Northwestern Belize Research Articles

ETHNOBOTANICAL AND PALEOETHNOBOTANICAL RESEARCH AT THE PROGRAMME FOR BELIZE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT

In addition to understanding humanity through material culture, the archaeological record also has the capacity to provide botanical data which provides insight to ancient environmental landscapes, climate patterns, and provides a baseline for agroeconomic systems and foodways. Studying archaeobotanical records is vital to a holistic interpretation of material culture and contributes to understanding degrees of variation between ecological and cultural areas. Together with archaeobotany, ethnobotanical survey can also offer valuable contextual evidence when studying past environments. Despite spatial and temporal discontinuities in plant-use and knowledge systems, ethnobotanical data viewed with a critical lens can also provide data missing from the archaeological record which is inherently not exhaustive and relies heavily on interpretation. Ethnobotanical and paleoethnobotanical research at the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP) includes ethnobotanical interviews conducted in the nearby town of San Felipe and archaeobotanical investigations at Structure 3 at the site of La Milpa. By combining a modern analogue of plant practices and knowledge systems via ethnobotanical survey, collecting plant specimens for an archaeobotanical reference library, collecting soil samples from new projects, and sampling artifacts for residues, archaeobotanical research at PfBAP continues to expand what we know about the ancient Maya in northwestern Belize.

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL CHANGES: AN INTEGRATION OF CERAMIC AND LITHIC DATA FROM THE THREE RIVERS REGION

Archaeological research in northwestern Belize indicates a long history of occupation beginning in the Middle Preclassic and ending with abandonment in the Terminal Classic. The collection and analysis of ceramic and lithic data on a broad regional scale and across the entire range of settlement hierarchy allow for a comprehensive examination of social and political changes that occurred across the region. Stylistic changes in the ceramics, the continuity of lithic forms, and depositional patterns of both artifact classes provide information on the activities that occurred between the Late and Terminal Classic in the Three Rivers Region

A multimethod approach to the study of Classic Maya houselots and land tenure: Preliminary results from the Three Rivers Region, Belize

Results of a recent lidar survey of northwestern Belize revealed a heavily modified anthropogenic landscape populated by dense ancient Maya settlement. Most surprising was the detection of an extensive network of landesque capital in form of linear stone features, with 87.8 linear km identified to date. While likely multifunctional, many of these features appear to delineate residential space and are similar in appearance to contemporary Maya houselots. This paper presents the results of a pilot project designed to collect preliminary data on houselots utilizing multiple research methods. Despite differences in land use and vegetation among the study loci, ground truthing results suggest the lidar data are high fidelity. Excavations produced mixed results, with architectural excavations providing the broadest array of data, including evidence that two of the houselots were occupied during the Late Classic (AD 600 – 850) period. Qualitative soil tests for available phosphorus detected elevated levels in areas that are consistent with middens and kitchen gardens. In addition, microtopographic anomalies were identified that may have represented an important household resource. A synthesis of the available data results in a view of large houselots with broad agricultural resource bases. Finally, settlement density and the ubiquity of demarcated houselots may signal the existence of a restricted-use land tenure system.

Ancient Maya Patolli from Gallon Jug, Belize

Recent excavations at the site of Gallon Jug, a minor center in northwestern Belize, revealed multiple patolli boards incised into a well-preserved plaster floor in an unvaulted platform. A significant artifact deposit was placed directly on top of the patolli boards. In this report we describe the architectural context, associated artifact deposit, and the patolli boards themselves.

