268 Maya: Preclassic Period MIDDLE PRECLASSIC The Middle Preclassic (1000–400 b.c.e.) witnessed growing social complexity among coastal and piedmont communities and the expansion of complex societies into the highlands and, to a lesser extent, the lowlands Social differentiation intensified, as symbols of status and power came increasingly under the control of a small group of rulers and elites Prestige items such as mirrors, masks, ear spools, blood letters, and specialized vessels often made or adorned with precious minerals or stones (jade, obsidian, pyrite, and others) became increasingly common and elaborate A shared body of religious beliefs, ritualized and controlled by a small class of ruler-priests, served as the ideological underpinnings of an increasingly unequal society Public works also grew in size and complexity, indicating a growing degree of elite control over surplus labor One of the largest of the Middle Preclassic sites is La Blanca along the Río Naranjo on the Pacific coastal plain in contemporary Guatemala Mostly destroyed by modern development, the site covered 99 acres and included at least 40 smaller houses and four large earthen mounds covering the ruins of temples or other public works The largest of these latter measured 182,987 sq feet at its base and rose more than 82 feet high, making it one of the largest structures in Mesoamerica at the time The polity, which flourished from 900 to 650 b.c.e and was abandoned 50 years later, ruled an estimated 60 settlements in an area of perhaps 127 sq miles administered through at least two secondary centers These patterns of growth and collapse, mounting social differentiation, and multitiered administrative hierarchy typified the later rise, expansion, and decline of scores of city-states across the Maya region Other important Pacific coast Middle Preclassic sites include El Mesak and El Ujuxte, both of which, along with La Blanca, show close economic and cultural contact with the Olmec civilization far to the north along the Gulf of Mexico littoral In the highlands the city of Kaminaljuyú (place of the ancient ones) grew to become the largest highland Preclassic Maya capital Founded in the Early Preclassic and eventually covering some sq miles, the city extended its reach to dominate numerous satellite settlements by around 500 b.c.e., waxing and waning in power until its final collapse toward the end of the Classic—some 2,000 years after its founding Already by the Middle Preclassic there is evidence for extensive earthworks, canals, temples, and other public works, along with a carved monument depicting a succession of rulers seated on thrones receiving homage from bound and kneeling captives Other highland Middle Preclassic centers include El Portón and the adjacent burial site of Las Mangales, which provides clear evidence of warfare, tribute, and sacrifice of war captives This growing public expenditure of labor, social differentiation, and militarism along the coast and in the highlands during the Middle Preclassic contrast with the simpler constructions and relative egalitarianism found in the lowlands to the north Still, the overall trajectories are very similar, with the lowlands having been settled later The most intensively studied lowland centers in the Middle Preclassic include Altar de Sacrificios and Nakbé in Guatemala, and Blackman Eddy, Cuello, K’axob, and Cahal Pech in Belize In particular, the El Mirador Basin at the northernmost tip of the contemporary Guatemalan Petén (where the Nakbé ruins are located) saw the rapid development of numerous major urban centers, including El Mirador, Wakna, and Tintal Also during the Middle Preclassic, the inhabitants at more than 20 sites in the lowlands of northwestern Yucatán built sizable urban centers with characteristic Maya ball courts and temple complexes The Middle Preclassic, in short, was a period of rapid transformation and growth across much of the Maya zone Large urban centers with accompanying monumental architecture—including temples, plazas, palaces, ball courts, causeways, and elaborately carved monuments—sprang up over the course of just two or three centuries, dotting much of the landscape by the end of the period This rapid growth suggests a high degree of centralized control over surplus labor, as well as deepening institutionalization of inherited inequalities, though to date no tombs of lowland Middle Preclassic rulers have been uncovered Just as significant, the evidence also shows many signs of trade and exchange and of intensifying competition, conflict, and warfare between these emergent polities LATE PRECLASSIC The Late Preclassic (400 b.c.e.–100 c.e.) saw the emergence of what is conventionally termed civilization across the Maya zone The period as a whole was characterized by surging populations, deepening social stratification, increasing centralization of political power, expanding public works, heightening militarism and warfare, and, especially significant, the full development of writing and calendrics The origins of Mayan writing during the Middle Preclassic remain obscure, with evidence of both Isthmian influence from the Veracruz region to the north and of independent