Under the direction of Dr. Richard M. Leventhal, Andrew Kindon will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will continue his participation in the Maya Mountains Archaeological Project (MMAP), a multidisciplinary scientific research project based in southern Belize, Central America combining the efforts of archaeologists, geologists, and biologists. Since 1996, the MMAP has focused its attention on two sizable sites in the Upper Bladen River drainage of the Maya Mountains called Ek Xux and Muklebal Tzul. These sites include well-developed central core areas with large mounds surrounded by extensive settlement in the form of smaller residential mounds and plazuela groups. Evidence indicates that the sites were inhabited during the Classic period, about 300 AD - 900 AD.
These sites are particularly significant because, while they are located only 3 kilometers away from each other, preliminary evidence suggests that there are major differences between them. Burial patterns at the sites differed markedly, with the residents of Ek Xux burying their dead in rock shelters surrounding the site and the residents of Muklebal Tzul burying their dead in tombs within their house platforms. In addition, initial survey work carried out by Kindon from 1998-2000 showed significant differences in the settlement patterns of the communities. It has been speculated that these differences are due to differences in the nature of social organization and control at the two sites. However, issues of contemporaneity and differential developmental stages are also very important, and the temporal relationship between the two sites must be clarified.
Kindon's dissertation research will investigate the prehispanic settlement systems of both Ek Xux and Muklebal Tzul. Intensive study of settlement distribution combined with architectural, artifact, and carbon analysis will address three primary research goals: 1. the clarification of temporal relationships between the two sites; 2. the identification of regional and local patterns of settlement organization and the exploration of the way these settlement patterns relate to levels of social organization and control; 3. the evaluation of the degree to which kin-based and centralized elite social organization and power were elaborated within the communities, as well as the amount of variability that existed at both a regional and local level in terms of social organization and control.
Kindon's work has the potential to make several important contributions to current anthropological and archaeological theory. First and foremost, the research will increase current understanding of the nature of social power, especially as it relates to the emergence and functioning of complex polities. With relatively simple technology prehistoric Mayans were able to incorporate large numbers of individuals into functioning social entities and Mr. Kindon's research will shed light on the mechanisms involved. The project will also contribute to training a promising young scientist.
