Investigating the Contexts of An Early Classic Carved Monument at the Maya site of Pacbitun, Belize

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Since the discovery of Stela 6 in the mid-1980s, the weathered remains of this Early Classic period carved stone monument continue to lie in the main plaza at Pacbitun, displaced in antiquity. Re-exposed in 2003, epigraphic analysis verified the monument’s AD 485 Long Count date—confirming it as one of the earliest carved stelae in the Maya lowlands—and revealed important details concerning Pacbitun’s political status and affairs at this time. Yet, owing to the challenges presented by the monument’s poor condition and the difficulties of in-field analysis, carved details that may prove significant to the historic record still remain undeciphered or uninterpreted. Thus, in December of 2019, another investigation was initiated to recover, reconstruct, preserve, and digitally conserve Stela 6. Though progress has been stalled due to the cancelled 2020 field season, the interesting 2019 excavations warrant a discussion. This presentation will detail the discovery of the base of Stela 6, presumed to mark the monument’s original setting, as well as the ritual deposits associated with the monument's primary and secondary contexts—both containing fragments of a rare andesite stela at that once stood near the Tzul Causeway to the south of Pacbitun's Plaza A.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33573