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Colha, Belize is a Maya archaeological site located in northern portion of the country, about 52 km. north of Belize City, near the
town of Orange Walk. The site is one of the earliest in the Maya region and remains important to the archaeological record of the
Maya culture well into the Postclassic Period. According to Palma Buttles, “Archaeological evidence from Colha allows for the
interpretation occupation from the Early Preceramic (3400-1900B.C.) to Middle Postclassic (A.D. 1150-1300) with population peaks
occurring in the Late Preclassic (400B.C.- A.D. 100) and again in the Late Classic ( A.D. 600-850)”.[1] These peaks in population are
directly related to the presence of stone tool workshops at the site. Colha’s proximity to an important source of high quality chert that
is found in the Cenozoic limestone of the region[2] and well traveled trade routes was utilized by the inhabitants to develop a niche in
the Maya trade market that may have extended to the Greater Antilles.[3] During the Late Preclassic and Late Classic periods, Colha
served as a primary supplier of worked stone tools for the region. It has been estimated that the 36 workshops at Colha produced
nearly 4 million chert and obsidian tools and eccentrics that were dispersed throughout Mesoamerica during the Maya era.[4][5] This
made it an important player in the trade of essential good throughout the area.
Contents
Archaeological history
The Colha Project
Formative Period
Preclassic Period Colha
Middle Preclassic Colha (900-400B.C.)
Late Preclassic Colha (400B.C.-A.D.100)
Protoclassic Period Colha (A.D. 100-250)
Classic Period
Early Classic Colha(A.D. 250-600)
Late Classic Colha(A.D.600-700)
Terminal Classic Colha(A.D. 700-875)
Postclassic Period
See also
References
Archaeological history
The first archaeological excavations at Colha were in 1973. As part of the British Museum-Cambridge University Corozal Project,
Norman Hammond mapped, named, tested, and reported the site for the first time[6] In 1975, Hammond returned to Colha for further
investigations which uncovered large deposits of lithic production debitage and showed that the site had a long history of
occupation.[7] At the 1976 Maya Lithic Conference, a discussion on the possible importance of Colha in the archaeological
discussion of Maya lithics and craft specialization prompted a call for a long term investigation at the site.[8] It was decided that
Thomas R. Hester and Harry J. Shafer should be in charge of this project due to their experience with lithics.[9] The result was a 14-
year project by Hester, Shafer, and colleagues under the auspices of the University of Texas at Austin's Colha Project (discussed
below).
Important contributors to the knowledge and publications available on Colha include (alphabetically, not by importance); Richard
E.W. Adams, Dana Anthony, Jaime Awe, Palma Buttles, Meredith Dreiss, Jack D. Eaton, James T. Escobedo Jr., Lawrence H.
Feldman, Eric C. Gibson, Thomas R. Hester, Harry B. Iceland, John S. Jacob, John G. Jones, Thomas C. Kelly, Eleanor M. King, Jon
C. Lohse, Virginia K. Massey, Marilyn A. Masson, Roberta McGregor, Richard Meadows, Frances Meskill, George H. Michaels,
Shirley B. Mock, Daniel R. Potter, Ketherine V. Reese, Erwin Roemer, Robert F. Scott IV, Harry J. Shafer, Leslie C. Shaw, Janet
Stock, Lauren A. Sullivan, A.J. Taylor, Fred Valdez Jr., Richard r. Wilk, and Lori Wright.
