Justine M. Shaw

Mayanists have long focused on the Maya collapse, which left broad swaths of the peninsula once teeming with large settlements virtually abandoned. However, much less attention has been paid to how, or why, some more resilient populations survived this prolonged period of tremendous social upheaval. Initial studies of the round structures unique to this period indicate that the way inhabitants organized their use of space and the kinds of activities that took place in and around these structures may have been different from typical Classic Maya behaviors. This research more thoroughly documents the activities that took place in eight round structures through artifact, ecofact, and soil chemistry patterning. Exploring what enabled this resilience is important both for understanding past peoples and present cultural processes.