Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries in the Preclassic and Early Classic Period Northwest Maya Lowlands

Transcription

1 Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries in the Preclassic and Early Classic Period Northwest Maya Lowlands Joshua Englehardt Department of Anthropology, Florida State University 1847 W. Tennessee St., Tallahassee, FL USA Introduction In this article, I explore processes of regional boundary formation in ancient Maya society by evaluating variable stylistic attributes and distributions of ceramic artefacts that date to the transition from the Late Preclassic to Early Classic periods (200 BCE 600 CE) in the mid-lower Usumacinta River basin of southeastern Tabasco, Mexico (fig. 1). This northwest region of the Maya lowlands has long been considered a boundary area within south eastern Mesoamerica and a nexus of communication between discrete Preclassic period interaction spheres. I employ ceramic data from four sites to evaluate stylistic and distributional variability in and between material assemblages in order to characterise the interaction that occurred within and across this boundary area. Formal and distributional variation in the material data along parameters of type variety and shape class permits an assessment of the permeability and social maintenance of the Archaeological Review from Cambridge

2 58 Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries boundary, adding resolution to inferences regarding regional interaction. Such stylistically defined zones of social interaction, and overlaps in archaeologically identified regional exchange networks, may parallel previously identified linguistic or ethnic divisions, Fig. 1. The light grey overlay demarcates the northwest Maya lowlands of the the presence of which Middle and Lower Usumacinta River basin in Tabasco, south-eastern Mexico (after Hernández Ayala 1981: 68, fig. 1). The micro-regional study area is outlined in provides a useful the cross-hatched black rectangle. Map by the author, modified and reproduced comparative baseline. from original by Hans Braxmeier under terms of GNU Free Documentation license. I offer a preliminary comparative and qualitative analysis of the ceramic data and interpret these results to suggest the existence of a more fluid social boundary in earlier, Late Preclassic period temporal contexts which subsequently closed as the lowland Maya region at once expanded and turned inward during the Preclassic-Classic period transition. An increasingly complex system of social integration within the Early Classic period Maya lowlands appears to be associated with a more rigidly defined socio-cultural boundary. I conclude with an observation on the ways in which changes in social organisation may be related to both material variation and the permeability and conservation of socio-geographic boundaries. Theoretical Considerations A central problem in archaeology is the placement of the boundaries investigators use to circumscribe and define archaeological cultures (Green and Perlman 1985: 6 9; Kowalewski et al. 1983; Parkinson 2006: 33 34; Stark 1998). To elucidate variability in socio cultural boundaries, archaeologists have effectively employed stylistic and distributional analyses of material variables, particularly ceramic assemblages, in a

3 Joshua Englehardt 59 variety of spatial and temporal contexts (Hirth 1998; Hodder 1978, 1982, 1985; O Shea and Milner 2002; Parkinson 2006: 34; Skibo et al. 1989). The association of style with boundary is complex and highly contextualised, since material culture systems are historically situated phenomena (Stark 1998: 8 9). Variation in material data may be used to define a boundary, but the boundary does not necessarily enclose a particular suite of material culture. Moreover, drastic changes in material culture are not always explained by coeval transformations in socio cultural organisation or a concurrent redefinition of social boundaries. It is more fruitful to approach the relationship between material culture and boundary from a dynamic perspective (see Barth 1969; Kowalewski et al. 1983). From this perspective, continuity in material culture across social boundaries is a function of multiple factors, including relative degrees of integration, interaction and interdependence of the cultural group(s) that occupy the landscape on either side of a supposed boundary. Measuring stylistic variability in material objects, or lack thereof, thus speaks to the relative permeability and social maintenance of the boundary itself, and may yield clues regarding the temporal contexts of boundary formation or diachronic changes in socio-political organisation. Such methods have been applied to questions of interaction and the relationship between material traditions with success in Mesoamerican contexts (e.g. Cheetham 2007; Demarest and Sharer 1982; Neff et al. 1999). Greater material and distributional uniformity across a border area suggests extended interaction on a wider scale and more relaxed structural integration, resulting in less defined, more fluid social boundaries. Conversely, increased variation in material assemblages indicates narrower interaction on a more localised scale, a greater degree of integration within larger cultural systems, and a less permeable, more established boundary. In this sense, the analysis and interpretation of stylistic and distributional patterns observed in material data can be related to social processes by focusing on changes in artefacts over space and through time (Green and Perlman 1985: 6; Parkinson 2006: 36; Skibo et al. 1989).

