Brett A Houk
Biographic Data
| ID | 194664 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Brett A Houk |
| GIVEN NAMES | Brett A |
| FAMILY NAME | Houk |
| SIGNATURE | HOUK B A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Texas Tech University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2490-5870 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 87 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 3 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Geoarchaeology and Agroecosystems of the Booth’s River Depression
Geoarchaeological and agroecological research in the Three Rivers Region of northwest Belize and specifically in the Booth’s River Depression started in the 1990s. Regional geology is structured by normal faults creating escarpments and depressions that evolve into fluvial karst valleys that host agroecosystem features including wetland fields, terraces, canals, dams, and reservoirs. Our initial research in the Three Rivers Region followed accoun…
Maya Ballcourts in the Southeastern Three Rivers Adaptive Region
This study reports on 26 Maya ballcourts in the southeastern Three Rivers adaptive region, many of which are newly identified through a 2022 lidar survey. We analyze the ballcourts in terms of their form, dimensions, orientations, and integration with processional and ceremonial architecture. Statistical analyses and comparisons with ballcourts from neighboring regions, including the Belize River Valley, Holmul, and the western and northeastern T…
A Late Postclassic Altar and Evidence of Monument Veneration at Two Maya Sites in Northwestern Belize
In northwestern Belize, evidence of Late Postclassic Maya presence is limited to deposits indicating brief visitations to former city centers. Here, we present recent research at the sites of Kaxil Uinik and Ayiin Winik that has identified Late Postclassic ritual offerings at reset Late Classic monuments, as well as the first reported Late Postclassic altar in the region. These activities fit into a broad pattern of Postclassic veneration of earl…
Ancient Maya Patolli from Gallon Jug, Belize
Recent excavations at the site of Gallon Jug, a minor center in northwestern Belize, revealed multiple patolli boards incised into a well-preserved plaster floor in an unvaulted platform. A significant artifact deposit was placed directly on top of the patolli boards. In this report we describe the architectural context, associated artifact deposit, and the patolli boards themselves
Approaches to Monumental Landscapes of the Ancient Maya
"This volume brings together a wide spectrum of new approaches to ancient Maya studies in an innovative exploration of how the Preclassic and Classic Maya shaped their world. Moving beyond the towering temples and palaces typically associated with the Maya civilization, contributors present unconventional examples of monumental Maya landscapes. Featuring studies from across the central Maya lowlands, Belize, and the northern and central Maya high…
Contextual and Compositional Comparisons of Abandonment-Related, on-Floor Deposits at Chan Chich, Belize
At Chan Chich, Belize, archaeologists have encountered Terminal Classic artifact scatters and piled artifact deposits in elite residential compounds near the epicenter of the site. This article presents a detailed comparison of four artifact deposits’ contexts and compositions to highlight similarities and differences among them. Commonly classified as “problematic deposits” in the field, all four examples considered here formed directly on floor…
The “Borders” of British Honduras and the San Pedro Maya of Kaxil Uinic Village
Having fled the violence of the Caste War in Mexico (1847−1901), the San Pedro Maya occupied nearly two dozen small villages in the forests of western British Honduras and the northeastern Peten from the 1850s to the 1930s. With no physically demarcated borders between British Honduras and its neighbors present prior to the late 1880s, archival and archaeological data demonstrate that the San Pedro Maya moved freely through the lightly populated …
Kaxil Uinic: Archaeology at a San Pedro Maya Village in Belize
The Strange Bedfellows of Northern Belize: British Colonialists, Confederate Dreamers, Creole Loggers, and the Caste War Maya of the Late Nineteenth Century
The Ancient Urban Maya: Neighborhoods, Inequality, and Built Form
The Ancient Urban Maya: Neighborhoods, Inequality, and Built Form." Journal of Field Archaeology, 42(2), pp. 161–162
Ritual, Violence, and the Fall of the Classic Maya Kings
Ritual, Violence, and the Fall of the Classic Maya Kings
