Heather Mckillop
Biographic Data
| ID | 208543 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Heather Mckillop |
| GIVEN NAMES | Heather |
| FAMILY NAME | Mckillop |
| SIGNATURE | MCKILLOP H |
| AFFILIATIONS | Louisiana State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0790-6417 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 33 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 324 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1984 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 10 |
The Organization of Classic Maya Salt Production at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize
Research was carried out over four field seasons at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize, to evaluate the organization of ancient Maya salt production. Excavations and mapping sea-floor artifacts at Ta’ab Nuk Na and Ek Way Nal revealed distinct patterns of artifacts associated with salt kitchens and residences. Salt production at both salt works focused on boiling brine in clay pots over fires inside buildings to make salt cakes, with abundant bri…
Ancient Maya Settlement Buried under Mangroves at Ek Way Nal, Belize
A 1.7 m marine sediment core was extracted from the Ek Way Nal underwater site to evaluate the impact of sea-level rise on the site. The location of the core was a narrow strip of land covered by living red mangroves ( Rhizophora mangle ) that bisects Ek Way Nal. If the site continued under the strip of land, then the core would have cultural material. Alternatively, the strip of land may have been present when the site was occupied. Loss-on igni…
Meridians of Salt: Global Perspectives on Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology
Ancient Maya submerged landscapes and invisible architecture at the Ch'ok Ayin residential household group, Belize
Pole-and-thatch structures built directly on the ground surface were likely common in antiquity in the Maya area as residences, kitchens, workshops, storehouses, and for other uses, although the actual wooden architecture normally decays and often leaves no mounded remains. Various estimates are made to account for these “invisible sites” in population estimates based on mound or plazuela groups. Wooden building posts and associated artifacts pre…
Earliest Ancient Maya salt production in southern Belize: Excavations at Jay-yi Nah
Salt works along the Yucatan coasts of Mexico and Belize provide a record of salt production for inland trade during the height of Late Classic Maya civilisation (AD 550-800). At the Paynes Creek Salt Works in Belize, production focused on the creation of salt cakes by boiling brine in pots supported over fires in dedicated salt kitchens. Underwater excavations at the Early Classic (AD 250-550) site of Jay-yi Nah now indicate there was a longer a…
Human–environment interactions at Ta'ab Nuk Na, a submerged Maya salt works site in Belize
Sea-level rise and settlement are investigated at Ta'ab Nuk Na, an ancient Maya salt works in Belize, by examining samples from wooden posts and marine sediment. The samples included Post 145 of Building B and the Nunavut beam, along with marine sediment columns cut from beside both wooden posts. The sediment columns were sampled at 2 cm intervals. Loss-on ignition confirmed the presence of organic material. Identifying the organic content involv…
Flooded mangrove landscapes hide ancient Maya coastal sites in Belize
Evidence of ancient Maya exploitation of salt, other marine resources, settlement, and sea trade is hidden in flooded mangrove landscapes on the cays, mainland, and in shallow offshore locations on the south coast of Belize. This article includes a discussion of the coastal economy from the Middle Preclassic through the Postclassic periods (600 B.C.–A.D. 1500). Data from sites discovered and excavated since 1982 in the coastal area of the Port Ho…
Briquetage and Brine: Living and Working at the Classic Maya Salt Works of Ek Way Nal, Belize
Systematic flotation survey and spatial analysis of artifacts at the submerged salt work of Ek Way Nal reveal evidence of a residence, salt kitchens, and additional activities. Ek Way Nal is one of 110 salt works associated with a Late to Terminal Classic (A.D. 600–900) salt industry known as the Paynes Creek Salt Works. Wooden posts that form the walls of 10 buildings are remarkably preserved in a peat bog below the sea floor providing an opport…
Household salt production by the Late Classic Maya: Underwater excavations at Ta'ab Nuk Na
