Author: PENDERGAST, DAVID M.
Title: Excavations at Altun Ha, Belize. 1964-70. Volume 1 + 2
Description: Ontario : Royal Ontario Museum, 1979-82.. Both volumes are . Illustrated throughout with b/w plans, maps and sketches Vol. 1: XI +226 p..; 78 b/w figs., 44 b/w plates, 29 loose plans, Vol. 2: : XII+ 305 p,,with loose plans, bibliogr.. 31 x 24 x 10 cm. HARDCOVER: (Oriig. illust. green wrappers with white lettering .Seated within green cardboard Slipcase with gold lettering to cover and spine. AS NEW) ¶ Altun Ha is the name given ruins of an ancient Maya city in Belize, located in the Belize District about 30 miles (50 km) north of Belize City and about 6 miles (10 km) west of the shore of the Caribbean Sea."Altun Ha" is a modern name in the Maya language, coined by translating the name of the nearby village of Rockstone Pond. The ancient name is at present unknown.The largest of Altun Ha's temple-pyramids, the "Temple of the Masonry Altars", is 54 feet (16 m) high. A drawing of this structure is the logo of Belize's leading brand of beer, "Belikin".The site covers an area of about 5 miles (8 km) square. The central square mile of the site has remains of some 500 structures. Archeological investigations show that Altun Ha was occupied by 200 BC. The bulk of construction was from the Maya Classic era, c. 200 to 900 AD, when the site may have had a population of about 10,000 people. About 900 there was some looting of elite tombs of the site, which some think is suggestive of a revolt against the site's rulers. The site remained populated for about another century after that, but with no new major ceremonial or elite architecture built during that time. After this the population dwindled, with a moderate surge of reoccupation in the 12th century before declining again to a small agricultural village.

Keywords: Latin America Central America Belize Maya Archaeology pre-Columbian Cultural history Ehnography Anthropology


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