Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996: Results of the Selz Foundation Yaxuna Project 9781407305455, 9781407335865

Table of contents :
Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Figure and Table Index
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2 BACKGROUND TO THE INVESTIGATIONS
CHAPTER 3 NATURAL SETTING
CHAPTER 4 CHRONOLOGY
CHAPTER 5 EXCAVATIONS
CHAPTER 6 FINAL COMMENTS
APPENDIX I THE FAUNAL MATERIALS FROM YAXUNÁ, YUCATÁN, MEXICO
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Citation preview

l na tio ne di nli ad l o ith ria W ate m

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Results of the Selz Foundation Yaxuna Project

Travis W. Stanton, David A. Freidel, Charles K. Suhler, Traci Ardren, James N. Ambrosino, Justine M. Shaw and Sharon Bennett

BAR International Series 2056 2010

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Results of the Selz Foundation Yaxuna Project

Travis W. Stanton, David A. Freidel, Charles K. Suhler, Traci Ardren, James N. Ambrosino, Justine M. Shaw and Sharon Bennett

BAR International Series 2056 2010

ISBN 9781407305455 paperback ISBN 9781407335865 e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407305455 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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PUBLISHING

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FIGURE AND TABLE INDEX

v

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Selz Foundation Yaxuná Archeological Project Selz Foundation Yaxuná Archaeological Project Field Chronology 1986, 1988, and 1989 1991 1992 1993 1994 – 1996 The Stratigraphy of Desecration Directors of Research Field Crew 1986-1996 Acknowledgements

1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4

CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND TO THE INVESTIGATIONS The Carnegie Years (1930 – 1958) Selz Foundation Fieldwork (1986 – 1997)

5 5 7

CHAPTER 3: NATURAL SETTING

33

CHAPTER 4: CHRONOLOGY Yaxuná Ia (750/500 B.C.-250 B.C.) Yaxuná Ib (250 B.C.-A.D. 250) Yaxuná IIa (A.D. 250-A.D. 400) Yaxuná IIb (A.D. 400-A.D. 550) Yaxuná IIc (A.D. 550-A.D. 600) Yaxuná III (A.D. 600-700/730) Yaxuná IVa (A.D. 700/730-A.D. 900/950) Yaxuná IVb (A.D. 900/950- A.D. 1100/1200) Yaxuná V (1100/1200-1400?) Yaxuná VI (¿?)

35 35 37 38 39 40 41 43 49 52 52

CHAPTER 5: EXCAVATIONS Operations 1 and 67: Structure 6E-13 Operations 2, 73, and 76: The Ballcourt Plaza Operation 73: Structure 6F-14 Operation 74: Structure 6F-12 Operations 2 and 76: The Ballcourt Operation 3: 5E-73 Complex Operation 4: Structure 6F-37 Operations 5 and 75: Structure 5E-19 Op. 5 Op. 75a: Structure 5E-19 Op. 75b: Structure 5E-18 Operation 6: Sacbé 1 Operation 7: Structure 4E-5 Operation 8: Structure 5F-3 Operation 9: Structure 6E-2 Operation 11: Structure 5E-84 Operation 12: Structure 6F-3 Operation 13: Structure 6E-14 Operation 14: 6E-30 Complex Operation 15: 5E-52 Group Operation 16: Xkanhá Acropolis The Early Classic

53 53 54 54 55 58 61 72 73 74 74 79 80 81 82 84 85 85 85 86 97 108 110 i

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Structure 13 Structure 15 and Structure 16 Structure 12 Group Structure 14 Group Structure 4 Structure 10 The Entrances Structure 8 and Structure 9 Structure 3 Structure 2 Structure 11 Structure 6 The Terminal Classic Structure 4 Structure 15 and Structure 16 Structure 8 Structure 10 Structure 2 Structure 11 The Postclassic Structure 11 Structure 7 Operation 18: Structure 5E-96 Operation 19: Structure 5E-103 Operation 20: Structure 5E-105 Operation 21: Structure 6E-121 Operation 22: Structure 6E-122 Operation 23: Structure 5E-166 Operation 24: Structure 6E-112 Operation 25: Structure 6E-109 Operations 26 and 33: Structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 Operation 27: Structure 6E-58 Operation 28: Structure 6E-60 Operation 29: Off-Mound, Structure 6E-120 Operation 30: Structure 4E-42 Operation 31: Structure 4E-39 Operation 32: Structure 4E-30 Operation 34: Structure 6F-9 Operation 35: Structure 5E-80 Operation 36: Structure 5E-82 Operation 37: Structure 5E-83 Operation 38: Structure 5E-167 Operation 39: Structure 6F-3 Structure 6F-3/6th Structure 6F-3/5th Burial 23 Structure 6F-3/4th Structure 6F-3/3rd Structure 6F-3/2nd Structure 6F-3/1st Operation 39: Structure 6F-4 Structure 6F-4/6th Structure 6F-4/5th Structure 6F-4/4th Burial 24 Caches 2 and 3 Structure 6F-4/2nd Structure 6F-4/1st Operation 40: Structure 6F-7 and Structure 6F-72 Structure 6F-7 Structure 6F-72 Substructure 6F-7 Architecture ii

110 112 115 120 122 122 123 123 124 124 126 128 129 129 131 132 132 133 134 135 135 135 136 137 139 140 141 141 142 143 143 149 150 150 150 151 151 152 156 157 158 158 160 160 160 164 170 171 174 176 179 179 183 186 191 203 205 211 212 213 215 217

Table of Contents Operation 78: Structure 6F-68 Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 The Southern Terrace Operation 41: Structure 6F-44 Operation 42: Structure 5E-167 Shrine Operation 43: Structure 4E-20 Operation 44: Structure 4E-22 Operation 45: Structure 4E-21 Operation 46: Structure 5E-30 Operation 48: Structure 6F-8 Structure 6F-8 Substructures Structure 6F-8 Operation 49: Structure 5F-49 Operation 50: Structure 5F-48 Operation 51: Structure 5F-4 Operation 52: Structure 5F-46 Operation 53: Structure 5F-37 Operation 54: Structure 4F-22 Operation 55: Structure 5F-55 Operation 56: Structure 4F-22 Operation 57: Structure 4F-29 Operation 58: Structure 4F-36 Operation 69: Structure 6F-73 Operation 70: Structure 6F-13 Operation 71: Structure 6F-43 Operation 80: Structure 6F-1 Operation 81: North Acropolis Sascabera Operation 82: 6F-1 Wall The Perimeter Wall Other Walls Between Major Structures

219 226 227 227 229 230 232 232 234 235 236 238 238 239 240 242 242 242 242 243 243 243 244 244 245 246 247 249 249 249 249 253

CHAPTER 6: FINAL COMMENTS The Middle Formative The Late Formative The Early Classic The Late Classic The Terminal Classic The Postclassic

255 255 256 259 262 264 265

APPENDIX I: THE FAUNAL MATERIALS FROM YAXUNÁ, YUCATÁN, MEXICO Introduction Structure of the Report Materials and Methods Results The Minor Fauna Large Faunal Deposits Structure 6F-3 Structure 6F-9 Structure 6F-37 Structure 6F-68 Structure 6F-73 Conclusions

