Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau, at an elevation of above sea-level, in the foothills of the Maya Mountains.Arlen Chase and Diane Chase, 1987 Investigations at the Classic Maya City of Caracol, Belize: 1985–1987. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco. Long thought to be a tertiary center, it is now known that the site was one of the most important regional political centers of the Maya Lowlands during the Classic Period. Caracol covered approximately ,Arlen Chase and Diane Chase 2009 Interpreting the Maya "Collapse": Continued Investigation of Residential Complexes in and near Caracol's Epicenter: 2009 Field Report of the Caracol Archaeological Project. http://caracol.org/reports/2009.php , accessed November 20, 2011 covering an area much larger than present-day Belize City, the largest metropolitan area in the country, and supported more than twice the modern city's population.
Etymology Caracol is a modern name from the ('snail, shell'), but more generally meaning spiral or volute-shapedapparently on account of the winding access road that led to the site.Kelly (1996, p.82) The ancient Mayan name for the Caracol archaeological site was Uxwitza', meaning "Three Water Hill" or "Three Hills".
Discovery The site was first reported by a native logger named Rosa Mai, who came across its remains in 1937, while searching for mahogany hardwood trees to exploit. Mai reported the site to the archaeological commission for British Honduras, today Belize. In 1938, the archaeological commissioner A. Hamilton Anderson, visited the site for two weeks along with a colleague, Hugh Blockley Jex, who later became Inspector of Crown Licence.Anderson, A. H., "Glimpses of a Lost Civilization", Caribbean Quarterly, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 24–29, 1951 It was Anderson who gave the site its modern name. They conducted preliminary surveys, noted 9 carved monuments, took notes on the structures of the A-Group Plaza, and undertook limited excavations in two locations.Diane Chase and Arlen Chase 1995 Changing Perspectives on Caracol, Belize: Long-Term Archaeological Research and the Northeast Sector Settlement Program. Paper prepared for the 1st International Symposium of Maya Archaeology, San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize. May 29 - June 2, 1995 Anderson and Linton Satterthwaite later discovered 40 stone monuments.Arlen Chase and Diane Chase 2008 What the Hieroglyphs Don't Tell You: Archaeology and History at Caracol, Belize. Mayab 20:103–108
Excavations, investigations, and modern development The site was first noted and documented archaeologically in 1937, by Anderson. More extensive explorations and documentation of the site was undertaken by Satterthwaite, of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, from 1950 to 1953. During this time Satterthwaite, primarily focused on finding and documenting monuments, later removing several stelae and altars. This early research resulted in the creation of a map of the central part of the site, the excavation of several tombs, the recording of the site's known stone monuments, and the transportation of about a dozen monuments to the University Museum, in Philadelphia.Chase, Arlen F., and Diane Z. Chase. "Caracol." In Davíd Carrasco (ed). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures. Vol 1. New York : Oxford University Press, 2001. In the early 1980s, Paul F. Healy, of Trent University investigated Caracol's core area, recording several architectural groups, and noting the extensive terrace systems and high population density for the surrounding area.
The Caracol Archaeological Project, ongoing every year since 1985, is directed by Arlen and Diane Chase. The 1988–1989 field seasons researched the southeast section of the site, between the Conchita and Pajaro-Romonal Causeways, to determine the impact of the Tikal-Naranjo wars.Diane Chase and Arlen Chase 2003 Texts and Contexts in Maya Warfare: A brief Consideration of Epigraphy and Archaeology at Caracol, Belize. In Ancient Mesoamerican Warfare, edited by M. K. Brown, and T. W. Stanton, pp. 171–188. Altamira Press, Walnut Creek, California1998 Southeast Sector Settlement, A stucco Statue, and Substantial Survey: the Caracol 1997 Season. http://caracol.org/reports/1997.php , accessed November 20, 2011 From 1994 to 1996, the project focused investigations in the northeast section of the site, near the Puchituk terminus, which showed great time depth dating to the Middle Preclassic, and on the growth and cohesion of the site during Caracol's two major periods of aggression. In the spring dry season of 2009, they conducted a LiDAR survey with an aircraft that allowed a very rapid assessment of the entire site and surrounds, mapping , with results published in May 2010.Mapping Ancient Civilization, in a Matter of Days, John Noble Wilford, IHT, 10 May 2010, accessed 11 May 2010
The only road the site can be accessed by is paved for the last and leads to the Western Highway between San Ignacio and Belmopan and to Santa Elena.
Caana ('sky-palace') is the largest building at Caracol, and is the tallest manmade structure in Belize, at tall.
