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A Brief Description of Xunantunich
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A Brief Description of Xunantunich Lisa J. LeCount and Jason Yaeger Xunantunich is one of the largest sites in the upper Belize River valley. Its monumental core of plazas, range structures, causeways, and pyramids covers 14 ha and is organized around the Castillo, a massive, multitiered acropolis that rises 39 m above Plaza A-I (see fig. I.1). Despite its size, Xunantunich has close neighbors of almost equally impressive proportions. Actuncan lies only 2 km away, and Buenavista del Cayo is 6 km distant (see fig. 1.3). This close spacing does not conform to the pattern one would expect of autonomous central places that had gradually developed in the local landscape (Ashmore, chapter 3). Although some scholars have suggested that Buenavista del Cayo and Xunantunich were functionally differentiated settlements within the same polity (Ball and Taschek 1991; Taschek and Ball 2004), we follow Leventhal and Ashmore (2004) in interpreting the close spacing of the Mopan Valley’s major sites as the historical outcome of political dynamics that led to the sequential rise of competing centers that vied for dominance, beginning with Actuncan and ending with Xunantunich. The limited evidence of Early Classic monumental architecture at Xunantunich suggests that the site was established as a significant major center in the Samal phase (ad 600–670), and it then rapidly grew to its maximum size and architectural grandeur during the Hats’ Chaak phase (ad 670–780). Toward the close of this same period, the site began to shrink in size, a decline that continued in the following Terminal Classic Tsak’ phase (ad 780–890). Despite this decline, the site’s leaders commissioned five carved monuments in the Tsak’ phase, proclaiming their status as autonomous sovereigns. Chronological Framework This historical sketch relies on firm chronological foundations of ceramic seriation and radiocarbon dating, which also allow us to compare Aguada 160 1 5 0 140 150 15 0 0 4 1 160 16 0 170 170 160 160 160 1 5 0 1 4 0 150 1 6 0 Mound Excavated Bldg. Terrace 0 50m Stela Altar LEGEND 2m countour interval MN 3° 05' 1992 Plaza A-II Plaza A-I Sacbe II Plaza A-III Castillo Sacbe I Northeast Walkway Lost Plaza Group C Group D A-11 A-1 A-6 A-13 A-23, A-24 & A-25 A-15 A-32 Ballcourt 1 (A-19 & A-18) Ballcourt 2 (A-17 & A-22) A-21 A-26 South Patios B-1 A-28 North Stair D-7 C-6 C-2 D-6 D-5 D-8 Chaaca Patio C-8 B-5 A-10 A-12 A-5 A-20 A-2 A-3 A-4 A-16 A-9 A-8 A-7 A-14 figure i.1. The site core of Xunantunich (copyright Angela H. Keller and Jason Yaeger). [18.208.172.3] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 12:40 GMT) A Brief Description of Xunantunich 69 Xunantunich’s history to those of other sites in the region. J. Eric S. Thompson (1942) and James Gifford (1976) laid the groundwork for this chronology with their pioneering studies of the ceramics of Xunantunich and Barton Ramie. Lisa LeCount (1996; LeCount et al. 2002; also MacKie 1985) then built on their work by more finely differentiating the Late and Terminal Classic ceramic complexes through frequency seriations of ceramic modal attributes from stratified deposits. The resulting Late and Terminal Classic ceramic phases are anchored in absolute time with dates from twenty-two carbon samples from stratified middens, occupation contexts, and sealed construction fill (LeCount et al. 2002). Many Mayanists have relied heavily on ceramic cross-ties to longestablished sequences, such as those from Uaxactun, San José, Seibal, or Barton Ramie, to date ceramic complexes. These seminal studies, most of which predate modern radiocarbon technology, fixed phase dates by linking ceramic caches or burial assemblages to calendrical inscriptions. In contrast, we utilized radiocarbon dating to place our sequence more securely in time. The resulting dates for the Samal, Hats’ Chaak, and Tsak’ ceramic complexes conform relatively well with chronologies from Pacbitun (Healy 1990), Tikal (Culbert 1993), Uaxactun (Smith 1955), and Barton Ramie (Willey et al. 1965), as shown on figure 1.4. However, our more precise chronology has allowed us to make fine-grained interpretations concerning the relationship between Xunantunich and other nearby sites, including Naranjo. Preclassic and Early Classic Foundations Xunantunich is an architecturally impressive site, but its layout is rather simple. This arrangement is due in part to the site’s short occupation...