and settlement Excavations have produced abundant information on the Maya exploitation of fauna and flora. Key mammalian species hunted at Pacbitun were deer (both white tailed and brocket), peccary (both White-lipped and Collared), and tapir, along with smaller numbers of domesticated dog, jaguar, and howler monkey. There were also traces of turtles, likely caught from a local waterhole, catfish, perhaps from the Macal River, agouti, paca, curassow and turkey, and very large quantities of shells from collected freshwater snails (jute). The latter, were likely a protein supplement to the local diet. Paleobotanical evidence (macrobotanicals) indicate the Pacbitun Maya made use of corn, as well as ramon and coyol. Chemical analyses of samples of human bone and teeth have revealed insights to subsistence, nutrition and health of the Pacbitun Maya. More than 300 housemounds were identified and mapped through field survey in the Periphery Zone surrounding the center, and about a quarter of these were test excavated. The latter provide evidence to document settlement patterns, and population changes, over time at Pacbitun. Slightly more than half of these elevated knolls were stand alone, isolated, mounds. The rest were found clustered in residential patio groups (plazuelas), typically with three mounds. Ranging in size from about 1–2 m tall, these mounds (following excavation) were shown to be primarily earth and stone residential platforms for perishable houses of the common Maya. Many had typical household refuse associated with them, including remains of manos and metates, broken stone tools (chert and obsidian), and coarse, household pottery. Some also contained humble, common graves within them, placed by the Maya below house floors of dirt or plaster. The majority of the housemounds were clustered (in number and density) within 250 m of the center of the site, but some mounds have been identified as much as 3-5 kilometers away. Mortuary customs Burials at the site show clear mortuary traditions linked to other sites of the Belize River Valley. The vast majority of the identified burials contained individuals lying in an extended position, on their backs (supine), with heads to the south. This burial pattern is well documented at neighboring Valley sites. Among the site elite, Pacbitun exhibited a surprising number of burials with a male and female pair. There were also several interments of sacrificial victims (both adults and children). Mortuary offerings for commoners were simple, and limited in quantity, while elite graves (crypts and one tomb)