Eliška Rejmánková, John Grieco, Nicole Achee, Penny Masuoka, Kevin Pope, Donald Roberts, and Richard M. Higashi
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198567080
- eISBN:
- 9780191717871
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198567080.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Disease Ecology / Epidemiology
The incidence of malaria has recently increased in many parts of the tropics. This increase is due mainly to drug resistance and the failure of disease control measures. But changes in vector ...
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The incidence of malaria has recently increased in many parts of the tropics. This increase is due mainly to drug resistance and the failure of disease control measures. But changes in vector (mosquito) and host (human) ecology may also play a role. This chapter presents results from field studies in Belize showing that freshwater community changes lead to changes in malaria transmission. Changes in vegetation structure, mediated by an anthropogenic increase in aquatic nutrients, lead to replacement of one mosquito species by another. Species-specific habitat selection by mosquito females leads to the replacement of a less efficient malaria vector by a more efficient one. Vector ecology is influenced by changes in land cover and host availability, leading to predictable changes in malarial dynamics.Less
The incidence of malaria has recently increased in many parts of the tropics. This increase is due mainly to drug resistance and the failure of disease control measures. But changes in vector (mosquito) and host (human) ecology may also play a role. This chapter presents results from field studies in Belize showing that freshwater community changes lead to changes in malaria transmission. Changes in vegetation structure, mediated by an anthropogenic increase in aquatic nutrients, lead to replacement of one mosquito species by another. Species-specific habitat selection by mosquito females leads to the replacement of a less efficient malaria vector by a more efficient one. Vector ecology is influenced by changes in land cover and host availability, leading to predictable changes in malarial dynamics.
Heather McKillop
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813025117
- eISBN:
- 9780813039497
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813025117.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This book reports the discovery, excavation, and interpretation of Late Classic Maya salt works on the coast of Belize, transforming our knowledge of the Maya salt trade and craft specialization ...
More
This book reports the discovery, excavation, and interpretation of Late Classic Maya salt works on the coast of Belize, transforming our knowledge of the Maya salt trade and craft specialization while providing new insights on sea-level rise in the Late Holocene as well. Salt, basic to human existence, was scarce in the tropical rainforests of Belize and Guatemala, where the Classic Maya civilization thrived between A.D. 300 and 900. The prevailing interpretation has been that salt was imported from the north coast of the Yucatan. However, the underwater discovery and excavation of salt works in Punta Ycacos Lagoon demonstrate that the Maya produced salt by boiling brine in pots over fires at specialized workshops on the Belizean coast. The Punta Ycacos salt works are clear evidence that craft specialization took place in a nondomestic setting and that production occurred away from the economic and political power of the urban Maya rulers, thus providing new clues to the Maya economy and sea trade. The book presents new data on sea-level rise in the Late Holocene that extend geologists' and geographers' sea-level curves from earlier eras. Likewise, it enters the environmental-versus-cultural debate over the Classic Maya collapse by evaluating the factors that led to the abandonment of the Punta Ycacos salt works at the end of the Classic Period, synonymous with the abandonment of inland Maya cities.Less
This book reports the discovery, excavation, and interpretation of Late Classic Maya salt works on the coast of Belize, transforming our knowledge of the Maya salt trade and craft specialization while providing new insights on sea-level rise in the Late Holocene as well. Salt, basic to human existence, was scarce in the tropical rainforests of Belize and Guatemala, where the Classic Maya civilization thrived between A.D. 300 and 900. The prevailing interpretation has been that salt was imported from the north coast of the Yucatan. However, the underwater discovery and excavation of salt works in Punta Ycacos Lagoon demonstrate that the Maya produced salt by boiling brine in pots over fires at specialized workshops on the Belizean coast. The Punta Ycacos salt works are clear evidence that craft specialization took place in a nondomestic setting and that production occurred away from the economic and political power of the urban Maya rulers, thus providing new clues to the Maya economy and sea trade. The book presents new data on sea-level rise in the Late Holocene that extend geologists' and geographers' sea-level curves from earlier eras. Likewise, it enters the environmental-versus-cultural debate over the Classic Maya collapse by evaluating the factors that led to the abandonment of the Punta Ycacos salt works at the end of the Classic Period, synonymous with the abandonment of inland Maya cities.
Luis Roniger
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813036632
- eISBN:
- 9780813038834
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036632.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This book aims to provide an understanding of the transnational dynamics of Central America. This is a region that includes Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and ...
