Division of Social Sciences UCSD
Projects

Toledo Regional Interaction Project (TRIP)
LUBAANTUN & NIM LI PUNIT, BELIZE

Overview

The Toledo Regional Interaction Project (TRIP) began in 2009 in southern Belize, and will be an important focus of UCSD research for years to come. Expanding on our archaeological and epigraphic investigations at Pusilha, we are now attempting to understand how southern Belize functioned as a region. In particular, our excavations are designed to gather economic and political data concerning interaction among three of the prominent sites of Toledo District: Lubaantun, Nim li Punit, and Pusilha. All three sites (as well as Uxbenka, where a colleague is conducting research) are located within a day’s walk of each other, and all three thrived during the 8th century. Nevertheless, the rulers of all three sites employed emblem glyphs that assert political independence. In fact, we have yet to find hieroglyphic evidence that demonstrates interaction among these closely spaced neighbors. Among the specific questions of the TRIP are: (1) Were Lubaantun, Nim li Punit, and Pusilha truly independent polities throughout their histories?; (2) Did they participate in a single economy or multiple local economies?; (3) How did these nearby communities interact and form a region?; and (4) Did the inhabitants of these important sites have different identities, come originally from different regions, and perhaps even speak distinct languages?

Our research began in 2009 with the excavation of a Terminal Classic elite household at Lubaantun, home of the infamous Crystal Skull. In 2010, staff of the UCSD Mesoamerican Archaeology Laboratory will continue excavations at Lubaantun and hope to begin work at nearby Nim li Punit. Future field seasons will see continuing work at these sites, as well as household archaeology at Pusilha.

Follow links to our publications and annual reports on the archaeology of the Southern Belize Region.

Publications

Reports

MA Theses

Photos

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