Fred Valdez and the Chan Chich Archaeological Project
Author(s): Brett A. Houk
Year: 2025
Summary
This is an abstract from the "Sessions in Honor of Dr. Fred Valdez Jr. and His Contributions to Archaeology, Part 2" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
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Since Fred Valdez, Jr. and Richard E. W. Adams began the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP) in 1992, numerous MA and PhD students have passed through “Texas Camp” at Programme for Belize to collect their thesis or dissertation data. Some veterans of PfBAP have moved on to start new projects under their own research permits. The Chan Chich Archaeological Project (CCAP) was the first “spin-off” project of the PfBAP started by a former University of Texas graduate student, and Fred Valdez, Jr. played an instrumental role in the project’s creation. Just an hour’s drive south of Texas Camp, Chan Chich is a major ceremonial center and home to Chan Chich Lodge. Over the course of four field seasons in the early 1990s, Fred Valdez befriended the lodge’s managers and laid the groundwork for Brett A. Houk to begin a new project there. A few weeks after graduating with his PhD, Houk launched the CCAP in 1996, operating the first season under Valdez’s PfBAP permit. In 2024, the CCAP completed its 16<sup>th</sup> season. This paper recounts the early days of the CCAP, Fred Valdez’s role in its creation, and his continued contributions as the project’s ceramicist.
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Cite this Record
Fred Valdez and the Chan Chich Archaeological Project. Brett A. Houk. Presented at The 90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2025 ( tDAR id: 510229)
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Abstract Id(s): 52491