They were also located so that they could easily be reached by canoes coming from the coast bringing goods to be later loaded onto canoes plying the coast itself. On the windward side of the island, communities did not have access to exotic goods to the degree of their wealthier neighbors. They made their own pottery, had fewer stone tools, and erected no buildings with substructures, or formal architecture. The reef merges with the island at Rocky Point, cutting off these communities from the long-distance trade routes. Terminal Classic Period Changes leading to the Terminal Classic seemed to have been quantitative rather than qualitative.
Most sites show a continuation of the patterns which had been developed earlier.
Major construction at these sites, however, was replaced by repeated reburbishings on a smaller scale. Trade goods were abundant and interaction is seen with Yucatan, Campeche, and southern Belize as well as mainland northern Belize. A mortuary pattern of repeated, very shallow burials reflects the low level of energy invested in all such activities. During this period Ambergris continued to participate in the maritime trade system. However, we do not know what stresses were exerted upon the system which reduced construction activity.