The Archaeology of the Southern Belize Region in Context

Summary

The region of Southern Belize is part of the Maya lowlands, an area that is geographically circumscribed, and located in-between several larger regional centers such as Tikal to the west, Caracol to the north, and the sites of Copán and Quiriguá to the southeast. The general history of archaeological investigations for this area are presented, along with site-specific studies from the Southern Belize Region. The current archaeological data of four major ancient polities of this region are described: Pusilhá, Uxbenká, Lubaantun, and Nim li Punit. The review of this archaeological history consolidates the data to consider questions of regional economic and political integration, in light of a region that shared many common cultural and architectural attributes. Finally, I conclude by exploring the possible internal regional dynamics of the Southern Belize Region, and what might have connected it to its neighboring areas. A brief discussion of potential future research to be carried out in the area by the author is shared.

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): 21953