The First Settlers on Chetumal Bay

Chapter 2 reviews recent data on the original settlement of the Chetumal Bay region. There is evidence for habitation in northern Belize during the Archaic and Preceramic periods on Progresso Lagoon and other parts of the interior, but the first evidence for settled life on the bay itself stems from the early Middle Preclassic period, specifically around Santa Rita Corozal in Belize and Oxtankah in Mexico. By the late Middle Preclassic a trading port was established on Tamalcab Island, indicative of organized community interaction and trade in highland imports such as jade and obsidian, probably exchanged for salt and other marine products. By the end of the Late Preclassic, the bay area population had increased dramatically, and both ports and inland centers exhibited monumental architecture.