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The identification of building J’s function at Ta’ab Nuk Na, a salt works site in southern Belize and information regarding any potential standardization during the manufacture of certain ceramics, involved examining artifacts taken from the excavation of the J-Line, a 14m-long transect through building J and into the empty space to the north of the building, and an analysis of the artifacts’ spatial distribution in relation to the building. The samples included ceramics, lithics, and botanical remains. Analyzing all the available artifact data, including quantities, spatial distribution, and function, determined that building J was likely a food processing structure. The in-depth, digital analysis of Punta Ycacos (PY) vertical wall rim sherds provides some evidence for standardization during manufacturing. This may indicate the vessels were mass-produced either at Ta’ab Nuk Na, or at nearby sites that all shared similar manufacturing technology and methodologies. 

There are contrasting models for the role of coastal trading ports in the Maya economy throughout prehistory, but particularly in the Terminal Classic (A.D. 800-1000). Hammond (1972) presented a model of obsidian trade from the Maya highlands to the lowlands, in which El Chayal source obsidian was transported via inland routes, whereas Ixtepeque obsidian was traded along the Caribbean coast and then inland via rivers to the southern Maya lowland cities. Healy et al. (1984) and McKillop et al. (1988) suggested that obsidian from both sources was transported along the Caribbean coast but that El Chayal was the dominant source used in the Classic period and Ixtepeque during the Terminal and Postclassic periods. Hammond (1976) suggested that offshore trading ports were used as transshipment stations between maritime and riverine routes. This model was adopted by various researchers (Andrews et al. 1989; Cobos 2023; Guderjan and Garber 1995; Graham and Pendergast 1989; McKillop 2004, 2005a). Cobos (2023) asserts that after the abandonment of inland cities in the southern Maya lowlands at the end of the Classic period, the northern Yucatecan city of Chichen Itza developed a redistributive economy based on tribute and controlled trading ports around the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico and Belize. In the Classic period, the island trading port of Wild Cane Cay was integrated into a regional network of trade between the coast and inland communities. The inland trade was anchored by the dietary need for salt, produced on the coast but absent inland where this basic dietary necessity was in demand. The pattern of coastal-inland trade was replicated along the Caribbean coast of Belize and the Yucatan. Abandonment of inland settlements at the end of the Classic period did not end coastal settlement. Evidence presented in this paper illustrates that Wild Cane Cay was as an independent trading port integrated into a regional marketplace economy and not a node on a redistribution/tribute route controlled by Chichen Itza. 

Abstract Sea-level rise and settlement are investigated at Ta'ab Nuk Na, an ancient Maya salt works in Belize, by examining samples from wooden posts and marine sediment. The samples included Post 145 of Building B and the Nunavut beam, along with marine sediment columns cut from beside both wooden posts. The sediment columns were sampled at 2 cm intervals. Loss-on ignition confirmed the presence of organic material. Identifying the organic content involved removing nonorganic material from the sediment and sorting the organic material under magnification. This procedure established that most of the organic material was red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). Red mangroves tolerate salt water, but under conditions of sea-level rise, the plants grow vertically to keep their leaves above water. Sediment, leaves, and detritus trapped in the prop roots form mangrove peat, which serves as a proxy for sea-level rise. AMS dating of fine red mangrove roots determined that the local sea levels rose at Ta'ab Nuk Na throughout the Late Classic period and continued into the Postclassic period. Radiocarbon dates obtained from the wood-post samples yielded Late Classic–period dates. Comparing the radiocarbon dates from the wooden posts and the sediment core samples determined that the site was abandoned before the rising seas flooded the area. Evidently, sea-level rise did not play a role in site abandonment. 

Sea-level rise and settlement are investigated at Ta'ab Nuk Na, an ancient Maya salt works in Belize, by examining samples from wooden posts and marine sediment. The samples included Post 145 of Building B and the Nunavut beam, along with marine sediment columns cut from beside both wooden posts. The sediment columns were sampled at 2 cm intervals. Loss-on ignition confirmed the presence of organic material. Identifying the organic content involved removing nonorganic material from the sediment and sorting the organic material under magnification. This procedure established that most of the organic material was red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). Red mangroves tolerate salt water, but under conditions of sea-level rise, the plants grow vertically to keep their leaves above water. Sediment, leaves, and detritus trapped in the prop roots form mangrove peat, which serves as a proxy for sea-level rise. AMS dating of fine red mangrove roots determined that the local sea levels rose at Ta'ab Nuk Na throughout the Late Classic period and continued into the Postclassic period. Radiocarbon dates obtained from the wood-post samples yielded Late Classic–period dates. Comparing the radiocarbon dates from the wooden posts and the sediment core samples determined that the site was abandoned before the rising seas flooded the area. Evidently, sea-level rise did not play a role in site abandonment. 

