A SYNTHESIS OF THE LONG TERM CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF ANCIENT MAYA CENTERS IN WEST-CENTRAL BELIZE A Thesis Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Science TRENT UNIVERSITY Peterborough, Ontario, Canada © Copyright by Trudy Kirschner 2012 Anthropology M.A. Graduate Program May 2012 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de Pedition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-82897-7 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-82897-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lntemet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve ia propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT A Synthesis of the Long Term Cultural Development of Ancient Maya Centers in West-Central Belize Trudy Kirschner This thesis examines the myriad of archaeological data recovered from fifteen ancient Maya centers in the Belize River Valley, Vaca Plateau (Belize), as well as Naranjo in the Peten Lowlands of Guatemala, spanning the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic periods. Of the three areas, the Belize River Valley has been the most extensively and continuously studied. While there is ample evidence of interaction, there has been to date, no synthesis of the archaeological evidence of cultural development in this area as a whole. In response, this thesis surmounts the geographical and national divisors to incorporate these socially, economically, and politically significant neighbours. Methodologically, qualitative comparison and contrast is utilized to envelop the cultural trajectory of this area of the Southern Maya Lowlands, from earliest settlement, to state formation, through fluorescence, to collapse, and regeneration. Keywords: ancient Maya, cultural development, Belize River Valley, Vaca Plateau, Naranjo. Ill ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are a great many individuals to whom I wish to express my appreciation. This thesis would not have been possible without the hard work and published research of countless archaeologists who have toiled in west-central Belize, and to them I am grateful. First and foremost, I am indebted to Dr. Gyles Iannone for agreeing to act as my supervisor and for his encouragement throughout. My greatest appreciation goes to committee members Dr. Paul Healy and Dr. James Conolly, and to Dr. James Stemp, Keene State, for his role as external examiner. My heartfelt thanks are extended to Kate Dougherty and Dr. Susan Jamieson for their early encouragement. Particular thanks to Kristine Williams in the Anthropology Graduate Office and Judy Pinto in the Undergraduate Office, without whose guidance and assistance I would surely have been lost. I am most grateful to Belizean roommates extraordinaire Katherine Bandiera and Rachel Dell, with whom I have shared many adventures in Central America and beyond! In Belize, my gratitude is extended to the San Ignacio community, who annually welcome each new group of "archaeologists" and are among the most hospitable group of people that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. My appreciation is extended for the support provided by the Belize Institute of Archaeology to Trent Univerisity's Social Archaeology Research Program. A warm thank you for the support of my fellow graduate students, family, friends and colleagues, too numerous to mention individually! Finally, I would particularly like to thank my daughters Lisa and Terry for their continued interest in my field of study, and for their ongoing support and encouragement. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents iv List of Figures ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1 The Maya Sub-Area: Background 2 Highlands 4 Lowlands 5 West-central Belize 7 Belize River Valley 8 Peten 9 Vaca Plateau 10 Maya Culture 11 Maya History 12 Paleoindian Period (12,000-6000 B.C.) 12 Archaic Period (6000-1200 B.C.) 13 Early Preclassic (1200-900 B.C.) 14 Middle Preclassic (900 - 400 B.C.) 14 Late and Terminal Preclassic (400 B.C. -A.D. 250) ..15 Early Classic (A.D 250-550) 16 Middle Classic (A.D. 550 - 675) 17 Late Classic (A.D. 675 - 810) 17 V Terminal Classic (A.D. 810-900) 18 Postclassic period (A.D. 900-1525) 19 Thesis