Browsing by Subject "Maya"
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Item A Collision Deformer for Autodesk Maya(2015-03-04) Wang, WeiBelievable physical interactions involving collisions between objects are essential in motion graphics and video games. The most common approach to create such effect is to employ dynamics simulation. However, to create a simple collision effect, dynamics simulation is time-consuming and lacks artistic control. This paper presents a custom deformer for creating simple collision effects in Autodesk Maya. The deformer determines intersection between objects by performing inclusion tests for selected vertices, and approximates the elastic behavior of the soft body in response to collisions by applying a controllable deforming algorithm to the object surface. No physics simulation is required in this process. The deformer supports interacting with multiple collider objects and at the same time provides artistic control for the user to manage the deformation. The deformer has proven successful for creating plausible deformation of simple collision interactions in a fast, controllable manner.Item A shader based adaptation of selected sixteenth century maps(Texas A&M University, 2008-10-10) Haque, Shaila SabrinaThis research develops a technique focused on shading and texturing, with an emphasis on line work and color, to emulate the unique qualities of copperplate line-engraving from 16th century cartography. A visual analysis of selected maps determines the defining characteristics adapted for three-dimensional computer generated environments. The resulting work is presented in a short time-based animation.Item A Short Walk from Paradise: Initial Excavations at the Ruins of Kaxil Uinic, Belize(2013-05) Harris, Matthew C; Houk, Brett A.; Walter, Tamra L.The summer of 2012 marked the first field season of excavations at the ruins of Kaxil Uinic in northwestern Belize. The goal of the investigation was to understand the site and its relationships to the nearby site of Chan Chich, the historic Maya village/chicle camp, and a nearby aguada. In the course of the investigations, the original map of the site was modified and two previously unidentified structures were added. The stela and altar at the site were also targeted for investigation to better understand the chronology of the site. Some structures were also investigated for this purpose. This thesis discusses what was found during excavation at the site and provides possible explanations for the nature of certain concentrations of artifacts found.Item An Automated System for the Creation of Articulated Mechanical Parts(2010-07-14) Wheeler, Christopher R.Proposes a new method to model the geometric form of articulated mechanical parts while simultaneously testing their range of motion in relation to other nearby parts. Utilizing a database of mechanical parts in virtual three-dimensional form, a software tool assists users in quickly building a complex high-level mechanical object which can be placed directly into a visual effects production pipeline. The tool creates a workflow that allows modeling and rigging problems to be solved concurrently within the same interface. Optimized animation controls are generated automatically to expedite the rigging process. A system of standardization provides a framework for each part?s functionality within the hierarchy of each new assembly, while also guaranteeing reusability and backwards compatibility with all other assemblies created with this tool. A prototype has been developed as a plug-in to existing commercial software to showcase the described methodology. This prototype provides a unique solution to common modeling and rigging problems in the field of visual effects and animation.Item Ancient Maya cosmological landscapes : early classic mural paintings at Rio Azul, Peten, Guatemala(2007-05) Acuna, Mary Jane, 1978-; Stuart, David, 1965-The ancient Maya site of Rio Azul, located in the tropical lowlands of Guatemala, contains several Early Classic (250 – 550/600 CE) tombs with beautiful mural paintings. Commissioned for the interment of the royal elite, the tomb murals are painted with wonderful examples of Maya calligraphy depicting iconographic scenes of the watery underworld and hieroglyphs naming particular mountains of a cosmological landscape. This study focuses on the analysis and interpretation of the paintings and compares them to other examples in the Maya lowlands to demonstrate the widespread notion of cosmological landmarks associated to death and the rebirth of venerated ancestors.Item At the edge of the Maya world : power, politics, and identity in monuments from the Comitán Valley, Chiapas, Mexico(2015-05) Earley, Caitlin Cargile; Guernsey, Julia, 1964-; Stuart, David, 1965-In the Comitán Valley of Chiapas, Mexico, several large Maya centers flourished in the Late Classic (600-900 CE) and Early Postclassic (900-1250 CE) periods. These centers left behind monumental architecture, elaborate burials, and over fifty inscribed stone monuments. This project represents the first comprehensive study of those monuments, combining