Between the patio group and the plaza: Round platforms as stages for supra-household rituals in early Maya society

Abstract

• Spaces between the domestic and the public yield new information about social organization and complexity. • Multiple ritual systems existed in early Maya society, creating overlapping communities. • Supra-household performances created less hierarchical relationships than did public ceremonies. Low, open, circular platforms were built in residential areas at sites across the Maya lowlands during the Preclassic period (c. 1000 BCE – 300 CE). These structures were probably used for ritual performances, such as dances. Here, we describe three examples excavated at Ceibal, Guatemala. We argue that round structures were used in supra-household rituals that created overlapping communities between the levels of domestic and public. Using the principles of heterarchy and a practice-based approach to ritual, we examine the physical characteristics of the architecture. During the Late Middle Preclassic (c. 700–350 BCE), in the absence of rulers or a strong hierarchy, supra-household rituals at circular platforms in residential areas created different social relationships than did the communal ceremonies in the public plaza. At the transition to the Late Preclassic (c. 350 BCE), ritual practices and spaces were reorganized, becoming more homogeneous across residential and public contexts, and relationships among households changed. We suggest that studies of the practices that bring together social groups at levels between public and domestic can yield more complete views of social complexity that are not based solely on inequality or hierarchy.