Estudios cerámicos y líticos de la región norte de la cuenca del río Lacanhá y sus implicaciones para las interacciones políticas y económicas durante el Clásico Tardío

Despite the work of countless rese a rchers, there rem a ins a number of g a ps in our knowledge reg a rding the M a y a a re a . For ex a mple, previous a rch a eologic a l studies in the northern region of the L a c a nha River b a sin in Chi a p a s h a ve focused only on first a nd second tier sites such a s Y a xchilan, Piedr a s Negr a s a nd Bon a mp a k while little work h a s been done a t sm a ller surrounding sites. The R a ncho Ojo de Agu a Arch a eologic a l Project w a s therefore begun in 2015 to identify third a nd fourth tier sites in the a re a a nd investig a te their roles in the region a l dyn a mic. Following a n initi a l survey of the a re a , surf a ce collection, exc a v a tion a nd underw a ter investig a tion resulted in a subst a nti a l a rtif a ct collection. These studies provide evidence reg a rding the n a ture of inter a ction a mong settlements of a ll sizes in the region, rel a tions which we consider were both horizont a l a nd hier a rchic a l in their n a ture.