Papers by Richard D . Hansen
Plos One, 2021
This paper classifies the karst landscapes of the Peté n Plateau and defines the Mirador-Calakmul... more This paper classifies the karst landscapes of the Peté n Plateau and defines the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin by illustrating the distribution of its karst hydrologic features. Archaeological and spatial research of the Mirador-Calakmul area of Guatemala and Mexico has shown it to be a karst basin with geopolitical implications. Current research characterizes the karst landscapes of the Peté n Plateau, maps the distribution of karst hydrologic features, and delineates the basin in geomorphological terms. To further this aim, multiple forms of remote sensing data including orthophotographs, a satellite Digital Elevation Model, satellite multispectral images, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data have been integrated to interpret the karst features in the study area. Outcrop study and thin section analysis of the upper Buena Vista Formation document that the dominant lithologies are a shallow water algal boundstone interbedded with terrestrial caliche. Karst landforms have been mapped over the Peté n Plateau and we identify five karst landscapes, the largest of which is a fluviokarst landscape dominated by karst valleys. We further map karst hydrologic features including seasonal swamps, dolines, intermittent lakes, intermittent streams, solution-enhanced fractures, and springs all of which are characteristic of drainage basins. Boundaries of the karst basin are mapped from multiple lines of evidence including distribution of the karst valleys, a line of springs along the western boundary of the fluviokarst landscape, and a surface drainage analysis. We capture and classify hydrologic data points and develop a regional groundwater map that indicates subsurface flow from east to west within the basin. A drainage map illustrates the extensive system of karst valleys, boundaries, and inferred groundwater flow paths of the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin. It was within this geomorphological setting that the ancient Maya developed an extensive civilization during the Middle and Late Preclassic periods (1000 BCE-150 CE).
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Ancient Mesoamerica, 2022
LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of north... more LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of northern Guatemala has identified a concentration of Preclassic Maya sites (ca. 1000 B.C.-A.D. 150) connected by causeways, forming a web of implied social, political, and economic interactions. This article is an introduction to one of the largest, contiguous, regional LiDAR studies published to date in the Maya Lowlands. More than 775 ancient Maya settlements are identified within the MCKB, and 189 more in the surrounding karstic ridge, which we condensed into 417 ancient cities, towns, and villages of at least six preliminary tiers based on surface area, volumetrics, and architectural configurations. Many tiered sites date to the Middle and Late Preclassic periods, as determined by archaeological testing, and volumetrics of contemporaneously constructed and/or occupied architecture with similar morphological characteristics. Monumental architecture, consistent architectural formats, specific site boundaries, water management/ collection facilities, and 177 km of elevated Preclassic causeways suggest labor investments that defy organizational capabilities of lesser polities and potentially portray the strategies of governance in the Preclassic period. Settlement distributions, architectural continuities, chronological contemporaneity, and volumetric considerations of sites provide evidence for early centralized administrative and socioeconomic strategies within a defined geographical region.
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Ancient Mesoamerica, 2022
LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of north... more LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of northern Guatemala has identified a concentration of Preclassic Maya sites (ca. 1000 B.C.-A.D. 150) connected by causeways, forming a web of implied social, political, and economic interactions. This article is an introduction to one of the largest, contiguous, regional LiDAR studies published to date in the Maya Lowlands. More than 775 ancient Maya settlements are identified within the MCKB, and 189 more in the surrounding karstic ridge, which we condensed into 417 ancient cities, towns, and villages of at least six preliminary tiers based on surface area, volumetrics, and architectural configurations. Many tiered sites date to the Middle and Late Preclassic periods, as determined by archaeological testing, and volumetrics of contemporaneously constructed and/or occupied architecture with similar morphological characteristics. Monumental architecture, consistent architectural formats, specific site boundaries, water management/ collection facilities, and 177 km of elevated Preclassic causeways suggest labor investments that defy organizational capabilities of lesser polities and potentially portray the strategies of governance in the Preclassic period. Settlement distributions, architectural continuities, chronological contemporaneity, and volumetric considerations of sites provide evidence for early centralized administrative and socioeconomic strategies within a defined geographical region.
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Latin American Antiquity, 2007
... Nakbe, 12 km southeast of El Mirador (the largest site in the region) is one of the earliest ... more ... Nakbe, 12 km southeast of El Mirador (the largest site in the region) is one of the earliest set tlements in the Maya Lowlands. ... throughout the upper 113 cm, sieved at 125 urn to remove coarse organic material, and processed using standard procedures (Faegri and Iverson 1989 ...
