Details in the Archaeology of Caracol, Belize: an Introduction
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1. Details in the Archaeology of Caracol, Belize: An Introduction. Arlen F. Chase, University of Central Florida Diane Z. Chase, University of Central Florida Our archaeologicalproject at the Maya site of Carneolin the Vaca Plateauof Belize has been ongoing since 1985. 11risdecade of archaeologicalinvestigation has re- sulted in a much better understanding'of the extensive Maya city we now call "Carncol.'l And the data gatheredby the project within theseten years have helped to augmentour understandingof Classic Maya civilization in the Southernlow- lands. The studiescontained within this volume representbut a small part of the archae. ological data that has been collected at Carncol;it results from the efforts of more than four hundredindividual project memberswho have each spent four or more montbsof their lives living on-site. Taken as a whole the twelve studiespresented hereprovide a brief overview of many aspectsof this oncegreat Maya center,taken individually, however, each study documentsimportant archaeologicaldetails that have applicability not just for Caraeol,but also for our overall understandingof Maya civilization. Changing Views of Caracol Prior to the first field seasonof the CaracolArchaeological Project in 1985,the site of Caracolwas viewed as a relatively small center with little impact on the Maya world. Carneal'sprinwy significancelay in its supposeddefeat of its neighbor,the Guatemalansite of Naranjo, after a seriesof wars in the 7th century A.D.(Stone et aI. 1985). By the time the first Caracolmonograph was published(Chase and Chase 1987a)discoveries had been madethat somewhataltered this provincial view of the site. Not surprisingly,beginning fieldwOlk proved the site to be substantiallylarger than had been suggestedby previously published maps (Beetz and Satterthwaite 1981); somewhatunexpected, however. was the discovery of a series of intrasite causewaysradiating out from Carneal'sepicenter, the longestinitially believedto be some 3.5 kilometers in length. Yet, the one find that had the most impact on changing the archaeologicalview of Caracol was the A Group ballcourt marker encounteredin 1986 (Chaseand Chase1987a; Chase 1991). The hieroglyphictext on this monmnent recorded a seriesof historic activities relatingto Caracol'scummt king, Kan II, including Caracci's apparentdefeat of the Guatemalansite of Tikal nearly 80 kilometer's distant by Kan II's father, Lord Water (Houston 1987:93; 1991). Nevertheless,opinions about CaracoI'simpact on the Classic Maya world were sharply divided. A generalMesoamerican text referredto Caracol as a "rela- tively small city" and notedthat "the masseddemographic power of a regionalstate like Tikal far outmatchedanything that Caracolcould muster" (Adams 1991:196). On the other hand,another widely readbook statedthat lithe bellicose rulers of this new kingdom, called Caracolby archaeologists,would take not only Tikal but the entirePeten region by storm, eventuallycontrolling the politics of the ClassicMaya . heartlandfor more than a century" (Scheleand Freidel 1990:171). ~ From an archaeologicalstandpoint, it was not until after the 1987 field season that the real significanceof Carncol relative to other lowland Maya sites began to become apparent.Intensive and extensivework at the site continued on a yearly basis with each seasonadding a new dimensionto our emergingview of Carncol. During 1988 and 1989 the first fonnal settlementstudy was undertaken~this study provided data on the impact of war on the overall Carneolpopulation as well as a tentative population history of the region (Chaseand Chase 1989). It also resulted in the complete mapping of plaza groupsand terracesfor the part of Carneollying betweenthe Conchitaand Pajaro-Ramonalcauseways, pennitting initial population estimatesof between"34,514 and 61,354people" to be madefor the site (Chaseet al. 1990:502)that were substantiallylarger than originally expectedand, in fact, showedCaracol to be more denselyoccupied than Tikal. From 1989through 1993 intensiveexcavations were undertakenon the monumentaland residentialarchitec- ture in the site's epicenter~these investigationsuncovered massive architectural complexesand royal intermentsas well as use-relatedrefuse on floors. Structural penetrationprovided time depth while analysesprovided a fine-tuned chronology. All of thesefield seasonsand the various specializedstudies stenuning from them, many of which are reported on here, have h<:lpedcontribute to the creation of a much changedview of Caraeol. As it is now known, Caracol is a city with over 36 kilometers of internal site causewaysthat connectt~ epicenterwith a seriesof widely-spacedspecial-fuoction nodes of monwnentaIscale (Figure 1.1). The