Formative Period
In Belize, there is sparse evidence for occupation during the Archaic period before 3400 B.C.[17] This date has been used in
conjunction with the Colha chronology, introduced by Iceland (1997), to outline the delineation of the Late Archaic period (3400-
900B.C.).[18] This period seems to have been a time of temporary settlement and selective adaptation through agriculture, with most
sites located near easily attained natural recourses and adjacent to "swamp and lagoon margins, river valleys, near-coastal areas,
upland settings along ecotonal boundaries, rockshelters, and caves".[19] Despite the understanding of where to look for these
evidences, concrete habitation sites for this period have been illusive to archaeologists, who must rely heavily on lithics and pollen
studies to reconstruct the settlement patterns for the Late Archaic in Belize.[17] Colha falls in an area of one particularly important
natural resource, chert, and is very near to Cobweb Swamp. Therefore it was an optimal area to search for evidence of Late Archaic
evidence in Belize. On this assumption, Thomas Hester and Harry Shafer dedicated the 1993-1995 Colha Project field seasons toward
the investigation of the Late Archaic near Colha.[20]
In his 1997 Ph.D. Dissertation, Harry Iceland put together a compilation of 23 calibrated radio-carbon dates from between 3400 B.C.
and 900 B.C. that demonstrated regular utilization of the site throughout the Late Archaic, with the exception of a gap between 1900
B.C. and 1500 B.C., when the site is presumed to be empty.[18] This chronology was supported by the pollen data from Cobweb
Swamp. In his dissertation, Jones (1994) suggests that manioc and maize were being cultivated by the people of Colha at Cobweb
Swamp. Jones documented evidence that "early human forest modification, disturbance and domesticated plant cultivation was
[2]
established for the period prior to 2,500 B.C. (or nearly 1500 years before any other Maya site).
Another tool used for the investigation of Late Archaic period Colha is lithic type analysis. Macroblades, microblades, pointed
unifaces, and other specific lithic types have been noted for Colha and used to extrapolate dating for the region.[18] Early entrants
into the lithics record at Colha include Lowe points and Sawmill points. Both of these points are found predominantly between Colha
and Ladyville.[17] A shift in lithics is seen at around 1500 B.C. just as the hiatus ends. Iceland calls this period (1500 B.C.
-900B.C.)the Late Preceramic based on radiocarbon dating of the associated assemblage. He further demonstrates how this shift is
indicative of a shift in agricultural strategies.[18] The most diagnostic tool in the Late Preceramic assemblage is a distinctive type of
[17]
uniface that appears to have been used for extensive clearing of land for farming.
Despite evidence of periodic utilization in the Preceramic (Formative) Period through pollen analysis at nearby Cobweb Swamp[2]
and debitage from lithic utilization around the site as far back as the Paleolithic,[22] the first evidence of settled Maya through
[23]
architectural means at Colha comes in the Early to Middle Preclassic Period.
"By the Late Middle Preclassic (600 - 400B.C.), Chiwa complex (or Mamom phase) settlement patterns suggest that
chiefdom society".[27]
the series of interactive households became unified and probably represented a low-level
Additionally, the first signs of the importing of raw materials and goods from afar appear in the Middle Preclassic. This is suggested
to be evidence of the development of long distance trade and causal for the expansion of Colha in population and prestige.[28] Middle
Preclassic architecture is dominated by low-walled circular structures built on middens. These would have supported perishable
superstructures.[29][1]
Classic Period
The classic period represents a time of fluctuation in population and power for Colha. Three occupational phases are recognized at
Colha during the classic period. Each has an associated ceramic complex. The Early Classic (A.D. 250-600) is associated with the
Cobweb complex. The Late Classic (A.D. 600-700)is associated with the Bomba complex. And, the Terminal Classic (A.D. 700-875)
is associated with the Masson complex.[1][24]
The end of the Classic period may be seen through the cessation of maintenance of building 2012 and through a unique deposit at
operation 2011. While building 2012 shows some evidence of continued use through the Terminal Classic construction of two small
shrines at its base, buildings 2011 and 2025, both ceremonial in nature, appear to have been burnt.[42] Within operation 2011, an
80 cm by 110 cm pit was found in the 1980 field season and dates to between A.D. 659 and A.D. 782.[43] It contained skulls of 10
men, 10 women, and 10 children. These had been removed through decapitation and burnt.[44][45] Massey notes that the skulls in the
skull pit were likely those of elite citizens as evidenced by their cranial shaping and filled teeth.
