Abstract
One of the most significant engineering accomplishments of Maya civilization is Sacbe 1, a raised road connecting the ancient urban centers of Yaxuna and Coba. Using new lidar data in concert with excavation, epigraphic inscriptions, and landscape reconnaissance, we show that settlement and an urban experience emanated westward from Coba along the sacbe. The leaders of Coba—in particular, an ambitious seventh-century queen—used the sacbe to expand the political and cultural influence of their dynasty into the center of the peninsula while securing territory and resources. Gaps in the sacbe, precise delineation of its many curves, and examination of features near these curves call to mind several possible intentions governing its construction and use. Sites located along the causeway did not present significant barriers to the expansion of Coba. Sacbe 1 represents a uniquely urban space that expanded urban social networks into a rural hinterland while advancing state interests for territory and influence.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Latin American Antiquity |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for American Archaeology.
Funding
This research was generously supported by the National Science Foundation (#1623603), Jerry Murdock, Fundación Roberto Hernández, Selz Foundation, and Research Fellowships to Ardren from Dumbarton Oaks and the Center for the Humanities at the University of Miami.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Dumbarton Oaks and the Center for the Humanities | |
| Selz Foundation | |
| Fundación Roberto Hernández | |
| Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Miami | |
| National Science Foundation Arctic Social Science Program | 1623603 |
Keywords
- Maya
- infrastructure
- lidar
- road
- urbanism
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Archaeology
- History
- Archaeology