In recent years, a growing body of research
has focused on the importance of water
management for... more In recent years, a growing body of research has focused on the importance of water management for ancient Maya societies, and more generally on the cultural and economic significance of water as a resource. But how did this change across the centuries as cycles of drought and sea level rise, together with the growingMaya footprint on the landscape, presented new challenges? As the resolution of climatic records improves, the authors can begin to show in detail how Maya water management responded and adapted to such shifts. This included the manipulation of aguadas and the development of wetland field systems, in the process transforming large areas of the Maya landscape.
New Urbanists advocate for, among other things, spaces in cities where people of various backgrou... more New Urbanists advocate for, among other things, spaces in cities where people of various backgrounds can interact. Yet not all interactions lead to the strong social bonds that make diverse communities more durable. The archaeological record provides rich examples of diverse communities that flourished. This article examines an ancient Maya city—Chunchucmil—where preservation of stone walls and pathways provides an unusual opportunity to reconstruct urban design in great detail. Analysis of neighborhood circulation patterns shows that people of very different wealth levels shared space on a daily basis. We present evidence that Chunchucmil’s diverse neighborhoods were also cohesive, and we identify a number of circumstances—worshipping together, working together, and maintaining local control over neighborhood affairs—that help interactions between different kinds of people develop into strong bonds. These circumstances are germane to contemporary contexts.
Settlement scaling theory predicts that higher site densities lead to increased social interactio... more Settlement scaling theory predicts that higher site densities lead to increased social interactions that, in turn, boost productivity. The scaling relationship between population and land area holds for several ancient societies, but as demonstrated by the sample of 48 sites in this study, it does not hold for the Northern Maya Lowlands. Removing smaller sites from the sample brings the results closer to scaling expectations. We argue that applications of scaling theory benefit by considering social interaction as a product not only of proximity but also of daily life and spatial layouts.
Angamuco and Chunchucmil are two of the few Mesoamerican cities with relatively complete street m... more Angamuco and Chunchucmil are two of the few Mesoamerican cities with relatively complete street maps. These maps provide a rare opportunity to study how the bulk of the population moved through cities, how people worked together to organize a network of paths and open spaces, what kind of interactions these features afforded, and how they contributed to the formation of social identities. Having found that space syntax methods confirmed intuitive understandings without generating new findings, we apply a segment (paths) and node (intersections) analysis to both sites. With these analyses we recorded and characterized segment variables such as width, length, form, and curvature, and node variables such as size, form, and number of linked segments. Many of the nodes at both sites are open spaces, allowing us to register details about the configuration of shared public spaces that are less formal than monumental plazas. The analyses revealed neighborhood differentiation, local-level co...
4 The Archaeology of Urban Houselots at Chunchucmi'l, Yucatan Scott R. Hutson, Alme Magnom, ... more 4 The Archaeology of Urban Houselots at Chunchucmi'l, Yucatan Scott R. Hutson, Alme Magnom, Daniel E. Mazeau, and Travis W. Stanton I ... We compare these residential compounds to the model of corporate groups proposed by Hayden and Cannon (1982) and use mapping ...
A particular type of miniature ceramic vessel locally known as “veneneras” is occasionally found ... more A particular type of miniature ceramic vessel locally known as “veneneras” is occasionally found during archaeological excavations in the Maya Area. To date, only one study of a collection of such containers successfully identified organic residues through coupled chromatography–mass spectrometry methods. That study identified traces of nicotine likely associated with tobacco. Here we present a more complete picture by analyzing a suite of possible complementary ingredients in tobacco mixtures across a collection of 14 miniature vessels. The collection includes four different vessel forms and allows for the comparison of specimens which had previously formed part of museum exhibitions with recently excavated, untreated containers. Archaeological samples were compared with fresh as well as cured reference materials from two different species of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum and N. rustica). In addition, we sampled six more plants which are linked to mind-altering practices through Mesoa...
A multiyear field project focused on long-distance causeways between Uci and Cansahcab in Yucatan... more A multiyear field project focused on long-distance causeways between Uci and Cansahcab in Yucatan, Mexico, supports their use for processions and pilgrimages, their role in the creation of multisite polities, and their involvement in the constitution of local authority. Yet details of the causeways’ construction suggest that people contested this authority. Work was central to these dynamics and comes in the form of labor as practice, investments in the maintenance of relations with other-than-human beings, and the ways that causeways produced embodied experiences that were ideal for their use in pilgrimages.