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This book aims to provide an understanding of the transnational dynamics of Central America. This is a region that includes Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. These countries share a close geographical relationship and historical background, a geopolitical interdependence, and challenges in the international arena. In tracing the transnational dynamics of Central America, the book analyzes the connected history, close and dynamic interrelations, crossings and mutual impact of the countries of the isthmus on one another, in addition to their geopolitical interdependence and a series of common challenges they have faced in the international arena. This book is an attempt to make sense of these and other regional trends by indicating that one needs to approach Central America with a Janus-faced perspective: trying to understand the process of fragmentation into separate nation-states along with lingering transnational dynamics.Less
This book aims to provide an understanding of the transnational dynamics of Central America. This is a region that includes Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. These countries share a close geographical relationship and historical background, a geopolitical interdependence, and challenges in the international arena. In tracing the transnational dynamics of Central America, the book analyzes the connected history, close and dynamic interrelations, crossings and mutual impact of the countries of the isthmus on one another, in addition to their geopolitical interdependence and a series of common challenges they have faced in the international arena. This book is an attempt to make sense of these and other regional trends by indicating that one needs to approach Central America with a Janus-faced perspective: trying to understand the process of fragmentation into separate nation-states along with lingering transnational dynamics.
Debra S. Walker (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813062792
- eISBN:
- 9780813051758
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813062792.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
The ancient Maya invested massive amounts of labor on road systems (sacbeob) for communication and trade, yet Chetumal Bay, situated between modern day Quintana Roo, Mexico, and Corozal District, ...
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The ancient Maya invested massive amounts of labor on road systems (sacbeob) for communication and trade, yet Chetumal Bay, situated between modern day Quintana Roo, Mexico, and Corozal District, Belize, provided an economical alternative: an extensive network of riverine and maritime waterways to journey to the edges of Mayab and beyond. This volume reports recent work at sites important to Maya archaeology in the region that depended on waterborne exchange for their livelihood, including Cerro Maya (Cerros), Oxtankah, and Santa Rita Corozal. Archaeological researchers in this volume describe how life on the bay influenced their data sets. It is clear the ancient Maya knew Chetumal Bay was a central place, the nexus of a larger system of waterways that made their livelihoods possible. The contributing authors make the case that the river system affected all aspects of Maya culture, including settlement, food production, special and exotic goods production and use, political relationships, and social organization. Besides trade in products imported from elsewhere, the region was widely known for its high-quality local agricultural produce, including chocolate, achiote, vanilla, tropical fruits, honey, and wax as well as marine resources such as salt, fish, and shell products. Evidence outlined here suggests the Maya living on the fringes of the bay perceived the entire bay as a single resource procurement zone. Waterborne trade brought the world to them, providing them a wider horizon than would have been available to inland cities dependent only on sacbeob for news of the world.Less
The ancient Maya invested massive amounts of labor on road systems (sacbeob) for communication and trade, yet Chetumal Bay, situated between modern day Quintana Roo, Mexico, and Corozal District, Belize, provided an economical alternative: an extensive network of riverine and maritime waterways to journey to the edges of Mayab and beyond. This volume reports recent work at sites important to Maya archaeology in the region that depended on waterborne exchange for their livelihood, including Cerro Maya (Cerros), Oxtankah, and Santa Rita Corozal. Archaeological researchers in this volume describe how life on the bay influenced their data sets. It is clear the ancient Maya knew Chetumal Bay was a central place, the nexus of a larger system of waterways that made their livelihoods possible. The contributing authors make the case that the river system affected all aspects of Maya culture, including settlement, food production, special and exotic goods production and use, political relationships, and social organization. Besides trade in products imported from elsewhere, the region was widely known for its high-quality local agricultural produce, including chocolate, achiote, vanilla, tropical fruits, honey, and wax as well as marine resources such as salt, fish, and shell products. Evidence outlined here suggests the Maya living on the fringes of the bay perceived the entire bay as a single resource procurement zone. Waterborne trade brought the world to them, providing them a wider horizon than would have been available to inland cities dependent only on sacbeob for news of the world.
Amy R. Michael, Gabriel D. Wrobel, and Jack Biggs
Cathy Willermet and Andrea Cucina (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780813056005
- eISBN:
- 9780813053783
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813056005.003.0006
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Bioarchaeology frequently investigates dental health in burial populations to make inferences about mortuary variability within and between ancient groups. In this chapter, micro- and macroscopic ...
