CRSS Phase II Survey: Interactive Map
Click on survey coverage areas for detailed information on each study area
The results of this project provide a holistic regional case study of the Classic to Postclassic transition within multiple dimensions of variability: the political, economic, social and ecological d
Within the political domain, the decline of the distant hegemonic state of Calakmul in the mid-8th Century AD instigated major changes in the geopolitical landscape, the impacts of which reverberated in the northwestern boundaries of the zone controlled by the Snake Dynasty. As the power of the Kaan’ul Dynasty of Calakmul began to wane, former vassals such as the regional state of Edzná became embroiled within increasing political turmoil and instability. Although Champotón was geographically situated far from the Petén epicenter of Classic Maya political dynamics, larger-scale geopolitical dynamics had major impacts within the region. Political links between Late Classic centers in the region with Edzná are clearly reflected in the ceramic assemblage from sites such as Ulumal and San Dimas. Following the decline of Calakmul as powerful patrons of the Edzná polity at the close of the Late Classic Period, epigraphic evidence reflect a period of political instability, with repeated military conflicts. This period of political volatility would culminate in the termination of the local Edzná ruling dynasty and emergence of new rulers with strong links to the Gulf Coast. This change in the political landscape would usher in major changes in the Champotón region, with a shift in political affiliation towards emerging coastal interaction networks. By the Postclassic Period, Champotón would rise to regional prominence as port city and seat of a regional state that controlled much of central Campeche.
The results of this research suggest local dynamics in the Río Champotón drainage were embedded in larger-scale geopolitical developments that would eventually culminate in the collapse and abandonment of large inland city-states in the Southern Maya Lowlands and the emergence of new centers of power in the Northern Maya Lowlands. Although there is strong evidence that climatic change and increasing frequency of droughts could have played a role in the depopulation of the interior regions of the Maya Lowlands, the loss of resilience of the latter societies to environmental perturbation had roots in earlier processes and dynamics. The results of this dissertation indicate that the high degree of resilience among communities in the Río Champotón drainage during this period of turmoil was due to several key factors: an ecological setting that facilitated relatively rapid transformation in food production strategies in the face of climatic instability; the strategic location along the Gulf Coast maritime trade route that would become the dominant trade thoroughfare by the end of the Classic Period; and the successful political reorientation among states in the region from peripheral participation in inland-focused Petén-centric spheres to the emergent international systems of the Postclassic Period.
omains.
Within the economic domain, the Classic to Postclassic transition is characterized by major changes in subsistence systems as well as production and distribution systems of luxury and utilitarian goods. There was a major shift in the subsistence economy from an agriculturally based food production strategy in the Late Classic to extensive exploitation of marine food resources in the Terminal Classic Period, then diversification in the Postclassic Period. Production and distribution of ceramic and lithic goods shift from smaller-scale regional networks of the Classic Period toward participation in an increasingly integrated and commercialized economic system in the Postclassic Period. These dynamics were part of broader pan-Mesoamerican transformations towards increasing internationalism and economic integration.
In the ecological domain, changes in settlement patterns between the Late Classic, Terminal Classic, and Postclassic Periods were part of a fundamental reorganization in the ways that societies interacted with the environment. Large low-density Late Classic centers were consistently located near ecotones between hilly uplands and the Río Champotón alluvial plain, facilitating exploitation of diverse agricultural resources and mitigation of risks due to unpredictable rainfall. This set of coupled socio-ecological dynamics – termed the Low-Density Urban Rainfall Agriculture (LURA) regime – is very similar to contemporary low-density urban societies in the interior zones of the Maya Lowlands. By the end of the Late Classic Period settlements concentrated in large inland centers fell into decline, with a movement of populations to dispersed communities along the coastal margin. This was part of a new set of human environmental dynamics with a clear and notable difference in food production systems towards exploitation of highly productive fisheries in marine and estuary ecozones. This emergent set of human-environmental interactions is termed the Dispersed Coastal Marine (DCM) regime. In the Postclassic Period, there was a second demographic shift back to a more concentrated settlement pattern, with populations increasingly focused within nucleated urban center, including the expanding city of Champotón (Chakanputun). This Postclassic socio-ecological regime – termed the Regional Intensive Diversified (RID) regime – included integration between more specialized communities in diverse ecological zones, with coastal fishing complemented by intensive inland agriculture.
The results of this research suggest local dynamics in the Río Champotón drainage were embedded in larger-scale geopolitical developments that would eventually culminate in the collapse and abandonment of large inland city-states in the Southern Maya Lowlands and the emergence of new centers of power in the Northern Maya Lowlands. Although there is strong evidence that climatic change and increasing frequency of droughts could have played a role in the depopulation of the interior regions of the Maya Lowlands, the loss of resilience of the latter societies to environmental perturbation had roots in earlier processes and dynamics. The results of this dissertation indicate that the high degree of resilience among communities in the Río Champotón drainage during this period of turmoil was due to several key factors: an ecological setting that facilitated relatively rapid transformation in food production strategies in the face of climatic instability; the strategic location along the Gulf Coast maritime trade route that would become the dominant trade thoroughfare by the end of the Classic Period; and the successful political reorientation among states in the region from peripheral participation in inland-focused Petén-centric spheres to the emergent international systems of the Postclassic Period.
