UC San Diego

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

Before the Fall: Social Organization during the Classic Period at Nim li Punit, Toledo District, Belize

The longue durée perspective afforded by archaeology allows us to explore the full trajectory of early state-level societies, from their initial formation and expansion through to their collapse, and, in some cases, reorganization and reconstitution. My work focuses on an understudied portion of this process—the moments leading up to collapse and abandonment—and explores the effects of state-level collapse at the site of Nim li Punit, an ancient Maya center in the Southern Belize Region (SBR). I attempt to answer the following research question: in what ways do the processes of state-level collapse, abandonment, and transformation affect the social organization and distribution of political and economic power across a major center in the SBR?

My research is targeted at generating data to understand the heterarchical and hierarchical organization of architectural groups at Nim li Punit, and how they expressed power and status directly preceding the moment of desertion. Using 3D modeling techniques, I document the life history of two platforms: Structure 6 from the South Group and Structure 50 from the West Group. My subsurface excavations and artifact analyses expand on the broader archaeological topics of shared regional identity, long-distance and short-range exchange networks, regional control over raw material sources, the distribution of local and foreign goods, the mobilization of labor, and the ideology and symbolism connected with Maya kingship.

The results of my work show that the final decades of site occupation in the Terminal Classic (AD 790-850) was a dynamic period filled with drastic changes across political, economic, and social life. I connect this data from a Mesoamerican frontier center to a broader anthropological discussion of social life during and beyond collapse.