Tropical wetland persistence through the Anthropocene: Multiproxy reconstruction of environmental change in a Maya agroecosystem

Wetlands epitomize all forms of the proposed Anthropocene era because they record both past and recent human environmental interaction and because of their abundant resources. This is especially true for tropical wetlands, and a growing body of research demonstrates their important connections with past and Indigenous societies. Maya culture, for example, provides an extraordinary example of wetland use in the “Early Anthropocene”. Through excavations and lidar survey, we demonstrate that ancient Maya farmers managed riparian wetlands in northwestern Belize to a much greater spatial extent than previous estimates. This paper provides new evidence from soil geomorphic and palaeoecological excavations within the Birds of Paradise wetland in Belize. We focus on the timing, extent, and intensity of human management as well as soil pedogenesis and ecological changes over the last c. 2000 years. Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates show the transformation of the wetland from a natural to an agricultural system, starting as early as c. 2100 BP. The Maya were constructing berms on the margin of the wetland by c. 1600 BP, and widespread clearing and canal construction began by c. 1350-1290 BP. These periods coincide with population growth and decline and urban construction and abandonment in this region. This clearing, farming, and channelization ended as late as c. 690-620 BP based on canal sedimentation, pollen evidence reflecting tropical forest replacing cultivars like maize, and soil carbon isotope ratios that reflect C4 plants like maize shifting to more mixed and C3 plants. We demonstrate the complexity and scale of human engineering and modification of soil and water resources, provide a new chronology for ancient wetland use, and present new evidence for the farming of economic plants as well as the succession of tropical wetlands after intensive anthropogenic manipulation ceased.

Tropical Forest and Wetland Losses and the Role of Protected Areas in Northwestern Belize, Revealed from Landsat and Machine Learning

Changes in land-use and land-cover, including both agricultural expansion and the establishment of protected areas, have altered the landscape pattern and extent of forest and wetland cover in the tropics. In Central America, land-use and land-cover change is also threatening the cultural resources of the region’s ancient Maya heritage since many ancient sites have been degraded by burning, deforestation, and plowing. In this study of Orange Walk District of northern Belize, from the 1980s to the present, we used multitemporal Landsat data with a random forest classifier to reveal trends in land-use and land-cover change and the increasing loss of forest and wetlands. We develop a random forest classifier that is time-generalized to map land-use and land-cover across the entire Landsat record, including Landsat 4, 5, 7, and 8, with a single algorithm. Including multiyear and seasonal composites was important for obtaining cloud-free coverage and distinguishing between different land-use and land-cover types. Early deforestation (1984–1987) was in small patches scattered across the landscape and likely driven by small scale agriculture such as milpa and smaller area tractor and horse-drawn plowing. The establishment of protected areas in the late 1980s and early 1990s allowed for forest regrowth in these areas, while wetland losses were high at 15%. The transition to industrial agriculture in the 2000s, however, drove a 43.6% expansion of agriculture and a 7.5% loss of forest and a 28.2% loss of wetlands during the ~15 years. Protected areas initiated in the 1980s led to a nearly 100 km2 decrease in agriculture from 1984–1987 to 1999–2001, and they became essential refugia for habitat and maintaining ecosystem services.

Magnetic Susceptibility Reflects Changes in Maya Plaster Production in Northwestern Belize

Magnetic Susceptibility Reflects Changes in Maya Plaster Production in Northwestern Belize

Colleagues and Friends: When Collaboration Becomes a Win, Win, Win—The Botanical Research Institute of Texas and Maya Research Program Work Together to Help an Archaeology Project Better Interpret and Protect a Small Portion of Rain Forest

Abstract Maya Research Program (MRP) has conducted archaeological investigations in Northwestern Belize for twenty plus years. We received a grant from the Botanical Research Institute of Texas to make plant collections in a rainforest remnant, home to the archaeological site of Grey Fox. The team at MRP wished to understand the forest to protect it and the site. In collaboration, we rendered samples of most plant species there, documented ethnobotanical information about the specimens, and gave new insights into ways the collections could be queried to potentially shed light on Ancient Maya plant use and adaptations, subsistence pattern evolution, climate change patterns, and more.