art historical analysis with archaeological data to reconstruct the history of sites in this area. This analysis reveals that ancient Maya centers in the Comitán Valley participated in widespread Maya customs of artistic representation, but they did so using local styles and iconographic motifs. The resulting artistic programs are innovative and profoundly local, and they provide a point of access into concepts of identity in different Maya centers. The monuments of Tenam Puente, for example, revolve around militarism, while the sculptures of Chinkultic emphasize ritual and history, pointing to the role of the site as the dynastic center of the eastern Comitán Valley. The sculptures of the Comitán Valley offer unique insight into the history of the region, but they also provide a new perspective on the creation of regional iconography, the role of frontier sites in Maya politics, and the diversity of ancient Maya art. The eclectic artistic programs of sites in the Comitán Valley are the result of the active appropriation and reformulation of broad artistic concepts. Analysis of this corpus reveals political affiliations and evidence of warfare, suggesting that frontier centers like those in the Comitán Valley were involved in the complex sociopolitical dynamics of the western Maya area. When many other centers were abandoned at the end of the Classic period, moreover, sites of the Comitán Valley continued to thrive; the breakage and re-use of monuments in this era sheds light on the changing role of Maya sculpture in the Postclassic period. Finally, the sculptures of the Comitán Valley point to the diversity of ancient Maya art. From the appropriation of Central Mexican motifs to the curation of ancestor figures associated with caves, sites in this area exhibit a variety of approaches to the creation and display of sculpture.Item Bodies politic, bodies in stone : imagery of the human and the divine in the sculpture of Late Preclassic Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala(2013-05) Henderson, Lucia; Guernsey, Julia, 1964-; Stuart, David, 1965-Bulldozed, effaced, and paved over by the buildings and winding streets of Guatemala City, the vast majority of the archaeological remains of Kaminaljuyú are now lost to us. This early site, which reached its peak during the Late Preclassic period (ca. 300BC-250AD), was once the largest and most influential site of the Maya highlands and one of the most important sites of early Mesoamerica. This dissertation, begun as an art historical salvage project, is at once documentary and analytical. It not only focuses on recording and preserving the Late Preclassic bas-relief stone sculptures of Kaminaljuyú through accurate technical drawings, but also provides cautious and detailed analyses regarding what this iconography can tell us about this ancient site. In essence, the following chapters approach, flesh out, and describe the bodies of Late Preclassic Kaminaljuyú---the stone bodies, the divine bodies, and the human bodies that interacted with them across the built landscape. They discuss topics like human sacrifice, the Principal Bird Deity, and the myriad supernatural forms related to water and wind at Kaminaljuyú. They consider the noisiness of performance, the sensory impact of costumed rulers, and the ways in which these kings utilized the mythical, supernatural, and divine to sustain their rule. In addition to untangling the complex iconography of these early sculptures, these chapters give voice to the significance of these stones beyond their carved surfaces. They contemplate the materiality of stone and the ways in which the kingly body and sculpted monuments were inscribed, made meaningful, and performed to establish and maintain ideological, socio-political, and economic structures. In essence, then, these chapters deal with the interwoven themes of stone and bone and flesh and blood; with the structuring of human, sculpted, and divine bodies; and with the performative role these bodies shared as transformative spaces where extraordinary things could happen. In other words, this dissertation not only addresses stone carvings as crucial points of access into the belief structures and political strategies of Kaminaljuyú, but as active participants in the social, economic, and ideological processes that shaped human history at this ancient site.Item Chocholá ceramics and the polities of northwestern Yucatán(2010-05) Werness, Maline Diane; Stuart, David, 1965-Maya artists working in the northern Yucatán Peninsula c. 700-800 CE began creating a new ceramic style. Deeply carved and exhibiting complex iconography and hieroglyphic inscriptions, Chocholá ceramics have long been recognized as among the most beautiful items produced by ancient Maya craftsmen. Indeed, the Chocholá style can be associated with a number of firsts in Maya studies: the first published explorations, the first major art historical investigations of ceramics, the first attempts at ceramic seriation and the first translations of the dedicatory formula all include images of Chocholá pots. Many examples lack provenience, however, due to extensive