Research Planning Grant: Location and Assessment of Postclassic Belize Maya Settlement

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This action provides supplementary funds for Dr. Fred Wendorf's archaeological research in the Sinai Desert of Egypt. They will permit him to overhaul two research vehicles which will be used to conduct an archaeological survey of the El-Gorafi Basin. The sites in this region may represent the oldest agricultural villages in Egypt, a major cradle of civilization. The architecture in the dry desertic region is extremely well-preserved. The cultural materials associated with the sites appear to be different from those found in the Levant and in the Nile Valley. They may open a completely new perspective on the prehistory of the Sinai Desert and Egypt. Some of the sites are situated in localities which will soon be leveled and reclaimed for agriculture. Others are in areas where new settlements are likely to be placed and those which are not destroyed by housing will likely be robbed for building stone. It is important that these materials be recorded and that excavation take place. These data will be of interest to many archaeologists and shed new light on the rise of complex societies.