 |
FAMSI © 2005: Andrew K. Scherer |
|
Archaeological Reconnaissance at Tixan: Explorations in the Southern Sierra del Lacandón National Park, Petén, Guatemala
Unión Maya Itza The archaeological site of Unión Maya Itza (UMI) consists of a number of mound groups densely scattered within and around the modern community of the same name (Figure 5, shown above). At the present time, all of these mound groups are being treated as the same site, though a more thorough survey may indicate the presence of distinct settlement clusters. A sample of this settlement was mapped and includes the groups Los Metates, Lacandón, Solitario, and Alacran (Figure 6). Architecture at UMI is modest, consisting of house mounds 1-2 meters high. Interestingly, formal, rectangular patio groups are scarce at UMI, with most mound groups consisting of densely clustered mounds (i.e., Alacran Group and Los Metates Group). This is quite unlike much of the Classic period settlement in the Sierra del Lacandón where formally arranged rectangular patio groups are the norm. Ceramics recovered on the surface of UMI date to the Late and Terminal Classic period (Figure 7), and these distinctive settlement patterns at UMI may simply be another form of Classic period settlement not previously encountered in the area.
The only group identified to date that might constitute a ritual center at UMI is the Alacran Group. This group consists of a leveled hilltop with fourteen mounds. One of these mounds, Mound 1, is a small, two meter high pyramidal shaped structure that was bisected by a looter's trench (Figure 8, shown above), though it does not appear that the looters encountered anything of importance.
The lack of a major ceremonial center suggests that UMI was directly subordinate to Yaxchilán (approximately 7.6 km to the southeast), or perhaps a secondary center in the area such as Oso Negro (approximately 6.2 km to the north; see next section). Based on the density of mound groups, it is clear that population levels in the area of UMI were quite high. Immediately adjacent to the archaeological settlement are large areas of flat, low-lying terrain that likely served as agricultural fields during the Classic period. In fact, much of this same area is used for milpa by the modern community at UMI (Figure 9, shown above), and it seems a likely hypothesis that UMI was one of many agricultural communities under the control of the Yaxchilán polities that supplied food and other resources to the capital and subordinate political centers in the kingdom.
While mapping the Lacandón Group of UMI, members of the SLRAP recovered two Lacandón ceramic vessels placed on the surface of one of the mounds (Figure 10a, shown above, and Figure 10b, shown below). Inside both vessels were the remains of burned copal resin. Based on their style, these vessels are from the Historic period and date to the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries (Joel Palka, personal communication, 2005). In particular, the "god pot" (Figure 10a) is strikingly similar to other historic period Lacandón vessels that feature nearly identical anthropomorphic designs (Maler 1903: Plate LXXX; Palka 2005: figure 10.3). Like similar vessels that were recovered in structures or on the surface at Piedras Negras and Yaxchilán, the UMI vessels were placed by Lacandón Maya as they visited archaeological sites throughout the area during Historic times.
|
||
|
Text links to all pages at this site are available at the FAMSI INDEX |
||
