Keynote Lecture

3:00 PM Maya Wisdom and the Survival of Our Planet -- Dr. Lisa J. Lucero

Latin American Cultural Center, 4338 Bigelow Blvd

Saturday, March 28

Barco Alcoa Room, Barco Law Building Rm 229

Session I — Pots and People (9:10–10:50 AM)

9:10 Just a little pot: Miniature Ceramics from Late Postclassic Tarascan Tzintzuntzan Revisited -- Amy J. Hirshman & Emma G. Snyder

Miniature ceramic vessels occur in Mesoamerican contexts but remain understudied in the published literature. The miniature vessels and sherds found at the site of Tzintzuntzan, the capital of the Tarascan (P’urépecha) state, then empire (ca. 1350-1525 AD), in what is now the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin, in Michoacán, western México, are therefore present an opportunity and an interesting puzzle. This study revisits the two earlier suggestions from the basin’s archaeological literature, that they were either spindle bowls or ritual objects, and considers additional research since these were discussed in the 1940s and 1990s. Additional research includes both geochemical data on ceramic pastes and archaeological surveys and excavations at other sites within the basin. This paper provides greater contextualization of miniature ceramic production and their presence within the ceramic provisioning structure at Tzintzuntzan, the capital of the second largest Mesoamerican empire in the Late Postclassic.

9:30 A Late Preclassic Maya Ceramic Production Locale at Altar de Sacrificios -- Amelia Thompson & Jessica Munson

Primary contexts of ceramic production provide important insight on the organization of economic systems in past societies. Although most research points to households as the primary organizing unit of ceramic production in ancient Maya society, very few production loci have been identified. In this paper, we describe evidence for a pit kiln feature, manufacturing tools, and primary refuse from ceramic production recovered from a communal structure located in the rural zone surrounding Altar de Sacrificios, Guatemala. Radiocarbon dates from this deposit and associated ceramic artifacts indicate production activities occurred at this location during the Late Preclassic period (300 – 100 BCE). Our findings provide multiple lines of evidence for primary production of ceramics. Results indicate rural residents engaged in independent production activities, making their own cooking and serving vessels for potential use in household and communal consumption activities. This research provides some of the first direct evidence of Late Preclassic ceramic production localities in the Maya lowland region.

9:50 Understanding Wealth and Status Through Household Ceramic Assemblages at Actuncan -- Rebekah Metz & Kara A. Fulton

Ceramics in the Maya world can serve as key indicators of social identity and can be used to show variations in economic status throughout a site. At Actuncan, a Maya center located in Cayo, Belize, assemblages from two different household groups were compared to model changes in wealth from the Late (AD 600 to 780) to Terminal Classic (AD 780 to 1000) Periods. Here we report on formal ceramic analysis to look for indicators of changing wealth, status, and household role by focusing on vessel size, form, function, and decoration. These findings are then contextualized in previous research on household architecture and neighborhood dynamics at Actuncan. In a broader sense, we explore how wealth differences across time can help to guide our interpretations of how households interact within and beyond their communities.

10:10 Status of the Maya Elite as Defined by Polychrome Pottery and Other Related Artifacts in the City of El Perú-Waká -- Emily Bertin

El Perú-Waká is an ancient Maya city that was rediscovered in the 1960s by petroleum workers in modern day Petén, Guatemala and has been excavated since 2003. One of the longest surviving cities within the Maya civilization, the city was located on a major trade route and it is ranked in the top three cities with advanced ceramic traditions. More commonly referred to as Waká, it is the largest archaeological site in the Laguna del Tigre National Park in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve and has been discovered to have once been a strong political hub. After conducting in-person research in the laboratory and the field over the summers of 2022, 2024 and 2025, I analyzed the current and pre-existing polychrome and non-polychrome distribution data from the test pits located within the household excavations.  Through this ceramic data, it can be established that in the city of Waká, there was a presence of class identifiers and inequality present within the collected ceramic dataset. This research discusses the participation and analysis of their class system, with the direct correlation pointing at instances of inequality through the household archaeological evidence.

