Ancient Maya Settlement Buried under Mangroves at Ek Way Nal, Belize

Abstract A 1.7 m marine sediment core was extracted from the Ek Way Nal underwater site to evaluate the impact of sea-level rise on the site. The location of the core was a narrow strip of land covered by living red mangroves ( Rhizophora mangle ) that bisects Ek Way Nal. If the site continued under the strip of land, then the core would have cultural material. Alternatively, the strip of land may have been present when the site was occupied. Loss-on ignition and microscopic sorting of sediment from the core were carried out to evaluate if the sediment was red mangrove peat—a proxy for sea-level rise and if the cultural material was present at depths similar to those at underwater portions of the site.