4 60 Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries Regional Context and Background The Usumacinta River and its tributaries form part of the frontier between the nations of Mexico and Guatemala, as well as internal boundaries between the Mexican states of Tabasco, Chiapas and Campeche. In antiquity, the wide alluvial floodplains of the mid-lower Usumacinta and lower San Pedro Mártir River basins comprised a region that was situated along established trade routes and has been traditionally considered a physiographic boundary between distinct Mesoamerican interaction spheres. These regions, including interior Chiapas, the Gulf Coast Olmec heartland and the southern Maya lowlands of the Petén, Guatemala, exhibit evidence of sustained, intensive interaction throughout the Preclassic period (Golden and Scherer 2006; Ochoa 1983). The mid lower Usumacinta River basin of southeastern Tabasco has been long underrepresented in Mesoamerican archaeology, despite its promising location, with only a handful of systematic archaeological investigations directed at the area. The most notable of these was the Proyecto Tierras Bajas Noroccidentales, conducted in the late 1970s through the Centro de Estudios Mayas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México under the direction of Dr Lorenzo Ochoa. Various homologies in the material data derived from the project, as well as shared aesthetic traditions and similarities with adjacent regional sequences, suggest processes of interregional exchange between independent yet interdependent entities whose temporal depth extends far back into the Early and Middle Preclassic periods. Prior linguistic analyses (Justeson et al. 1985; Kaufman 1976; Lacadena and Wichmann 1999) and previous investigations of Late Classic period evidence from the region (García Moll 2005; González Moreno 2006; Hernández Ayala 1981; Hernández Pons 1984; Ochoa and Casasola 1991; Sanchez Caero 1979) confirm that this area was a nexus of interaction located in a frontier zone of the greater Maya lowlands during the Late Classic period and that the region formed a boundary between Late Classic Maya ceramic spheres. The formation of this boundary, however, likely occurred in earlier Preclassic or Early Classic period temporal contexts.

5 Joshua Englehardt 61 Ceramic Sample and Analytic Methods In order to explore these early processes of boundary formation, I cull information from both published sources and archaeological collections, and present a preliminary analysis of ceramic artefacts from four sites on the eastern edge of my focus area within the northwest Maya lowlands: Tiradero, Cenotes, Mirador and San Claudio (fig. 2). These Fig. 2. Detail of micro-regional focus area and location of sites which provide ceramic evidence discussed in the text. Map by the author, modified and reproduced from original by Hans Braxmeier under terms of GNU Free Documentation license. sites are all second and third tier centres that exhibit evidence of long occupational histories dating from the Middle Preclassic through to the Late Classic period (González Moreno 2006; Hernández Ayala 1981). The sites were selected on the basis of their location within the study area, in the San Pedro Mártir valley approximately 35km to the east of the Usumacinta River, a flat area of intermediate plains between the low foothills of the Sierra del Lacandón to the south, and the wider Usumacinta floodplain to the north (Ochoa 1983; Ochoa and Casasola 1991; Rands 1987: 204, fig. 1). The site of Tiradero is located in the north of the study area near the floodplain, while San Claudio is situated approximately 60km to the south, adjacent to the low sierras. The sites of Mirador and Cenotes lie to the east of the San Pedro Mártir River on the intermediate plains between Tiradero and San Claudio. The ceramic sample includes approximately 21,000 sherds dating to the Late Preclassic and Early Classic periods which were recovered from systematic surface collection, securely identified archaeological contexts, or stratified test pits (González Moreno 2006: 87 95; Hernández Ayala

