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Although Maya scholars have referenced coastal settlements in the more general discourse on past landscapes, coastal landscapes have only rarely been the explicit focus of research programs. Coastal peoples, however, faced distinct challenges and opportunities not shared by their inland neighbors. These had material ramifications in terms of the specific decisions coastal inhabitants made over time while trying to take advantage of opportunities and manage risks. The north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula is a complex physiographic mosaic that is categorically distinct from the inland expanses of the Maya lowlands. No doubt, the physically delimiting aspects of the north coast's diverse environment played a major role in shaping more localized concepts of landscape. Here, we employ an historical ecology framework to integrate the interdisciplinary studies conducted by the Proyecto Costa Escondida along the Yucatan's north coast. Specifically, we focus on the ancient Maya port site of Vista Alegre and what our research has revealed about the dynamic interplay of social and natural processes that shaped life at this ancient Maya port over the past three millennia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We utilized 10 microsatellite loci to examine the genetic diversity, genetic structure, and demographic history of Zamia decumbens Calonje, Meerman, M.P. Griff. & Hoese, an endangered cycad species occurring in small populations on karst topography within the Maya Mountains of Belize. Four populations in two distinct habitats were sampled: three inside dolines (one at a cave entrance and two at the bottom of sinkholes) and one on a rocky hilltop. Genetic variation in the species reflects the demographic history of the sampled populations which appears closely linked to the karstification of the limestone bedrock on which it occurs rather than being structured geographically or by habitat type. Contemporary gene flow between populations is low, with the cave population facilitating most of the genetic connectivity in the region as a source of migrants to other populations. Coalescent‐based modeling revealed that the two sinkhole populations were established first, and the hilltop and cave populations were more recently founded from a common ancestral population. All populations were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and moderately heterozygous, yet signatures for recent bottleneck events were recovered for the doline populations. Furthermore, a high inbreeding coefficient and high average pairwise relatedness were found for the hilltop population, the latter possibly the result of recent illegal harvesting activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a preliminary, revised life history of Punta Laguna, Yucatan, Mexico, and considers in detail the site's relationship to nearby communities. More specifically, this article presents the results of a type-variety analysis of the cumulative palimpsest of ceramics excavated at the site between 2017 and 2022. Unlike initial studies conducted in the 1980s, the current study suggests that Maya peoples occupied Punta Laguna continuously or recurringly from 600/300 b.c. through a.d. 1500/1550. Punta Laguna is therefore usefully understood as a persistent place. By offering a composite life history of Punta Laguna, this article aims to augment current understandings of the complex social, political, and economic landscape of the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula. It also considers the utility of archaeological studies of persistent places to scholarship on urban sustainability and suggests that research investigating the connections between early occupation and site longevity may prove a fruitful avenue of study. Finally, this article argues that investigations of persistent places may provide a counterweight to the more common focus on collapse and thereby offer a more comprehensive understanding of the Maya past—one that emphasizes the vitality of the Maya present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunting is part of the biocultural heritage of the Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula because it has been part of their strategy of multiple use of resources and their cosmovision since pre-Hispanic times. The study of knowledge and practices on the uses of natural resources can help to improve the resilience of biological and human communities to disturbances. The aim of this study was to characterize the biocultural knowledge associated with traditional hunting in the Mayan community of Xul, Yucatán. From September to December 2020, 42 mixed questionnaires and seven semi-structured interviews were applied to local hunters. It was found that 23 species of vertebrates (35 mammals, 6 birds, and 1 reptile) are hunted in Xul and are used mainly for food. The species with higher cultural importance (iic) were the red brocket deer (Mazama temama), collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), and ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata). The dry season is their favorite season for hunting (71.4 %) and hunters prefer the milpa (92.9 %) and forest (83.3 %) as hunting sites. The most practiced techniques are the “batida” (flushing by hunting teams, p’uuj; 92.9 %), “caminar por el monte” (walking through the woods, xíimbal ts’on; 73.8 %), and “lampareo” (hunting with flashlights, ts’on; 69 %). In Xul there are beliefs such as virtues, the owners of animals and the winds (Ik’). These results show the continuity of biocultural knowledge related to hunting and its importance in the management and conservation of wild fauna in rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research in the Maya Lowlands has revealed substantial new evidence for the first pottery producers at about 1000-600 bc, during the early Middle Preclassic period. This comparatively late adoption is a special case in Mesoamerica, where pottery appeared elsewhere up to a millennium earlier. Although