BIG QUESTION: what role does belize play in the world?
Unit 5: Belize in the Ancient World
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A Note on Dates
This website uses the abbreviations B.C.E. and C.E. for dates. C.E. means Common Era. In this system, Belize became independent in 1981 C.E. B.C.E. means Before the Common Era. This is used for dates longer ago than Year 1 of the Common Era. A bigger B.C.E. indicates that a year is further back in time that a smaller one. Older textbooks used A.D. instead of C.E. and B.C. instead of B.C.E. |
Maya Time Periods
Historians divide the ancient occupation of Mesoamerica into time periods as follows:
* 12,000 to 7000 B.C.E. Lithic Period * 7,000 to 12,00 B.C.E. Archaic Period * 1200 B.C.E. to 250 C.E. Preclassic Period * 250 C.E. to 900 C.E. Classic Period * 900 C.E. to 1524 C.E. Postclassic Period |
Learning Outcome 5.1 - Describe how resources and technology contributed to the emergence of city states such as Cerros, Lamanai, Cuello and Colha in the pre-classic period.
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Natural and other resources such as fertile land, forest timber resources, forest fruits and edible herbs and medicines, marketable products like cacao and honey, aquatic animals, wet lands, water including rainfall, flint (chert), waterways to facilitate communication and transportation were factors that influenced the development of settlements. Applied to these resources, Maya technology produced products and services that contributed to development, from hamlets to villages to towns and cities. In the mid-Pre Classic (from about 1200 B.C.), Cuello remained a small settlement and Cerros disappeared by the end of the Pre Classic (ca. 250 A.D.) while Lamanai and Colha continued to develop and reached their peak of development in the Classic and Post Classic respectively.
QUESTION What explains the continuity of Lamanai and Colha and the abandonment of Cerros in the Pre Classic? |
What Made Belize a Place Good for a Settlement in Early Maya Times?
* Fresh water: Most pre-classic villages were on rivers, streams or the shores of a lake. This explains why many of the first villages in Belize were along the Rio Hondo, the New River and the rivers of the Cayo District. The rivers and lakes also provided fish. * Good soil: The alluvial soils and swamps of northern Belize were good for growing maize. About 30% of the early Maya diet came from maize. * Resources: Some of the most successful early settlements exploited a local resource such as chert rocks used for making tools, clays for making ceramics or salt. * The sea: People settled by the sea because it provided food and connections to the rest of the region. There is evidence that tools made in Belize were traded along the Central American coast and with some of the Caribbean islands. * Trade routes: Without roads, the main way of traveling for trade was by boat, either along rivers of the coast. The New River and the Belize River were important trading routes from preclassic times. |
CERROS
Cerros was a fishing, farming and trading centre built where the New River enters Chetumal Bay. This location would allowed the people of Cerros to trade with the inhabitants of Mexico as well as those of inland and coastal Belize.
Cerros was first built in the late pre-classic era, around 400 B.C.E. and was abandoned around 800 years later. Its inhabitants constructed an irrigation system that controlled the supply of water to raised field used for farming, making it possible for cultivation of crops to continue throughout the year. The main crops were maize, beans and squash.
Cerros was a fishing, farming and trading centre built where the New River enters Chetumal Bay. This location would allowed the people of Cerros to trade with the inhabitants of Mexico as well as those of inland and coastal Belize.
Cerros was first built in the late pre-classic era, around 400 B.C.E. and was abandoned around 800 years later. Its inhabitants constructed an irrigation system that controlled the supply of water to raised field used for farming, making it possible for cultivation of crops to continue throughout the year. The main crops were maize, beans and squash.
COLHA
There were people living at Colha, near Orange Walk, possibly as long ago as 3400 B.C.E. This makes it one of the earliest known settlements in Belize. Except for a 400 year period between 1900 and 1500 B.C.E. it was continually occupied until around 900 C.E. It was reoccupied fifty years later and stone-making resumed.
The location of Colha can be explained by its closeness to a good source of a rock called Chert that is used for making stone tools. There were more than thirty stone tool workshops at the site and the tools were traded across the region. Obsidian, which is a dark, glass-like volcanic rock used for knives, was also used by the Colha tool-makers. This would have been imported from the highlands of Guatemala and Mexico.
There is evidence from pollen remains, that maize was being grown in a swamp near Colha around 2,500 B.C.E. This is the earliest known farming of Maize by the Maya.
CUELLO
Cuello was a small village. The site is near Yo Creek in the Orange Walk District. The earliest known occupation of Cuello was 1200 B.C.E. Obsidian and Jade found at the site indicate it participated in long distance trade networks. The people of Cuello farmed maize. They also ate deer, turtles and dogs.
LAMANAI
Lamanai is possibly Belize's longest lasting settlement. Ceramic (pottery) remains show that people lived there in the early preclassic period, Maize and squash were planted as early as 1500 B.C.E. (3500 years ago) making Lamanai one of the earliest known agricultural sites in the country. Lamanai's success was probably due to its location on the New River Lagoon, which provided freshwater, food and good transportation links to other parts of Mesoamerica. Research has shown that the lagoon did not dry up during long periods of drought that sometimes affected the Maya region.
Lamanai is possibly Belize's longest lasting settlement. Ceramic (pottery) remains show that people lived there in the early preclassic period, Maize and squash were planted as early as 1500 B.C.E. (3500 years ago) making Lamanai one of the earliest known agricultural sites in the country. Lamanai's success was probably due to its location on the New River Lagoon, which provided freshwater, food and good transportation links to other parts of Mesoamerica. Research has shown that the lagoon did not dry up during long periods of drought that sometimes affected the Maya region.
CAHAL PECH, BLACKMAN EDDY and BAKING POT
Several preclassic Maya villages were established on or near to the rivers of western Belize. These villages, which included Cahal Pech, Blackman Eddy and Baking Pot, were sites of significant production of ceramics (pots and other items made from clay). There was ceramic production in the area as early as 1200 B.C.E.
Several preclassic Maya villages were established on or near to the rivers of western Belize. These villages, which included Cahal Pech, Blackman Eddy and Baking Pot, were sites of significant production of ceramics (pots and other items made from clay). There was ceramic production in the area as early as 1200 B.C.E.
A good source of information on Maya archaeological sites in Belize is www.ambergriscaye.com. Click on the Read More icon to go straight to the relevant page.
Learning Outcome 5.2 - Explain the regional political and economic significance of Caracol and Lamanai in the classic period.
The Maya cities of Belize, such as Caracol, Altun Ha and Lamanai had political, economic and other connections to cities in the entire Mesoamerica region. It is important to remember the the countries that exist today, such as Belize, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras did not exist at that time. Each city had its own leaders. However, some cities were larger and more powerful than others. These cities were often able to control their neighbours.
CARACOL
About 1400 years ago, Caracol was the largest city that has ever existed in Belize. It had a population of around 100,000 people, which is more than present day Belize City. Around 1200 BCE, or 3600 years ago, people began to settle in the Caracol area. By 250 CE (AD) they were trading with the rest of the region. The city of Caracol was officially founded in 331 CE by Te K'Ab Chaak. At this time, Caracol was controlled by Tikal, a large city about 50 miles away in present day Guatemala. There were frequent wars between Tikal and Guatemala. In 562 CE, the leader of Caracol, Lord Water, attacked and defeated Tikal in the first of the "star wars". For the following 100 years, Caracol was the strongest and most powerful city in the region. Caracol remained a large, wealthy city for about 300 years. However, by 900 CE the site had been largely abandoned. 
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Oxwitzjá (Caracol) is a good example of a Maya regional state because, at its most powerful, it controlled a large area covering parts of both modern Belize and modern Guatemala. Lamanai is an example of a city-state. Although Lamanai had trade links with cities that were a long distance away, it only directly controlled a small area.
Factors such as natural resources, agriculture, trade, religion, political alliances, warfare, architecture and control of certain high value goods in demand by elites from other regions help explain the development, dominance and continuity of Oxwitzjá (Caracol) and Lamanai. Relationships between regional states and city-states were also important. TRADE
All Maya cities traded with each other. Important trade items included raw materials such as salt and obsidian, agricultural products, including cacao and manufactured good such as jewelery made from jade, cotton textiles and ceramic vases. The Maya did not use wheeled transport so most good were transported by water using canoes. Canoes traveled both along the coast and up rivers. A stone river dock was constructed at Lamanai around 700 B.C.E. This is one of the oldest stone constructions in Belize. What is the Name of the City?
The ancient Maya called their city Oxwitzjá - which has been translated as "Three Hills Water" The name Caracol was made up after the ruins were discovered in the 1930s. It may refer to the snails that are common in the region (Caracol is the Spanish word for snail). Other people say it was named after a steep, winding road that led to the site. |
Learning Outcome 5.3 - Describe the ways in which Maya civilization in Belize both changed and remained the same after the end of the classic period.
Recent archaeological research has challenged the traditional division of Maya Civilization into Pre Classic, Classic and Post Classic. For example, some archaeologists have identified many of the features previously thought as characteristic of the Classic by the Middle and Late Pre Classic. Some Classic Maya cities such as Altun Ha were abruptly abandoned in the terminal Classic period, that is 800-900 C.E. In other places, sites were not totally abandoned. Instead, there was a gradual weakening (crumbling) before abandonment that may have lasted for about as much as two centuries. However, there were settlements such as Lamanai that were not abandoned and were continuously occupied beyond the arrival of the Europeans centuries later.
There are, though, definite changes in most places. The construction of large buildings largely stopped and no new carved stelae (stone pillars) are produced. The power of kings was also significantly weakened and may have stopped altogether in some places.
For most people, life probably continued relatively unchanged even after the decline of the major Classic Maya cities. The commoners (yalba uinicob) very likely continued to practice many of their traditions and practices. For example, the Tipu (western Belize) census of 1654 revealed several Maya of Belize that were using the Maya calendar to arrive at their first name much like what obtained in the Classic and Post Classic periods. The rituals associated with use of the land, beliefs about the lords of the forest and the dead have persisted in mutated and not so mutated forms even to the present.
There are, though, definite changes in most places. The construction of large buildings largely stopped and no new carved stelae (stone pillars) are produced. The power of kings was also significantly weakened and may have stopped altogether in some places.
For most people, life probably continued relatively unchanged even after the decline of the major Classic Maya cities. The commoners (yalba uinicob) very likely continued to practice many of their traditions and practices. For example, the Tipu (western Belize) census of 1654 revealed several Maya of Belize that were using the Maya calendar to arrive at their first name much like what obtained in the Classic and Post Classic periods. The rituals associated with use of the land, beliefs about the lords of the forest and the dead have persisted in mutated and not so mutated forms even to the present.
Learning Outcome 5.4 - Investigate, in depth, and with reference to archaeological evidence, one aspect of ancient Maya civilization in Belize.
Learning Outcome 5.5 - Identify the main techniques used by archaeologists to investigate ancient Maya civilization.
Although the Maya used writing, apart from the hieroglyphs carved on stone, almost none of their writing survives today. Archaeologists, therefore, have to study the physical remains they left behind to find out how they lived. The following videos show how this is done.
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LIDAR - Light Detection and Ranging
Archaeologists are using the latest modern technologies to make new discoveries about the ancient Maya. One of the most exciting is LIDAR, which allows researchers to see what is below and behind thick forest cover. The use of LIDAR has led to an understanding that Maya cities were larger and more heavily populated than previously imagined. |
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