Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-nwzlb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-17T21:49:04.071Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

In Search of an Ancient Maya Market

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Bruce H. Dahlin
Affiliation:
Center for Environmental Studies, Shepherd College, 443 Turner Road, Shepherdstown, WV 254443 (dahlin.bruceh@gmail.com)
Christopher T. Jensen
Affiliation:
Department of Plant and Animal Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602
Richard E. Terry
Affiliation:
Department of Plant and Animal Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602 (richard_terry@byu.edu)
David R. Wright
Affiliation:
Department of Plant and Animal Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602
Timothy Beach
Affiliation:
305-O Intercultural Center, Georgetown University, Box 571032, Washington, DC 20057 (beacht@georgetown.edu)

Abstract

Market economies are notoriously difficult to identify in the archeological record. This is particularly true in the subtropical Maya lowlands of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize because most utilitarian items and consumables were made of highly perishable materials. We explore the hypothesis that ancient marketplaces can be identified through analysis of chemical residues in soils from open and easily accessible spaces in and about ancient Maya cities. We compared soil chemical signatures from a credible ancient marketplace location in the specialized trade center of Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico to those from a modern marketplace at Antigua, Guatemala. We found extraordinarily high concentrations of phosphorus and zinc in the soil of Chunchucmil's proposed marketplace and the same high concentrations correlate well with food preparation and vegetable sales areas at the modern marketplace. These methods hold promise in resolving the vexing question of how large ancient Maya urban populations were sustained.

Resumen

Resumen

Las economías de mercado son característicamente difíciles de identificar dentro del registro arqueológico; y mucho más en las tierras bajas mayas sub-tropicales de México, Guatemala y Belice, ya que la mayor parte de artefactos utilitarios y de consumo fueron confeccionados con materiales perecederos. Exploramos la hipótesis de que los antiguos lugares de mercado pueden ser identificados a través del análisis de residuos químicos en las áreas abiertas y de fácil acceso, dentro y cerca de las antiguas ciudades mayas. Comparamos las características químicas del suelo de un posible antiguo lugar de mercado, dentro del centro especializado de intercambio de Chunchucmil, Yucatán, con las características de suelo del mercado moderno de Antigua Guatemala. Encontramos altas concentraciones de fósforo y zinc en el suelo del supuesto lugar de mercado de Chunchucmil y las mismas se correlacionan con aquellas del mercado moderno en donde se preparan y venden vegetales. Estos métodos parecen ser prometedores para resolver la interrogante de cómo subsistían las grandes poblaciones urbanas mayas.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Andrews, Anthony P. 1983 Ancient Salt Production and Trade, University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Andrews, Anthony P. 1990 The Role of Trading Ports in Maya Civilization. In Vision and Revision in Maya Studies, edited by Flora S. Clancy and Peter D. Harrison, pp. 159167. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Barba, Luis, and Ortiz, Agustín 1992 Análisis químico de pisos de ocupación: un caso etnográfico en Tlaxcala, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity 3:6382.Google Scholar
Barba, Luis, and Ortiz, Agustín 2001 A Methodological Approach for the Study of Archaeological Remains in Urban Context. In 32nd International Symposium Archaeometry, edited by Luis Barba, pp. CD-ROM. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Barba, Luis, Ortiz, Agustín, Link, Karl, Luján, L. López, and Lazos, L. 1996 Chemical Analysis of Residues in Floors and the Reconstruction of Ritual Activities at the Templo Mayor, Mexico. In Archaeological Chemistry: Organic, Inorganic, and Biochemical Analysis, edited by M. V. Orna, pp. 139156. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC. Google Scholar
Barrera Vásquez, Alfredo 1980 Diccionario Maya Cordemex. Ediciones Cordemex, Mérida.Google Scholar
