Caye Coco

Caye Coco is a small (330 m X 580 m) low-lying island near the south end of Progresso Lagoon, approximately 20 km south of the town of Corozal, Belize (Masson 1999; Rosenswig et al. 2014). Most of the Island is covered with Late Postclassic occupation material, but beneath that is a Terminal Classic occupation as well. Below that, and overlying bedrock, is a layer of Archaic period deposit with evidence of pits containing refuse. Samples of stone tools from two of these pits (Pits 1 and 2) were tested for starch grains, and two were positive for maize (Rosenswig et al. 2014). Charcoal samples from both pits were dated and one appears to be Archaic in age and associated with one of the stone tools that had maize starch. The other appears to much later in age, though the stone tool--a hammerstone--is from the Archaic feature.