Papers by Christine Dixon
Latin American Antiquity, 2012
The role of seed crops in the Maya diet is well understood. The role of root crops in the ancient... more The role of seed crops in the Maya diet is well understood. The role of root crops in the ancient Maya diet has been controversial, with some scholars suggesting they were staples, and others arguing they were not cultivated at all. Research in the 1990s found occasional manioc plants in kitchen gardens within the Classic period Cerén village, leading to the interpretation that manioc did contribute to the diet, but was not a staple. Recent research outside the village encountered sophisticated raised-bed monocropping of manioc over an extensive area. This area was harvested essentially all at once, about a week prior to the eruption. An estimated ten tons of tubers were harvested. The various uses of manioc include consumption as food, exchange with other settlements, fermentation, drying and storage as a powder, and as an adhesive. It is possible that many or all these alternatives were being followed. At Cerén manioc was a staple, not just an occasional adjunct to the diet. Becau...
Ancient Mesoamerica, 2011
Many scholars have thought the Classic period Maya did not cultivate the root crop manioc, while ... more Many scholars have thought the Classic period Maya did not cultivate the root crop manioc, while others have suggested it may have been an occasional cultigen in kitchen gardens. For many decades there was no reliable evidence that the ancient Maya cultivated manioc, but in the 1990s manioc pollen from the late Archaic was found in Belize, and somewhat older pollen was found in Tabasco. At about the same time of those discoveries, research within the Ceren village, El Salvador, encountered occasional scattered manioc plants that had grown in mounded ridges in kitchen gardens. These finds adjacent to households indicated manioc was not a staple crop, and vastly inferior to maize and beans in food volume produced. However, 2007 research in an agricultural area 200 m south of the Ceren village encountered intensive formal manioc planting beds. If manioc was widely cultivated in ancient times, its impressive productivity, ease of cultivation even in poor soils, and drought resistance su...
Natural Springs: A Critical Life Force in ancient Costa Rica
The Complex Community of Cerén, El Salvador: a Classic Maya Example of Heterogeneity
Constructing the Social Fabric of a Community: Household Service Relationships to the Ceren Village
Sacbe Construction, Agricultural Production, and Community Organization in the Classic Maya Community of Cerén, El Salvador
Rising from the Ashes: Power and Autonomy at Ceren, El Salvador
The Sociopolitical Economy of an Ancient Maya Village: Cerén and its Sacbe
Latin American Antiquity, 2015
The intellectual, artistic, and architectural accomplishments of Maya elites during the Classic p... more The intellectual, artistic, and architectural accomplishments of Maya elites during the Classic period were extraordinary, and evidence of elite activities has preserved well in the archaeological record. A centuries-long research focus on elites has understandably fostered the view that they controlled the economy, politics, and religion of Maya civilization. While there has been significant progress in household archaeology, unfortunately the activities, decisions, and interactions of commoners generally preserve poorly in the archaeological record. Therefore, it has been challenging to understand the sociopolitical economy of commoners, and how it related—or did not relate—to elite authority. The exceptional volcanic preservation of the site of Cerén, El Salvador, provides a unique opportunity to explore the degree to which elites controlled or influenced commoner life. Was society organized in a top-down hierarchy in which elites controlled everything? Or did commoners have auto...
The use of ground-penetrating radar to detect cultural features: Ceren, El Salvador
UMI, ProQuest ® Dissertations & Theses. The world's most comprehensive collection of dis... more UMI, ProQuest ® Dissertations & Theses. The world's most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses. Learn more... ProQuest, The use of ground-penetrating radar to detect cultural features: Ceren, El Salvador. by Dixon ...
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Papers by Christine Dixon