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Bioarchaeology frequently investigates dental health in burial populations to make inferences about mortuary variability within and between ancient groups. In this chapter, micro- and macroscopic dental defects were examined in a series of ancient Maya mortuary cave and rockshelter burials in Central Belize. The nature of mortuary cave ritual use and funerary performance in the Late Classic is widely debated in the literature. This study utilizes two analytical approaches, mortuary practice and paleopathology, to better understand mortuary variability between two site types that may be distinguished by social status in life. Ethnohistoric accounts focused on mortuary activities in the Late Classic period have described sacrificial victims as individuals originating outside of the elite population. To test these accounts, this study compares the dental health data of individuals from non-elite (rockshelter) populations to elite (cave) burial contexts.Less
Bioarchaeology frequently investigates dental health in burial populations to make inferences about mortuary variability within and between ancient groups. In this chapter, micro- and macroscopic dental defects were examined in a series of ancient Maya mortuary cave and rockshelter burials in Central Belize. The nature of mortuary cave ritual use and funerary performance in the Late Classic is widely debated in the literature. This study utilizes two analytical approaches, mortuary practice and paleopathology, to better understand mortuary variability between two site types that may be distinguished by social status in life. Ethnohistoric accounts focused on mortuary activities in the Late Classic period have described sacrificial victims as individuals originating outside of the elite population. To test these accounts, this study compares the dental health data of individuals from non-elite (rockshelter) populations to elite (cave) burial contexts.
Elizabeth Graham
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036663
- eISBN:
- 9780813041834
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036663.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Most of the research concerned with early Spanish colonialism in Middle America focuses on Mexico, Yucatan, and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America. The land that became Belize was ...
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Most of the research concerned with early Spanish colonialism in Middle America focuses on Mexico, Yucatan, and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America. The land that became Belize was nameless to the invaders and gradually became “frontier” with respect to the colonial core. By 1700, Spanish involvement had all but ceased and British logwood cutters had begun to penetrate the lands bordering the major rivers. This book examines the sixteenth- to seventeenth-century period of contact through the lens of archaeology and history. Its focus is the coming of Christianity and the effects of evangelization and conversion on the Belize Maya communities of Tipu and Lamanai, both of which were the sites of Spanish visita missions. Christian churches were built and maintained in both communities, and the excavation of these churches and the material cultural information that resulted are both drawn on to contribute to an analysis of religious change. The book assesses the concept of religion, the significance of doctrine, the empowerment of the individual, and the process of conversion by examining the meanings attributed to ideas, objects, and images by the Maya, by Iberian Christians, and by archaeologists.Less
Most of the research concerned with early Spanish colonialism in Middle America focuses on Mexico, Yucatan, and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America. The land that became Belize was nameless to the invaders and gradually became “frontier” with respect to the colonial core. By 1700, Spanish involvement had all but ceased and British logwood cutters had begun to penetrate the lands bordering the major rivers. This book examines the sixteenth- to seventeenth-century period of contact through the lens of archaeology and history. Its focus is the coming of Christianity and the effects of evangelization and conversion on the Belize Maya communities of Tipu and Lamanai, both of which were the sites of Spanish visita missions. Christian churches were built and maintained in both communities, and the excavation of these churches and the material cultural information that resulted are both drawn on to contribute to an analysis of religious change. The book assesses the concept of religion, the significance of doctrine, the empowerment of the individual, and the process of conversion by examining the meanings attributed to ideas, objects, and images by the Maya, by Iberian Christians, and by archaeologists.
Ann L. W. Stodder and Ann M. Palkovich
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813038070
- eISBN:
- 9780813043135
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813038070.003.0017
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
With background on the impact of feminist archaeology in “peopling the past,” this chapter presents the osteobiography of a young adult male from Bajo Hill, a Maya Late/Terminal Classic Period site ...
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With background on the impact of feminist archaeology in “peopling the past,” this chapter presents the osteobiography of a young adult male from Bajo Hill, a Maya Late/Terminal Classic Period site near La Milpa, Rio Bravo, Belize. Careful use of ethnographic and historical sources, attention to artistic imagery, and analysis of grave goods complement analysis of fragmentary skeletal remains from a grave beneath a house floor. The collective evidence suggests that this individual held the important role of medico-religious specialist in his small farming village.Less
With background on the impact of feminist archaeology in “peopling the past,” this chapter presents the osteobiography of a young adult male from Bajo Hill, a Maya Late/Terminal Classic Period site near La Milpa, Rio Bravo, Belize. Careful use of ethnographic and historical sources, attention to artistic imagery, and analysis of grave goods complement analysis of fragmentary skeletal remains from a grave beneath a house floor. The collective evidence suggests that this individual held the important role of medico-religious specialist in his small farming village.
Elizabeth Graham
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036663
- eISBN:
- 9780813041834
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036663.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
The people (Maya and Spaniards), the region (Belize and Yucatan), and the time periods (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) on which the book focuses are described in this introduction. A chronology ...