267 267 267 267 269 272 272 272 277 277 278 282 282

BIBLIOGRAPHY

285

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iii

Figure and Table Index

FIGURE AND TABLE INDEX

Figure 2.1: Figure 2.2: Figure 2.3: Figure 2.4: Figure 2.5: Figure 2.6: Figure 2.7: Figure 2.8: Figure 2.9: Figure 2.10: Figure 2.11: Figure 2.12: Figure 2.13: Figure 2.14: Figure 2.15: Figure 2.16: Figure 2.17: Figure 2.18: Figure 2.19: Figure 2.20: Figure 2.21: Figure 2.22: Figure 2.23: Figure 2.24: Figure 2.25: Figure 2.26: Figure 3.1: Figure 4.1: Figure 4.2: Figure 4.3: Figure 4.4: Figure 4.5: Figure 4.6: Figure 4.7: Figure 4.8: Figure 4.9: Figure 4.10: Figure 4.11: Figure 4.12: Figure 4.13: Figure 4.14: Figure 4.15: Figure 4.16: Figure 4.17: Figure 4.18: Figure 4.19: Figure 4.20: Figure 4.21: Figure 4.22: Figure 4.23: Figure 4.24: Figure 4.25: Figure 4.26: Figure 4.27: Figure 4.28: Figure 4.29: Figure 4.30:

Map of the Maya Area Carnegie Institution Map of Yaxuná (taken from Brainerd 1958) Yaxuná Monument 1 (taken from Brainerd 1958) Political Spheres (after Andrews and Robles Castellanos 1985, redrawn by Tatiana Loya) Maler-Style Map of the Site Center of Yaxuná Topographic Map of Yaxuná Detail of Northeast Quadrant of the 4E Grid Square Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 4E Grid Square Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 4F Grid Square Detail of Northeast Quadrant of the 5E Grid Square Detail of Northwest Quadrant of the 5E Grid Square Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 5E Grid Square Detail of Southwest Quadrant of the 5E Grid Square Detail of Northeast Quadrant of the 5F Grid Square Detail of Northwest Quadrant of the 5F Grid Square Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 5F Grid Square Detail of Southwest Quadrant of the 5F Grid Square Detail of Northeast Quadrant of the 6E Grid Square Detail of Northwest Quadrant of the 6E Grid Square Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 6E Grid Square Detail of Southwest Quadrant of the 6E Grid Square Detail of Northeast Quadrant of the 6F Grid Square Detail of Northwest Quadrant of the 6F Grid Square Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 6F Grid Square Detail of Southwest Quadrant of the 6F Grid Square Map of the Yaxuná Region Map of Geological Zones (after Wilson 1980) Ceramic Chronology of Sites in the Maya Lowlands Joventud Red Achiotes Unslipped Ciego Composite Sierra Red Ichcanziho Striated Saban Unslipped Caucel Trickle on Red Xanaba Red Xanaba Red Caucel Trickle on Red Balanza Black a) Balanza Black; b) Kanachen Black Kanachen Black Balanza Black Peba Composite Marmona Impressed Lucha Incised Arena Red Arena Red Arena Red Xcatun Impressed Arena Red Cajete Supports Cajetes, Muna Slate Variedad Cafetoso Cajetes, Muna Slate Variedad Cafetoso Cazuelas and Cánteros, Muna Slate Muna Slate Ollas, Muna Slate Akil Impressed Tekit Incised v

6 8 9 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 34 36 37 37 37 38 38 38 39 39 39 39 39 40 40 40 40 41 41 42 42 43 43 43 44 44 45 45 46 47 47

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Figure 4.31: Figure 4.32: Figure 4.33: Figure 4.34: Figure 4.35: Figure 4.36: Figure 4.37: Figure 4.38: Figure 4.39: Figure 4.40: Figure 4.41: Figure 4.42: Figure 4.43: Figure 4.44: Figure 4.45: Figure 4.46: Figure 4.47: Figure 5.1: Figure 5.2: Figure 5.3: Figure 5.4: Figure 5.5: Figure 5.6: Figure 5.7: Figure 5.8: Figure 5.9: Figure 5.10: Figure 5.11: Figure 5.12: Figure 5.13: Figure 5.14: Figure 5.15: Figure 5.16: Figure 5.17: Figure 5.18: Figure 5.19: Figure 5.20: Figure 5.21: Figure 5.22: Figure 5.23: Figure 5.24: Figure 5.25: Figure 5.26: Figure 5.27: Figure 5.28: Figure 5.29: Figure 5.30: Figure 5.31: Figure 5.32: Figure 5.33: Figure 5.34: Figure 5.35: Figure 5.36: Figure 5.37: Figure 5.38: Figure 5.39: Figure 5.40: Figure 5.41: Figure 5.42: Figure 5.43: Figure 5.44:

Cazuelas, Sacalum Black on Slate Chumayel Red on Slate Sacalum Black on Slate Dzan Composite Muna Group, Unspecified Dzibalchen Acanalado Celtum Applique Dos Caras Striated Becal Incised Pisté Striated Pisté Striated Pisté Striated Pisté Striated Pisté Striated Pisté Striated Pisté Striated Chen Mul Modeled South Profile of Sacbé 1 Ramp and 6E-13 South Profile of Test Pit on the Summit of Structure 6E-13 Plan View of Structure 6F-14 North Profile Op. 73 Plan of Structure 6F-12 North Profile Op. 74 Sculpted Figure of Ix Chel Excavations at the Ballcourt Cross Section of Ballcourt Plan of Ballcourt North Terrace of Ballcourt Western Extension of Ballcourt Glyph Block Construction Sequence of the 5E-73 Complex Op. 3b Profile, East Wall Op. 3b Profile, North Wall Front Wall of Structure 5E-75 Northern Side of Structure 5E-75; Stairway is Located Farther to the North at the Base of the Platform Plan of Op. 3d Profile of Western Stairway in Op. 3d Structure 5E-75 after Consolidation Plan of Structure 5E-75 Plan of Structure 5E-77 West Profile of Op. 3g Section of the Northern Wall of the 5E-73 Platform Plan of Burial 3 Plan of Op. 3h North Profile of Probe in Op. 3h Plan of Northeast Corner of Structure 5E-77 West Profile of Op. 3i Plan of Burial 9 North Profile of Op. 3j Plan of Op. 4 West Profile of Op. 5 East Profile of Op. 75a Plan of the Upper Levels of the Summit Excavations of Structure 5E-19 West Profile of Summit Excavations of Structure 5E-19 South Profile of Terrace Wall of Structure 5E-19 Plan of the Lower Levels of the Summit Excavations of Structure 5E-19 South Profile of „Box-Like‟ Area of Structure 5E-19 Plan of Op. 75b North Profile of Op. 75b East Profile of Subfloor Test in Op. 75b North Profile of Op. 6 vi

47 47 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 49 50 50 50 50 50 51 51 53 54 54 55 56 56 57 58 59 59 60 60 61 61 62 62 62 63 63 64 65 66 66 67 67 68 69 70 70 71 72 72 73 73 74 76 77 77 78 79 80 81 82 82