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Dr. Hansen has identified some of the largest and earliest ancient cities of the Mayan civilizati... more Dr. Hansen has identified some of the largest and earliest ancient cities of the Mayan civilization in Central America with a major international archaeological research team with scholars from around the globe. His work has been featured in 36 film documentaries and he was the principal consultant for the movie Apocalypto (Mel Gibson), CBS's Survivor Guatemala, and National Geographic's The Story of God with Morgan Freeman. In 2013, he was named as "one of 24 individuals that changed Latin America," by Latin Trade Magazine. Dr. Hansen has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2005 Guatemalan National Order of Cultural Heritage, the 2012 Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in Paris, the Order of the Quetzal in 2017 (the highest civilian award in Guatemala), and the 2019 Orden de la Monja Blanca by the Guatemalan Ministry of Defense.
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Studies in Human Ecology and Adaptation, 2017
Archeological investigations in northern Guatemala have provided a strong record of the origins, ... more Archeological investigations in northern Guatemala have provided a strong record of the origins, dynamics, and collapse of social, political and economic complexity in the Preclassic periods of Maya civilization. Extensive isotope, pollen, and phytolith analyses have indicated that the marsh regions of the Mirador Basin provided the economic engines that gave rise to the cultural sophistication through abundant natural resources and agricultural exploitation. Sophisticated terrace systems provided rich agricultural productivity that allowed population growth, ideological solidarity, and economic prosperity which fueled a rapid and dynamic cultural florescence during the Middle and Late Preclassic periods of Maya civilization (ca. 1000 B.C.–A.D. 150). This trajectory however, led to a conspicuous consumption of labor and resources which blinded the societies and/or their leadership to the abuses of power, environment, and productivity by rampant and unnecessary use of resources, environmental degradation, an ascribed elite formation and the burdens of an increasing top-heavy administrative bureaucracy. The stresses on societies, which apparently were inclusive of, and exacerbated by, excessive erosion, droughts and periods of dessication, as well as associated social upheavals led to a posture of militaristic behavior, indicative of predatory, symptomatic conflict. The combination of these factors generated the “perfect storm” which ultimately resulted in demographic collapse.
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Journal de la société des américanistes
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Ancient Mesoamerica
LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of north... more LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of northern Guatemala has identified a concentration of Preclassic Maya sites (ca. 1000 b.c.–a.d. 150) connected by causeways, forming a web of implied social, political, and economic interactions. This article is an introduction to one of the largest, contiguous, regional LiDAR studies published to date in the Maya Lowlands. More than 775 ancient Maya settlements are identified within the MCKB, and 189 more in the surrounding karstic ridge, which we condensed into 417 ancient cities, towns, and villages of at least six preliminary tiers based on surface area, volumetrics, and architectural configurations. Many tiered sites date to the Middle and Late Preclassic periods, as determined by archaeological testing, and volumetrics of contemporaneously constructed and/or occupied architecture with similar morphological characteristics. Monumental architecture, consistent architectural formats, specif...
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XIX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2005
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Journal de la Société des Américanistes, 2022
Investigaciones arqueológicas recientes llevadas a cabo en el sitio maya de Chacté, un conjunto p... more Investigaciones arqueológicas recientes llevadas a cabo en el sitio maya de Chacté, un conjunto periférico de la antigua ciudad de El Mirador, ubicado en la parte norte de Guatemala, revelaron rastros de una importante ocupación del período Preclásico tardío (ca. 350 a. C.), época en la que El Mirador y sus sitios aliados alcanzaron el desarrollo cultural y el apogeo sociopolítico. Chacté representa una parte de ese desarrollo al construirse un centro ceremonial compuesto de amplias plazas y edificios de elite. El sitio estuvo conectado con la gran urbe de El Mirador a través de un sacbé de 4 km de longitud. Las excavaciones arqueológicas en Chacté se centraron en la Estructura 3, un edificio que conforma un conjunto de tipo Grupo E, en donde se halló un importante mascarón del Preclásico. El análisis iconográfico preliminar indicaría una representación del dios K'inich Ajaw, en una alegoría al nacimiento del Sol en el este.
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XIX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2005, 2006
El sitio esta localizado al sureste de El Mirador. Estos dos sitios fueron conectados por medio ... more El sitio esta localizado al sureste de El Mirador. Estos dos sitios fueron conectados por medio de una calzada interstio de 24 km de largo. En ambos sitios se ha logrado identificar y fechar arquitectura para el Preclásico Tardío. Se logró identificar que el centro cívico del sitio, Complejo Mano de León, estaba rodeado por un foso-canal artificial, similar al identificado en el sitio Preclásico de Becan, Campeche. Por medio de un rescate arqueológico se identificó remanentes del Entierro 1 y Estela 1, el cual se realizó en un pequeño montículo ubicado al pie de la pirámide con patrón tirádico El Pavo.