The age-old “scapegoat king” model suggests that Maya kings, like their counterparts in other early states throughout the world, were held responsible for the prosperity of their kingdoms. When they failed to meet their obligations, kings and their courts were subject to various forms of “termination,” including ritual defacing and destruction of their monuments, the breakage and burning of key symbols of authority, decommissioning of royal resid…
The Siren Site and the Long Transition from Archaic to Late Prehistoric Lifeways on the Eastern Edwards Plateau of Central Texas
On behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted testing and data recovery investigations at the Siren site (41WM1126), a prehistoric multi-component site in the Interstate Highway 35 right-of-way along the South Fork of the San Gabriel River in Williamson County, Texas. The work was done to fulfill TxDOT’s compliance obligations under the National Historic Preservation Act and the Antiq…
The Growth and Decline of the Ancient Maya City of La Milpa, Belize: New Data and New Perspectives From the Southern Plazas
Construction histories of ancient Maya monumental centers have long been used to interpret the growth and decline of Lowland Maya polities. Changes in the built environment at monumental centers reflect labor appropriation by ruling elites and may indirectly serve to gauge changes in political clout over time. Consequently, the precision and accuracy with which archaeologists measure these changes take on increased importance when assessing the a…
Evidence for Ritual Engineering in the Late/Terminal Classic Site Plan of La Milpa, Belize
Proponents of site-planning studies argue that the Ancient Maya expressed both political and cosmological symbolism in architecture and site plans, while detractors fault site-planning advocates for not being scientifically rigorous in their methods. Recently, the debate between the two sides has focused on whether or not the Maya created cosmograms in the layouts of their sites. Our recent investigations at La Milpa, Belize attempt to redirect s…
An Early Royal Maya Tomb From Chan Chich, Belize
In 1997, the Chan Chich Archaeological Project excavated a Terminal Preclassic/Early Classic period Maya tomb at Chan Chich, Belize. Tomb 2 represents the earliest royal tomb in the Three Rivers Region of the east-central Yucatan Peninsula and has striking similarities to Burial 85 at Tikal, the tomb of the dynastic founder Yax Ehb' Xook. This paper describes Tomb 2 and its contents and considers its significance within the context of the signifi…
The Gatlin Site (41KR621): Investigating Archaic Lifeways on the Southern Edwards Plateau of Central Texas
From May 2004 through the summer of 2008 and on behalf of the Environmental Affairs Division (ENV) of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) undertook extensive archaeological investigations and analyses on the Gatlin site, 41KR621, located on the Guadalupe River, Kerr County, Texas. Work at the site was necessitated by the planned 1.15-mile extension of Spur 98 from its current limits to cross the G…
Archaeological Survey and Testing in San Pedro Park (41BX19), San Antonio, Texas
In April 1998, staff from the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio completed a pedestrian survey and a series of 44 shovel tests and two backhoe trenches in San Pedro Park, in San Antonio, Texas. The project was required to evaluate the potential for significant historic (including a Spanish Colonial dam and acequia) and prehistoric cultural deposits in areas to be impacted by a plan to renovate the p…
Archaeological and Historical Investigations at Rancho de las Cabras, 41WN30, Wilson County, Texas: Fourth Season
During the month of July, 1983, the Center for Archaeological Research conducted a fourth season of excavations at Rancho de las Cabras (41 WN30) near Floresville, Texas. Eleven excavation units were completed in the east part of the compound. Details of the construction of the south wall of Room 3 and the southeast portion of the compound wall were recorded. A trench for a palisade-type fence was located and followed out in the vicinity of the o…
Phase II Archaeological Investigations at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) conducted significance testing at eight prehistoric archaeological sites at Lackland Air Force Base Medina Annex in Bexar County, Texas, for the Department ofthe Air Force under Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The Air Force had selected two areas of Medina Annex for possible impact associated with the construction of on-ba…
The Ancient Urban Maya: Neighborhoods, Inequality, and Built Form
The Ancient Urban Maya: Neighborhoods, Inequality, and Built Form." Journal of Field Archaeology, 42(2), pp. 161–162
Ritual, Violence, and the Fall of the Classic Maya Kings
