ABSTRACT
Recent archaeological research in the Yalahau region of northern Quintana Roo has shown that there is a paucity of flaked stone artifacts. The Yalahau Regional Human Ecology Project has been conducting archaeological and ecological research in the area since 1993 (Fedick and Mathews 2005; Fedick et al. 2006; Fedick and Taube 1995a). The region was originally defined on the basis of physiographic characteristics, primarily by the presence of an extensive system of 300 or more wetlands that are linked to the freshwater aquifer (Fedick 2003; Fedick and Taube 1995b; see also Dunning et al. 1998). Outside of the wetlands, the terrain is generally quite flat with elevations rarely exceeding eight meters above sea level. The limestone bedrock is covered by a thin layer of soil (Rendzic Leptosols; FAO 1996) rarely more than ten centimeters deep. Little archaeological research was conducted in the region prior to the Yalahau Regional Human Ecology Project (see Glover 2006 for a history of archaeological research in the region and adjacent areas). There are now over one hundred archaeological sites recorded in the Yalahau region. The earliest evidence for occupation dates to the Middle Preclassic period, perhaps around 400 B.C., and consists of sherds from cave and surface sites belonging to the Achiote, Chunhinta, Dzudzuquil, Joventud, and Kin ceramic groups (Ochoa 2004a, 2004b; Rissolo 2003). By far, the period of greatest occupation in the region was the several centuries spanning the Late Preclassic to Early Classic transition (ca. 100 B.C.–A.D. 350/400; Fedick and Mathews 2005). There is very little ceramic evidence for occupation in the region during the Late or Terminal Classic, but a limited reoccupation of the region is evident for the Postclassic period. The region has been sparsely occupied for several centuries, but the population began to grow recently in association with the nearby urban and touristic development of Cancún. Chert Artifact Assemblages at Lowland Maya Sites
The limestone geology of much of the Yucatán Peninsula contains chert inclusions of varying abundance and quality that were used by the ancient Maya for expedient and formal tool production. Screened excavations at residential units in the southern lowlands commonly recover chert lithics (primarily debitage and flakes) and ceramics at a ratio of about 1.5:1 (chert:ceramic) at residential units dating primarily to the Classic period. For example, in the Tikal-Yaxhá intersite area, 23 screened (quarter inch) excavation units distributed among 13 residential units yielded 9,277 chert artifacts (tools and debitage) and 4,694 ceramic sherds, for a chert-to-ceramic ratio of approximately 2:1 (Fedick 1991; Ford 1986:147, 150). In the Belize River area, screened (quarter inch) excavation units distributed among 48 residential units produced 22,497 chert artifacts and 24,642 ceramic sherds for a chert-to-ceramic ratio of 0.9:1 (Ford and Fedick 1992; Ford and Olson 1989:196-197; Lucero 1994:Table 4.1). In sharp contrast to these numbers, the Yalahau region has yielded extremely small quantities of chert tools or debitage. The site of T’isil, located in the east-central area of the Yalahau region, has been the subject of mapping, surface collection, and off-structure excavations since 1999. In test excavation programs conducted in 2001 to 2003 (Amador and Fedick 2002; Fedick 2004a; Ochoa 2004a), a total of 44 screened (quarter inch) excavation units distributed among 15 residential units yielded 16 chert artifacts, consisting of three biface fragments and 13 flakes. The same excavations yielded 6,645 ceramic sherds. Thus, the chert-to-ceramic ratio is 0.002:1. Also at T’isil, surface collections from over 600 structures that were cleared of vegetation yielded 9,956 ceramic sherds and just one chert projectile point (Fedick 2004b).