archaic lifeways had long been established in the region, and pottery technology was likely known to some archaic communities, these new data reveal the complex set of circumstances that prompted the shift to ceramic production across the Yucatan Peninsula, Peten, and Belize. This article reviews these data from the perspective of the upland region of central and southern Yucatan, known as the Elevated Interior Region (eir). Its rather complex early settlement links the eir to contemporary pottery industries throughout the peninsula, suggesting well-established exchange systems were in place even as the first populations chose to settle more permanently on the landscape. Most significant among these cultural shifts was the increasing dependence on maize foodways as a primary subsistence strategy. Intensive maize agriculture has not been documented in Mesoamerica much before 1000 bc, yet ceramic technology was adopted independently of its use in other areas. Current evidence suggests, however, that the two were linked in the Maya Lowlands, where a relatively rapid transition took place as horticultural communities became more dependent on maize crops, followed waterways to settle more permanently on the landscape, and began producing pottery locally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze changes in height, weight, and body mass index (BMI = kg/m2) from 1986 to 2022 in 3–11 year old children from Dzeal, a rural Maya community in Yucatan, Mexico. Materials and Methods: From October‐2022 to February‐2023 (third‐wave survey), we obtained anthropometric measurements of children (n = 80) and family socioeconomic data and compared them with data obtained in 1986 (n = 38) and 2000 (n = 76). Comparisons of anthropometric parameters by sex between years of measurement were performed graphically and through one‐way ANOVA, splitting children into two age groups: 3–7 and 8–11. Bonferroni adjustments for multiple comparisons were used when ANOVAs were statistically significant (p <.05). Results: In girls, significant increases in height and weight between surveys were found in 3–7 and 8–11 age groups; in boys, significant increases were only found in the 8–11 age group. Regarding BMI, there were increases in 2022 compared with 1986/2000 in both sexes from 8 years onwards. Differences indicate increases of 3.9 and 4.4 cm per decade in girls aged 3–7 and 8–11, respectively, and increases in weight of 1.1 and 3.3 kg per decade, respectively. Increases in boys 8–11 years were 2.3 cm and 2.4 kg per decade. Conclusion: Significant increases in growth parameters were observed in specific‐age children in the community studied in the context of changes in livelihoods and improvements in household material conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The $20 billion Maya Train project in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico has caused division among locals. While some are eager for the economic benefits and increased tourism revenue, others are concerned about the environmental destruction that will come with the railroad's construction. The project has ignored environmental impact assessments and has created contention among the Maya people, university students, farmers, engineers, and biologists. The lack of environmental impact studies and the potential harm to ecosystems and species have caught the attention of the Supreme Court. Despite warnings from scientists, the project managers are moving forward with construction. The train has also raised concerns about the structural integrity of the limestone terrain and the potential impact on cenotes, which are considered spiritual places by the Maya. The project has faced criticism for not benefiting local communities and for displacing Indigenous communities. The train is expected to begin operations in July 2023. [Extracted from the article]

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In our study, we set out to collect a multimodal annotated dataset for remote sensing of Maya archaeology, that is suitable for deep learning. The dataset covers the area around Chactún, one of the largest ancient Maya urban centres in the central Yucatán Peninsula. The dataset includes five types of data records: raster visualisations and canopy height model from airborne laser scanning (ALS) data, Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite data, and manual data annotations. The manual annotations (used as binary masks) represent three different types of ancient Maya structures (class labels: buildings, platforms, and aguadas – artificial reservoirs) within the study area, their exact locations, and boundaries. The dataset is ready for use with machine learning, including convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for object recognition, object localization (detection), and semantic segmentation. We would like to provide this dataset to help more research teams develop their own computer vision models for investigations of Maya archaeology or improve existing ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential mobility in Prehispanic Mesoamerica is of paramount importance in bioarchaeology to determine the "how, where and why" people established biological, political and economic networks. The goal of this paper is to assess the presence of non-local people on the East Coast of the Yucatan Peninsula during the Late Postclassic (AD 1200–1540), and how they might have been perceived by the local Maya people. We analyze the presence, origin and mortuary distribution of 50 individuals based on their dental and bone 87Sr/86Sr signatures in the "urban" assemblage constituted by the archaeological sites known as El Rey and San Miguelito on Isla Cancun. Both sites present a strontium ratio "plateau" between 0.7091 and 0.7092, which is considered the local signature. Seven individuals, ranging in age from 5 years old to adulthood, were detected as potentially non-local, and originating from a wide range of regions both near and distant to Isla Cancun. Funerary patterns, burial location, and dietary data do