La Milpa Reports by Brett Houk
Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 2020
With funding from the National Geographic Society, the Belize Estates Archaeological Survey Team ... more With funding from the National Geographic Society, the Belize Estates Archaeological Survey Team spent approximately 5 weeks exploring, mapping, and testing Tikin Ha, a recently recorded major Maya ceremonial center in northwestern Belize. The work determined that Tikin Ha has the second largest plaza and one of the tallest structures (approximately 18 m tall) in the eastern half of the Three Rivers adaptative region but is only the 6th largest site. The site does not follow either of the common site planning templates documented in the area. We located seven stone monuments, but only one, a highly fragmented stela, shows evidence of having been carved. The plaza and courtyard test pits all encountered a heavily eroded floor with one layer of fill over shallowly buried rock approximately 40 cm below the modern surface. Ceramics date the construction to the late Late Classic period, and a single radiometric age from a bone pin dates one of the structures in the acropolis to cal AD 669-769 (2 sigma). The available data suggest Tikin Ha was short lived and apparently abandoned while some of the key architectural features were still under construction, as evidenced by a construction ramp in the site core. Tikin Ha's brief occupation period may explain why the Main Plaza accounts for such a high percentage of the monumental area at the site.
One of the most important developments in the last several decades in Maya studies has been the a... more One of the most important developments in the last several decades in Maya studies has been the appreciation for how thoroughly and comprehensively interconnected was the ancient world of the lowland Maya. Even a few decades ago, the overriding vision of the lowland Maya landscape was one peppered with scores of autonomous small kingdoms crafting separate political histories (de Montmollin Webster 1997). Such a view did not fully embrace the notion of a heavily constructed, regionally integrated, or continuously curated landscape.
The 2017 SeaSon of The Chan ChiCh arChaeologiCal ProjeCT edited by BreTT a. houk and Claire novoT... more The 2017 SeaSon of The Chan ChiCh arChaeologiCal ProjeCT edited by BreTT a. houk and Claire novoTny with contributions by PaPerS of The Chan ChiCh arChaeologiCal ProjeCT, numBer 12 department of sociology, anthropology, and social work texas tech university • lubbock, texas 2017 brooke bonorden bridgette degnan alyssa farmer tomás gallareta cervera brett a. houk gertrude kilgore Julia kliene hunter lee kevin a. miller anna novotny claire novotny paisley palmer rebecca schultz marcus schwimmer paul schwimmer briana smith chet walker mark d. willis and gregory zaro
The La Milpa Core Project (LMCP) completed its fifth consecutive season of research in 2011. Over... more The La Milpa Core Project (LMCP) completed its fifth consecutive season of research in 2011. Over the course of those five seasons, our project has collected important data that are radically altering our understanding of La Milpa's growth trajectory and abandonment. With respect to the latter issue, much of this volume addresses the investigations at Courtyard 100 where we discovered a problematic deposit unlike anything encountered at La Milpa previously. . Typically, we had four workmen assisting with the excavations each day, but at times, particularly near the end of the season, our crew included five or six workmen. This field report is the product the hard work of everyone mentioned above, and we are grateful for their participation!
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La Milpa Reports by Brett Houk
2019 The 2019 Investigations in the Upper Plaza at Chan Chich, Belize. In The 2019 Seasons of the Belize Estates Archaeological Survey Team, edited by Brett A. Houk, pp. 13–48. Papers of the Chan Chich Archaeological Project, Number 14. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Texas Tech University, Lubbock.
As an initial step toward understanding the architectural evolution of Structure A-15, we employed a new technique for producing high-resolution maps of Maya buildings at sites under dense canopy using a digital camera and Structure from Motion (SfM) software to process the images. The purpose of our work at Structure A-15 was to create an accurate map of the mound including the complex series of looters’ trenches that cut through it. Using SfM, our goals were to (a) produce a topographic map of the mound, (b) map the looters’ tunnels and trenches in three-dimensions, and (c) be able to merge both data sets into a single 3D model that could be exported and manipulated in CAD or GIS software. The work was funded by a grant to Houk through Texas Tech University’s Competitive Funding Opportunity to Advance Scholarship in the Creative Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Mark Willis of Archaeo-Geophysical Associates and Upper Plaza Operation Director Kelsey Herndon conducted the fieldwork with assistance from Lori Phillips between May 14 and 18, 2014.
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.
La Milpa, has generated a large degree of interest among
researchers in northwestern Belize in part because of its
elusiveness. After being recorded by archaeologists in 1990,
Say Ka was "lost"; attempts to relocate it failed for nearly a
decade. It was fortuitously rediscovered in 1999, and three seasons of excavation began in 2004. This paper considers the history of Say Ka, its rediscovery, the results of initial excavations, and the possible implications of this minor
center for studying the La Milpa suburban zone.