A Late Postclassic Altar and Evidence of Monument Veneration at Two Maya Sites in Northwestern Belize

Abstract

In northwestern Belize, evidence of Late Postclassic Maya presence is limited to deposits indicating brief visitations to former city centers. Here, we present recent research at the sites of Kaxil Uinik and Ayiin Winik that has identified Late Postclassic ritual offerings at reset Late Classic monuments, as well as the first reported Late Postclassic altar in the region. These activities fit into a broad pattern of Postclassic veneration of early and long-lived locations on the abandoned landscape.