Be part of an archaeological project in Belize, Central America!
Session 1: June 3 - June 29, 2007
Session 2: July 8 - August 3, 2007
Since 1996 the archaeologists of Western Belize Regional Cave Project have been studying the use of caves by the prehistoric Maya. The Western Belize Regional Cave Project is designed to introduce experienced participants to the fundamental approaches to the practice of speleoarchaeology and to provide training in a variety of archaeological techniques. Lectures will provide an overview of Maya civilization with a particular focus on ideology and cosmology relating to the use of caves by prehistoric Maya. Participants will work together as a team in the field, executing excavations and performing survey procedures. In the laboratory students will employ various techniques of analysis and illustration.
The sites chosen for the 2005 research season include the Caves Branch Rockshelter, an ancient Maya mortuary site, as well as caves in the surrounding area. The archaeological material under investigation includes burials, and Modified Speleothem Sculpture. The project will include an introduction to biological anthropology (with focus on osteology and mortuary practices), reconnaissance missions to locate and explore new caves, the identification and documentation of regional cave art, and the interpretation of the role of caves in the culture of the ancient Maya groups of the Caves Branch River Valley.
Dr. Jaime Awe of the Belize Institute of Archaeology will be overseeing the archaeological investigations in the caves, which will include extensive exploration of cave sites, survey, mapping of rooms and artifacts, typing of pottery, artifact tabulation, data recording, and excavation. Field operations will be led by Dr. Gabriel Wrobel of The University of Mississippi Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and and co-directed by Cameron Griffith of Indiana University. This four-week research program provides an opportunity for participants to experience ancient Maya archaeology in a hands-on, educational, and exciting jungle setting in Belize.
For an application and more information about the project, please email:
Click here to check out the interactive dig on Archaeology Online!
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