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Pathways to Complexity, 2018
<p>This chapter examines the archaeological evidence from the Mirador-Calakmul Basin of nor... more <p>This chapter examines the archaeological evidence from the Mirador-Calakmul Basin of northern Guatemala and southern Campeche, Mexico, concluding that by no later than 600-400 B.C., the late Middle Preclassic, a state level society developed. This is supported by the nature of the economic system, long-distance exchange, architecture, and agricultural strategy in place by that time. A mutually sustaining system may have emerged between specialists and a governing elite, creating a favorable climate for innovation and associated justification of specialist production and consumption. This had profound and lingering consequences for more than a millennium of subsequent occupation and cultural development.</p>
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XX Simposio de …, 2007
Hansen, Richard D., Edgar Suyuc Ley, Carlos Morales Aguilar, Thomas P. Schreiner, Abel Morales Ló... more Hansen, Richard D., Edgar Suyuc Ley, Carlos Morales Aguilar, Thomas P. Schreiner, Abel Morales López, Enrique Hernández y Douglas Mauricio 2007 La Cuenca Mirador: Avances de la investigación y conservación del Estado Kan en los periodos Preclásicos y Clásicos. En XX Simposio ...
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The Real Business of Ancient Maya Economies, 2020
The development of economic systems in Mesoamerica has been a crucial link in the understanding o... more The development of economic systems in Mesoamerica has been a crucial link in the understanding of social, economic, and political structure of later polities. The evolution of Preclassic Maya states from the perspective of the Mirador-Calakmul Basin in Guatemala and southern Campeche, Mexico has been under scrutiny with large scale, multi-disciplinary excavations and mapping in 51 sites of varying sizes. The addition of LiDAR technology has confirmed the extraordinary settlement structure, which, when combined with chronological data, allows diachronic and synchronic evaluations of economic and political structure. The geographic and economic similarities in organization with respect to dendritic spatial formations originally proposed by Santley for Aztec Tenochtitlan compare favourably to the Mirador Basin sites, suggesting that dendritic economic, social, and political systems in Mesoamerica have great antiquity.
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Papers by Richard D . Hansen
in the Maya lowlands and reached a high level of social and cultural sophistication. To understand how El Mirador was able to reach that kind
of development, it is necessary to pay attention to the suburbs where the remains of an extended occupation are sheltered. The suburbs of El Mirador are configured by a network of causeways which had to cross seasonal swamps and allowed communication between various ceremonial centers and residential compounds. The results haye shown that there are settlements dated from the Middle Preclassic through the Terminal
Classic, and that uses and functions of each settlement varied over time showing spatial arrangements withsignificant differences. Among the most important settlements we have Sacalero, Pedernal, Los Faisanes and La Muerta, which along other sites conform this study where systematic excavations and mapping have allowed us to know the scale of occupation that El Mirador acquired throughout its occupation history.
The central investigation of the project is concentrated at El Mirador, where specific studies focused on understanding the development of the Preclassic and the collapse of the city at the end of this period. We present the principal advances of the regional investigation and the buildings of the El Tigre complex, Cascabel complex, Central Great Plaza, La Muralla, and the Danta complex at El Mirador.
Excavations carried out at La Muerta, El Mirador, include final work on Structures A1 and A2 where important information was obtained relating to the building’s architecture. Structure A2 was confirmed as being Early Classic with a network of passages allowing access to the inner funerary rooms for subsequent generations. Furthermore, the existence of a third level to the building was proved, smaller in dimension but with the same system of passages. Structure A1, beside A2, revealed important information about its function such as the existence of heads modeled in stucco in the upper room of the building. The presence of these heads suggests a representation of faces of Preclassic ancestors, implying a ritual function relating the location of these two structures in La Muerta.
The 2004 field season also produced final results in the consolidation and restoration accomplished in El Mirador, rescuing Preclassic and Classic buildings that were in imminent danger of collapse. The final process of architectural consolidation work at El Mirador implemented a vanguard methodology for the conservation of the buildings as well
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as the stucco artwork which allows at the same time the showing of Preclassic Maya architecture for educational and tourism purposes. This methodology proposes unique measures to date, using the same Prehispanic techniques and material, following a rigorous program of execution and monitoring. The preliminary results have shown very satisfactory evidence.
One of the excavations carried out mentions the discovery of a high-ranking tomb dated to the Early Classic, located at the foot of Tintal’s Stela 1. The tomb and the stela were located in a low mound constructed at the north-east corner of a Large Preclassic structure built in the form of the triadic complex. The tomb shows evidence of a warrior from the Kan reign with possible war trophies, which would suggest the conditions of the area after the Preclassic collapse.
One of the excavations carried out mentions the discovery of a high-ranking tomb dated to the Early Classic, located at the foot of Tintal’s Stela 1. The tomb and the stela were located in a low mound constructed at the north-east corner of a Large Preclassic structure built in the form of the triadic complex. The tomb shows evidence of a warrior from the Kan reign with possible war trophies, which would suggest the conditions of the area after the Preclassic collapse.
