A Fluted Paleo-Indian Projectile Point from Belize, Central America

While much archaeological research has focussed on ancient Maya cultures in the lowland jungles and coastal region of Belize (Palacio 1976; Graham 1980), it has been only recently that the remains of very early Maya settlements, and indeed of pre-Maya occupations, have been found. Hammond et al. (1979) have defined the Early Preclassic Swasey manifestation at the site of Cuello, dating to ca. 1900 B.C., and representing a sedentary agricultural society. Most notable of the pre-Maya (preceramic) investigations is the Belize Archaic Archaeological Reconnaissance (BAAR) directed by Richard S. MacNeish (MacNeish, Wilkerson and Nelken-Terner 1980). They have proposed a very tenative Archaic sequence consisting of five major time periods (and artifact assemblages) spanning the period from ca. 9,000-2,500 B.C. Dating is tenuous for each period, and thus far, no radiocarbon dates are available. Two major sites, Lowe Ranch and Sand Hill, originally recorded by the Colha Project (Hester, Eaton and Shafer 1980) have been further studied by MacNeish and his colleagues. [...]