ANCIENT MAYA SETTLEMENT, INTERACTION SPHERES, AND GEOPOLITICS IN SOUTH-CENTRAL QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO

This paper presents the results of investigations at the ancient Maya site of Margarita in south-central Quintana Roo, Mexico, and relates them to documented patterns at neighboring centers. Following initial settlement of the region in the Middle Preclassic, settlement hierarchies topped by large centers with monumental architecture, carved monuments, and associations with sites to the south emerged in the Late Preclassic to Early Classic periods. In the Late Classic, several primary centers declined and there was a proliferation of affluent urban populationsevidenced by construction of elaborate residential groupsat smaller centers like Margarita. Long-distance cultural affiliations shifted as well, with ceramic and architectural links to western and northern Yucatan becoming pronounced. Many settlements were abandoned in the Terminal Classic, but there is also evidence of the formation of post-collapse communities at Margarita and other neighboring sites during the same period.