looting and the corpus has been relegated to a shadowy corner of the Maya world as a result. With the aid of new archaeological information and advances in iconographic and epigraphic studies, I develop an interdisciplinary rubric for classifying Chocholá pieces. Additionally, I analyze vessel imagery and texts, thus deciphering ostensible meanings as well as identifying the kinds of messages elites were trying to project through ownership and exchange. As with other high-status commodities, these ceramics functioned as prestige items and facilitated regional alliances through gifting and feasting. An analysis of temporal setting illuminates the aesthetic innovation and traditionalism Chocholá patrons manipulated in order to legitimize their own standing in such contexts. My work results in a more refined picture of extended northern socio-political interaction and interconnection. I show that one extremely powerful site—Oxkintok, in the hilly Puuc region of Yucatán—produced such vessels and disseminated them south, west and northeast. In dialogue with Oxkintok's expanding sphere of political influence, stylistic variations also developed in these outlying regions. Ultimately, I use the confluence of data to reconstruct a more concrete system of intra-regional connection and interchange.Item Complement and purpose clauses in K’iche’(2015-05) Can Pixabaj, Telma Angelina; England, Nora C.; Aissen, Judith, 1948-; Wechsler, Stephen; Zavala Maldonado, Roberto; Woodbury, Anthony C.; Epps, Patience L.This dissertation describes the morphological and syntactic properties of complement and purpose clauses in K’iche’. K’iche’ is a Mayan language spoken in Guatemala. Complement clauses are clausal elements that correspond to an argument of the matrix clause (Noonan 2007). In this study I show that syntactically there are three types of complement clause in K’iche’: finite complements with complementizers (CP-complements), finite complements without complementizers (S-complements), and non-finite complements. CP-complements are full clauses. S-complements have a less elaborated structure where negation and topic do not have space. Therefore these are separate types of complements contrary to what has been said (Larsen 1988). Besides that, S-complements usually require coreference of an argument of the matrix with an argument of the complement, whereas CP-complements do not have such restrictions. Non-finite complements do not bear time/aspect/mood (TAM) marking nor subject agreement markers. Therefore this type of complement has a smaller structure than either of the finite complements. They depend on the matrix clause for the interpretation of TAM and they display interesting control relations that are also found in non-finite purpose clauses. I also propose three types of purpose clauses in K’iche’ that pattern with complement clauses: finite purpose clauses with subordinators, finite purpose clauses without subordinators, and non-finite purpose clauses. Finite purpose clauses with subordinators are like non-finite complement clauses without complementizers in the sense that they are like independent clauses. The only difference is that it is not possible to extract any element from a purpose clause, while extraction is possible with finite complements. Non-finite purpose clauses are like non-finite complement clauses, except that non-finite purpose clauses are adjuncts rather than arguments. Although finite purpose clauses without subordinators and finite complements without complementizers look like the same, I show that the former are paratactic while the latter are embedded. Here is where the parallelism between complement and purpose clauses breaks down. In this study I provide an inventory of verbs that select each type of complement. I show that the morphosyntactic integration resembles the semantic integration between the matrix and the complement clause, as Kockelman (2003) shows for Q’eqchi’.Item Constructive hierarchy through entitlement: inequality in lithic resource access among the ancient Maya of Blue Creek, Belize(Texas A&M University, 2005-02-17) Barrett, Jason WallaceThis dissertation tests the theory that lithic raw materials were a strategic resource among the ancient Maya of Blue Creek, Belize that markedly influenced the development of socio-economic hierarchies at the site. Recent research has brought attention to the role of critical resource control as a mechanism contributing to the development of political economies among the ancient Maya. Such research has been primarily focused on the control of access to water and agricultural land. The examination of lithic raw materials as a critical economic resource is warranted as stone tools constituted a fundamental component of the ancient Maya economy. My research objectives include measuring raw material variability in the Blue Creek settlement zone and its immediate environs, assessing the amount of spatial and temporal variability present in the distribution of various raw materials, determining the degree to which proximity to a given resource influenced the relative level of its use, and testing whether differential resource access relates to variability in aggregate expressions of wealth. To meet these objectives, I examined 2136 formal stone tools and 24,944 pieces of debitage from excavations across the Blue Creek settlement zone, and I developed a lithic raw material type collection using natural outcrops. Significant spatial and temporal differences were observed in the use of various raw materials. Control of critical resources under conditions of scarcity is shown to have caused social stratification among the ancient Maya of Blue Creek. Initial disparities in use-right arrangements based on first occupancy rights produced substantial, accumulative inequality in economic capability and subsequent achievements. During the Early Classic period, these disproportionate allowances ultimately undermined the more egalitarian structure observed during the Preclassic. The Early Classic period at Blue Creek is characterized by increasing extravagance among the elites and increasing disenfranchisement throughout the hinterlands when compared to earlier periods. This suggests that elites at the site only became fully able to convert their resource monopolies into substantial gains in power, prestige, and wealth during the Classic period.Item Dancing in the watery past : mythical history and performative architecture in the Palace of Palenque(2012-05) Rodriguez, Gretel; Stuart, David, 1965-; Guernsey, JuliaThis thesis analyzes a series of stucco reliefs that decorate the piers of House D of the Palace of Palenque, a Classic Maya city in modern Chiapas, Mexico. Each of the five extant piers of House D depict pairs of individuals facing each other and engaged in what appears to be ritual performances associated with dance and sacrifice. I rely on an iconographic analysis of the reliefs of House D and on a reading of the architecture in relation to the surrounding built environment in order to reconstruct ancient patterns of viewership. I argue that the reliefs of House D of the Palace present a royal narrative where myth and history are fused, and that this combination is validated through ritual performance. The integration of mythical and historical narratives is transmitted through the ruler's enactment of past events that take place in a watery environment signifying the mythical origins of the city of Palenque. This performative narrative at the same time reproduces and perpetuates the actual ceremonies that took place in and around the building, specifically in the monumental stairway and in the ceremonial plaza that flank the building on its western margin. The dynastic messages embedded in the narrative of the piers, and its incorporation into the performances associated with the building, serve to promote the military accomplishments and the political legitimacy of a new ruling dynasty, initiated by the king of Palenque K'inich Janab Pakal, who is the main figure portrayed on the reliefs.Item Defining the Red Background style: the production of object and identity in an ancient Maya court(2014-05) Lopez-Finn, Elliot Michelle; Stuart, David, 1965-; Guernsey, Julia, 1964-As one of many other distinct painting styles that appeared on ceramics throughout the Guatemalan Lowlands of the Late Classic Period (AD 600-900), the Red Background vases represented the economic reach of the owner into local and foreign courtly culture. Supernatural processions, playful hieroglyphic texts, and the distinctive red background circulated on vases, plates, and bowls in order to perform prestige and the elite identity in public feasts. The diverse narrative content of these vessels reveals the importance of mytho-historic origin stories and supernatural identities to the prevailing political order, while the unique hieroglyphic texts link the style and its imagery to the royal court of Pa’ Chan. However, the lack of context for most of these vases thwarts a straightforward understanding of their role in Maya society as objects from a specific geographic place with archaeological provenience. Despite this inability to embed the Red Background vases within a robust archaeological framework, the production and circulation of a visually distinct style by a named community still indicates that the creators of these objects wished to communicate a unique artistic identity through an intersection of formal qualities. Refocusing the question of agency through the lens of the final product reveals that these works acted as part of a larger campaign to create the typical courtly trappings of master artisan production and public social feasting with representatives of other powerful polities. This Master’s Thesis aims to examine the current corpus of almost sixty vases in order to describe how the Red Background style manifests. In addition, my study explores the tendency of many polychrome styles to link a specific royal court with the artistic product through hieroglyphic emblems. I conclude that the unique Pa’ Chan emblem takes this extroverted statement of belonging to a higher level, providing an emic classification of the vase where the text comprises a social category of art that performs