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The people (Maya and Spaniards), the region (Belize and Yucatan), and the time periods (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) on which the book focuses are described in this introduction. A chronology is provided by way of a table, the origins of the research are explained, and the chapters are outlined.Less
The people (Maya and Spaniards), the region (Belize and Yucatan), and the time periods (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) on which the book focuses are described in this introduction. A chronology is provided by way of a table, the origins of the research are explained, and the chapters are outlined.
Elizabeth Graham
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036663
- eISBN:
- 9780813041834
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036663.003.0003
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter addresses Maya political and economic organization just prior to the Spanish Conquest in Yucatan, Belize, and to some extent, Peten. The nature of native Maya states and geopolitical ...
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This chapter addresses Maya political and economic organization just prior to the Spanish Conquest in Yucatan, Belize, and to some extent, Peten. The nature of native Maya states and geopolitical units is explored, as is the Precolumbian Maya economy. A summary is provided of what we know from archaeology about Belize communities in the sixteenth century, with a focus on Tipu and Lamanai.Less
This chapter addresses Maya political and economic organization just prior to the Spanish Conquest in Yucatan, Belize, and to some extent, Peten. The nature of native Maya states and geopolitical units is explored, as is the Precolumbian Maya economy. A summary is provided of what we know from archaeology about Belize communities in the sixteenth century, with a focus on Tipu and Lamanai.
Elizabeth Graham
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036663
- eISBN:
- 9780813041834
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036663.003.0006
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Why did Spanish Europeans decide not to settle the mainland, coast, and cayes that are now Belize? How did Spaniards or other seafaring Europeans view Belize's coast, and did this information find ...
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Why did Spanish Europeans decide not to settle the mainland, coast, and cayes that are now Belize? How did Spaniards or other seafaring Europeans view Belize's coast, and did this information find its way to early maps? How was the land that became Belize known to the early conquerors? In this chapter, possible Franciscan travel through Belize is discussed, as is the important role of trade and coastal travel in the Maya world just prior to the Conquest, with much of the information based on archaeological data. An attempt is made to contextualize Belize in terms of the conquests of Yucatan and Central America.Less
Why did Spanish Europeans decide not to settle the mainland, coast, and cayes that are now Belize? How did Spaniards or other seafaring Europeans view Belize's coast, and did this information find its way to early maps? How was the land that became Belize known to the early conquerors? In this chapter, possible Franciscan travel through Belize is discussed, as is the important role of trade and coastal travel in the Maya world just prior to the Conquest, with much of the information based on archaeological data. An attempt is made to contextualize Belize in terms of the conquests of Yucatan and Central America.
Heather Mckillop
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813025117
- eISBN:
- 9780813039497
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813025117.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Salt is basic to daily human existence, however, in the southern Maya lowlands of Guatemala and Belize, salt was scarce. The prevailing theory suggests that salt was imported from the northern part ...
More
Salt is basic to daily human existence, however, in the southern Maya lowlands of Guatemala and Belize, salt was scarce. The prevailing theory suggests that salt was imported from the northern part of the Yucatan wherein several theorists alleged that the limited capability to transport bulk and huge amounts of good contributed to a scarcity of salt in the southern lowlands of Maya and Belize. However, recent fieldwork has showed a closer salt source than those in the northern Yucatan, casting a question on the viability of salt importation from the northern Yucatan to the southern Maya lowlands during the Late Classic civilization. This chapter discusses salt production in the Belize area which reduced or replaced the long-distance salt importation in the northern Yucatan and which made the lowland Maya politically and economically autonomous from the reigns of the inland Maya cities. With the discovery of the salt-production equipment and the Punta Ycacos salt works, this chapter aims to reevaluate the Late Classic Maya civilization, economy, and environment. While looking at salt production and the salt trade in the southern Maya lowlands, the chapter seeks to probe into the role of the environment in affecting cultural change. The following questions are sought to be answered in this chapter. These are: What was the response of the Late Classic Maya to the rising seas? Were communities abandoned with the rise of the threat of sea-level rise? What were the preventive measures taken by the Maya civilization to address sea-level rise? Did anthropogenic soil buildup from centuries of human garbage keep some communities above sea level?Less
Salt is basic to daily human existence, however, in the southern Maya lowlands of Guatemala and Belize, salt was scarce. The prevailing theory suggests that salt was imported from the northern part of the Yucatan wherein several theorists alleged that the limited capability to transport bulk and huge amounts of good contributed to a scarcity of salt in the southern lowlands of Maya and Belize. However, recent fieldwork has showed a closer salt source than those in the northern Yucatan, casting a question on the viability of salt importation from the northern Yucatan to the southern Maya lowlands during the Late Classic civilization. This chapter discusses salt production in the Belize area which reduced or replaced the long-distance salt importation in the northern Yucatan and which made the lowland Maya politically and economically autonomous from the reigns of the inland Maya cities. With the discovery of the salt-production equipment and the Punta Ycacos salt works, this chapter aims to reevaluate the Late Classic Maya civilization, economy, and environment. While looking at salt production and the salt trade in the southern Maya lowlands, the chapter seeks to probe into the role of the environment in affecting cultural change. The following questions are sought to be answered in this chapter. These are: What was the response of the Late Classic Maya to the rising seas? Were communities abandoned with the rise of the threat of sea-level rise? What were the preventive measures taken by the Maya civilization to address sea-level rise? Did anthropogenic soil buildup from centuries of human garbage keep some communities above sea level?
