The Treasure You Seek Will Not Be the Treasure You Find: Bushing the Path between Expected and Observed at Las Cuevas

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Over the past decade, aerial lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) technology has transformed understanding of prehistoric landscape modifications throughout the Maya Lowlands, including the Late Classic (A.D. 700—900) center of Las Cuevas. The site, situated on the southeastern edge of the Vaca Plateau in western Belize, is not immense, but is distinguished from others within the region by a cave system that runs directly below the main plaza. The peculiar nature of Las Cuevas suggests the site functioned in a ritually-focused manner compared to contemporaneous centers within the Vaca Plateau, such as the major polity of Caracol. This emphasis may have impacted the density, distribution, and layout of ancient Maya households in the surrounding area. The previous two seasons of the LCAR settlement and cave survey were conducted to determine the accuracy and precision of remotely-detected structures and karstic features. Through this research, we sought to understand the spatial relationship of these locales to the distinctive center built around the prominent cave system. This paper presents initial survey results from the 2017—2018 field seasons and discusses the capabilities and potential disadvantages of utilizing lidar-derived data for population and other settlement models within the Maya Lowlands.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25413