Soil fertility of cohune palm (Attalea cohune) dominant forests compared to non-cohune forests in northwestern Belize

We studied how soils vary between cohune palm and non-cohune forests and assessed whether the forests differed in soil fertility. We sampled soil profiles from six cohune palm forests and eleven non-cohune forests. Our laboratory analyses included soil organic matter (SOM), extractable phosphorous, and the total concentration of 10 elements. Each soil characteristic was subjected to a mixed-effects model with depth, forest type, and the interaction between the two as factors that were grouped by excavation. Total phosphorous, sulfur, and SOM differed significantly between the two forest types, with higher values in non-cohune forests, on average. SOM, extractable phosphorous, and nine elements showed statistically significant changes with depth. The interaction between depth and forest type was significant for eight elements and SOM. The elemental concentrations were consistently maintained with depth in the cohune forests. Meanwhile, the elemental concentrations in non-cohune forest soils decreased with depth for all elements except calcium and magnesium, which increased concentration with depth. Cohune forest soils and non-cohune forest soils differ in distinct ways but these differences do not relate to key measures of soil fertility. Cohune palm forest soils exhibit consistent elemental concentrations with depth, which suggests bioturbation or another phenomenon that redistributes nutrients.

Mapping Maya Hinterlands: LiDAR Derived Visualization to Identify Small Scale Features in Northwestern Belize

This paper will discuss the processes and methods of relief visualization of LiDAR-derived digital elevation models (DEM’s) and classification of secondary data to identify archaeological remains on the ancient Maya landscape in northwestern Belize. The basis of the research explores various Geographic Information System (GIS) and cartographic techniques to visualize topographical relief. Graphic terrain maps assist archaeologists with predictive settlement patterns. The Relief Visualization Toolbox (RVT 1.3) aids to visualize raster DEM datasets in the predictive identification and interpretation of small-scale archaeological features. This dataset and methodology can be utilized to answer questions of population estimates, mobility costs, and effectiveness of ancient technological agricultural systems.

Ancient Maya wetland management in two watersheds in Belize: Soils, water, and paleoenvironmental change

We compare the geomorphology and soil of two ancient Maya wetland agricultural complexes in modern day Belize. This paper focuses on 3000 years of soil geomorphology and paleoecological change to determine the chronology of wetland formation and human use in this region. We also characterize Maya manipulation of the environment over time, especially considering times of ecological or climactic change in the late Holocene. This paper adds to our ongoing research in northwestern Belize, specifically within two recently explored wetland agricultural systems, Neuendorf and Sierra de Agua. Although they are 40 km from one another and in different watersheds, they have similar water chemistry and comparable soil, as well as comparable ancient Maya agricultural field and canal stratigraphy. The Neuendorf wetland fields and associated Maya house mounds and platforms are 1.5 km northeast of the well-studied Chan Cahal residential group/wetland agricultural fields. This ancient Maya settlement zone sits on a small limestone escarpment, about 7–24 m above sea level on the Belizean coastal plain. New trenches and vibracores from this wetland complex support our previous models of wetland formation and human use from the Late Preclassic to the end of the Classic. The Sierra de Agua wetland fields, 40 km to the southwest, are associated with a Maya urban center of the same name. This complex is part of the Irish Creek Wetlands within the New River watershed. In this system, the water table rose around 3000 years before present, which resulted in a different type of field building and agricultural modification, similar to the chinampas models of central Mexico. This new and ongoing research contributes new pollen records, soils and geoarchaeology to the growing regional picture of wetland use and change throughout Maya history.

Wetland geomorphology and paleoecology near Akab Muclil, Rio Bravo floodplain of the Belize coastal plain