not indicate these people were treated differently from the rest of the population, at least at the moment of death. This suggests that these non-locals might not have been perceived as "foreigners" and that they had integrated into the local community. Such mobility and cultural integration could have motivated by multiple factors, including economic and trade connections, or kinship relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pasos: Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural is the property of Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Politicas y Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Imagofagia is the property of Imagofagia - AsAECA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: Psycholinguistic research often focuses on Indo-European and other commonly studied major languages, while typologically diverse languages remain understudied. In this paper, we examine the morphological and conceptual influences on the real-time comprehension of optional plural-marked sentences in Yucatec Maya, an indigenous language of Mexico with a less commonly studied optional plural marking system. Methods: Fifty-one speakers of Yucatec Maya participated in a picture-sentence matching experiment carried out in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Pictures of one, two, or seven humans or animals depicting an intransitive action (conceptual number) were paired with auditorily presented sentences that had no plural marking, one plural, or two plurals (morphological number). Participants indicated by key press whether the picture and the sentence were an acceptable match, and decision time was recorded. Results: In the analysis of decision (yes versus no) and accuracy, morphological and conceptual factors interacted. In the analysis of decision time, however, morphological plural marking, but not conceptual number, led to faster decisions. Discussion: In light of previous work on the role of conceptual factors in the computation of number agreement, the interaction between conceptual and morphological factors suggests that a language with optional plural marking (or low "morphological richness") is associated with high conceptual influence on sentence comprehension. Importantly, the results of this study expand the empirical base of language types that have been investigated using psycholinguistic methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to analyse the anthropomorphic figures of the Madrid Codex, through the perspective of Mayan visual culture, to understand the forms of representation of the human body and thereby approach the way of assuming the body by the Yucatecan Mayans of the Postclassic Period. The general features of anthropomorphic figures are pointed out, the modules used to build them are characterized and the information offered by linguistic and anthropological research on the subject is used. The body is a totality of interrelated parts, the body is the vehicle for knowledge, communication, and action; in the body both the individual identity and the community character of the human being are expressed, it is also possible to identify the cultural construction that gives predominance to the masculine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the work of Caroline Cunill, who has studied interethnic relations in Mexico during the 16th century. In her book, Cunill analyzes two letters in the Mayan language written by chiefs during this period, highlighting the importance of defenders of indigenous people, interpreters, and translators in the communication between the Mayan peoples of Yucatan and the colonial authorities. The book is part of the Indomexican Library, which seeks to preserve linguistic diversity and rescue indigenous languages. The text analyzes two letters written by Mayan chiefs in 1567 and 1580, in which they use Mayan voices to conceptualize their relationship with the Spanish Crown. These letters reflect the importance of the Mayan language and culture in communication with the Royal Court. [Extracted from the article]

Language revitalization efforts have been critiqued for creating and reproducing linguistic, epistemological, and pedagogical hierarchies that might run counter to a community's needs and interests. Drawing on a seven-year ethnographic and collaborative research with the Maya cultural promoters of the Caste War Museum in Tihosuco, Mexico, we describe the dynamics of our Maya language reclamation partnership focusing on the creation of bilingual comic books and summer workshops for children. These experiences show a slow but steady language reclamation approach based on the concern for younger generations to feel comfortable to claim their right to speak and learn Maya and on their fondness for Maya language and culture. We argue that the construction, negotiation, and assertion of linguistic and pedagogical authority among all participating actors is central to reclamation projects, and that these processes are impacted by outsider researchers-collaborators in ways that can support but also potentially harm these language efforts. This paper sheds light on the various tensions lived in long-term language reclamation projects, recognizing the need for outsider researchers to turn our reflexive gaze inwards and consider how we can bring to the fore practices we can celebrate as well as address and transform those that cause discomfort and uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose the need to commit to the Maya language –its learning and incorporation– in projects that involve Maya people. In the first part, we present the conceptual perspective and characterize the field of Communication and Social Change, in which we place our work. We argue that attention to minoritized languages is a priority in multilingual contexts, such as Yucatan, where inequalities persist in the social, cultural, epistemic, and linguistic spheres. In the second part, we address the work with urban youth, the majority of Maya origin, that we have carried out over a decade, in