RECENT INVESTIGATIONS AT LAS RUINAS DE ARENAL, BELIZE

Las Ruinas de Arenal is a medium-sized polity in the Mopan River valley. The Mopan Valley Preclassic Project (MVPP) initiated excavations there in 2015, building on earlier research by Joseph Ball and Jennifer Taschek. Here we discuss MVPP investigations of (1) the extent of the settlement; (2) the early E Group; and (3) a domestic complex. We have documented a long history of occupation from around 1000 BCE through the Terminal Classic period, during which the site emerged as an important political center beginning in the Middle Preclassic and continuing through the Early and Late Classic periods. Here we describe our most recent findings, which reveal a complex history of ritual practice that established the heart of the Arenal community. This history likely informed Late Classic inhabitants who built a residential complex just east of the ballcourt on top of a Preclassic platform. Our recent investigations at Arenal shed light on the long, dynamic history of this important political center.