sign in sign up
<<
Home , Altun Ha, Latin American Antiquity, Marco Gonzalez, Tohil, Tulum

Journal of Archaeology Copyright 2010 ISSN 1524-4776

ANCIENT MAYA CANOE NAVIGATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR CLASSIC TO POSTCLASSIC MAYA ECONOMY AND SEA TRADE: A VIEW FROM THE SOUTH COAST OF

Heather McKillop Department of Geography & Anthropology Louisiana State University Baton Rouge LA U.S.A. 70803-4105 [email protected]

Abstract In addition to the direct evidence of ancient Maya canoe travel from wooden canoe paddle from the K’ak’ Naab’ salt works, ancient Maya settlement of offshore islands from the Late Preclassic through the Postclassic periods documents waterborne travel. The Preclassic Butterfly Wing shell midden, the Classic Maya trading port of Moho Cay, and the Classic to Postclassic trading port of Wild Cane Cay are highlighted in this paper. A variety of trade goods were transported along the Yucatan, linking dynastic Maya leaders from distant cit- ies. The seafaring skills of the ancient Maya, their interest in exotic trade goods, and the complex organization of have parallels among Caribbean island societies. Similarities in coastal adaptation and exploitation of marine resources further tie the an- cient Maya to ancient peoples in the circum-Caribbean region.

Résumé À l’instar de la découverte d’une pagaie en bois dans les salines de K’ak’ Naab’, attestant la pratique des voyages en canoë par les Mayas anciens, les sites insulaires côtiers occupés par les Mayas anciens, du Préclassique tardif aux périodes post-classiques, nous éclairent sur leur habitude des voyages par eau. Il s’agit notamment de mettre ici en lumière les amas coquillier préclassique de Butterfly Wing, le port de commerce maya classique de Moho Cay, ainsi que le port de commerce maya classique et postclassique de Wild Cane Cay. Di- vers biens commerciaux ont été transportés le long du Yucatan, reliant ainsi les familles di- rigeantes mayas de villes éloignées. Les compétences maritimes des anciens Mayas, leur in- térêt pour le commerce de produits exotiques, et l’organisation complexe de leur société présentent des parallèles avec les sociétés insulaires des Caraïbes. Des similitudes dans l’a- daptation côtière et l’exploitation des ressources marines existent entre les anciens Mayas et les anciennes populations de la région circum-caraïbe.

Resumen Del Preclásico Tardío al Postclásico Tardío hay evidencia de la práctica de viajar por el agua entre los Mayas. Es evidenciado no solamente por evidencia directa como el caso del remo de canoa de madera de la mina de sal K’ak’ Naab’, sino también por los asentamientos Mayas en islas litorales. En este artículo se enfoca en el conchero Butterfly Wing del Preclasíco, el puerto comercial Maya Clásico de Moho Cay y el puerto de comercio del Clásico-Postclásico de Wild Cane Cay. Una gran variedad de productos de

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 93 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop comercio fueron transportados a lo largo de la península de Yucatán, vinculando líderes dinásticos Mayas en ciudades distantes. Las competencias marítimas de los antiguos Mayas, su interés en el comercio de mercancías exóticas, y la compleja organización de la sociedad Maya tienen paralelismos entre las sociedades insulares del Caribe. Las similitudes en la adaptación a la costa y la explotación de los recursos marinos aún más vinculan los antiguos Mayas con los pueblos antiguos en la región del circum-Caribe.

