Close
Ancient Maya Settlement and the Alacranes Bajo
28 November 2019
The second volume in the UCL Institute of Archaeology PhD Series, published by BAR, is now available and highlights research by Gail Hammond on landscape and communities in the Three Rivers Region, Northwestern Belize.
Gail's new volume represents the archaeological investigation of a distinctive zone of the Three Rivers Region (TRR) of far northwestern Belize. The zone is dominated by the Alacranes Bajo, a seasonally inundated karstic depression bordered by the settlements of Nojol Nah and Tulix Mul. Understanding the relationship of the settlements to the bajo and to the wider political landscape of the TRR contributes to the knowledge of land use by the ancient Maya.
This book investigates whether the settlements on the eastern edge of the Alacranes Bajo could be described as bajo-centric. Were they specifically located with the purpose of utilising the bajo’s resources? Or, do the settlements fit a wider pattern characteristic of the TRR? To address these questions, excavations were undertaken of households, monumental structures, and landscape features associated with the sites in question. The results of the excavations are described and assessed within the local, regional and inter-regional context.
According to reviewers:
“Hammond’s research - through excavation, mapping, surface collection, soil sampling, and aerial reconnaissance - contributes new information and valuable insights into the nature and functioning of resource-specialised communities within the Three Rivers Region. The historical ecology of tropical wetlands has been inadequately studied. This book is a significant contribution advancing our understanding of the role that wetland ecosystem services played in the development of the complex cultural landscapes of the Maya Lowlands.
Gail worked for the Maya Research Program for six field seasons during which this research was carried out. She graduated from the UCL Institute of Archaeology with a PhD in Maya Archaeology in 2016. Gail now works at The British Museum in the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure as well as at the Institute.
The aim of the UCL Institute of Archaeology PhD series, published by BAR, is to offer rapid publication of largely unaltered PhD theses. It covers the full range of subject areas studied at the Institute, including world archaeology, archaeological science, cultural heritage, conservation and museum studies. It makes data, analyses and interpretation available promptly to a wide audience. The inaugural volume - Pattern and Process in the Material Culture of Anglo-Saxon Non-elite Rural Settlements by Hana Lewis was published earlier this year.
The research presented in this book advances scholarship on Anglo-Saxon non-elite rural settlements through the analysis of material culture with 44 non-elite sites and the high-status site of Staunch Meadow, occupied throughout the Anglo-Saxon period (c. 5th-11th centuries) and geographically representative of Anglo-Saxon settlement in England, being selected for study. Comparative analyses of the material culture assemblages and settlement data from these sites were evaluated from four main research perspectives: the archaeological contexts and distributional patterns of material culture at the sites; the range and character of material culture; patterns of material culture consumption; and material culture as evidence for the economic reach of rural settlements.
Reviewers of this volume indicated:
“This book provides a fascinating insight into the material culture of early medieval rural settlement sites, and reflects the enormous advances that have been made through both development-led archaeology and the Portable Antiquities Scheme. [It] challenges our understanding of non-elite rural settlements in the Anglo-Saxon period, and is an essential read for anyone interested in the material culture of this period and the Anglo-Saxon rural landscape.
Hana holds a PhD from the UCL Institute of Archaeology. She specialises in the archaeology and material culture of early medieval Britain and has had a long career in cultural heritage, including as a Senior Archaeologist for Museum of London Archaeology and Project Officer for the British Library Labs project.