Exploration timeline
Population At Caracol, there are approximately 267 structures per square kilometer, 85% higher than Tikal. The site covers approximately 200 square kilometers, and within this area, structures are generally situated equidistantly and are integrated with the terrace system. The town grew into one of the largest ancient Maya cities, covering some with an estimated population of 115,032. This population estimate was based on the number of structures that were occupied, which was about 83.35 percent Chase, Adrian S. Z., Elyse D. Z. Chase, Diane Z. Chase, and Arlen F. Chase. “Population History for Caracol, Belize: Numbers, Complexity, and Urbanism.” In Ancient Mesoamerican Population History: Urbanism, Social Complexity, and Change, edited by Adrian S. Z. Chase, Diane Z. Chase, and Arlen F. Chase. University of Arizona Press, 2024. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.12570391.6.Diane Chase and Arlen Chase 1994 Studies in the Archaeology of Caracol, Belize (editors). Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco. The invention of LIDAR has helped discover an increase in population, as it was able to detect more living areas. With LIDAR detection, we are now able to get a more reasonable number of citizens in Caracol, with 68.42 percent to 81.36 percent of the plazuela groups being more identifiable through LIDAR. This comes to the number of residential groups at 7,709. These numbers accumulated by the lidar pose that the population of Caracol is between 70,580 and 101,440 (exclusive of the Guatemalan settlement).Chase, Adrian S. Z., Elyse D. Z. Chase, Diane Z. Chase, and Arlen F. Chase. “Population History for Caracol, Belize: Numbers, Complexity, and Urbanism.” In Ancient Mesoamerican Population History: Urbanism, Social Complexity, and Change, edited by Adrian S. Z. Chase, Diane Z. Chase, and Arlen F. Chase. University of Arizona Press, 2024. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.12570391.6.
Population Expansion During the time of 440 to 550 CE, Caracol underwent a east-west expansion, with a population increase of between 24,367 and 40,024 people. This suggests the likely in-migration with a growth rate of 0.409 percent. In the late Classic 1 (550-680 CE), Caracol underwent a population boom along with its period of warfare of 52,788-86,707 people, indicating the in-migration with a growth of 0.552 percent. In Late Classic 2 (680-800 CE), Caracol would then have a maximum population of between 74,109 and 121,728 people, with a in-migration rate of 0.238 percent. Lastly, in the Terminal Classic (800-900 CE), Caracol's population took a major hit, reducing population size between 39,085 and 64,199 people, showing a decrease in population size of 0.640 percent. Shortly after the decrease in population, excavations were not conducted.Chase, Adrian S. Z., Elyse D. Z. Chase, Diane Z. Chase, and Arlen F. Chase. “Population History for Caracol, Belize: Numbers, Complexity, and Urbanism.” In Ancient Mesoamerican Population History: Urbanism, Social Complexity, and Change, edited by Adrian S. Z. Chase, Diane Z. Chase, and Arlen F. Chase. University of Arizona Press, 2024. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.12570391.6.
History
The Caracol area was occupied as early as 1200 BC, yet occupation in the epicentral area was no earlier than 650 BC and lasted no later than AD 950. Caracol boasts 53 carved stone monuments (25 stelae and 28 altars), and more than 250 burials and 200 caches.
By the Early Classic, between AD 250 and 550, Caracol was tied into extensive trade networks and pan-lowland ideological systems, leading to a unified regional economy.Arthur Demarest 2004 Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge The Caracol was officially founded in AD 331 (8.14.13.10.4) by Te' K'ab Chaak. Special Deposit C117F-1, a Teotihuacan style cremation of three individuals dates precisely to this period, indicating early influences from northern Mexico.Arlen Chase and Diane Chase 2010 Household Patterning, the "Collapse," and LiDAR Ground-Checks: Continued Investigation in and near Caracol's Epicenter: 2010 Field Report of the Caracol Archaeological Project. http://caracol.org/reports/2010.pdf , accessed November 20, 2011.
Wars with Tikal Caracol was at first a client state of the more powerful city of Tikal, to the northwest. Tikal's influence weakened during the mid-sixth century; losing control of Naranjo, located halfway between the two cities, from each site, to rival Calakmul. In AD 531, Lord K'an I, acceded to the throne.Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube 2008 Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens, 2nd edition. Thames and Hudson, London Lord Water, (Yajaw Te' K'inich II) acceded to power in AD 553, under the auspices of Tikal's Lord Double Bird (Wak Chan K'awiil). In AD 556, Tikal enacted a ch'ak (axe) war and defeated Caracol. This caused Lord Water to enact the first known star war in 562 (9.6.8.4.2), and defeated Tikal's Lord Wak Chan K'awiil (Double Bird). These poorly understood conflicts are usually associated with long hiatuses and the fall of dynasties. The name comes from the glyph, which shows a star (presumably Venus) pouring liquid on the earth. This particular star war was the cause of the archaeologically and epigraphically demonstrated Tikal mid-Classic hiatus, which saw a decline in Tikal's population, a cessation of monument erection, and the destruction of certain monuments in the Great Plaza. This 120-year-long hiatus at Tikal occurred as Caracol's population and monumental construction increased, becoming more prosperous and cohesive. Tikal took on cultural characteristics of Caracol during this time as, even with the renewed erection of monuments at Tikal, their style mimicked that of Caracol.
Yajaw Te' K'inich II passed on his throne to the eldest of his two sons, Knot Ajaw, in AD 599; his younger brother, K'an II, succeeded him in AD 618. K'an II performed a ritual of alliance in Calakmul's territory the following January (9.9.5.13.8).Linda Schele, David Freidel 1990 A Forrest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya. William Morrow and Co. New York. K'an II is described as the most successful Caracol ruler, reigning for 40 years from AD 618 to 658, he expanded the causeway system and saw an increase in the site's population.