With National Science Foundation support Drs. Diane and Arlen Chase will continue their archaeological research at the site of Caracol located in Belize, Central America. At an altitude of over 500 meters it is among the highest sites in the Maya lowlands. The site was rediscovered approximately 55 years ago and until the Chases began their project little was known about it. Survey work has shown the site to be quite large. The core is conservatively estimated at 88 square kilometers. It contains at least 10 intra- site causeways which run outward like the spokes of a wheel from the site core. Over 3000 structures have been recorded and the number is far from complete. Excavations have provided evidence of occupation from ca 300 B.C. to ca. 1150 A.D. and it is clear that Caracol played a major role in the Mayan prehistory of the region. What makes the site especially interesting are the carved stelae or written tablets which have been recovered. These permit a partial historical reconstruction and indicate Caracol emerged victorious in two major battles. The two principal investigators plan to focus their efforts in one of the city's sectors and conduct survey work as well as both trial and extensive excavation. What they wish to do is use these data, in conjunction with other information to reconstruct the demographic history of the site and to search for relationships between periods of construction and warfare. While much work has been done on large Mayan sites, archaeologists still do not know whether they functioned as true integrated cities, how much of them were occupied at a single moment in time, and how their growth and development were integrated into a larger regional and political context. The only way to answer such questions is through large scale, long term excavation and the Chases have pursued just that goal for many years. The additional data they plan to collect will help to illumine both the history and functioning of this major Mayan site. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data about a major Mayan center and shed new light on the factors which led to the rise of urban civilization.//