6 62 Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries 1981: 82 84). I have recorded and assessed formal and functional variability evident within the sample along two parameters: the traditional type variety system (Smith et al. 1960) and classification of vessel form and shape (Culbert and Rands 2007). To elucidate the extent of cross boundary interaction and integration, I compare stylistic attributes such as surface treatment, decoration and decorative technique, vessel diameter and thickness, and elaboration and standardisation of shape and dimensions observable within the sample with the stylistic characteristics of established ceramic sequences and typologies at sites in immediately adjacent areas (table 1). Specifically, these include Palenque and the lower Usumacinta basin to the west, Chiapa de Corzo and the middle Grijalva basin to the southwest, and Piedras Negras, Altar de Sacrificios and Uaxactún to the south and east within the Maya lowlands of the middle Usumacinta basin and the Petén. Additionally, I measure subtle variability in the evolution of forms over time, yielding detectable changes in different vessel shapes across the sample. Such changes refine the placement of a specific artefact within a given chronological sequence, since forms evolve more rapidly than types, and demonstrate a greater range of variation (Culbert and Rands 2007: 185). Classes of forms identified in my sample include plates, jars, basins, ollas (earthen cooking pots), tecomates (common spheric vessels), apaxtles (shallow flat-bottomed vessels with flaring sides), cajetes (flat earthen bowls), and cazuelas (pots or bowls with a nonrestricted opening and no handles). To record temporal variation in form, I relate shape classes to corresponding ceramic phases based on modifications over time, such as rim orientation, thickness of the walls, or occurrence of specific decorative techniques. Again, I compare formal variability in the sample with sequences and materials encountered in the adjacent areas specified above. Summary of Ceramic Data Within the sample, I have identified approximately 6000 sherds dating to the Late Preclassic period in the San Pedro Mártir basin that represent 16 type-varieties from eight ceramic groups and three wares (table 2). For the

7 Joshua Englehardt 63 sake of simplicity within the sample, I consider only those type variety combinations present in quantities greater than five at any of the four selected sites. The five most common Late Preclassic type-varieties are uniform at each of the sites and occur in roughly the same proportions (table 3e). The Late Preclassic period assemblages are dominated by waxy wares, specifically Sierra Red ceramics, at roughly 50 percent of the total Late Preclassic sample. The Sierra Red ubiquitous in the late Bari and early Pichi phases of the lower San Pedro Mártir basin is virtually identical to that found throughout the Late Preclassic period Maya lowlands. Specific occurrences include the Abal phase at Piedras Negras, the Plancha phase at Altar de Sacrificios, the Chicanel phase at Uaxactún, and even as far afield as the Guanacaste and Horcones phases at Chiapa de Corzo and the Guañoma phase of the Middle Grijalva region (cf. Adams 1971: 21; Lee 1972: 11; Muñoz 2004; Smith 1955). Sierra Red is also the dominant type at both Altar and Uaxactún in the Plancha and early Chicanel phases, respectively (Adams 1971: 123). Of the 16 major Late Preclassic type components in the sample, 12 have equivalents at Piedras Negras (out of a total of 32 type-variety combinations present at both sites), and 13 are evident at Altar (out of 35 type varieties present at both sites). The sampled sites thus share approximately 37 percent of their Late Preclassic ceramic types with both Piedras Negras and Altar. Likewise, the predominance of monochrome red, black and cream ceramics with thick, waxy slips in the sample corresponds closely to evidence from Abal phase Piedras Negras and the late waxy horizon at Palenque and throughout the lower and middle Usumacinta basin (Muñoz 2004; Ochoa and Casasola 1991: 10; Rands 1987). As elsewhere, broad-line incising and fluting are the most common decorative modes evident within the sample during Late Preclassic times (cf. Lee 1972: 11; Muñoz 2004; Rands 1987: 210). In terms of shape classes, the most common forms in the sample are wide, shallow dishes, plates, apaxtles and cajetes with thickened, slightly everted rims and thick-walled jars with short, out-curving necks. These forms are quite common during the Late Preclassic period in the lower Usumacinta basin and in the Petén lowlands, and vessels with similar forms and surface finish are also evident in

