Blue Creek Regional Ecology Project: 2001, 2002, and 2003 Research Summaries

Over the past two seasons, the Blue Creek Regional Political Ecology Project, formerly the Blue Creek Archaeology Project (under the direction of Dr. Tom Guderjan) has shifted its research objectives away from earlier lines of inquiry to encompass both a broader scope of analysis and also embrace alternative though complementary questions regarding ancient Maya society. Important among the objectives that currently comprise our work in the Blue Creek area of northwestern Belize are: (1) better understanding regional chronology; (2) examining relationships between environmental variation and related social, economic, and political developments; (3) investigating these relationships as evident in non-urban domestic contexts and settlements; and (4) better defining ties of Blue Creek to other sites in the region. A number of important advances have been made in all of these avenues of research; many such contributions are not included in this report but have been submitted to Belize’s Department of Archaeology (DoA) under separate covers (e.g., Giacometti 2002; Kosakowsky and Lohse 2003). Particularly important among these is the completion of a preliminary ceramic chronology for the Blue Creek center. While this work is ongoing by Dr. Laura Kosakowsky, the definition of ceramic complexes (Table 1.1) will represent an invaluable aid in future research in our area.
Reports are included in this compilation in order to satisfy the project’s permit requirements and so that such information can be disseminated to the general public and to the archaeological community of Belize. The remainder of this overview provides the general framework within which our investigations are conducted. It also provides a brief description of the research setting.
Table 1.1. Ceramic chronology for Blue Creek, with comparable time intervals and regional ceramic complexes (from Kosakowsky and Lohse 2003)