In recent years, a growing body of research
has focused on the importance of water
management for... more In recent years, a growing body of research has focused on the importance of water management for ancient Maya societies, and more generally on the cultural and economic significance of water as a resource. But how did this change across the centuries as cycles of drought and sea level rise, together with the growingMaya footprint on the landscape, presented new challenges? As the resolution of climatic records improves, the authors can begin to show in detail how Maya water management responded and adapted to such shifts. This included the manipulation of aguadas and the development of wetland field systems, in the process transforming large areas of the Maya landscape.
New Urbanists advocate for, among other things, spaces in cities where people of various backgrou... more New Urbanists advocate for, among other things, spaces in cities where people of various backgrounds can interact. Yet not all interactions lead to the strong social bonds that make diverse communities more durable. The archaeological record provides rich examples of diverse communities that flourished. This article examines an ancient Maya city—Chunchucmil—where preservation of stone walls and pathways provides an unusual opportunity to reconstruct urban design in great detail. Analysis of neighborhood circulation patterns shows that people of very different wealth levels shared space on a daily basis. We present evidence that Chunchucmil’s diverse neighborhoods were also cohesive, and we identify a number of circumstances—worshipping together, working together, and maintaining local control over neighborhood affairs—that help interactions between different kinds of people develop into strong bonds. These circumstances are germane to contemporary contexts.
Settlement scaling theory predicts that higher site densities lead to increased social interactio... more Settlement scaling theory predicts that higher site densities lead to increased social interactions that, in turn, boost productivity. The scaling relationship between population and land area holds for several ancient societies, but as demonstrated by the sample of 48 sites in this study, it does not hold for the Northern Maya Lowlands. Removing smaller sites from the sample brings the results closer to scaling expectations. We argue that applications of scaling theory benefit by considering social interaction as a product not only of proximity but also of daily life and spatial layouts.
Angamuco and Chunchucmil are two of the few Mesoamerican cities with relatively complete street m... more Angamuco and Chunchucmil are two of the few Mesoamerican cities with relatively complete street maps. These maps provide a rare opportunity to study how the bulk of the population moved through cities, how people worked together to organize a network of paths and open spaces, what kind of interactions these features afforded, and how they contributed to the formation of social identities. Having found that space syntax methods confirmed intuitive understandings without generating new findings, we apply a segment (paths) and node (intersections) analysis to both sites. With these analyses we recorded and characterized segment variables such as width, length, form, and curvature, and node variables such as size, form, and number of linked segments. Many of the nodes at both sites are open spaces, allowing us to register details about the configuration of shared public spaces that are less formal than monumental plazas. The analyses revealed neighborhood differentiation, local-level co...
4 The Archaeology of Urban Houselots at Chunchucmi'l, Yucatan Scott R. Hutson, Alme Magnom, ... more 4 The Archaeology of Urban Houselots at Chunchucmi'l, Yucatan Scott R. Hutson, Alme Magnom, Daniel E. Mazeau, and Travis W. Stanton I ... We compare these residential compounds to the model of corporate groups proposed by Hayden and Cannon (1982) and use mapping ...
A particular type of miniature ceramic vessel locally known as “veneneras” is occasionally found ... more A particular type of miniature ceramic vessel locally known as “veneneras” is occasionally found during archaeological excavations in the Maya Area. To date, only one study of a collection of such containers successfully identified organic residues through coupled chromatography–mass spectrometry methods. That study identified traces of nicotine likely associated with tobacco. Here we present a more complete picture by analyzing a suite of possible complementary ingredients in tobacco mixtures across a collection of 14 miniature vessels. The collection includes four different vessel forms and allows for the comparison of specimens which had previously formed part of museum exhibitions with recently excavated, untreated containers. Archaeological samples were compared with fresh as well as cured reference materials from two different species of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum and N. rustica). In addition, we sampled six more plants which are linked to mind-altering practices through Mesoa...