Introduction ual and status paraphernalia—such as , Although some researchers have sug- gold and exotic marine shell—by the dy- gested there was travel and trade between nastic Maya leaders and by Caribbean is- the Maya area and islands in the Caribbean land chiefs. In this paper, I discuss the use (Harlow 2006; Wilson et al. 1998), there is and importance of the sea to the ancient no firm evidence. Morphological similari- Maya to provide a comparison for other ties in chert tools between the two areas cultures in the circum-Caribbean region. (Wilson et al. 1998) may be explained by similar uses for the tools; moreover chert is Maya Canoe Travel and Trade chemically variable within outcrops and so Island communities, trade goods, and chert artifacts have proven difficult to artistic depictions of canoe paddlers docu- chemically characterize to particular loca- ment that the ancient Maya were proficient tions, unlike , which is quite uni- canoeists for travel and trade along rivers, form in trace elements. The discovery of a on the sea around the Yucatan peninsula, new jadeite locality in Cuba (García-Casco and offshore (see McKillop 2006). The de- et al. 2009) provides a closer possible centralized political structure of the Classic source for jadeite artifacts than the Mota- period civilization (AD 300-900) meant gua River valley of , previously that political power was brokered more by known as the major source of jadeite and negotiation than by the centralized author- other greenstones used by the ancient Maya ity backed by military force characteristic and others throughout and of some other ancient civilizations such as (Harlow 2009).The possi- the Aztec, Inca, or (McKillop bility of direct contact between people in 2006). Negotiated power was mediated by the Caribbean islands and the Maya area movement of people and goods: Oxygen remains possible, given the facility of boat isotopes of bone of the founder of Copan, travel in both areas, but there appears to K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’, indicate he came have been no significant cultural impacts. from the west, likely the area More important for archaeologists work- (Buikstra et al. 2004). His depiction in ing in both areas, are the many similarities Teotihuacan regalia with typical Teotihua- in the maritime economies that might bene- can “goggle eyes” on Altar Q at Copan un- fit from more comparisons. The proximity derscores his affiliation with central Mex- to the sea meant that there often were simi- ico (Sharer 2004). The dynamics of water lar adaptations in throughout the circum- travel, particularly maritime trade, changed Caribbean area, including the coast of the over time, reflecting the rise of complexity Maya area. There was the shared practice in the Late Preclassic (300 BC- AD 300), of negotiated political relations manifested the Classic focused on by feasting events, and the demand for rit- the interior of the southern lowlands, and

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 94 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop

Figure 1. Map of the Maya Area Showing Sites Mentioned in the Text (by Mary Lee Eggart, LSU).

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 95 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop the Postclassic society focused in the north- southern Belize (McKillop 1996) at the ern Maya lowlands. mouth of the Deep River points to canoe The only direct evidence of canoe travel travel, with obsidian linking the commu- is the Late Classic wooden canoe paddle nity to trade with the Maya highland out- from the K’ak’ Naab’ saltwork in southern crops of Ixtepeque and El Chayal Belize (McKillop 2005a). However, vari- (McKillop 2005b). There is another Late ous other lines of evidence indicate endur- Preclassic shell midden on Cancun ing water transportation by the ancient (Andrews et al. 1974). Early Classic settle- Maya. The earliest known inhabitants of ment of Maya islands, including Moho the Maya area were Paleoindians, descen- Cay, as well as Wild Cane Cay and Pelican dants of people who migrated from Asia at Cay in southern Belize, documents conti- the end of the Pleistocene, and then either nuity of sea travel and trade (Figure 1). skirted the glaciers by boat or followed an ice-free corridor through the glacier and Classic Period Maya Sea Trade into what is now mainland United States by Although the geographic focus on the 11,500 years ago. They traveled farther Classic Maya civilization was inland with south on foot, populating the dozens of cities and their polities, the sea within a thousand years (Lohse et al. 2006; was critical to their acquisition of salt and McKillop 2006). other marine resources, as well as a trans- The earliest firm evidence of ancient portation avenue for goods and resources coastal canoe travel is documented by Late from farther away. The Paynes Creek salt Preclassic settlement of the Maya islands industry in southern Belize developed to of Moho Cay and Cancun (Andrews et al. meet the biological demand for salt by 1974; McKillop 2004). Moho Cay was a Maya, as documented by trade goods from trading port at the mouth of the Belize inland cities in Belize and adjacent Guate- River. Widespread Late Preclassic coastal mala (McKillop 2005a). Unit-stamped pot- settlement on the coast of Belize and the tery vessels and figurine whistles at the Yucatan peninsula of (see Eaton Paynes Creek salt works share styles with 1978; Freidel 1979; McKillop 1989a) in southern Belize, and commu- points to coastal travel and trade at this nities farther west in adjacent Guatemala, time, although the coast may have been notably , , and the settled by inland people who did not ven- Petexbatun (McKillop 2007a, 2008). The ture out to sea. Species of marine fish that salt works were abandoned at the end of are not accessible from the shore are docu- the Classic period when the market col- mented later at both coastal and inland lapsed with the abandonment of the inland communities indicating boat travel (Emery cities. 2004; McKillop 1984, 1985). The coastal-inland connection of the David Freidel (1979) makes a convinc- Classic Maya civilization extended to other ing argument for the rise of social com- resources, including seafood. Lange’s plexity in the Late Preclassic at the coastal (1971) provocative model that seafood pro- community of in northern Belize, vided a protein base for the inland Maya where coastal trade drove interregional in- has some support: tuna bones from the cen- teraction and exchanges of preciosities tral Belize coast were cut for drying or salt- among elites. Late Preclassic or Proto- ing for storage or perhaps inland trade classic settlement at Butterfly Wing in (Graham 1994); Valdez and Mock (1991)

