The Last Hurrah: Examining the Nature of Peri-Abandonment Deposits and Activities at Cahal Pech, Belize

Abstract

Archaeological investigations by the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project at Cahal Pech uncovered several Terminal Classic (a.d. 750–900) peri-abandonment deposits and activity areas at this Belize River Valley center. The deposits contained a diverse assemblage of cultural remains located above and between collapsed architecture, associated with evidence for burning activities. In the past, archaeologists have generally interpreted similar assemblages as “problematic deposits”—“de facto” refuse (garbage)—as associated with building termination and desecration, or as evidence for rapid abandonment during the violent destruction of these ancient cities. It is argued here that the microstratigraphic excavation and contextual analysis of these features provide limited support for these explanations. Alternatively, we suggest that the deposits are more likely associated with peri-abandonment rituals that were conducted by a reduced remnant population at Cahal Pech, or by small groups who continued to reside in the site's periphery during the last stages of the Terminal Classic period.

Applying Regional, Contextual, Ethnohistoric, and Ethnographic Approaches for Understanding the Significance of Peri-Abandonment Deposits in Western Belize

“…Instead, based on the multiple lines of evidence we describe above, we suggest that these cultural remains were deposited at sites across the region by remnant populations still living at these centers (Lamoureux-St-Hilaire et al 2015), or by local communities who conducted pilgrimages and/or propitiation rituals at the sacred places of their ancestors. That those involved are likely local is suggested by the strontium isotope analysis of the human remains we have recovered in both intrusive burials and deposits at the sites, and by the fact that the deposits mostly contain locally produced objects (Aimers and Awe 2020;Stemp and Awe 2020). This perspective also fits the general consensus that abandonment of Maya sites was not an overnight phenomenon, but rather a gradual, perhaps even protracted, process that took place over several years (Webster 2002).…”

“…Their deposition within the cenote, however, forces us to consider alternative functions for their final use. In the case of the cenote assemblage, that function is most likely ritual in nature, a situation similar to that noted by Helmke (2015, 2019) for a European sword deposited by the Maya in Rapier Cave in Western Belize, and by Stemp and Awe (2020) for the chert projectile points from the periabandonment deposits at Cahal Pech.…”

“…The grave had penetrated the terminal floor of the building, but the latter had not been replastered. Accompanying the skeletal remains was a ceramic aerophone /flute that is identical to the one we found in an intrusive child burial (BU:A3-1) at Cahal Pech (Aimers et al 2020b;Aimers and Awe 2020). Given the context of the burial and the style of the flute, Pendergast and Graham (1981:17) concluded that "the interment of this individual clearly postdates the primary use of the platform, and in fact cannot have taken place until most or all of the material encountered above the platform surface had accumulated following abandonment.…”

“…Because we have evidence that sites like Cahal Pech and Pook's Hill were still occupied (albeit by very few people) at the time that peri-abandonment activities were taking place in the site-core (Awe et al 2020), we argue here that neither the activities nor related cultural materials are associated with the rapid abandonment of these centers. Instead, based on the multiple lines of evidence we describe above, we suggest that these cultural remains were deposited at sites across the region by remnant populations still living at these centers (Lamoureux-St-Hilaire et al 2015), or by local communities who conducted pilgrimages and/or propitiation rituals at the sacred places of their ancestors.…”

Explaining Variability in on-Floor Assemblages: The Behavioral-Contextual Method

“…We believe we must endeavor to adopt a shared interpretative framework and terminology to achieve a better understanding of Classic Maya settlement abandonment. Abandoning the concept of "problematic deposit" (Aimers et al 2020) may be a productive first step towards this goal.…”