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Paper Information:
This paper may be of particular interest to:  Practicing and Applied Anthropologists     Teachers of Anthropology in Community Colleges     Students
Type: Paper
Paper Title: THE CREATION OF A PLACE OF REMEMBRANCE: LA MILPA BELIZE
Author: MARIA MARTINEZ   
Date/Time: Sun., 9:00 AM
Co-Author(s): MARIA MARTINEZ 
Abstract: This paper examines elites as a collective group and the creation of their ritually charged place where they constructed a dominant memory through commemorative acts and the continued deliberate use of place to create and maintain social and political power. Elites in Mesoamerica used various strategies to maintain and legitimize the sociopolitical order, for example, the construction of monumental architecture, the consumption of sumptuous goods, as well as, the creation and circulation of memorable events that have manifested themselves in materiality and the creation of place. The founding population of La Milpa, Belize established a place of remembrance during the Late Preclassic period (400 B.C. to A.D. 250), which continued to remain an important locus until the Late and Terminal Classic period (A.D. 700 to 900) conceivably serving as a mnemonic device. During the Late Preclassic the practices and activities of incipient elites, especially powerful commemorative rituals, were open to members of different collectives, engaging all members of the community in the construction of a social memory and community identity. The elites produced dominate social memories that legitimized and maintained hegemonic order. By the Late and Terminal Classic periods the configuration of this place was significantly different and completely closed off with the construction of monumental architecture, excluding most of the community from the activities and practices performed––socially separating themselves and disengaging other collectives from the creation of this dominate memory and identity, thus ultimately altering the way in which power was legitimized and appropriated.

Program Number: 5-0165
Session Title: EXPLORING COMPETING MEMORIES AND MATERIALITY THROUGH LANDSCAPE AND HOUSEHOLD ARCHAEOLOGY
Session Sponsor: Archaeology Division
Session Date/Time: Sun., 8:00 AM-9:45 AM
Organizer(s): DEANNA RIDDICK, CASEY HANSON, NEDRA LEE 
Chair(s): MARIA MARTINEZ  
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