8 64 Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries Date Period San Pedro Mártir Lower Usumacinta Chiapa de Corzo Altar de Sacrificios Uaxactún Piedras Negras Middle Grijalva Palenque 600 Taxinchan Chixoy Tepeu 1 Balche Otolum Early Classic Caoba (early) Kaxabyuc (Early Classic Horizon) Laguna Jiquipilas Veremos (late) Ayn Tzakol 3 2 (early) 1 Salinas Naba Pom Kundapi Juspano Cascada Motiepa Picota AD BC Late Preclassic Pichi late?? Isthmo Horcones Guanacaste (late) Plancha (early) (late) Chicanel Mamom Abal Ipsan Guañoma (Late Waxy Horizon) Middle Preclassic Bari middle Chacibcan Xot Francesa San Felix (early) (early facet Mamon) Hol Felisa Misolha (Early Waxy Horizon) (Pre Waxy Horizon) Table 1. Regional ceramic sequences and correlations for the Maya lowlands, with relative and absolute chronological correlation. (See Adams 1971: 136, table 23; Hernández Pons 1984: fig. 5; Hernández Ayala 1981: 77; Holley 1987; Lee 1972; Muñoz 2004; Rands 1972, 1987; Smith 1955; Smith and Gifford 1966).

9 Joshua Englehardt 65 Period Ware Group Type: variety Sample Size Early Classic Late Preclassic Uaxactún Unslipped Paso Caballos Waxy Sapote Sapote Striated: sapote 437 Triunfo Triunfo Striated: triunfo 6041 Sierra Laguna Verde Incised: laguna 874 Sierra Red: sierra 696 Fine Brown San Martín San Martín Variegated Brown: san martín 1035 Holmul Orange Ixcanrio Ixcanrio Orange Polychrome: VU 103 Petén Gloss Paso Caballos Waxy Flores Waxy Uaxactún Unslipped Actuncan Orange Polychrome: VU 397 Aguila Aguila Orange: aguila 422 Pita Incised: VU 60 Dos Arroyos Dos Arroyos Orange Polychrome: dos arroyos 746 Balanza Black: balanza 119 Balanza Lucha Incised: bolocantal 71 Lucha Incised: lucha 1479 Bolonchac Orange Polychrome: black 451 Santa Rosa Cream Polychrome: santa rosa 210 Santa Rosa Suktan Cream Polychrome: suktan 48 Saxché Mataculebra Cream Polychrome: mataculebra 182 Moro Orange Polychrome: moro 346 Anaité Red: anaité 284 Tinaja Cameron Incised: cameron 388 Tinaja Red: aduana 602 Infierno Carmelita Incised: carmelita 52 Infierno Black: infierno 328 Palmar Saxché Orange Polychrome: saxché 125 Zacatel Cream Polychrome: zacatel 35 15,531 Altamira Fluted: altamira 68 Correlo Incised Dichrome: correlo 5 Hongo Compuesto: hongo 13 Laguna Verde Incised: laguna 118 Sierra Repasto Black on Red: repasto 32 Sierra Red: sierra 2910 Flor Flor Cream: flor 984 Mateo Red on Cream: flor 17 Pital Pital Cream: pital 135 Polvero Polvero Negro: polvero 360 Fluted Centenario Fluted: centenario 143 Setok Fluted: VU 178 Monochrome Chunhinta Black: chunchinta 77 Black Deprecio Incised: VU 96 Achiotes Achiotes Unslipped: achiotes 459 Sapote Sapote striated: sapote Total 21,380 Table 2. Late Preclassic and Early Classic period ceramic type varieties present in sample (n. 5), showing quantities and group and ware associations. (cf. Gonzalez Moreno 2006; Hernandez Ayala 1981)

