Blue Creek

Summary

Background—The Maya City of Blue Creek

Blue Creek is an ancient Maya city (900 BC–AD 1000) in northwestern Belize, just south of the southern Mexican border. Annual investigations of the site have been under way since 1990. Except for four years, these were, and continue to be, directed by Thomas Guderjan. Consequently, we have access to all records and archives of the project and have an excellent relationship with the government of Belize.

The ancient city of Blue Creek covers more than 100 square kilometers and incorporates a large monumental central precinct, numerous residential groups, and complex, intensive agricultural systems. Thanks to the depth and detail of information available about Blue Creek, it offers the opportunity to present complex issues to the public.

Cite this Record

Blue Creek. ( tDAR id: 4525) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8FN17N9

Keywords

Culture
Mesoamerican

Material
Building Materials • Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Fauna • Ground Stone • Human Remains

Site Name
Blue Creek

Site Type
Archaeological Feature • Artifact Scatter • Burial Pit • Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Funerary and Burial Structures or Features • Non-Domestic Structures • Plaza • Pyramid • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features • Stairway • Water-Related

Investigation Types
Archaeological Overview • Architectural Survey • Collections Research • Consultation • Data Recovery / Excavation • Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis • Reconnaissance / Survey • Research Design / Data Recovery Plan • Site Evaluation / Testing • Systematic Survey

Geographic Keywords
Mesoamerica

Spatial Coverage

min long: -89.22; min lat: 17.717 ; max long: -88.341; max lat: 18.146 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Sponsor(s): Maya Research Program

Resources Inside this Project (Viewing 1-15 of 15)

Documents

  1. 1996 BC Report (1996)
  2. 1998 and 1999 BC Report (1999)
  3. 2004 Season Summaries of The Blue Creek Regional Political Ecology Project, Upper Northwestern Belize (2004)
  4. Biosilicate analysis of residue in Maya dedicatory cache vessels from Blue Creek, Belize (2004)
  5. Blue Creek 2009 Report (2009)
  6. Blue Creek Regional Ecology Project: 2001, 2002, and 2003 Research Summaries (2003)
  7. Constructing Hierarchy through Entitlement: Inequality in Lithic Resource Access among the Ancient Maya of Blue Creek, Belize. (2004)
  8. Excavations at the Blue Creek Ruin Northwestern Belize, 1992 Interim Report (1993)
  9. Introduction to the 1995 Field Season (1995)
  10. Public Architecture, Ritual, and Temporal Dynamics at the Maya Center of Blue Creek, Belize (2004)
  11. A Review of Human and Natural Changes in Maya Lowlands Wetlands Over the Holocene
  12. A Review of Human and Natural Changes in Maya Lowlands Wetlands over the Holocene (2009)
  13. The Status of Excavations and Research at Blue Creek - 1997 (1997)

Images

  1. Large Format Feature Planview and Profile Maps and Selected Artifact Illustrations (2011)
  2. Whole Ceramic Vessels from the Blue Creek Site, Belize (2011)