10:30 The Evolution of Social Networks in the Upper Belize River Valley during the Early and Middle Preclassic (1200–300 BC) Periods -- J. Britt Davis

This project uses ceramic Neutron Activation Analysis data to reconstruct social networks among sites in the Upper Belize River Valley during the Early (1200–900 BC), Early Middle (900–600 BC), and Late Middle Preclassic (600–300 BC) periods. By modeling these networks across time, the study examines how social and economic interactions evolved within the region. Valued Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) are employed to evaluate the effects of both site-specific and regional factors—such as the presence of E-Groups, geographic distance, triad closure, exchange volume, and reciprocity—on network formation. Results indicate that by the Early Preclassic, certain villages were preferentially trading with one another, though these relationships were not reciprocal. During the Early Middle Preclassic, villages with E-Groups acted primarily as exporters, and triads closed less frequently than expected, suggesting the emergence of brokerage roles within the network. By the Late Middle Preclassic, villages with E-Groups transitioned to being primarily importers, while distance and subregional triadic closure increasingly shaped network structure. The higher-than-expected rate of triad closure during this period points to growing advantages for villages occupying brokerage positions. These findings have significant implications for understanding the development of political and economic organization in the region, suggesting that the roots of political-economic power can be traced to these early network brokers. 

Session II — Trade, Wealth, and Precious Materials (11:10 AM-12:30 PM)

11:10 The Power of Precious Stones: Vibrancy of Political Insignias in the Teuchitlán Culture -- Cristian Rene Ramirez

The goal of this investigation includes a provenience and symbolic study of jewelry sometimes referred to as ornaments or eccentrics, and their role as political insignias within the complex societies of the Teuchitlán culture (500 BC- 200 CE). Common themes associated with these ornaments include anthropomorphism and zoomorphism, mortuary contexts, and the Late Formative period. An in depth understanding of the symbolism behind the prestige goods of these ornaments found in shaft tombs throughout the Tequila Valleys in Central Jalisco can help us understand the specialization and exchange of these materials and ideas. The obsidian, jade, and shell used to create these eccentric artifacts are associated with supernatural forces, the cosmos, and fertility. 

11:30 Ledger Sovereignty: Debt, Accounting, and the Structure of Money in Colonial Mexican Haciendas -- Dean M. Blumenfeld

This paper reinterprets the political economy of colonial Mexican haciendas through the framework of ledger sovereignty, which refers to the capacity of nonstate institutions to create and regulate money through accounting rather than coin. Conventional economic histories portray colonial Mexico as chronically cash poor, emphasizing shortages of silver coin and the resulting stagnation. Evidence from the cuentas de sirvientes (servant accounts) of seven estates belonging to the Fondo Piadoso de las Californias demonstrates that haciendas functioned as internally coherent monetary systems. Within these ledgers, wages were credited, provisions and advances were debited, and balances were continuously recalculated, transforming labor and subsistence into quantified obligations. The resulting system of credit and debt substituted for metallic currency, binding workers to estates through persistent indebtedness while also addressing the problem of coin scarcity. Drawing on heterodox monetary theories such as the credit theory of money, Chartalism, and Modern Monetary Theory, this paper argues that monetary sovereignty can extend beyond the state to any institution capable of defining a unit of account, issuing credit, and enforcing repayment. By analyzing the organization of credit, labor, and value within the hacienda, this study reveals how bookkeeping itself became a technology of governance that collapsed economic calculation and social control into a single administrative framework. Thus, the concept of ledger sovereignty reframes money not as a circulating thing but as a recorded relation, demonstrating how colonial institutions produced monetary authority through ink, paper, and obligation rather than coin.

11:50 Differential Distribution and Valuation of Obsidian at the Lowland Maya Center of Baking Pot, Belize -- Nicholas Suarez, Claire Ebert, Bryan Hanks, James Davenport, Julie Hoggarth, & Jaime Awe

