BEAST Mode: Two seasons of archaeological survey on the gallon Jug-Laguna Seca Property in northwestern Belize

To address the lack of systematic survey in their permit area and record archaeological evidence of prehistoric and historic occupation, the Chan Chich Archaeological Project (CCAP) formed the Belize Estates Archaeological Survey Team (BEAST) before the 2013 field season. During the 2013 and 2014 field seasons, BEAST conducted pedestrian and UAV survey across the project’s permit area, which spans the Gallon Jug and Laguna Seca Ranches in northwestern Belize. Although archaeologists have studied the southern Maya lowlands for more than 100 years, the project area has been subject to limited archaeological survey, and this project represents the largest-scale systematic survey project ever undertaken on the property. BEAST’s surveys completed over 80 km of linear survey, covering an area of over 2.1 km². Survey crews, led by the author, recorded 275 structures along American Seismic Lines, 356 total features, and 4 new sites (Ix Naab Witz, La Luchita, Montaña Chamaco, and Sylvester Village), and revisited six previously-recorded sites. This thesis compares data recovered from these surveys with data from nearby sites such as Dos Hombres, La Milpa, and Guijarral. Various aspects of the recorded Maya settlement are examined, including ecological setting, structure size, and group type. An updated site inventory for the Gallon Jug-Laguna Seca property is included, as are maps of all revisited sites and surveyed areas.