Politics and Economics: Motul de San José, Petén

The Motul de San José Project: 1998-2002 Research

Funded by NSF and Williams College ¹ , the Motul de San José Archaeological Project has conducted field research at this site on several fronts. As Motul had not been investigated previously, basic chronological and settlement issues had to be addressed first. Project members mapped 2 sq km of the epicenter of Motul de San José to document settlement design and distribution, and surveyed three 250-400 m wide and 2-3 km long transects exploring the northeastern, eastern and southern peripheries of the center, with special emphasis placed on the relationship between natural resources (such as soil type and quality) and prehispanic human settlement. (See Figure 2, map of Motul de San José.) Small-scale excavations involving test pits and shovel tests in areas behind domestic structures were employed to answer chronological questions and to locate refuse deposits which can provide crucial data on consumption patterns, socioeconomic status, economic activities (such as manufacturing) in 90% of the epicenter groups and 50% of the periphery plazuelas. Finally, we undertook large-scale horizontal excavations of five elite groups to document elite architecture, possible activity areas (through artifact distribution and chemical analyses of floor stucco samples) and to close large looting damage in the epicenter, north periphery, and at a secondary satellite center south of Motul, called Buenavista (see Foias 2000, 2001).

The archaeological investigations have provided important new data and some fascinating insights into the nature of state economic control. A basic chronology has been formulated: first occupied during the late Middle Preclassic (600-300 B.C.), Motul thrived during the Late Preclassic (300 B.C.–A.D. 300) and Early Classic (A.D. 300-600), reaching its apogee during the Late Classic (A.D. 600-830), and declined during the Terminal Classic (A.D. 830-950) and Postclassic (A.D. 950-1200?) ² . Of greater interest is the discovery that Motul is larger than originally believed, with over 200 structures mapped within its core. Five major groups have monumental architecture with temples reaching 20 m in height and range structures reaching 8 m in height. Remains of manufacturing activities have been discovered at a number of loci at Motul and in its environs. The richest and deepest midden at Motul was found in association with the largest complex of multi-room range structures, called the Acropolis in Group C, which may have functioned as the royal residence during the Late Classic. This midden consists almost entirely of pottery (some burnt), and includes quantities of ashy soil, several manufacturing wasters, an unfinished vase, and clay lumps. This is the only loci indicating pottery manufacture within the site. Lithic production is much more common, but away from Motul proper: within Motul, possible chert tool production was found in only one secondary elite group in the northern zone of the site, located half a kilometer away from the Main Plaza (see below). Stone tool production was much more important in several small satellite sites located south of Motul along the north shore of Lake Petén Itzá (such as Buenavista and La Trinidad): here, large chert cores and primary flakes litter the surface and abound in archaeological contexts (see below). Finally, bone tool manufacture was most important in a middle status group located in the major Group E in the Motul core.

Endnotes

1. Other members of the project, such as Matthew Moriarty, Andrew Wyatt, Dr. Kitty Emery, and Dr. Richard Terry, also obtained funding from their home institutions: Tulane University, UIC, SUNY-Potsdam and FMNH, and Brigham Young respectively.

2. All dates are preliminary and approximate, and are based on inter-site ceramic comparisons. However, four AMS radiocarbon dates submitted to Beta Analytic Laboratories have confirmed this preliminary chronology (Foias, in press).

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