Salt is an essential commodity; archaeological remains around the world attest to the importance of its production, exchange and consumption. Often located in coastal locations, many production sites were submerged by rising seas, including the Paynes Creek Salt Works on the southern Belize coast. Survey and excavation of these sites has identified 'kitchens' for brine boiling, as well as Terminal Classic residential structures at Ek Way Nal. The…
Salt as a commodity or money in the Classic Maya economy
A Filtered Past: Interpreting Salt Production and Trade Models from Two Remnant Brine-Enrichment Mounds at the Ancient Maya Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize
The mounds at Witz Naab and Killer Bee are the only known remaining aboveground evidence of a once-thriving salt industry in Punta Ycacos Lagoon, a large saltwater system in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize. Over one hundred ancient Maya salt works dated to the Classic period (a.d. 300–900) have been submerged by sea-level rise in the lagoon. We have hypothesized that mounds were once numerous features on the landscape prior to a sea-level rise…
Demystifying jadeite: An underwater Maya discovery at Ek Way Nal, Belize
Maya Salt Works
Specialized Salt Production During the Ancient Maya Classic Period at Two Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize: Chan b’i and Atz’aam Na
Underwater excavations at the Classic period (a.d. 300–900) ancient Maya salt works of Chan b’i and Atz’aam Na in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize, reveal activity areas associated with a substantial salt industry for distribution to nearby southern Maya inland sites where this biological requirement was scarce. Wooden architecture and salt making artifacts are abundantly preserved in a peat bog composed of red mangrove. Excavations, screening,…
Chemical signatures of ancient activities at Chan b'i - A submerged Maya salt works, Belize
Fuelling the Ancient Maya Salt Industry
Print edition of May–Jun Anthropology News
The bimonthly print version of Anthropology News combines the best of anthropology‐news.org with traditional newsletter content. This issue includes: DIALOGUE FROM THE AAA BLOG | Science, Advocacy and Anthropology OPINION ANTHROPOLOGY AND ACTIVISIM | The Evolution of Anonymous ARCHEOLOGY IN NORTH AMERICA | Acknowledging Bias in Archaeology IN FOCUS ADVOCACY | The Anthropologist's Mission is Ambiguous: Understand or Change? ADVOCACY | Sustainabili…
Ancient Maya wood selection and forest exploitation: A view from the Paynes Creek salt works, Belize
In Search of Maya Sea Traders
Dental Indicators of Diet and Health for the Postclassic Coastal Maya on Wild Cane Cay, Belize
Dental indicators of health and subsistence for Postclassic Maya from the island site of Wild Cane Cay, off the coast of southern Belize, are examined. A total of 213 teeth were recovered from 26 individuals in Fighting Conch Mound. This survey documents dental wear, calculus, alveolar resorption, caries, and alveolar abscesses. This study excludes deciduous teeth. The total sample examined in this study contains 188 teeth from 19 adults. In gene…
In Search of Maya Sea Traders
Stone temples rising above the rainforest canopy and elaborate hieroglyphs carved onto stone monuments give silent testimony to the high culture of the Maya ancestors of the indigenous peoples of Central America. They have inspired generations of archaeologists, professional and avocational, to take to the field in search of the past.One such archaeologist is Heather McKillop, who in 1979 first visited the coast of Belize in search of a little-kn…
The Aftermath of Hurrican Katrina
The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives
Thanks to powerful innovations in archaeology and other types of historical research, we now have a picture of everyday life in the Mayan empire that turns the long-accepted conventional wisdom on its head. Ranging from the end of the Ice Age to the flourishing of Mayan culture in the first millennium to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century,The Ancient Mayatakes a fresh look at a culture that has long held the public's imagination. Originally…
The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives
Thanks to powerful innovations in archaeology and other types of historical research, we now have a picture of everyday life in the Mayan empire that turns the long-accepted conventional wisdom on its head. Ranging from the end of the Ice Age to the flourishing of Mayan culture in the first millennium to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, The Ancient Maya takes a fresh look at a culture that has long held the public's imagination. Original…
Last Rites for the Tipu Maya: Genetic Structuring in a Colonial Cemetery
Last Rites for the Tipu Maya: Genetic Structuring in. Colonial Cemetery. Keith P. Jacobi. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2000. 400 pp
Determining the Geological Provenance of Obsidian Artifacts from the Maya Region: A Test of the Efficacy of Visual Sourcing
During the last four decades, mesoamerican archaeologists regularly have employed various chemical assay techniques to determine the geological sources of obsidian artifacts. In recent years, the reliability of these analytical procedures has increased and their costs have declined, encouraging the assay of ever larger samples. Nonetheless, several constraints make it unlikely that compositional data will be used routinely to attribute entire col…
Itza Maya Tropical Agro-Forestry [and Comments and Replies]
Underwater Archaeology, Salt Production, and Coastal Maya Trade at Stingray Lagoon, Belize
Ancient sources of salt have been revealed by underwater archaeology along the south coast of Belize. A relative rise in sea level of about 1 m at the end of the Classic period (ca. A. D. 900) submerged ancient Maya settlements and transformed the modern landscape by reducing the amount of available land and by changing the vegetation. The discovery of submerged archaeological sites and their dating by associated ceramics and radiocarbon date det…
Ancient Maya Trading Ports and the Integration of Long-Distance and Regional Economies: Wild Cane Cay in South-Coastal Belize
The importance of Maya sea trade was the sea's integrating role as provider of ritual and subsistence resources and ritual symbolism in the Maya economy. Coastal as opposed to inland transportation of obsidian and other exotics was enhanced because of coastal–inland exchange within the southern Maya lowlands. Results are presented on fieldwork conducted to investigate Maya sea trade by the South Coastal Archaeology in Belize (SCAB) project in the…
Prehistoric exploitation of the manatee in the Maya and circum-Caribbean areas
The prehistoric exploitation of the large sea‐cow, manatee, in the Maya and circum‐Caribbean areas is examined in terms of the factors that may have contributed to the selection of animal resources for human consumption. Ecological, historic, and ethnographic information on the Caribbean manatee contribute to an understanding of its prehistoric exploitation. A model of animal resource selection is discussed, whereby the reliable recovery of signi…
Maya Salt Works
Ancient Maya Tree Cropping: A viable subsistence adaptation for the island Maya
The predominance of tree crops among abundant, well-preserved plant food remains from coastal sites in southern Belize suggests that these island Maya had a specialized subsistence focus. Limited arable land on offshore islands, together with a maritime economy, may have been important factors in the use of tree crops. The Wild Cane Cay Maya utilized a variety of native palm fruits –Orbignya cohune, Acrocomia mexicana, andBactris major, as well a…
Salt as a commodity or money in the Classic Maya economy
Fuelling the Ancient Maya Salt Industry
Ancient Maya wood selection and forest exploitation: A view from the Paynes Creek salt works, Belize
Prehistoric Maya Reliance on Marine Resources: Analysis of a Midden from Moho Cay, Belize
Investigations of a prehistoric Maya island community on Moho Cay, located near the mouth of the Belize River, Belize, Central America, led to discovery of a Middle Classic Period (400–700 A.C.) midden with well preserved animal bone and shell. The midden is described, and recovered animal remains quantified by the total bone or shell weight of each species. Estimates are made of total edible meat weights. The Moho Cay midden data define a subsis…
Briquetage and Brine: Living and Working at the Classic Maya Salt Works of Ek Way Nal, Belize
Systematic flotation survey and spatial analysis of artifacts at the submerged salt work of Ek Way Nal reveal evidence of a residence, salt kitchens, and additional activities. Ek Way Nal is one of 110 salt works associated with a Late to Terminal Classic (A.D. 600–900) salt industry known as the Paynes Creek Salt Works. Wooden posts that form the walls of 10 buildings are remarkably preserved in a peat bog below the sea floor providing an opport…