Within the political domain, the decline of the distant hegemonic state of Calakmul in the mid-8th Century AD instigated major changes in the geopolitical landscape, the impacts of which reverberated in the northwestern boundaries of the zone controlled by the Snake Dynasty. As the power of the Kaan’ul Dynasty of Calakmul began to wane, former vassals such as the regional state of Edzná became embroiled within increasing political turmoil and instability. Although Champotón was geographically situated far from the Petén epicenter of Classic Maya political dynamics, larger-scale geopolitical dynamics had major impacts within the region. Political links between Late Classic centers in the region with Edzná are clearly reflected in the ceramic assemblage from sites such as Ulumal and San Dimas. Following the decline of Calakmul as powerful patrons of the Edzná polity at the close of the Late Classic Period, epigraphic evidence reflect a period of political instability, with repeated military conflicts. This period of political volatility would culminate in the termination of the local Edzná ruling dynasty and emergence of new rulers with strong links to the Gulf Coast. This change in the political landscape would usher in major changes in the Champotón region, with a shift in political affiliation towards emerging coastal interaction networks. By the Postclassic Period, Champotón would rise to regional prominence as port city and seat of a regional state that controlled much of central Campeche.
The results of this research suggest local dynamics in the Río Champotón drainage were embedded in larger-scale geopolitical developments that would eventually culminate in the collapse and abandonment of large inland city-states in the Southern Maya Lowlands and the emergence of new centers of power in the Northern Maya Lowlands. Although there is strong evidence that climatic change and increasing frequency of droughts could have played a role in the depopulation of the interior regions of the Maya Lowlands, the loss of resilience of the latter societies to environmental perturbation had roots in earlier processes and dynamics. The results of this dissertation indicate that the high degree of resilience among communities in the Río Champotón drainage during this period of turmoil was due to several key factors: an ecological setting that facilitated relatively rapid transformation in food production strategies in the face of climatic instability; the strategic location along the Gulf Coast maritime trade route that would become the dominant trade thoroughfare by the end of the Classic Period; and the successful political reorientation among states in the region from peripheral participation in inland-focused Petén-centric spheres to the emergent international systems of the Postclassic Period.
omains.
Within the economic domain, the Classic to Postclassic transition is characterized by major changes in subsistence systems as well as production and distribution systems of luxury and utilitarian goods. There was a major shift in the subsistence economy from an agriculturally based food production strategy in the Late Classic to extensive exploitation of marine food resources in the Terminal Classic Period, then diversification in the Postclassic Period. Production and distribution of ceramic and lithic goods shift from smaller-scale regional networks of the Classic Period toward participation in an increasingly integrated and commercialized economic system in the Postclassic Period. These dynamics were part of broader pan-Mesoamerican transformations towards increasing internationalism and economic integration.
In the ecological domain, changes in settlement patterns between the Late Classic, Terminal Classic, and Postclassic Periods were part of a fundamental reorganization in the ways that societies interacted with the environment. Large low-density Late Classic centers were consistently located near ecotones between hilly uplands and the Río Champotón alluvial plain, facilitating exploitation of diverse agricultural resources and mitigation of risks due to unpredictable rainfall. This set of coupled socio-ecological dynamics – termed the Low-Density Urban Rainfall Agriculture (LURA) regime – is very similar to contemporary low-density urban societies in the interior zones of the Maya Lowlands. By the end of the Late Classic Period settlements concentrated in large inland centers fell into decline, with a movement of populations to dispersed communities along the coastal margin. This was part of a new set of human environmental dynamics with a clear and notable difference in food production systems towards exploitation of highly productive fisheries in marine and estuary ecozones. This emergent set of human-environmental interactions is termed the Dispersed Coastal Marine (DCM) regime. In the Postclassic Period, there was a second demographic shift back to a more concentrated settlement pattern, with populations increasingly focused within nucleated urban center, including the expanding city of Champotón (Chakanputun). This Postclassic socio-ecological regime – termed the Regional Intensive Diversified (RID) regime – included integration between more specialized communities in diverse ecological zones, with coastal fishing complemented by intensive inland agriculture.
The results of this research suggest local dynamics in the Río Champotón drainage were embedded in larger-scale geopolitical developments that would eventually culminate in the collapse and abandonment of large inland city-states in the Southern Maya Lowlands and the emergence of new centers of power in the Northern Maya Lowlands. Although there is strong evidence that climatic change and increasing frequency of droughts could have played a role in the depopulation of the interior regions of the Maya Lowlands, the loss of resilience of the latter societies to environmental perturbation had roots in earlier processes and dynamics. The results of this dissertation indicate that the high degree of resilience among communities in the Río Champotón drainage during this period of turmoil was due to several key factors: an ecological setting that facilitated relatively rapid transformation in food production strategies in the face of climatic instability; the strategic location along the Gulf Coast maritime trade route that would become the dominant trade thoroughfare by the end of the Classic Period; and the successful political reorientation among states in the region from peripheral participation in inland-focused Petén-centric spheres to the emergent international systems of the Postclassic Period.