| This thesis examines the myriad of archaeological data recovered from fifteen ancient Maya centers in the Belize River Valley, Vaca Plateau (Belize), as well as Naranjo in the Peten Lowlands of Guatemala, spanning the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic periods. Of the three areas, the Belize River Valley has been the most extensively and continuously studied. While there is ample evidence of interaction, there has been to date, no synthesis of the archaeological evidence of cultural development in this area as a whole. In response, this thesis surmounts the geographical and national divisors to incorporate these socially, economically, and politically significant neighbours. Methodologically, qualitative comparison and contrast is utilized to envelop the cultural trajectory of this area of the Southern Maya Lowlands, from earliest settlement, to state formation, through fluorescence, to collapse, and regeneration.;Keywords: ancient Maya, cultural development, Belize River Valley, Vaca Plateau, Naranjo. |
