EXAMINING THE POLITICAL DYNAMICS UNDERLYING THE RISE OF THE LATE CLASSIC MAYA POLITY OF LOWER DOVER, BELIZE

Our report overviews and summarizes our current understanding of the rise of the Late Classic (AD 600-900) Maya polity of Lower Dover in the Belize River Valley. We draw on settlement survey data and excavation data from commoner households, minor centers, and the civic-ceremonial center to distinguish between several hypothetical developmental trajectories for the Late Classic polity. While investigations are still ongoing, multiple lines of evidence overlap to suggest that Lower Dover likely emerged as a top-down imposition by an external regime with some degree of political power.