New book on Belizean archaeology launched

This evening at the House of Culture a new book on Belizean Archaeology is being launched. It is a compilation of papers presented at a symposium earlier this year and promises to be a valuable resource not only for archaeologists, but educators, students, tour guides, and anyone else who is interested in finding out the latest developments in the study of the ancient Maya, as well as historical era research. Director of the Institute of Archaeology, Dr. Jaime Awe, spoke about the volume which was published in collaboration with the Institute for Culture and Research.

Dr. Jaime Awe, Dir. Institute of Archaeology

“Well I think that this first volume of the collection of papers that were held at the symposium on Belizean archaeology is an excellent contribution. You asked if people who did not make it whether they could buy this book and get something out of it, my answer is yes. I think there is something in here for everybody. Most of the papers are written in such a way that it is academic, yet at the same time it can be understood by tour guides, by people who are just interested to learn something about the current status of Belizean archaeology.”

“The collection actually includes a bit of new ideas or new approaches to understanding archaeology. But it also includes new discoveries because a lot of the tour guides have quite a bit of background information on what has happened at sites I the past, well this book brings a collection of recent discoveries by all the archaeologists that work here in Belize.”

In addition to presenting the book tonight, Dr. Awe is also giving a lecture on the Ancient Maya of Belize.