identity through its distinct visuals.Item Dental analysis of Classic period population variability in the Maya area(Texas A&M University, 2005-02-17) Scherer, Andrew KennethIn this dissertation I examine population history and structure in the Maya area during the Classic period (A.D. 250-900). Within the Maya area, archaeologists have identified regional variation in material culture between archaeological zones. These cultural differences may correspond to biological differences between Classic Maya populations. I test the hypothesis that Classic Maya population structure followed an isolation by distance model. I collected dental nonmetric and metric traits on 977 skeletons, from 18 Classic period sites, representing seven different archaeological zones. I corrected the data for intraobserver error. For the dental nonmetric data, I developed a Maya-specific trait dichotomization scheme and controlled for sex bias. I tested the dental metric data for normality and age affects. I imputed missing dental metric data for some traits and the remaining set of traits was Q-mode transformed to control for allometric factors. I analyzed the dental nonmetric and metric datasets with both univariate and multivariate tests. I found, with a log likelihood ratio, that 50% of the nonmetric traits exhibited statistically significant differences between Maya sites. I performed a Mean Measure of Divergence analysis of the dental nonmetric dataset and found that majority of the resulting pairwise distance values were significant. Using cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling, I found that the dental nonmetric data do not support an isolation by distance organization of Classic Maya population structure. In the ANOVA and MANOVA tests, I did not find major statistically significant differences in dental metrics between Maya sites. Using principal components analysis, a Mahalanobis Distance test, and R matrix analysis, I found a generally similar patterning of the dental metric data. The dental metric data to not support an isolation by distance model for Classic Maya population structure. However, the geographically outlying sites from Kaminaljuyu and the Pacific Coast repeatedly plotted as biological outliers. R matrix analysis indicates that gene flow, not genetic drift, dominated Classic Maya population structure. Based on the results of the dental nonmetric and metric analyses, I reject the hypothesis that isolation by distance is a valid model for Classic Maya population structure. From the multivariate analyses of the dental nonmetric and metric data, a few notable observations are made. The major sites of Tikal and Calakmul both demonstrate substantial intrasite biological heterogeneity, with some affinity to other sites but with little to one another. Piedras Negras demonstrates some evidence for genetic isolation from the other lowland Maya sites. In the Pasi?n Zone, Seibal and Altar de Sacrificios demonstrate some affinity to one another, though Dos Pilas is an outlier. The R matrix analysis found evidence of Classic period immigration into Seibal from outside the network of sites tested. The Belize Zone exhibited substantial heterogeneity among its sites, with the site of Colha showing some affinity to the Central Zone. Copan, despite being a geographic outlier, demonstrates genetic affinity with the rest of the Maya area. Kaminaljuyu and the Pacific Coast were both found to be outliers. These results indicate that dental nonmetric and metric data are a useful tool for investigating ancient biological variability in the Maya area and contribute to our expanding understanding of population history in that region.Item Embodying the kingly persona : ephemerality and memory in Temple 18 of Copan(2016-05) Madsen, Alexandra Isabel; Stuart, David, 1965; Guernsey, Julia, 1964This thesis analyzes a late Classic temple located in the southern reaches of the Maya world. Temple 18, the subject of this study, occupied Copan’s acropolis, positioned between the site’s ceremonial center and residence of the final king, Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat. Temple 18 was the last construction at the site of Copan, and in many ways reflects the increasing turmoil at the site and surrounding areas. In this thesis I explore the temple’s importance within Copan and larger Mesoamerica to better understand its position, layout and function as a funerary crypt. I seek to comprehend the temple’s iconographic message, both historical and mythical, seen in the inclusion of military and maize imagery. I rely on iconographic analysis, spatial analysis, and archaeological and epigraphic data to understand its importance and nuances. I argue that Temple 18 legitimized Yax Pasaj’s rule, and ultimately served as an extension of the kingly persona; Temple 18 memorialized the last’s king’s rule, permanently interring his presence in Copan’s landscape.Item The ethics of ruins in Petén, Guatemala : problematizing architectural conservation in the context of people, practice, and politics(2013-05) Coronado Ruiz, Anabell; Stuart, David, 1965-; Julia, Guernsey, 