Postclassic Period
After the Classic period, Colha seems to be abandoned for a short time. According to Buttles, "following the apparent violent end of
around A.D.950".[46] This hiatus is
Colha during the Terminal Classic the site remained unoccupied for a period of 50-100 years until
evident in the pollen analysis of the surrounding area and the lack of construction at the site.[47] Colha's Hiatus allowed a
regeneration of the environment, something that has been suggested as a causal factor in the sites reoccupation in the Early
Postclassic period.[46] The impetus for the re-occupation has also been inferred to be the site's location in the vicinity of the chert
bearing lands, as evidenced by the 12 lithics workshops attributed to the Postclassic.[48] Hester and Shafer further note that the lithics
produced in these workshops were made from more than the local chert. Imported chalcedony and large amount of obsidian (relative
to previous occupations) are important sources of worked stone in Postclassic Colha and new forms like the "side-notched dart
points" are evident at this time.[48] However, Colha of the Postclassic was likely a small society of agrarian farmers who used lithic
production to either supplement their subsistence or to serve a greater polity in the Yucatan. The agrarian subsistence strategy of
choice for the people who re-occupy Colha seems to be a type of tree cropping. Consider the following excerpt from Buttles (2002):
Subsistence strategies may be best revealed through the paleobotanical and faunal remains.
The paleobotanical data recovered from Operations 2001 and 2010 indicate the use of a
variety of cultigens and tree cropping including maize (Zea mays), beans (Phaseolus
vulgariz), cotton (Gossypium hirstum)achiote or annatto (Bixa orellana), bitter gourd
(Momordia sp.), jauacte palm (Bactis major), epiphytic cactus (Slenecereus sp), supa
(Acrocomia mexican), chicle (Achras zapota), papaya (Carica papya), and custard apple
(Annona reticulata)(Caldwell 1980:261; Miksicek 1979:158)".[46]
This re-occupation has been suggested to be by a group with strong ties to the Yucatan and significantly different material culture
than those who occupied Colha before the hiatus[30] and no monumental architecture.[48] After A.D.950, the site is occupied
throughout the remainder of the Postclassic. Three ceramic complexes are directly correlated to certain periods during the Postclassic;
the Yalam complex to the Early Postclassic (A.D.950-1250), the Canos complex to the Middle Postclassic (A.D.1250-1300), and the
Ranas complex to the Late Postclassic (A.D.1300-1400). The Yalam and Canos complexes are complete, but the Ranas complex
[24]
seems to only reflect an influx of "Mayapan-style (visitation) censers".
See also
Cuello
References
1. Buttles, Palma J. 2002. Material and Meaning: A Contextual Examination of Select Portable Material Culture from
Colha, Belize. Dissertation for University of T
exas at Austin.
2. Jones, John G. 1994. Pollen Evidence from Early Settlement and Agriculture in Northern Belize. Palynology
. Vol. 18;
205-211
3. Wilson, Samuel M.; Iceland, Harry B.; Hester , Thomas R. 1998. Preceramic Connections Between Y
ucatan and the
Caribbean. Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 9(4): 342-352.
4. Brown DO, Dreiss ML, and Hughes RE. 2004. Preclassic Obsidian Procurement and Utilization at the Maya Site of
Colha, Belize. Latin American Antiquity 15(2):222-240
5. Santone L. 1997. Transport Costs, Consumer Demand, and Patterns of Intraregional Exchange: A Perspective on
Commodity Production and Distribution from Northern Belize. Latin American Antiquity 8(1):71-88.
6. Hammond, Norman. 1973 Corozal Project Interim Report, edited by N. Hammond. Centre of Latin American Studies,
Cambridge University, England.
7. Wilk, Richard L. 1976 Work in Progress at Colha, Belize, 1976. In Maya Lithic Studies: Papers from the 1976 Field
Symposium, edited by T.R. Hester and N. Hammond:35-40. Center for Archaeological Research, The University of
Texas at San Antonio.