PALEOETHNOBOTANICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF SEVEN CAVES IN THE ROARING CREEK, BARTON CREEK AND MACAL RIVER VALLEYS OF WESTERN BELIZE: GOALS, METHODS AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS Christopher T. Morehart Florida State University INTRODUCTION Anthropologists and archaeologists have long been aware that caves were and are extremely sacred areas of the Maya landscape (Awe 1998; Bassie-Sweet 1991; Brady 1989; Brady and Ashmore 1999; Brady and Stone 1986; MacLeod and Puleston 1980; Pohl 1983; Pohl and Pohl 1983; Redfield and Villa Rojas 1934; Thompson 1959; Vogt 1969). The ancient Maya perceived caves as access points to the underworld. Post-conquest sources such as the Popul Vuh (Tedlock 1985), the Quiché Maya book of creation, refer to the underworld as Xibalbá. Xibalbá was the home of many powerful gods in the Maya pantheon. Thus, caves were the stage for a myriad of ceremonial activities that were heavily laden with cosmological import. Using sources from ethnohistory, ethnography, art history, epigraphy, and archaeology, researchers have developed numerous theories to interpret the nature of these rituals. Hypotheses that emphasize fertility rituals focus on the relationship between the underworld and gods associated with rain and agriculture (Awe 1998; Brady 1989). Other interpretations, however, are directed toward understanding the role that caves play in the transference and negotiation of political power (Brady and Ashmore 1999; Helmke 1998; Pohl 1983). Archaeological theories on the use of caves by prehistoric Maya society have stemmed from observations of an incomplete database. Interpretations have been based on ceramic, lithic, architectural, monumental, osteological, faunal, and iconographic assemblages (Brady 1989; Gibbs 1997; Helmke 1998; Helmke and Awe 1998; Ishihara 2000; Pohl 1983; Stone 1995) to the virtual exclusion of botanical remains. Paleoethnobotany will provide archaeologists with a wealth of unexploited data with which to examine previous hypotheses and to further understand the ritual activity that occurred in caves. In the following report, I will describe paleoethnobotanical investigations that were undertaken in a series of caves in the upper Belize Valley of western Belize. First, the general research design and ultimate goals of this study will be discussed. Second, the field and laboratory methodologies will be outlined. Third, although the analysis of botanical remains is not yet complete, some preliminary results can be made. This section will examine the significance and distribution of wood charcoal, particularly pine (Pinus sp.), in ancient Maya cave activities of western Belize as well as present initial results and interpretations of corn remains (Zea Mays L.) recovered from two caves, Actun Chechem Ha and Barton Creek Cave. Preliminary observations of textile fragments collected from Barton - 157 -