“The Center and the Edge”: How the Archaeology of Belize Is Foundational for Understanding the Ancient Maya, Part II
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 "“The Center and the Edge”: How the Archaeology of Belize Is Foundational for Understanding the Ancient Maya, Part II" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
In 1841, following his first historic trip to the Maya World, John Lloyd Stephens commented that between Belize City and the “inhabited part of Central America is a wilderness, unbroken even by an Indian path” and that “residence there is more confining than living on an island” (Stephens 1841:19). While spectacular architectural remains and carved monuments pertaining to the ancient Maya were almost immediately recorded in the center of the Yucatan Peninsula, coastal areas like Belize had yet to yield similar results. Thus, many early archaeologists automatically assumed that what became the modern country of Belize was peripheral or, at best, on the edge of ancient Maya development. For many researchers in the Maya area, especially in modern countries surrounding Belize, this perspective continues to be espoused with little attention being paid to the Belizean archaeological data. Yet, the archaeology that has been undertaken in Belize has contributed disproportionately and significantly to our collective knowledge of ancient Maya civilization. This session highlights the many contributions that Belizean archaeology has made to the broader area of Maya studies and demonstrates how research in Belize has been at the leading edge of scholarly debates on ancient Maya prehistory.
Other Keywords
Maya: Classic •
Bioarchaeology/Skeletal Analysis •
Cultural Resources and Heritage Management •
Dating Techniques: Radiometric •
Geoarchaeology •
Architecture •
Migration •
Underwater Archaeology •
Archaic •
Mortuary archaeology
Geographic Keywords
United Mexican States (Country) •
Belize (Country) •
North America (Continent) •
Peten (State / Territory) •
Yucatan (State / Territory) •
Orange Walk (State / Territory) •
Cayo (State / Territory) •
Corozal (State / Territory) •
Belize (State / Territory) •
Stann Creek (State / Territory)
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-10 of 10)
- Documents (10)
- Before There Were Ceramics in Belize (2024)
- Bona Fide: Advances in Ancient Maya Bioarchaeology from Belize (2024)
- Climate and Cultural Responses in Belizean Prehistory (2024)
- Coastal Trade: The Ancient Maya of Belize (2024)
- Community Archaeology in Belize (2024)
- From Buried Preclassic Villages to the Lexicon for Maya Architecture: The Impact of Architectural Studies in Belize on Maya Scholarship (2024)
- Genomic and Isotopic Migration and Kinship among the Classic Maya of Belize (2024)
- Life on the Edge: Fifty Years of Belize Wetland Archaeology (2024)
- Soils, Water, and Agriculture in the Maya Lowlands: Lidar and Paleoproxies Reveal New Perspectives on Complexity and Resilience (2024)
- Thoughts on the Most Recent Katun of Archaeological Heritage Management in Belize (2024)