Colha, Belize

This article is part of a series on the
Maya civilization
Drawing of a Mayan stone carving with elaborate decoration.
History
Spanish conquest of the Maya

Colha, Belize is a Maya archaeological site located in northern portion of the country, about 52 km. north of Belize City, near the town of Orange Walk. The site is one of the earliest in the Maya region and remains important to the archaeological record of the Maya culture well into the Postclassic Period. According to Palma Buttles, “Archaeological evidence from Colha allows for the interpretation occupation from the Early Preceramic (3400-1900B.C.) to Middle Postclassic (A.D. 1150-1300) with population peaks occurring in the Late Preclassic (400B.C.- A.D. 100) and again in the Late Classic ( A.D. 600-850)”.[1] These peaks in population are directly related to the presence of stone tool workshops at the site. Colha's proximity to an important source of high quality chert that is found in the Cenozoic limestone of the region[2] and well traveled trade routes was utilized by the inhabitants to develop a niche in the Maya trade market that may have extended to the Greater Antilles.[3] During the Late Preclassic and Late Classic periods, Colha served as a primary supplier of worked stone tools for the region. It has been estimated that the 36 workshops at Colha produced nearly 4 million chert and obsidian tools and eccentrics that were dispersed throughout Mesoamerica during the Maya era.[4][5] This made it an important player in the trade of essential good throughout the area.

  1. ^ Buttles, Palma J. 2002. Material and Meaning: A Contextual Examination of Select Portable Material Culture from Colha, Belize. Dissertation for University of Texas at Austin.
  2. ^ Jones, John G. 1994. Pollen Evidence from Early Settlement and Agriculture in Northern Belize. Palynology. Vol. 18; 205-211
  3. ^ Wilson, Samuel M.; Iceland, Harry B.; Hester, Thomas R. 1998. Preceramic Connections Between Yucatan and the Caribbean. Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 9(4): 342-352.
  4. ^ Brown DO, Dreiss ML, and Hughes RE. 2004. Preclassic Obsidian Procurement and Utilization at the Maya Site of Colha, Belize. Latin American Antiquity 15(2):222-240
  5. ^ Santone L. 1997. Transport Costs, Consumer Demand, and Patterns of Intraregional Exchange: A Perspective on Commodity Production and Distribution from Northern Belize. Latin American Antiquity 8(1):71-88.