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Preclassic Maya caches in residential contexts: variation and transformation in deposition practices at Ceibal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2019

Jessica MacLellan Open the ORCID record for Jessica MacLellan [Opens in a new window]
Jessica MacLellan*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, 3302 WWPH, Pittsburgh PA 15260, USA (Email: jam581@pitt.edu)
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Abstract

While Maya public rituals are often assumed to have developed from domestic practices, caches at Ceibal in Guatemala demonstrate the concurrent emergence of distinct domestic and public rituals. During the Middle Preclassic period (c. 1000–350 BC), caches in domestic areas were associated with construction phases—deposited on floors or within construction fills. In the public plaza, however, caches were deposited in intrusive pits. Later, domestic and public ritual practices became more similar. By focusing on deposition processes and deposit context, rather than content, it is possible to recognise distinct ritualised activities that are sometimes obscured by predefined categories such as ‘cache’.

Keywords

MesoamericaMaya lowlandsPreclassic Mayaritualdepositioncaches
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 93 , Issue 371 , October 2019 , pp. 1249 - 1265
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2019 

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