Figure and Table Index Figure 5.45: Figure 5.46: Figure 5.47: Figure 5.48: Figure 5.49: Figure 5.50: Figure 5.51: Figure 5.52: Figure 5.53: Figure 5.54: Figure 5.55: Figure 5.56: Figure 5.57: Figure 5.58: Figure 5.59: Figure 5.60: Figure 5.61: Figure 5.62: Figure 5.63: Figure 5.64: Figure 5.65: Figure 5.66: Figure 5.67: Figure 5.68: Figure 5.69: Figure 5.70: Figure 5.71: Figure 5.72: Figure 5.73: Figure 5.74: Figure 5.75: Figure 5.76: Figure 5.77: Figure 5.78: Figure 5.79: Figure 5.80: Figure 5.81: Figure 5.82: Figure 5.83: Figure 5.84: Figure 5.85: Figure 5.86: Figure 5.87: Figure 5.88: Figure 5.89: Figure 5.90: Figure 5.91: Figure 5.92: Figure 5.93: Figure 5.94: Figure 5.95: Figure 5.96: Figure 5.97: Figure 5.98: Figure 5.99: Figure 5.100: Figure 5.101: Figure 5.102: Figure 5.103: Figure 5.104: Figure 5.105: Figure 5.106:

Plan of Op. 7 West Profile of Op. 8 East Profile of Op. 9 Plan of Op. 11 South Profile of Op. 12 Monolithic Blocks at Structure 6E-14 East Profile of Op. 13 North Profile of Op. 14a North Profile of Op. 14b Plan of Burial 6 Crypt Plan of Burial 6 Plan of Floor 1, Op. 14d North Profile of Op. 14d South Profile of Op. 14e East Profile of Op. 14e Plan of Structure 6E-30-3rd East Profile of Op. 14f Plan of Op. 14g Plan of Op. 14h West Profile of Op. 14i Plan of Flagstone Pavement in Op. 14h Plan of Op. 14j North Profile of Op. 14j North Profile of Op. 15a North Profile Profile of Western Portion of Trench, Op. 15b North Profile Profile of Eastern Portion of Trench, Op. 15b Stucco from Op. 15b Stucco from Op. 15b East Profile of Op. 15c South Profile of Op. 15d North Profile of Op. 15e North Profile of Op.15f East Profile of Op. 15g Plan of 5E-59-2nd Plan of Burial 5 North Profile of Op. 15h Topographic Map of Xkanhá Maler-Style Map of Xkanhá Plan of the Xkanhá Acropolis South Profile of Op. 16-D Wall of Structure 13, Xkanhá Eastern Wall of Structure 13 Scale Plan of Structure 16 North Profile of Structure 15 Plan of the Structure 12 Group Plan of Op. 16-K Front of Structure 12, Xkanhá South Profile of Subfloor Test in Structure 12 Northern Profile of Op. 16-V North Profile of Op. 72-C Plan of Xkanhá Structure 14 Profile of Eastern Interior Wall of Structure 14, Op. 16-R West Profile of Op. 16-Z Plan of Operations 16-A, 16-J, 16-L, and 16-N Southern Interior Profile of Structure 8, Op. 16-A Southern Exterior Profile of Structure 8, Op.16-J Plan of Structure 9, Op.16-L Profile of Eastern Interior Wall of Structure 2 with Sub-Floor Test, Op. 16-H Plan of Structure 2-2nd, Op. 16-H Profile of Eastern Interior Wall and Entranceways of Structure 11, Op. 16-X Plan of Xkanhá Structure 11 Southern Profile of Sub-Floor Test in Structure 11, Op. 16-X vii

83 83 84 85 85 86 86 87 87 88 89 89 90 90 91 92 93 93 94 94 95 96 96 98 99 100 101 101 102 103 104 105 106 106 107 107 108 108 109 110 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 119 120 121 121 123 124 125 125 126 126 127 128

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Figure 5.107: Figure 5.108: Figure 5.109: Figure 5.110: Figure 5.111: Figure 5.112: Figure 5.113: Figure 5.114: Figure 5.115: Figure 5.116: Figure 5.117: Figure 5.118: Figure 5.119: Figure 5.120: Figure 5.121: Figure 5.122: Figure 5.123: Figure 5.124: Figure 5.125: Figure 5.126: Figure 5.127: Figure 5.128: Figure 5.129: Figure 5.130: Figure 5.131: Figure 5.132: Figure 5.133: Figure 5.134: Figure 5.135: Figure 5.136: Figure 5.137: Figure 5.138: Figure 5.139: Figure 5.140: Figure 5.141: Figure 5.142: Figure 5.143: Figure 5.144: Figure 5.145: Figure 5.146: Figure 5.147: Figure 5.148: Figure 5.149: Figure 5.150: Figure 5.151: Figure 5.152: Figure 5.153: Figure 5.154: Figure 5.155: Figure 5.156: Figure 5.157: Figure 5.158: Figure 5.159: Figure 5.160: Figure 5.161: Figure 5.162: Figure 5.163: Figure 5.164: Figure 5.165: Figure 5.166: Figure 5.167: Figure 5.168:

Northern Profile of Trench on Eastern Exterior Face of Xkanhá Structure 11, Op. 16-X Southern Profile of Xkanhá Structure 6, Op. 16-G Plan of Structure 4-2nd, Op. 16-Z East Profile of Probe of the Tower Plan of Column Fragments in Xkanhá Structure 15 North-South Profile of Xkanhá Structure 10 Profile of Showing the Base of West Wall of Structure 10, Xkanhá Plan of Xkanhá Structure 2 Plan of Feature 1, Op. 16-X Plan of Structure 7, Op. 72-B West Profile of Op. 18, Structure 5E-96 West Profile of Op. 19a, Structure 5E-103 Plan of Burials 1 and 8 Plan of Burial 1 Plan of Burial 8 Plan of Op. 20, Structure 5E-105 North Profile of Op. 20, Structure 5E-105 South Profile of Op. 20, Structure 5E-105 Plan of Burials 2 and 4 Plan of Op. 21, Structure 6E-121 Plan of Op. 22, Structure 6E-122 West Profile of Op. 22, Structure 6E-122 West Profile of Op. 24, Structure 6E-112 Plan of Op. 25, Structure 6E-109 North Profile of Op. 25, Structure 6E-109 Plan of Structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 Doorway in Structure 6E-120 Doorway in Structure 6E-120 Doorway in Structure 6E-120 Stairway of Structure 6E-53 North Profile of Structure 6E-120 Niches in the North-South Corridor of Structure 6E-120 North Profile of Subfloor Test Pit in Structure 6E-120 South Profile of Stair of Structure 6E-53 Plan of Cache 5 Bucket Vessel from Cache 5 Lid to Cache 5 Cache 5 In Situ West Profile of Op. 27, Structure 6E-58 Plan of Capstones of Burial 7 Plan of Burial 7 Plan of Op. 30, Structure 4E-42 East Profile of Op. 31, Structure 4E-39 West Profile of Op. 32 North Profile of Op. 32 Plan of Floors 1 and 2, Op. 32 Walls of Structure 6F-9 Structure 6F-9 West Wall of Structure 6F-9 South Extension of West Wall, Structure 6F-9 Plan of Structure 6F-9 Plan of Burial 10 Burial 10 Plan of Cache 7 Incensario Fragment from Cache 7 West Profile of Op. 35, Structure 5E-80 Plan of Structure 5E-82 West Profile of Op. 36, Structure 5E-82 West Profile of Op. 37, Structure 5E-83 Plan of Structure 5E-167 West Profile of Suboperation 38a, Structure 5E-167 Plan of Capstones of Burial 11 viii

