SHIFTING PERCEPTIONS OF SACRED SPACES: CEREMONIAL REUSE OF MAYA ARCHITECTURE AND MONUMENTS AT SAN BARTOLO, GUATEMALA

Abstract

The ancient Maya site of San Bartolo experienced a decidedly turbulent history that is characterized by several phases of occupation and abandonment. This research illustrates how the San Bartolo community reacted, responded, and adapted to these periods of volatility by ritualizing pyramids, palaces, monuments, and other public spaces. Specific ceremonial rites effectively utilized the past as an anchor for the present, while others marked the final exodus from the site some time shortly after A.D. 800. This work draws from archaeological excavations, paleoethnobotanical finds, ceramic analysis, and ethnographic accounts to flesh out both the continuities and disjunctions among a number of religious rites that were performed across the site. Broad issues of social memory, agency, and place emerge at the intersections of these data sets. Ultimately, these investigations demonstrate how the cultural landscape of ancient Maya cities was something constructed, maintained, and reconstructed over time. Finally, the paleoethnobotanical finds indicate that the ancient Maya of Late Classic San Bartolo employed a kind of "floral tool kit" that was utilized in otherwise distinct ceremonies across the site.