Mérida, Yucatán, emphasizing the methodological aspects of each stage. The first stage corresponds to a qualitative study, which allowed us to observe the presence of the Maya culture and the interruption of the intergenerational transmission of the Maya language in the families of young people. In the second, we designed a reflective workshop aimed at revaluing the Maya culture and language. In the third stage, we are conducting applied, daily work, promoting the learning of the Maya language and its incorporation into the activities that young people carry out in physical and virtual spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article imagines abolitionist politics in the Yucatán peninsula as one group, known as U jeets'el le ki'ki' kuxtal, pushes against one portion of Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador's development plan known as the "Tren Maya." I contend that U je'etsel's calls for autonomy speak to forms of radical abolitionist politics present in the United States, where we might observe the centrality of land in both abolition and decolonization. To this end, I first provide a definition of a trans feminist abolition radically focused on the otherwise, or the eradication of all forms of social oppression. This definition is followed by close readings of U je'etsel's communiqués regarding AMLO's 2021 visit to the Yucatán peninsula and the continued role the so‐called "Caste War" plays in attempts to expand nationalized colonization into the region. My final goal is to proffer that "Caste War" constitutes a historicized form of radical autonomy as well as project of abolition subject to forces that seek to vacate it of its liberatory power. I demonstrate that part of U je'etsel's discursive project is to reclaim the "Caste War" narrative as part of an emancipatory project involving a radical reclaiming of autonomy's regional history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of the ancient economy associated with the Classic and Postclassic periods of Maya civilization show that, in order to explain it, the market economy model has been widely used, where economic transactions were carried out in marketplaces. In this type of economy, goods are exchanged based on an agreed value that takes into account supply and demand. However, other types of exchange, such as tribute and centralized redistribution, could have been used in those transactions instead of a market economy. This article analyzes the role that tribute and centralized redistribution may have played during the heyday of Chichen Itza between the tenth and eleventh centuries. This site seems to have used its powerful military supremacy to extract tribute from sites and regions it conquered militarily and politically as they experienced their collapse. In addition, the archaeological evidence suggests that Chichen Itza made political as well as economic alliances in different regions of the Maya Lowlands in order to obtain sumptuous goods. These commodities were used by members of the elite to reinforce the power structure and consolidate social relations among the different individuals who inhabited that community located in northern Yucatan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

San Cayetano Formation, of Lower Jurassic?- Upper Jurassic (Oxfordian) age, constitutes the oldest and most extensive stratigraphic unit in the Guaniguanico Mountain Range (western Cuba) and is part of: Alturas de Pizarra del Sur (APS) and Sierra del Rosario/Alturas de Pizarra del Norte/Esperanza (SR/APN/E), separated by carbonate sequences. Lithologically, it is composed by shale, siltstone and sandstone, in apparently monotonous and somewhat metamorphosed sections; towards the upper part limestone and conglomerate interbedding is reported. Information on mineralogical composition and sediments source area for sandstones has been limited. A review and reinterpretation of these rocks is carried out, with special attention to the petrographic characterization of quartz, lithoclasts, feldspars and zircon grains (with age reports from the Paleoproterozoic to early Devonian). As a result, it is found that the source area for these rocks classifies as from: internal craton and recycled orogens. Based on these results, and the report of a granitic intrusive recorded at site M0077A with an age of 326 ± 5 Ma (25 km from the Yucatan coastline), it is possible to specify some parts of the Maya block as the source area (northern part, currently under the Chicxulub impact structure and its coverage). It is also shown that the APS sequences resemble flood and shoreline sediments (predominance of pelites) while those of SR/APN/E are more varied: fan, slope and foot-slope sediments (sandstones predominate). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In seeking continuities and disjuncture from the precedents of past authorities, the Mesoamerican emergent ruling class during the Formative period were active agents in directing changes to monumental space, suggesting that memory played a vital role in developing an early shared character of Maya lifeways (1000 b.c. to a.d. 250). The trend is most visible in the civic ceremonial complexes known as E Groups, which tend to show significant patterns of continuity (remembering) and disjuncture (forgetting). This article uses the northern lowland site of Yaxuná in Yucatan, Mexico, to demonstrate the use of early selective strategies to direct collective memory. While there are E Groups in the northern Maya lowlands, few Formative period examples are known, making Yaxuná a critical case study for comparative assessment with the southern lowlands. One implication of the Yaxuná data is that the broader pattern of Middle Formative E Groups resulted from sustained social, religious, political, and economic interaction between diverse peer groups across eastern Mesoamerica. With the emergence of institutionalized rulership in the Maya lowlands during the Late Formative, local authorities played a significant role in directing transformations of E Groups, selectively influencing