10 66 Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries the Guanacaste and Horcones phases at Chiapa de Corzo and the Middle Grijalva Guañoma phase (Lee 1972: 12; Muñoz 2004; Rands 1987: 212). The ceramics in the sample are formally and stylistically quite close to Late Preclassic period materials in adjacent regions, manifesting differences primarily of emphasis as opposed to striking departures. While some varietal variation exists between the sample and neighbouring sequences, the types are essentially the same, and ranges of formal variation and decorative technique are virtually indistinguishable. The internal consistency and standardisation of Late Preclassic period lowland Maya pottery complexes likely stems from the development and widespread diffusion of the Mamom horizon style, a ceramic sphere whose influence is extensively noted in Middle Preclassic period ceramic phases throughout southeastern Mesoamerica (Willey et al. 1967). Most wares and types in the subsequent Late Preclassic Chicanel sphere, including those in my sample, are essentially modified continuations of widely shared earlier ceramic traditions. Their formal similarity is thus somewhat unsurprising. In the Early Classic period, greater variation becomes evident. Within the sample, roughly 15,500 sherds date to the Early Classic period, broken down into 25 type-varieties of 13 groups and five distinct wares (table 2). At this time, the number of ceramic wares, groups and type-varieties present at the sampled sites increases. Moreover, the five most common Early Classic type components are no longer uniform. Instead, type-varieties of Petén Gloss ware stand out in the assemblage at San Claudio, whereas unslipped and waxy wares continue to dominate at the other sites (tables 3a-d). The gloss ware, polychrome and orange slipped pottery characteristic of Early Classic period lowland Maya ceramics of the Floral Park and Tzakol spheres, while present in significant quantities at San Claudio (almost 55 percent of the Early Classic sample at the site), are decidedly lacking at Mirador, Cenotes and Tiradero just 50km to the north. While gloss ware and polychrome types represent only 15.8 percent of the total sample from the three

11 Joshua Englehardt 67 Tiradero, Early Classic ceramics a. Type Variety Sample Triunfo Striated: triunfo San Martín Variegated Brown: san martín Lucha Incised: lucha Laguna Verde Incised: laguna Dos Arroyos Orange Polychrome: dos arroyos Total % % % % % % Cenotes, Early Classic ceramics c. Type Variety Sample Triunfo Striated: triunfo Laguna Verde Incised: laguna Dos Arroyos Orange Polychrome: dos arroyos Lucha Incised: lucha San Martín Variegated Brown: san martín Total % % % % % % Mirador, Early Classic ceramics b. Type Variety Sample Triunfo Striated: triunfo Lucha Incised: lucha Dos Arroyos Orange Polychrome: dos arroyos Laguna Verde Incised: laguna San Martín Variegated Brown: san martín Total Mirador, Early Classic ceramics % % % % % % d. Type Variety Sample Bolonchac Orange Polychrome: black Moro Orange Polychrome: moro Aguila Orange: aguila Infierno Black: infierno Anaité Red: anaité Total % % % % % % All sites, Late Preclassic ceramics e. Type Variety Tiradero Mirador Cenotes San Claudio Total Sierra Red: sierra Flor Cream: flor Achiotes Unslipped: achiotes Polvero Black: polvero Sapote Striated: sapote Total % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Table 3. Breakdown of quantities and percentages of five most common type varieties present in sample at each site in Early Classic (a d) and Late Preclassic (e) periods. Percentages indicate proportions of selected type varieties and totals in relation to the respective Late Preclassic and Early Classic period ceramic assemblages as wholes.

12 68 Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries northern sites, there appears to be a clinal distribution, with gloss and polychrome ceramics present at 25.6 percent of the sample at Cenotes, 15.7 percent at Mirador, and only eight per cent at Tiradero. Comparing the sampled ceramics with adjacent sequences, a similar pattern of divergence is evident. Of the 25 type-varieties in the Early Classic sample, seven are evident at Piedras Negras, and just nine find correspondence with materials at Altar de Sacrificios. In contrast to the Late Preclassic period, during the Early Classic the sampled sites shared an average of only 10.5 percent of their ceramics with these neighbouring centres. Four of these seven shared type-varieties are found only at San Claudio, and the only orange polychrome present at Mirador, Cenotes and Tiradero, Dos Arroyos, is exceedingly rare at both San Claudio and Piedras Negras (Muñoz 2004). The orange polychromes and Aguila Orange present in great quantities at San Claudio also dominate the Pom and Naba phase assemblages at Piedras Negras. Nevertheless, the Usulutan-style decoration and mammiform supports diagnostic of the Early Classic period in the central Petén and found in Isthmo and Jiquipilas phase ceramics at Chiapa de Corzo while evident at Piedras Negras, Altar, and Uaxactún are lacking within the sample. Moreover, the medial and basal-flanged bowls characteristic of the Tzakol ceramic sphere are absent within the sample and only appear at Piedras Negras or Altar well into the latter half of the Early Classic, in the Naba and late Ayn/Veremos phases, respectively (cf. Adams 1971: 127; Muñoz 2004). Mirador, Cenotes and Tiradero appear typologically unrelated to the Tzakol sphere. Instead, these sites seem more closely aligned with the Picota phase at Palenque or the site of Pomoná, where gloss ware is likewise absent and fine brown paste ceramics such as the San Martín Variegated Brown (present at the three sites, but not at San Claudio) are unusually well represented in Early Classic materials (García Moll 2005; Rands 1972, 1987: 214). Shape classes demonstrate similar distributional variability. At San Claudio and Piedras Negras, ollas with incurving walls and thickened rims, bolstered rim unslipped basins and utility jars, thin-walled moulded rim bowls, shallow cajetes with hollow, conical tripod supports, and cazuelas

13 Joshua Englehardt 69 and dishes with composite profiles and thick, nearly vertical rims are common (cf. Holley 1987: ; Muñoz 2004). Such vessel forms are rare elsewhere in the sample and in the Petén, and could represent an incipient localised style. In contrast, the forms evident at Mirador, Cenotes and Tiradero are primarily deep bowls with everted rims, large, steep-walled basins, short-necked, roughly finished jars, and thin-walled, shallow, direct rim dishes. The forms again correspond closely to those found in Picota phase Palenque and throughout the Early Classic horizon lower Usumacinta basin and appear more firmly rooted in earlier, Preclassic traditions (Hernández Pons 1984; Rands 1987: 214). Striated jars, however, occur frequently throughout the sample, as they do at Piedras Negras, but not at Palenque (Holley 1987: 189). Interpreting Variability in the Ceramic Evidence In general, the variability between Early Classic period ceramic materials from San Claudio and the sites of Mirador, Cenotes, and Tiradero closely parallels the traits identified by Holley (1987: ) that distinguish the pottery of Piedras Negras and Altar de Sacrificios from the northwestern Maya lowlands as a whole. These include the relative thickness of vessel walls, jar morphology, basin elaboration, and surface treatment. Vessel walls are decidedly thinner at the northern sites and do not demonstrate the typical dichotomy between thin walled serving ware and thick walled utility ware evident at San Claudio and Piedras Negras. Jars in the assemblage at San Claudio have longer necks than those at Mirador, Cenotes, and Tiradero, and basins at San Claudio are relatively simple in comparison to the shouldered shapes and elaborate rims evident at the other sites. Finally, the polychrome and orange slip traditions evident at San Claudio and characteristic of Early Classic lowland conventions in the Petén are noticeably lacking at Mirador, Cenotes and Tiradero. In sum, the Early Classic ceramic sequence at San Claudio appears more closely related to Tzakol sphere assemblages at Piedras Negras and Altar, whereas materials from the remaining sampled sites seem to be associated with a developing northwestern tradition evident at Palenque and the lower Usumacinta region.

14 70 Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries These data intimate the formation of a socio-cultural boundary in the Late Preclassic Early Classic period transition. The widespread similarity in ceramic types and forms throughout the Maya lowlands and beyond during the Late Preclassic period implies a great degree of interaction over a large swathe of southeastern Mesoamerica that does not appear to have been impeded or affected by any recognised socio-cultural or political boundary. After the Late Preclassic Early Classic period transition, however, a regional separation of sequences and a greater degree of variability both within the sample and in relation to ceramic assemblages at adjacent sites and regions indicates much less interaction within and across the region, suggesting that a boundary had been established at or shortly after the beginning of the Early Classic period. The correspondence between ceramic materials from San Claudio and those at neighbouring lowland regional centres at Piedras Negras and Altar de Sacrificios, coupled with the lack of parallels between the assemblages from Mirador, Cenotes and Tiradero and the central Petén, as well as the formal and stylistic similarities of those assemblages with materials encountered to the north and west, suggests that the intermediate plains of the mid-lower Usumacinta and lower San Pedro Mártir basins north of the low Sierra del Lacandón foothills was itself the Early Classic period frontier of the Maya lowlands. Sites on or near this boundary, such as San Claudio and Piedras Negras, generally imitated core trends, and the incipient localised Early Classic styles noted at these sites, themselves heavily influenced by central Petén trends, speak at once to both their increased integration in a larger, more complex and centralised social system and their relative isolation and situation at a peripheral area. Moreover, the clinal distribution and temporal lag in down-the-line emergence of Petén-based traits (e.g. the relatively late appearance of basal-flanged bowls at Altar de Sacrificios, and, subsequently, Piedras Negras) indicate an emphasis on stricter control and restricted flow of diffused technologies from the core to the periphery as Maya society became increasingly complex, centralised and inward-focused. These Early Classic period developments correspond to what also appears to be increased control of the western, southern and southeastern

15 Joshua Englehardt 71 peripheries. Increasing boundary demarcation is reflected in the complete divergence of Ipsan and Juspano phase ceramics in the middle Grijalva basin (Lee 1972: 13 14), as well as the lack of formal or stylistic similarity between the Tzakol sphere and post-usulutan ceramics on the southeastern periphery, as reflected in the materials evident in the post- Arenal, Santa Clara and Aurora phases at Kaminaljuyú in the highlands to the south. In the northwest, the boundary did not remain static. Tzakol 1 types eventually found their way to Palenque, although not until the later Early Classic Motiepa and Cascada phases and in limited quantities. As Palenque grew in importance, it became the gateway city on the periphery, and the frontier shifted to the northwest in the Late Classic period, accompanied by a restructuring of socio-political and economic organisation that apparently involved regions even further to the north (Holley 1987: 198). At this point, a cursory examination of the Late Classic ceramic types evident in the San Pedro Mártir basin reveals that the common type-varieties once again became as uniform as they had been in the Middle and Late Preclassic, with assemblages dominated by Tinaja Red, Cambio Unslipped, Encanto Striated and Fine Orange ware, the last itself notably absent at the new periphery of Palenque. These issues, however, are outside the scope of the present discussion. Conclusions and Future Directions On the basis of the ceramic data presented, I have suggested that a more pronounced and far less porous social boundary developed along the intermediate plains of the mid-lower Usumacinta and lower San Pedro Mártir basins in the Early Classic period. This frontier separated the northwest Maya lowlands from the developing core area of Classic Maya society centralised in the Petén, with sites in the low sierras south of the intermediate plains such as San Claudio becoming more integrated in Classic Maya traditions, and sites to the north of the plains such as Mirador, Cenotes and Tiradero orienting themselves outward. It appears that the development of this boundary was coeval with trends of increasing complexity, integration and centralisation in the Maya lowlands that occurred roughly at the Preclassic Classic period transition. In this sense, it would seem that diachronic changes in socio-political organisation,

