Eternal Embers: Using Charcoal Analysis to Explore Ancient Maya Tree Use from Chan Chich, Belize

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This research project used Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to identify tree species of 33 charcoal samples from funerary and non-funerary contexts at the ancient Maya site of Chan Chich, Belize. To identify species, we compared SEM images of the plant structures in the charcoal to images from databases and other studies. We were able to identify over 10 different species of tree recovered from three burials, construction and debris fill, and artifact deposits, among other contexts. To look for patterns, we compared the identified species to their contexts. Our analysis reveals tentative patterns of usage from specific contexts, including the Sapotaceae family being the most common, followed by pine (Pinus sp.). We compared samples recovered from burial deposits to other ritual and non-ritual contexts and found there are species like pine used specifically in funerary and ritual contexts, while others do not show up in these contexts. This study expands our understanding of how the Precolumbian Maya used different tree species in specific activities and contexts.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 53857