mesoarchaeology.org is a site dedicated to my excavations at the site of the Blue Creek ruins in the country of Belize.
The Maya Research Program has been conducting excavations at Blue Creek for the past 20 years. During this time we have explored the archaeology of the site center, outlying residential zones, agricultural fields, and other nearby cities.
If you would like more information about the site of Blue Creek or about volunteer opportunities with the Maya Research Program, please visit the MRP's main site.
www.mayaresearchprogram.org
In the past decade I have been involved many excavtions in and around the site of Blue Creek in Belize. These include the Ki'n Tan, Quin Cux, Sayap Ha, and Chan Cahal residential zones. As well as site survey and mapping projects throughout area.
Since becoming a staff archaeologist with the Maya Research Program I have lead intensive excavtions in two residential zones; Rosita and Chum Balam-nal. As well as performing preliminary excavations at the site of a Post Classic perrishable structure in the Birds of Paradise agricultural fields. The pictures below will lead you to an overview of those sites.
birds of paradise
Interested in in what goes on at Blue Creek? This is where you can find pictures of everthing daily activities bot in camp and in the field, stuff we have found (buildings and artifacts), as well as some miscellanious pictures of Belize in case you are planning a vacation).
More photos can be found on the
Maya Research Program web site.
Here you will find reports on the excavtations described elsewhere in this site. these are not the final reports published by the Maya Research Program and do not contain information on other excavations that took place during the year. Rather, these are my personal reports that later became part of the larger annual reports.
If you are interested in other excavations that took place at Blue Creek, or in the complete excavation reports, please visit the Maya Research Program web site
rosita 2006
excavations at rosita 2007
chum balam-nal saa paper 2011
excavations at rosita 2008
excavations at chum balam-nal 2009
excavations at chum balam-nal 2010
The site of Rosita is an outlying residential community occupied from the Middle Preclassic through the Terminal Classic, and linked politically to the Blue Creek site core from the Late Preclassic to the Late Classic time periods. Located 3.5 kilometers from the site core, Rosita is composed of a minimum of eight elite residential groups as well as numerous associated structures.
I began work at Rosita in 2006 as part of my Masters thesis and continued work at different areas of the site until 2009. In all, I excavted total of 10 buildings and was able to gain insights into how the residents interected with the core area of Blue Creeek as well as interactions with others in the greater Maya world. Of particular interest, I have been able to document a continued occupation at Rosita after the fall of the site core as well as renewed interactions with people from the Yucatan Peninsula. Read the excavation reports for the full story.
Chum Balam-nal translates from Maya to meen "Place where the jaguar rules". I gave the site that name after we spotted a black jaguar leaving the excavation one morning just as we were arriving.
Chum Balam-nal, or CBN, consists of at least three large elite residential groups located about a mile south of the site core. In addition to the courtyard groups there are many smaller lone buildings, as well as structural groups associated with the courtyards. Other features in the area include numerous chultuns (artificial caves), a modified rock shelter, and several modified land forms that might serve as agricultural terraces or water features.
As always the full story on my excavations can be found in the excavation reports.
The Birds of Paradise fields are an ancient agricultural area utilized by the Maya. The area consists of a large group of raised fields that are drained by a series of connected drainage diches.
Several wooden artifacts and pieces of clay daub were discovered by Drs. Tim and Sheryl Beach during their exploations of the field complex. It was determined that both the wooden beams and the daub were remnants of a perishable structure of field house that collapsed and was burried by seasonal flooding during the Maya Postclassic, circa 1100 A.D.
I returned to the site 2 years later to conduct an intensiv excavation of the field house ruins. You can read all about my finds here.
Life with the Maya Research Program is not all about working hard in the field, there is also a lot of time when everyone can get together and relax,play bocce ball and sip on a cold beverage.
One of the things I look forward too each year is catching up with my old friends and hanging out in the palapa with my new friends.
One of the the questions that everyone asks is, "what is the coolest thing that you have ever found?" This is a tough question to answer. Is it the artifact that moves my research in a different direction or is it that really big piece of jade?
This gallery includes photos of the different types of artifacts that have been found at Blue Creek over the years. Some are from my excavations and some from other peoples.
If you have been wondering what sort of work goes on during excavations, this is the place to find out. We work at several sites during the field season and under a variety of conditions.
For the last several years I have worked under the forest canopy, but this has not always been the case. Some excavtions will be in the cool of the jungle, while others will be in the blazing sun. There is always a trade off. Jungle work tends to be harder and has more bugs, but you won't be getting a tan.
Here are a few photos from the wonderful country of Berlize. Whether you are planning on visiting us at Blue Creek or would just like to take a vacation, Belize has always been one of my favorite destinations.
