Award Abstract # 1840898
RAPID: Improved Understanding of Regional Trade and Development from the Emergency Salvage of a Late Classic Site

NSF Org: BCS
Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
Recipient: WINTHROP UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: June 28, 2018
Latest Amendment Date: June 28, 2018
Award Number: 1840898
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Jeffrey Mantz
jmantz@nsf.gov
 (703)292-7783
BCS
 Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
SBE
 Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
Start Date: June 15, 2018
End Date: November 30, 2018 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $12,152.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $12,152.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2018 = $12,152.00
History of Investigator:
  • Brent Woodfill (Principal Investigator)
    woodfillb@winthrop.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Winthrop University
701 OAKLAND AVE
ROCK HILL
SC  US  29730-3525
(803)323-2398
Sponsor Congressional District: 05
Primary Place of Performance: Winthrop University
 GT
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): N3KZE4TMNUM4
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): Archaeology
Primary Program Source: 01001819DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 1391, 7914, 9150
Program Element Code(s): 139100
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.075

ABSTRACT

Dr. Brent Woodfill of Winthrop University will conduct an emergency salvage of a vital archaeological site. This RAPID award supports the collection of critical but ephemeral data where the largest figurine workshop ever encountered in the Maya world has been just recently unearthed. This is an important discovery that is worthy of scientific study for several reasons. Academically, this is a little-understood region in spite of its importance to the Mexican and Central American economy as the source of the lion's share of vibrant green quetzal feathers that were used by Maya, Aztec, and other Mesoamerican rulers. Ethically, the owners want to preserve this find and support scientific advances. This emergency RAPID project will provide a solid framework upon which to test the extent to which trade routes and trends observed by the Spaniards were present before the Classic Maya collapse and provide for a detailed model for Classic Maya figurine production and exchange, thereby improving the robustness and reliability of archaeological findings related to regional trade and development. The project improves scientific infrastructure through international scientific collaboration. Research data and findings will further be disseminated through a variety of means to improve scientific and technological understanding.

In May 2018, heavy machinery on the outskirts of the city of Coban, Guatemala cut into a large earthen mound, revealing hundreds of Classic Maya figurine molds, figurines, and incense burners. The contractor stopped construction immediately and contacted local authorities, who in turn brought in Dr. Brent Woodfill to assess the site's importance. Dr. Woodfill and his team will investigate the techniques for figurine production, which can be tested against previous models based on limited archaeological data. By studying this workshop in a largely undisturbed state, they will be able to relate figurine production and exchange to other economic activities that occurred here, and the relationships the producers maintained with local and far-flung Mesoamerican groups. There has never been a formal archaeological project in this important region, so much of our understanding is based on limited Spanish writings about the local Maya after the Spanish conquest. By examining the figurines and other archaeological materials, we can test the degree of cultural continuity before and after the drastic changes caused by the Classic collapse and the arrival of Europeans.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

In May, 2018, archaeologist Brent Woodfill was contacted by an old acquaintance about a potentially important archaeological discovery.  A newly-discovered site was being bulldozed by a contractor on the outskirts of the highland city of Coban, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, but the contractor wanted to work with archaeologists to document and preserve what remained. Upon arriving at the contractor?s house, Woodfill was confronted with hundreds Late Classic figurine, mold, and censer fragments that were uncovered while leveling the property for future constructions, and upon visiting the site, he saw several hundred more.

The archaeological site, here denominated Arag?n, was found to contain what is probably the largest figurine workshop yet identified in Mesoamerica.  Funds from the NSF RAPID grant allowed Woodfill and his team of American and Guatemalan students and professionals to document the site and excavate housemounds, middens, and other parts of the site associated with the workshop; unfortunately, the workshop itself had already been demolished and its location buried.  In total, the archaeological team was able to excavate 39 units, conduct an extensive surface collection, map the terrain using a combination of on-the-ground and aerial techniques, and analyze several thousand figurine and mold fragments and potsherds. 

Arag?n and its workshop dated to the latter years of the Classic period and survived well past the Classic collapse (approximately A.D. 750-950).  The gifting of these figurines?among the highest quality in the Americas?helped to cement and maintain alliances with neighboring states, all of whom were involved in the production and exchange of a variety of important trade goods.  This network included better-known cities like Cancuen, responsible for jade and obsidian products; Salinas de los Nueve Cerros, a large-scale producer of salt, salted fish, cacao, and achiote; and Chama, which controlled a key part of the river system that connected disparate parts of the western Maya world.  Residents of Arag?n and other nearby settlements, similarly, together controlled the largest breeding grounds of the resplendent quetzal in Mesoamerica, whose feathers were coveted by rulers and lesser elites from the Valley of Mexico down well into Central America. 

This research opens up a new area of the Maya world to investigation and reveals the richness of its history and the active role this zone?previously dismissed as part of ?the periphery??played at the height of Maya civilization, and hints at a sinister role that its residents might have played in the Classic collapse.  Unlike its lowland neighbors to the north, Arag?n and other surrounding cities thrived and grew, and by the time of the Spanish conquest, the city?s descendants were among a handful of areas that the conquistadores could not take by force. 

 


Last Modified: 03/31/2019
Modified by: Brent K Woodfill

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