129 130 130 131 132 133 133 134 135 136 137 137 137 138 138 139 139 139 140 140 141 141 142 142 142 143 144 144 144 144 144 145 145 146 146 146 147 147 149 149 150 150 151 151 152 152 153 153 154 154 155 155 155 155 156 156 157 157 158 158 159 159

Figure and Table Index Figure 5.169: Figure 5.170: Figure 5.171: Figure 5.172: Figure 5.173: Figure 5.174: Figure 5.175: Figure 5.176: Figure 5.177: Figure 5.178: Figure 5.179: Figure 5.180: Figure 5.181: Figure 5.182: Figure 5.183: Figure 5.184: Figure 5.185: Figure 5.186: Figure 5.187: Figure 5.188: Figure 5.189: Figure 5.190: Figure 5.191: Figure 5.192: Figure 5.193: Figure 5.194: Figure 5.195: Figure 5.196: Figure 5.197: Figure 5.198: Figure 5.199: Figure 5.200: Figure 5.201: Figure 5.202: Figure 5.203: Figure 5.204: Figure 5.205: Figure 5.206: Figure 5.207: Figure 5.208: Figure 5.209: Figure 5.210: Figure 5.211: Figure 5.212: Figure 5.213: Figure 5.214: Figure 5.215: Figure 5.216: Figure 5.217: Figure 5.218: Figure 5.219: Figure 5.220: Figure 5.221: Figure 5.222: Figure 5.223: Figure 5.224: Figure 5.225: Figure 5.226: Figure 5.227: Figure 5.228: Figure 5.229: Figure 5.230:

Plan of Burial 11 Dzibical Black on Red Vessel, Burial 11 Yokat Striated Vessel, Burial 11 Plan of Exposed Areas of Structure 6F-3 North-South Section of Structure 6F-3 Plan of Structures 6F-3/5th and Structure 6F-3/6th North Profile of Burial 23 Shaft E-W Section of Burial 23 Tomb Chamber West Profile of Burial 23 Shaft North Profile of Structure 6F-3/6th in the Burial 23 Tomb Chamber Plan of Burial 23 Burial 23 Prior to Excavation Offerings in Burial 23 Individual in Burial 23 Caucel Trickle on Red Vessel, Burial 23 Sak Hunal Jewels Found in the Burial 23 Excavations Carved Clay Head, Burial 23 Carved Bone, Burial 23 Carved Shell Depicting Frog or Turtle, Burial 23 Carved Spondylus Shell, Burial 23 Caldero Buff Polychrome, Burial 23 Plan of Burial 23 Bone Tube, Burial 23 Shell Earflares, Burial 23 Artifacts in Possible Bundle, Burial 23 Doorway Behind Main Stairway, Structure 6F-3 Blocking Wall in Labyrinth, Structure 6F-3 Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-3-3rd South Profile of Doorway Behind Main Stairway, Structure 6F-3 North Profile of Doorway Behind Main Stairway, Structure 6F-3 Looking South Across the Structure 6F-3 Labyrinth from the Summit Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-3-2nd Western Profile of Interior Northern Corridor, Structure 6F-3-2nd Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-3-1st Stone Figure Found on Stair A Plan of Burial 19 Fragmentary Censer from Burial 19 Chen Mul Incensario Fragments Just North of Burial 19 Detail of Chen Mul Incensario Head Plan of Structures 6F-4 and 6F-68 Cross-Section of Structure 6F-4 Plan of East Side of Structure 6F-4 East Section of Gallery Wall 6F-4 2nd, Gallery Subfloor, North Profile East Profile Showing Room 1 Subfloor Test, Structure 6F-4 Room 2, Subfloor Cut, Plan View Plan and Profile of Burial 24 Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-4-4th Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-4-3rd West Side of Structure 6F-4 Western Juncture Between Structures 6F-4 and 6F-68 Doorway in the Southern Wall of the 6F-4 Gallery Profile of Terrace Level 4, Structure 6F-4 Eastern Wall of Burial 24 Tomb Chamber Burial 24 Prior to Excavation Burial 24 Showing Placement of “La Muñeca” Burial 24 Prior to Excavation Carved Greenstone in Form of Quetzal, Burial 24 Crown Made of Strombus Shell, Burial 24 Vessel 5, Burial 24 Artifacts Inside of Vessel 5, Burial 24 Plan of Upper Level of Burial 24 ix

159 159 160 161 162 162 163 163 163 164 164 164 164 165 165 166 166 167 167 167 168 169 169 169 170 170 171 172 172 173 173 174 175 176 177 177 178 178 179 180 181 181 182 182 183 183 184 185 185 187 187 187 189 189 190 191 191 192 192 192 192 194

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Figure 5.231: Figure 5.232: Figure 5.233: Figure 5.234: Figure 5.235: Figure 5.236: Figure 5.237: Figure 5.238: Figure 5.239: Figure 5.240: Figure 5.241: Figure 5.242: Figure 5.243: Figure 5.244: Figure 5.245: Figure 5.246: Figure 5.247: Figure 5.248: Figure 5.249: Figure 5.250: Figure 5.251: Figure 5.252: Figure 5.253: Figure 5.254: Figure 5.255: Figure 5.256: Figure 5.257: Figure 5.258: Figure 5.259: Figure 5.260: Figure 5.261: Figure 5.262: Figure 5.263: Figure 5.264: Figure 5.265: Figure 5.266: Figure 5.267: Figure 5.268: Figure 5.269: Figure 5.270: Figure 5.271: Figure 5.272: Figure 5.273: Figure 5.274: Figure 5.275: Figure 5.276: Figure 5.277: Figure 5.278: Figure 5.279: Figure 5.280: Figure 5.281: Figure 5.282: Figure 5.283: Figure 5.284: Figure 5.285: Figure 5.286: Figure 5.287: Figure 5.288: Figure 5.289: Figure 5.290: Figure 5.291: Figure 5.292:

Stingray Spine, Burial 24 Shell Bead with Carved Face, Burial 24 Oliva Shells, Burial 24 Artifacts from Necklace in Burial 24: a. Olivia Shell; b-d. Greenstone Sak Hunal Burial 24-12 Possible Shell Crown Associated with Burial 24-6 Greenstone from Possible Crown Associated with Burial 24-6 Bloodletter, Awl, or Hair Pin Depicting a Dancing Spider Monkey, Burial 24-6 Bone Tube Associated with Burial 24-6 Shell Pendant Associated with Burial 24-6 La Muñeca, Burial 24 Vessel 4, Burial 24 Vessel 7, Burial 23 Clay Figurine Associated with Burial 24-5 East-West Section of the Summit Superstructure of Structure 6F-4 Plan of Cache 2 and Cache 3, Structure 6F-4 Anthropomorphic Celt, Cache 2, Structure 6F-4 Cache 2, Structure 6F-4 Plan of Cache 2, Level 1 Plan of Cache 2, Level 2 Cache 2 Showing Celt In Situ Greenstone Diadems in Cache 2 Cache 3, Structure 6F-4 Greenstone Pendant Inside Cache 3 Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-4-2nd Plan of Southwest Corner of Structure 6F-4 6F-4 2nd, South Section North Profile of Room 1, Structure 6F-4 Plan of Burial 20 Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-4-1st Masonry Box, Structure 6F-4-1st Terrace Levels 3 and 4, Structure 6F-4-1st Bifaces Found at Structures 6F-4, 6F-7, and 6F-68 Bifaces Found at Structures 6F-4, 6F-7, and 6F-68 Plan of Southwest Corner of Structure 6F-68 West Profile of Structure 6F-7, Op. 40a West Profile of Structure 6F-7, Op. 40b Plan of Structure 5F-72 Chert Biface from Structure 6F-72 Plan of Terraces of Structure 6F-68 and Their Articulation with Structure 6F-72 North Profile of Structure 6F-7, Op. 40a Plan of Op. 40a Plan of 6F-68 North and West Walls of Room 2, Structure 6F-68 East Wall of Structure 6F-68 Cross-Section of Structure 6F-68 Elements of the Upper Façade of Structure 6F-68 Found in the Collapse Figure from the Upper Façade of Structure 6F-68 Basal Façade of the Eastern Side of Structure 6F-68 Basal Façade of the Eastern Half of the Southern Side of Structure 6F-68 Basal Façade of the Western Half of the Southern Side of Structure 6F-68 Basal Façade of the Western Side of Structure 6F-68 Flayed Face, Basal Façade, Structure 6F-68 Seated Lord, Basal Façade, Structure 6F-68 Seated Lord, Basal Façade, Structure 6F-68 Seated Lord with Glyph Panel, Basal Façade, Structure 6F-68 Standing Lord with Ball or Severed Head, Basal Façade, Structure 6F-68 Molcajete Found in Room 2, Structure 6F-68 Plan of Room 3, Structure 6F-68 Burial 25, Looking East Plan of Burial 25 Kin Symbol Found in Eastern Collapse of Structure 6F-68 x

194 194 195 195 196 197 197 198 198 198 198 199 199 200 201 202 203 203 203 204 204 205 205 205 206 206 207 207 208 211 211 212 212 212 213 214 214 216 217 217 218 218 219 220 220 221 222 222 223 223 224 224 225 225 225 226 226 227 228 228 229 230

Figure and Table Index Figure 5.293: Figure 5.294: Figure 5.295: Figure 5.296: Figure 5.297: Figure 5.298: Figure 5.299: Figure 5.300: Figure 5.301: Figure 5.302: Figure 5.303: Figure 5.304: Figure 5.305: Figure 5.306: Figure 5.307: Figure 5.308: Figure 5.309: Figure 5.310: Figure 5.311: Figure 5.312: Figure 5.313: Figure 5.314: Figure 5.315: Figure 5.316: Figure 5.317: Figure 5.318: Figure 5.319: Figure 5.320: Figure 5.321: Figure 5.322: Figure 5.323: Figure 5.324: Figure 5.325: Figure A.1: Figure A.2: Figure A.3:

Notable Concentrations of Terminal Classic Ceramics in and Around Structure 6F-68 West Profile of Op. 41, Structure 6F-44 East Profile of Op. 43, Structure 4E-20 Burial 13 Capstones, Structure 4E-20 Plan of Burial 13 Burial 13 North Profile of Op. 44, Structure 4E-22 Plan of Burials 12 and 14 West Profile, Op. 45, Structure 4E-21 West Profile, Op. 46, Structure 5E-30 North Face of Structure 5E-50 Plan of Op. 46, Structure 5E-30 West Profile of Op. 48, Structure 6F-8 South Profile of Op. 48, Structure 6F-8 Plan of Structure 6F-8 East Profile, Op. 49, Structure 5F-49 Plan of Capstones of Burial 11 Location of Structure 5F-49 Plan of Burial 11 South Profile, Op. 57, Structure 4F-29 North Profile, Op. 58, Structure 4F-36 Plan of Op. 69, Structure 6F-73 East Profile, Op. 69, Structure 6F-73 Location of Op. 69 Plan, Op. 70, Structure 6F-13 East Profile, Op. 70, Structure 6F-13 Plan, Op. 71, Structure 6F-43 East Profile, Op. 71, Structure 6F-43 Plan of Burial 16 Plan of Burial 17 Plan of Perimeter Wall of the North Acropolis Plan of Northwest Section of the Perimeter Wall Plan of East Section of the Perimeter Wall Map of Yaxuná Showing the Locations Where Faunal Material was Recovered Taxonomic Profile of the Recovered Fauna (NISP) Summary of the Taxonomic Profile from Yaxuná

231 232 232 233 233 233 234 234 235 236 236 236 237 239 239 240 240 241 241 241 244 245 246 246 247 247 248 248 248 249 250 251 252 270 270 271

Contextual Information for the Faunal Remains Recovered at Yaxuná The Minor Fauna from Yaxuná The Faunal Remains Found in Association with Burial 19 Faunal Specimens from Structure 6F-9 Faunal Specimens from Structure 6F-37 Faunal Specimens from Structure 6F-68 Faunal Specimens from Structure 6F-73 Summary of the Fauna Used for Food at Yaxuná

268 274 275 277 278 281 282 284

TABLES Table A.1: Table A.2: Table A.3: Table A.4: Table A.5: Table A.6: Table A.7: Table A.8

xi

Introduction

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This volume represents the final report of the Selz Foundation Yaxuná Archaeological Project. Under the directorship of Dr. David A. Freidel (Southern Methodist University) and with gracious permission and assistance from INAH-CRY, the Consejo Nacional del Instituto de Antropología e Historia, and the Yaxuná Village Authorities this project conducted field research at the Precolumbian Maya center of Yaxuná, Yucatán, Mexico from 1986 to 1996. In this volume, we summarize all survey data, excavations, artifact analyses, and current interpretations. These studies have resulted in the completion of seven archaeological doctoral theses and represent the final conclusions of the Selz Foundation project.

Florescent) ceramics typical of Chichén Itzá were not present at Yaxuná. Andrews and Robles Castellanos suggested that Yaxuná was situated at the western extent of Cobá’s realm and played a key role in an antagonistic relationship with the Itzá polity. Yaxuná was further posited to have been a gateway community between the eastern Cobá and the western Puuc polities. Freidel (1987, 1992) argued that this gateway relationship was actually indicative of a Cobá/Puuc alliance against the incursions of the Itzá which led to the ‘differences’ between the ruler of Cetelac and the Itzá in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel. Our investigations quickly validated Andrews and Robles Castellanos’ hypotheses. They also further validated Brainerd’s assertion (1958) that archaeological Yaxuná had a long and complex occupational history dating from the Middle Formative and continuing through the Colonial Period, including a major civic-religious center in the Formative period (Stanton and Ardren 2005, Stanton and Freidel 2005).