Beach, Timothy 1998 Soil Constraints on Northwest Yucatan Mexico: Pedoarchaeology and Maya Subsistence at Chunchucmil. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 13:759791.3.0.CO;2-B>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berdan, Frances F. 2003 The Economy of Postclassic Mesoamerica. In The Postclassic Mesoamerican World, edited by Michael E. Smith and Francis F. Berdan, pp. 9395. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Berdan, Frances F., Masson, Marilyn A., Gasco, Janine, and Smith, Michael E. 2003 The International Economy. In The Postclassic Mesoamerican World, edited by Michael E. Smith, pp. 96116. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Blanton, Richard E., Fargher, Lane F., and Heredia Espinoza, Verenice Y. 2005 The Mesoamerican World of Goods and its Transformations, in Settlement, Subsistence, and Social Complexity: Essays Honoring the Legacy of Jeffrey R. Parsons, edited by Richard E. Blanton, pp. 295301. University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Bromley, Ray J. 1978 Traditional and Modern Change in the Growth of Systems of Market Centres in Highland Ecuador. In Marketplace Trade: Periodic Markets, Hawkers, and Traders in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, edited by Robert H. T. Smith, pp. 3147. Centre for Transportation Studies, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.Google Scholar
Brumfiel, , Elizabeth, H. 1980 Specialization, Market Exchange, and the Aztec State: A View from Huexotla. Current Anthropology 21:459478.Google Scholar
Cavanagh, W G., Hirst, S., and Litton, C. D. 1988 Soil Phosphate, Site Boundaries, and Change Point Analysis. Journal of Field Archaeology 15:6783.Google Scholar
Chase, Arlen F., and Chase, Diane Z. 2001 Ancient Maya Causeways and Site Organization at Caracol, Belize. Ancient Mesoamerica 12:273282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coe, William R. 1967 Tikal: A Handbook of the Ancient Maya Ruins. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania., Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Collier, Albert 1964 The American Mediterranean. Handbook of Middle American Indians 1:122142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, Scott, and Diskin, Martin 1976 The Peasant Market Economy of the Valley of Oaxaca in Analysis and History. In Markets in Oaxaca, edited by Scott Cook and Martin Diskin, pp. 625. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Costin, Cathy L. 1991 Craft Specialization: Issues in Defining, Documenting, and Explaining the Organization of Production. Archaeological Method and Theory 3:156.Google Scholar
Dahlin, Bruce H. 2000 The Barricade and Abandonment of Chunchucmil: Implications for Northern Maya Warfare. Latin American Antiquity 11:283298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahlin, Bruce H. 2003 Chunchucmil: A Complex Economy in NW Yucatan. Mexicon 25:129138.Google Scholar
Dahlin, Bruce H., Andrews, Andiony P., Beach, Timothy, Bezanilla, Clara, Farrell, Patrice, Luzzadder-Beach, Sheryl, and McCormick, Valerie 1998 Punta Canbalam in Context: A Peripatetic Coastal Site in Northwest Campeche, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 9:115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahlin, Bruce H., and Ardren, Traci 2002 Modes of Exchange and Regional Patterns: Chunchucmil, Yucatan. In Ancient Maya Political Economies, edited by Marilyn A. Masson and David. A. Freidel, pp. 249284. Altamira, New York.Google Scholar
Dahlin, Bruce H., Beach, Timothy, Luzzadder-Beach, Sheryl, Hixson, David, Hutson, Scott, Magnoni, Aline, Mansell, Eugenia, and Mazeau, Daniel E. 2005 Reconstructing Agricultural Self-Sufficiency at Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 16:229247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahlin, Bruce H., and Jones, John 1998 Preliminary Paleoecological Studies at Chunchucmil. Paper presented at the 63rd annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Seattle.Google Scholar
Diaz del Castillo, Bernal 1956 The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico, 1517–1521. Farrar, Strauss and Cudahy, New York.Google Scholar
Drennan, Robert D. 1984a Long-Distance Movement of Goods in the Mesoamerican Formative and Classic. American Antiquity 49:2743.Google Scholar
Drennan, Robert D. 1984b Long-Distance Transport Costs in Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. American Anthropologist 86:105112.Google Scholar
Durston, John M. 1976 Organización Social de los Mercados Campesinos en el Centro de Michoacan México. Instituto Nacional Inde-genista y Secretaria de Educacion Pública, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Entwistle, Jane A., and Abrahams, Peter W. 1997 Multi-Element Analysis of Soils and Sediments from Scottish Historical Sites. The Potential of Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry for Rapid Site Investigation. Journal of Archaeological Science 25:5368.Google Scholar
