ANCIENT MAYA CAUSEWAYS AND SITE ORGANIZATION AT CARACOL, BELIZE

Abstract

Statements concerning the function of intrasite Maya causeways often focus on inferred ritual purposes or on symbolic kinship alliances rather than on the more practical roles that such roads may have served. Data collected on an extensive intrasite causeway system at Caracol, Belize, demonstrate that the primary role of its sacbes lay in facilitating the administrative control of people, goods, and services. An estimated 75 km of roads not only served intrasite communication and transport; they also affected the political and economic integration of this huge center.