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 96 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop regard salt production at Northern River ment in the Late Classic period, the abun- Lagoon in northern Belize as geared to- dance of trade goods, including obsidian, at ward salting meat for inland trade, on the coastal sites, all the inland Maya demand basis of the presence of briquetage (pottery for coastal resources and goods from more from boiling brine) and animal bones at the distant lands, point to canoe transport in the site. Certainly isotopic evidence (White et Late Classic. The Late Classic demand for al. 2001a) and marine resources at inland obsidian at inland Maya sites in the south- communities (Emery 2004; McKillop ern lowlands was largely met by the Maya 1984, 1985, 2004, 2005b) document inland highland sources of El Chayal and Ixtepe- transport, but in limited quantities. que (Braswell 2004; Dreiss and Brown The sea was central to the ritual ideology 1989; McKillop 1989b; Nelson 1980). of the Classic Maya. The sea was the Much of the obsidian was transported from source of ritual paraphernalia including the Maya highlands, down the Motagua stingray spines for bloodletting, hallucino- River, and then north along the coast of genic secretions from the Bufo marinus Belize (Hammond 1972; Healy et al. 1984; frog, and imagery equating the sea with the McKillop et al. 1988), passing the trading underworld and creation (McKillop ports of Wild Cane Cay (McKillop 2005b), 2005b). The sea also was a transportation False Cay (Graham 1994), Placencia avenue for goods and resources from far- (MacKinnon 1989), Moho Cay (McKillop ther away, including obsidian, jadeite, and 2004), (Graham and pottery. Inland trails and rivers clearly Pendergast 1989) and San Juan (Guderjan were central to the movement of goods and and Garber 1995) on Ambergris Cay, and people. Chemical analyses of the bones of Santa Rita on the mainland coast (Chase Yax K’uk’ Mo’ indicate he originated from and Chase 1989; McKillop 2005b; McKil- the west, likely Tikal (Sharer et al. 2004). lop and Healy 1989), connecting with His depiction with goggles and Teotihua- coastal ports around the Yucatan, such as can regalia on Altar Q - a carved stone with Isla Cerritos (Andrews et al. 1989). images of dynastic leaders of Copan - link The coast may have been used to acquire him with Teotihuacan, suggesting complex goods from farther away in the Classic pe- political ties beyond the Maya area. An Al- riod. They include a tumbaga (gold alloy) tun Ha pottery vessel in a Late Classic bur- artifact from (Pendergast 1970), ial from Copan likely represents a gift dur- mercury from under a ball court marker at ing a meeting between dynastic leaders or (Pendergast 1982), and jadeite their representatives, cementing a trade, from the outcrops, marine marriage or other alliance. Chemical analy- shells from the Pacific (Feldman 1974), sis of human bone and teeth from an Altun and obsidian from central Mexico (Spence Ha individual buried with green obsidian 1996). from the Pachuca source in central Mexico and chipped into Teotihuacan style figures The Classic Maya Trading Port on Moho indicated the person was from Altun Ha. Cay He was not a foreigner. This information The island trading port on Moho Cay suggests the gift was made during a royal was well situated to participate in coastal- visit and was ultimately interred with the inland trade up the Belize River, sea trade recipient (White et al. 2001b). along the coast, and the exploitation of es- The expansion of coastal Maya settle- tuarine resources in the coastal waters

