Examining the Environment: Pollen Data from Cara Blanca, Belize Pools 1 and 6

Summary

Teetering on the edge of a 60-meter deep cenote, or karstic sinkhole, partially consumed by the pool and constantly threatened by erosion, is an Ancient Maya Water Temple. This particular cenote, Cara Blanca Pool 1, is one of 25 pools (cenotes and lakes) in the Cara Blanca region. Exploratory diving from the pool and excavations from several of its associated structures suggest the temple was a pilgrimage site for Terminal Classic (AD 750-900) Maya. Seeking reprieve from the Terminal Classic droughts, people traveled to Pool 1 to provide offerings to Chaak, the Maya rain deity. This poster presents the preliminary analysis of a sediment core extracted from Pool 1 during the 2015 field season. In order to produce a more localized environmental reconstruction for Pool 1 during the Terminal Classic period, fossil pollen was extracted from the Pool 1 sediments. The assemblages were then compared to nearby Pool 6 sediment assemblages. This study fills a gap in the environmental history of Central Belize while trying to elucidate the relationship between Terminal Classic Maya and Cara Blanca.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage