Centering the Edge: The Preclassic Ceramics of Belize

Summary

This is an abstract from the "“The Center and the Edge”: How the Archaeology of Belize Is Foundational for Understanding the Ancient Maya" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

For many years the notion of a core (or center) versus periphery (or edge) dominated models of prehistoric Maya development. However, in 1979 David Freidel argued against the idea that there was a center or edge, asserting that the lowland Maya belonged to an interaction sphere. Many early models largely reflected modern political and linguistic boundaries, and ignored Belizean sites, which continue to be researched extensively in large measure because of the receptivenness of the Belize Institute of Archaeology to the excavation and analysis of prehistory in this geographically "edge" country. In this paper we will explore the Center versus Edge model with respect to Preclassic ceramics. From the earliest occupations, ceramics in Belize, an area described as part of the theoretical "edge" are, in fact, similar to those found at sites in Mexico and Guatemala. The general pattern is one of mutual engagement, reinforcement, and innovation in prehistory, leading to the conclusion that there is no center or edge in the data and should not exist in its interpretion.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• “The Center and the Edge”: How the Archaeology of Belize Is Foundational for Understanding the Ancient Maya   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38294.0