After a long occupation beginning in the Late Preclassic, new constructions and modifications of earlier buildings occurred at Ixtonton during the last part of the Late Classic, probably around the end of the eighth century a. d. (Laporte 1994). Afterward, new forms appeared and new floor levels in the plaza area indicate maintenance and alterations. These Terminal Classic evidences are strong in the central area and in residential units as well. In the latter, these frequently include the addition of basal features to the original plan and burials.
At the end of the Late Classic, the East Temple was built in the East Platform of the Public Ritual Complex, the most complex building at the site, integrating two levels (Figure 10.3). Other important features are the masonry vault in the upper room and a carved stela—now exfoliated—that was part of the precinct upper wall. At the same time, small lateral temples were built on the same foundation, probably with corbelled vaults, this being the only case of this building type known in southeastern Peten. Although these buildings do not seem to have been altered in the Terminal Classic, the abundance of ceramic material in the room
10.3 Ixtonton, East and West Plazas at the end of the Late Classic.
Interior may indicate continuous use and ritual activities reaching into the Postclassic. The West Pyramid, a complementary structure of this complex, had multiple modifications and activities, including a possible residential function, due to the high number of ceramic material and human bone remains burned or scattered.
The Northwest Plaza is located in this sector of the central area, consisting of a group of three low platforms that adjoin the west structure of Ballcourt 1 (Figure 10.3). This group has unique residential characteristics for the central area, suggesting an elite nucleus. Close to the high taludes that elevate the plaza, a Terminal Classic midden was found, with abundant figurine fragments, rodelas and other worked potsherds, chert, obsidian and slate tools, granite grinding stones, ornaments and artifacts made from shell, snails and bone, serpentine beads, and so forth. Some Postclassic materials were recovered in the midden’s upper levels, indicating a continuous, though less intensive, occupation in this residential area.
Another component of Ixtonton’s central area is the West Plaza. Its architectonic scheme during the Late Classic includes the South Pyramid, which has six frontal steps decorated with masks made with stone core and covered with stucco. They represent an anthropomorphic water deity figure (Figure 10.4) with large earflares, square eyes, headdress, pronounced nose, and an open mouth with a square enlargement. Remains of stucco indicate that they were painted in green, red, black, and yellow. During the Terminal Classic the South Pyramid was decorated with new masks that show a mosaic technique not seen before. These masks are built with small carved blocks in low relief, representing earflares, beads, and parts of the teeth and mouth, all part of an anthropomorphic figure (see Figure 10.4 for a partial reconstruction).
10.4 Ixtonton West Plaza, south structure: Late Classic masks on the fourth and fifth terrace levels; Terminal Classic masks on the second and third terrace levels; reconstruction of a Terminal Classic mask.
These anthropomorphic masks are restricted to the South Pyramid, thus suggesting that this structure had a main role in the site core ritual activities. The stylistic changes shown in the last two construction stages and stone masks are difficult to evaluate given the absence of similar elements in the region. The Late Classic masks resemble the ones built in other central lowland zones, while the Terminal Classic ones have a mosaic style, unusual in the central lowlands. A similar case was recently reported at San Luis Pueblito, west of the Dolores region (Laporte et al. 1997), and Calzada Mopan, thus defining the regional style in masks during this period.
Furthermore, the Ixtonton Acropolis is located on top of a modified hill, and consists of two plazas (Figure 10.5). Plaza A has seven structures, four of them of major size, with their location and function already formalized in the Late Classic. During the Terminal Classic, the arrangement of this group was altered in successive stages by modifying structures and constructing new ones. Abundant surface material indicates that some structures were residences, although it is evident that the group maintained an administrative function. Some architectonic features are of interest for the Terminal Classic. For example, the front and back comers in the North Stmcture are rounded, raised by dmm quarters. A similar application was observed in one structure at Ixtonton Group 64, associated with the West causeway. Another case has been reported from the Calzada Mopan Acropolis.
The Late Classic phase corresponds to the construction of the two initial stages in the South Stmcture, when three stmctures were built on top of the high basement that can be reached through separated stairways. The east and west lateral temples are of similar form, and separated from the central temple by an alley, with a difference in level; each has only one chamber. There are remains of the cornices, decorated with small carved blocks.
The final plaster coat in the three temples clearly indicates a new constmc-tion stage during the Terminal Classic. The new stmcture had only one long chamber; no access or other details are known. This building caused the partial destmction of walls and vaults of the previous temples. Some undefined steps seem to represent the stairway that reached the new chamber. Abundant carved stones came from the excavations, probably as part of earflares and beads of an anthropomorphic figure that could correspond to a frieze from this last epoch. The presence of mosaic sculpture during the Terminal Classic is confirmed by similarity with the South Pyramid masks in the West Plaza last stage.
Another important element was found in the West Stmcture. Carved stone elements were found in the stmcture walls, notably some kind of prominent or “flowery” noses (Figure 10.6), a feature that recalls the styles in the northern Maya area.