To understand wetland geomorphology and paleoecology, we collected a 2.6 m sediment core from a flooded swamp adjacent to the Maya archaeological site of Akab Muclil in the Maya Lowlands of northwestern Belize. The site of Akab Muclil has a known occupation that persisted from Early Maya Classic (1700–1350 BP) through the Terminal Maya Classic (1180–1050 BP) and into the Postclassic (1050–450 BP) and lies near a vast network of ancient Maya canal and field systems. We analyzed this core using a combination of paleoecological and geochemical techniques to determine the history of land use and natural change over time within this wetland. Accelerator Mass Spectrometry dating, pollen, charcoal analysis, micropaleontology, geochemical analysis, and magnetic susceptibility provide a suite of methods from which we interpret the geomorphic and ecological history of this wetland system. Four AMS dates from the length of the core provide us with an age model that runs from 1675 cal BP through the Maya Classic onward to the present. At the base of this system, soil composition and chemistry provide evidence that the system changed from a seasonally wet terrestrial soil to a perennially wet swamp, as the basal Mollisol soil lies buried by peats and calcareous sediments. This shift to a perennial wetland could be related to ancient Maya water management or a natural geomorphic change, though we suspect the former because of nearby ancient Maya large-scale geomorphic and hydrological manipulation in the form of intensive canalization and agriculture. Evidence of ancient Maya uses and impacts, including sedimentation, Zea mays pollen, and high charcoal counts occur from the lowest levels of the sequence through the Classic and into the Postclassic period. Above this level, the strata change to stable peats, laminated deposits of light gray/dark gray gypsum, authigenic carbonate, and layers of fibrist peat, with little evidence of human impact until recent increases in charcoal and phosphorous. This study, compared with other regional studies, indicates a later transition from terrestrial to wetland, later human impacts in the Postclassic, and a geomorphic impact record closely tied to the history of the adjacent site rather than broader land use trends.

Geoarchaeology and tropical forest soil catenas of northwestern Belize

New research on soil catenas under old growth tropical forest in NW Belize aims to understand soil formation, long-term human impacts, and slope stability over time. We studied areas with intensive ancient Maya impacts from 3000 to 1000 years ago and those with little ancient impact to compare how ancient land-use influenced slopes after about 1000 years of stable tropical forest cover. We characterized the physical, chemical and chronological characteristics of soils at crest/shoulders, backslopes, footslopes, and depression locations, analyzing typical soil parameters and carbon isotopes (δ13C) in dated and undated sequences. Several of the footslope and depressions sites preserved evidence of buried paleosols with increased δ13C dating (by four new AMS dates and three others we reported earlier) from the Maya Classic period, with high amounts of soil organic matter from C4 species in ecosystems where only a few C4 species occur today. Most crest/shoulders and backslopes had no evidence for increased δ13C, though some crests and mid-slope sinks preserved evidence of ancient Maya impacts. The observation that steep slopes preserved no evidence of C4 species inputs may mean that ancient Maya land use maintained forest reserves here. Alternatively, ancient Maya land uses caused slope erosion, with the δ13C signatures detected today resulting from more recent soil development under forest and soil re-formation over the last millennium. Additional evidence that these soils are recent in age includes elevated CaCO3, Sr, and low soil magnetic susceptibility, showing less leaching compared with older soils in our study. Other human impacts on soils include increased concentrations of Fe and Mn, terracing, and further evidence of substantial topsoil erosion in antiquity.

Agroforestry and ritual at the ancient Maya center of Lamanai

Paleoethnobotanical data retrieved from caches of Late Classic to Early Postclassic origin at the ancient Maya site of Lamanai, Belize, revealed carbonized maize kernels, cob fragments, common beans, coyol endocarps, and an abundance of wood charcoal, from both conifer and hardwood tree species. Pinus caribaea (Caribbean pine) was the most ubiquitous species in the Late and Terminal Classic sample set and the weight of Lamanai pine wood charcoal was more than the combined weight of all known archaeobotanical collections from nearby contemporaneous sites. Pollen data from northwestern Belize showed that the pine pollen signature declined during the Late Classic period, a trajectory in keeping with intensive exploitation of the nearby pine savannas as suggested by the contents of Lamanai caches examined in this study. Although Lamanai flourished far into the Postclassic period, pine charcoal use—based on present evidence—declined in Early Postclassic ritual contexts. Concomitantly, an increase in the local pine pollen rain indicated that pine timber stocks rebounded during the Postclassic period. The observed intensive use of pine at Late Classic Lamanai combined with a concurrent decline in the regional pine pollen signature is consistent with a hypothesis of over-exploitation of pine during the Late to Terminal Classic period.