Heather Mckillop
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813025117
- eISBN:
- 9780813039497
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813025117.003.0005
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This chapter examines the impact of the rise of the sea-level on the civilization especially on the salt production and salt works of Punta Ycacos during the Late Classic Maya period. The discovery ...
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This chapter examines the impact of the rise of the sea-level on the civilization especially on the salt production and salt works of Punta Ycacos during the Late Classic Maya period. The discovery and excavation of ten inundated sites that date back to the Classic period in the Port Honduras region suggest and document the Holocene sea-level rise. The production of salt in Punta Ycacos occurred in relation to the surge of settlement in the Port Honduras region and in the inland region of southern Belize during the Late Classic Maya period. However, the collapse of the southern Maya civilization and the abandonment of inland cities in southern Belize and Pasion led to the decline of demand for Punta Ycacos salt. The rising seas which submerged the salt workshops led to the abandonment of Punta Ycacos salt production sites. The sea level played an important role in the Mayan civilization as the level of the sea determined the availability of resources and habitable land for the ancient coastal areas of the Mayan civilization. Although the rise of sea-level cannot be pinpointed as the sole rationale behind the abandonment of the Punta Ycacos salt shops as the extinction of the coastal towns of Port Honduras and the Punta Ycacos salt shops were the result of the complex interplay between cultural and environmental factors, the sea-level at some point did obviate the use of the Punta Ycacos shops during the Postclassic period.Less
This chapter examines the impact of the rise of the sea-level on the civilization especially on the salt production and salt works of Punta Ycacos during the Late Classic Maya period. The discovery and excavation of ten inundated sites that date back to the Classic period in the Port Honduras region suggest and document the Holocene sea-level rise. The production of salt in Punta Ycacos occurred in relation to the surge of settlement in the Port Honduras region and in the inland region of southern Belize during the Late Classic Maya period. However, the collapse of the southern Maya civilization and the abandonment of inland cities in southern Belize and Pasion led to the decline of demand for Punta Ycacos salt. The rising seas which submerged the salt workshops led to the abandonment of Punta Ycacos salt production sites. The sea level played an important role in the Mayan civilization as the level of the sea determined the availability of resources and habitable land for the ancient coastal areas of the Mayan civilization. Although the rise of sea-level cannot be pinpointed as the sole rationale behind the abandonment of the Punta Ycacos salt shops as the extinction of the coastal towns of Port Honduras and the Punta Ycacos salt shops were the result of the complex interplay between cultural and environmental factors, the sea-level at some point did obviate the use of the Punta Ycacos shops during the Postclassic period.
Heather Mckillop
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813025117
- eISBN:
- 9780813039497
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813025117.003.0006
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This chapter discusses the salt production and salt trade in Late Classic Mayan Society. Salt production in the Punta Ycacos Lagoon during the Late Classic period used to supply the coastal towns of ...
