The emergence of a large community at Aguada Fénix and its legacy in Southeastern Mesoamerica

Although scholars have traditionally assumed that the development of social hierarchy and centralized organization led to the creation of large constructions, Aguada Fénix, along with other early monumental sites found in various parts of the world, forces us to revise this view. At Aguada Fénix, located in southeastern Mexico, the largest construction in the history of the Maya area was built around 1050 BC, before the establishment of full sedentism in the absence of marked social hierarchies. Its rectangular form and alignment with a specific sunrise direction were designed as a cosmogram. The creation of a building representing the order of the university probably motivated many individuals to work together. The process of construction was performative in the sense that it led to a new organization among the participants and a sense of community. Early monumental constructions not only demonstrate the human ability to collaborate on large scales without pronounced hierarchies but also imply a power rooted in collectivity that made people more amenable to collective rules.