Cahal Pech

Cahal Pech

Location within Mesoamerica Show map of Mesoamerica Location within Belize Show map of Belize
Location	San Ignacio, Cayo District, Belize
Region	Cayo District
History
Founded	1200 BCE
Abandoned	900 CE
Periods	Classic
Cultures	Maya
Site notes
Excavation dates	1988 - 2000
Archaeologists	Jaime Awe National Institute of Archaeology (NICH)
Architecture
Architectural styles	Classic
Responsible body: Belize Department of Archaeology

Cahal Pech is a Maya site located near the town of San Ignacio in the Cayo District of Belize. The site was a palatial, hilltop home for an elite Maya family, and though the most major construction dates to the Classic period, evidence of continuous habitation has been dated to as far back as 1200 BCE during the Early Middle Formative period (Early Middle Preclassic), making Cahal Pech one of the oldest recognizably Maya sites in Western Belize.^[1][2]