Non-invasive genetic sampling reveals diet shifts, but little difference in endoparasite richness and faecal glucocorticoids, in Belizean felids inside and outside protected areas

Abstract:Many Neotropical felids are threatened with extinction due to direct effects of habitat destruction and/or human persecution. However, indirect and synergistic effects of human-felid conflict remain under-studied and potentially include increased stress and diet shifts that may negatively impact felid health. We hypothesized that faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) and endoparasite species richness (ESR) would be higher, and diet would shift, for felids outside protected areas where conflict occurs. In north-western Belize, a scat-detector dog located 336 faecal samples, identified to species and individual using DNA analyses. DNA amplification success was substantially higher within protected areas than outside. We detected jaguar, puma, ocelot, jaguarundi and domestic cat. FGMs were higher in puma and jaguarundi than in other felids, while ESR was similar across felids with domestic cats exhibiting the highest number of genera. Diet partitioning occurred among felids, but domestic cats may compete with ocelot and jaguarundi for small prey. Outside of protected areas, large cats shifted their diet to smaller prey and livestock remains were not found. Contrary to our hypotheses, FGM and ESR did not differ inside versus outside protected areas, but sample sizes were low in human-modified areas. We provide a baseline on wild felid adrenal activity, endoparasites and diet and suggest improvements to increase sample sizes outside protected areas. Our research provides a template for expanding non-invasive sampling approaches more widely across the range of Neotropical felids.

‘Mayacene’ floodplain and wetland formation in the Rio Bravo Watershed of northwestern Belize

This is the first article to characterize the soil and fluvial geomorphology of the Rio Bravo’s fluviokarst watershed in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area, northwestern Belize. Although the watershed has had little-altered tropical forest cover since c. 1000 BP, humans inhabited it for millennia, especially during the Maya Preclassic and Classic, c. 3000–1000 BP. We studied soils and floodplain formation in four excavation transects in the Rio Bravo to understand long-term human impacts on this watershed. Archaic to Preclassic ( c. 3000–1700 BP) sedimentation rates ranged from 0.82 mm yr−1 at Chawak But’o’ob to 1.5 mm yr−1 on the Gran Cacao floodplain. The late Preclassic through Classic ( c. 2300–1000 BP) rates rose 0.98–2.03 mm yr−1, and the Classic ( c. 1700–1000 BP) rates ranged from 1 mm yr−1 to as high as 9.12 and 16.27 mm yr−1 at ancient Maya wetland field sites. Post Classic rates dropped back in the one dated profile, and the well-developed topsoils indicate long-term surface stability. Older soils at the edges and higher islands of the valley had more vertic features and full Vertisols, whereas Vertic Mollisols and Aquerts have formed in younger sediments. We also present new evidence for late Classic Maya wetland field formation at Chawak But’o’ob, which shows field raising with canalization in this wetland of low ionic water. All the soil profiles with dating and stable carbon isotope evidence exhibited increased δ13C in the profiles through the Classic period sediments, although some were equivocal. The two wetland field δ13C profiles through the Classic period sediments increase by c. 6‰ at Chawak But’o’ob and 3‰ at the Birds of Paradise (BOP) Field center, although earlier BOP profiles increased by as much as 7‰. Hence, this watershed exhibits three large diachronic shifts: from lower to higher and again to lower deposition over pre-Maya, Maya, and post-Maya times. These changes along with earlier evidence for ancient intensive agriculture from 3000 and 1000 BP lie sandwiched between the ancient and contemporary little-altered tropical forest.

