The San Estevan archaeological site is located in northern Belize 1 km from the modern community of San Estevan, Belize. The site is a

Maya civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, a ...

site occupied during the Formative (800 BC – AD 300) and

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

(AD 300 – 900) eras of

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

n chronology. San Estevan is located on the New River halfway between the sites of

Cerros Cerros is an Eastern Lowland Maya archaeological site in northern Belize that functioned from the Late Preclassic to the Postclassic period. The site reached its apogee during the Mesoamerican Late Preclassic and at its peak, it held a populati ...

and

Lamanai Lamanai (from ''Lama'anayin'', "submerged crocodile" in Yucatec Maya) is a Mesoamerican archaeological site, and was once a major city of the Maya civilization, located in the north of Belize, in Orange Walk District. The site's name is pre-Columb ...

. Beginning in the Late Formative period (300 BC – AD 300), San Estevan was a regional political center.Rosenswig, Robert M. and Douglas J. Kennett 2008 Reassessing San Estevan's Role in the Late Formative Political Landscape of Northern Belize. Latin American Antiquity 19: 124-146.

Archaeological investigations

William Bullard mapped the civic-ceremonial center of the site in the 1960s where he carried out excavations and restored two Early Classic structures (I and II). During the Corozal Survey Project, Norman Hammond excavated at San Estevan and expanded Bullard's map with several additional plaza groups around the site core. It was the ceramic collections from these excavations at San Estevan along with initial testing at Nohmul, Santa Rita, Colha and

Cuello Cuello is a Maya archaeological site in northern Belize. The site is that of a farming village with a long occupational history. It was originally dated to 2000 BC, but these dates have now been corrected and updated to around 1200 BC. Its inhab ...

that Duncan Pring first established the Swazey, Lopez Mamom and Cocos Chicannel phases. In 1989 and 1990, Laura Levi mapped outlying house groups at San Estevan in detail and excavated several domestic structures. During the late 1990s, much of the monumental architecture in San Estevan's core was bulldozed and a large crater excavated for the underlying limestone marl in order to construct modern roads. Mound XV, at 15 m, is the highest structure remaining at the site and dates to the Late Formative period. This mound was only saved from the bulldozers due to the intervention of the Belize Department of Archaeology in the late 1990s. The damage to San Estevan is unfortunate, but provides remarkable access to the earliest occupation at the site's center. Taking advantage of the easy access to the earliest occupation levels, Robert Rosenswig of the University at Albany – SUNY began work on the earliest occupation levels at the site in 2002.Rosenswig, Robert M. 2008b San Estevan Archaeological Project 2008. Institute of Mesoamerican Studies, Occasional Publication No. 15. The University at Albany - SUNY, Albany.

References

External links

San Estevan Archaeological Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Estevan (Maya Site) Maya sites in Belize Former populated places in Belize Buildings and structures demolished in the 1990s

Archaeological investigations

See also

References

External links