More
This chapter discusses the salt production and salt trade in Late Classic Mayan Society. Salt production in the Punta Ycacos Lagoon during the Late Classic period used to supply the coastal towns of the Port Honduras region and the inland Maya cities of southern Belize and the Pasion region in Guatemala. Although the produced salt of the coastal region of the southern Maya lowlands was used for trading, there is no evidence that there existed a trade of goods between the Port of Honduras and the northern coast of the Yucatan during the Late Classic period. Instead, an extensive coastal-inland trade between the highlands of Guatemala and the southern Maya lowlands did occur wherein the salt was the primary traded good. However in the rise of cultural changes brought about by the fall of Mayan civilization and by the abandonment of inland cities together with the increase in the sea level pushed the Punta Ycacos salt production into oblivion. The discovery of these salt production sites provides a glimpse of the existence of specialized, non-domestic production and the existence of economically friendly trade within complex societies wherein the long-trade was limited to highly valuable items while inland trade was punctuated by the delivery and exchange of everyday goods essential for daily human existence.Less
This chapter discusses the salt production and salt trade in Late Classic Mayan Society. Salt production in the Punta Ycacos Lagoon during the Late Classic period used to supply the coastal towns of the Port Honduras region and the inland Maya cities of southern Belize and the Pasion region in Guatemala. Although the produced salt of the coastal region of the southern Maya lowlands was used for trading, there is no evidence that there existed a trade of goods between the Port of Honduras and the northern coast of the Yucatan during the Late Classic period. Instead, an extensive coastal-inland trade between the highlands of Guatemala and the southern Maya lowlands did occur wherein the salt was the primary traded good. However in the rise of cultural changes brought about by the fall of Mayan civilization and by the abandonment of inland cities together with the increase in the sea level pushed the Punta Ycacos salt production into oblivion. The discovery of these salt production sites provides a glimpse of the existence of specialized, non-domestic production and the existence of economically friendly trade within complex societies wherein the long-trade was limited to highly valuable items while inland trade was punctuated by the delivery and exchange of everyday goods essential for daily human existence.
W. Jeffrey Hurst
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813029535
- eISBN:
- 9780813039503
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813029535.003.0005
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Although the use of cacao by the Mesoamerican people has been documented since the early Colonial period, archaeologists have been hindered from discovering the breadth of its use in rituals and in ...
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Although the use of cacao by the Mesoamerican people has been documented since the early Colonial period, archaeologists have been hindered from discovering the breadth of its use in rituals and in the daily life of the Mesoamericans because of its rare recovery from archaeological context. In 1989, the author of this chapter determined chemically the possible existence of cacao residues in vessels recovered from Classic period tombs in Rio Azul, Guatemala. This research led to the opening of a new area of research on the manner with which cacao was used in the pre-Columbian period and the research showed that cacao was consumed in Mesoamerica one thousand years earlier than it was previously known. This chapter discusses the results of the analyses on cacao samples in a range of contexts. It also explains the methods used for chemically determining the presence of Theobroma cacao L. in decayed macrofossils and residues. In this chapter samples from diverse locations in Central America, Belize, and Honduras are examined and discussed. The chapter also outlines the experimental protocols and techniques used in the four studies presented in this chapter.Less
Although the use of cacao by the Mesoamerican people has been documented since the early Colonial period, archaeologists have been hindered from discovering the breadth of its use in rituals and in the daily life of the Mesoamericans because of its rare recovery from archaeological context. In 1989, the author of this chapter determined chemically the possible existence of cacao residues in vessels recovered from Classic period tombs in Rio Azul, Guatemala. This research led to the opening of a new area of research on the manner with which cacao was used in the pre-Columbian period and the research showed that cacao was consumed in Mesoamerica one thousand years earlier than it was previously known. This chapter discusses the results of the analyses on cacao samples in a range of contexts. It also explains the methods used for chemically determining the presence of Theobroma cacao L. in decayed macrofossils and residues. In this chapter samples from diverse locations in Central America, Belize, and Honduras are examined and discussed. The chapter also outlines the experimental protocols and techniques used in the four studies presented in this chapter.
Patricia A. McAnany and Satoru Muruta
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813029535
- eISBN:
- 9780813039503
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813029535.003.0021
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This chapter discusses the Belizean cacao farmers through the ages. It discusses the deep history of cacao cultivation in the Belize zone, which is demonstrated by the continuity of cacao farming ...
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This chapter discusses the Belizean cacao farmers through the ages. It discusses the deep history of cacao cultivation in the Belize zone, which is demonstrated by the continuity of cacao farming from the Middle Preclassic to contemporary times. This chapter focuses on the Belize zone which is conducive for chocolate farming and cacao cultivation. This chapter begins with a discussion on the contemporary situation of cacao production for the world market and specifically the chapter details how the considered Maya gold entered the world market. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the ethnohistory of the Belizean cacao and talks about cacao production and cultivation from before the Spanish conquest up to the Preclassic period.Less
This chapter discusses the Belizean cacao farmers through the ages. It discusses the deep history of cacao cultivation in the Belize zone, which is demonstrated by the continuity of cacao farming from the Middle Preclassic to contemporary times. This chapter focuses on the Belize zone which is conducive for chocolate farming and cacao cultivation. This chapter begins with a discussion on the contemporary situation of cacao production for the world market and specifically the chapter details how the considered Maya gold entered the world market. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the ethnohistory of the Belizean cacao and talks about cacao production and cultivation from before the Spanish conquest up to the Preclassic period.
