Isotopic and Paleogenomic Evidence of Maya Persistence at Late Postclassic and Early Colonial Chactemal (Santa Rita Corozal), Belize.

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Santa Rita Corozal, hereafter known as Chactemal, is a Maya site located in what is now northern Belize on the coast of Chetumal Bay. Chactemal was home to some of the earliest known Maya peoples in northern Belize during the Middle Preclassic (~800-300 BCE), was continuously occupied throughout all subsequent phases of Maya chronology, grew to become an influential Postclassic Maya capital, and was the site of the earliest Spanish colonization in Belize (1531 CE). Ethnohistoric records indicate that Maya people fled Chactemal before Spanish invasion and launched Guerilla-style attacks that prevented permanent Spanish settlement in the region. However, no prior archaeological evidence exists that the Maya people returned to Chactemal during the 16th century. In this study, we generated radiocarbon, stable isotopic, and paleogenomic data from 17 Maya Ancestors at Late Postclassic Chactemal to refine the settlement chronology, migratory history, and biological relationships of the final interments at the site. We present evidence that the Maya people returned to Chactemal after Spanish occupation and that their return was shaped by memories of their ceremonial and kinship ties to the ancient city. This study was approved by the Belizean Institute of Archaeology and conducted in partnership with Maya communities in Corozal.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40278.0