Minanha is a

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

archeological site located on the North Vaca Plateau of west-central

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

. The Minanha area is divided into three tiers; the Epicenter or Epicentral Court Complex, the Site Core, and the greater Minanha community. The Epicenter is approximately 9.5

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s in size and consists of a raised elite residential and ritual northern acropolis and a lower component to the south, which is thought to have been for administrative, ritual, and residential features. Minanha is at the nexus of three different eco-zones: the

Belize River The Belize River runs through the center of Belize. It drains more than one-quarter of the country as it winds along the northern edge of the Maya Mountains to the sea just north of Belize City (). The Belize river valley is largely tropical rai ...

Valley to the north, the

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

-bearing zone of the Mountain Pine Ridge to the east, and the resource-rich Peten District of Guatemala to the west. Minanha’s initial occupation was in the Middle Preclassic period between 600 BC to 400 BC , with continued occupation into the Late Preclassic period from 400 BC to AD 100 The period of greatest activity at Minanha in terms of architectural construction was in the Late Classic period between AD 675 to AD 810. Minanha experienced gradual abandonment in the Early Postclassic period between AD 900 to AD 1200. The known monuments of Minanha exhibit the Late Classic

Caracol Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District, of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau ...

-style attributes. This is observed by the presence of an ancestor shrine complex comprising an eastern structure fronted by a slate

stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), wh ...

and two uncarved compact

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

stelae, and a western structure with two uncarved limestone stelae on its summit, which are observed at the larger urban center of Caracol. Another Caracol-style attribute observed at Minanha is the construction of multiple entry tombs in both the epicenter and site core. There is also evidence of the construction of grave chambers long before they were used and the use of slate capstones in graves. Minanha also includes plazas, courtyards, patios, a

ballcourt A Mesoamerican ballcourt ( nah, tlachtli) is a large masonry structure of a type used in Mesoamerica for over 2,700 years to play the Mesoamerican ballgame, particularly the hip-ball version of the ballgame. More than 1,300 ballcourts have been i ...

, and a causeway termini shrine. The southern area of the Minanha epicenter was focused on a civic-ceremonial orientation that included large public plazas and courtyards. Additionally, within the court complex, eight stelae have been discovered. Of those eight stelae, none exhibit glyphic texts, but two might have been inscribed originally. Of the stelae that might have been inscribed, one is a soft limestone monument. The history of research at the site includes more than eight years of intensive investigations within the Minanha Epicenter 1999-2005, 2010, and continuing today. Minanha was discovered in 1922 by a chiclero, who investigated a burial chamber containing human remains and

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

vessels. In March 1927,

Thomas Gann Thomas William Francis Gann (13 May 1867 – 24 February 1938) was a medical doctor by profession, but is best remembered for his work as an amateur archaeologist exploring ruins of the Maya civilization. Personal history Thomas Gann was ...

and T. A. Joyce of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

launched an expedition to investigate the ruins and upon discovering the surrounding landscape lacked surface water, the site was named “Minanha”, which roughly translates to “Place Without Water”.

References

{{Maya sites Cayo District Maya sites in Belize