Description
"Plazuela"-type structures have long been identified as a discrete settlement type in the Maya Lowlands, but the heterogeneous and complex functions and social nature of this intermediate level residential group have just begun to be explored. Engaging with functional, social, and practice theories, this thesis explores the activities, status, social relations, and occupational specialization of plazuela group RP-1 from the Late Classic Maya center of Buenavista del Cayo, Belize. RP-1 was originally excavated as part of the 1984-1989 San Diego State University Mopan-Macal Triangle Archaeological Project (MMTAP) designed to investigate social and political organization and structure in the Belize River Valley. As one of the last unanalyzed groups from the MMTAP project, RP-1 fills an important gap in fully understanding the settlement composition at Buenavista. Behavioral methods are used to contextualize the recovered ceramic, chipped stone, and groundstone material, allowing for data supported interpretations of activity areas throughout the plazuela. Considering the totality of architectural and material data, RP-1 appears to have functioned primarily as a place of residence where a non-royal elite household group pursued domestic activities. The basis for the elevated status of the group, however, appears to come from an occupational specialization in masonry, as evidenced by the disproportionate number of utilized groundstone celts and a plastering tool recovered from de facto and primary contexts at the plazuela. Feasting activity and material remains that connect the plazuela occupants to the courtly activity of the ruling elite suggest that the masonry occupation was a valued specialization that distinguished the RP-1 group as a functionally distinct socioeconomic household. Focusing on the activities and relations of a socially intermediate group also provides a valuable perspective for exploring the current debate surrounding the composition and structure of Classic Period social organization in the Maya Lowlands. The results of this thesis suggest that RP-1, and plazuela groups in general, represent a distinct intermediate social stratum distinguished from other non-royal social groups by non-agricultural based occupational specializations resulting in elevated status. The findings of this thesis, therefore, support a model of Classic Period Maya social organization composed of a socioeconomically distinct intermediate stratum functioning between the ruling royal elites and agricultural peasants.
