Lamanai
Encyclopedia
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
, and was once a considerably sized city of the Maya civilization
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
, located in the north of Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, in Orange Walk District
Orange Walk District
Orange Walk District is a district in the northwest of the nation of Belize, with its district capital in Orange Walk Town.- Main settlements :...
. The site's name is pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
, recorded by early Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
missionaries, and documented over a millennium earlier in Maya inscriptions
Maya script
The Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs or Maya hieroglyphs, is the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered...
as Lam'an'ain.
History
Lamanai was occupied as early as the 16th century BC. The site became a prominent centre in the Pre-Classic PeriodMesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
, from the 4th century BC through the 1st century CE. In 625 CE, "Stele 9" was erected there in the Yucatec language of the Maya
Maya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...
. Lamanai continued to be occupied up to the 17th century AD. During the Spanish conquest of Yucatán
Spanish conquest of Yucatán
The Spanish conquest of Yucatán was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish conquistadores against the Late Postclassic Maya states and polities, particularly in the northern and central Yucatán Peninsula but also involving the Maya polities of the Guatemalan highlands region...
Spanish friars established two Roman Catholic churches here, but a Maya revolt drove the Spanish out. The site was subsequently incorporated by the British in British Honduras, passing with that colony's independence to Belize.
Site description
The vast majority of the site remained unexcavated until the mid-1970s. Archaeological work has concentrated on the investigation and restoration of the larger structures, most notably the Mask TempleMask Temple, Lamanai
The Mask Temple is a Maya civilization structure at the archaeological site of Lamanai, in present-day Orange Walk District, Belize.It is the smallest of three excavated pre-Columbian temples. Mask carving is exposed on the right side wall. Another carving had been covered by a stone wall on the...
, Structure N10-9 ("Temple of the Jaguar Masks") and High Temple
High Temple, Lamanai
The High Temple is an ancient Mayan temple at the Lamanai archaeological site in Orange Walk District, Belize.The High Temple's highest exposed height of can be climbed in the presence of a tour guide. The view from the top allows the climber to see over the jungle and to see a large portion of...
. The summit of this latter structure affords a view across the surrounding jungle to a nearby lagoon, part of New River
New River (Belize)
The New River, also Rio Nuevo, is a river in northern Belize. As the longest river that is entirely confined to Belize, it drains primarily the eastern part of the Orange Walk District during its north-northeasterly course and empties into the Chetumal Bay...
.
A significant portion of the Temple of the Jaguar Masks remains under grassy earth or is covered in dense jungle growth. Unexcavated, it would be significantly taller than the High Temple.
Archaeological investigations
The first detailed description of the ruins was made in 1917 by Thomas GannThomas Gann
Thomas William Francis Gann was a medical doctor by profession, but is best remembered for his work as an amateur archaeologist exploring ruins of the Maya civilization....
. Archeological excavations at the site began in 1974 under David M. Pendergast
David M. Pendergast
David Michael Pendergast is an American Archaeologist, and is most famous for his work at Altun Ha and Lamanai, Belize. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology in 1955 from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned his Ph.D. in 1961 at the University of California, Los Angeles,...
of the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
, which continued through 1988. Further excavations and restoration work is being conducted . The ruins are being excavated by a team from the nearby villages of Indian Church
Indian Church, Belize
Indian Church Village is a small remote village in the Orange Walk District of Belize. It is located on the west bank of New River, neighbouring the town of San Carlos to its south, and the Maya ruins of Lamanai to its north. There are approximately 280 people who reside in Indian Church , named...
and San Carlos
San Carlos, Belize
The village of San Carlos is located in the North of Belize, in Orange Walk District, on the northern bank of New River and surrounded by jungle. It is four miles from Indian Church, and can be accessed by road from Orange Walk Town or by boat from the New River.San Carlos is small, with a...
. The current project is co-directed by Dr. Elizabeth Graham (Institute of Archaeology, University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
) and Dr. Scott Simmons (University of North Carolina at Wilmington
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, sometimes referred to as UNC Wilmington, is a public, co-educational university located in Wilmington, North Carolina...
). Since 2006 research at the site has been directed mostly towards artifact analysis. Major excavations will resume when funding for more artifact processing, analyses and storage is acquired.
Modern site and tourism
Lamanai is accessible to touristsTourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
by organized day boat trips from Orange Walk Town
Orange Walk Town
Orange Walk Town is the second largest town in the nation of Belize, with a population of about 13,400 . It is the capital of the Orange Walk District...
along the New River. A small museum exhibits local artifacts and provides a historical overview. Tourist facilities and small shops are available.