Unleashing the Beast: New Methodologies in Exploring Peri-Abandonment Deposits in the Maya Lowlands

Summary

The BVAR project recently renewed its investigations of peri-abandonment deposits at several sites along the Belize River in Western Belize. Also referred to as de facto refuse and problematic or sheet-like deposits, these cultural remains are predominantly recovered in palace rooms and courtyards in site cores across the Maya lowlands. The purpose of the BVAR investigations is to better understand the formation of such deposits as well as their temporal and spatial significance across sites in the Belize Valley region. To accomplish these goals, the project employs microstratigraphic excavation methods that utilize sublot systems for more comprehensive analysis of the assemblages of individual deposits. This paper describes our methodological approach in greater detail, and presents preliminary results of our investigations of terminal deposits at the site of Lower Dover in western Belize.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21870