Entwistle, Jane A., Abrahams, Peter W., and Dodgshon, Robert A. 1998 Multi-Element Analysis of Soils from Scottish Historical Sites: Interpreting Land-Use History Through the Physical and Geochemical Analysis of Soil. Journal of Archaeological Science 25:5368.Google Scholar
Farriss, Nancy M. 1984 Maya Society Under Colonial Rule. Princeton University Press, Princeton.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernández, Fabián G., Terry, Richard E., Inomata, Takeshi, and Eberl, Markus 2002 An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Chemical Residues in the Floors and Soil of Q’eqchi’ Maya Houses at Las Pozas, Guatemala. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 17:487519.Google Scholar
Foias, Antonia E. 2002 At the Crossroads: The Economic Basis of Political Power in the Petexbatun Region. In Ancient Maya Political Economies, edited by Marilyn A. Masson and David Freidel, pp. 223248. Altamira Press, Walnut Creek, California.Google Scholar
Folan, William J., Kintz, Ellen R., and Fletcher, Lorraine A. 1983 Cobá: A Classic Maya Metropolis. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Fox, Richard 1977 Urban Anthropology. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Gasco, Janine, and Berdan, Frances F. 2003 International Trade Centers. In The Postclassic Mesoamerican World, edited by Michael E. Smith and Francis F. Berdan, pp. 109116. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Gormsen, Erdmann 1978 Weekly Markets in the Puebla Region of Mexico. In Market-Place Trade: Periodic Markets, Hawkers, and Traders in Africa, Asia and Latin America, edited by Robert H. T. Smith, pp. 240253. Centre for Transportation Studies, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.Google Scholar
Hassig, Ross 1982 Periodic Markets in Precolumbian Mexico. American Antiquity 47:346355.Google Scholar
Hassig, Ross 1985 Trade, Tribute, and Transportation: the Sixteenth-Century Political Economy of the Valley of Mexico. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Hirth, Kenneth 1978 Interregional Trade and the Formation of Prehistoric Gateway Cities. American Antiquity 43:3545.Google Scholar
Hirth, Kenneth 1998 The Distributional Approach: A New Way to Identify Marketplace Exchange in the Archaeological Record. Current Anthropology 39:451476.Google Scholar
Hirth, Kenneth 2000 The Economics of Distribution: Marketplaces, Market Systems, and Long-Distance Trade. Ancient Urbanism at Xochicalco: The Evolution and Organization of a Pre-Hispanic Society, Archaeological Research at Xochicalco Vol. 1, edited by Kenneth Hirth, pp. 182209. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Hutson, Scott 2000 Excavations in Albarrada Group A’Ak, in. In Chunchucmil Regional Economy Project Report of the 1999 Field Season, edited by Traci Ardren. Department of Anthropology, Florida State University, Tallahassee.Google Scholar
Hutson, Scott R., and Terry, Richard E. 2006 Recovering Social and Cultural Dynamics from Plaster Floors: Chemical Analyses at Ancient Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico. Journal of Archaeological Science 33:391404.Google Scholar
Isphording, W. C., and Wilson, E. 1973 Weathering Processes and Physical Subdivisions of Northern Yucatan. Proceedings of the Association of American Geographers 5:117121.Google Scholar
Jones, Christopher 1996 Tikal Report No. 16: Excavations in the East Plaza of Tikal, 2 vols. The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Kepecs, Susan M. 1999 The Political Economy of Chikinchel, Yucatan, Mexico: A Diachronic Analysis from the Prehispanic Era through the Age of Spanish Administration. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor. 2003a Salt Sources and Production. In The Postclassic Mesoamerican World, edited by Michael E. Smith and Francis F. Berdan, pp. 126130. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Kepecs, Susan M. 2003b Chikinchel. In The Postclassic Mesoamerican World, edited by Michael E. Smith and Francis F. Berdan, pp. 268269. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Kepecs, Susan., Feinman, Gary M., and Boucher, S. 1994 Chichén Itzá and Its Hinterlands: A World Systems Perspective. Ancient Mesoamerica 5:141158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Eleanor M., and Potter, Daniel R. 1994 Small Sites in Prehistoric Socioeconomic Organization: A Perspective From Colha, Belize. In Archaeological Views from the Countryside: Village Communities in Early Complex Societies, edited by Glenn M. Schwartz and Steven E. Falconer, pp. 6469. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC. Google Scholar
