A household perspective : ceramics from a domestic structure at Kichpanha, Belize

Research 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.