Cerros (Cerro Maya):centre of maritime trade
Located on a peninsula across from the town of Corozal and in the Bay of Chetumal, this site was important as a coastal trading center during the Late Preclassic Period (C.a 350 B.C. to A.D. 250). Its tallest temple rises 21 meters above the plaza floor and residences of the past elite are now being washed by the, bay waters. The name is Spanish for "hill" and the translation is "Maya Hill".
Cerros can be reached by a short boat ride from Corozal. Boats can be hired in town where hotel accomodations are also available. During the dry season, between January and April, one can reach Cerros by road in a rented vehicle passing such picturesque towns as Chunox, Progresso and Copper Bank and their beautiful lagoons.
Historical context Cerros is a Late Preclassic centre with virtually no later additions to its structures, indicating an early demise. David Freidel's 1973-1979 excavations revealed that the site underwent a transition "from local resource dependency during its initial occupation to regional interaction of goods and services during its final occupation." It was, then, a trading centre probably based on the sea-borne import of jade and obsidian. Its early decline was possible due to the "general shift of trade routes connecting the highlands and lowlands in the Early Classic. "
The site
The Cerro Maya ("Maya Hill") Archaeological Reserve consists of 52.62 acres and includes three large acropolises dominating several plazas flanked by pyramidal structures. Two structures are known to possess facades with 2 - 4 metre (6.5 - 13 ft.) high masks. Tombs and ball courts have been excavated and many artifacts found, demonstrating the importance of the site during the 400 B.C. - 100 A.D. period. The civic- ceremonial centre covers an area of .75 km. (.5 sq. mile) with the tallest structure rising 22 metres (72 ft.) above plaza level. The site's adjacency to the sea has meant that the two large structures are being eroded; the rate of erosion and lack of funding for maintenance has unfortunately necessitated covering the masks with plaster.
Archaeological work
Thomas Gann was among the first to recognize the existence of a Maya site at Cerros, but it was not until 1969 that Peter Schmidt and Joseph Palacio visited it and registered the site with the Department of Archaeology.
The land on which the site is located was acquired by Metroplex Properties Inc., a Texas operation and a development foundation called the Cerro Maya Foundation was formed in Dallas as a nonprofit organization to excavate, consolidate and reconstruct the ceremonial centre as a tourist attraction: plans were made for a research centre, on-site museum, hotel and swimming pool. The Cerro Maya Foundation under Metroplex Properties Inc. subsequently went bankrupt and the large-scale development of the site was never realized.
The site was eventually surveyed, excavated and partially consolidated from 1973 to 1979 by David Freidel of Southern Methodist University; Freidel focused on the ceremonial centre, its outliers and on the importance of trade at Cerro Maya. In 1983 Cathy Crane, a doctoral student at the same university tested ancient canals and associated structures at the site for pollen and other organic remains. Since then no further work has been carried out.
Cerros was a thriving community in the Late Formative Period due to its location on the circumpeninsula trading route. A fishing village for its first 300 years, Cerros covered about seven acres and consisted of approximately 38 pole and thatch buildings which would have housed approximately 500 people. Occasionally built on low clay platforms, these huts were rethatched every 30 years much as they are today. Burial and storage pits were sunk into the trash accumulations (midden) in the adjacent patio areas. The importance of trade at this early period is indicated by a large low platform and jetty on the water, west of the village. Cerros was the main distributor of salt from the north coast mining communities and is known to have traded chert tools from nearby Colha, up the New River, to Lamanai. There is evidence of non-local materials such as volcanic hematite and greenstone. Obsidian and jade materials came from as far away as Guatemala and El Salvador. The cerros ceramics combine foreign artistic elements and firing techniques with local ones.
The fluorescence of the lowland Maya centers and their demand for trade goods triggered a new phase of development at Cerros which transformed the village to an urban center. A 3600 foot canal, 18 feet wide and 6 feet deep, was built to surround 91 acres and served as part of the drainage system for the maize, squash, bean and cotton crops. Within this structure was built a ceremonial center which included four pyramids, their associated plazas and buildings, 103 public and private structures, two ball courts and accommodations for approximately 400 people. House mounds decrease ,in density outside the canal perimeter. All of the pyramids were decorated with stucco images but have been temporarily covered by the Belizean government to prevent the limestone from weathering.
The Mesoamerican ball game was both recreational and ceremonial in nature. Often the game was played to determine the outcome of future events (the losers being sacrificed) but it was also played for recreational pleasure. The ball game was played with a solid rubber ball in a formal court. The object was to score by propelling the ball through rings on the side walls. Some courts, lacking rings, have markers on the sides or center of the court floor.