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 97 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop

(McKillop 1984, 2004). Moho Cay is lo- edge of currents, such as paddling up- cated in the mouth of the Belize River, stream close to shore in the rainy season which provides access to communities in when the rivers are flooded and there are western Belize and the Peten District of strong downstream currents. In contrast, Guatemala. Although only one field season the sea has more hazards, including lack of of excavation was possible at the site since shoreline visibility, a greater expanse of it was destroyed for tourism development available travel, hidden shoals and fauna, prior to the planned second field season, and heavy seas and bad weather (McKillop research indicates Moho Cay was a perma- 2005b). Control of the sea by the coastal nent settlement dating from the Late Pre- and island Maya would have given them classic through the Postclassic periods. Ex- control of the production and distribution cavations revealed burials associated with of maritime resources (such as salt, sting- Early Classic Tzakol 3 and Late Classic ray spines, shells, and seafood) and trade Tepeu 1 and 2 pottery characteristic of the goods from farther away. Goods were Peten region. People were buried under traded along the coast within the Maya houses of perishable pole and thatch. area, such as Maya highland obsidian A variety of goods and resources brought transported along the coast or an Altun Ha to the island by boat, either from direct emissary bearing gifts to a Copan dynastic procurement or trade, indicate enduring leader. The sea may have been used to reliance on waterborne transportation by transport goods from farther away, such as the Moho Cay Maya (McKillop 2004). Im- tumbaga gold from Central or South Amer- ported stone tools include grey obsidian ica traded to Altun Ha (Pendergast 1970). from the Maya highland outcrops of El Chayal and Ixtepeque (Healy et al. 1984), Sea Faring in the Caribbean and Maya greenstones likely from the Motagua River Areas basin of Guatemala, and high quality chert Were the Caribbean and Maya areas from the Colha region of northern Belize. linked during the Classic Maya period by A midden dominated by manatee trading ventures, perhaps traders sent as (Trichechus manatus) and queen conch emissaries as in the later Aztec pochteca? (Eustrombus gigas; McKillop 1984), un- Both in the Maya and broader circum- derscore facility with boat travel and Caribbean areas, including the Caribbean knowledge of the sea. Stylistic similarities islands and the “intermediate area” of of the pottery lie with ceramics from Altun lower Central America, political power was Ha and the Peten region. mediated by negotiations marked by feast- ing events where gifts were exchanged. In Maya Canoe Travel later times, the Aztec pochteca (long- Although both the inland and coastal distance traders) exchanged gifts from the Maya had knowledge of canoes, travel on Aztec king with political leaders outside the sea required specialized knowledge of the Aztec empire. The pochteca and their currents, weather, shoals, and navigation king were looking for resources of interest likely only known to the coastal Maya. that could be acquired either by negotiating Inland canoe travel along rivers in small trade alliances or by conquest and tribute paddling canoes is depicted incised on payment, such as chocolate in the So- bones from Tikal’s burial 116, Temple 1 conusco area of Pacific Guatemala (Trik 1963). River travel requires knowl- (Voorhies 1989). The greater the travel dis-

