The collision of heritage and economy at Uxbenká, Belize

The relationship between the Mopan Maya community of Santa Cruz and the Classic period Maya site of Uxbenká in southern Belize has had a lasting impact on archaeological investigation and conservation at the site over the last generation. Community members, long the ‘stewards’ of Uxbenká, believe they have an economic right to the ruins that translates loosely into ‘ownership’. Although they seek to maintain the relationship between Santa Cruz and Uxbenká, archaeologists with the Uxbenká Archaeological Project (UAP) challenge the legitimacy of the community’s claim via the power vested in them by the state to conduct scholarly investigations at the site. For both the UAP and the state‐affiliated Institute of Archaeology, Uxbenká belongs not to one village but to all Belizeans. This paper is a data‐driven analysis of the interactions and expectations of community members, archaeologists, and the state as they interact within the archaeoscape of Uxbenká.