Site formation and occupation history of the Medicinal Trail Site house mound group at the Program for Belize Archaeological Project, Belize

In the summer of 2001 I participated in the excavation of RB 62 Operation 5, a group of three mounds, as a part of the Program for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP) in northwestern Belize. This thesis reports on what was uncovered. More specifically, I analyze the mound group in terms the larger Maya settlement pattern. A review of Maya settlement patterns is presented in Chapter Two, followed by the analysis of the mound group, known as the Medicinal Trail Housemound Site. The site consisted of three well-defined mounds, with a flat area between them. Excavations revealed that the three mounds were constructed of cobble and gravel fill and that the flat area had undergone modification. Mound 2 contained the remains of a structure with a plaster floor and cut stone walls, but Mounds 1 and 3 had no apparent superstructure remains. These findings—that the site represented a household settlement with three dwelling platforms and a central patio area—were consistent with the hypothesis of Maya settlement patterns presented in Chapter Two.; In the course of analyzing the ceramic sherd density distribution throughout the mounds, I constructed a theory of the development history of the site. A marked difference in sherd density distribution between the higher-elevation northern portion and the lower-elevation southern portion of Mound 1 represent two different phases of construction. The types of ceramics found within the cobble mounds are uniform throughout, suggesting that the multiple construction phases occurred within a relatively short period of time. This picture of the expanding household is consistent with the extended family model of household growth presented in Chapter Two.