16 72 Crossing the Usumacinta: Stylistic Variability and Dynamic Boundaries namely increased centralisation, integration and hierarchical control, are positively correlated with both amplified material variation and an increased emphasis on the delineation and control of peripheral boundaries. The preliminary results of my classification and comparative analysis support the initial hypothesis of a more relaxed and fluid boundary in the Late Preclassic period which subsequently became less permeable and more strictly defined in the Early Classic period. The interpretations presented here demonstrate that the examination of stylistic and distributional variability in ceramic materials may profitably inform archaeological investigation of boundary formation and preservation in antiquity, generating especially satisfying results when the data are considered on several different temporal, geographic, and social scales. I am expanding my qualitative analysis to include data from six other sites within my study area as part of my doctoral research. In addition to integrating settlement pattern data and other evidence that speaks to diachronic changes in socio-political organisation, I plan to compare the results of the analysis as a whole with documented linguistic and ethno-historic evidence in order to nuance my interpretations. A more detailed consideration of variability in ceramic temper and paste would also prove useful in this endeavour (Culbert and Rands 2007). Finally, I intend to introduce a quantitative component to the distributional analysis of my ceramic sample, based on the H score heterogeneity measure (Garraty 2009; Kintigh 2002). In doing so, I will move beyond an analytic or interpretive scheme that opposes style and function to achieve a more holistic understanding of variability in material culture (cf. Hurt and Rakita 2001; Stark 1998), in both general terms, and in the specific case of the Preclassic Classic period transition in the Maya lowlands. Other such analyses in divergent contexts may bring a fuller, long-term comprehension of the short-term processes involved in the creation and maintenance of socio-cultural boundaries.

17 Joshua Englehardt 73 Acknowledgements This paper is the result of doctoral research and investigations made possible by the Eisele Foundation Predissertation Research Award and the Department of Anthropology at Florida State University. I would also like to thank the Consejo de Arqueología of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia for permission to conduct this research, and in particular Dolorez Juarez of the Consejo Central Office for her assistance in obtaining all relevant permits. In Villahermosa, thanks go to Rebeca Perales of the Instituto Estatal de Cultura del Estado de Tabasco and director of the Museos de Tabasco for her guidance, and for allowing me access to the collections housed in the Museo Regional de Antropología Carlos Pellicer Cámara during the renovations at that facility. At the Centro INAH Tabasco, I extend my warmest appreciations to José Luis Romero Rivera, Angela González Moreno, and Rebecca González Lauck for their support and advice. Finally, at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, my heartfelt thanks to the late Dr Lorenzo Ochoa for his kindness and generosity in granting me access to the ceramic collection of the Proyecto Tierras Bajas Noroccidentales. This paper is dedicated to his memory. All errors or omissions of fact are the sole responsibility of the author. References Adams, R.E.W The Ceramics of Altar de Sacrificios, Guatemala (Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, vol. 63, no. 1). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Barth, F Ethnic Groups and Boundaries. Boston: Little Brown and Co. Cheetham, D Cantón Corralito: Objects from a Possible Gulf Olmec Colony. Crystal River: Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. Culbert, T.P. and R.L. Rands Multiple classifications: An alternative approach to the investigation of Maya ceramics. Latin American Antiquity 18(2): Demarest, A.A. and Sharer, R.J The origins and evolution of Usulutan ceramics. American Antiquity 47(4):

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