Muyil Sequence

Muyil Sequence

Chunyaxche
Chumpom
Chun-On
Chun-Yaah
Chunkopo
Chunchukum

Ceramic Sequence for Muyil

To this point a factor analysis and a seriation of the factors have been used to suggest a temporal sequence for ceramics at Muyil. The discussion here follows a detailed review of the individual test pit stratigraphy (especially pits 11, 5, 6 and others in the table above) to derive the final associations and temporal sequence from the ceramics. The final step is to bring this together into a sequence of ceramic complexes that can be used to describe the culture history of the site and the activity areas. In the following discussion, dates are used for the first time.

There is only one absolute date from Muyil from radiocarbon assay. It is for a lintel of the Castillo, and it is not well tied to any ceramics. Dates have been established below by relating the ceramics in the Muyil sequence to the ceramic sequences from other sites, especially those at Uaxactun, Mayapan, Becan, Coba, Cozumel, Komchen, and the Puuc area. As a result, they are provided for reference with the understanding that it is the sequence which has been established here and that the dates may be subject to revision as more becomes known about Muyil or about the absolute dates of the ceramic types elsewhere.

Complex names were chosen from the village names near Muyil in Quintana Roo. Chunyaxche, Chumpom, Chunkopo, Chun-Yaah, and Chun-On are named for the bole, "chun," of a large tree in the village center, such as a yaxche, pom, or kopo. These are supplemented supplemented by another Maya name for a tree found in the vicinity (Chunchukum).

The following figure (Figure 13) is designed to provide quickly an overview of the major ceramic groups found at Muyil.

Figure 13 Approximate dates of major ceramic groups at Muyil

Figure 14 Major ceramic groups represented at Muyil

Among the ceramics are a few sherds from the Middle Formative. They were used to establish the first complex at Muyil. The ceramic sequence from that point onward includes significant numbers of sherds from each era from the Late Formative/Protoclassic through the Late Postclassic (Figure 14). We therefore date prehispanic site occupation as 350 B.C. through A.D. 1525. We did not find any colonial sherds.

Figure 15 Ceramic sequences from the Maya area, with the Muyil sequence

The complexes we established are given below. They are shown by name in a chronological chart of complexes from other sites in 15.