Santa Rita is a Maya ruin and an archaeological reserve on the outskirts of Corozal, Belize.

[2] The discovery of a burial site containing very early pottery has dated the formation of the city between 2000 and 1200 BCE.

These rivers served as major arteries of trade to centres in the interior such as Lamanai and those in El Petén.

[2] After a short decline during the Late Classic period, Santa Rita once again rose to prominence.

[1] The earliest indication of inhabitants at Santa Rita Corozal is dated to the Preclassic Period (1200-900 BCE).

Thirteen burials found from this time period indicate that an extensive social hierarchy was in place.

One of these burials, which is dated to 450 A.D. contained what is thought to be a powerful ruler of Santa Rita Corozal.

At the time of its origin the Postclassic Maya were seen as a declining society that had abandoned its rituals, cities and were a shadow of their former splendor.

By the Late Postclassic period Santa Rita Corozal had its highest number of inhabitants.

[5] The modern town of Corozal was founded in 1848 by refugees from the Caste War in neighbouring Yucatán, and expanded steadily making it the major ethnicity in the country at the time.

The ruins of Santa Rita became a target for building resources; the mounds of the site made convenient road fill and the stones were used for structure foundations.

One contained the remains an elderly woman surrounded with jewellery and pottery; the other was that of a warlord, evident from the artefacts found buried with him — a ceremonial flint representing leadership and a stingray spine most used in blood-letting rituals.

[2] The presence of items of Aztec origin, also dating from the Postclassic period, attest to the continuing trade importance of Santa Rita several hundred years after the decline of the major ceremonial centres of the interior.