HENB Directors at the 2022 Belize Archaeology Symposium

The HENB team was well-represented at the 2022 Belize Archaeology Symposium (BAS).

KULCHA Symposium Presenter, Dr. Alexandra Biar: Dory & Pitpan: two types of boats emblematic of Belize's inland waters

Since prehispanic times, Belize's many rivers have been traffic arteries that structure the territory. Through the use of traditional indigenous boats, rivers connect coastal sites to those inland. I would like to introduce you to these two means of transport, emblematic of river navigation, the dory and the pitpan.

KULCHA Symposium Presenter, Prof. Fred Valdez: Belize and the Earliest Maya: Archaeological Data and New Interpretations

The ancient Maya site of Colha in northern Belize is a focal point of some early developments beginning in the Archaic period (about 3400 BCE). Recent studies have identified earlier than Maya occupants in the region that had significant cultural developments. Belize’s prehistory is quite significant in Maya (and pre-Maya) studies. Factors of defining communities, aspects of horticulture, and the transition from the Archaic into the Preclassic are reviewed in consideration of - just who were the earliest Maya?