The age-old “scapegoat king” model suggests that Maya kings, like their counterparts in other early states throughout the world, were held responsible for the prosperity of their kingdoms. When they failed to meet their obligations, kings and their courts were subject to various forms of “termination,” including ritual defacing and destruction of their monuments, the breakage and burning of key symbols of authority, decommissioning of royal resid…
The Growth and Decline of the Ancient Maya City of La Milpa, Belize: New Data and New Perspectives From the Southern Plazas
Construction histories of ancient Maya monumental centers have long been used to interpret the growth and decline of Lowland Maya polities. Changes in the built environment at monumental centers reflect labor appropriation by ruling elites and may indirectly serve to gauge changes in political clout over time. Consequently, the precision and accuracy with which archaeologists measure these changes take on increased importance when assessing the a…
Evidence for Ritual Engineering in the Late/Terminal Classic Site Plan of La Milpa, Belize
Proponents of site-planning studies argue that the Ancient Maya expressed both political and cosmological symbolism in architecture and site plans, while detractors fault site-planning advocates for not being scientifically rigorous in their methods. Recently, the debate between the two sides has focused on whether or not the Maya created cosmograms in the layouts of their sites. Our recent investigations at La Milpa, Belize attempt to redirect s…
An Early Royal Maya Tomb From Chan Chich, Belize
In 1997, the Chan Chich Archaeological Project excavated a Terminal Preclassic/Early Classic period Maya tomb at Chan Chich, Belize. Tomb 2 represents the earliest royal tomb in the Three Rivers Region of the east-central Yucatan Peninsula and has striking similarities to Burial 85 at Tikal, the tomb of the dynastic founder Yax Ehb' Xook. This paper describes Tomb 2 and its contents and considers its significance within the context of the signifi…
The Strange Bedfellows of Northern Belize: British Colonialists, Confederate Dreamers, Creole Loggers, and the Caste War Maya of the Late Nineteenth Century
Ancient Maya Patolli from Gallon Jug, Belize
Recent excavations at the site of Gallon Jug, a minor center in northwestern Belize, revealed multiple patolli boards incised into a well-preserved plaster floor in an unvaulted platform. A significant artifact deposit was placed directly on top of the patolli boards. In this report we describe the architectural context, associated artifact deposit, and the patolli boards themselves
The Gatlin Site (41KR621): Investigating Archaic Lifeways on the Southern Edwards Plateau of Central Texas
From May 2004 through the summer of 2008 and on behalf of the Environmental Affairs Division (ENV) of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) undertook extensive archaeological investigations and analyses on the Gatlin site, 41KR621, located on the Guadalupe River, Kerr County, Texas. Work at the site was necessitated by the planned 1.15-mile extension of Spur 98 from its current limits to cross the G…
The “Borders” of British Honduras and the San Pedro Maya of Kaxil Uinic Village
Having fled the violence of the Caste War in Mexico (1847−1901), the San Pedro Maya occupied nearly two dozen small villages in the forests of western British Honduras and the northeastern Peten from the 1850s to the 1930s. With no physically demarcated borders between British Honduras and its neighbors present prior to the late 1880s, archival and archaeological data demonstrate that the San Pedro Maya moved freely through the lightly populated …
The Siren Site and the Long Transition from Archaic to Late Prehistoric Lifeways on the Eastern Edwards Plateau of Central Texas
On behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted testing and data recovery investigations at the Siren site (41WM1126), a prehistoric multi-component site in the Interstate Highway 35 right-of-way along the South Fork of the San Gabriel River in Williamson County, Texas. The work was done to fulfill TxDOT’s compliance obligations under the National Historic Preservation Act and the Antiq…
Archaeological and Historical Investigations at Rancho de las Cabras, 41WN30, Wilson County, Texas: Fourth Season
During the month of July, 1983, the Center for Archaeological Research conducted a fourth season of excavations at Rancho de las Cabras (41 WN30) near Floresville, Texas. Eleven excavation units were completed in the east part of the compound. Details of the construction of the south wall of Room 3 and the southeast portion of the compound wall were recorded. A trench for a palisade-type fence was located and followed out in the vicinity of the o…