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 98 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop tance, the more likely trade alliances were Postclassic Trading Port on Wild Cane negotiated, due to difficulties of controlling Cay geographically distant areas by military The trading port of Wild Cane Cay ex- force. panded exponentially after the Classic Maya collapse and the collapse of the The Rise of Postclassic Maya Sea Trade Paynes Creek salt industry (McKillop The sea became a major transportation 1989b, 1996, 2005b). During the Late avenue for the Postclassic Maya. Following Classic, Wild Cane Cay likely controlled the collapse of the dynastic Maya polities the inland transport of salt from the Paynes in the southern lowlands by AD 900, the Creek salt works (McKillop 2005a). There coastal-inland relationship ended—at least was an 800% increase in the amount of ob- in the southern Maya lowlands. The coastal sidian traded to Wild Cane Cay that was and island Maya developed new alliances left at the port, likely as payment for ser- with emerging polities in the northern vices such as housing traders, docking and Maya lowlands, first at and warehousing (McKillop 1989b). Polyhedral , and then at . The place of obsidian cores were transported to Wild coastal Maya within the negotiated politi- Cane Cay with prismatic blades produced cal economy of the inland Maya dynastic for local distribution to surrounding coastal polities ended. The Postclassic witnessed communities (McKillop 1996). The lack of new opportunities and new alliances: There conservation of this scarce resource in the were independent coastal polities such as production of blades (as measured by blade Wild Cane Cay (McKillop 2005b) and width and also by the cutting edge to mass those linked to nearby inland polities such ratio), as compared to other Maya commu- as Isla Cerritos’ alliance with Chichen Itza nities, underscores the regular supply and/ (Andrews et al. 1989). The outward per- or availability of obsidian at Wild Cane spective of Postclassic Maya politics con- Cay (McKillop 2005b). trasted sharply with the inward perspective The Postclassic Maya on Wild Cane Cay of the Classic polities of the southern Maya secured their place in the geopolitics of lowlands. Although the Classic Maya Maya society as autonomous traders. They traded extensively outside the Maya area, constructed stone architecture using coral developed complex relations with Teoti- rock as foundations (McKillop 2005b; huacan, and participated in coastal trade, McKillop et al. 2004). Excavations in the population was overwhelmingly in the Fighting Conch mound revealed six build- interior of the Yucatan, focused on an agri- ings with individuals interred with a variety cultural economy, and predicated on nego- of exotic trade goods that marked their tiated alliances, including raids and battles, place in a sea trade economy: A young among inland polities. With the abandon- woman from burial 10 was interred in the ment of most inland cities and the collapse bound-captive position depicted on Maya of the political economy of the southern painted pots (on her stomach with her legs lowlands, the existing coastal transporta- folded and hand and foot bones commin- tion routes were used by coastal communi- gled behind her back). She was not buried ties and ports, expanding and re-directing in a tomb like other Fighting Conch buri- virtually all long-distance, even medium to als, but directly on the floor of a demol- short distance, trade along the coast. ished building. She was placed as a dedica- tion to the next building, with coral rock

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 99 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop foundation of the subsequent structure with a Las Vegas polychrome vessel im- placed on top of her grave. She was buried ported from (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Trade Pottery from the Maya Trading Port of Wild Cane Cay, Belize. a), Las Vegas Polychrome from Honduras excavated from Fighting Conch burial 10; b) Tulum Red (Payil Red) excavated from Fighting Conch burial 11/12; c) Tohil Plumbate from Pacific Guatemala (unprovenienced).

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 100 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop

Another grave from Fighting Conch manatee, snappers, barracuda, groupers, mound is that of a young man buried in a and a variety of shells. Reef species in- hearth with three stones, reminiscent of the cluded parrotfish and doctor fish available Maya ideology of creation and celestial farther offshore on reefs and saltier seas. navigation: The man was buried in a seated Shells were abundant, with most species position in a rock hearth, on a bed of char- available nearby but deeper water species coal, but not burned. In the ashes below the also present, such as a Spondylus sp. Shell wood charcoal there were three trade goods disk in a child’s burial from Fighting (obsidian, chert, and groundstone) identify- Conch mound (McKillop 2005b: Figure ing him as a trader, but importantly also 6.32a). The diversity and abundance of ma- linking him to the three hearthstones of the rine resources attests to the boating skills Maya creation story, which also are the and knowledge of fishing as well as aware- three stars that mark the constellation ness of the dangers and potential of the Orion (Freidel et al. 1995; McKillop seas as a food basket. The outward world 2005b: Figures 6.25-6.26); Tedlock view of the Postclassic Maya, their exper- 1986)—surely used in the past for sea navi- tise in sea trade and travel, and the demand gation. for exotics opened a world only surpassed The individual in burial 8 in Fighting by the arrival of the Spaniards in the six- Conch mound was interred with a Terminal teenth century. Classic, gouge-incised vessel reminiscent of Fine Orange (McKillop 2005b: Figure Conclusions 6.19), with gold foil in the finger coral into The coastal Maya were proficient seafar- which the rock tomb was placed. Gold foil ers, with the K’ak’ Naab’ canoe paddle is only known from a handful of Post- providing direct evidence of canoe travel. classic Maya communities, linking Wild The Late Preclassic provides the first clear Cane Cay to a trade with lower Central evidence of sea trade, with island settle- America or (McKillop ment on Cancun and Moho Cay, as well as 2005b). the coastal settlements of Cerros and But- Burial 11/12 was accompanied by a Tu- terfly Wing. The Classic period witnessed lum Red (or Payil Red) vessel, stylistically the development of coastal-inland trade identical to vessels from Tulum and sites in relations, with the coastal Maya supplying northern Belize, such as Lamanai and marine resources, ritual paraphernalia to Colha (McKillop 2005b: Figure 6.31). Ties underwrite the ideology of the Maya, and a to the Pacific coast of Guatemala include link to sea trade for resources from farther Tohil Plumbate pottery from the Pacific away. There was an expansion of sea trade coast of Guatemala (Figure 2). after the collapse of the inland polities in The coastal Maya, like the Caribbean the southern Maya lowlands. Some trading island settlers, were expert at canoe naviga- ports like Isla Cerritos became ports for tion and the exploitation of maritime re- inland cities, whereas others, like Wild sources. The Wild Cane Cay Maya ven- Cane Cay, developed into autonomous tured offshore to mainland rivers for the coastal polities. The opportunistic coastal “jute” snails (Pachychilus sp.), a highly- Maya entered a new era of sea trade, link- desired food (Healy et al. 1990). Armadil- ing a wider world of Mesoamerica and los, paca, and peccary were hunted from Central America. the mainland. Estuarine resources included

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 101 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop

Acknowledgements Peterborough: Department of An- My ideas in this paper are based on field thropology, Trent University. research carried out under permits from Dreiss, M., and D. O. Brown the Belize Institute of Archaeology, for 1989 Obsidian Exchange Patterns in Be- which I am grateful. lize. In Prehistoric Maya Econo- mies of Belize, edited by P. McAnany and B. L. Isaac, pp. 57- References Cited 90. Research in Economic Anthro- Andrews, A. P., F. Asaro, H. V. Michel, F. pology, supplement No 4. Green- H. Stross, and P. Cervera Rivero wich: JAI Press. 1989 The Obsidian Trade at Isla Cerritos, Eaton, J. D. Yucatan, Mexico. Journal of Field 1978 Archaeological Survey of the Yu- Archaeology 16: 355-363. catán- Coast. Middle Andrews IV, E. W., M. P. Simmons, E. S. American Research Institute, Publi- Wing, E. W. Andrews V. cation 46(1). New Orleans: Tulane 1974 Excavation of an Early Shell Mid- University. den on Isla Cancun, , Emery, K. (ed.) Mexico. Middle American Re- 2004 Maya Zooarchaeology: New Direc- search Institute Publication 31. tions in Method and Theory. Los New Orleans: Tulane University. Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Ar- Braswell, G. chaeology, University of California. 2004 Lithic Analysis in the Maya Area. Feldman, L. In Continuities and Change in the 1974 Shells from Afar: 'Panamic' Mol- Maya Area: Perspectives at the lusks in Mayan Sites. In Meso- Millennium, edited by C. Golden american Archaeology: New Ap- and G. Borgstede, pp. 177-200. proaches, edited by N. Hammond, New York: Routledge. pp. 129-134. London: Duckworth Buikstra, J. E., T. Douglas Price, L. E. & Company. Wright, and J. A. Burton Freidel, D. A. 2004 Tombs from the Copan Acropolis: 1979 Culture Areas and Interaction A Life History Approach. In Un- Spheres: Contrasting Approaches to derstanding Early Classic Copan, the Emergence of Civilization in edited by E. E. Bell, M. A. Canuto, the Maya Lowlands. American An- and R. J. Sharer, pp. 191-212. tiquity 44: 36-54. Philadelphia: University of Penn- Freidel, D. A., L. Schele, and J. Parker sylvania Museum of Archaeology 1995 Maya Cosmos. New York: Harper. and Anthropology. García-Casco, A., A. Rodríguez Vega, J. Chase, A. F., and D. Z. Chase Cárdenas Párraga, M. A. Iturralde-Vinent, 1989 Routes of Trade and Communica- C. Lázaro, I. Blanco Quintero, Y. Rojas tion and the Integration of Maya Agramante, A. Kröner, K. Núñez Cambra, Society: The Vista From Santa Rita G. Millán, R. L. Torres-Roldán, S. Corozal, Belize. In Coastal Maya Carrasquilla Trade, edited by H. McKillop and 2009 A new jadeitite jade locality (Sierra P. F. Healy, pp. 19-32. Occasional del Convento, Cuba): first report Publication in Anthropology 8. and some petrological and archaeo-