1964-; William, Saturno; Brian, Stross; Samuel, WilsonMaya buildings have always been multifaceted in nature, both in the past and during present times. The preservation of such artifacts is dictated by current archaeological research, tourist agendas in the region, conservation practice, and national cultural policies. This dissertation problematizes the practices of the architectural conservator in Petén, Guatemala, situating them within the many challenges currently faced by archaeological research and the study and preservation of ancient constructions. In this approach, it is argued that architecture is a living artifact charged with historic significance serving variable roles in archaeology, tourism, heritage, or Maya religion. The history of conservation in the Maya area has proven successful for professionals working with a multidisciplinary agenda in which the methodologies employed by archaeologists and conservators coexist, but this thesis focuses on the philosophical dilemmas that specifically surround archaeological work in Guatemala today. The role of the state and its cultural policies is questioned in the context of archaeology, international conventions on cultural heritage, and activist demands of local communities and indigenous people. While the technical aspects of conservation have reached new levels of acceptance among the archaeological community, this dissertation argues that the ethical dilemmas inherent in the conservation of Maya ruins need to be addressed from the particular vantage point of a multicultural and multiethnic country like Guatemala. Based on ten years of fieldwork, this research describes and reflects on the conservation work at the site of San Bartolo, Petén, and the multi-faceted dynamics that influenced the intervention. Finally, this dissertation addresses the possibilities of transcending the current multidisciplinary work among Maya scholars and transforming it into a community-based and inclusive archaeology that incorporates long-term sustainable conservation methods with shared values and interests.Item A household perspective : ceramics from a domestic structure at Kichpanha, Belize(2010-05) Root-Garey, Emily Donna; Rodriguez-Alegría, Enrique R.; Valdez, FredResearch at Kichpanha, Belize, has primarily focused on the Late Preclassic, elite contexts, and the regional economic and political roles of the site. This study is an initial step in expanding qualitative research at Kichpanha across the Classic period and into the smaller scale of domestic contexts, analyzing ceramics recovered in association with a Late Classic mound structure and Late Preclassic lithic workshop. Drawing on literature in household archaeology and pre-Columbian Maya commoners, I focus on structure function and social status of occupants. Additionally, I examine how the ceramics fit into the established chronology at Kichpanha, and address the spatiotemporal relationship between the mound structure and lithic workshop.Item How diagenesis affects osteon counts on skeletal remains from Colha, Belize(2012-05) Giraldo, Sammy; Paine, Robert R.; Durband, Arthur C.This histological study of Maya skeletal remains from Colha, Belize looked at 16 burials that yielded a total of 56 thin sections for analysis. These 56 thin sections were further divided into 24 thin sections from rib samples and 32 thin sections from clavicle samples. The data analyzed here can offer significant insight into the possibilities that microscopic histological features can provide in terms of knowledge about the health of a population. Unfortunately, due to the deteriorated condition of the bone and diagenesis present, the results obtained in this research did not make any significant correlations between skeletal lesions and the histological features analyzed with the exception of EH and clavicle ISOD. The findings described in this thesis need to be looked at in more depth in future research endeavors which focus specifically on trying to correlate the effects that dietary health and skeletal lesions have on the histological features of bone in Maya skeletal remains. The skeletal material that was used was known to suffer from multiple diet related bone pathologies, but the analysis did not allow any direct correlation to be made between diet and bone histology. Specifically, it was not possible to determine if diet or nutrition had any effect on the HCA, CBA or ISOD.Item Human skeletal remains of the ancient Maya in the caves of Dos Pilas, Guatemala(Texas A&M University, 2004-09-30) Minjares, Amador, Jr.This study focuses on the assessment of the depositional activity that occurred in six caves of the Petexbatun region of the Peten, Guatemala through a quantitative analysis of the human skeletal material recovered from them. Five of these caves are associated with the site of Dos Pilas; the sixth cave (Cueva de Los Quetzales) is located beneath the site of Las Pacayas. The cave is an important aspect of the Maya worldview, as evidenced in the artifactual and skeletal material found in caves by archaeological exploration. My study is specifically focused on the assessment of the primary and/or