161 days until the 2017 Belize Archaeology Symposium. It is never too late to plan ahead! It is always a great time to learn more about our history and meet up with new and old friends.

On June 28-30, 2017, the Belize National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) will host the 15th annual Belize Archeology Symposium at the San Ignacio Resort Hotel in San Ignacio, Belize. This year’s special topic will be “The Origin of Ancient Maya Lifeways and Society: Preclassic and Early Classic Developments.”

Admittance for the symposium is $10 BZD for residents and $20 BZD for non-residents. Registration will open at 7:30 AM on each day of the symposium. Pre-registration is heartily encouraged and attendance is by invitation only. For more information, contact the Institute of Archeology at 822-2106 or by email at [email protected].

The modern day nation of Belize is located in what was once the heartland of the ancient Maya civilization. Once dominating the region from today’s Mexico down to El Salvador, the ancient Maya boasted a population of approximately one million people who constructed thousands of monuments, temples, and pyramids.

The annual Belize Archeology Symposium will present a number of papers as well as keynote addresses by scholars. In attendance will be both professional and amateur persons interested in Belizean archaeology as well as student and research groups interested in archaeology and the ancient history of Belize. Last year’s symposium discussed architecture and design in ancient Maya society as well as the results of active archeological excavations in Belize.