Shell Games

A Middle Preclassic Shell Deposit at the Minor Center of Tutu Uitz Na in the Upper Belize River Valley

Dados Bibliográficos

ID7445690
AutoresMichael Biggie (autor correspondente), John P Walden (0000-0002-7703-0748), John Walden (0000-0001-6290-0360), Kyle Shaw-Müller (0000-0002-0600-1149), Michael Louis Petrozza, Olivia P Ellis, Ian N Roa, Norbert Stanchly, Rafael A Guerra, Claire E Ebert (0000-0002-8554-2727), Julie A Hoggarth (0000-0001-8612-8846), Jaime J Awe (0000-0002-0242-0696)
Ano2023
Volume35
Fascículo3
Páginas771-778
Data de publicação2023-08-02
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/laq.2023.15
OpenAlexW4385494887
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas5
Referências citadas5

Recent excavations at the ancient Maya minor center of Tutu Uitz Na in the Belize River Valley revealed an especially large—about 20 million shells—Middle Preclassic (900–300 BC) shell deposit underlying the plaza. Although marine shell species make up a small percentage of the assemblage, most shells are Pachychilus spp., a common freshwater snail known in the southern Maya Lowlands as jute . This report describes the architectural context and assemblage of the deposit and compares it to similar examples in the region. We propose that the Tutu Uitz Na deposit provides one of the earliest examples of depictions of the Maya primordial sea in an architectural context

Archaeology · Assemblage (archaeology · Context (archaeology · Excavation · Geography · Maya · Shell (structure · Archaeological and Geological Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Engineering · Historical Studies on Spain · Geology