Competition and conflict in the Upper Belize River Valley: Insights from the ancient Maya minor center of Callar Creek, Belize

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Kurnick
Keyword(s):  
River Valley ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Belize River Valley

RITUAL EMULATION OF ANCIENT MAYA ELITE MORTUARY TRADITIONS DURING THE CLASSIC PERIOD (AD 250–900) AT CAHAL PECH, BELIZE

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna C. Novotny ◽  
Jaime J. Awe ◽  
Catharina E. Santasilia ◽  
Kelly J. Knudson
Keyword(s):  
River Valley ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
Mortuary Ritual ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Radiocarbon Data ◽  
Maya Site ◽  
Valley Area

In this study, we employ multiple lines of evidence to elucidate the use of mortuary ritual by the ruling elite at the ancient Maya site of Cahal Pech, Belize, during the Early Classic and early Late Classic periods (AD 250–630). The interments of multiple individuals in Burial 7 of Structure B1, the central structure of an Eastern Triadic Assemblage or “E-group” style architectural complex, were in a manner not consistent with the greater Belize River Valley, the only multiple individual human burial yet encountered at Cahal Pech. The sequential interments contained a suggestive quantity of high-quality artifacts, further setting them apart from their contemporaries. Among these artifacts were a set of bone rings and a hairpin inscribed with hieroglyphs, some of the few inscriptions ever found at Cahal Pech. We analyzed regional mortuary patterns, radiogenic strontium values, and radiocarbon data to test hypotheses about who these individuals were in life, why they were treated differently in death, and to reconstruct the sequence of events of this complex mortuary deposit. We contend that the mortuary practices in Burial 7 indicate an attempt by the Cahal Pech elite to identify with cities or regions outside the Belize River Valley area.

Preclassic Round Structures of the Upper Belize River Valley

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Aimers ◽  
Terry G. Powis ◽  
Jaime J. Awe
Keyword(s):  
River Valley ◽  
Architectural Form ◽  
Maya Architecture ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Preclassic Maya ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
The World ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
Maya Site

Round structures are considered a rarity in Maya architecture. Four late Middle Preclassic period (650-300 B.C.) round structures excavated at the Maya site of Cahal Pech demonstrate that this was a common architectural form for the Preclassic Maya of the upper Belize River Valley. These open platforms are described, and compared to similar forms in the Belize Valley and elsewhere. An interpretation of their significance is offered that uses information from artifacts, burials, and ethnohistory as well as analogy with round structures in other parts of the world. We suggest that these small round platforms were used for performance related to their role as burial or ancestor shrines.

TO EAT, DISCARD, OR VENERATE: FAUNAL REMAINS AS PROXY FOR HUMAN BEHAVIORS IN LOWLAND MAYA PERI-ABANDONMENT DEPOSITS

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrissina C. Burke ◽  
Katie K. Tappan ◽  
Gavin B. Wisner ◽  
Julie A. Hoggarth ◽  
Jaime J. Awe
Keyword(s):  
River Valley ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Human Behaviors ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Baking Pot ◽  
Lowland Maya

AbstractInterpreting middens, feasting events, ritual, or terminal deposits in the Maya world requires an evaluation of faunal remains. Maya archaeologists consistently evaluate other artifact classes, but often offer simply number of identified specimens values for skeletal elements recovered from these deposits. To further understand their archaeological significance, we analyzed faunal materials from deposits at the sites of Baking Pot and Xunantunich in the Upper Belize River Valley. We identified the species, bone elements, bone or shell artifacts, taphonomic signatures, and quantitative ratios recovered to test whether a deposit can be identified as a midden, part of a feasting ritual, terminal ritual, or other rituals significant to the Maya. Our analyses allow us to begin building a system for using faunal remains as a proxy for interpreting the significance of these deposits. In this paper, we present our results and hope to open the conversation for future evaluations of faunal remains in similar deposits.

Integrating U-Th, 14C, and 210Pb methods to produce a chronologically reliable isotope record for the Belize River Valley Maya from a low-uranium stalagmite

The Holocene ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1234-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pete D Akers ◽  
George A Brook ◽  
L Bruce Railsback ◽  
Alex Cherkinksy ◽  
Fuyuan Liang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Combining Evidence ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Early Postclassic ◽  
Isotope Record ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

Social and environmental changes had great spatiotemporal variability in the Maya Lowlands during the Classic and Postclassic Periods, and stalagmites promise high-resolution paleoclimate data that can refine our understanding of this complex time. Unfortunately, stalagmites in this region are often difficult to date by U-Th methods because of low initial uranium concentrations. Other dating techniques can be used on such stalagmites, and we present here an age–depth model for BZBT1, a low-uranium stalagmite sampled from Box Tunich cave in the Belize River Valley. This age–depth model dates the growth of BZBT1 to between 400 and 1610 yr BP (340–1550 CE) by combining evidence from U-Th results, radiocarbon dating of both stalagmite CaCO3 and trapped organic material, and 210Pb dating. The resulting stable isotope record from BZBT1 reveals paleoclimate changes that affected local Maya populations during the Classic and early Postclassic Periods. This record is further refined by isotopically tuning the BZBT1 data with two other regional stalagmite records. Our work offers additional paleoclimate insight into the relationship between the Maya and their environment from a stalagmite that would typically be disregarded for research purposes. Continued research into alternative dating techniques for speleothems can enable additional scientific discovery while promoting speleothem conservation.

LOWLAND MAYA GENESIS: THE LATE ARCHAIC TO LATE EARLY FORMATIVE TRANSITION IN THE UPPER BELIZE RIVER VALLEY

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 519-544
Author(s):  
Jaime J. Awe ◽  
Claire E. Ebert ◽  
W. James Stemp ◽  
M. Kathryn Brown ◽  
Lauren A. Sullivan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Formative Period ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Late Archaic ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Belize River Valley ◽  
Trade And Exchange ◽  
Early Formative ◽  
Lowland Maya

AbstractThe transition from the Late Archaic to the Late Early Formative period witnessed profound changes in the Maya lowlands. In addition to the establishment of the first settlements and agrarian communities, this critical phase of cultural development heralded the introduction of ceramics, saw changes in lithic technology, gave rise to inter-regional trade and exchange, and witnessed the introduction of a complex symbolic system expressed on portable objects. In this article, we synthesize data collected over the past several decades by various archaeological projects in western Belize to provide an overview of the cultural changes that unfolded during the Late Archaic to Late Early Formative period in the Upper Belize River Valley. We also provide evidence indicating that it was during this critical transitional period that we begin to see the establishment of several cultural traditions that became uniquely lowland Maya.

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