Ancient Maya Commoners

Chapter 10. Methods for Understanding Classic Maya Commoners: Structure Function, Energetics, and More

CHAPTER 10 Methods for Understanding Classic Maya Commoners: Structure Function, Energetics, and More nancy gonlin In recent years of Maya archaeology, we have witnessed an unprecedented focus on Classic Maya commoners through the excavations of numerous humble house mounds all over the lowlands (Gonlin 1993; Johnston 1994; Kovak n.d.; Lohse 2001; Robin 1999; Sheets 1992). These excavations not only represent another dimension of Classic Maya society but provide the long-needed emphasis on the commoner segment and understanding of the general population, which can reveal much about sociocultural evolution (Freter 1988). Even twenty years ago, an entire volume dedicated to this topic would not have been possible, given the same geographical and theoretical coverage. This new body of data augments classic studies conducted several decades ago (Smith 1962; Wauchope 1934; Willey et al. 1965). However, as much as we now know about Classic Maya commoners, what Edward Thompson (1892:265) said over a century ago—‘‘Of the home life of the humble dwellers there is much yet to be learned’’—still applies. Below are presented some points for consideration for those of us who have enthusiasticallyembraced excavations of the low-status Classic Maya. There are many approaches to studying Classic Maya commoners (Johnston and Gonlin 1998; see also Lohse and Valdez and Marcus, this volume ). But to try to understand the household and the activities within it, the larger community of which the household is a part, socioeconomic organization in general, and the agents of the past, a fundamental pursuit in archaeology remains that of determining structure function (Houston 1998). Whether archaeologists admit it today, we still want to know the answer to the question, What was the function of that building? This question is inherently a part of many excavation strategies, and the pursuit of an answer to it still has relevance, even though we may not approach 226 Nancy Gonlin it as directly as in the past. Whether we are trying to decipher the use of a royal palace (Martin 2001; Webster 2001), the function of a building with a unique architectural signature (Stomper 2001), or the layout of a lonely farmstead (Gonlin 1993)—all of which contain encoded information about Classic Maya culture—we find the question compelling enough to search for an answer. The following discussion will highlight the four Classic Maya sites of Copán, Cerén, Tikal, and Cobá; how researchers at each of these locations have determined the use of architecture; and how the ancient Maya may have used their built environment. In addition to the main section on the determination of structure function , discussions of the courtyard and the hearth are included in this chapter to emphasize the point that, apart from architecture, much can be learned from features such as these that represent other aspects of the built environment. We still focus on architecture, even though recognition of the importance of ambient space, that is, the house-lot (Killion 1992a, 1992b; Santley and Hirth 1993), and consideration of the larger community (Canuto and Yaeger 2000) are gaining momentum. Other types of approaches discussed here, such as boundary and access analyses, show the insights that can be gained from considering alternate research strategies not commonly employed by Mayanists. Excavations of Classic Maya commoner houses that were conducted during the 1980s (Gonlin 1993, 1994; Webster et al. 2000; Webster and Gonlin 1988; Webster et al. 1997) form the primary reference point for the present analysis. From 1984 to 1986, eight small rural sites in the Cop ánValley, Honduras, were extensivelyexcavated through lateral exposure of architecture and ambient space.While it may be more common to think of low-status sites as physically discrete entities dotting the landscape— the abodes of the farming population—numerous commoners inhabited elite compounds, such as at Copán’s urban core, where they probably were employed in a service capacity. Several house mounds of low-status occupants directly connected to elite compounds within the urban core of Cop án were excavated by a number of researchers (Diamanti 1991; Gerstle 1987; Hendon 1987; Sheehy 1991; Webster et al. 1998), providing information from both rural and urban contexts. Information Encoded in Houses The function and symbol of the house are inseparable, although, analytically , these domains are often treated separately by archaeologists specializing in one theoretical perspective or another. Archaeologists assume that Methods for Understanding Classic Maya Commoners 227 form reflects desired activities (Rapoport 1990:11), and we...