The Sea-Floor Survey of Ek Way Nal, Belize: before our 2020–2021(?) excavations, with Heather McKillop, Louisiana State University
Ek Way Nal is a large underwater site, the remains of a former salt-making site, located in the marsh groves along the Caribbean coast of Belize. Over the years, she and her team have excavated a lot of ocarinas, Belize Red serving bowls, stone tools, a jadeite gouge with a rosewood handle, as well as 300 wooden posts marking the walls of at least 10 buildings. At the nearby K’ak’ Naab’ site, they discovered the only known surviving Classic Maya wooden canoe paddle. In this presentation, Heather will discuss the survey, mapping, and artifact analyses at Ek Way Nal from 2003 to 2016. This fieldwork was sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Heather McKillop has carried out archaeological fieldwork on
the coast, cays, and underwater in Belize since 1979. She excavated the Maya trading ports of Moho
Cay near Belize City and Wild Cane Cay and Frenchman’s Cay in southern Belize.
Since the discovery of wooden buildings preserved below the sea floor in 2004,
she has led teams to find, map, and excavate the wooden buildings and
associated salt production artifacts, with funding from the National Science
Foundation and Louisiana State University. She is a Professor in the Department
of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University, where she teaches
Introduction to Archaeology, 3D Digital Imaging, a Maya seminar, and Ancient
Maya in the Media. She has published many articles and several books, including
Maya Salt Works (2019), In Search of Maya Sea Traders (2005), The
Ancient Maya (2004), Salt: White Gold of the Ancient Maya (2002),
and Coastal Maya Trade (edited by Heather McKillop and Paul F. Healy).
Dr. McKillop will talk about “The Sea Floor Survey
of Ek Way Nal, Belize.” She has an NSF grant with co-PI Dr. Elizabeth Sills to
excavate at the underwater site, dates to be confirmed.