Among the ancient lowland Maya, obsidian imported from the Guatemalan and Mexican highlands was used for both utilitarian and ceremonial purposes and was accessible at all levels of the socio-political hierarchy. Geochemical sourcing of obsidian artifacts, however, demonstrates that access to particular obsidian sources may have varied by household status, with different sources preferentially used for specific activities across Maya society. Here we present combined portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) and contextual data from over 2,500 obsidian artifacts from Preclassic to Terminal Classic (ca. 900 BCE - CE 900/1000) contexts from the regional polity of Baking Pot in the upper Belize River Valley Region of the eastern Maya Lowlands. Architectural and other contextual data is used to reconstruct both the status/hierarchical context of the obsidian’s distribution (e.g., elite, intermediate elite, or commoner) and its behavioral/systemic context (e.g., workshops, mortuary goods, ritual deposits, waste). The results demonstrate preferential use of obsidian from El Chayal, Guatemala, in ritual and ceremonial contexts, and differences in access to this resource between elites and commoners. These findings carry broader implications for understanding the development and evolution of inequality in resource access in ancient societies.

12:10 Playing with Death: A Patolli Gameboard from a Masonry Crypt at El Jovero, Chiapas, Mexico -- G. Van Kollias III

Archaeological examples of the enigmatic boardgame patolli are known from contexts across the Maya region dating to the Late Classic (AD 250-900) and Postclassic (AD 900/950-1100). Researchers have identified patolli boards within architectural complexes, inscribed on monumental stelae, etched into ceramic artifacts, and are found in palaces and pauper’s homes alike. This cultural phenomenon offers a glimpse into little understood arenas of ancient Maya life including gameplay, gambling, and leisure. This paper discusses the significance of patolli within the Middle Usumacinta River Region as variations in the game board can be understood as unique styles known from the archaeological sites of Piedras Negras, El Cayo, and La Mar, among others. I contextualize a patolli board inscribed on a laja, or capstone, associated with the burial architecture of a masonry crypt excavated during the 2023 field season at the archaeological site of El Jovero, Chiapas, Mexico. In doing so, I take the opportunity to relate this finding to a broader program of research concerned with identifying and interpreting political frontiers and borderlands in the region, as they represent physical and social interstices in which cultural and ethnic exchange occurred. It is here that new practices emerged and dispersed from a commingling of ideas, and distinct cultural activities formed. Patolli presents a unique opportunity to understand how daily life and social activities took place outside the broader political interactions and concerns of the ruling elite that often occupy archaeological inquiry.

Session III — Urbanization and Architecture I (2:40 AM-3:40 PM)

2:40 On Top of Triadics: Embedded Triadic Architecture in the Maya Lowlands viewed from Actuncan, Belize -- Liliana Cheek, Rachel Aung, Liam Heppard, & David Mixter

Across the Maya Lowlands, many of the largest architectural complexes take on a triadic form with one main pyramidal temple flanked by two smaller temples forming square plaza. Known as Triadic Groups, these groups often have a nested form, with a smaller triad of buildings constructed on top of the larger central pyramid. In this paper, we begin to delineate on the geographic range, architectural form, and ritual function of these nested summit structures. Located in an elevated position well above the plaza level, activities in these elevated plazas would have been shielded from the eyes of people in the public space below, creating a hidden enclave reaching towards the sky. Here, we report on the Summer 2025 field season at Actuncan Belize, during which we initiated a program of excavations along the centerline of the nested Triadic Group and documented looters’ trenches into the elevated flanking structures. Additionally, we began experimentation using a handheld lidar scanner to produce photorealistic Gaussian splats that enable archival documentation of the archaeological process as well as experiential engagement with the finds. The results of these excavations point to an intensive sequence of construction and ritual activities that point to the enduring significance of this Late and Terminal Preclassic (400 BC to AD 250) architecture over centuries through the Terminal Classic period (AD 780 to 1000). These findings will be contextualized within wider patterns found from research Triadic Groups across the Maya Lowlands.

3:00 Ongoing Investigations of a Range Structure at the Ancient Maya City of Pacbitun, Belize -- Norbert Stanchly, Pete Demarte, & Terry G. Powis

Monumental architecture is a hallmark of Maya Civilization. One form of monumental architecture that is ubiquitous in Maya city centers are range structures. Range structures are a class of building that have been defined as “long, multi-roomed buildings located adjacent to public locales such as plazas in a number of Maya centres”. The form exhibits a great amount of variability but generally exhibit a series of rooms built from stone with several doorways, walls, and often have benches in one or more of their rooms. Roofing was constructed from either stone or perishable materials. Structure 8 at the Maya site of Pacbitun represents the northernmost building in Plaza B and marks a boundary for both Plaza B and Plaza D and measures approximately 80 metres in length, 15 metres in width and 12 metres in height. The structure is identified as a range structure and has a summit measuring approximately 70 metres in length and between 3-5 metres in width. Although mapped by Paul Healy during his investigations at Pacbitun in the 1980s, the structure had not been subject to any intensive excavation. We report on preliminary findings from the 2023 and 2025 field seasons with an aim to understand the building’s chronology, function, and relationship to plazas B and D and the Pacbitun site core.

