Middle Preclassic (Other Keyword)
1-5 (5 Records)
The temporal position of the Middle Preclassic (c. 900 – 350 B.C.), situated between the earliest permanent settlements and hierarchically organized Late Preclassic polities, makes it a critical period for understanding the development of complex societies in the Belize Valley and the Maya Lowlands. From 2004 – 2009, the Belize Valley Archaeological Project’s excavations produced a trove of information on the Middle Preclassic occupation beneath Plaza B in the epicenter of Cahal Pech....
Integrated compositional analysis of lowland Maya Middle Preclassic pottery at Holtun, Guatemala (2017)
The archaeological site of Holtun is an intermediate sized Maya civic-ceremonial center with documented occupation from the Middle Preclassic through Terminal Classic periods (800 BC – AD 900) featuring well-preserved cultural deposits in multiple contexts. Previously, NAA was conducted on an assemblage from the Middle Preclassic ceramics in which four discrete compositional groups were identified. One such group in particular was composed almost exclusively of Mars Orange Paste Ware, a product...
Monumentality in the Middle Preclassic: The Beginnings of Public Ceremonialism at Pacbitun, Belize (2016)
In the Middle Preclassic (900-300 BC), physical evidence of the increasing complexity of Maya society can be found in the form of monumental public architecture. However, the origins of temple building are poorly understood during this time period, especially in the Belize Valley. At the site of Pacbitun we have been exploring the initial purpose of public architecture as constructions to bring likeminded communities together for ritual, ceremonial, and/or social functions. Archaeological...
Of Watery Rocks and Slumbering Crocs: A reappraisal of the Middle Preclassic at Altun Ha and Lamanai (2015)
A half-century of targeted excavations in northern Belize has generated one of the most detailed databases of Middle Preclassic (900 – 350 B.C.) settlement in the Maya Lowlands. Information from sites such as Cuello, K’axob, and Colha has provided the basis for economic and political models of Preclassic development in northern Belize and the eastern Maya Lowlands in general. The comparatively modest Classic-period architecture at these sites permitted extensive exposures of early occupations,...
Putting El Pilar Back on the Middle Preclassic Map: Assessment and synthesis of the architectural data (2017)
Analyses of early settlement in the eastern Maya Lowlands have benefited from nearly thirty years of research targeting Middle Preclassic (900 – 350 B.C.) occupations in the Belize Valley. Frequently overlooked in these settlement pattern reconstructions is the site of El Pilar, which is situated in the limestone hills to the northwest of the Belize River headwaters. Excavations at El Pilar have primarily focused on the impressive Classic-period architectural remains that comprise the site...