Organization 20 Chapter 2: History of Archaeological Research in West Central Belize 22 The Early Explorers 22 Belize Valley Sites 25 Actuncan 26 Baking Pot 27 Blackman Eddy 31 Buenavista del Cayo 33 CahalPech 35 El Pilar 37 Las Ruinas de Arenal 39 Pacbitun 41 Xunantunich (Benque Viejo) 44 Naranjo 48 Vaca Plateau Sites 50 Caledonia 50 Camp 6 52 Caracol 54 Hatzcap Ceel (Cold Dawn) 57 Minanha (Mucnal Yok Tunich, Mucnal Tunich) 60 vi Summary 63 Chapter 3: The Cultural Development of Centers in West Central Belize 66 Belize Valley Sites 67 Actuncan 67 Baking Pot 69 Blackman Eddy 74 Buenavista del Cayo 77 CahalPech 80 El Pilar 88 Las Ruinas de Arenal 90 Pacbitun 93 Xunantunich 99 Naranjo 103 Vaca Plateau Sites 107 Caledonia 107 Camp 6 110 Caracol 112 Hatzcap Ceel 117 Minanha 120 Summary 123 Chapter 4: Chronological Assessment of Cultural Development 125 Ideology and Religion 125 Ideology/ Symbolism Expressed in Architecture 125 VII Ideology / Symbolism Expressed in Mortuary and Caching Practices 128 Caching Practices "Charlie Chaplins" 128 Caching Practices "Finger Bowls" 129 Caching Practices Eccentrics 131 Economy 132 Socio-Political Organization 139 Summary 148 Chapter 5: Conclusions 150 Addressing the Thesis Questions 151 When Did Initial Habitation of the Individual Centers Begin? 151 Where Did Initial Habitation of the Centers Take Place? 152 What Might Be the Reasons for Selection and Timing of Initial Habitation? 154 Which Congruities and Incongruities Do We Observe as the Centers Grow in Area and Complexity? 156 When Do the First Signs of Decline Become Evident at the Centers? 159 Are These First Signs Occurring Individually By Center or In Relation To Other Centers? 161 What is the Sequence of Events Leading to Collapse? 162 What May be Possible Causal Factors for the Sequence of Events? 164 Which Centers Show Evidence of Re-occupation After Collapse, and To What Extent? 167 Summary and Analyses 169 Future Research 171 viii References Cited 172 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Map of the Maya Sub-Area 3 Figure 1.2 Map of West-central Belize Sites Included in Thesis Study 8 Figure 2.1 Map of Actuncan 26 Figure 2.2 Map of Baking Pot 30 Figure 2.3 Blackman Eddy Site Core 32 Figure 2.4 Buenavista del Cayo Central Area Map 34 Figure 2.5 Cahal Pech Site Core 36 Figure 2.6 Map of El Pilar 38 Figure 2.7 Map of Las Ruinas de Arenal 40 Figure 2.8 Map of Pacbitun 42 Figure 2.9 Map of Xunantunich 45 Figure 2.10 Map of Epicenter, Naranjo 49 Figure 2.11 Map of Caledonia Plazas A and B 51 Figure 2.12 Map of Camp 6 53 Figure 2.12 Map of Caracol Epicenter 55 Figure 2.14 Map of Hatzcap Ceel 59 Figure 2.15 Map of Minanha 61 Figure 3.1 Temporal Designations 67 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION This thesis examines the developmental sequences of 15 ancient Maya centers in west-central Belize during the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic periods. The centers under investigation are located within the greater area of the Southern Maya Lowlands, and represent a diverse geographic landscape, including the fertile Belize River Valley, the rugged Vaca Plateau, and the forested region of the Peten district of Guatemala. The Belize Valley sites include Actuncan (Cahal Xux), Baking Pot, Blackman Eddy, Buenavista del Cayo, Cahal Pech, El Pilar, Las Ruinas de Arenal, Pacbitun, and Xunantunich (Benque Viejo), with the addition of nearby Naranjo as a politically important outlier. The Vaca Plateau sites include Caledonia, Camp 6, Caracol, Hatzcap Ceel, and Minanha (Mucnal Yok Tunich, Mucnal Tunich). While the majority of these sites have been extensively examined on an individual basis, and notwithstanding notable recent publications like Garber's (2004) Belize Valley compilation volume of research, and Helmke and Awe's (2008) socio-political analysis of archaeological and epigraphic data, there has been no detailed and comprehensive synthesis of the archaeological evidence of cultural development in this area as a whole to date. The plethora of information published over the past half century of archaeological investigation in the Belize Valley in particular, provides an opportunity for compilation of an historical synthesis of the research so far.