Shifting Allegiances at La Milpa, Belize: A Typological, Chronological, and Formal Analysis of the Ceramics

Abstract

The primary goal of this dissertation is to present an outline of the culture history of the site of La Milpa and its immediate sustaining area through the elaboration and elucidation of a ceramic chronology and typology. However, an equally important aspect of this dissertation is a thorough critique of the type-variety/mode (T-V) system of classification upon which Maya ceramic analysis has been based over the last forty years. The analysis presented here was completed using a relational database (Microsoft Access). By using this database program, it became clear that it is necessary to rethink the basis and use of the type-variety system and how (or whether) it can be adapted as a tool for use in database driven analysis.