Refining Kaminaljuyu Chronology

New Radiocarbon Dates, Bayesian Analysis, and Ceramics Studies

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4374005
AutoresBárbara Arroyo (0000-0002-0983-3231), Takeshi Inomata (0000-0002-5236-5613), Gloria Ajú, Javier Estrada, Hiroo Nasu (0009-0007-0665-2308), Kazuo Aoyama (0000-0001-5578-842X)
Ano2020
Volume31
Fascículo3
Páginas477-497
Data de publicação2020-09-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/laq.2020.49
OpenAlexW3048920467
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas22

Since Kaminaljuyu was first systematically excavated in the 1930s, the chronology of the site has been fraught with confusion and scholarly disagreement. In recent years, scholars generally adopted the chronology presented by Shook and Popenoe de Hatch (1999) as the most authoritative account. In 2014, however, Inomata and colleagues proposed a revision of this chronology by shifting its Preclassic portion (including the Las Charcas and Providencia phases) roughly 300 years later in time. In this article, we analyze a total of 108 radiocarbon dates with Bayesian statistics, tying them to detailed ceramic analysis. These dates include previously reported dates, measured after the year 2000, as well as 68 new radiocarbon dates obtained from Kaminaljuyu and nearby sites. The results largely support Inomata and coauthors' (2014) revised Preclassic chronology, placing the Las Charcas-Providencia transition around 350 BC and the Providencia-Verbena transition around 75 BC. In addition, we present new dates on the Early Classic period, although some ambiguity remains for the Esperanza phase, when Teotihuacan-related elements were introduced to Kaminaljuyu. The revised chronology, combined with environmental data, suggests an explosive increase in population and construction activity during the Verbena and Arenal phases

Archaeology · Chronology · Confusion · Population · Radiocarbon dating · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Demography · History