Household salt production by the Late Classic Maya: Underwater excavations at Ta'ab Nuk Na
Salt is an essential commodity; archaeological remains around the world attest to the importance of its production, exchange and consumption. Often located in coastal locations, many production sites were submerged by rising seas, including the Paynes Creek Salt Works on the southern Belize coast. Survey and excavation of these sites has identified 'kitchens' for brine boiling, as well as Terminal Classic residential structures at Ek Way Nal. The…
Demystifying jadeite: An underwater Maya discovery at Ek Way Nal, Belize
Earliest Ancient Maya salt production in southern Belize: Excavations at Jay-yi Nah
Salt works along the Yucatan coasts of Mexico and Belize provide a record of salt production for inland trade during the height of Late Classic Maya civilisation (AD 550-800). At the Paynes Creek Salt Works in Belize, production focused on the creation of salt cakes by boiling brine in pots supported over fires in dedicated salt kitchens. Underwater excavations at the Early Classic (AD 250-550) site of Jay-yi Nah now indicate there was a longer a…
Specialized Salt Production During the Ancient Maya Classic Period at Two Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize: Chan b’i and Atz’aam Na
Underwater excavations at the Classic period (a.d. 300–900) ancient Maya salt works of Chan b’i and Atz’aam Na in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize, reveal activity areas associated with a substantial salt industry for distribution to nearby southern Maya inland sites where this biological requirement was scarce. Wooden architecture and salt making artifacts are abundantly preserved in a peat bog composed of red mangrove. Excavations, screening,…
Last Rites for the Tipu Maya: Genetic Structuring in a Colonial Cemetery
Last Rites for the Tipu Maya: Genetic Structuring in. Colonial Cemetery. Keith P. Jacobi. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2000. 400 pp
Recognizing children’s graves in nineteenth-century cemeteries: Excavations in St. Thomas Anglican Churchyard, Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Human–environment interactions at Ta'ab Nuk Na, a submerged Maya salt works site in Belize
Sea-level rise and settlement are investigated at Ta'ab Nuk Na, an ancient Maya salt works in Belize, by examining samples from wooden posts and marine sediment. The samples included Post 145 of Building B and the Nunavut beam, along with marine sediment columns cut from beside both wooden posts. The sediment columns were sampled at 2 cm intervals. Loss-on ignition confirmed the presence of organic material. Identifying the organic content involv…
Flooded mangrove landscapes hide ancient Maya coastal sites in Belize
Evidence of ancient Maya exploitation of salt, other marine resources, settlement, and sea trade is hidden in flooded mangrove landscapes on the cays, mainland, and in shallow offshore locations on the south coast of Belize. This article includes a discussion of the coastal economy from the Middle Preclassic through the Postclassic periods (600 B.C.–A.D. 1500). Data from sites discovered and excavated since 1982 in the coastal area of the Port Ho…
A Filtered Past: Interpreting Salt Production and Trade Models from Two Remnant Brine-Enrichment Mounds at the Ancient Maya Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize
The mounds at Witz Naab and Killer Bee are the only known remaining aboveground evidence of a once-thriving salt industry in Punta Ycacos Lagoon, a large saltwater system in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize. Over one hundred ancient Maya salt works dated to the Classic period (a.d. 300–900) have been submerged by sea-level rise in the lagoon. We have hypothesized that mounds were once numerous features on the landscape prior to a sea-level rise…
Chemical signatures of ancient activities at Chan b'i - A submerged Maya salt works, Belize
Dental Indicators of Diet and Health for the Postclassic Coastal Maya on Wild Cane Cay, Belize
Dental indicators of health and subsistence for Postclassic Maya from the island site of Wild Cane Cay, off the coast of southern Belize, are examined. A total of 213 teeth were recovered from 26 individuals in Fighting Conch Mound. This survey documents dental wear, calculus, alveolar resorption, caries, and alveolar abscesses. This study excludes deciduous teeth. The total sample examined in this study contains 188 teeth from 19 adults. In gene…