A multiyear field project focused on long-distance causeways between Uci and Cansahcab in Yucatan... more A multiyear field project focused on long-distance causeways between Uci and Cansahcab in Yucatan, Mexico, supports their use for processions and pilgrimages, their role in the creation of multisite polities, and their involvement in the constitution of local authority. Yet details of the causeways’ construction suggest that people contested this authority. Work was central to these dynamics and comes in the form of labor as practice, investments in the maintenance of relations with other-than-human beings, and the ways that causeways produced embodied experiences that were ideal for their use in pilgrimages.
Despite the success of lidar in making ancient features visible in certain tropical environments,... more Despite the success of lidar in making ancient features visible in certain tropical environments, researchers often have difficulty using lidar to identify small, low, non-linear features. This study juxtaposes lidar data with data gathered from pedestrian survey along the Ucí-Cansahcab causeway, located in the Northern Maya lowlands, to assess the degree to which the invisibility of small buildings in lidar imagery affects demographic research. The juxtaposition shows that demographic research with lidar can move forward in some cases once pedestrian survey has been used as a baseline to establish correction factors for using lidar data on their own. Another current barrier to the use of lidar is cost. This paper provides examples of the kinds of questions that can be addressed by projects with smaller budgets and, therefore, smaller amounts of lidar coverage. These questions include site size comparisons and the degree to which settlement clustered around ancient features such as ...
Chunchucmil, centro urbano del noroeste de Yucatán, fue uno de los sitios mayas más extensos y de... more Chunchucmil, centro urbano del noroeste de Yucatán, fue uno de los sitios mayas más extensos y densamente poblados del Clásico Temprano, aunque no tiene textos glíficos ni pirámides enormes. Diez temporadas de mapeo han revelado que el sitio tuvo un patrón de asentamiento complejo que se puede dividr en varias zonas, basándose en datos tales como: la presencia de conjuntos arquitectónicos ceremoniales, la densidad de residencias y el nivel departicipación en la economía urbana. Esta investigación se enfoca en el difícil trabajo de definir los límites de la ciudad y presentar estimaciones sobre el tamaño de su población.
Hutson, Scott and Jacob A. Welch
2016 Neighborhoods at Chunchucmil. In The Ancient Urban Maya: Ne... more Hutson, Scott and Jacob A. Welch 2016 Neighborhoods at Chunchucmil. In The Ancient Urban Maya: Neighborhoods, Inequality, and Built Form, pp. 97-138. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
Traditionally, settlement archeology of the Classic Maya Lowlands recognizes several intermediate... more Traditionally, settlement archeology of the Classic Maya Lowlands recognizes several intermediate residential units between the house and the site. For over 50 years, the concept of neighborhood has been mentioned occasionally, but conclusive case studies are still rare. Yet the concept raises the important issue of the internal social structures of communities and their relationships. After briefly describing the methods that have helped identify intermediate units in the recently studied sites of La Joyanca (Petén, Guatemala) and Yaxché (Yucatan, Mexico), we consider the implications of such units within their larger social and political landscapes.
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Books by Scott Hutson
has focused on the importance of water
management for ancient Maya societies, and
more generally on the cultural and economic
significance of water as a resource. But how
did this change across the centuries as cycles
of drought and sea level rise, together with
the growingMaya footprint on the landscape,
presented new challenges? As the resolution
of climatic records improves, the authors can
begin to show in detail how Maya water
management responded and adapted to such
shifts. This included the manipulation of
aguadas and the development of wetland field
systems, in the process transforming large areas
of the Maya landscape.
Papers by Scott Hutson
has focused on the importance of water
management for ancient Maya societies, and
more generally on the cultural and economic
significance of water as a resource. But how
did this change across the centuries as cycles
of drought and sea level rise, together with
the growingMaya footprint on the landscape,
presented new challenges? As the resolution
of climatic records improves, the authors can
begin to show in detail how Maya water
management responded and adapted to such
shifts. This included the manipulation of
aguadas and the development of wetland field
systems, in the process transforming large areas
of the Maya landscape.
2016 Neighborhoods at Chunchucmil. In The Ancient Urban Maya: Neighborhoods, Inequality, and Built Form, pp. 97-138. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.