Settlement Pattern Analysis at a Hinterland Community in Northwestern Belize: Results of the Medicinal Trail Reconnaissance and Mapping Project

Summary

The Medicinal Trail Reconnaissance and Mapping Project (MTRAMP) began in 2013 and just completed its fourth season in 2016. Those four seasons, plus the integration of previous mapping endeavors, has refined our understanding of the size and distribution of households and numerous landscape features that have been, or continue to be, the focus of excavations. Intensive survey and mapping of the Medicinal Trail locality has revealed, (a) that the largest, and most complex architectural groups are associated with ridge tops, (b) artificial drainages and reservoirs are associated with dense settlement, and (c) numerous terraces are located on the slopes of the ridges, near drainage features. In this paper we will present the results of the MTRAMP and provide a discussion as to their function and relation to the socio-political dynamics of the community.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Ongoing Research in the Three Rivers Area of the Southern Maya Lowlands

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17122