9311836 Demarest Under the direction of Dr. Arthur Demarest, Ms. Antonia Foias will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will analyze ceramic materials collected from sites in the Petexbatun region of the Peten, Guatemala and which span the period from ca. 650 - 950 A.D. It was during this time that the Mayan societies in this region reached their highest point of development and then collapsed. Through extensive previous work by Dr. Demarest and his collaborators in this central Mayan region, the major sites are known, a ceramic chronology established and a large amount of material excavated. Over a 10 month field period Ms. Foias will continue her ongoing analysis of the ceramic remains. She will categorize pieces according to a type/variety system to establish relative ages. She will then record a number of observations to determine the degree of standardization within classes and learn how this changes over both time and space. These data will give insight into the context of production. Ms. Foias wishes to learn whether commercialization and mass production - as measured by degree of standardization - increased over time and whether this process resulted in smaller competing centers. She will also determine the frequency of non-local materials which may indicate invasion. Ms. Foias will also conduct neutron activation analysis of selected materials at the Smithsonian Institution. The resultant trace element data will provide information relevant to questions of both standardization and foreign influence. Well before the arrival of Columbus in the New World the Mayan civilization flourished in the inhospitable tropical environment of lowland Middle America. Many of the areas in which Mayans constructed large temples and ceremonial complexes support only low population densities today. After reaching a peak in the first millennium A.D. monumental construction ceased and people abandoned urban centers to disperse into smaller groups. Archaeologist s wish to understand the causes of this "collapse" and have proposed a number of hypotheses to account for it. These range from environmental depletion through foreign conquest. Ms. Foais will employ ceramic data to evaluate a number of these options. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will also shed light on how complex societies arise, function and decline. Finally, it will assist in the training of a promising young scientist. ***
