El Pilar Website
1998

 

Directions to the El Pilar Reserve
  1. Current Research
  2. Maya Prehistory
  3. Project History
  4. Research Themes

ABC News Story on the Project

Join The BRASS/El Pilar Team!

 

 

Current Research

 

  1. Maya Prehistory
  2. Project History
  3. Research Themes
  1. Anabel Ford: Read a short biography of the project's founder and director.
  2. El Pilar Landscape: Gateway Between Two Nations: An informative essay on the goals and acheivements of the BRASS/El Pilar Program.
  3. Fieldnotes: Check out some pictures from the 1998 field season.
  4. Institutional Framework: Find out how this multinational research effort is organized.
  5. News: Catch up on current events at El Pilar.
  6. Research Opportunities: Learn how to become involved with the project.

 

 

 

Maya Prehistory

 

  1. Current Research
  2. Project History
  3. Research Themes
  1. Action Archaeology: How this ancient society developed, and understanding its relationship to the resources and environment of the Maya forest around it is the main objective of the BRASS/El Pilar Program.
  2. The Ancient Maya come alive in this brief narrative.
  3. El Pilar Video Classroom: Three Quicktime movie clips discussing modern and prehistoric El Pilar
  4. Map of the Central Maya Lowlands
  5. Virtual El Pilar: Take An Animated Tour of El Pilar.

Cacao: The Money that Grew on Trees

 

Project History

 

  1. Current Research
  2. Maya Prehistory
  3. Research Themes
  1. Amigos de El Pilar: Members of the locally-based Amigos de El Pilar benefited from presentations on archaeology, eco-tourism opportunities, native plant uses, and the development of cottage industries.
  2. Background Information on the Site's Location: El Pilar is located twelve km north of the western Belizean town of San Ignacio, astride the Belize & Guatemala border.
  3. Community Development: No reserve exists within avacuum and, in order to survive and thrive, the local population must assume a stewardship role.
  4. Origin of Research At El Pilar: The Belize River Archaeological Settlement Survey (BRASS) was initiated in 1983 with the permission of Belize's Department of Archaeology by Anabel Ford.
  5. 1997 Mesa Redonda: read about the first international conference for planning the El Pilar Reserve
  6. Trail Guide: Download a copy of this informative report in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format.

 

Hogshead dancers celebrate at Fiesta El Pilar

 

 

 

Research Themes

 

  1. Current Research
  2. Maya Prehistory
  3. Project History
  1. Traditional Agriculture is focused on the basic production and consumption unit: the household. These traditions rely on polycultural strategies mimicking the native environment.
  2. Archaeological Research of the ancient Maya, ethnohistorical research, and anthropological investigations of traditional communities underscore the complexity of interrelationships between cultural systems and their environment.
  3. Conservation of natural and cultural resources is one of the most important global long-term goals of the coming century. Yet, efforts to accomplish this have often led to the compromise of important short-term needs at regional and local levels.
  4. Ecology: The ecological structure of the Maya forest today bears witness to the long and intricate process of culturalselection that extends back more than four millennia to the initial agricultural pioneers of the Maya forest region.
  5. Ecotourism: Mesoamerica has become a flourishing travel destination, and the Maya world has evolved as a vital niche for adventure and ecotourists.
  6. Reserve Management: Informed management designs are based on inventories of the ecological and cultural resources within the protected area.
  7. Themes for Research and Development:The integrated relationship between the natural and cultural resources of the Maya forest is etched in ancient Maya settlement patterns and well documented at El Pilar. Our current knowledge of the Maya forest comes from diverse yet associated disciplines.
  8. Research Opportunities: Learn how to become involved with the project.
  9. MEINE ERFAHRUNGEN IM EL PILAR PROGRAMM: Schon am Anfang des Jahres schrieb ich mich fŸr ein Praktikum ein, wodurch ich die Organisation im BŸro des El Pilar Projektes auf dem UCSB Campus kennenlernte. Ich arbeitete an verschiedenen Datensþtzen, wie die Sammlung von wissenschaftlichen Beitrþgen und Pressemitteilungen, Fotoarchive und Grabungsberichte vorangegangener Grabungskampagnen.

 

Ancient Traditions, Contemporary Solutions

 

 

Teo's Way: Learn about local folklore.

 

BRASS/El Pilar Exhibit at the Village Fair

Web Sites Related to the Program

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