Morehead State University
Visualizing Mayapán’s Outlying Centers and Regional Distribution
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Sophomore
2nd Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Freshmen
Institution 23-24
Morehead State University
KY House District #
77;88
KY Senate District #
27;17
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Dr. Timothy Hare, PhD
Department
Dept. Of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminology
Abstract
We present the identification and analysis of the outlying minor centers surrounding the ancient city of Mayapán from the Late Classic (600-850 CE), across the Terminal Classic (850-1100 CE) and Postclassic (1150-1500 CE), and into the Colonial Periods in the 44 km2 area of the 2013 Mayapán LiDAR Survey. The centers outside the city walls were identified in the airborne laser scanning (ALS) data, and all were ground-checked using traditional pedestrian survey methods. Most previous research in the area focused on the two monumental centers within the urban core. We seek to better understand the diverse organization of minor centers distributed in the rural area surrounding the city by systematically identifying the form, components, and organization of each. We use these systematic procedures to analyze and explore the religious, political, economic, and broader cultural influences on the organization of these minor outlying centers and characterize the extent of variability in their form and structure. The objective is to identify the fundamental nature of small rural centers in their environmental contexts and identify critical similarities and differences among them. We explore the minor centers' potential relationships within the broader Mayapán polity to better understand regional political and economic activities and relationships. We use this analysis to enhance our knowledge of regional interconnections, shift the focus of study from the isolated city to the broader relationships connecting people at multiple settlement levels, and support further research in and around Mayapán. In this presentation, we display the major architectural and environmental features and their spatial arrangement for each minor center and quantify their population densities, boundaries, and production activities.
Visualizing Mayapán’s Outlying Centers and Regional Distribution
We present the identification and analysis of the outlying minor centers surrounding the ancient city of Mayapán from the Late Classic (600-850 CE), across the Terminal Classic (850-1100 CE) and Postclassic (1150-1500 CE), and into the Colonial Periods in the 44 km2 area of the 2013 Mayapán LiDAR Survey. The centers outside the city walls were identified in the airborne laser scanning (ALS) data, and all were ground-checked using traditional pedestrian survey methods. Most previous research in the area focused on the two monumental centers within the urban core. We seek to better understand the diverse organization of minor centers distributed in the rural area surrounding the city by systematically identifying the form, components, and organization of each. We use these systematic procedures to analyze and explore the religious, political, economic, and broader cultural influences on the organization of these minor outlying centers and characterize the extent of variability in their form and structure. The objective is to identify the fundamental nature of small rural centers in their environmental contexts and identify critical similarities and differences among them. We explore the minor centers' potential relationships within the broader Mayapán polity to better understand regional political and economic activities and relationships. We use this analysis to enhance our knowledge of regional interconnections, shift the focus of study from the isolated city to the broader relationships connecting people at multiple settlement levels, and support further research in and around Mayapán. In this presentation, we display the major architectural and environmental features and their spatial arrangement for each minor center and quantify their population densities, boundaries, and production activities.