Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, Vol. 15, 2018, pp. 231-240. Copyright © 2018 by the Institute of Archaeology, NICH, Belize. 21 CEREMONIAL CIRCUIT(S) AT CARA BLANCA, BELIZE Jean T. Larmon and Aimée E. Carbaugh This paper presents the results from the exploration of the three previously unexplored pools in the hypothesized ceremonial circuit of Cara Blanca, central Belize. During the 2017 field season, the Valley of Peace Archaeological project surveyed the three far eastern pools of the Cara Blanca 25 (Pools 22, 23, 25) in order to explore the role they might have played in the Late to Terminal Classic ritual landscape. During the Classic period (250-900 CE) many Maya rulers garnered power by exploiting their followers’ reliance upon rain. When several prolonged and severe droughts struck the Maya area during the Terminal Classic period and the rains failed, so too did rulers’ power. Despite periodic droughts, the Cara Blanca pools in central Belize remained a consistent resource for freshwater. Data collected over many years of research at Cara Blanca suggest that the 25 pools are part of a ritually prescribed path, or ceremonial circuit, which developed in part as a response to rulers’ failures. Ceremonial circuits are paths that Maya walked connecting built architecture in a way that makes explicit their relationship to that space – including both the architecture and sacred, unbuilt spaces. This paper explores how these three pools, as well as two of the other Cara Blanca pools (Pools 1 and 15), may have played a unique role in the ritual landscape. Introduction During the Classic period (250-900 CE) many Maya rulers garnered power by exploiting their followers’ reliance upon rain. When several prolonged and severe droughts struck the Maya area during the Terminal Classic period and the rains failed, so too did rulers’ power (Lucero 2006). Despite periodic droughts, the Cara Blanca pools in central Belize remained a consistent resource for freshwater. Data collected over many years of research at Cara Blanca suggest that the 25 pools, which formed along an east-west axis, are part of a ritually prescribed path, or ceremonial circuit, which developed in part as a response to rulers’ failures (Lucero et al. 2016, 2017). Ceremonial circuits are paths that Maya walked connecting built architecture in a way that makes explicit their relationship to that space—including both the architecture and sacred, unbuilt spaces (Vogt 1969). Often a ceremonial circuit follows the path of the sun—moving from east to west (Astor-Aguilera 2010:131-143; Ashmore 2009). During the 2017 field season, the Valley of Peace Archaeological project surveyed the far eastern pools of the 25 (Pools 22, 23, 25). Because these three pools are the eastern-most in the system, they may have been a point of departure for the ceremonial journey. Additionally, if multiple ritual processions were undertaken at Cara Blanca, investigation of the final three pools’ integration into the landscape is essential to understanding the space. This paper presents the results from our survey and Figure 1. Map of all 25 Cara Blanca pools showing soil class. Courtesy of VOPA. the role the pools might have played in the Late to Terminal Classic ritual landscape. Cara Blanca, Belize Cara Blanca, in Central Belize, is a system of 25 pools, both shallow lakes and cenotes, steep sided water filled sinkholes (Figure 1). These pools line the base of a steep limestone cliff, which rises up 100 m above the pools. The blue, sometimes muddied waters stand in stark contrast to the white limestone cliff and the dense primary and secondary jungle vegetation. Each pool is unique, with the cenotes ranging from 5 – 60 m deep and the lakes from 2 – 18 m. The western-most pools, Pools 7-9, are lakes and have ancient Maya settlements on their southern sides. The central pools, Pools 1-5, which are all cenotes, have a noticeable dearth of residential