Settlement Archaeology at Xunantunich, Belize, Central America

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9321503 Ashmore With National Science Foundation support Dr. Wendy Ashmore and her colleagues will conduct two field seasons of archaeological research in the Belize river valley, Belize Central America. Work will center in the vicinity of Xunantunich, a Mayan civic center which was occupied from approximately 650 to 1000 AD. Two field seasons have been completed at the center itself and Dr. Ashmore will now conduct archaeological and geomorphological investigation beyond the area of monumental architecture to document the distribution of local population in time and space. Archaeological survey and test excavation will be conducted to document the nature and variability of local economic production, consumption and general standard of living at the homestead scale. Extensive excavation at one elite residential cluster will provide insight into organization at this social level. Geomorphological research will document changes in the local landscape itself, especially the evolving human use of alluvial soils and how changing hydrological regimes affected preservation and detection of archaeological remains. Archaeologists wish to understand how Mayan peoples achieved a high level of social complexity which allowed for the production of monumental architecture and the support of large populations in a difficult and harsh tropical lowland environment. Recent data indicate that Mayan prehistory was turbulent and characterized by abrupt changes in political order and settlement organization. Because the site of Xunantunich spans much of this period and underwent several such shifts, it provides an excellent context to examine this question. Dr. Ashmore postulates that a great deal of independence and continuity existed at the household level, that these units provided the basic building blocks of Mayan society and that they remained relatively unchanged during major political upheavals. Data produced by this research will allow her to examine this issue. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will provide new insight into the development of complex society and shed light on methods of organization adapted to tropical lowland environments. ***