The community is a socially constituted unit based on a shared identity. Individuals create the shared identity from practices and abstract notions that are reinforced in localized communities by daily interaction and common concerns. Communities are, on the other hand, heterogeneous. Individual members may pursuit various economic activities, may have different wealth, and may occupy diverse sociopolitical roles. Individual differences imply divergent interests, experiences, and knowledge. How, then, is the integration of a community achieved despite of heterogeneity? This study considers integrative and divisive processes in the economic, sociopolitical, and ritual structures of localized communities in the Late Classic Maya lowlands. The sites of Nacimiento and Dos Ceibas, and the fortress of Cerro de Cheyo were mainly occupied during the seventh and eighth century A.D., a time of political change The inhabitants of Nacimiento and Dos Ceibas engaged mainly in subsistence activities. They seem to have been farmers who occasionally hunted, knapped their chert tools, produced their own ceramics, and spun and wove their own clothes. Each household was economically autonomous and this remained unchanged over the course of the Late Classic Local elites emerged during the later part of the Late Classic as the communities became socially more diverse. During the eighth century A.D., Nacimiento and Dos Ceibas adopted new iconography in the form of seated lords, owls, and Muwan feathers. This reflects the emergence of local elites and new social values that stress militarism Public buildings and public spaces, most notably a ballcourt, formed the centers of Nacimiento's three neighborhoods and of Dos Ceibas. They integrated the respective communities. The new local elites seem to have competed with theatrical performances in their outsized residential groups, though The sites south of Aguateca were small peasant communities with a complex internal organization. Its inhabitants interacted on multiple layers not only within but also beyond their community. The economic, sociopolitical, and ritual changes highlight the dynamic processes that shape localized communities. The community is a sociopolitical arena in which individuals negotiate integrative and divisive processes
