Cahal Pech is a
Maya site located near the town of
San Ignacio in the
Cayo District of
Belize. The site was a palatial, hilltop home for an elite
Maya family, and though most major construction dates to the
Classic period, evidence of continuous habitation has been dated to as far back as 1200 BCE during the Early Middle Formative period (Early Middle
Preclassic), making Cahal Pech one of the oldest recognizably
Maya sites in Western
Belize.