We need to more fully expand survey around this group, as well as secure information on other hills, to know exactly how they relate to the surrounding countryside and to neighboring households of lesser status. One final comment is that hilltop occupation cannot be said to be a final response to an increasingly crowded landscape, since Str. N0920E1040 within Kiuic is an example of an Early Puuc hilltop group.

Settlement survey has also demonstrated that the population density of the Bolonchén District, at least within our bailiwick, was high. As Gallareta notes, rural site density was probably several hundred per km². An elevated overall density was probably also responsible for the suggestions of careful land management and restrictions on settlement his group observed between Kiuic and Labná. Settlement density is also high in Kiuic, although we do not as yet know the extent of the site. The fact that the Kiuic palace rivaled its neighbors in size and number of rooms, and the overall high percentage of vaulted architecture, suggests that overall economic conditions were favorable and elites had considerable freedom in constructing what were, after all, symbols of power.

Completion of our work will clearly require many years. We look forward to doing the kind of detail excavations we are now doing in the Grupo Yaxché at other, later groups. A great deal remains to be mapped and excavated in the intersite areas, a daunting task because of the heavy overgrowth and very limited access, but an effort that will clearly reward us with information as yet unparalleled in the Puuc Hills. Urban survey too has much yet to do. In addition to determining the extent of Kiuic and its relationship to the surrounding hills, Huntichmul is as yet totally virgin territory. A brief visit in 2000 was particularly exciting because of the differences in architecture and settlement patterns we observed. Finally, tracing out the external connections of these sites is a process which may only be possible with future fieldwork at other sites in the Puuc Hills and beyond. Clearly, however, the results will be important to the archaeology not only of northern Yucatán, but of the Maya area and Mesoamerica as a whole.

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