Nim Li Punit - WikiHQ

thumb|Map showing the Toledo District of Belize and its capital Punta Gorda.

Nim Li Punit () is a Maya Classic Period site in the Toledo District of the nation of Belize, located 50 kilometres north of the town of Punta Gorda, and directly adjacent to the village of Indian Creek. Nim Li Punit is sometimes known as Big Hat or Top Hat; the name is Kekchi Maya for "Big Hat", referring to the large elaborate head-dress on a stela sculpture found on site depicting one of the site's ancient kings.

Economy and trade

thumb|Stone steps leading to a grassy terrace at Nim li Punit.

In addition to Nim li Punit, the Maya Mountains of Southern Belize contain four major Maya archaeological sites- Xnaheb, Lubaantun, Uxbennka, and Pushilha. All these sites are in close proximity to one another, with the farthest site from Nim li Punit, Pushilha, being only 47 kilometers to the southwest. Despite their close geographic proximity, the extent of the economic and political relationships between Nim li Punit and these other polities is still debated, and scholars remain unsure of what allowed them all to thrive so close to one another. Obsidian was used to denote status in the Maya Classic Period and was available primarily to royalty. An analysis of obsidian artifacts from Nim li Punit and Lubaantun, revealed that the majority of the obsidian they received originated from El Chayal and Ixtepeque,

It is thought that within the Plaza of the Stela in the South Group that there is an E Group geometry that would have been used for astronomical observations. For example, several monuments present before a long terrace known as Structure One, which mark the location of solstices and equinoxes. Unlike Lubaantun, where dry-stone construction was employed, the stone structures are cemented with Maya mortar; moreover, the elaborate notched jointing often found in Lubaantun is absent in Nim Li Punit.

Population and occupation

thumb|170px|left|Stela with ruler with large head-dress or "Big Hat", namesake of Nim Li Punit

The peak population of Nim Li Punit is estimated to have been in the range of 5000 to 7000 people during the peak occupation Late Classic period. Early residents of this site probably migrated from Guatemala, similar to the history of nearby Lubaantun. The peoples of Nim Li Punit are thought to have spoken a dialect of the Cholan language, commonly spoken in the Maya heartland. Evidence from carved stelae document that the site was active in the period 721 to 790 AD, based upon actual Maya calendar dates inscribed on at least six different stones. As at many other Maya sites, occupation of Nim Li Punit ceased rather suddenly in the 9th century AD, probably associated with areawide overpopulation exceeding the region's carrying capacity of the then prevalent milpa farming system. The Nim Li Punit population is thought to have aligned with Maya settlements such as Tikal in the Petén Basin region of Guatemala.

Ecology

thumb|300px|View from southwest edge of Nim Li Punit core looking southwest.

Nim Li Punit is situated in a locale rich in forest, soil, rock and other natural resources. These assets, coupled with proximity to ample flowing mountain streams, provided the indigenous Maya at Nim Li Punit a resource base that allowed their civilization to thrive. While most of the surrounding broadleaf tropical rainforest is secondary growth, due to the disturbance of the Maya themselves, there is considerable biodiversity of trees, herbs, mammals, birds, reptiles and other life forms. In addition to the soils being able to support staple crops such as beans and corn, there are a diversity of herbs in the vicinity known to have been used for medicinal purposes.

Mammals found in the area include two primate species: The Yucatán black howler monkey, Alouatta pigra and Central American spider monkey, Ateles geoffroya. Numerous rodents are found here including the common paca, Agouti paca. A variety of carnivores are present, such as the cougar Puma concolor and jaguar Panthera onca. Hosts of bats frequent the forest as well.

Archaeology and excavation

thumb|250px|right|Open tomb at Nim Li Punit

Nim Li Punit was first investigated by archaeologists from outside of Belize in 1976, through research conducted by Norman Hammond of the British Museum-Cambridge University, though site had been known to local Maya people well before this date. Hammond produced the first site map and excavated a portion of the central plaza. Barbara McLeod of the University of Texas, Austin, then produced the first detailed analyses of stelae inscriptions. Richard Levanthal in 1983 bored test pits and surveyed the site as part of an overall southern Belize Maya mapping project. In the 1990s minor excavations were conducted by the Belize Department of Archaeology under the supervision of John Morris and Juan Luis Bonor. In 2015, tomb excavations were conducted by the Toledo Regional Interaction Project directed by Geoffrey Braswell. This excavation unearthed numerous clay pots and a large jade pendant inscribed with Mayan hieroglyphs.

References

Economy and trade

Population and occupation

Ecology

Archaeology and excavation

See also

References