Final Moments: Contextualizing On-Floor Archaeological Materials from Caracol, Belize

Author(s): Arlen Chase; Diane Chase

Year: 2018

Summary

Excavations within various locales at Caracol, Belize have recovered artifactual materials on the floors of epicentral stone buildings that were associated with the latest occupation of the site epicenter. These deposits are the result of both "de facto" refuse and rapid short-term abandonment processes. In many cases, complete vessels and other artefactual remains were recovered from the floors of Caracol’s epicentral buildings. Other terminal deposits comprise thin sheet-like layers of broken ceramics, stone artifacts, and faunal materials that potentially indicate a break-down in garbage collection during Caracol’s final days. Human remains were recovered from epicentral plaza and building floors, including both whole bodies interpreted to be the result of a sudden violent episode during Caracol’s final days. Other cases are suggestive of ritual offerings of human remains. Still other contexts yielded isolated human long bones and teeth. This paper reviews terminal deposits from Caracol and places these deposits within the broader context of Maya archaeology.

Cite this Record

Final Moments: Contextualizing On-Floor Archaeological Materials from Caracol, Belize. Arlen Chase, Diane Chase. Presented at The 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC. 2018 ( tDAR id: 444070)

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Keywords

Spatial Coverage

min long: -107.271; min lat: 12.383 ; max long: -86.353; max lat: 23.08 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 18799