Preliminary geochemical assessment of limestone resources and stone use at Maya sites in the Three Rivers Region, Belize

The carbonate bedrock of northwestern Belize is poorly understood from the standpoint of both geochemistry and the use of stone in prehispanic Maya sites for buildings and monuments. The friable nature of the rock in this topographically rugged area makes it especially difficult to distinguish monuments from bedrock spall, as little carving, if any, survives, and identification rests on location and positioning. The research presented here analyzed 63 limestone samples collected from two sites in the Three Rivers Region of Belize. ICP-MS and ICP-AES were used to characterize the major, minor, and trace element chemistry of the limestone bedrock of the region and determine the amount of geochemical variability. Another important objective was attempting to trace the movement of monument stone and determining whether it was imported from outside of the sites. Bedrock, quarries, and possible monuments were all sampled for these purposes. Bedrock proved to be similar across wide areas. However, at Chawak But'o'ob, along the flank of the Rio Bravo, changes downslope in Mg concentration suggest a leaching of the bedrock by meteoric waters based on differences in porosity. At Maax Na, a hilltop site, in contrast, such leaching is not as apparent. Many monuments at both sites were found to be composed of stone similar in chemistry to the local bedrock, including several of the identifiable stelae. However, our analyses also revealed that a few monuments at Maax Na were made of material with a different chemical composition, apparently from stone imported to the site. These results suggest that the Maya deliberately selected certain types of limestone for certain purposes, and may even have traded in non-local rock. Overall, the methods used in this pilot study indicate there is real potential in more intensive, regional assessments of the materials used at archaeological sites, even in areas where the local stone does not have a distinctive geochemical signature.

Possible Variation in Late Archaic Period Bifaces in Belize: New Finds from the Cayo District of Western Belize

Six additional barbed bifaces have been recovered from the Cayo District of Western Belize, bringing the total number of known Late Archaic Lowe and Sawmill points from this part of the country to 12. Not only do these six points provide more evidence for a greater Late Archaic hunter-gatherer presence in this part of the country, but differences in their stems suggest the possibility of more variation in point styles than previously known. Based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of the 12 points from Western Belize and comparisons to others discovered in Northern and Northwestern Belize and the Sibun Gorge of Central Belize, we propose that there may have been three different styles of Lowe points used by Late Archaic food-foragers in Belize. However, two of these three possible Lowe point styles are only represented by a single artifact each, rendering more detailed explanations of sources of stylistic variation difficult. Unlike the Lowe points, the observed differences in the Sawmill point stems are not supported by quantitative data; therefore, there seems to be only one style of stem for these Late Archaic bifaces.

The Impact of Microenvironments on Socioeconomic Organization in the Maya Lowlands

The Maya Lowlands are a diverse physiographic landscape comprised of multiple microenvironments. In the Late Classic, it is believed that land-use specific communities evolved in less optimal localities creating dependency relationships between sites. In this article I present the results of the lithic analysis from three Minimal Ceremonial Centers in Northwestern Belize, concluding that the lithic technological organization reflects localized resource specialization, supporting the theory that these communities functioned in variable ways relative to their specialized position in their microenvironment. This study's regional approach to understanding lithic artifact assemblages refines our perception of Late Classic Lowland Maya socio-economic organization.

PARTING (WITH) THE DEAD: BODY PARTIBILITY AS EVIDENCE OF COMMONER ANCESTOR VENERATION

AbstractAs a complement to life histories authored by many researchers of Maya bones, this study narrates death histories. The latter entails detection of perimortem and postmortem changes to decedents' bodies, followed by translation of these changes' encoded meanings. Biographical analysis of body parts and the buildings in which they are situated facilitates such an endeavor. Past investigations of partibility have focused on protracted processing of noble and royal bodies as a means to reconstitute decedents' identities. Commoners' burials, however, have received far less attention. Consequently, it is difficult to determine if partible practices differ according to or transcend social class. To address this lacuna, a multiscalar frame is applied to a burial sample comprised of decedents from varied social settings in the Three Rivers region, northwestern Belize. Identification of widely shared practices related to the becoming and venerating of ancestors offers a springboard for examining particulars within patterns. Scaling down, commoner burials unearthed at the minor center RB-11 are summarized and special attention is paid to the death history of Individual 71. This decedent's intentionally fragmented body reflects general thinking about ancestors as partible and dividual persons. Yet, certain attributes of Individual 71's burial are unique to the sample as a whole, which demonstrates how social class, circumstance, and individual life history are also instrumental in the reformation of ancestorhood.