A qualitative inquiry of food insecurity in Belize

Objective: To explore and provide contextual meaning around issues surrounding food insecurity, namely, factors influencing food access, as one domain of food security. Design: A community-based, qualitative inquiry using semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted as part of a larger sequential mixed-methods study. Setting: Cayo District, Belize, May 2019-August 2019. Participants: Thirty English-speaking individuals (8 males, 22 females) between the ages of 18-70, with varying family composition residing within the Cayo District. Results: Participants describe a complex interconnectedness between family- and individual-level barriers to food access. Specifically, family composition, income, education, and employment influence individuals’ ability to afford and access food for themselves or their families. Participants also cite challenges with transportation and distance to food sources and educational opportunities as barriers to accessing food. Conclusion: These findings provide insight around food security and food access barriers in a middle-income country and provide avenues for further study and potential interventions. Increased and sustained investment in primary and secondary education, including programs to support enrollment, should be a priority to decreasing food insecurity. Attention to building public infrastructure may also ease burdens around accessing foods.

Early Maya Ceremonial Architecture at Pacbitun, Belize

The development of Middle Preclassic (900–300 BC) ceremonial architecture is receiving more attention by archaeologists conducting research in the Maya Lowlands. Although a few examples have been partially excavated, there is still a dearth of information on how and why monumental constructions were originally built. This is largely because early structures often lie below several layers of sequential architecture, making them difficult to locate. Even when Middle Preclassic architecture is identified, exposure is often too limited to fully investigate its form and function. A well-preserved and accessible Middle Preclassic platform would be a rare find and could greatly enhance our knowledge and understanding of the subject. At Pacbitun, Cayo District, Belize, such a discovery has been made beneath the artificially raised surface of the main plaza. To make the most of this opportunity, five seasons of excavation worked to expose this massive building in its entirety. In this article, we provide details concerning the structural design of the platform and its abandonment, as well as present potential architectural comparisons. We conclude by reevaluating complexity at Pacbitun.

Description of Triatoma mopan sp. n. from a cave in Belize (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae)

In this paper, Triatomamopan sp. n. is described based on five males and six females collected in the Rio Frio cave, Cayo District, Belize. This species is similar to Triatomadimidiata (Latreille), but can be distinguished by characters found on the pronotum, legs, and abdomen. Geometric morphometry and phylogenetic comparisons are also provided. Presently, the species is known only from the type locality and is a potential Chagas vector.

Attitudes and perceived barriers to women participating in a proposed community-based conservation programme in Belize

Many global efforts to decrease deforestation have focused on community-based conservation programmes to reach their goals. However, many such programmes are lacking a potentially helpful population, women. We employed key-informant interviews to examine attitudes towards, and barriers to, women's participation in a community-based conservation programme prior to implementation. We conducted 47 semi-structured interviews in January 2015 in communities adjacent to the Vaca Forest Reserve in the Cayo District of Belize. Results indicated that the benefits of involving women in community-based conservation activities included them learning more about the forest and conservation, transferring this knowledge to their family and community, and helping the environment. Some possible barriers to participation included lack of time and motivation to participate. However, there were notable differences between men's and women's responses relating to women's available time and their willingness to participate, with men not mentioning time as a barrier and stating that women would need more motivation to participate. The results will be used to work with local women to collaboratively develop and implement a community-based conservation programme around the Vaca Forest Reserve.

Contextualizing the Glyphic Texts of Tipan Chen Uitz, Cayo District, Belize

The 2011 investigations of the Caves Branch Archaeological Survey at the large and recently documented Maya site of Tipan Chen Uitz resulted in the discovery of the site's first monument with a glyphic inscription. Prior to this discovery, the site's glyphic corpus was limited to a small collection of texts rendered on fragmentary ceramics. In this paper, we describe these sherds as well as the monument (Monument 1), report on their archaeological contexts, provide an epigraphic analysis of the texts, and consider these written sources relative to our growing understanding of Tipan and its place in the ancient political landscape. The discovery of Monument 1 is important, for it stands to contribute to sociopolitical reconstructions in this part of the central Maya Lowlands and has significant implications for the possible presence of other, as yet undiscovered, Late Classic period (A.D. 550-830) monuments at Tipan.