Before There Were Ceramics in 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, Part II" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The 10,000 years before ceramics first appear is the longest epoch in the human occupation of Belize, and yet the least understood. Many fundamental cultural developments are first documented in what is now known as the Maya region, including management of tropical forest resources, a reduction in residential mobility, and increased reliance on food production. While relatively few data exist from the Preceramic Mesoamerica, compared to the subsequent ceramic periods, a significant proportion has been unearthed from the within Belize. In this paper, we briefly summarize previous contributions made by archaeologists working in Belize before the appearance of ceramic containers at ~3000 BP. Early work by Richard MacNeish along with important results documented at Colha and Pulltrouser Swamp are reviewed for their contribution to understanding early occupations of Belize. This is followed by highlights from each author’s current field research projects that are contributing new data to understanding the Preceramic. We conclude that archaeologists working within the small modern nation of Belize continue to make disproportionate contributions to understand the ancient Maya region and the larger Mesoamerican world.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39339.0