The Maax Na Archaeology Project: Documentation of Stelae, Altars, and Cave Entrances in the West Ceremonial Group
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Research Year:  2001
Culture:  Maya
Chronology:  Late Pre-Classic
Location:  Río Bravo Conservation Area, Orange Walk District, Belize
Site:  Maax Na

Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction to the Maya Site of Maax Na
Results of March 2001 Field Work
Investigation of Altar A
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
List of Figures
Sources Cited

Abstract

A short field project was conducted at the Maya site of Maax Na in northern Belize in the spring of 2001 to investigate an area of cave entrances and associated monuments. Eleanor King (Howard University) and I, along with a small crew, documented what turned out to be a single stela, or perhaps more correctly, a megalith, and excavated a portion of the platform supporting it. The cave entrances were cleared and documented and it appears that all entrances open into a tubular cave that likely carries water during the rainy season. Our current interpretation of this locus at Maax Na is that it was an important place for the collection of water, with the megalith placed to acknowledge the sacredness of underground springs.

Submitted 09/20/2002 by:
Leslie C. Shaw
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
lshaw@bowdoin.edu

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