Under the direction of Dr. Robert Sharer, Mr. Jason Yaeger will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will conduct an archaeological study of San Lorenzo, a prehistoric Mayan site located in Belize. The site itself is interesting because it is intermediate in size between the large ritual centers for which the Mayans are so well known and the small isolated mounds which are common across the Mayan range. San Lorenzo is, in Mayan terms, a small community and its inhabitants probably lived a life typical of most people at that time. Mr. Yaeger and his colleagues have conducted prior excavation at the site and with NSF support this work will be expanded to provide a representative sample of dwellings. Areas within and adjacent to structures will be cleared and additional test pits excavated. Abundant stone tools and ceramics as well as floral and faunal remains will be collected. On this basis it will be possible to reconstruct interrelationships among families as well as subsistence practices. The Mayan civilization has long interested archaeologists not only because of the impressive stone monuments which were constructed but also because of the organizational and subsistence skills required to sustain large populations in tropical environments which are sparsely populated today. While excavations at ceremonial mounds have shed considerable light on ritual organization and elite behaviors much less is known about how smaller communities which constituted the backbone of Mayan society were organized. Mr. Yaeger's research will provide relevant information. Mr. Yaeger notes that other researchers have studied present-day Mayan villages and described a particular form of social organization. Through his excavations he will test whether this same model applied to the past. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will shed new light on how the Mayan civilization was organized and it will assist in the training of a promising young scientist.
