Cerros is an important Preclassic Maya site located in the eastern lowlands of Belize, at the mouth of the New River, now partially underwater. In the Middle Preclassic (1000-400 BC) it was a small, nucleated village facing the Chetumal Bay on the Caribbean sea.
During the Late Preclassic (400 BC-AD 250), Cerros expanded and its inhabitants constructed a ceremonial precinct on the tip of the peninsula, bounded by an artificial canal. The site eventually contained more than 100 structures.
Cerros Development
Cerros is one of the most studied early Mayan sites, with no later (Classic or Postclassic) occupations. The settlement occupied a strategic location, at the mouth of a river and facing the Caribbean sea. Its inhabitants were farmers, fishermen and sea traders, with access to both sea and land resources and the ability to move products along the coast and inland via canoe navigation. Many exotic materials have been found at Cerros, such as jade and seashells, which testify to its favorable location and commercial importance.
By 50 BC the small village of Cerros had undergone huge urban renovation. Its population buried their houses and built a broad plastered plaza on top. They quarried the surrounding area so much that they had to create raised fields and platforms so their new homes wouldn't flood. Massive platform temples arose along with smaller shrines and two ball courts. The ceremonial area developed along a North-South axis culminating with an imposing temple on the northern end, called Structure 5, and a ball court on the south.
The First Temple of Cerros
At the northern end of the ceremonial axis, the people of Cerros constructed a massive ritual complex just on the tip of the peninsula, framed by the Caribbean sea.
The temple stood on top of a two-terraced platform which supported a two-room building. Inside a secluded room allowed the king to perform private rituals. Within this inner chamber, archaeologists discovered four sockets on the floor that once supported four poles. These poles, about 9 meters (30 ft.) high and emerging out of the thatched roof of the temple, symbolized the four sacred Maya trees which marked the four cardinal directions.
However, the most important part of the ritual took place along the staircase that connected the temple with the plaza. This area was a sort of stage for public ritual performance to which the entire community could attend, watching from the plaza below. The staircase was flanked by huge painted plastered masks portraying the Sun and Venus.
Cerros' Stucco Masks
The masks occupied the front side of the first and second terraces of the platform, flanking the stairway. The eastern side of the lower terrace portrayed a giant mask of the Sun symbolizing its rising aspect, whereas on the west the sun was setting. The mask on the second terrace depicted Venus as morning star on the east and as evening star on the west. All this cosmological scene was framed by the sea on its back.
The path of the king walking out of the temple and standing on the landing along the stairway would have, therefore, mimicked the path of the sun and Venus, connecting the royal figure to the cosmos.
The Acropolis and the Second Temple
Later on, a massive acropolis was constructed at Cerros, just south of Structure 5. This complex is composed of a large temple flanked by two smaller buildings, built on top of an elevated platform, about 60 x 60 meters (about 196 x 196 ft.) wide and more than 16 meters (52 ft.) high.
Buried on top of the platform, called by the archaeologists Structure 6, there was a dedicatory offering of five green jade pendants, carved into human faces. These were probably part of a royal ornament.
Structure 4, the Last Temple
The final platform-temple complex constructed at Cerros was Structure 4, built along the East-West axis of the settlement instead of the usual North-South. This is the largest construction of the site. It was 60 x 60 meters (about 196 x 196 ft.) wide and more than 20 meters (65 ft.) high. On its summit the archaeologists found an empty, never used burial chamber. For unknown reasons its royal occupant never had the chance to be buried there.
Cerros Abandonment
Cerros was abandoned at the end of the Preclassic period, for unknown reasons. This event is indicated by a series of termination rituals, such as burning and smashing of royal jewels and vessels. The later inhabitants of Cerros also lighted fires against some of the giant stucco masks, symbols of the power of their lords, manifesting the failure of the king power to satisfy the population's needs or to cope with some unknown event.
Cerros again became a small village for a short period before being definitively abandoned.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to , and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Schele Linda and David Freidel, 1990, A Forest of Kings. Harper-Perennial, New York.
Sharer Robert J., and Loa P. Traxler, 2006, The Ancient Maya. Sixth Edition, Stanford University Press, Stanford California.