Authorities on Mayan history and archaeology are in Belize this week for the fifth annual archaeology summit. This year the theme is the Post Classic Period of the Maya which finished about 500 years ago, shortly after the European conquest. At the opening this morning, Culture Minister Francis Fonseca said it is a compelling study.
Hon. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture
"The Post Classic Period, as you know, represents a dynamic phase in ancient Maya history. It was a time of social, political, and economic transformation in Mayan society. It was also the calm before the arrival of the European storm."
Dr. Jaime Awe, Director of Archaeology
"The Post Classic is very interesting because it was a period of reformulation and also a period of change. Its dynamic, it's the time after a Maya civilization has declined and people are trying to reorganize you know, The major political changes, no longer the Maya following the control and rule of these hereditary kings, they've got rid of them, just like in the French Revolution, and now they are starting to develop their own more democratic systems of control."
A fascinating time, and it the topics covered in these sessions are at the leading edge of research on this topic.
Dr. Jaime Awe,
"What we're here to witness and to listen is the most recent evidence and information on the discoveries that are being made at this time. It is this information that will change the way we thought in the past and hopefully will direct the way we will think about the Post Classic Maya in the future."
And Awe says that learning about this fascinating period provides valuable insights into who we are today.
Dr. Jaime Awe,
"I think that many of us have a very short concept of where we've been or where we've been coming from and I think when you come to these symposiums, you realize that Belize has been in the making since 10,000 BC. The first Belizeans got here before the end of the last ice age. Few people realize that, few people know that. The Maya really starts to develop here about maybe 1200 BC and then after that the Spanish came here and they tried their thing and it failed and then they leave and then British came and they tried their thing and eventually they also leave and who we are today is the end result of all these challenges and dynamics of previous people."
Previous people - who rise fall and rebirth may say something about the future. And Awe says, these are stories everyone can appreciate.
Dr. Jaime Awe,
"Its really open to the general public, anybody who wants to know more about our country and about our past, this is the place to be over the next few days."