Kunen, Julie L., and Hughbanks, Paul 2003 Bajo Communities as Resource Specialists. In Hierarchy, Political Economy, and the Ancient Maya: The Three Rivers Region of the East-Central Yucatan Peninsula, edited by Vernon L. Scarborough, Fred Valdez Jr., and Nicholas Dunning, pp. 92108. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Lewis, Brandon S. 2003 Environmental Heterogeneity and Occupational Specialization. In Heterarchy, Political Economy, and the Ancient Maya: The Three Rivers Region of the East-Central Yucatan Peninsula, edited by Vernon L. Scarborough, Fred Valdez Jr., and Nicholas Dunning, pp. 122135. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Lindsay, W. L., and Norvell, W. A. 1978 Development of a DTPA Test for Zinc, Iron, Manganese, and Copper. Soil Science Society of America Journal 42:421428.Google Scholar
Lindskog, P. A. 1979 The Periodic Marketplace Exchange System in Malawi. In Market Place Exchange: Spatial Analysis and Policy, pp. 5363. Geographisches Insitut der Johannes Gutenburg Universität, Mainz.Google Scholar
Magnoni, Aline 2006 Population Estimates at the Ancient Maya City of Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico. Paper presented at the Computer Applications in Archaeology Symposium, Fargo North Dakota.Google Scholar
Mansell, Eugenia B., Jiménez, Socorro, and Freeman, Tara Bond 2002 The Preliminary Ceramic Report for the 2002 Field Season Pakbeh Regional Economy Program. In The Pak-beh Regional Economy Program: Report of the 2002 Field Season, edited by Bruce H. Dahlin and Daniel E. Mazeau. Manuscript on file Sociology/Anthropology Department, Howard University, Washington D.C. Google Scholar
Manzanilla, Linda, and Barba, Luis 1990 The Study of Activities in Classic Households: Two Case Studies From Coba and Teotihuacan. Ancient Mesoamerica 1:4149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mazeau, Daniel E. 2001 Analysis of Lithic Material at Chunchucmil. In The Pakbeh Regional Economy Program: Report of the 2001 Field Season, edited by Bruce H. Dahlin and Daniel E. Mazeau, pp. 126133. Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Howard University, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Mazeau, Daniel E., and Forde, J. E. 2003 Continued Analysis of Lithic Material at Chunchucmil. In The Pakbeh Regional Economy Program: Report of the 2002 Field Season, edited by Bruce H. Dahlin and Daniel E. Mazeau, pp. 133138. Manuscript on file, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Howard University, Washington DC. Google Scholar
Mehlich, A. 1978 New Extractant for Soil Test Evaluation of Phosphorous, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Sodium, Manganese, and Zinc. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 9:477492.Google Scholar
Middleton, William D., and Price, T. Douglas. 1996 Identification of Activity Areas by Multi-Element Characterization of Sediments From Modern and Archaeological House Floors Using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy. Journal of Archaeological Science 23:673687.Google Scholar
Nelson, Darrell W., and Sommers, Lee E. 1996 Total carbon, organic carbon, and organic matter. In Methods of Soil Analysis: Part 3-Chemical Methods, edited by Donald L. Sparks, pp. 961101. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin.Google Scholar
Parnell, J. Jacob, Terry, Richard E., and Golden, Charles 2001 The Use of in-Field Phosphate Testing for the Rapid Identification of Middens at Piedras Negras, Guatemala. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 16:855873.Google Scholar
Parnell, J. Jacob, Terry, Richard E., and Nelson, Zachary 2002a Soil Chemical Analysis Applied As an Interpretive Tool for Ancient Human Activities at Piedras Negras, Guatemala. Journal of Archaeological Science 29:379404.Google Scholar
Parnell, J. Jacob, Terry, Richard E., and Sheets, Payson D. 2002b Soil Chemical Analysis of Ancient Activities in Cerén, El Salvador: A Case Study of a Rapidly Abandoned Site. Latin American Antiquity 13:331342.Google Scholar
Potter, Daniel R., and King, Eleanor M. 1995 A Heterarchical Approach to Lowland Maya Socioeconomics. In Heterarchy and the Analysis of Complex Societies, edited by Robert M. Ehrenreich, Carole L. Crumbley, and Janet E. Levy, pp. 1732. American Anthropological Association, Arlington.Google Scholar
Roys, Ralph, L. 1939 The Titles of Ebtun. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington D.C. Google Scholar
Ruppert, Karl 1952 Chichen Itza, Architectural Notes and Plans. Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C, Publication 595, Washington, DC. Google Scholar
Sabloff, Jeremy A., and Tourtellot, Gair 1992 The Ancient Maya City of Sayil: The Mapping of a Puuc Region Center. Middle American Research Institute, Publication No. 60, Tulane University, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Sahlins, Marshall 1972 Stone Age Economics. Aldine-Atherton, Chicago.Google Scholar