3:20 Structure B-5 and the Materialization of Collapse in the Terminal Classic Maya Lowlands -- Kirby Farah

This presentation introduces preliminary archaeological data from the 2024 field season at Chan Chich, Belize, focusing on Courtyard B-1 near the site’s civic-ceremonial core. Courtyard B-1 dates to the Late Classic (AD 600-900), with renovations into the Terminal Classic period (ca. AD 800–900), a time associated with the broader “Classic Maya collapse.” Of particular interest is Structure B-5, located just northeast of the main courtyard complex. Although clearly incomplete, Structure B-5 lacks the signatures of rapid abandonment observed at other sites in the Maya Lowlands, such as discarded tools or piles of unused construction material. Instead, the building’s unfinished state may reflect a more gradual process of decline in local labor organization. If construction at Chan Chich relied on seasonal labor, then the absence of further work on B-5 might suggest that one labor cycle was completed but never resumed. This possibility invites broader consideration of how workflows and labor rhythms materialized the process of collapse in regions where it unfolded incrementally rather than abruptly. By examining unfinished architecture, we may gain new insight into the temporal and social texture of the Classic Maya collapse, particularly the ways in which political instability translated into disruptions in labor. Because these interpretations remain preliminary, this presentation seeks feedback on how best to evaluate the material and contextual evidence for incomplete construction, a question that will guide future fieldwork in Courtyard B-1 and Structure B-5 during the 2026 season. 

Session IV — Urbanization and Architecture II (4:00-5:00 PM)

4:00 Maya Cities as an Egg? Theoretical Flexibility in Conceptions of Maya Urbanization Processes -- Damien B. Marken

The archaeological recognition of ancestral Lowland Maya settlement aggregations as true cities, following decades of largely stagnant debate, has resulted in an explosion the study of Maya urbanism. Supported by the proliferation of available lidar data, these have investigations become more nuanced and varied, with increasingly detailed individual case studies. Despite these monumental positive advances, the contiguous and dispersed nature of Lowland settlement has proven challenging for developing comparative methods for defining city limits, as well as the broader question: what constitutes a Maya city? Using the urban planner Cedric Price’s “The City as an Egg” sketch as a conceptual starting point, this paper will first examine the historical evolution of scholarly depictions of Maya cities before exploring more recent urban theory perspectives to developing an archaeology of Maya urbanism. As exemplified by nearly twenty years of archaeological research at El Perú-Waka’, Petén, Guatemala, no single theoretical perspective, or model can adequately capture the innumerable dynamics that constituted a Maya city in their entirety. Instead, different perspectives and models need to be tailored to address specific questions about ancestral Maya cities. Indeed, maintaining a degree theoretical flexibility will be necessary for an archaeology of Maya urbanism into the future.

4:20 Peripheral Power: Rethinking the Role of Minor Centers in Ancient Maya Sociopolitical Systems -- Brett Meyer, John P. Walden, Julie A. Hoggarth, Claire E. Ebert, & Jaime J. Awe

Many models have been developed to explain ancient Maya political dynamics. While most focus on polity-level interactions, some have explored the middle tiers of ancient Maya society. Traditionally, models segment subordinate sites based on administrative complexity or degree of ceremonial architecture. In the upper Belize River Valley, a six-tier settlement system has been used to classify sites based on architectural traits and potential for ceremonial integration. This system has been used to interpret the function of these sites based on their position within the sociopolitical hierarchy. This typology, however, was developed using lidar and survey data, but has not been systematically tested with excavation data. The question remains: Are all sites of a given tier internally cohesive, or are they morphologically similar but functionally different? Excavations conducted by the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance (BVAR) Project over the last 30 years provide the data to test these questions. While it is clear that polity capitals are unique, it is less clear whether sites in the middle tiers are different and autonomous enough to warrant separation. We explore the variety of forms exhibited by upper and middle-level intermediate elite centers and discuss their possible functions. The results indicate that while secondary centers are qualitatively and quantitatively different than tertiary sites, they display a diversity of functions likely influenced by occupation history, social relationships, political dynamics, and geographic location.