Brett A. Houk
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813060637
- eISBN:
- 9780813050973
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813060637.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Within a challenging tropical environment, a remarkable urban tradition developed and flourished as an element of ancient Maya culture. This book is about the cities of the eastern lowlands, a small ...
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Within a challenging tropical environment, a remarkable urban tradition developed and flourished as an element of ancient Maya culture. This book is about the cities of the eastern lowlands, a small but geographically diverse part of the homeland of the Maya. Using data collected by many different archaeological projects and researchers, the author presents detailed descriptions of 14 Classic period (ca. 250 to 900 CE) cities from five geographical areas of the modern nation of Belize, discussing the setting, the history of investigations, the site plan and urban features, culture history, and political history of each. For many of the cities discussed, this is the first time all of this information has been presented together. The data are viewed through the analytical lenses of site planning and the built environment. The final chapters consider the 14 cities as a group to examine urban planning and look for meaning, construed broadly here to encompass all the things that contributed to the final design of a place including mundane things like where water drains to esoteric things like worldview and cosmology. What the data in this book show are remarkable and nuanced variations in architectural assemblages across space and time, varied levels of political control over suburban landscapes, shared planning concepts combined with wildly different ideas about how to build a Maya city, and intriguing hints at possible relationships between cities based on planning principles. Flexibility in city design emerges from this study as a hallmark of ancient Maya urbanism.Less
Within a challenging tropical environment, a remarkable urban tradition developed and flourished as an element of ancient Maya culture. This book is about the cities of the eastern lowlands, a small but geographically diverse part of the homeland of the Maya. Using data collected by many different archaeological projects and researchers, the author presents detailed descriptions of 14 Classic period (ca. 250 to 900 CE) cities from five geographical areas of the modern nation of Belize, discussing the setting, the history of investigations, the site plan and urban features, culture history, and political history of each. For many of the cities discussed, this is the first time all of this information has been presented together. The data are viewed through the analytical lenses of site planning and the built environment. The final chapters consider the 14 cities as a group to examine urban planning and look for meaning, construed broadly here to encompass all the things that contributed to the final design of a place including mundane things like where water drains to esoteric things like worldview and cosmology. What the data in this book show are remarkable and nuanced variations in architectural assemblages across space and time, varied levels of political control over suburban landscapes, shared planning concepts combined with wildly different ideas about how to build a Maya city, and intriguing hints at possible relationships between cities based on planning principles. Flexibility in city design emerges from this study as a hallmark of ancient Maya urbanism.
Christopher Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617033100
- eISBN:
- 9781617033117
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617033100.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This book offers a thoroughly researched history of the struggle of the Garifuna people to preserve their freedom on the island of St. Vincent. Today, thousands of Garifuna people live in Honduras, ...
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This book offers a thoroughly researched history of the struggle of the Garifuna people to preserve their freedom on the island of St. Vincent. Today, thousands of Garifuna people live in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the United States, preserving their unique culture and speaking a language that directly descends from that spoken in the Caribbean at the time of Columbus. All trace their origins back to St. Vincent, where their ancestors were native Carib Indians and shipwrecked or runaway West African slaves—hence the name by which they were known to French and British colonialists: Black Caribs. In the 1600s they encountered Europeans as adversaries and allies. But from the early 1700s, white people, particularly the French, began to settle on St. Vincent. The treaty of Paris in 1763 handed the island to the British, who wanted the Black Caribs’ land to grow sugar. Conflict was inevitable, and in a series of bloody wars punctuated by uneasy peace the Black Caribs took on the might of the British Empire. Over decades, leaders such as Tourouya, Bigot, and Chatoyer organized the resistance of a society that had no central authority but united against the external threat. Finally, abandoned by their French allies, the Black Caribs were defeated, and the survivors deported to Central America in 1797. The book draws on extensive research in Britain, France, and St. Vincent to offer a compelling narrative of the formative years of the Garifuna people.Less
This book offers a thoroughly researched history of the struggle of the Garifuna people to preserve their freedom on the island of St. Vincent. Today, thousands of Garifuna people live in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the United States, preserving their unique culture and speaking a language that directly descends from that spoken in the Caribbean at the time of Columbus. All trace their origins back to St. Vincent, where their ancestors were native Carib Indians and shipwrecked or runaway West African slaves—hence the name by which they were known to French and British colonialists: Black Caribs. In the 1600s they encountered Europeans as adversaries and allies. But from the early 1700s, white people, particularly the French, began to settle on St. Vincent. The treaty of Paris in 1763 handed the island to the British, who wanted the Black Caribs’ land to grow sugar. Conflict was inevitable, and in a series of bloody wars punctuated by uneasy peace the Black Caribs took on the might of the British Empire. Over decades, leaders such as Tourouya, Bigot, and Chatoyer organized the resistance of a society that had no central authority but united against the external threat. Finally, abandoned by their French allies, the Black Caribs were defeated, and the survivors deported to Central America in 1797. The book draws on extensive research in Britain, France, and St. Vincent to offer a compelling narrative of the formative years of the Garifuna people.
