The San Juan Basin Archaeological Society invites the public to a presentation in the Lyceum at the Center of Southwest Studies and on Zoom on Wednesday, January 14th at 7:00 pm. At 6:30 we will have social time in the CSWS foyer. Then after a brief business meeting, Dr. Mario Borrero, Assistant Professor of Archaeology at Fort Lewis, will present “The Ancient Maya from a Frontier Perspective: Southern Belize.” For log-in information, go to SJBAS.ORG.

"The Ancient Maya from a Frontier Perspective: Southern Belize." Southern Belize occupies a distinctive place in ancient Maya history. Located at the crossroads of major political regions, it developed a series of communities during the Classic period AD 250 to 900 that were deeply connected to broader political and economic networks, participating in shared Maya cultural traditions while maintaining strong local identities. This talk traces the cultural and political development of southern Belize within the context of broader Maya history from its early settlement through the Classic period, drawing on long term archaeological research at sites such as Nim li Punit, Lubaantun, Pusilaha, and Uxbenka. Framed through the speaker’s research trajectory, the presentation considers how monument building, leadership strategies, and mortuary practices reveal changing forms of power in the region. Here, the term frontier refers not to a marginal or isolated zone, but to a dynamic space of interaction where local communities negotiated identity, authority, and connectivity between larger Maya political centers. The talk concludes by situating southern Belize within current debates about the Classic Maya collapse, highlighting how smaller frontier polities help us better understand political transformation, resilience, and decline across the Maya world.

Bio
Mario Borrero is an Assistant Professor of Archaeology in the Anthropology Department and teaches in the GIS Certificate program within the Geosciences Department at Fort Lewis College. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of California, Riverside, a Master of Arts in Public Archaeology from California State University, Northridge, and his Doctorate in Anthropology from the University of California San Diego. His research focuses on digital archaeology, ancient Maya political organization, mortuary practices, and regional interaction, with particular emphasis on southern Belize.