Excavations at Nohoch Ek, British Honduras

Abstract

The course of Maya archaeology has been characterized for the most part by an intensive interest in large ceremonial centers, and justifiably so in view of their clearly rich and rewarding content. Yet the nature of these excavations has necessarily restricted knowledge of preconquest developments in this region to a highly hierarchic level, as witnessed by work in such sites as Kaminaljuyu, Copan, Uaxactun, and Piedras Negras. Remarkably little is known of conditions on a less spectacular level, but a recent trend in this direction is evident in the house-mound and population studies by Carnegie at Mayapan and by Gordon Willey in British Honduras. And we hope that Nohoch Ek, about as insignificant as Maya sites of this type come, may help to illustrate the evolution and workings of an obviously minor ceremonial center.

Ancient Maya Regional Settlement and Inter-Site Analysis: The 2013 West-Central Belize LiDAR Survey

“…Willey is to be credited, however, with his focus on the non-elite at Barton Ramie, something that was often included only as an afterthought in many subsequent archaeological projects that focused predominantly on large monumental architecture. Initial work in the Belize Valley focused on Xunantunich [62,63], Nohoch Ek [64], and on Baking Pot [65] (Figure 9). More recent work has focused on Pacbitun [53,66], Negroman-Tipu [67], Cahal Pech [68], Blackman Eddy [69], Buenavista del Cayo [70], Actuncan [71], Chan [72], and several smaller sites in the upper Belize River valley [73].…”

RECONSIDERING THE BELIZE VALLEY PRECLASSIC: A case for multiethnic interactions in the development of a regional culture tradition

“…Its distribution elsewhere in the valley has been extensively documented (Ball 1996;Coe and Coe 1956;Gifford 1976;Healy 1990;Willey and Bullard 1956;Willey et al 1965). Beyond the valley (Figure 14), a spotty, progressively decreasing distribution to the west previously interpreted by Rice (1979) to reflect its probable movement into that region from the Belize zone includes light to moderate concentrations at Uaxactún (Smith 1955:31-32) and Tikal (Culbert 1963:34-35;Hermes 1993;Laporte and Fialko 1993b), with trace occurrences at Yaxha (Rice 1979) and across the intervening landscape ( Bishop 1986).…”

“…The history of Preclassic studies in the valley extends from the recognition of Middle Preclassic horizon ceramics at Xunantunich (Benque Viejo) by J. E. S. Thompson (1942) and the identification of Middle Preclassic architecture at Nohoch Ek by William Coe and Michael Coe (Coe and Coe 1956) through the definition of a comprehensive and enduring central western Belize Preclassic ceramic sequence by Gifford and his colleagues based on findings at Barton Ramie, Melhado, and other local sites (Gifford 1965(Gifford , 1976Willey and Bullard 1956;Willey and Gifford 1961;Willey et al 1965). It has continued with the recent and ongoing applications of these earlier baselines by the Trent University Preclassic Maya Project under the general direction of Paul F. Healy in the upper or western valley (Awe 1992;Healy 1999;Healy [editor] 1999; Healy and Awe 1995Awe , 1996 and a Southwest Texas State University project directed by James F. Garber in the lower or eastern valley (Brown 1999;Brown and Garber 1997; Garber , 1999Garber, Brown, and Hartman 2002).…”

Nohoch Ek Revisited: The Minor Center as Manor

“…he last two decades have seen an increasing awareness in Maya archaeological literature of the multiplicity of likely functions performed by a class of sites termed the "minor center" and the potential diversity of roles played by such complexes in the local integration of Maya society (e.g., Ball and Taschek 1991;Driver et al 1997; Garber 1994;Haviland 1981;Iannone 1996). They have been identified as small-scale ceremonial or administrative centers, elite residential compounds, dower houses, manor houses, boundary markers, and astronomical stations or markers (Ball and Taschek 1991;Bullard 1960;Coe and Coe 1956;Diamanti 1991;Driver et al 1997;Garber 1994;Haviland 1981;Iannone 1996). Arguments for the identifications have ranged from simple assertions to elaborate analyses, the latter perhaps best exemplified by William Haviland's (1981) detailed analysis and interpretation of Group 7F-1 at Tikal as an elite residential group or regnal "dower house."…”

“…A category based on relative size, the "minor center" represents a mixed bag and probably served a considerable, varied, and as yet incompletely appreciated range of sociocultural functions and roles. We examine one such center and its place within the Late to Terminal Classic social landscape of the upper Belize Valley based on investigations carried out there by the authors in 1985, and by William Coe and Michael Coe in 1949 (Coe and Coe 1956).…”