4:40 Return to Sebol (not Ceibal): Revisiting a Site on the Maya Highland-Lowland Interface -- Matt O'Mansky

The site of Sebol is located in the Alta Verapaz, Guatemala and may be the largest known site along the transversal, the east-west route of trade and communication along the base of the highlands, running from Mexico to the Caribbean. Preliminary research was conducted at the stie in 2008 and 2009 but ceased when the owner of the property on which the site is located was arrested. The family of the owner appears now to be receptive to our return to the site. In this paper, I describe Sebol and summarize our previous work before discussing tentative future plans and the significance of the site.

Sunday, March 29

Barco Alcoa Room, Barco Law Building Rm 229

Session V — Human-Environment Interactions (9:00-10:20 AM)

9:00 Visualizing the Past: GIS Insights into Settlement and Water Management at Cerros and Sarteneja, Belize -- Melissa Teja, Bryan Haley, & Gabriel Wrobel

The archaeological survey of the southern coast of Chetumal Bay has revealed extensive evidence of complex Maya settlements with sophisticated water management systems. Earlier investigations utilized low resolution radar to identify these features. Here, we present a new analysis of the landscape surrounding the sites of Cerros and Sarteneja, Belize, emphasizing the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to integrate and analyze data from drone-based LiDAR, legacy radar and terrestrial surveys, and ground-truthing. This GIS-based approach enables a systematic reconstruction of the ancient landscape and provides a framework for identifying areas most at risk from ongoing modern development, which is rapidly erasing subtle yet significant archaeological features. This study aims to refine methodologies for future excavation, interpretation, and long-term preservation of the Maya archaeological landscape.

9:20 The Landscape of Water: Investigations of Water Management in the Belize River Valley -- Casandra Paiz, Claire Ebert, & Julie Hoggarth

Water is fundamental to human survival, yet in many environments access can be unpredictable. In the upper Belize River Valley, a region of the Maya lowlands, where rainfall is highly seasonal and porous limestone bedrock limits natural surface water, ancient communities engineered sophisticated techniques to secure and manage water. This presentation summarizes preliminary findings from the 2025 pilot field season with the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance (BVAR) Project. This fieldwork laid essential groundwork for understanding what strategies ancient Maya communities used at two sites, Yaxox and Baking Pot. Excavations were primarily aimed at reservoirs and catchment areas at these sites, as well as expanding the record of surveyed water features. Results demonstrate that substantial water infrastructure existed at both sites yet differed in form and management. These pilot results directly inform the field season’s research objective by demonstrating labor-intensive water infrastructure that were clearly maintained and defined, and that elites may have had access to more stable water sources, such as springs, that were able to be reutilized through multiple periods of time. Comparatively, water features around the site core were marked by the use of natural water sources, such as streams, and had a less formal development of their systems. Potential differentiation between elite and community-level features indicate a level of permanence and prioritization of water storage rather than waterway modification in site core features.

9:40 Exploring Environment-Human-Animal Relationships and Indigenous Sustainability in Central Belize -- Yifan Wang & Rachel M. Taylor

This study explores the trends of human-animal interactions and Maya sustainability in the Valley of Peace Archaeology (VOPA) project area from the Late Preclassic to Postclassic periods (c. 300 BCE-1100 CE) by applying preliminary zooarchaeological and stable isotopic analyses of fauna from Yalbac, Cara Blanca, Saturday Creek, and surrounding rural house mounds. Evidence shows that the Maya at Saturday Creek along the Belize River from the 7th century BCE to the 16th century CE did not appear to degrade the environment. However, the Maya abandoned Yalbac and Cara Blanca before the Postclassic period (c. 900 CE). The Maya in this region likely had differential access to animals between commoner and elite households. Among the construction fills are several different special faunal deposits, including two large cats, a grey fox, and armadillo scutes. Finally, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope analyses reflect one deer's access to maize and indicate extended dry seasons with frequent climate variability during Late and Terminal Classic, which is also supported by other zooarchaeological analyses (c. 600-900 CE).