their meanings and increasingly independent trajectories through continuity and disjuncture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A careful reading of the battle in the Bonampak murals offers new insights into eighth-century strategies for warfare, and the importance of overwhelming force in both aggression and deterrence. These same two strategies were critical during the Spanish invasion, especially in defense of freshwater resources. The murals of Bonampak provide insights into the Maya battle, including the emphasis on teamwork in execution of battle tactics and the seemingly contradictory emphasis on the individual, in terms of hieroglyphics. Despite exhaustive study of the paintings, the potential consideration of color-defined and pattern shields also may reveal groupings of warriors previously unrecognized in both battle and presentation of captives. Sixteenth-century accounts by Spanish invaders confirm a practice that includes defense of water sources along the coast of Yucatan, with details that can be evaluated regarding eighth-century Maya practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Documents of the Yucatecan Museum, 1870-1885" presents the history of the museum founded in 1870 in Mérida, Yucatán. The book offers a detailed view of the background, creation, and first 15 years of existence of the museum, as well as information about the 19th-century peninsular society and the process of constructing a regional identity. The article analyzes the documents of the Yucatecan Museum and reveals tensions and conflicts related to the Caste War in Yucatán, the lack of representation of living Maya culture in the museum, and the difficulties and complaints related to the lack of resources and the relationship with other cultural institutions. It also mentions the resistance of some local communities to the extraction of objects from their heritage. Overall, the article offers a detailed view of the history of the Yucatecan Museum in the 19th century. [Extracted from the article]

In recent decades, heritage communities have become conservators and transmitters of assets that have been in danger of disappearing in recent decades, in which collective actions outside official institutions have managed to preserve their heritage in a helpless situation. This paper shows the development and the activities of the Uj-ja 'Síijo'ob Community Center in Canicab, Yucatán, since the opening in 2012 until nowadays. This project arises together with a group of volunteers, pretending to be a space for literacy for children and adults in the first instance, to end up being a space for dialogue open to the entire community, in which heritage and education are the two key axes. So it presents the value of heritage communities in preserving and transmitting the Mayan cultural heritage in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the environmental perspective of the new millennium, indigenous systems of knowledge and use of biodiversity provide valuable input for the construction of natural heritage conservation strategies. Our study aimed to document the morpho-anatomical knowledge of birds by the indigenous Yucatan Maya. From 2010 to 2015, we carried out 240 structured interviews, recording anatomical and morphological terminology recognized for birds in six Maya communities in Campeche: Santa Cruz, Nunkiní, San Antonio Sahcabchen, Villa de Guadalupe, Pich and Chencoh. We found that birds in general were given the name Ch'ijch', with the presence of Koj (beak), Koj (beak), K u uk umel (feathers), and Xiik (wings) being essential characters used to define and classify this animal group. The Mayan system recognizes and names 54 anatomical organs and 16 morphological structures, making it one of the most complete indigenous nomenclatures of the class Aves nationally. This record of a broad mor-pho-anatomical nomenclature is of high importance in the perceptual structure as a differentiator and identifier of an animal domain. Furthermore, it offers a diagnostic of the cognitive level regarding this domain and indicates an ongoing high interaction between Mayan indigenous people and their avifauna, and faunal diversity in general, which has enabled them to generate detailed biological and habitat-related knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ancient Maya culture of Mesoamerica shaped landscapes for centuries, in an area where maize (Zeamays) cultivation is considered a fundamental crop in the diet of present and ancient Mesoamerican cultures. Pollen records from sites with different environmental and climatic conditions of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico) and Peten (Guatemala) evidence a clear relationship between increased maize pollen and periods of reduced precipitation caused by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) while moist periods are characterized by low maize pollen presence. ENSO conditions were not evenly distributed across the Yucatán Peninsula, and regional droughts vary according to regional climate and geographical conditions. Our results indicate a strong relationship of increased maize and tropical forest decrease with dry periods, while the Late Preclassic Humid Period (ca. 500–200 BCE) is characterized by the absence of maize pollen. The dry Late Preclassic (300 BCE-250 CE) was a key period for increased maize production, suggesting a new conceptualization of maize. Maize changed from a basic diet crop to a pragmatic product to face adverse environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-wildlife impacts threaten large-felid persistence in the northern Yucatán Peninsula, triggered largely by livestock depredation. We aimed to explore knowledge and attitudes about local wildlife in relation to husbandry practices, hunting habits, and human-wildlife interactions, in three Maya Forest communities. A questionnaire survey of 30 long-established smallholdings, where livelihood depended on a private fenced plot and surrounding communal forest, found wide knowledge of local wildlife, perception biases for abundances of game species, and preference for living amongst wild herbivores over carnivores. Interviewees had concerns about perceived year-on-year decreases in local wildlife, attributed to regular subsistence hunting by their communities. The few interviewees reporting large-felid attacks on their livestock subsequently altered management practices to prevent further attacks. The region suffers from a poverty trap of subsistence hunting by smallholders needing protein supplement potentially exacerbating depredation on the livestock that sustain their economies by large felids deprived of their natural prey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mexicon is the property of Verlag Anton Saurwein and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

