Prehispanic Architecture and Sculpture in Central Yucatan

Abstract

Analysis of the style of architecture and related sculpture, contemporaneous with part of the Late Classic period, prevalent in what have traditionally been designated as the Rio Bee and Chenes regions of the Maya lowlands, suggests the advisability of reconsideration of these regional designations. The Rio Bee and Chenes styles cannot readily be differentiated either in time or space and are, therefore, appropriately no more than substyles in a wider Central Yucatan regional style. In this style, internal distinctions are markedly less than those between other regional styles of the Maya lowlands. Further, on the basis of these same architectural and sculptural considerations, the Central Yucatan style is more appropriately the first phase of the Florescent period of Yucatan than the middle of the Late Classic period of the Peten with which it is contemporaneous.