settlementis continuousand dense within a city radius of at least 4 kilometers;however, transects undertaken in 1994 indicatethat this density continuesoutward for at leastanother 2 kilometers. Cause- ways physically extend the urban radius of Caracol 5.5 kilometers to the southwest and northwest,6.5 kilometers to the southeast,and nearly 8 kilometersto the north- east. Caraeol'scauseways integrate settlement and agricultural fields in t~ site core with the site's epicenter(Figure 1.2). Certaincauseways engulfed previously exist- ing smaller sites (Cabal Pichik. Retiro) into a growing Caracci while others were establishedin conjuncuonwith completelynew tennini (Conchita,Ramonal). Test- ing of causewaysin the southeastsector of the site indicates that these were con- structedduring the early part of the Late ClassicPeriod. Mapping of causewaysand settlementin the Caracol core area has also provided information on the Caracol agricultural system. This work makesit evidentthat fields were extensiveand must have provided substantialagricultural producefor the growing Caracolpopulation. Fields were not organizedaround individual households;mapping instead indicates the existenceof valley-wide systems,undoubtedly created and maintainedby units larger than the nuclearor extendedfamily. While Caracol may have maintaineda small population during the Late Prec1as- sic and Early ClassicPeriods, information from epicentralexcavations indicates that the site was wen integratedinto the generalSouthern lowland Maya ritual system and had fun accessto exotic trade items suchas jadeite and spondylousshell. This is especially evident in a series of cachesfrom Structure A6, The Temple of the Wooden Lintel (Chaseand Chase 1987a,1994a). Subsequentto the 6th and 7th century wars with Tikal and Naranjo, Caraeolexpanded its urban domain spatially by meansof its causewaysystem, and its p<>pulationincreased dramatically. Not only did the number of residentialplaza groups.and public constructionactivities 2 . " ~ ._- II ...g Figurrz1.1. Map ofCD~Belize showingextent afmown causewaysystem as of1992 and thecentml squarrz kilometer of thesite as Iorown in 1991. 3 ','c,','," . ~ ~ ~ ~\ ~ / l ~ ,- I + Figure 1.2. Cameol Map Quadrangle3G as of 1989 demonstratingthe articulation of senle- ment and terrace systemsat the site; a total of 10 plaza groups and 54 structures are illustrated. No surveywork has beenundertaken to the west of the causeway. The quadran- gle measures500 metersby 500 metersand magneticnorth is to the top afthe page. (causeways,tennini, and agricultural terraces) increase substantially during this time. but a large middle statusnevelgroup of people, with accessto tombs and "exotic" artifacts, also is evident~ this raisesquestions about the traditional two-level social systemoften used to describethe Maya (see Chase 1992; Chaseand Chase 1992; and Marcus 1992). Late Classicoccupation at Carncolwas also found to be characterizedby broad participation in a ritual complex of intermentsand caches associatedwith an easternconstruction (Chase and Chase1994b). The archaeologi- caJdata all indicate that Carneolgrew and prosperedduring and immediately after the TikaJ and Naranjowars (Chaseand Chase1989). Current estimatesof Carneol'sLate Classicpopulation place the site among the largestof the known ClassicMaya and Mesoamericancenters. Carneol's population has been estimatedusing the standardmethodology outlined by Culbert and Rice (1990). S1Iueturegroups at Caracol often contain 5 or more structuresper group. In many casesthe Caracolresidential groups are denselypacked on tbe landscape. In an area south of Caracol.0.5 to about 2.0 kilometers distantfrom the epicenter, up to 25 groups oc~ur in a 500 meter by 500 meter area (100 groups per square kilometer),but overall this areaaverages about 70 groupsper squ.arekilometer; such a density can be seenin the partially mappedQuads L, M, N, and 0 publishedin 1987 (Chaseand Chase 1987a). Liepins (this volume) reports an averageof 62.5 occupiedgroups per squarekiiometer for her samplearea along the Conchitacause- way. In this samesoutheastern area, however, at a distanceof 2.0 to 4.0 kilometers from the epicenter,an averagedensity of just over 45 groups per squarekilometer exists; mappingof 4.5 squarekilometers undertaken during 1994 in the northeastern part of the site in extreme karst topography also yielded 45 groups per square kilometer.No drop-offin this settlementdensity occurredin a transectthat ended6 kilometersfrom the epicenterand 4 kilorneters-prior to applying correctionfaetors- would indicate that 135,139Maya lived within this 113square kilometer area. To somethis projectedfigure will appearhigh; however,Caracol's population-like Tikal's-extended even further out from the site epicenter,at least to a distanceof 7.5 kilometers. Assuming