During domestication, the selection of cultivated plants often reduces microbiota diversity compared with their wild ancestors. Microbiota in compartments such as the phyllosphere or rhizosphere can promote fruit tree health, growth, and development. Cordia dodecandra is a deciduous tree used by Maya people for its fruit and wood, growing, to date, in remnant forest fragments and homegardens (traditional agroforestry systems) in Yucatán. In this work, we evaluated the microbiota's alpha and beta diversity per compartment (phyllosphere and rhizosphere) and per population (forest and homegarden) in the Northeast and Southwest Yucatán regions. Eight composite DNA samples (per compartment/population/region combination) were amplified for 16S-RNA (bacteria) and ITS1-2 (fungi) and sequenced by Illumina MiSeq. Bioinformatic analyses were performed with QIIME and phyloseq. For bacteria and fungi, from 107,947 and 128,786 assembled sequences, 618 and 1092 operating taxonomic units (OTUs) were assigned, respectively. The alpha diversity of bacteria and fungi was highly variable among samples and was similar among compartments and populations. A significant species turnover among populations and regions was observed in the rhizosphere. The core microbiota from the phyllosphere was similar among populations and regions. Forests and homegarden populations are reservoirs of the C. dodecandra phyllosphere core microbiome and significant rhizosphere biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Maya milpa is a complex system integrated by the maize, beans, and squash polyculture as well as complementary economic activities, such as growing crops and maintaining livestock in family-owned backyard gardens, forestry, and beekeeping. Although there is evidence that the milpa system has existed for over three centuries, its economic importance has been increasingly questioned. This paper addresses questions regarding the economic value of the milpa system as well as the socioeconomic differences between households with and without milpa polyculture. This is done by means of an analysis of 265 surveys gathered from households located in six different communities in the east and southwest of Yucatan, Mexico. The results show that the economic value of the milpa system can vary from US$360.2 (adjusted to 2019 dollars) to US$2234 (adjusted to 2019 dollars) when on-farm consumption, including the feeding of animals and friends and family transfers, is considered. 73.4% of the surveyed households have a cost–benefit ratio of milpa polyculture lower than 1. However, households with and without milpa polyculture system receive similar annual income, showing that milpa polyculture system is as productive as wage labour in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of complex and widespread occupations during the Middle Preclassic (1000–350 b.c.) have been identified throughout the Northern Maya Lowlands and are associated with both Mamom and pre-Mamom ceramics. Beyond typological information based on the visual examination of paste, slip, and surface treatment, archaeologists know little about the technology or economics of pottery production and exchange of this period. In this study, we analyze Middle Preclassic ceramics from four sites in northwest Yucatan, using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to determine the chemical variation that exists between and within different ceramic production areas. The analysis indicates that production occurred locally by the late Middle Preclassic (700–350 b.c.), and that the earliest pottery produced in the Northern Maya Lowlands, at the sites of Komchen and Kiuic, was compositionally linked to later phases of production. This means that the first ceramic complexes of the Northern Lowlands were locally produced and not the result of migrants bringing pottery from elsewhere. The study reveals it is possible to identify the origin of Middle Preclassic ceramics by their chemical signature and that compositional variation existed at the site level over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the beginning of the 1580s, some Maya caciques of Yucatan sent to King Philip II a letter asking him the future bishop of the province to be Franciscan and a group of religious from the same Order to be sent to the peninsula in order to consolidate the evangelization of Native people. The letter was written in Yucatec maya and was translated into Castilian by the interpreter Juan Ruiz de la Vega. The record, which remains unpublished until today, completes the restricted corpus of sixteenth century texts written in Yucatec maya and, for that same reason, it has an exceptional historical value. The present article offers a linguistic and philological analysis of both the maya text and its translation. It aims at highlighting that the term "maya" was used in the letter to emphasize the native linguistic and cultural identity. We also demonstrate that the interpreter intended to minimize the expression of this revendication in its translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to explore how the agri-food knowledges and practices of Maya women enable the continuous reproduction of the Maya ways of life in the Peninsula. Methodology: qualitative methodologies: