Chocola: An Ancient Maya Capital in a Contemporary Guatemalan Community

Abstract

Water, Cacao, and the Early Maya of Chocola presents the results of Jonathan Kaplan and Federico Paredes Umana’s three seasons of archaeological investigations and additional years of research at the large prehispanic site of Chocola, located in the Pacific piedmont of southwestern Guatemala. More than simply a dry monograph, this book also represent’s the culmination of Kaplan’s personal journey as the director of a project that was ultimately shut down by the modern community in which they were working. Kaplan and Paredes Umana’s book is a welcome addition to the literature on the rise of complex societies on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala and provides an important cautionary tale for archaeologists engaging in research in small, indigenous communities.