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Discovery of dozens of broken ceramic roof ornaments (almenas) on the floor abutting the front (western) margin of an elite residence (Structure Q-1) at Cihuatan, El Salvador provides a new context for this category of artifacts. While relatively well-known from sites in the Valley of Mexico, elsewhere in Mesoamericaalmenashave been documented only from a single Teotihuacan-style structure at the lowland Maya site of Tikal, one structure at Mayapan, and possibly at a few other sites in Yucatan. A preliminary program to reconstruct a portion of the many box-likealmenasat Cihuatan, of a date much later than the one from Tikal, generated seven relatively complete examples of this form, indicated that fragments of perhaps another 50 had been recovered, and that they were used in pairs. The reconstructed sample provides an important demonstration of the ornamentation on an elite residence and also reveals much about how Structure Q-1 and surrounding buildings came to an end, arounda.d.1200. At least eight other buildings at Cihuatan had been adorned withalmenas,each building having examples of one specific shape, possibly unique to this city. Comparisons with Aztec and earlier Mexican forms suggest cultural connections, perhaps via Tula. These findings strongly suggest Mexican influences for the use and forms of roof ornaments at Cihuatan.

La relazione presenta i risultati degli scavi condotti tra il 1977 e il 1981 presso le imponenti rovine note come Le Mura di Santo Stefano, situate vicino Anguillara Sabazia, appena 3 km a sud del Lago di Bracciano. La fase più antica di occupazione era relativa ad una fattoria di I secolo d.C. Intorno al 200 d.C. viene costruita una serie di strutture, compreso un edificio a pianta rettangolare su tre piani copiosamente decorato con diciannove tipi di marmo, suggerendo così che il complesso avesse un carattere lussuoso, possibilmente parte di un latifundium. Si hanno evidenze di ulteriori attività nel III o inizi IV secolo d.C. Nel IX secolo, dopo un periodo di abbandono, parte del complesso fu convertito nella chiesa di Santo Stefano. L'aula rettangolare fu rioccupata e le restanti rovine usate come cimitero. Si è dedotto che il sito possa aver funzionato come centro di una proprietà medievale, parte della domusculta papale, o in alternativa come un fundus di una struttura monastica. Nell'XI secolo il sito fu abbandonato, dopo ehe i resti di scheletri appartenenti ad almeno 90 individui, e le ossa di tre cani, furono interrati in un pozzo tappato con pezzi di sculture marmoree romane.

The perception of Late Antique Knossos has changed in recent years from one of a city in desertion to one of a flourishing innovator. Within this context of renewed theories regarding the Late Antique city, this article provides a contribution to the further understanding of the nature of society during this period. Of the Late Antique remains at the Knossos Medical Faculty site, only the Basilica building itself has been published in detail. As such, the aim of this work is to complete the publication record for the Late Antique and other features at the Knossos Medical Faculty site. To this end, the evidence of the entire Basilica complex is discussed and a full account of the mortuary data including the skeletal remains is presented. In addition to the religious architecture and mortuary data the secular material dating to the Venetian and Ottoman periods is considered. Consequently, this overview of the history and function of the KMF basilica complex adds to the expanding knowledge of Late Antique Knossos with particular regard to the religious and burial practices.

Recognition of architectural patterning among groups of structures at lowland Maya sites dating from the Classic period provides insights into the ways that residences and ritual complexes were organized. Each structured group arrangement, or Plaza Plan (PP), reveals an architectural grammar that provides the database enabling us to predict urban as well as rural settlement patterns. Wide variations in sizes among examples of residential PPs suggests that heterarchy was an important aspect of Classic Maya society. Examination of PP2 at Tikal indicates that a heterarchic pattern of organization existed. Heterarchy may relate to the fragility of the structure of lowland Maya kingship, and this may explain the gradual demise of states during the Terminal Classic and Postclassic periods and their replacement by re-emergent Maya chiefdoms.

Significant indirect evidence suggests that one of the Classic-period residential groups at Tikal was the residence of a family of potters who produced high-quality painted wares. Delineation of the borders of residential Group 4H-1 at Tikal led me to postulate that thebajowas a major resource zone for ceramic manufacturing rather than a spatially limiting feature. This family of upscale ceramic producers used the adjacentbajoas a source of clay and fuel for firing pottery. The configuration of other groups near Group 4H-1 suggests not only that the people occupying the several groups on this peninsula were related, but that they were all involved in the production, painting, and distribution of fine ceramics. These several residential groups, located on adjacent house lots, define abarriowithin Tikal whose occupants formed an extended kin unit sharing an economic focus on the production of high-quality ceramics. A consideration of the contents of trash deposits that were used by the Maya for building fill and a study of the middens found adjacent to residential groups at Tikal provide clues to the location of a specific kiln, or firing area. Broken pottery in the structure fill tells us more than architectural history. In this example, pottery indicates how other aspects of one or more house lots were organized and used. In particular, these data suggest that abarrio-like cluster of households at Tikal, with its own ritual center (Group 5G-I), housed families of ceramic producers who had specifically located their residences in direct proximity to thebajo. The search for the firing facilities associated with the production of ceramics in Group 4H-1 is now a major research focus. “Kilns,” or firing facilities, should be among the various architectural features found “out back,” or located on the margins of a house lot. Kilns may have been of the trench type or free-standing small buildings, possibly within sheds, and are expected outside the perimeter formed by the main buildings of the residential group. The structures facing a plaza or series of plazas that are the most obvious elements of a single household tend to attract archaeological attention. Location of structures “out back,” or peripheral to the residential core buildings, could help define the configuration of household lots.

Recent models for the organization of Classic period Maya in the Guatemala lowlands suggest a complex system of stratified social classes. Much of the basic data supporting such theoretical models is derived from the evidence for the existence of numerous occupational specializations. Previously, the data have been largely inferential, but extensive and comprehensive excavations at Tikal over a period of 13 yr have provided significant information suggesting that the occupations of residents of specific buildings or house groups can be determined. This evidence also suggests techniques by which future excavations might be directed in order to augment existing information.

The hypothesis presented by Tourtellot and Sabloff regarding ancient Maya exchange systems, although not necessarily incorrect, is found to be based on inaccurate information. The use of such data leads to the formulation of erroneous ideas concerning Maya economic systems in general. This in turn hinders the application of the useful aspects of Tourtellot and Sabloff's study to problems concerning the structure of ancient Maya society. Department of Sociology and Anthropology West Chester State College