surveys, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and narrative walks in solares, plots and milpas. Documentary research on the main themes complemented this information. Results: Maya women perform agri-food activities in the solares of the Peninsula within biocultural territories, combining knowledges and practices that come from memories and traditions transmitted generationally. Limitations: the interactions with participants were limited because of the Covid-19 health emergency. Conclusions: The (re)productive work of women enables the reproduction of Maya ways of life in the biocultural territories of the Peninsula, and it is a vital component for the autonomy and sovereignty of the Maya people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Prospectiva is the property of Universidad del Valle and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Human body segments have different timing and tempo of growth. Early menarche (EM) as an indicator of early reproductive maturity results in a shortened height and leg length. Relatively larger trunk may increase risk for more body fat deposit and higher body mass index (BMI) due to the allometry of total body fat with body proportions. The objective of the study was to assess the association of EM with BMI, absolute body size [height, sitting height (SH), subischial leg length (SLL)] and relative body dimensions [sitting height to subischial leg length ratio (SHSLLR), relative subischial leg length (RSLL)] among 14- to 16-yearold post-menarcheal girls from a rural Maya community in Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Mexico. In a cross-sectional study, post-menarcheal girls (n=51) aged 14 to 16 years had EM (n=22) (<12 years of age) and not early menarche (NEM, n=29). Anthropometric measurements of height, weight, and SH were recorded. Derived variables were BMI, height and BMI-for-age z-scores, SLL, SHSLLR, and RSLL. Mean value of age at menarche (AM) was 13 years (EM 11 years, NEM 14 years). Mean values of height (EM 159 cm, NEM 164 cm), BMI (EM 20 kg/m2, NEM 19 kg/m2), sitting height (EM 81 cm, NEM 78 cm), SLL (EM 79 cm, NEM 85 cm), SHSLLR (EM 102.93%, NEM 92.03%), and RSLL (EM 49%, NEM 52%) were different (p<0.05) in the two groups. BMI showed significant negative correlation with AM (Pearson's r=-0.29, p<0.04). Linear regression models adjusted for age showed that EM had different interrelationships (p<0.05) with body dimensions: positive with BMI, SH, SHSLLR, and negative with height, SLL, and RSLL. Earlier AM was associated with higher BMI, SH, SHSLLR and lower SLL, RSLL, explaining lower body height and leg length among the participant EM girls. In the light of life history theory, EM results in a growth trade-off, short stature and larger trunk relative to leg length that might enhance risk for body fat gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siho is an archaeological site located in the Northern Maya Lowlands, where a number of grinding tools have been documented, mostly metates made with local limestone that has petrological characteristics (physical and chemical) which may indicate a particular geological origin. The statistical treatment of data extracted by X-ray fluorescence allows us to discern limestone materials from different geological formations, based on the quantity of silicon (Si) and/or calcium (Ca) in the sample. This data shows a link between the limestone of the Sihó metates and the rocks from the geological formation known as Carrillo Puerto located in the Yucatan peninsula. Furthermore, the comparison by mean thin sections between geological and archaeological materials has been useful to characterise and identify lithic materials used to fabricate the metates. The complementarity between both archaeometrical techniques, together with ethnographic, historical and archaeological documentation, provide us with information that suggests an immediate exploitation of the limestone rocks used to make the metates and brings us closer to a better understanding of the quarrying strategies practiced by the ancient Mayans of Sihó. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On two pages of the Maya hieroglyphic manuscript known as the Madrid Codex are found vestiges of European paper. Visible on one of those fragments are handwritten words in Latin and Spanish. Scholars first proposed that the European paper had been incorporated into the substrate of the Maya codex during manufacture, and that the codex was a post-conquest creation. A re-analysis of the codex has shown, however, that the European paper became adhered to the codex after it was manufactured and painted. Another study has argued that it is a fragment of a Bull of the Santa Cruzada and that its presence helps to identify the approximate year and place when the Maya codex fell into the hands of Spanish friars. This article will show that argument is incorrect and that the European writing found in the Madrid Codex does not clarify the provenience of this important document. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sihó is a Prehispanic archaeological site Located in the Northern Maya Lowlands at Yucatan Peninsula, where have been documented a considerable number of percussion and/or abrasive tools made from limestone cobbles, which are known like manuports (Clark, 1988). These artifacts have certain physical and chemical characteristics which may be symptomatic of a particular geological origin. The statistical treatment of data extracted by X-ray fluorescence gives us the possibility of discerning limestone materials from different geological formations, based on their proportion of silicon (Si), calcium (Ca) or iron (Fe). Together with a comparative calculation between sphericity indexes of this round cobbles, suggest it catchment at Ticul fault colluvial secondary geological deposits twenty km from the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to identify the influencing factors in terminal efficiency in a rural secondary school in Yucatan, Mexico. It exposes the intercultural approach, which guided the search