The two ball courts at Cerros are an interesting feature. A common occurrence at preColombian Mesoamerican sites and often found at Late Classic Maya sites, it is rare that they appear during the Early Classic Period. It is assumed the game originated in the lowlands (the ball was made of rubber, a lowland plant) but only two ball courts from the Early Classic Period have been reported, at Palenque and Copan. It is interesting that both cities are located on the periphery of the Maya area, as is Cerros.
Dr. Freidel suggests that a change in the way the game was played would affect the court construction and perhaps evidence from this period remains unrecognized. Perhaps the reasons the game was played did not exist throughout the Early Classic.
The open-ended ball courts consist of a raised playing alley flanked by two parallel buildings. These buildings have broad, low benches that face the alley and have battered, sloped surfaces, indicating they were within fair play. The central court markers have been removed. There were summit access stairs at the backs of the buildings.
Construction technique generally followed that of the other major buildings at Cerros. An initial layer of white lime, followed by a layer of dark grey marl and trash (habitation debris), then by brownish/red dirt with cobbles which was then covered by a thick hard plaster floor over the playing area (the alley and walls).
At the close of the Formative Period trade routes changed. Overland routes controlled by the other Maya centers came into primary usage while the coastal routes became less frequented. Cerros declined and the main buildings were ritualistically abandoned. Pottery was smashed and deposited in front of the facades, fires were set against the masks and the stone markers in the ball courts were removed A dispersed population continued to live outside the ceremonial districts until the Early Classic Period, but Cerros never regained its position of importance.
Locale and access
Cerro Maya's location on the shore of Corozal Bay permits a range of water sports; part of the site remains under forest coverage, with the panorama of the Bay below.
New River empties into the Bay 2 kilometres (1.5 miles) southwest of Cerro Maya. The river, with its rain- forested banks and associated wildlife formed an important link with Lamanai when the site was flourishing.
Cerros is a short boat ride from Corozal Town, where boats can be hired and accommodation is available. During the dry season, January to April, Cerros can be reached in a rented vehicle by the road which passes through Chunox, Progresso and Copper Bank villages with their beautiful lagoons. No facilities are available at the site itself and insect repellent is needed.
Located on a peninsula across from the town of Corozal and in the Bay of Chetumal, this site was important as a coastal trading center during the Late Preclassic Period (C.a 350 B.C. to A.D. 250). Its tallest temple rises 21 meters above the plaza floor and residences of the past elite are now being washed by the, bay waters. The name is Spanish for "hill" and the translation is "Maya Hill".
Cerros can be reached by a short boat ride from Corozal. Boats can be hired in town where hotel accomodations are also available. During the dry season, between January and April, one can reach Cerros by road in a rented vehicle passing such picturesque towns as Chunox, Progresso and Copper Bank and their beautiful lagoons.
Historical context Cerros is a Late Preclassic centre with virtually no later additions to its structures, indicating an early demise. David Freidel's 1973-1979 excavations revealed that the site underwent a transition "from local resource dependency during its initial occupation to regional interaction of goods and services during its final occupation." It was, then, a trading centre probably based on the sea-borne import of jade and obsidian. Its early decline was possible due to the "general shift of trade routes connecting the highlands and lowlands in the Early Classic. "
The site
The Cerro Maya ("Maya Hill") Archaeological Reserve consists of 52.62 acres and includes three large acropolises dominating several plazas flanked by pyramidal structures. Two structures are known to possess facades with 2 - 4 metre (6.5 - 13 ft.) high masks. Tombs and ball courts have been excavated and many artifacts found, demonstrating the importance of the site during the 400 B.C. - 100 A.D. period. The civic- ceremonial centre covers an area of .75 km. (.5 sq. mile) with the tallest structure rising 22 metres (72 ft.) above plaza level. The site's adjacency to the sea has meant that the two large structures are being eroded; the rate of erosion and lack of funding for maintenance has unfortunately necessitated covering the masks with plaster.
Archaeological work
Thomas Gann was among the first to recognize the existence of a Maya site at Cerros, but it was not until 1969 that Peter Schmidt and Joseph Palacio visited it and registered the site with the Department of Archaeology.
The land on which the site is located was acquired by Metroplex Properties Inc., a Texas operation and a development foundation called the Cerro Maya Foundation was formed in Dallas as a nonprofit organization to excavate, consolidate and reconstruct the ceremonial centre as a tourist attraction: plans were made for a research centre, on-site museum, hotel and swimming pool. The Cerro Maya Foundation under Metroplex Properties Inc. subsequently went bankrupt and the large-scale development of the site was never realized.