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 102 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop

logical implications. Contributions Lohse, J. J. A., C. Griffith, R. M. to Mineral Petrology 158: 1-16. Rosenswig, and F. Valdez, Jr. Graham, E. A. 2006 Preceramic Occupations in Belize: 1994 The Highlands of the Lowlands: En- Updating the Paleoindian and Ar- vironment and Archaeology in the chaic Record. Latin American An- Stann Creek District, Belize, Cen- tiquity 17: 209-226. tral America. Monographs in World MacKinnon, J. J. Archaeology 19. Madison: Prehis- 1989 Coastal Maya Trade Routes in tory Press. Southern Belize. In Coastal Maya Graham, E. A., and D. M. Pendergast Trade, edited by H. McKillop and 1989 Excavations at the Marco Gonzalez P. F. Healy, pp. 111-122. Occa- Site, Ambergris Cay, Belize, 1986. sional Publication in Anthropology Journal of Field Archaeology 16: 1- 8. Peterborough: Department of 16. Anthropology, Trent University. Guderjan, T. H., and J. F. Garber (eds) McKillop, H. 1995 Maya Maritime Trade, Settlement, 1984 Ancient Maya Reliance on Marine and Population on Ambergris Caye, Resources: Analysis of a Midden Belize. Culver City: Labyrinthos from Moho Cay, Belize. Journal of Press. Field Archaeology 11: 25-35. Hammond, N, 1985 Prehistoric Exploitation of the 1972 Obsidian Trade Routes in the Manatee in the Maya and Circum- Mayan Area. Science 178: 1092- Caribbean Areas. World Archae- 1093. ology 16: 338-353. Harlow, G., A. R. Murphy, D. J. Hozjan, C. 1989a Development of Coastal Maya N. de Mille and A. A. Levinson Trade: Data, Models, and Issues. In 2006 Pre-Columbian Jadeite Axes From Coastal Maya Trade, edited by H. Antigua, West Indies: Description McKillop and P. F. Healy, pp. 1-17. and Possible Sources. The Canadian Occasional Publication in Anthro- Mineralogist 44: 305-321. pology 8. Peterborough: Depart- Healy, P. F., H. McKillop, and B. Walsh ment of Anthropology, Trent Uni- 1984 Analysis of Obsidian from Moho versity. Cay, Belize: New Evidence on Clas- 2004 The Classic Maya Trading Port of sic Maya Trade Routes. Science Moho Cay. In The Ancient Maya of 225: 414-417. the Belize Valley, edited by J. F. Healy, P. F., K. Emery, and L. Wright Garber, pp. 257-272. Gainesville: 1990 Ancient and Modern Maya Exploi- University Press of Florida. tation of the Jute Snail, Pachychilus. 2005a Finds in Belize document Late Latin American Antiquity 1: 170- Classic Maya salt making and ca- 183. noe transport. Proceedings of the Lange, F. W. National Academy of Sciences 102: 1971 A Viable Subsistence Alternative 5630-5634. for the Inland Maya. American 2005b In Search of Maya Sea Traders. Anthropologist 73: 619-639. College Station: Texas A & M Uni- versity Press. 2006 The Ancient Maya. New York: Nor-

