  :for the quÃ©bÃ©coise singer see carole facal.  caracol is the name given to a large ancient maya archaeological site, located in what is now the cayo district of belize. it is situated approximately 40 kilometres south of xunantunich and the town of san ignacio cayo, and 15 kilometers away from the macal river. it rests on the vaca plateau at an elevation of 500 meters above sea-level, in the foothills of the maya mountains.arlen chase and diane chase, 1987 investigations at the classic maya city of caracol, belize: 1985-1987. pre-columbian art research institute, san francisco. long thought to be a tertiary center, it is now known that the site was one of the most important regional political centers of the maya lowlands during the classic period. caracol covered approximately 200 square kilometers,arlen chase and diane chase 2009 interpreting the maya âcollapseâ: continued investigation of residential complexes in and near caracolâs epicenter: 2009 field report of the caracol archaeological project. http://caracol.org/reports/2009.php, accessed november 20, 2011 covering an area much larger than present-day belize city (the largest metropolitan area in the country) and supported more than twice the modern city's population. ==etymology== "caracol" is a modern name from  "snail, shell", but more generally meaning spiral- or volute-shaped&mdash; apparently on account of the winding access road that led to the site.kelly (1996, p.82) its ancient name has been reconstructed from the emblem glyph popular among its early rulers - ux witz ajaw, or âthree hills lordâ. the full name of caracol would be "three-hills water," read oxwitza',simon martin and nik
Cayo_District Classic_period_in_Mesoamerica Former_populated_places_in_Belize Maya_sites Maya_sites_in_Belize