Definition: Aguateca is a Late Classic period Maya site, and the largest Maya site in the region of the Petexbatun escarpment in Guatemala. The site's heyday was between AD 600 and 830, although it was occupied beginnning in the preclassic period.
Aguateca was the capital for Ruler 5 of the Dos Pilas/Aguateca dynasty. In AD 810, Aguateca was attacked, and the much of the elite residences were abandoned and burned with their belongings intact, leaving a sealed collection of artifacts for archaeologists to look at.
The center of Aguateca was an elite and ceremonial core, defended by causeways, a steep escarpment and a palisaded stone wall. Buildings inside the elite zone are well-constructed, with plastered walls and central room benches. Artifacts reflecting the nobility found in these rooms incnlude greenstone beads, shell and bone ornaments, and high-quality polychrome pots.
A causeway zone--structures built along the causeway connecting the elite zone to the rest of the community--has structures that researchers believe may represent workshops. One building had an abundance of metates (flat slabs used with manos to grind food stuffs). Others have evidence of lithic, bone and shell, and hide working, including complete tool assemblages. Interestingly, researchers believe the elite residents of Aguateca were directly involved in the craft specialization seen in these structures.
Aguateca was the capital for Ruler 5 of the Dos Pilas/Aguateca dynasty. In AD 810, Aguateca was attacked, and the much of the elite residences were abandoned and burned with their belongings intact, leaving a sealed collection of artifacts for archaeologists to look at.
The center of Aguateca was an elite and ceremonial core, defended by causeways, a steep escarpment and a palisaded stone wall. Buildings inside the elite zone are well-constructed, with plastered walls and central room benches. Artifacts reflecting the nobility found in these rooms incnlude greenstone beads, shell and bone ornaments, and high-quality polychrome pots.
A causeway zone--structures built along the causeway connecting the elite zone to the rest of the community--has structures that researchers believe may represent workshops. One building had an abundance of metates (flat slabs used with manos to grind food stuffs). Others have evidence of lithic, bone and shell, and hide working, including complete tool assemblages. Interestingly, researchers believe the elite residents of Aguateca were directly involved in the craft specialization seen in these structures.
Sources
Lots more information on Aguateca is available at the Aguateca Archaeological Project website.
Emery, Kitty F. and Kazuo Aoyama. 2007 Bone, shell, and lithic evidence for crafting in elite Maya households at Aguateca, Guatemala. Ancient Mesoamerica 18:69-89.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.