James John Aimers and Elizabeth Graham
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813042367
- eISBN:
- 9780813043487
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813042367.003.0006
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
John Aimers and Elizabeth Graham describe how ceramics have been approached at Lamanai, Belize. Several people are conducting multiple independent analyses of the ceramics using contextual ...
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John Aimers and Elizabeth Graham describe how ceramics have been approached at Lamanai, Belize. Several people are conducting multiple independent analyses of the ceramics using contextual associations of vessels, type: variety-mode classification, material science approaches, and iconographic analysis. We emphasize type-variety in the chapter, particularly the usefulness of ceramic system assignments as a preliminary stage of analysis or for sherds that lack important features diagnostic of specific types, as well as poorly preserved sherds. We also briefly indicate some of the results of combining various approaches to pottery at Lamanai.Less
John Aimers and Elizabeth Graham describe how ceramics have been approached at Lamanai, Belize. Several people are conducting multiple independent analyses of the ceramics using contextual associations of vessels, type: variety-mode classification, material science approaches, and iconographic analysis. We emphasize type-variety in the chapter, particularly the usefulness of ceramic system assignments as a preliminary stage of analysis or for sherds that lack important features diagnostic of specific types, as well as poorly preserved sherds. We also briefly indicate some of the results of combining various approaches to pottery at Lamanai.
Lauren A. Sullivan and Jaime J. Awe
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813042367
- eISBN:
- 9780813043487
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813042367.003.0007
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Lauren Sullivan and Jaime Awe discuss the pottery of the earliest-known ceramic complex in the Maya region, Cunil, which they date from 1100 to 900 B.C. As the authors note, because these dates are ...
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Lauren Sullivan and Jaime Awe discuss the pottery of the earliest-known ceramic complex in the Maya region, Cunil, which they date from 1100 to 900 B.C. As the authors note, because these dates are so early, the Cunil ceramics have been assessed very cautiously. For those outside the debates around the Preclassic period and its pottery, this chapter may appear straightforward, but it represents nearly two decades of work on the definition of the Cunil complex, especially its dating, and the result of years of discussion among archaeologists. Sullivan and Awe present here their preliminary typology of the wares, groups, types, and varieties of the Cunil complex. These provide a succinct language for further discussion of Cunil across the Maya lowlands.Less
Lauren Sullivan and Jaime Awe discuss the pottery of the earliest-known ceramic complex in the Maya region, Cunil, which they date from 1100 to 900 B.C. As the authors note, because these dates are so early, the Cunil ceramics have been assessed very cautiously. For those outside the debates around the Preclassic period and its pottery, this chapter may appear straightforward, but it represents nearly two decades of work on the definition of the Cunil complex, especially its dating, and the result of years of discussion among archaeologists. Sullivan and Awe present here their preliminary typology of the wares, groups, types, and varieties of the Cunil complex. These provide a succinct language for further discussion of Cunil across the Maya lowlands.
Antonia E. Foias
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813044224
- eISBN:
- 9780813046488
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044224.003.0004
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter presents the different sources of data used by Maya archaeologists to reconstruct ancient politics at the macroscale or polity and inter-polity level: settlement patterns, epigraphy, and ...
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This chapter presents the different sources of data used by Maya archaeologists to reconstruct ancient politics at the macroscale or polity and inter-polity level: settlement patterns, epigraphy, and ethnohistory. These bodies of knowledge show that Maya polities were highly variable; therefore, general concepts of centralization versus decentralization are not very useful in understanding the sources of this variability. Case studies from projects in the Upper Grijalva Basin; Chiapas, Mexico; at Xunantunich, Belize; and Motul de San José, Guatemala highlight the similarities and differences between these bodies of knowledge, and the sources of some of the variability in Classic Maya politics.Less
This chapter presents the different sources of data used by Maya archaeologists to reconstruct ancient politics at the macroscale or polity and inter-polity level: settlement patterns, epigraphy, and ethnohistory. These bodies of knowledge show that Maya polities were highly variable; therefore, general concepts of centralization versus decentralization are not very useful in understanding the sources of this variability. Case studies from projects in the Upper Grijalva Basin; Chiapas, Mexico; at Xunantunich, Belize; and Motul de San José, Guatemala highlight the similarities and differences between these bodies of knowledge, and the sources of some of the variability in Classic Maya politics.