Phase II Archaeological Investigations at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) conducted significance testing at eight prehistoric archaeological sites at Lackland Air Force Base Medina Annex in Bexar County, Texas, for the Department ofthe Air Force under Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The Air Force had selected two areas of Medina Annex for possible impact associated with the construction of on-ba…
Phase II Archaeological Investigations at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) conducted significance testing at eight prehistoric archaeological sites at Lackland Air Force Base Medina Annex in Bexar County, Texas, for the Department ofthe Air Force under Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The Air Force had selected two areas of Medina Annex for possible impact associated with the construction of on-ba…
Archaeological and Historical Investigations at Rancho de las Cabras, 41WN30, Wilson County, Texas: Fourth Season
During the month of July, 1983, the Center for Archaeological Research conducted a fourth season of excavations at Rancho de las Cabras (41 WN30) near Floresville, Texas. Eleven excavation units were completed in the east part of the compound. Details of the construction of the south wall of Room 3 and the southeast portion of the compound wall were recorded. A trench for a palisade-type fence was located and followed out in the vicinity of the o…
Archaeological Survey and Testing in San Pedro Park (41BX19), San Antonio, Texas
In April 1998, staff from the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of The University of Texas at San Antonio completed a pedestrian survey and a series of 44 shovel tests and two backhoe trenches in San Pedro Park, in San Antonio, Texas. The project was required to evaluate the potential for significant historic (including a Spanish Colonial dam and acequia) and prehistoric cultural deposits in areas to be impacted by a plan to renovate the p…
The Gatlin Site (41KR621): Investigating Archaic Lifeways on the Southern Edwards Plateau of Central Texas
From May 2004 through the summer of 2008 and on behalf of the Environmental Affairs Division (ENV) of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) undertook extensive archaeological investigations and analyses on the Gatlin site, 41KR621, located on the Guadalupe River, Kerr County, Texas. Work at the site was necessitated by the planned 1.15-mile extension of Spur 98 from its current limits to cross the G…
An Early Royal Maya Tomb From Chan Chich, Belize
In 1997, the Chan Chich Archaeological Project excavated a Terminal Preclassic/Early Classic period Maya tomb at Chan Chich, Belize. Tomb 2 represents the earliest royal tomb in the Three Rivers Region of the east-central Yucatan Peninsula and has striking similarities to Burial 85 at Tikal, the tomb of the dynastic founder Yax Ehb' Xook. This paper describes Tomb 2 and its contents and considers its significance within the context of the signifi…
Evidence for Ritual Engineering in the Late/Terminal Classic Site Plan of La Milpa, Belize
Proponents of site-planning studies argue that the Ancient Maya expressed both political and cosmological symbolism in architecture and site plans, while detractors fault site-planning advocates for not being scientifically rigorous in their methods. Recently, the debate between the two sides has focused on whether or not the Maya created cosmograms in the layouts of their sites. Our recent investigations at La Milpa, Belize attempt to redirect s…
The Growth and Decline of the Ancient Maya City of La Milpa, Belize: New Data and New Perspectives From the Southern Plazas
Construction histories of ancient Maya monumental centers have long been used to interpret the growth and decline of Lowland Maya polities. Changes in the built environment at monumental centers reflect labor appropriation by ruling elites and may indirectly serve to gauge changes in political clout over time. Consequently, the precision and accuracy with which archaeologists measure these changes take on increased importance when assessing the a…
The Siren Site and the Long Transition from Archaic to Late Prehistoric Lifeways on the Eastern Edwards Plateau of Central Texas
On behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted testing and data recovery investigations at the Siren site (41WM1126), a prehistoric multi-component site in the Interstate Highway 35 right-of-way along the South Fork of the San Gabriel River in Williamson County, Texas. The work was done to fulfill TxDOT’s compliance obligations under the National Historic Preservation Act and the Antiq…
Ritual, Violence, and the Fall of the Classic Maya Kings
Ritual, Violence, and the Fall of the Classic Maya Kings