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 103 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop

ton Publishers. 1982 Ancient Maya Mercury. Science 2007a Ancient Mariners on the Belizean 217: 533-535. Coast: Stingrays, Seafood, and Salt. Sharer, R. Belizean Studies 29: 15-28. 2004 External Interaction at Early Clas- 2007b GIS of the Maya Canoe Paddle sic Copan. In Understanding Early Site, K'ak' Naab'. Available online Classic Copan, edited by E. E. Bell, at http://www.famsi.org/ M. A. Canuto, and R. J. Sharer, pp. reports/05032/. 297-317. Philadelphia: University 2008 One Hundred Salt Works! The In- of Pennsylvania Museum of Ar- frastructure of the Ancient Maya chaeology and Anthropology. Salt Industry. Research Reports in Spence, M. W. Belizean Archaeology 5: 251-260. 1996 Commodity or Gift: Teotihuacan McKillop, H. and P. F. Healy (eds) Obsidian in the Maya Region. Latin 1989 Coastal Maya Trade. Occasional American Antiquity 7: 21–39. Publication in Anthropology 8. Tedlock, D. Peterborough: Department of An- 1986 The . New York: Touch- thropology, Trent University. stone. McKillop, H., A. Magnoni, R. Watson, S. Trik, A. S. Ascher, T. Winemiller, and B. Tucker 1963 The Splendid Tomb of Temple I at 2004 The Coral Foundations of Coastal Tikal, Guatemala. Expedition 6(1): . Research Re- 2-18. ports in Belizean Archaeology 1: Valdez Jr., F., and S. B. Mock 347-358. 1991 Additional Considerations for Pre- McKillop, H., L. Jackson, H. Michel, F. hispanic Saltmaking in Belize. Stross, and F. Asaro American Antiquity 6: 520-525. 1988 Chemical Source Analysis of Maya Voorhies, B. (ed.) Obsidian: New Perspectives from 1989 Ancient Trade and Tribute: Eco- Wild Cane Cay, Belize. In Ar- nomics of the Soconusco Region of chaeometry 88: Proceedings of the Mesoamerica. Salt Lake City: Uni- Twenty-Sixth International Ar- versity of Utah Press. chaeometry Symposium, edited by White, C. D., D. M. Pendergast, F. J. Long- R. M. Farquhar, R. G. V. Hancock, staffe, and K. R. Law and L. A. Pavlish, pp. 230-244. To- 2001a Social Complexity and Food Sys- ronto: Department of Physics, Uni- tems at Altun Ha, Belize: the Iso- versity of Toronto. topic Evidence. Latin American Nelson, F. W. Antiquity 12: 371-393. 1985 Summary of the Results of Analy- White, C. D., F. J. Longstaffe, and K. R. sis of Obsidian Artifacts from the Law Maya Lowlands. Scanning Electron 2001b Revisiting the Teotihuacan Connec- Microscopy 2: 631-649. tion at Altun Ha: Oxygen-Isotope Pendergast, D. M. Analysis of Tomb F-8/1. Ancient 1970 Tumbaga object from the Early Mesoamerica 12: 65-72. Classic period found at Altun Ha, British Honduras (Belize). Science 168: 116-118.

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 104 Ancient Maya canoe navigation McKillop

Wilson, S. M., H. B. Iceland, and T. R. Hester 1998 Preceramic Connections between Yucatan and the Caribbean. Latin American Antiquity 9: 342-352.

Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Special Publication #3 2010 105