Las excavaciones efectuadas en la Estructura 34 representan una nueva etapa de investigación, consolidación y conservación en la Cuenca Mirador. Se necesitó el empleo de más de 40 trabajadores, entre albañiles, estudiantes, dibujantes, excavadores, restauradores, fotógrafos, cargadores, fabricantes de piedrín, arrieros y encargados del techo de poli-carbonato. Se realizaron nueve excavaciones en la estructura, complementando los estudios realizados anteriormente. Estas nuevas excavaciones presentaron datos científicos que aclararon detalles de la construcción arquitectónica, evidencias de estructuras tempranas, así como de la secuencia cronológica en la Estructura 34, sobre el uso y función de la estructura y valiosa información sobre el nivel cultural, social y económico de los Mayas del Preclásico en la Cuenca Mirador, además de encontrar evidencia de textos tempranos.
El sitio arqueológico El Mirador se encuentra en el norte de Petén, en una cuenca definida por una sierra kárstica en tres lados. Está rodeado por una gran cantidad de bajos o pantanos boscosos que identifican esta zona. El sitio se conecta a otros en la cuenca por una red de calzadas, formando un sistema de interacción poco conocido en el Preclásico. Investigaciones arqueológicas entre 1978 y 1983, organizadas por la Universidad Católica de Washington y la Universidad de Brigham Young, determinaron la fuerte presencia de una ocupación Preclásica. Parte de estas investigaciones incluyeron la excavación de la Estructura 34, ubicada en el Complejo Tigre del Grupo Oeste de El Mirador. Para evaluar los resultados obtenidos por las investigaciones anteriores, e iniciar un programa de desarrollo turístico, además de iniciar programas de consolidación y conservación, el Proyecto Cuenca Mirador efectuó una investigación sistemática del sitio como la primera etapa durante la temporada de 2003. Para comprobar la extensión de la ocupación Preclásica, uno de los primeros esfuerzos de la temporada fue colocar sondeos de prueba para determinar la extensión y cronología de lugares desconocidos en el sitio.
Los propósitos de las investigaciones son los siguientes:
1. Hacer registro arqueológico de los sitios encontrados en dicha región.
2. Establecer la cronología diacrónica de los sitios.
3. Investigar los temas teóricos relacionados con el origen, desarrollo y proceso cultural de la civilización Maya por medio de estudios sincrónicos.
4. Investigar las interacciones de intercambio, sistemas sociales y las dinámicas de la civilización a un nivel regional e interregional.
5. Implementar estudios sistemáticos relacionados a todos los aspectos del ambiente cultural y natural de dicha región.
6. Implementar las medidas para la preservación y desarrollo de los restos arqueológicos y ecológicos de la región.
Se sabe por investigaciones anteriores efectuadas en El Mirador y Nakbe que había una gran
manifestación Preclásica evidente en la arquitectura, cerámica, esculturas y otros restos arqueológicos en esta región particularmente. Trataré de relatar de una manera breve los hallazgos de la temporada de campo de 1989 en el sitio de Nakbe, la procedencia de los hallazgos y los conceptos del proceso cultural de las Tierras Bajas. Estos datos son preliminares, pero aun así, basándose en los resultados se han formulado los siguientes seis puntos:
1. Según la presente evidencia, Nakbe es la ciudad más antigua conocida hasta la fecha en las Tierras Bajas Mayas, el fechamiento cerámico revela que fue un centro Preclásico Medio durante la esfera Mamom.
2. La revolución cultural que inició los pasos hacia la "civilización" en las Tierras Bajas fue asignada al periodo Preclásico Tardío debido a la evidencia de arquitectura ceremonial, estructura social y sistemas sociopolíticos en sitios tales como El Mirador, Lamanai, Cerros y Uaxactun. Hoy pueden aclararse las dinámicas sociopolíticas que llevaron a los Mayas hacia la "civilización", originadas más temprano durante el Preclásico Medio.
Las investigaciones de 1991 centraron su enfoque en problemáticas definidas. En primer lugar, era necesario entender la secuencia constructiva de la Estructura 1 con los pisos del Preclásico Medio de la plataforma (Hansen 1990b). Se colocaron excavaciones por la base de la escalinata principal de la Estructura 1, así como en la plaza directamente alrededor de la escalinata para buscar posibles reconstrucciones en la plaza con situaciones homólogas en la escalinata. Además, se buscó la posibilidad de localizar un monumento esculpido ubicado por la línea basal del edificio en el patrón Maya.
Por otra parte, se hizo una excavación mayor por la fachada del edificio, cerca a la escalinata principal, buscando revelar las construcciones arquitectónicas y sus relaciones con la plataforma. Inclusive, detectamos la posibilidad de revelar arte arquitectónico que ha sido mostrado en los edificios de patrón triádico en las Tierras Bajas Mayas (Freidel 1981; Hansen 1984; 1990; Valdés 1987).