Monumental Displays: Ritual Performance and Preclassic Architecture at Early Xunantunich, Belize

Summary

The site of Early Xunantunich in modern day Belize provides the opportunity for a uniquely detailed case study in Preclassic Maya architecture. Thanks to a lack of Classic Period overburden, the Mopan Valley Preclassic Project has been able to conduct extensive excavations of early architecture at the site, documenting important ritual activities from this early time period which likely played a key role in the development of sociopolitical complexity in the region.

This paper focuses on the monumental flat-topped platform that forms the northern boundary of the ceremonial center of Early Xunantunich. In addition to the presence of decorative marine shell ornaments and greenstone effigies which have been interpreted as kingly adornments, recent discoveries of additional buried offerings such as a smashed whole vessel and an uncarved stone monument suggest that this platform was the locus of important ritual activities by at least the Late Preclassic period. These activities share linkages to nearby sites in the valley, and are likely indicative of larger regional sociopolitical processes. Furthermore, our increasing understanding of the structure’s form and construction history shows that this platform required a massive investment of labor and materials, modifying the natural landscape in a truly monumental way.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21737