7 the Early Classic Period at Santa Rita Corozal: Issues of Hierarchy, Heterarchy and Stratification in Northern Belize

The Early Classic Period is well represented in the excavations undertaken at Santa Rita Corozal. The archaeological data from this site are particularly interesting because Santa Rita was a relatively small site throughout the Classic Period; yet, it is a site that had access to many long-distance trade goods. There also was a marked difference between the upper and other levels of Santa Rita Corozal society during the Early Classic Period. Contextual and spatial patterns at Santa Rita suggest that the Early Classic would be methodologically difficult to identify without a stratified excavation sample. The data recovered from the site also raise broader questions with regard to regional interaction in northern Belize during the Early Classic Period.