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Research Year:  2004
Culture:  Maya
Chronology:  Pre-Classic
Location:  Corozal Bay, Belize
Site:  Cerros

Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Methodology
Results
Analysis
General Interpretation of Chronology
Interpreting the Construction Sequence
A Summary Chronology
Summary Comments
List of Figures
Sources Cited

Abstract

The Maya site of Cerros, a Late Preclassic port city situated on Corozal Bay in northern Belize, has been a temporal puzzle for nearly three decades. Originally investigated in the 1970s for its substantial Postclassic surface remains, most major architecture proved to date to the Late Preclassic, albeit with minimal radiocarbon confirmation. What happened to arrest site expansion was the focus of additional investigations in the 1990s. Both projects produced a series of carbon samples for dating. FAMSI grant #03064 supported testing of six carbon samples collected in the mid-1990s, drawn from three buildings in the site core (6E, 5E, and 4A). These were compared to series of six recalibrated dates processed in the 1970s. The resulting suite of dates refined Cerros' construction sequence, lending new insights into its rapid expansion ca. 50 BCE and its abrupt decline after 150 CE. These new dates correlate well with the northern Petén sequence, particularly El Mirador. Cerros' fortunes were inextricably linked to those of its trading partners, and it did not survive the collapse of the El Mirador network.

Submitted 02/14/2005 by:
Debra S. Walker
walkerd@terranova.net

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