The site was eventually surveyed, excavated and partially consolidated from 1973 to 1979 by David Freidel of Southern Methodist University; Freidel focused on the ceremonial centre, its outliers and on the importance of trade at Cerro Maya. In 1983 Cathy Crane, a doctoral student at the same university tested ancient canals and associated structures at the site for pollen and other organic remains. Since then no further work has been carried out.
Cerros was a thriving community in the Late Formative Period due to its location on the circumpeninsula trading route. A fishing village for its first 300 years, Cerros covered about seven acres and consisted of approximately 38 pole and thatch buildings which would have housed approximately 500 people. Occasionally built on low clay platforms, these huts were rethatched every 30 years much as they are today. Burial and storage pits were sunk into the trash accumulations (midden) in the adjacent patio areas. The importance of trade at this early period is indicated by a large low platform and jetty on the water, west of the village. Cerros was the main distributor of salt from the north coast mining communities and is known to have traded chert tools from nearby Colha, up the New River, to Lamanai. There is evidence of non-local materials such as volcanic hematite and greenstone. Obsidian and jade materials came from as far away as Guatemala and El Salvador. The cerros ceramics combine foreign artistic elements and firing techniques with local ones.
The fluorescence of the lowland Maya centers and their demand for trade goods triggered a new phase of development at Cerros which transformed the village to an urban center. A 3600 foot canal, 18 feet wide and 6 feet deep, was built to surround 91 acres and served as part of the drainage system for the maize, squash, bean and cotton crops. Within this structure was built a ceremonial center which included four pyramids, their associated plazas and buildings, 103 public and private structures, two ball courts and accommodations for approximately 400 people. House mounds decrease ,in density outside the canal perimeter. All of the pyramids were decorated with stucco images but have been temporarily covered by the Belizean government to prevent the limestone from weathering.
The Mesoamerican ball game was both recreational and ceremonial in nature. Often the game was played to determine the outcome of future events (the losers being sacrificed) but it was also played for recreational pleasure. The ball game was played with a solid rubber ball in a formal court. The object was to score by propelling the ball through rings on the side walls. Some courts, lacking rings, have markers on the sides or center of the court floor.
The two ball courts at Cerros are an interesting feature. A common occurrence at preColombian Mesoamerican sites and often found at Late Classic Maya sites, it is rare that they appear during the Early Classic Period. It is assumed the game originated in the lowlands (the ball was made of rubber, a lowland plant) but only two ball courts from the Early Classic Period have been reported, at Palenque and Copan. It is interesting that both cities are located on the periphery of the Maya area, as is Cerros.
Dr. Freidel suggests that a change in the way the game was played would affect the court construction and perhaps evidence from this period remains unrecognized. Perhaps the reasons the game was played did not exist throughout the Early Classic.
The open-ended ball courts consist of a raised playing alley flanked by two parallel buildings. These buildings have broad, low benches that face the alley and have battered, sloped surfaces, indicating they were within fair play. The central court markers have been removed. There were summit access stairs at the backs of the buildings.
Construction technique generally followed that of the other major buildings at Cerros. An initial layer of white lime, followed by a layer of dark grey marl and trash (habitation debris), then by brownish/red dirt with cobbles which was then covered by a thick hard plaster floor over the playing area (the alley and walls).
At the close of the Formative Period trade routes changed. Overland routes controlled by the other Maya centers came into primary usage while the coastal routes became less frequented. Cerros declined and the main buildings were ritualistically abandoned. Pottery was smashed and deposited in front of the facades, fires were set against the masks and the stone markers in the ball courts were removed A dispersed population continued to live outside the ceremonial districts until the Early Classic Period, but Cerros never regained its position of importance.
Locale and access
Cerro Maya's location on the shore of Corozal Bay permits a range of water sports; part of the site remains under forest coverage, with the panorama of the Bay below.
New River empties into the Bay 2 kilometres (1.5 miles) southwest of Cerro Maya. The river, with its rain- forested banks and associated wildlife formed an important link with Lamanai when the site was flourishing.
Cerros is a short boat ride from Corozal Town, where boats can be hired and accommodation is available. During the dry season, January to April, Cerros can be reached in a rented vehicle by the road which passes through Chunox, Progresso and Copper Bank villages with their beautiful lagoons. No facilities are available at the site itself and insect repellent is needed.
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