Ka'Kabish is an ancient Mayan archeological site located in the Orange Walk District of Belize. It was first found during Late Pre- Classic Period around 400- 200 BC. Like many other Mayan pre- Columbian sites Ka'Kabish went into decline after failed crops lead to massive starvation. However it doesn't seem that the city was completely abandoned unlike other major Mayan cities. Ka'Kabish was inhabited until Post- Classic Period around 1200 AD when its last residents finally abandoned their homes. Archaeological digs in Ka'Kabish started in 1990's and continue to this day.
Ka'Kabish is believed to have been initially
occupied during the Maya Late Pre-Classic Period (ca. 400 BCE- 200
CE) with one temple securely dated to this time and a second
tentatively dated to this period. Material recovered from the tops
of some of the buildings suggest that the city was in use at least
until end of the Classic Period (900 CE), while evidence from the
residential zone surrounding the city indicates a thriving
occupation as late as the end of the Early Post-Classic Period (1200
CE).
The site has only recently become the focus of intensive
investigation. A mid-1990s study of the site core revealed a total
of 27 monumental structures arranged around two plazas, a subsequent
study increased the number of structures to 55.
Within
several of these structures the looted remains of tombs belonging to
high status, possibly royal individuals, were discovered. One of
these tombs was found to have possessed painted glyphs. The style is
part of a tradition of painted tombs first noted at Rio Azul in
Northern Guatemala.