Plaza B is a group of four stmctures (two palace-type) located in the Acropolis’ lower basal platform (Figure 10.5). The West Stmcture has a rectangular
PLAZA A
PLAZA a
10.5 Ixtonton Acropolis: architectural development in the Late and Terminal Classic.
Shape, with four vaulted rooms arranged in two sectors and joined by an alley. Modifications include construction of new rooms, separation and reduction of spaces, and blocking accesses. A good part of the comice was destroyed, given that pieces of stucco sculpture were found in the constmction fill, including a tenoned anthropomorphic head.
The South Structure has a complex plan, with three frontal rooms. The central one allows passage to a second row of rooms, from which one enters the lateral ones. A modification added three benches. During the Terminal Classic, the foundation and rooms were covered by sloping walls around the limestone hill of Plaza A, in order to hide the previous palace.
If Plaza B had a residential function, it was of an elite nature. Nevertheless, the Terminal Classic occupation seemed to be less exclusive, with more people living in the ancient precincts. Even during the Postclassic, these stractures continued to be occupied, with some indications of ceremonial activity, such as fragments of carved monuments brought from the site center ceremonial plazas. Some activity areas with chert debitage were found too. To conclude, life in the mins of ancient buildings was evidenced at various central sectors of Ixtonton.
Curucuitz in the Upper Mopan Valley
After long settlement beginning in the Middle Preclassic, Cumcuitz became a polity core in the Dolores-Poptun Plateau during the Late Classic, lying near other polities like Ixtonton to the east, Ixtutz to the west, and Ixek to the northwest (Figure 10.2; Laporte and Alvarado 1997). Its architectonic development created a complex plan consisting of various central groups and abundant residential ones.
Unlike Ixtonton, where after a long Late Classic development only a few minor units were built in the central precincts, and others were modified in the Terminal Classic, at Cumcuitz a population decline is noted, especially in the periphery area. Given the persistence of Ixtonton as a Terminal Classic core in the Dolores zone, Cumcuitz must have been dependent on this latter. Nonetheless, Cumcuitz maintained a stable population into the Postclassic period. Indeed, a settlement that depended on Curucuitz during the Late Classic—Ixcoxol 2—represents the best Postclassic sample for the Dolores-Poptun Plateau. At that point, after a fifteen-century trajectory of occupation, Cumcuitz was abandoned.
Sacul in the Eastern High Mountains
Although its location differed during the Preclassic, Sacul’s Late Classic development represented the core of this polity (Laporte and Ramos 1998). The site core consists of several plazas, two arranged in a Public Ritual Complex and one a monumental acropolis, all dated to the Late Classic. During the Terminal Classic new plaza floors were built, associated with a dense occupation indicated by abundant surface materials, including incense burners. Many stmctures were altered by covering stairways or adding new elements, including circular basal platforms.
10.6 Fragments of sculpture from architecture, Plaza A, Acropolis of Ixtonton. Ceramic material from Terminal Classic funerary offerings at Ixtonton.
The Terminal Classic occupation had distinctive ritual elements, too. Plaza A is notable for its Late Classic stone monuments. Stela 10 is one of the latest monuments in Sacul, if not the final one, with a dedicatory date that may correspond to 9.18.0.0.0 10 Ajaw 8 Zek (a. d. 800; Escobedo 1991, 1993). Terminal Classic modification in this plaza area included deposition of a burial inside a large precinct partially carved in bedrock and covered by limestone slabs. The offerings consisted of ten vessels that included bowls, plates, and an incense burner.
The three buildings in Plaza C, built in the Late Classic and continuously modified until the Terminal Classic, are arranged in a clear example of a triadic architectural pattern. During the exploration of the East Structure frontal walls, two plain, circular limestone altars were found, probably moved from elsewhere at the site (Figure 10.7). The importance of this building is due in part to its funerary use in the Terminal Classic. A cist covered with slabs was created under the higher platform, with a dedicatory cache consisting of eleven vessels and an obsidian blade placed above it. The cist contained a youth or adolescent accompanied by a rich offering consisting of an alabaster vase, two ceramic vessels, and varied ornaments that included a spindle whorl, nine rings made of snail, twenty-four ring-like artifacts, mother-of-pearl shell and pyrite beads, and a greenstone pendant. This offering more closely resembles northern Peten patterns than the known burials in the Dolores region, though this situation may be the result of differences in the social status of the individuals excavated, which come mainly from residential areas.
Other ritual activity during the Terminal Classic includes a vessel cache discovered in the North Structure of Plaza E (Laporte and Torres 1987), consisting of several hundred simple plates and various kinds of incense burners. The plates, all very similar, were stowed and tied with some kind of vine, suggesting transport activity and thus reinforcing Sacul’s important role in the trade routes through the Maya Mountains. The cache was probably placed by traders.
Although minor. Postclassic occupation was also evident in some structures, though it is difficult to determine its continuity from the Terminal Classic. This occupation is not exclusive to the central plazas, being present in residential areas as well. Ceramics in some middens indicate an occupation related to other zones in the Belize Valley and the southern extreme of the Maya Mountains (Laporte and Quezada 1998). This occupation demonstrates the continuous use of residences and the persistence of ritual and possibly administrative activity in the site core.
World History
