Field Research
Study Area
The Belize River East Archaeology (BREA) project represents the first comprehensive archaeological survey and excavation to be carried out east of Saturday Creek in the lower half of the Belize River watershed. The Belize River is a large and navigable waterway with its headwaters in Belize and Guatemala. The river flows 180 miles (290 km) across central Belize to where it drains into the Caribbean Sea and the entire watershed is around 11,000 km2 and the BREA project area in the mid-to-lower reaches encompasses just over half of the entire Belize Watershed. Measuring roughly 2000 km2, the BREA study area includes the main trunk of the Belize River and several of its major tributaries, including Saturday Creek, Beaver Dam Creek, Labouring Creek, Spanish Creek, and Black Creek.
Overview of the Research
Dr. Eleanor Harrison-Buck and her team have conducted field seasons every year since 2011 (excluding two years during which COVID prevented international travel). Their survey, mapping, and excavations have revealed a dense occupation and a long history of settlement in the lower Belize River Watershed, extending from Archaic, Pre-Maya through Colonial times. They have found that settlement along the main trunk of the Belize River is virtually continuous. Thus far, the BREA project has identified over 2000 mounds representing around 100 different archaeological sites throughout the study area. These sites are primarily located along the main trunk of the Belize River, but some sites also were found along tributary creeks and lagoons to the north of the river. Most are ancient Maya sites dating to the prehispanic period, but several sites that were identified and excavated by BREA contain artifacts dating to the Archaic or Preceramic period (~8000-1200/900 BCE) — before fully settled villages and agricultural lifestyles — as well as the Spanish and British Colonial periods from sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. The overall goal of the project is to trace the deep history of human-environment interaction through time and develop a more comprehensive settlement history for the lower half of the Belize River Watershed (see extent of BREA study area in overview map).
BREA Coastal Zone: Human-Wetland Interaction
When the BREA project was initiated in 2011, investigations mostly focused on recording sites in the middle Belize Valley, which is an area of dense settlement, particularly along the main trunk of the Belize River. In recent years, their reconnaissance has focused on the lower part of the Belize River Watershed in the low-lying coastal zone that characterizes the northern part of Belize. Unlike the uplands, ancient Maya settlement in this low-lying coastal zone is situated in relatively isolated pockets of higher ground. However, Archaic occupations are scattered in various environments and elevations, and are most visible in pine savannas.
Jabonche—one of the largest sites that BREA identified and mapped between Chau Hiix and Altun Ha—is positioned on one of the few areas of high ground found along Black Creek, a tributary of the Belize River. Chau Hiix, one of the largest ancient Maya sites in the BREA study area, is situated along the Western Lagoon Wetland, the largest inland wetland in all of Belize. The areas around Chau Hiix and Jabonche are surrounded by marginal land inadequate for farming. For this reason, Harrison-Buck argues that these sites were heavily reliant on the wetlands for agriculture, building ditched and drained fields (visible in satellite imagery), while also relying on these biologically-rich environments for hunting and aquaculture.
Site Map
Overview of BREA
Artifacts
2011
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2012
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2014/2015
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2018/2019
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2020/2021
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