10:00 Ritual Materiality in the Upper Belize River Valley: A Comparative Analysis of Dedication, Termination, and Pilgrimage Practices -- Emma R. Messinger & Claire Ebert

Maya elites materialized their power and authority through offerings of symbolic objects during public and private events, including feasts, temple dedications and terminations, and ancestor veneration rituals. Archaeologically, these activities are well-documented across Mesoamerica from the Preclassic through the Postclassic, consisting of unique, densely concentrated assemblages, intentionally interred and typically associated with monumental architecture and noble residences. This study presents a comparative analysis from unpublished and previously documented dedicatory, termination, and peri-abandonment contexts in the upper Belize River Valley to identify material patterns between sites and ritual categories and examine shifts in ritual practices over time.

Session VI — Isotope Research (10:40-11:00 AM)

10:40  Food, Status, and Access in the Classic Maya Lowlands: Isotopic Evidence from Baking Pot -- Olivia Ellis, Claire Ebert, John Walden, Jaime Awe, & Julie Hoggarth

Studies of food consumption in Classic Maya society have often highlighted significant differences between commoner and elite populations. Iconographic depictions of elites on polychrome vessels and murals often emphasize access to luxury food items, while archaeological investigations have pointed to differences in the proportions of maize consumption or access to certain foods, such as cacao, high-quality protein sources, or other “luxury” goods. However, dietary differences between social groups were far more nuanced, and commoners often had access to food items similar to those consumed by elites. Using Baking Pot, Belize, as a case study, this presentation draws on carbon and nitrogen isotope dietary data from 56 individuals representing different social tiers to explore differences and similarities in diet across social groups. Overall, both carbon and nitrogen values are similar across social strata, indicating that commoners had access to the same general foodstuffs as elites. Instead, differences in consumption were likely related to food quality and preparation practices. Examining this isotopic dataset alongside other archaeological lines of evidence, including faunal and ceramic assemblages, challenges traditional narratives of elite and commoner behavior and allows for more fine-grained discussions of how social groups defined themselves through foodways.

Session VII — Meta-Archaeology (11:00 AM-11:40 PM)

11:00 Documentary Filmmaking and Visual Anthropology at the Maya Site of San Bartolo -- Riley Mallory

The Preclassic Maya site of San Bartolo in the Petén region of Guatemala displays the oldest artwork in the Maya world: ancient in-situ mural paintings. These detailed masterpieces depict a Maya cosmovision and local flora and fauna. For over 20 years, archaeological investigations have been conducted at the site. Most recently, through a combination of visual media and archaeology, the project produced a short documentary as a means of science communication and providing a new way of understanding the Maya Forest. Three years of work under the “Murals in Landscape” initiative resulted in The San Bartolo Murals, a film co-produced with the San Bartolo project directors Heather Hurst and Boris Beltrán. The film explores the history of the site, its mural paintings, and current research objectives. It is a testament to the power of documentary filmmaking techniques in an archaeological context. Anthropologists may share their work more widely with the world outside academia, increasing education on the past and fighting disinformation. The San Bartolo Project includes both filmmaking and ecological research through collaborative camera trap photography in its research process. By combining archaeology and visual anthropology, we share a more comprehensive, ethically grounded, and interdisciplinary account of the Maya landscape. 

11:20 Epistemological Fragments from an Archaeologist Living in a Post-Industrial World -- David Mixter

As an archaeologist studying the Maya, I have long grappled with the idea of ruins: In what ways are ruins of the past relevant to the present day? How are they relevant to local communities? Working across multiple temporalities, how were physical vestiges relevant to the Maya communities in pre-Colonial contexts? Living in post-industrial Broome County, which is littered with the remains (ruins?) of the industrial local past, has provided me with new context for understanding Maya ruins. This presentation will outline the emerging intersections between my archaeological work at the Maya city of Actuncna, Belize and Broome County-centered ethnographic projects.

Closings (11:40-12:00 PM)