The Organization of Classic Maya Salt Production at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24019161 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Heather Mckillop (0000-0002-0790-6417, Louisiana State University), E Cory Sills (0000-0003-1103-6626, University of Texas) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-11 |
| Publication date | 2026-08-06 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Latin American Antiquity (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/laq.2026.10200 |
| OpenAlex | W7197016240 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 19 |
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 briquetage (broken salt pottery) indicating the pots were broken before transport, similar to ethnographic accounts at Sacapulas, Guatemala. Excavations at Jay-yi Na revealed open bowls and a lack of trade goods, different from the other sites. The results indicate that by the Late Classic there was surplus household production of salt by local salt workers. They were integrated into a variety of exchange systems, providing salt in exchange for other commodities.
Brine · Maya · Salt (chemistry) · Salt lake · Salt pan · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Historical Studies in Central America · Paleopathology and ancient diseases
Meridians of Salt
Salt Making and Pottery Production
Flooded mangrove landscapes hide ancient Maya coastal sites in Belize
Household Craft Production in the Prehispanic Urban Setting of Mayapán, Yucatan, Mexico
A Filtered Past
The ‘Briquetage de la Seille’ (Lorraine, France)
Maya Salt Works
The Rise of Secondary States in the Southeastern Periphery of the Maya World
Salt-Making in Mesoamerica
Ancient Maya submerged landscapes and invisible architecture at the Ch'ok Ayin residential household group, Belize
Briquetage and Brine
Formation of a Complex Polity on the Eastern Periphery of the Maya Lowlands
Household salt production by the Late Classic Maya
Earliest Ancient Maya salt production in southern Belize
Salt as a commodity or money in the Classic Maya economy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |