Exploration of the Site
El Pilar was unexplored by Western archeologists until 1983.
|
When Anabel Ford began her work as an archaeologist in the Maya forest in 1972, she was interested in the everyday life of the Maya through the study of their cultural ecology—the relationships of humans and their environment.
While conducting a settlement survey in the forested ridge lands, she discovered El Pilar, a Maya urban center with temples and plazas covering more than 50 hectares (about 100 acres).
She was privileged to be the first to map the extent of the site, chart the size and extent of the ancient center, and literally put El Pilar on the map. This began her research spanning more than three decades in and around the site.
Research
Research at El Pilar has emphasized the ancient Maya people rather than the governing elites studied at other sites. Multidisciplinary studies focus on where the Maya built their homes (settlement patterns) and how they fed their large populations (resource management).
|
Launching the Belize River Archaeological Settlement Survey, known as the BRASS project, Ford gathered data on where to find Maya house sites, when they were occupied, and what activities happened around the sites.
Combining research and development, the project conducted major excavations of temples and plazas while promoting community and tourism involvement in excavating.