on the perceptions and ideas of the agents of a school community of a secondary school attended by Mayan children. The methodology used was ethnography throughout a school year accompanied by participant observation, interviews, and questionnaires. It is concluded that terminal efficiency is disrupted by the lack of interest of parents and students, the need of young people to support the household economy, life as a couple at an early age, absence of protective circumstances; in such a way that the factors involved are economic, motivational, family situation and the role of the teacher, much of it related to structural issues that have progressively impoverished and marginalized the Mayan people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HLA‐G allele frequencies were studied in Yucatán (Mexico) Maya Amerindians by a direct exon DNA sequencing technique. It is described that Mayas are probably one of the first populations together with Olmecs that populated Meso America and that important HLA genetic differences between Mexican and Guatemalan Mayas support that Maya languages were imposed to several neighbouring Amerindian groups. HLA‐G*01:01:02, HLA‐G*01:01:01 and HLA‐G*01:04:01 are the most frequent alleles in this population. It is remarkable that HLA‐G*01:05N allele was not found in the population in accordance with similar results found in another Amerindians. Also, protein allele HLA‐G*01:04 frequency is found not to differ to those found in another far or close living Amerindians in contrast to other World populations. It seems that while high HLA‐G*01:05N frequency is found in Iran and Middle East populations, probably where this allele appeared within an ancestral HLA‐A*19 group of alleles haplotype and it is maintained by unknown evolutionary forces, Amerindians do not have a high frequency because a founder effect or because required natural evolutionary forces do not exist in America. Finally, we believe useful to study HLA‐G evolution for its physiopathology understanding in addition to the many papers on statistics on HLA‐G and in vitro models that are yearly published. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a comparative analysis of word-final nasals in Yucatecan Spanish and Yucatec Maya based on speech data from Quintana Roo (Mexico). In Yucatecan Spanish, a nasal is often pronounced as [m] if placed at the end of a word (e.g., Yucatá [m] instead of Yucatá [n]). Since this phenomenon is widespread on the Yucatán Peninsula, but largely unknown in other Spanish-speaking regions, it is often linked to the influence of the indigenous language Yucatec Maya. Our Spanish dataset differs from our Yucatec Mayan one in that the labialization rate significantly increases with the length of the subsequent pause in the former, but not in the latter. Thus, even if the feature was originally transferred from Yucatec Maya to Spanish, it seems that it has taken on a life of its own in Yucatecan Spanish, determined by its function as a marker of prosodic prominence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the indigenous population in Mexico increased their access to higher education. From an analytical perspective on social inequalities, this article approaches the educational trajectories of Maya or Mayan origin youths who have accessed at the university in Yucatan. It shows how a restricted access to the structure of opportunities based on social origin and a precarious school environment translates into the perpetuation of educational disadvantageous conditions up to the university level. However, it is also identified that in these environments, the interaction with social agents is a key factor in favoring a change of direction towards more favorable educational contexts. It also identifies a privileged sector of young people from families who have experienced processes of social mobility, that makes their educational trajectories a more stable path with less obstacles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El artículo discute el descubrimiento de la vasija de licor fermentado, MokChih, representaciones pictóricas de abejas e insectos en vasijas mayas del Clásico y vasijas que se utilizaban para ofrecer bebidas rituales en Yucatán, México.

El artículo discute términos asociados con las abejas melíferas, miel y colmenas entre los mayas de Yucatán con un enfoque en el manejo cultural de las abejas sin aguijón, las prácticas de meliponicultura y los nombres de las abejas entre los mayas de Yucatán.

In this paper we present a review about the murals located in the Temples of the Descending God (Temple 5) and the Frescos (Temple 16) at the pre-Columbian city of Tulum, Quintana Roo. We first study some of the characters dressed as gods, as Chahk, K'awil, Quetzalcóatl, and Xólotl. Secondly, we analyze the ritual paraphernalia, mostly composed of ceramic objects in the form of effigy urns, incense burners, idols, containers with offerings of corn in different preparations, and large jars used to contain liquids, presenting correspondences with the archaeological record. Afterwards, we analyze the intertwined serpents, as well as the vegetal elements that we identify with the flower and fruits of balché tree. Finally, these data are integrated in order to interpret the meaning of the Tulum murals in relation to the practice of bending over the maize stalks in the autumn, and also to the first fruits harvest, which coincides with the flowering of the balché tree and the beginning of the harvest of tajonal honey in Yucatán. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the regime of Emperor Maximilian claimed Belizean territory for Mexico, it justified raids on Belize's border towns by its allies, the Chichanhá and Icaiche Maya. Empire on Edge: The British Struggle for Order in Belize during Yucatán's Caste War, 1847-1901, by Rajeshwari Dutt; pp. xiii + 185. Though Belize maintained an official position of neutrality in the Caste War, it also remained wary of Mexico due to Britain's old imperial hostility toward Spain. [Extracted from the article]