Selz Foundation Yaxuná Archaeological Project In 1986 the Yaxuná Project began archaeological fieldwork under the direction of David Freidel and Tomás Gallareta Negrón (Freidel 1987; Suhler and Ardren 1994). The project was renamed the Selz Foundation Yaxuná Project in 1989 with the initiation of the generous support of private benefactor Bernard Selz. The impetus for the investigations at Yaxuná was twofold. First, Freidel had been aware since 1971 of Brainerd’s (1958) suggestion that Yaxuná had a major Late Formative occupation. Following his research at the Late Formative site of Cerros in northern Belize (Freidel 1979) he was interested in testing the proposition that complex society emerged coevally throughout the lowlands. E. Wyllys Andrews V (Andrews and Ringle 1992; Ringle 1985; Ringle and Andrews 1988, 1990) had demonstrated with research at Komchen that there were significant Late Formative settlements in the northern lowlands. Yaxuná looked like it might be an even more impressive center during this period given the large architecture that Brainerd had tested. Second, Freidel and his colleagues wanted to test the hypothesis of Andrews and Robles Castellanos (1985, Robles Castellanos and Andrews 1986) that Late and Terminal Classic Yaxuná was the westernmost outpost of the ancient center of Cobá, located in modern Quintana Roo. They proposed that a military and economic standoff occurred between a western polity centered at Chichén Itzá (identified with the Sotuta ceramic sphere) and an eastern polity centered at Cobá (associated with the Cehpech ceramic sphere) during the Terminal Classic period.

Selz Foundation Yaxuná Archaeological Project Field Chronology 1986, 1988, and 1989 During 1986 Karim Sadr, using maps and Landsat imagery provided by Edward B. Kurjack and the INAH Atlas Project, turned an angle off the road between the village of Yaxuná and the town of Pisté to establish true north and the exact location of the site. Sadr used this angle to establish the west-east baseline through the core of the site placing major monumental architecture either north or south of it. Primary datum for the site was established on the baseline using the same principle of placing major architectural groups to the east or west of the north-south baseline (Freidel 1987:5). The Southeast corner of Grid Square 5F, containing the massive Structure 5F-1, was set northwest of Structure 6E-14 at the center of the monumental core zone. The 500 m2 grid squares were numbered from east to west and given letters from north to south with the theoretical A1 grid square to the southwest far outside the discernable settlement zone. Thereafter, a surveyed structure was given a grid location (e.g., 6F) and a sequential structure number (e.g., 6F-68). During the 1986 season Sadr and his colleagues established the central four 500 m grid units, marked the survey lines with cement bench marks at 100 m intervals for future mapping, contour mapped the three major architectural complexes, including Structure 5F-1, the North Acropolis, and the East Acropolis, as well as smaller structures adjacent to these buildings. Most of the central four grid squares and a transect to the west where the field camp was constructed

In this context research at Yaxuná was central to an understanding of the relationship between these two polities because of the ethnohistorical link between Cetelac (the name of an historic hacienda at Yaxuná) and the Itzá in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, the material link of the causeway connecting Yaxuná to Cobá, and Brainerd’s observation that Sotuta (or Modified

1

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 were mapped by transit and Electronic Distance Measure (EDM). Four teams continued this survey in the summer of 1988. Because of milpa farming in the site zone and a severe drought at this time, visibility was excellent. This research created an accurate topographic map of the site core, documented extant architectural features and collected associated surface ceramics. In addition, the project mapped the Hacienda Cetelac as part of Rani Alexander’s dissertation research, which was also supported by an NSF dissertation improvement grant (Alexander 2004).

Terminal Classic. The builders superimposed the ballcourt on a wide Late Formative intrasite causeway (Sacbé 3). Puuc-style veneer stones were found on the buildings and Cehpech Sphere ceramics we discovered in the construction fill. The ballcourt was part of a large complex of late buildings surrounding an open plaza area southwest of the North Acropolis. This complex was investigated and many of the buildings cleared and consolidated by the INAH project that began in 1997 under the direction of Lourdes Toscano Hernández (1997).

During the 1988 field season the project recorded photographically and in drawings Classic sculpture in the settlement zone of Yaxuná. The project also studied Late Classic sculpture from X’telhú and Popolá, two smaller ancient centers near the modern community of Yaxuná. These monuments, taken by local authorities to the municipal library in Yaxcabá, were photographically documented by Jeanne Randall, while Karim Sadr and Ruth Krochock drafted drawings of them. This work included the identification of an individual acceding to the status of sajal from a carved stone located in the Colonial church of Mopilá, the most northerly example of this political title found yet to date (Freidel 1987; Schele and Freidel 1990; also see Green Robertson 1986). The general intention of this work was to gauge the prospect that Yaxuná was the center of a polity with a style of art distinct from that of Chichén Itzá during the Late to Terminal Classic. In retrospect, it seems likely that this was indeed the case.

Two Early to Late Classic elite residential platforms were investigated in the 1991 and 1992 field seasons. Early Classic Structure 5E-52 (Freidel et al. 1998), trenched in 1991 by Rafael Cobos Palma, was a deliberately terminated perishable elite residence. Fragments of the red-painted stucco façade that once decorated the eastern front side of the building were discovered in the thick white marl layer covering it. Ceramics from the operation suggest that the abandonment of the building was coeval with the sacrifice of royal individuals deposited in Burial 24 in Structure 6F-4, discussed below, in the North Acropolis. These events might have been linked, as the North Acropolis was connected to the Structure 5E-50 group by a main north-south causeway system and a secondary east-west causeway. Excavations were also undertaken in several early architectural complexes located in the southern part of the site center (Stanton 2000) and two dance platforms located just to the east of the East acropolis (Suhler 1991, 1996; see also Freidel and Suhler 1999) demonstrating through excavations that Yaxuná was an important Formative site. Cache 5 from Structure 6E-53 contained two vessels that have been identified by Tara Bond Freeman and George Bey as Middle Formative, dating before 650 B.C. (Freidel et al., n.d.). Suhler, Freidel, and Ardren (1998) suggest that these structures were places for ritual theater and accession rituals associated with scaffold structures. Both structures appear to have been ritually terminated in the Formative. Other excavations were undertaken at several other loci including a widespread program of test excavations, and horizontal excavations at residential groups 5E-75 and 6E-25. Traci Ardren (1997) began excavation of the satellite acropolis group of Xkanhá.

With the base map complete and with the permission of the INAH authorities, in 1989 the project initiated the excavation of 2 x 2 m architectural test units. The units were placed in various structures throughout the site core to obtain ceramic samples for identification of chronological phases of occupation. The intention was to sample a wide range of structures in order to prioritize the placement of horizontal exposures in subsequent seasons (Freidel et al. 1990; Suhler 1990). Freidel used a research strategy he had devised at Cerros of placing summit tests on particularly large and important structures (Freidel 1979). The goal of such summit tests was to determine the date of the latest construction phases through the recovery of ceramics from sealed contexts. While the results of this strategy were uneven, several exposures did support Brainerd’s (1958) conjecture that Yaxuná had major architecture dating to the Formative and Early Classic periods, well before the apogee of nearby Chichén Itzá.

1992 In 1992 excavations focused on the North Acropolis, one of the Late Preclassic dance platforms, Xkanhá, and testing the residential settlement. An Early Classic three room masonry range structure was exposed on the western side of Structure 6F-4 (Suhler 1996). Evidence suggests that this structure was ritually terminated during the Early Classic. On the southern side of Structure 6F-4, excavations were initiated in Structure 6F-68 a Terminal Classic range structure characterized by a Puuc-style façade. Research at Xkanhá demonstrated defensive features at this satellite center north of Yaxuná (Ardren 1997) and the residential test pitting program generated a

1991 Following a field research hiatus in 1990, in 1991 with permission of the INAH authorities we began larger operations with both more extensive and intensive excavations. Several structures in the plaza immediately south of the North Acropolis’ principle stairway were investigated. The first was Yaxuná’s sole ballcourt. Excavations revealed that the ballcourt’s playing surface and masonry structures were constructed during the 2

Introduction significant burial sample from modest Late-Terminal Classic homes.