The Aftermath of Hurrican Katrina
Prehistoric Maya Reliance on Marine Resources: Analysis of a Midden from Moho Cay, Belize
Investigations of a prehistoric Maya island community on Moho Cay, located near the mouth of the Belize River, Belize, Central America, led to discovery of a Middle Classic Period (400–700 A.C.) midden with well preserved animal bone and shell. The midden is described, and recovered animal remains quantified by the total bone or shell weight of each species. Estimates are made of total edible meat weights. The Moho Cay midden data define a subsis…
Prehistoric exploitation of the manatee in the Maya and circum-Caribbean areas
The prehistoric exploitation of the large sea‐cow, manatee, in the Maya and circum‐Caribbean areas is examined in terms of the factors that may have contributed to the selection of animal resources for human consumption. Ecological, historic, and ethnographic information on the Caribbean manatee contribute to an understanding of its prehistoric exploitation. A model of animal resource selection is discussed, whereby the reliable recovery of signi…
Itza Maya Tropical Agro-Forestry [and Comments and Replies]
Ancient Maya Tree Cropping: A viable subsistence adaptation for the island Maya
The predominance of tree crops among abundant, well-preserved plant food remains from coastal sites in southern Belize suggests that these island Maya had a specialized subsistence focus. Limited arable land on offshore islands, together with a maritime economy, may have been important factors in the use of tree crops. The Wild Cane Cay Maya utilized a variety of native palm fruits –Orbignya cohune, Acrocomia mexicana, andBactris major, as well a…
Recognizing children’s graves in nineteenth-century cemeteries: Excavations in St. Thomas Anglican Churchyard, Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Underwater Archaeology, Salt Production, and Coastal Maya Trade at Stingray Lagoon, Belize
Ancient sources of salt have been revealed by underwater archaeology along the south coast of Belize. A relative rise in sea level of about 1 m at the end of the Classic period (ca. A. D. 900) submerged ancient Maya settlements and transformed the modern landscape by reducing the amount of available land and by changing the vegetation. The discovery of submerged archaeological sites and their dating by associated ceramics and radiocarbon date det…
Ancient Maya Trading Ports and the Integration of Long-Distance and Regional Economies: Wild Cane Cay in South-Coastal Belize
The importance of Maya sea trade was the sea's integrating role as provider of ritual and subsistence resources and ritual symbolism in the Maya economy. Coastal as opposed to inland transportation of obsidian and other exotics was enhanced because of coastal–inland exchange within the southern Maya lowlands. Results are presented on fieldwork conducted to investigate Maya sea trade by the South Coastal Archaeology in Belize (SCAB) project in the…
Determining the Geological Provenance of Obsidian Artifacts from the Maya Region: A Test of the Efficacy of Visual Sourcing
During the last four decades, mesoamerican archaeologists regularly have employed various chemical assay techniques to determine the geological sources of obsidian artifacts. In recent years, the reliability of these analytical procedures has increased and their costs have declined, encouraging the assay of ever larger samples. Nonetheless, several constraints make it unlikely that compositional data will be used routinely to attribute entire col…
Last Rites for the Tipu Maya: Genetic Structuring in a Colonial Cemetery
Last Rites for the Tipu Maya: Genetic Structuring in. Colonial Cemetery. Keith P. Jacobi. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2000. 400 pp
The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives
Thanks to powerful innovations in archaeology and other types of historical research, we now have a picture of everyday life in the Mayan empire that turns the long-accepted conventional wisdom on its head. Ranging from the end of the Ice Age to the flourishing of Mayan culture in the first millennium to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century,The Ancient Mayatakes a fresh look at a culture that has long held the public's imagination. Originally…
The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives
Thanks to powerful innovations in archaeology and other types of historical research, we now have a picture of everyday life in the Mayan empire that turns the long-accepted conventional wisdom on its head. Ranging from the end of the Ice Age to the flourishing of Mayan culture in the first millennium to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, The Ancient Maya takes a fresh look at a culture that has long held the public's imagination. Original…
The Aftermath of Hurrican Katrina
In Search of Maya Sea Traders
Stone temples rising above the rainforest canopy and elaborate hieroglyphs carved onto stone monuments give silent testimony to the high culture of the Maya ancestors of the indigenous peoples of Central America. They have inspired generations of archaeologists, professional and avocational, to take to the field in search of the past.One such archaeologist is Heather McKillop, who in 1979 first visited the coast of Belize in search of a little-kn…
Dental Indicators of Diet and Health for the Postclassic Coastal Maya on Wild Cane Cay, Belize
Dental indicators of health and subsistence for Postclassic Maya from the island site of Wild Cane Cay, off the coast of southern Belize, are examined. A total of 213 teeth were recovered from 26 individuals in Fighting Conch Mound. This survey documents dental wear, calculus, alveolar resorption, caries, and alveolar abscesses. This study excludes deciduous teeth. The total sample examined in this study contains 188 teeth from 19 adults. In gene…
In Search of Maya Sea Traders
Print edition of May–Jun Anthropology News
The bimonthly print version of Anthropology News combines the best of anthropology‐news.org with traditional newsletter content. This issue includes: DIALOGUE FROM THE AAA BLOG | Science, Advocacy and Anthropology OPINION ANTHROPOLOGY AND ACTIVISIM | The Evolution of Anonymous ARCHEOLOGY IN NORTH AMERICA | Acknowledging Bias in Archaeology IN FOCUS ADVOCACY | The Anthropologist's Mission is Ambiguous: Understand or Change? ADVOCACY | Sustainabili…
Ancient Maya wood selection and forest exploitation: A view from the Paynes Creek salt works, Belize
Fuelling the Ancient Maya Salt Industry
Chemical signatures of ancient activities at Chan b'i - A submerged Maya salt works, Belize
Specialized Salt Production During the Ancient Maya Classic Period at Two Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize: Chan b’i and Atz’aam Na
Underwater excavations at the Classic period (a.d. 300–900) ancient Maya salt works of Chan b’i and Atz’aam Na in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize, reveal activity areas associated with a substantial salt industry for distribution to nearby southern Maya inland sites where this biological requirement was scarce. Wooden architecture and salt making artifacts are abundantly preserved in a peat bog composed of red mangrove. Excavations, screening,…
A Filtered Past: Interpreting Salt Production and Trade Models from Two Remnant Brine-Enrichment Mounds at the Ancient Maya Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize
The mounds at Witz Naab and Killer Bee are the only known remaining aboveground evidence of a once-thriving salt industry in Punta Ycacos Lagoon, a large saltwater system in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize. Over one hundred ancient Maya salt works dated to the Classic period (a.d. 300–900) have been submerged by sea-level rise in the lagoon. We have hypothesized that mounds were once numerous features on the landscape prior to a sea-level rise…
Demystifying jadeite: An underwater Maya discovery at Ek Way Nal, Belize
Maya Salt Works
Salt as a commodity or money in the Classic Maya economy
Household salt production by the Late Classic Maya: Underwater excavations at Ta'ab Nuk Na
Salt is an essential commodity; archaeological remains around the world attest to the importance of its production, exchange and consumption. Often located in coastal locations, many production sites were submerged by rising seas, including the Paynes Creek Salt Works on the southern Belize coast. Survey and excavation of these sites has identified 'kitchens' for brine boiling, as well as Terminal Classic residential structures at Ek Way Nal. The…
Archaeology (26 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (23 works) · Geography (22 works) · Maya (22 works) · Geology (11 works) · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (11 works) · History (10 works) · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology (10 works) · Art (8 works) · Mangrove (8 works)