Maya Sequential Burials and Subsistence Change at the Prehispanic Site of Caledonia, Cayo District, Belize: The Radiocarbon Evidence

From the Late Preclassic to Terminal Classic periods (300 bce–900 ce), the Maya people at the site of Caledonia, Cayo District, Belize, interred their dead within site architecture. Four burials containing the remains of at least 21 individuals were uncovered during excavations and were relatively dated using typologies developed from the ceramics recovered from the burial contexts. The single older adult female who may have been bundled in Burial 5 was dated to the Late Preclassic (250 bce–250 ce) and was determined to be the oldest at the site. Burial 1 contained the remains of eight adults and one child interred from the Early Classic to the beginning of the Late Classic periods (450–650 ce) and is thought to be a sequentially used family tomb. Burials 3 and 4 were both buried during the Late Classic (600–900 ce), although the latter appears to be a sequentially used family tomb like Burial 1 and the former appears to be a nonfunerary ceremonial context possibly containing the remains of bundled or secondary burials. New radiocarbon dates presented here confirm the relative chronology developed for Caledonia and reveal that Burials 1 and 4 were indeed sequentially used over several centuries. When combined with existing stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope data, the radiocarbon dating also reveals a general decreased reliance on maize-based protein from the limestone-rich Vaca Plateau over time, which may be linked with climate trends and sociopolitical reorganization at the site.