We’ve completed one week at the site, and we are so excited about how the work is proceeding! Meaghan, Morgan, Julilla, and I got settled into the village a week ago. We were warmly welcomed by folks in the village, quickly finding some rooms to rent, and a family to cook for us, as well as a few local workers to assist us in the field. We were lucky this week to have great weather– despite being in the Stann Creek District in the rainy season! We completed an assessment of the site epicenter– and we were all excited to locate a few buildings at the site that were previously unknown. We assessed the amount of looting that has occurred at the site, and did rudimentary maps and photographs to record this damage. We’ve now moved on to focus the work on the outlying settlement survey– locating and taking GPS coordinates on mounds that are in the vicinity of the site center. This settlement work will continue this week in a more systematic fashion, and we hope to update everyone again next weekend!

Sonja 🙂

We have been in-country for a week (June 2014), and both of us (Dr. Peuramaki-Brown and Dr. Schwake) have been busy getting things set up for the field season! The most important news we have to share is that we secured our research permit from the Government of Belize last week! We are presently in the village making arrangements for when the project starts next month. We met with the village alcalde (mayor), and we were welcomed to the village with a delicious traditional Maya caldo and cacao drink. Our team member, Morgan Moodie, has also arrived in Belize, so we have just one more person to arrive from abroad- Julilla Paul will join us shortly. So far, things are going smoothly– we will update you again soon! Sonja and Meaghan

Each week, directly from the field, a project member will update you on our adventures and discoveries. Enjoy!