Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

SACRED LANDSCAPES AND BUILDING PRACTICES AT UCI, KANCAB, AND UCANHA, YUCATAN, MEXICO

2014; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 25; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0956536114000285

1469-1787

Scott R. Hutson, Jacob Welch,

Archaeology and Rock Art Studies

Abstract During the emergence of regional hierarchy around the site of Uci in northwest Yucatan, Mexico, ordinary people affected power relations in at least two ways. First, in the Late Preclassic and Early Classic periods, Uci had the largest ceremonial center and the largest population within a 20 km radius. Uci also physically linked itself to smaller settlements, such as Kancab and Ucanha, by means of a broad stone causeway. Yet Kancab and Ucanha's quadripartite placement of causeways and central plaza suggests that its households created a sacred landscape that gave them a degree of ritual autonomy. Ordinary people impacted power relations a second way by participating in the development of the megalithic architectural style, which was used in the region's most authoritative buildings. The use of this style in domestic platforms illustrates the ability of modest households to make their own decisions and to act in ways that constituted society at large.