Resources and Settlement of the El Pilar Area

The ancient Maya were an agricultural society whose viability depended primarily on the success of their farming populace. There are four areas of land resources in the Lowlands that together formed the range of alternatives for both the ancient and modern populations (Fedick and Ford 1990). These four areas that can be used have been classified as:

1.
Well-drained Uplands: Primary Agricultural Resources
2.
Slow -Drained Uplands: Secondary Resources
3.
Riverine-Associated Swamps: Secondary Resources
4.
Closed Depression Swamps: Non-Agricultural Resources

The relative proportion of these resources determine the subsistence potential of local areas and form the foundation for the regions economy.

BRASS's earlier fieldwork in the upper Belize River area concentrated on determining how the ancient Maya community in this region used the area's resources. Their survey found that the valley was characterized by a small strip of primary agricultural land along the river and contains an average settlement density of 98 structures/sq. km (FIG. 2, TABLE 1). Next, the foothills were noted to be composed of a high proportion of secondary agricultural resources, which showed a corresponding drop in settlement density to three to 46 structures/sq. km. The ridgelands also show a diversity in architecture with small, medium and large residential compounds sharing the uplands with the centers imposing monumental architecture. El Pilar is however not alone on the western ridgelands because there are also several minor civic-ceremonial centers with that region.

El Pilar ranks greater than or equal to the other centers of the region (Adams and Jones 1981). The area mapped in 1984 covered more than 25 ha and was vastly expanded through more intensive mapping and surveying in 1993. The surveyed are of monumental construction now covers 42 ha (more than 100 acres) which includes some 70 major structures situated around 25 major plazas. Because the site his still covered with dense vegetation it is anticipated that more major components of the site will be documented during further fieldwork.

The present preliminary map of the site provides a general impression of the site's size and complexity (FIG. 3). The total site is made up of two major sections connected by a 950 fmeter E-W causeway. The west section, the smaller of the two, contains a major public plaza, large pyramids and a ball court. The eastern section is made up of several courtyards laid out in a linear pattern surrounded by imposing pyramids 17 to 21 meters in height, some large range structures, a ballcourt, and a large acropolis/palace structure. Excavation of the architectural features and examination of looter's trenches at El Pilar have revealed remarkable preservation in verification of the exceptional quality of the local limestone.

The size and complexity of the center coupled with the high settlement densities in the area attests to the importance of El Pilar as a regional center. Settlement density within on km of El Pilar is among the highest in the uplands at 292 structures/sq. km (Ford 1990) Next to El Pilar's Plaza F the presence of a significant chert tool production site is also indicative of the center's importance (Ford and Olson 1989). El Pilar is surrounded by many smaller satellite sites. One of these, Laton, contained the only known obsidian production site in the Maya Lowlands. This general picture presents and important regional administrative and economic power.

Investigations conducted to date at El Pilar revealed a long developmental sequence of Maya construction and maintenance at the site. These important civic projects were well underway as early as 250 B.C., when much of the southern portion of the eastern complex section was founded. Large ceremonial platforms and temples continued under construction throughout the centuries of both the Preclassic and Classic periods. ;Many large structures reached their current size in the Late Classic Period (A.C. 600-900), at the height of the Maya civilization. After the abandonment of Tikal, several important structures at El Pilar were in their final stages of construction during the Terminal classic period (A.C. 900-1000). This factor shows El Pilar exercised considerable independence from the major centers of the Peten.