Jaime Awe
Jaime Awe is a Professor of Anthropology at Northern Arizona University, senior Co-Director of the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project, and Emeritus Member of the Belize Institute of Archaeology. His research and publications cover topics that span from the Preceramic period to the time of European contact, with particular focus on the ancient rise and decline of cultural complexity in western Belize, ancient Maya response to environmental stress, and regional interaction in the Maya lowlands. In recognition of his scholarly contributions, he has received several prestigious awards, including the 2022 Society for American Archaeology Award for Excellence in Latin American & Caribbean Archaeology, the 2020 Phi Kappa Phi Faculty Scholar at Northern Arizona University, the 2019 Belize Person of the Year, and a 2017 Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Field Discovery Award. Presently, Awe continues his active program of research and conservation, conducting regional and multi-disciplinary investigations with his colleagues and students at the major Belize Valley Maya sites of Cahal Pech, Baking Pot, Xunantunich, and Lower Dover.
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polished groundstone items have been recovered, little research has focused on their distribution and function in the archaeological record. An evaluation of these items from primary contexts provides data for determining how they were used in daily social and/or ritual activities throughout the lowlands. Comparative data from other regions of Mesoamerica are also discussed. A detailed geological and petrographic pilot study of a sample of greenstone triangulates is provided, pointing conclusively to early, long-distance and complex exchange networks in exotic raw materials.
Follow the linked URL for free access before November 11th, 2016. After that date, I will be happy to provide copies for personal use upon request. - SH
Researchers have yet to agree on the reasons for its appearance and widespread distribution in a region that is
over 150 km away from known volcanic activity. To examine the issue of ash tempering, the authors
implemented petrographic thin section analysis on ceramic samples from centres that have been the focus of
Trent University investigations in Belize. We present the preliminary results describing petrological
characteristics and contextual evidence, to understand the production and distribution of these Maya ash wares.
The samples originate from Cunil ceramic complex (1100-900 BCE) and Spanish Lookout phase (CE 700-900)
contexts from the sites of Caracol (Healy et al. 1983), Caledonia (Healy et al. 1998), Mountain Cow (Morris
2004), Pacbitun (Healy 1990; Sunahara 1995), Moho Cay (Healy et al. 1984), and Cahal Pech (Awe 1992).
There were two main objectives to this investigation. First was to expand the spatial extent of petrographically
analysed ceramic samples from Late Classic centres, integrating new samples into a body of previous research
(Chartrand 2005; Sunahara 2003) and adding to an understanding of terminal Late Classic production and
distribution of volcanic ash tempered ceramics. The second goal was to expand the diachronic breadth of
cumulative research initiatives by including Cunil complex Preclassic material (Sullivan and Awe 2013). The
aim was to gain an understanding of spatial and diachronic similarities and variations in production and
distribution.
The ancient Maya expressed complex ideological and cosmological systems through diverse material practices. The ritual caching of objects, particularly offerings of chert and obsidian eccentrics, was a common manifestation of this integrated worldview throughout the Maya Lowlands. The study of these caches allows archaeologists to explore elements of ancient Maya ideology, which were shared across broad temporal and spatial landscapes. With over 100 years of previous archaeological research, the Belize Valley is an ideal locale for understanding regional caching practices. At the major civic-ceremonial center of Xunantunich, recent work by Dr. Jaime Awe and the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project revealed the presence of several dedicatory caches from the Late Classic Period, adding to the corpus of known caches in the valley. An examination of eccentric morphology and cache context from the Belize Valley elucidates the manifestation of strong regional traditions and pan-Maya ideology, as well as provides insight into access and consumption of local and long distance trade commodities.