Under the supervision of Dr. Francisco Estrada-Belli, Michael Callaghan will analyze ceramic material collected in the 2000-2005 seasons of the Vanderbilt Holmul Archaeological Project. The Holmul Region is located in the northeastern department of Peten, Guatemala and is best known for the excavation of Building B, Group II at the site of Holmul, Guatemala which contained three Terminal Preclassic period (AD 0-400) Maya tombs. The tombs held a number of orange gloss vessels exhibiting a transitional style between the Preclassic (300 BC - 0) and Classic (AD 400-950) periods - including the earliest appearance of polychrome painting. The relative scarcity of these vessels at other Maya sites, their unique physical appearance, and secure dating to AD 0-400 has led Maya archaeologists to test and reject numerous theories concerning their relationship to the emergence of Classic Maya civilization. The current research is grounded in political economy and tests the hypothesis that orange gloss vessels were the materialization of a new elite power strategy adopted at a time of political crisis during the first three centuries AD.
This research is significant to archaeology and anthropology because it will characterize the little studied Terminal Preclassic period Maya ceramic economy and accurately relate orange gloss pottery to the emergence of Classic period civilization. Orange gloss pottery appeared at a time when old networks of political power were crumbling as seen in signs of warfare at many Maya sites as well as the collapse of many Late Preclassic centers. The production and exchange of orange gloss pottery may have been a way for elites to gain or maintain their local political power. This strategy resembles political economy of the Classic periods where control of the production and distribution of polychrome pottery was a hallmark of ancient Maya politics. Polychrome pots circulated in elite gift-giving or redistribution networks functioning like social capital to cement intersite military, political, or economic alliances. Orange gloss pottery of the Terminal Preclassic period may be the first manifestation of this later Classic period power strategy. Using a combination of ceramic analytical techniques borrowed from the fields of archaeology (ceramic modal and standardization analysis), geology (petrographic analysis), and chemistry (Instrumental Neutron Activation analysis) this research will test the hypothesis that Terminal Preclassic orange gloss pottery was produced and distributed within an elite prestige goods network similar to the Classic period.
The research will also have a significant social impact as it will contribute to the archaeological training of American graduate students as well as undergraduate Guatemalan students. At the same time that Callaghan will be honing his ceramic analytical skills in the laboratory, he will be assisted by undergraduate students in the archaeological program at Universidad del Valle, Guatemala City. The students will learn the type of high level ceramic production analysis not taught in their home institution. Not only will this research help train both American and Guatemalan scholars, it will promote close interaction between the two groups which will result in future collaboration in archaeological projects and analyses.
