POLLEN, PHYTOLITH, AND STARCH ANALYSES OF TWO SAMPLES OF DENTAL CALCULUS FROM MIDNIGHT TERROR CAVE, BELIZE

Midnight Terror Cave lies in the Cayo District, ca. 16 km southwest of Belmopan, in central Belize. Studies of the cave by California State University, Los Angeles, in association with the Belizean Institute of Archaeology, revealed eight naturally divided sections (called ‘Operations’). Significant quantities (more than 10,000 bones and bone fragments) of calcified human remains from the Late Classic period (AD 600–900) lay on the surface of the cave floor (Prout and Brady 2018:3). Operations V and VIII, in particular, contained the greatest quantities of bones. Teeth from both Operations V and VIII were submitted for dental calculus analysis, with the objective to better understand the diets and dental health of the deceased.