secondary burial of Maya dead within these caves via analyses of the relative skeletal element frequencies, the minimum and probable number of individuals, and the identification of human cut marks. Based on these lines of evidence and data from preliminary reports, between 100 and 150 individuals of both sexes and various age groups were primarily deposited/buried in these caves. Secondary activity may be inferred based on evidence of human-made cut marks on several elements. There is no osteological evidence to support the hypothesis of human sacrifice. I was unable to determine the status of the individuals deposited in the caves. The best interpretation is that several types of depositional activity occurred within these caves over time.Item Life on the Edge: Investigating Maya Hinterland Settlements in Northwestern Belize(2013-05) Boudreaux, Sarah; Houk, Brett A.; Walter, Tamra L.; Cortes-Rincon, MarisolThe Three Rivers Region of Northwestern Belize was an important area for Classic Maya development. Archaeological sites became known to archaeologists in the 1970s and gained much attention in the early 1990s with the creation of the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP). The PfBAP operates on a 250,000-acre nature preserve, known as the Programme for Belize (PfB). Most of this acreage is covered in semi-deciduous, rugged forest, resulting in unexplored terrain. This precludes exploration of the PfBAP and hinders the understanding of ancient Maya settlement. Thus, settlement studies are particularly difficult to conduct and the relationships between settlements and their environment are not well understood. Though, the Dos Hombres to Gran Cacao Archaeological Project (DH2GC), created by Dr. Marisol Cortes-Rincon of Humboldt State University, is creating a detailed picture of a portion of the PfBAP area by way of interdisciplinary inquiry including archaeology, ecology, and geoarchaeology. The DH2GC is conducting a settlement study along a 12-km transect to map settlement and ecological features between the cities of Dos Hombres and Gran Cacao. This thesis is a complementary project along side the DH2GC. The ultimate goal of the thesis project is to understand the nature of settlement patterning between large site centers. The main focus is on small courtyard groups that appear within the Dos Hombres suburban area. Analysis of these courtyard groups will be through settlement patterning that concerns environmental context, and site-planning planning principles.Item Linguistic inheritance, social difference, and the last two thousand years of contact among Lowland Mayan languages(2011-05) Law, Daniel Aaron; Stross, Brian; England, Nora C.; Epps, Patience; Stuart, David; Hanks, William; Woodbury, AnthonyThe analysis of language contact phenomena, as with many types of linguistic analysis, starts from the similarity and difference of linguistic systems. This dissertation will examine the consequences of linguistic similarity and the social construction of difference in the ‘Lowland Mayan linguistic area’, a region spanning parts of Guatemala, Southern Mexico, Belize and Honduras, in which related languages, all belonging to the Mayan language family, have been in intensive contact with each other over at least the past two millennia. The linguistic outcomes of this contact are described in detail in the dissertation. They include contact-induced changes in the phonology, morphology, and syntax of the languages involved of a type and degree that seems to contravene otherwise robust cross-linguistic tendencies. I propose that these cross-linguistically unusual outcomes of language contact in the Maya Lowlands result, in part, from an awareness of the inherited similarities between these languages, and in part from the role that linguistic features, but not languages as whole systems, appear to have played in the formation of community or other identities. This dissertation investigates two complementary questions about language contact phenomena that can be ideally explored through the study of languages with a high level of inherited similarity in contact with one another. The first is how historically specific, dynamic strategies and processes of constructing and asserting group identity and difference, as well as the role that language plays in these, can condition the outcomes of language contact. The second is more language internal: what role does (formal, structural) inherited similarity play in conditioning the outcome of language contact between related languages? These two questions are connected in the following hypothesis: that inherited linguistic similarity can itself be an important resource in the construction of identity and difference in particular social settings, and that the awareness of similarity between languages (mediated, as it is, by these processes of identity construction) facilitates contact-induced changes that are unlikely, or even unavailable without that perception of sameness. This proposal carries with it a call for more research on contact between related languages as related languages, and not as utterly separate systems.