The age-old “scapegoat king” model suggests that Maya kings, like their counterparts in other early states throughout the world, were held responsible for the prosperity of their kingdoms. When they failed to meet their obligations, kings and their courts were subject to various forms of “termination,” including ritual defacing and destruction of their monuments, the breakage and burning of key symbols of authority, decommissioning of royal resid…
The Ancient Urban Maya: Neighborhoods, Inequality, and Built Form
The Ancient Urban Maya: Neighborhoods, Inequality, and Built Form." Journal of Field Archaeology, 42(2), pp. 161–162
The Strange Bedfellows of Northern Belize: British Colonialists, Confederate Dreamers, Creole Loggers, and the Caste War Maya of the Late Nineteenth Century
Kaxil Uinic: Archaeology at a San Pedro Maya Village in Belize
Approaches to Monumental Landscapes of the Ancient Maya
"This volume brings together a wide spectrum of new approaches to ancient Maya studies in an innovative exploration of how the Preclassic and Classic Maya shaped their world. Moving beyond the towering temples and palaces typically associated with the Maya civilization, contributors present unconventional examples of monumental Maya landscapes. Featuring studies from across the central Maya lowlands, Belize, and the northern and central Maya high…
Contextual and Compositional Comparisons of Abandonment-Related, on-Floor Deposits at Chan Chich, Belize
At Chan Chich, Belize, archaeologists have encountered Terminal Classic artifact scatters and piled artifact deposits in elite residential compounds near the epicenter of the site. This article presents a detailed comparison of four artifact deposits’ contexts and compositions to highlight similarities and differences among them. Commonly classified as “problematic deposits” in the field, all four examples considered here formed directly on floor…
The “Borders” of British Honduras and the San Pedro Maya of Kaxil Uinic Village
Having fled the violence of the Caste War in Mexico (1847−1901), the San Pedro Maya occupied nearly two dozen small villages in the forests of western British Honduras and the northeastern Peten from the 1850s to the 1930s. With no physically demarcated borders between British Honduras and its neighbors present prior to the late 1880s, archival and archaeological data demonstrate that the San Pedro Maya moved freely through the lightly populated …
Ancient Maya Patolli from Gallon Jug, Belize
Recent excavations at the site of Gallon Jug, a minor center in northwestern Belize, revealed multiple patolli boards incised into a well-preserved plaster floor in an unvaulted platform. A significant artifact deposit was placed directly on top of the patolli boards. In this report we describe the architectural context, associated artifact deposit, and the patolli boards themselves
Geoarchaeology and Agroecosystems of the Booth’s River Depression
Geoarchaeological and agroecological research in the Three Rivers Region of northwest Belize and specifically in the Booth’s River Depression started in the 1990s. Regional geology is structured by normal faults creating escarpments and depressions that evolve into fluvial karst valleys that host agroecosystem features including wetland fields, terraces, canals, dams, and reservoirs. Our initial research in the Three Rivers Region followed accoun…
Maya Ballcourts in the Southeastern Three Rivers Adaptive Region
This study reports on 26 Maya ballcourts in the southeastern Three Rivers adaptive region, many of which are newly identified through a 2022 lidar survey. We analyze the ballcourts in terms of their form, dimensions, orientations, and integration with processional and ceremonial architecture. Statistical analyses and comparisons with ballcourts from neighboring regions, including the Belize River Valley, Holmul, and the western and northeastern T…
A Late Postclassic Altar and Evidence of Monument Veneration at Two Maya Sites in Northwestern Belize
In northwestern Belize, evidence of Late Postclassic Maya presence is limited to deposits indicating brief visitations to former city centers. Here, we present recent research at the sites of Kaxil Uinik and Ayiin Winik that has identified Late Postclassic ritual offerings at reset Late Classic monuments, as well as the first reported Late Postclassic altar in the region. These activities fit into a broad pattern of Postclassic veneration of earl…
Archaeology (17 works) · Geography (14 works) · Maya (13 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (11 works) · History (11 works) · Latin American history and culture (8 works) · Political science (7 works) · Archaeology and Natural History (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Ancient history (5 works)