Sacred Sites for Suburbanites: Organic Urban Growth and Neighborhood Formation at Preclassic Ceibal, Guatemala

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines ancient Maya urbanization and neighborhood formation during the Preclassic period by focusing on evidence from five minor temple groups at Ceibal, Guatemala. During the Late Preclassic (ca. 350–75 b.c.) and Terminal Preclassic (ca. 75 b.c.–a.d. 300) periods, minor temple complexes were constructed at regular intervals in outlying areas of Ceibal. These complexes were built at different times, and each is distinct in size, shape, and construction materials. Geospatial analyses of settlement based on a lidar survey reveals residential clustering around the temples, and excavations of nearby patios indicate they were occupied contemporaneously with their associated temple. Together, the evidence suggests that local groups of people built their own temple complexes as they began to settle in new areas. Urbanization at Ceibal can be explained as a generative process involving an interplay between top-down influences from the epicenter and organic cooperation among incoming residents.