Sea-Level Rise and Settlement at Ek Way Nal: Coring the Past

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Underwater Maya: Analytical Approaches for Interpreting Ancient Maya Activities at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Excavations in the spring and summer of 2022 were carried out at the underwater ancient Maya salt work of Ek Way Nal in Punta Ycacos Lagoon in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize. Ek Way Nal provided salt to the ancient Maya during the Late and Terminal Classic periods (600–900 CE). In addition to excavations in buildings at the site, a 1 × 2 m unit was excavated to extract a sediment column for examining the relationship between the ancient Maya settlement at Ek Way Nal and sea-level rise. In this presentation, the excavations, extraction of the sediment column, and processing it for laboratory analyses are described. Field observations are discussed. Fine red mangrove root (Rhizophora mangle) and charcoal samples were extracted from the sediment column for radiocarbon dating. The results from the datum core excavation indicate that sea-level rise occurred before, during, and after the ancient Maya occupation at Ek Way Nal.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Underwater Maya: Analytical Approaches for Interpreting Ancient Maya Activities at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38320.0