Some Methodological Problems with the Study of Non-Urban Caves in Northern Belize

Summary

Cave archaeology in northern Belize is poorly developed because the soft dolomitic limestone does not permit the formation of large and impressive caves. Several studies of small caves associated with public architecture have been conducted within the Rio Bravo Conservation Management Area, Orange Walk District, Belize. These studies suggest that caves played much the same role in the sacred geography that has been documented elsewhere in the Maya area. Nevertheless, there are no systematic surveys analogous to those conducted in central Belize and the Peten. The California State University, Los Angeles Cave Research Project initiated a survey of several caves located considerable distance from site cores to fill the informational void on such features. The initial survey highlights a number of methodological problems in dealing with such caves and suggests how these problems might be addressed.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Caves, Sinkholes and Chultuns: New Evidence for the Importance of Earth Openings in Ancient Mesoamerica Religion   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage