Ancient Maya Traders of Ambergris Caye

Ancient Maya Traders of Ambergris Caye PDF

Author: Thomas H. Guderjan

Publisher: University of Alabama Press

Published: 2007-11-26

Total Pages: 54

ISBN-13: 0817354638

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Focuses on the maritime trade network sites on Ambergris Caye, Belize, where excavations have revealed remnants of very small villages, or camps, along the Caribbean coastline

Perspectives on the Ancient Maya of Chetumal Bay

Perspectives on the Ancient Maya of Chetumal Bay PDF

Author: Debra S. Walker

Publisher: University Press of Florida

Published: 2016-10-04

Total Pages: 380

ISBN-13: 081305589X

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"Brings novel, synthetic insight to understanding a region that was a hub of waterborne trade and an important locus of production for some of the Maya’s most valued crops."--Cynthia Robin, author of Everyday Life Matters: Maya Farmers at Chan "This one of a kind volume shows us how important this region was to the ancient Maya with detailed and vivid descriptions of sociopolitical and economic organization and their relation to the unique landscape and geography of Chetumal Bay."--Laura J. Kosakowsky, author of Preclassic Maya Pottery at Cuello, Belize Chetumal Bay is central to discussions of ancient Maya politics, warfare, economy, exchange and communication because of its unique location. Although the ancient Maya invested prodigious amounts of labor in the construction of road systems called sacbeob for communication and trade, recent archaeological discoveries around Chetumal Bay in both Belize and Mexico reveal an economic alternative to these roads: an extensive network of riverine and maritime waterways. Focusing on sites ringing the bay such as Cerro Maya, Oxtankah, and Santa Rita Corozal, the contributors to this volume explore how the bay and its feeder rivers affected all aspects of Maya culture from settlement, food production, and the production and use of special goods to political relationships and social organization. Besides being a nexus for long distance exchange in valuable materials such as jade and obsidian, the region was recognized for its high quality agricultural produce, including cacao, achiote, vanilla, local fruits, honey, and salt, and for its rich marine environment. The Maya living on the fringes of the bay perceived the entire region as a single resource procurement zone. Waterborne trade brought the world to them, providing a wider horizon than would have been available to inland cities dependent only on Maya roads for news of the world. The research reveals that trade relations played a central role in the organization of human social life on Chetumal Bay. Contributors: James Aimers | Timothy Beach | Clifford Brown | Beverly A. Chiarulli | Lisa G. Duffy | Dori Farthing | David A. Freidel | Elizabeth Graham | Thomas Guderjan | Elizabeth Haussner | Linda Howie | Samantha Krause | Javier López Camacho | Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach | Marc D. Marino | Lucas R. Martindale Johnson | Heather McKillop | Nathan J. Meissner | Emiliano Ricardo Melgar Tísoc | Susan Milbrath | Satoru Murata | Maxine Oland | Terry Powis | Kathryn Reese-Taylor | Robin Robertson | Luis A. Torres Díaz | Araceli Vázquez Villegas | Debra S. Walker

In Search of Maya Sea Traders

In Search of Maya Sea Traders PDF

Author: Heather Irene McKillop

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 160344596X

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Archaeologist Heather McKillop shares the experiences she had off the coast of Belize while searching for clues about the little known ancient Maya sea trade. This recollection of her work there includes the adventure of discovery, as the story of the traders emerges from the excavations. She describes the trading port of Wild Cane Cay, where exotic goods were traded from distant lands, and also discusses the more coastal-inland trade there. Through the story of her work, McKillop models the research design and field work required to interpret civilizations of the past.

Chipped Stone Tool Use in the Maya Coastal Economies of Marco Gonzalez and San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize

Chipped Stone Tool Use in the Maya Coastal Economies of Marco Gonzalez and San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize PDF

Author: William James Stemp

Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Oxford Limited

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13:

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A highly detailed analysis of stone tools recovered from excavations at two sites on the coral island of Ambergris Caye, off the coast of Belize, which revealed evidence of continued occupation on the island from c.100 BC until well into the Historic period. The study of the wear of tools provides a clear picture of the ways in which the Maya exploited the island's natural resources, notably fish, shell, coral and salt, while comparison of the sites shows the level of interaction between communities. Sections present a tool typology and discuss lithic technology, raw materials and the archaeological context and distribution of the assemblages.

The Ancient Maya

The Ancient Maya PDF

Author: Heather McKillop

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2004-08-19

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 1576076970

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Thanks to powerful innovations in archaeology and other types of historical research, we now have a picture of everyday life in the Mayan empire that turns the long-accepted conventional wisdom on its head. Ranging from the end of the Ice Age to the flourishing of Mayan culture in the first millennium to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, The Ancient Maya takes a fresh look at a culture that has long held the public's imagination. Originally thought to be peaceful and spiritual, the Mayans are now also known to have been worldly, bureaucratic, and violent. Debates and unanswered questions linger. Mayan expert Heather McKillop shows our current understanding of the Maya, explaining how interpretations of "dirt archaeology," hieroglyphic inscriptions, and pictorial pottery are used to reconstruct the lives of royalty, artisans, priests, and common folk. She also describes the innovative focus on the interplay of the people with their environments that has helped further unravel the mystery of the Mayans' rise and fall.

In Search of Maya Sea Traders

In Search of Maya Sea Traders PDF

Author: Heather Irene McKillop

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9781585443895

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Stone temples rising above the rainforest canopy and elaborate hieroglyphs carved onto stone monuments give silent testimony to the high culture of the Maya ancestors of the indigenous peoples of Central America. They have inspired generations of archaeologists, professional and avocational, to take to the field in search of the past. One such archaeologist is Heather McKillop, who in 1979 first visited the coast of Belize in search of a little-known aspect of ancient Maya life: the sea trade that helped move salt, obsidian, coral, and other goods around the interior of the empire. In 1982, she began bringing volunteers and students to the islands off the coast of Port Honduras, Belize. Since then she has returned many times to excavate sites that reveal the scope and diversity of the trade that passed by water throughout the Maya world. In this book, McKillop tells the story of the search for the Maya sea traders, as well as the story of the traders themselves as it emerges from the excavations. In Search of Maya Sea Traders describes the trading port of Wild Cane Cay, where exotic obsidian, jade, gold, and other goods--including highly crafted pots--were traded from distant lands. McKillop also tells us about the more coastal-inland trade of salt, seafood, and other marine resources. Through the story of her own work and that of her students and volunteers, McKillop models both the research design and the field work that are required to interpret the civilizations of the past. She includes the adventure of discovery, the challenges of working in wild environments (from snakes and rising sea levels to falling coconuts) and the tedium of daily measured digs in a near-tropical setting. Through her experiences, the reader also gets to know some of the local residents of Port Honduras and Wild Cane Cay, descendants of the ancient Maya. In Search of Maya Sea Traders will appeal to that part of each of us that longs to explore distant places and cultures, in quest of a seldom-glimpsed past.

The World of the Ancient Maya

The World of the Ancient Maya PDF

Author: John S. Henderson

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 9780801482847

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Theirs was one of the few complex societies to emerge in and to adapt successfully to a tropical-forest environment. Their architecture, sculpture, and painting were sophisticated and compellingly beautiful.

Dreaming the Maya Fifth Sun

Dreaming the Maya Fifth Sun PDF

Author: Leonide Martin

Publisher: AudioInk

Published: 2011-03-05

Total Pages: 802

ISBN-13: 1613390610

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Can dreams be portals to different realities? Could they link the world of ancient Mayas to current times? Two women—a Maya priestess and modern spiritual seeker—are drawn together across centuries by Jana’s recurrent dream. Risking everything she holds dear and putting her marriage in jeopardy, Jana is compelled to journey to jungle-shrouded Maya ruins where she encounters mysterious forces linking her to Maya priestess Yalucha, who was mandated centuries before to hide her people’s mystical knowledge from the Conquistadors, to be revealed at a critical time. Jana’s reluctant husband Robert is swept along into unsettling experiences with his own Maya roots. What secret bond weaves their lives together with the ancient Maya through events during the height of Tikal, Uxmal and Chichen Itza? In the countdown to the Maya calendar ending in 2012, Jana is called to re-enact a ritual at Chichen Itza to revive hidden knowledge. Could her choice to fulfill this ancient Maya prophecy make a difference for the world? Jana must rediscover her own Maya powers to contend with dark shamanic forces bent on preventing her mission—and activates forces that can heal or destroy her deepest love.