Santa Rita (Belize)

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Santa Rita Corozal

Santa Rita , including Santa Rita Corozal , is a Maya -Stätte on the Caribbean coast of the peninsula Yucatán in Corozal District in Belize .

location

The place is located approx. 20 km south of Chactemal in the Bay of Chetumal and thus belongs to a whole series of centers on the densely populated Caribbean coast of the Yucatán.

history

In Santa Rita Corozal, archaeological finds, often commercial goods, show that there has been a settlement since 2000 BC. Chr. To prove. Due to the location between the rivers Hondo and New River , the trade routes from the interior to the Caribbean coast were controlled until the Classical period . Both rivers were the main axis to Lamanai and on to the Maya centers in Peten .

During the post-classical period , a pronounced Central American influence can be ascertained, as can be seen in wall paintings and artifacts. After Ich Paa lost its dominance on the Yucatán in 1461, trade in the region continued to flourish. A strong influence of the Chontal or Putun Maya is assumed here. As the archaeological evidence shows again, trade relations existed as far as the Mixtecs and Mexico .

Santa Rita Corozal was continuously inhabited until the arrival of the Spaniards . At that time the place belonged to the Cuchcabal Chetumal and was ruled by the Halach Uinik Nachan Chan . This was loosely allied with the Cocom and first himself, later his son-in-law Gonzalo Guerrero , offered bitter resistance against the conquest . In 1531 a Spanish expedition found the city abandoned and set up their garrison there , but had to withdraw a little later with heavy losses because the Maya had adopted a very successful guerrilla tactic. The region could not be subjugated until the late 16th century. Most of the cities, including Santa Rita, had been abandoned in an orderly manner.

exploration

The ruins were examined by Thomas Gann in the early 20th century , and systematic excavations and reconstruction work were carried out by Diane and Arlen Chase from 1979 to 1985. Large parts of the site, however, are still unexplored, and have even been irretrievably lost due to the expansion of Corozal .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ JES Thomson: Thomas Gann In The Maya Ruins . In: British Medical Journal , 1975, 2, pp. 741-743 (English).
  2. ↑ Diane Z. Chase, Arlen F. Chase: Late Postclassic Ritual at Santa Rita Corozal Belize: Understanding the Archeology of a Maya Capital City ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.caracol.org archive link was automatically inserted and still Not checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 254 kB). In: Research Reports in Belizean Archeology . Volume 5, 2008, pp. 79-92 (English).

Web links

See also

Coordinates: 18 ° 24 '8 "  N , 88 ° 23' 42"  W.