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Residential size and volume differentiation across urban zones at El Perú-Waka', Peten, Guatemala
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2024
Abstract
Located at the western edge of the Classic Maya heartland, El Peru-Waka' was one of the most densely aggregated urban cores in the Lowlands. With households packed next to each other, it can be difficult to define where one ends and another begins. Nevertheless, survey and excavation data suggest that differences in household provisioning and generational cycling created considerable variation in household wealth across the city. This paper employs household area (m2) and volume (m3) to calculate Gini coefficients for the El Peru-Waka' urban core and immediate hinterlands to quantify household differentiation across the urban landscape. Comparison of the coefficients for the total study area with those for individual urban zones (core, periurban, hinterland) demonstrate that while El Perú-Waka' exhibits high overall household differentiation, this differentiation is considerably muted within a given urban zone. This demonstrates the impact of settlement location on differences in household size and architectural investment.
Resumen
Ubicado en el borde occidental del área central del clásico maya, El Perú-Waka' fue uno de los núcleos urbanos más densamente agregados de las tierras bajas. Con hogares abarrotados uno al lado del otro, puede ser difícil definir dónde termina uno y comienza otro. Sin embargo, los datos de reconocimientos, mapeo, y excavaciones sugieren que las diferencias en el aprovisionamiento de los hogares y el ciclo generacional crearon una variación considerable en la riqueza de los hogares en toda la ciudad. Este documento emplea el área (m2) y el volumen (m3) de los hogares para calcular los coeficientes de Gini para el núcleo urbano de El Perú-Waka' y las zonas de influencia inmediatas para cuantificar la diferenciación de los hogares en el paisaje urbano. La comparación de los coeficientes para el área total de estudio con los de las zonas urbanas individuales (núcleo, periurbano, periférico) demuestra que, si bien El Perú-Waka' exhibe una alta diferenciación general entre los hogares, esta diferenciación se reduce considerablemente dentro de cada zona urbana. Esto demuestra el impacto de la ubicación de los asentamientos en las diferencias en el tamaño de, y la inversión arquitectónica en, los hogares.
- Type
- Compact Section: Ancient Maya Inequality
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- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press
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