Underwater Maya: Analytical Approaches for Interpreting Ancient Maya Activities at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Underwater Maya: Analytical Approaches for Interpreting Ancient Maya Activities at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The remarkable preservation of pole and thatch buildings below the seafloor allows for an opportunity to investigate the organization of households at an ancient Maya salt industry known as the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize. Papers in this session will focus on the abandoned and inundated salt works that were preserved by sea-level rise and red mangrove peat. Chemical analysis of marine sediment has found patterns associated with buildings as well as plazas that support the interpretation that some of the buildings are residences. Brine was enriched outside of salt kitchens. The only two salt works above sea level aid in the reconstruction of activities inside and outside of wooden buildings. Analysis of marine sediment using loss-on-ignition provides information regarding the rate of sea-level rise and activities that occurred inside and outside of wooden buildings. The Paynes Creek Salt Works were integrated into the Classic Maya economy through trade and exchange as evidenced by stone tool analysis.

Other Keywords
Maya: Classic • Underwater Archaeology • Coastal and Island Archaeology  • Lithic Analysis • Geoarchaeology • Maya • Underwater • Household Archaeology • Sea-Level Rise • Environment and Climate 

Geographic Keywords
Peten (State / Territory) • Cayo (State / Territory) • Stann Creek (State / Territory) • Toledo (State / Territory) • North America (Continent) • United Mexican States (Country) • Yucatan (State / Territory) • Belize (Country) • Orange Walk (State / Territory) • Corozal (State / Territory)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-5 of 5)

  • Documents (5)
Documents
  • Chert Tools from the Ta’ab Nuk Na Salt Works (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Hollie Lincoln.

    This is an abstract from the "Underwater Maya: Analytical Approaches for Interpreting Ancient Maya Activities at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Assessment of a lithic assemblage excavated from the coastal Maya site of Ta’ab Nuk Na in southern Belize provides insight on economic and domestic activities. A reliance on imported chert tools from the north helps visualize links in the extensive coastal trade system...

  • Sea-Level Rise and Settlement at Ek Way Nal: Coring the Past (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Cheryl Foster. Heather McKillop. E. Cory Sills.

    This is an abstract from the "Underwater Maya: Analytical Approaches for Interpreting Ancient Maya Activities at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Excavations in the spring and summer of 2022 were carried out at the underwater ancient Maya salt work of Ek Way Nal in Punta Ycacos Lagoon in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize. Ek Way Nal provided salt to the ancient Maya during the Late and Terminal Classic periods...

  • Sea-Level Rise and Settlement at Ta’ab Nuk Na, Belize: Analyses of Marine Sediment From the I-line, 4m Transect (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Conner Flynt.

    This is an abstract from the "Underwater Maya: Analytical Approaches for Interpreting Ancient Maya Activities at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The ancient Maya created a culture with writing, religion, and vast trade networks. These trade networks are evident on the southern coast of Belize, where archaeologists have found sites dedicated to salt making. This paper will discuss Ta’ab Nuk Na, one of these...

  • Using Sediment Chemistry to Define Ancient Activities (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only E. Cory Sills. Heather McKillop.

    This is an abstract from the "Underwater Maya: Analytical Approaches for Interpreting Ancient Maya Activities at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Soil chemistry is used in the Maya area to evaluate ancient activities not readily identified through architecture and artifact assemblages. We evaluate ancient activities at Ta’ab Nuk Na salt work, one of the largest underwater sites in Paynes Creek National Park, with...

  • Witz Naab and Killer Bee Revisited: New Interpretations of Two Salt Mounds in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Rachel Watson.

    This is an abstract from the "Underwater Maya: Analytical Approaches for Interpreting Ancient Maya Activities at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Witz Naab and Killer Bee mounds are some of the few remaining onshore remnants of the Paynes Creek salt works. In this presentation, we will reexamine the interpretations of two salt mounds at the Paynes Creek Salt works. These excavations are part of a larger NSF...