Mayan Beekeeping Past and Present

Susan Langley

The topic for the December 13 CCASM meeting was "Meliponiculture: Mayan Beekeeping Past and Present", and Susan Langley definitely kept our interest as she talked about this stingless bee of Central America that is still being kept by Mayans.  We learned that Mayans kept bees horizontally and the Mayan bee god was Ah Mucen Cab.  It's impossible to summarize all the bee and honey stories Susan shared with us.



Susan also brought samples of honey from different countries around the world for us to sample.

And since it was the holidays, there were also refreshments. (Thanks to Mary, Evelyn, Linda, Elsie, and Frank)

Susan Langley has been a beekeeper for over fifteen years.  Her “day-job” is as Maryland’s State Underwater Archaeologist directing the Maryland Maritime Archaeology Program.

Attendance: 25

Drone Anthropology and A Visit to Caracol

Alison DeCamp and Jacob Moschler

At the December 14 CCASM meeting Jacob Moschler and Alison DeCamp recounted their recent travels in Belie including a visit to the remote Caracol archaeological site in Cayo District of Belize.  Caracol was an important regional political center of the Maya Lowlands during the Classic Period.  For those who missed the talk, you can view the slides as well as the video at ter.ps/belize.

Next Jacob talked about his work with drones including a 5-year anthropology project working with anthropologist Dr Sean Downey using small drones to scan 20,000 acres of jungle in the Toledo District of southern Belize, smaller projects with archaeologist Kristin Montaperto in Prince George's County, as well as search and rescue projects.  And of course he told us about the drones and the software.  You can see videos of his recent projects on his twitter account @scallop_shell. Jacob previously had shared a YouTube video related to his work in Belize https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgdeH8HTW98 - note the large bamboo pole he used for the antenna.

Jacob Moschler is an Engineer and Drone Pilot at the University of Maryland Unmanned Aircraft Test Site in California, MD.  To find out more about University of Maryland UAS Test Site check out uas-test.umd.edu/

Attendance: 15

Excavations at a Classic Mayan Site

Tom Forhan

In the summer of 2012 Tom Forhan was part of an archaeological investigation of a Classic Mayan site Maax Na (“Spider-Monkey House”) in Belize.  At the October 10 CCASM meeting Tom described his experiences of surveying a mile-long transect through the jungle as well as the living conditions of those participating in the project.  The project was a collaborative research venture between Howard University and Bowdoin College.

Attendance: 18