BVAR 2011b Santasilia: Terminal Classic Evidence at Plaza H, Cahal Pech, Belize, San Ignacio Belize (original) (raw)

(2014) Revealing Architectural Variability at Cahal Pech: Recent Excavations at Plaza B

The ancient Maya center of Cahal Pech (Belize Valley) has one of the longest documented periods of occupation in the region: from the terminal Early Preclassic (1200 B.C.) to the Terminal Classic period (A.D. 900-1000). Extensive excavations at the site's center and periphery, coupled with the recovery of sealed stratigraphic deposits, have allowed researchers to develop a good understanding of the ceramic sequence and some of the activities of the earliest inhabitants of the site. Yet, there is still a need to better understand the evolution and variability of the formative architecture at Cahal Pech. In an effort to address this question, the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project conducted a large block excavation in Plaza B during the 2012 field season. Information recorded by these investigations now allows us to reconstruct a complex architectural sequence that spans the entirety of the site's occupational history. Together with data recovered by previous excavations, this provides significant insights on sociopolitical changes that took place at Cahal Pech during the earliest phases of occupation.

The Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project: A Report of the 2004 Field Season

2005

The 2015 field season marked the 28 th consecutive year (1988-2015) of archaeological investigations in the Belize Valley by the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance project, directed by Dr. Jaime Awe. Archaeological investigations were focused at Cahal Pech, Baking Pot, Lower Dover, Xunantunich, Lower Barton Creek, and Esperanza, continuing BVAR's tradition of using regional scale approaches to explore the long-term processes of cultural change in the Belize Valley. Excavations at Cahal Pech targeted several structures in Group G of the site core. Prichard and colleagues (Chapter 1) excavated Str. G1 and G5 and parts of Plaza G, while Peniche May and Beardall (Chapter 2) supervised excavations on Str. G2. Both of these investigations illuminated the terminal architectural forms, as well as revealed important information about ritual activity in that group. Douglas and Brown (Chapter 3) returned for a January session at Cahal Pech in 2015, continuing their excavations in Plaza H in search of better understanding the Terminal Classic occupation of the site. Ebert and Fox (Chapter 4) report on excavations in Cahal Pech's settlement, developing a radiocarbon chronology for several large settlement groups (e.g. Zopilote Group, Martinez Group, and Tzutziiy K'in) to better understand the development of craft production and social stratification during the Preclassic and Early Classic periods. Martin Welker analyzed faunal remains from 2011-2013 excavations in Plaza B at Cahal Pech, allowing us to better understand diet and animal exploitation through time. In total, 2015 excavations at Cahal Pech help add to the long history of archaeological exploration at the site by the BVAR project since 1988.

8 CAHAL PECH STELA 9: A PRECLASSIC MONUMENT FROM THE BELIZE VALLEY

Investigations at Cahal Pech, in the upper Belize River Valley region, uncovered 10 monuments: nine stelae and one altar. Of the nine stelae recorded at the site, only one was carved. It is argued that the "wrap around" style of carving, the iconography, size, and general design all indicate that this monument dates to the Late Formative period. It is further hypothesized that carved Preclassic stelae in the Maya lowlands may have developed from an earlier, local, stucco mask tradition executed on monumental architecture. The ritual deposition of the stela in an a relatively elaborate Classic period tomb also indicates that the monument may have been kept as an heirloom, and that the human figure depicted on the stela probably represents an important member of the ruling, Late Preclassic, Cahal Pech lineage.