Sanders, William T.m and Webster, David 1988 The Mesoamerican Urban Tradition. American Anthropologist 90:521546.Google Scholar
Sluyter, Andrew 1993 Long-Distance Staple Transport in Western Mesoamerica: Insight Through Quantitative Modeling. Ancient Mesoamerica 4:193220.Google Scholar
Smith, Carol A. 1976a Regional Economic Systems: Linking Geographic Models and Socioeconomic Problems. In Regional Analysis, vol. 1, Social Systems, edited by Carol A. Smith, pp. 367, Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Smith, Carol A. 1976b Analyzing Regional Social Systems. In Regional Analysis, vol. 2, Social Systems, edited by Carol A. Smith, pp. 320, Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Smith, Michael 2003 Key Commodities. In The Postclassic Mesoamerican World, edited by Michael E. Smith and Francis F. Berdan, pp. 117125. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Smith, Michael, and Berdan, Francis F. 2003 The Postclassic Mesoamerican World. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Smith, Michael E. 1979 The Aztec Marketing System and Settlement Pattern in the Valley of Mexico: A Central Place Analysis. American Antiquity 44:110125.Google Scholar
Smith, Robert H. T. 1978 Market-Place Trade: Periodic Markets, Hawkers, and Traders in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Centre for Transportation Studies, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.Google Scholar
Smyth, Michael P., Dore, Christopher D., and Dunning, Nicolas P. 1995 Interpreting Prehistoric Settlement Patterns: Lessons From the Maya Center of Sayil, Yucatan. Journal of Field Archaeology 22:321347.Google Scholar
Tadros, Helmi R., Feteeha, Mohamed, and Hibbard, Allen 1990 Squatter Markets in Cairo. Cairo Papers in Social Science, Vol. 13, Monograph 1, 74 p. The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo.Google Scholar
Taube, Karl A. 1992 The Major Gods of Ancient Yucatán. Studies in Pre-columbian Art and Archaeology, vol. 32, 160 p. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Terry, Richard E. 2006 Soil Chemical Analysis of Extractable Elements, Stable Isotopes, and Biomarkers in Maya A rchaeology. Paper presented at the 71st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Juan, Puerto Rico.Google Scholar
Terry, Richard E., Fernández, Fabián G., Parnell, J. Jacob, and Inomata, Takeshi 2004 The Story in the Floors: Chemical Signatures of Ancient and Modern Maya Activities at Aguateca, Guatemala. Journal of Archaeological Science 31:12371250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terry, Richard E., Hardin, Perry J., Houston, Stephen D., Jackson, Mark W., Nelson, Sheldon D., Carr, Jared, and Parnell, Jacob 2000 Quantitative Phosphorus Measurement: A Field Test Procedure for Archaeological Site Analysis at Piedras Negras, Guatemala. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 15:151166.Google Scholar
Tourtellot, Gair 1988 Excavations at Seibal: Peripheral Survey and Excavation: Settlement and Community Patterns. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum. Vol.16, Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Tozzer, Alfred M. 1941 In Landa’s Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatán, edited by Alfred M. Tozzer. Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology. Vol. 18, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Vlcek, David T., de González, Silvia Garza, and Kurjack, Edward B. 1978 Contemporary Farming and Ancient Maya Settlements: Some Disconcerting Evidence. In Pre-Hispanic Maya Agriculture, edited by Peter D. Harrison and B. L. Turner II, pp. 211223. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
von Oppen, M 1979 The Effects of Inter-Regional Trade and Market Infrastructure on Aggregate Productivity of Agriculture. In Market Place Exchange: Spatial Analysis and Policy, edited by Robert H.T.Smith and Erdmann Gormsen, pp. 89136. Geographisches Institut der Johannes Gutenburg Universität, Mainz.Google Scholar
Webster, David, and Sanders, William T. 2001 The Ancient Mesoamerican City: Theory and Concept. In Reconstruyendo La Ciudad Maya: El Urbanismo en Las Sociedades Antiguas, edited by A. Cuidad Ruiz, M. J. Ponce de Leon, and M. C. Martínez Martines, pp. 3464. Vol. 6, Sociedad Española de Estudios Mayas, Publ. No. 6, Madrid.Google Scholar
Wells, Eric C., Terry, Richard E., Parnell, J. J., Hardin, Perry J., Jackson, Mark W., and Houston, Stephen D. 2000 Chemical Analyses of Ancient Anthrosols in Residential Areas at Piedras Negras, Guatemala. Journal of Archaeological Science 27:449462.Google Scholar
Wurtzburg, Susan J. 1991 Sayil: Investigations of Urbanism and Economic Organization at an Ancient Maya City. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Albany. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar