Ancient Maya Cities of the Eastern Lowlands (Ancient Cities of the New World)

“Brings together for the first time all the major sites of this part of the Maya world and helps us understand how the ancient Maya planned and built their beautiful cities. It will become both a handbook and a source of ideas for other archaeologists for years to come.”—George J. Bey III, coeditor of __Pottery Economics in Mesoamerica__ “Skillfully integrates the social histories of urban development.”—Vernon L. Scarborough, author of __The Flow of Power: Ancient Water Systems and Landscapes__ “Any scholar interested in urban planning and the built environment will find this book engaging and useful.”—Lisa J. Lucero, author of __Water and Ritual__ For more than a century researchers have studied Maya ruins, and sites like Tikal, Palenque, Copán, and Chichén Itzá have shaped our understanding of the Maya. Yet cities of the eastern lowlands of Belize, an area that was home to a rich urban tradition that persisted and evolved for almost 2,000 years, are treated as peripheral to these great Classic period sites. The hot and humid climate and dense forests are inhospitable and make preservation of the ruins difficult, but this oft-ignored area reveals much about Maya urbanism and culture. Using data collected from different sites throughout the lowlands, including the Vaca Plateau and the Belize River Valley, Brett Houk presents the first synthesis of these unique ruins and discusses methods for mapping and excavating them. Considering the sites through the analytical lenses of the built environment and ancient urban planning, Houk vividly reconstructs their political history, considers how they fit into the larger political landscape of the Classic Maya, and examines what they tell us about Maya city building. For more than a century researchers have studied Maya ruins, and sites like Tikal, Palenque, Copán, and Chichén Itzá have shaped our understanding of the Maya. Yet the lowlands of Belize, which were once home to a rich urban tradition that persisted and evolved for almost 2,000 years, are treated as peripheral to these great Classic period sites. The hot and humid climate and dense forests are inhospitable and make preservation of the ruins difficult, but this oft-ignored area reveals much about Maya urbanism and culture. Using data collected from different sites throughout the Maya lowlands, including the Vaca Plateau and the Belize River Valley, Brett Houk presents the first synthesis of these unique monuments and discusses methods for mapping and excavating. Considering the sites through the theoretical lenses of the built environment and ancient urban planning, Houk vividly reconstructs their political history, how they fit into the larger political landscape of the Classic Maya, and how the ancient cities fell apart over time Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 List of Tables 13 Foreword 14 Preface 16 1. Ancient Maya Urbanism in the Eastern Lowlands 20 2. Studying Maya Cities 32 3. The Setting in Space and Time 65 4. Preclassic Foundations 88 5. Southern Belize 103 6. Vaca Plateau and Maya Mountains 138 7. Belize Valley 166 8. Northwestern Belize 187 9. Northern Belize 220 10. Comparisons and Urban Planning 251 11. Deciphering Meaning in Maya Cities 284 References Cited 304 Index 346 A 346 B 347 C 348 D 350 E 350 F 351 G 351 H 351 I 352 J 352 K 352 L 352 M 353 N 354 O 355 P 355 Q 357 R 357 S 358 T 360 U 361 V 361 W 361 X 362 Y 362 Z 362 Using field reports, data sets and "grey" literature on the many excavated sites, Houk provides a synthesis of archaeological data on the ancient cities of modern Belize for the Classical period and explores their urban planning and built environment. By examining the lowland cities, Houk's work offers balance to the literature on the entire Classic Maya polity