The long goodbye: New data from courtyard 100 on the occupational history of La Milpa, Belize

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2012-05

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Abstract

This thesis provides a detailed documentation and analysis of work conducted by the La Milpa Core Project (LMCP) in Courtyard 100, La Milpa, Belize during the 2009-2011 field seasons. Courtyard 100 is a small, private courtyard on the eastern periphery of the La Milpa site core. Research in this area has revealed several artifact deposits that attest to the variety of activities taking place in this area. This is a unique case at La Milpa. Excavations elsewhere in the site core often find clean rooms with little to no associated artifactual materials. Also, several radiocarbon samples have yielded dates in the Terminal and Postclassic periods. Traditional models state that La Milpa was abandoned by circa AD 850. The information revealed at Courtyard 100 stands in contrast to this conclusion and instead suggests a longer occupation, into the fourteenth century AD. This thesis will provide evidence for a complex and intricate history of activities in Courtyard 100, detailing the occupational periods and construction episodes documented on the structures surrounding the courtyard. It will also, through an analysis of excavations and artifactual materials, demonstrate how the information from investigations in the area can provide important clues about an underrepresented and poorly understood period of time at the site of La Milpa.

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Keywords

Archaeology, La Milpa, Maya arts, Excavations (Archaeology)

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