Chemical analysis of soils and sediments are useful for finding activities and defining space not readily apparent in the artifact assemblage due to varied preservation. In the Maya cultural area, chemical analysis of anthropogenic and naturogenic terrestrial soils and marine sediments have been used to find activities that occurred at ancient Maya sites both inside and outside of buildings. The Underwater Maya project has adapted soil chemistry, usually conducted at terrestrial sites, to the submerged Paynes Creek Salt Works. The acidic red mangrove peat has remarkably preserved wooden posts that form the outline of buildings and botanical remains but does not preserve bone or shell. The differential preservation at the salt works could obscure the full plethora of activities taking place, under shadowing the complexity of production of salt for the Late Classic Maya. In this paper, we discuss the importance of soil and sediment chemistry analysis in the Maya are, methods for sampling sediment at the Paynes Creek Salt Works, and the chemical signatures of human activity that are most likely to occur at the salt works. 

Preservation of wooden building posts in red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) peat below the sea floor at the Paynes Creek Salt Works in southern Belize provides a rare opportunity to study pole and thatch buildings that were likely the dominant construction in the Maya area in prehistory. In 2020 and 2021, when field research at the salt works was not possible due to the covid pandemic, individual wooden buildings at two of the largest sites, Ek Way Nal and Ta’ab Nuk Na, were radiocarbon dated. The dates indicate that the buildings were constructed at different times. Associated artifacts reveal both residences and salt kitchens at both sites and that production began earlier at Ta’ab Nuk Na and ended later at Ek Way Nal. Identification of tree species used in building construction at Ek Way Nal indicates the salt workers selected useful trees and did not overuse the environment. 

Excavations in the spring and summer of 2022 were carried out at the underwater ancient Maya salt work of Ek Way Nal in Punta Ycacos Lagoon, Paynes Creek National Park, Belize. Ek Way Nal provided salt to the ancient Maya during the Late and Terminal Classic periods (600-900 C.E.). In additional to excavations in buildings at the site, a 1 X 2 m unit was excavated to extract a sediment column for examining the relationship between the ancient Maya settlement at Ek Way Nal and sea-level rise. In this article, the excavations, extraction of the sediment column, and processing it for laboratory analyses are described. Field observations are discussed. Fine red mangrove root (Rhizophora mangle) and charcoal samples were extracted from the sediment column for radiocarbon dating. The results from the datum core excavation indicate that sea-level rise occurred before, during, and after the ancient Maya occupation at Ek Way Nal. 

This paper summarizes excavations of a suspected fish processing location at the submerged site of Ek Way Nal located in Paynes Creek National Park. Based on use-wear analysis of chert tools found near Building A and a line of palmetto palm posts indicated that fish processing was taking place at Ek Way Nal. In addition to fish processing, Ek Way Nal represents one of 110 Late Classic salt making settlements of the southern coast of Belize. Analysis of survey data, excavation data, and artifact analysis provides information about settlement organization, trade relationships, and activities taking place at the Paynes Creek Salt Works. Excavation data also suggests the presence of a deflated leaching mound created through long-term production of salt at this site. High volumes of charcoal indicate large amounts of wood harvested and burnt for brine boiling. Low-quality and high-quality stone tools and debitage indicate local and long-distance acquisition of stone materials. Artifacts associated with preserved wooden structures indicates building function across the site. 

Evidence of ancient Maya exploitation of salt, other marine resources, settlement, and sea trade is hidden in flooded mangrove landscapes on the cays, mainland, and in shallow offshore locations on the south coast of Belize. This paper includes a discussion of the coastal economy from the Middle Preclassic through the Postclassic periods (600 B.C.-A.D. 1500). Data from sites discovered and excavated since 1982 in the coastal area of the Port Honduras and Paynes Creek National Park support a model of coastal reliance marine resources and tree crops. The need for a regular supply of coastal salt to inland cities may have expanded the market for other marine resources. Obsidian imported from volcanic highlands documents long-distance trade throughout prehistory in the area. The island of Wild Cane Cay expanded its role in long-distance coastal trade after the abandonment of inland cities in southern Belize at the end of the Classic period. Inundation of the region documented from the depths of radiocarbon-dated archaeological deposits below the water table and from a sediment core indicates sea-level rise of at least 1m that submerged the coastal sites. The waterlogged deposits provided an ideal matrix for preservation of vertebrate material at Wild Cane Cay. The red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) peat below the sea floor in a shallow lagoon preserved wooden buildings. 

Salt is an essential commodity; archaeological remains around the world attest to the importance of its production, exchange and consumption. Often located in coastal locations, many production sites were submerged by rising seas, including the Paynes Creek Salt Works on the southern Belize coast. Survey and excavation of these sites has identified ‘kitchens’ for brine boiling, as well as Terminal Classic residential structures at Ek Way Nal. The authors report the discovery of an earlier residential building alongside salt kitchens at the nearby site of Ta'ab Nuk Na. This finding indicates that surplus household production began during the Late Classic, when demand for salt from inland cities was at its peak.