Initial excavations into one of the rooms showed vault stones directly on a very clean floor, indicating the collapse of the roof was sudden and all-encompassing. This information, in conjunction with the presence of large amounts of water jars piled in front of the doorway to the room, a very burned floor, and a broken chert projectile point on the threshold of the doorway, presented us with a bit of a conundrum. The water jars’ context was quite similar to termination event deposits documented during Freidel’s excavations at Cerros (Freidel 1986; Garber 1981). At Cerros those rituals were interpreted as venerating termination rituals, concerned with ritually shutting down space in a nondestructive fashion.

1993 In 1993, excavations continued on the North Acropolis at both Structure 6F-4 and Structure 6F-68. Burial 24, a royal tomb containing the remains of more than ten individuals, was found in these excavations beneath collapsed upper west side 6F-4 terraces. Additionally, excavations began at the principal building, Structure 6F3 (Freidel and Suhler 1999; Suhler 1996). Structure 6F-3 proved to be a mortuary monument with at least one Early Classic royal tomb. Excavations behind the principal stairway revealed a series of Early Classic rooms and passageways known as the labyrinth. Charles Suhler followed architectural features to the tomb of an Early Classic ruler (Burial 23). In 1996 during the consolidation of the Burial 23 excavation, a sealed and concealed section of the passageway in the final major construction phase was accidently discovered. Research continued at the ballcourt plaza and the small temple at the end of Sacbé 1 to Cobá. Project staff returned to the Late Preclassic monumental structure 5E-19 and uncovered a series of architectural modifications that represent some of the earliest monumental construction in the northern lowlands (Stanton and Ardren 2005).

Indeed this was the prevailing view in the field concerning such terminal deposits (Coe 1959) and our view on the matter at the end of the 1992 field season. “The evidence for termination ritual activity associated with Structure 6F-68 opens the possibility that the vault did not just collapse of its own accord but rather was deliberately brought down, scattering the upper walls and the columns of the superstructure facade around it. The presence of the broken base of a spear point in the southern doorway supports the ritual nature of the deposit of large water jar sherds found under the wall collapse next to the door.” (Suhler and Freidel 1993:91)

1994 - 1996

We had yet to break out of the generally accepted notion that evidence of destruction marked the Maya's need to ritually release the power of an object when it was being taken out of use. In such scenarios smashed monuments, shattered jade jewels, burned buildings, and burned floors were the steps taken immediately before ritual obsolescence of a monument or a building. These activities were viewed as benign and performed by the same people who originally created the monument or building.

Excavations at structures 6F-3, 6F-4, and 6F-68 continued until the end of fieldwork in 1996. During the 1995 and 1996 seasons a defensive wall surrounding the terrace edge of the North Acropolis was discovered and mapped (Ambrosino 2007; Manahan et al. 1997). Excavations in front of Structure 6F-68 were initiated and a large termination ritual deposit was carefully documented (Ambrosino 2007). Finally, we returned to the eastern portion of the site, near Sacbé 1 to map rural settlement in open agricultural fields.

At Structure 6F-68, however, the deposits seemed to reflect a decidedly destructive and hostile intent. In addition to these deposits we had excavated Structure 6F7, a long linear platform two courses high directly in front of Structure 6F-68. This platform was built in obvious violation of Structure 6F-68’s space and around the base of this building we found Sotuta ceramics. Nonetheless, it was not until the following field season that all these matters led us in a different direction concerning the nature of termination deposits at the North Acropolis.

The Stratigraphy of Desecration As noted earlier, David Freidel began research at Yaxuná in 1986 to determine if evidence for a “political and military capital from which to confront Chichén Itzá,” (Freidel 1987:4) could be obtained by archaeological investigation. This question was answered in the affirmative: through our investigations we documented that Maya warfare and its aftermath left distinct and discernable stratigraphic patterns in the Yaxuná archaeological record.

The 1993 excavations at the North Acropolis brought to light the suite of activities and archaeological evidence which we have defined as representing evidence for hostile desecration and termination rituals (Ambrosino 2007; Suhler 1996). At Structure 6F-68 we began to clear the rooms themselves. Within these collapsed chambers we found burned floors, jagged cuts in these floors, and Sotuta ceramics, chert projectile points, obsidian blades, and other materials within the fill of these cuts. Together with the presence of the Sotuta materials from around Structure 6F-7 we decided that Structure 6F-68 was intentionally terminated by Maya

However, we also think the learning process involved in arriving at this theoretical place was as important as the result. Our first steps toward this new perspective came in 1992 with excavations at Structure 6F-68 in the North Acropolis. This was a Terminal Classic building with a decorated basal facade. The iconography of the facade showed it to have been a council house or Popol Na, the existence of such buildings first demonstrated at Copan (Fash et al. 1992). 3

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 from Chichén Itzá. Structure 6F-68 represents an early Terminal Classic lineage house whose construction marks the end of the Classic period and the arrival of new peoples at Yaxuná. This structure was built in conjunction with the Terminal Classic modifications which took place at Structure 6F-4. The end of Structure 6F-68 was accomplished by a violent ritual termination which probably marked the victory of Chichén Itzá over Yaxuná.

Phillip Hofstetter Soco Jiménez Álvarez Ruth Krochock Susan Jaeger Dave Johnstone Kam Manahan Geni Mansell Jonathan Pagliaro Jeanne Randall Fernando Robles Castellanos Karim Sadr Justine Shaw Travis Stanton Charles Suhler Eunice Uc Ricardo Velázquez Debra Selsor Walker Sandra Weinstein Tania Wildman

This information, at least in our minds, confirmed the hypothesis of conflict in the Terminal Classic as laid out by Andrews and Robles Castellanos (1985; Robles Castellanos and Andrews 1986). Over the course of the 1993 to 1996 field seasons, we continued to find patterns in the evidence from the North Acropolis that supported the assertion that this area had been subject to desecratory events periodically during its history. Our understanding of ancient Maya termination rituals, and more generally above floor ritual deposits, continues to grow with new data and new interpretations from research programs throughout the lowlands. We believe that the Yaxuná contexts reported in this volume are a useful and fundamental contribution to this on-going inquiry.

Acknowledgements Many people make possible a project of Yaxuná‟s scope and scale “function”: some are forward facing and in the field while others contribute from behind the scenes, nonetheless, all have been critical for overall project success. In that vein we would like to offer the following list of organizations and individuals to whom the project owes not only many thanks but also our gratitude for their belief and participation in the overall endeavor that was the Selz Foundation Yaxuná Archaeological Project.

Directors of Research: 1986: David Freidel and Tomás Gallareta Negrón 1988: David Freidel and Tomás Gallareta Negrón 1989: David Freidel and Rafael Cobos P. 1991: David Freidel, Maynard Cliff, and Rafael Cobos P. 1992-1996: David Freidel, Charles Suhler, and Traci Ardren

Benefactors: Bernard Selz, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Geographic Society, Jerome E. Glick, Stanley Marcus, Duncan and Elizabeth Boeckman, and Margaret McDermott.

Field Crew 1986-1996:

Valued colleagues and collaborators: Mario Aliphat, Anthony Andrews, Joann Andrews, Alfredo Barrera Rubio, George Bey, Tara Bond-Freeman, Sylviane Boucher, Edward Kurjack, Rubén Maldonado, Jeanne Randall, William Ringle, Leticia Rocha, Peter Schmidt, Lourdes Toscano Hernández, Logan Wagner, and the members of the pueblo of Yaxunah. Damien Álvarez Díaz de Rivera, Tatiana Loya González, Naturaleza Moore, Daniel Vallejo, and Gabriel Vicencio helped with the preparations of the final figures for this publication. The photos in figures 5.8, 5.21, 5.143, 5.144, 5.159, 5.170, 5.171, 5.180, 5.181, 5.182, 5.222, 5.223, 5.224, 5.225, 5.231, 5.233, 5.235, 5.241, 5.242, 5.244, 5.247, 5.248, 5.251, 5.274, 5.275, 5.283, 5.284, 5.285, 5.286, 5.287, and 5.288 were taken by Jeanne Randall and we thank her for the permission to publish them.

José N. Aban C. Rani T. Alexander James Ambrosino Traci Ardren Grace Bascope Sharon Bennett Savannah Blackwell Inga E. Calvin Elena Canché Marcello Canuto John Casey, M.D. Maynard Cliff Rafael Cobos Palma Lili Fernández Souza David Freidel Tomás Gallareta Negrón Craig Hanson

4

Background to the Investigations

CHAPTER 2 BACKGROUND TO THE INVESTIGATIONS

to have increased in the following years to 1,121 inhabitants based on a census conducted in 1821, although in 1828, the population dropped to 896 people.

Yaxuná is located in the central portion of the modern state of Yucatán, Mexico (Figure 2.1). Its geographic coordinates are 20º32.6‟ N and 88º39.40‟ W (O‟Neill 1933). An abandoned colonial hacienda, named Cetelac, is located just to the south of the site center. This hacienda has the same name as the archaeological site of Yaxuná, which is called Cetelac in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, a colonial document written by native speakers of Yucatec Maya (Roys 1933). The modern community of Yaxunah is composed of approximately 400 people who reside in the periphery of the archaeological site to the west of the site center. Most of the archaeological site is cleared regularly for milpa farming and some cattle and other livestock are allowed to graze.

Yaxunah was seriously affected by the Caste War, which began in 1847 (in 1846 a census reported 620 inhabitants living in the community). Baqueiro Preve stated that “el 28 de diciembre (de 1848) desaparecieron, Kancabdzonot, Santa María y Yaxunáh, poblados que fueron asaltados por los insurrectos e incendiados.” Based on this account, Yaxunah appears to have been abandoned for a time at the beginning of the insurrection. The community is not mentioned in any of the censuses conducted in 1900, 1910, and 1921 and may have remained abandoned during this period. Yaxunah finally reappears in the census documents in 1930.

The historical information on the community informs us only of fragments of colonial life (Alexander 2004). The area surrounding Yaxunah was first described by the encomendero Juan de Magaña in January of A.D. 1581. In the so-called Relaciones Histórico Geográficas, Magaña described a zone that was full of tall forests and agricultural fields. Yet his descriptions are brief and do not mention the archaeological site.

Turning to the archeological site of Yaxuná, with the exception of a brief mention of Cetelac in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel (Roys 1933), the archaeological site of Yaxuná is not mentioned in the colonial documents and is understood only from archaeological studies. Roys (1935:6) suggests „quetzal water‟ for the etymology of Yaxuná, although this is not likely to be the center‟s original name. Classified as a second order center with a site designation number of 16Qd(8):3 (the official INAH site code is F16C6531035) in the Archaeological Atlas of Yucatán (Garza Tarazona de González and Kurjack 1980), Yaxuná was recognized by modern researchers (Andrews and Robles Castellanos 1985; Robles Castellanos and Andrews 1986) as the center of Cetelac mentioned in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, a native document written during the Colonial period (Roys 1933). Cetelac is mentioned in reference to the migrations of the Itzá likely to have occurred sometime during the Late or Terminal Classic (see Ball 1986; Ball and Taschek 1989; Ringle et al. 1998; Schele and Mathews 1998; Stanton 1999). The document describes the Itzá as having some „differences‟ with the ruler of Cetelac upon the Itzá arrival in the area. To ameliorate these differences, the Itzá settled to the north at Chichén Itzá and the ruler of Cetelac agreed to pay tribute. This scenario suggests that some conflict occurred between the two groups and that while the result was somewhat inconclusive, the people of Cetelac assumed a subordinate position.

During the 17th century the seat of government was in Sotuta. There were several other important towns in the region including Tixcacaltuyub, Mopilá, Sahcabá, Tabi, Usil, Tibolón, and Yaxcabá. For the first half of the 17th century, Yaxcabá appears to have had its own parish with secular healers (Franciscans left the area in A.D. 1586). Yaxunah seems to have been occupied at this point in time under the administration of Yaxcabá, although control of Yaxuná appears to have vacillated some between Yaxcabá and Sotuta. The church administration does not seem to have paid much attention to Yaxunah and we find few mentions of the community in the historic records. In the 18th century we find a mention of Yaxunah from a record of the visit of Fray Luis de Piña y Mazo to the community in A.D. 1784. This document appears to mention Yaxunah as a small town in a zone of ranches and farms. One of these ranches may be the Hacienda Cetelac, established in the 18th century as a cattle ranch in the central portion of the peninsula. In the 19th century Yaxunah appears to have become a more important place. It is mentioned as one of the haciendas y ranchos del partido at the beginning of the century, although exact population estimates for the community cannot be discerned from the documents. A few years later in February of 1815, a census was conducted that estimated the population of Yaxunah as follows: “en el cual habitan 552 indios, y ningún pardo, español o mestizo.” The population of Yaxunah appears

The Carnegie Years (1930 – 1958) Yaxuná has been known to archaeologists since the Carnegie Institution of Washington initiated research in the northern Maya lowlands under Sylvanus Morley. The site core is comprised of three large acropolis groups (North, East, and Central), an E-Group as defined by the Ricketson‟s (Ricketson and Ricketson 1937) at Uaxactún, Guatemala, a number of mid-sized temples, several short 5

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.1: Map of the Maya Area

6

Background to the Investigations intrasite causeways, a ballcourt, several dance platforms, and numerous small mounds and foundation brace structures. Most of the structures at Yaxuná are in an advanced state of ruin and few extant walls are visible on the surface. Settlement continues for some distance in every direction from the site core, with all indications suggesting that Yaxuná was a fairly large demographic center during various periods; possibly with continuous settlement reaching up to 800 m to the east of the terminus building for Sacbé 1 (Stanton et al. 2008). Masonry structures have been noted in the modern village of Yaxunah close to the cenote (a large sinkhole filled with water) next to the colonial church, as well as along Sacbé 1, an intersite stone causeway connecting Yaxuná to Cobá over a distance of 100 km (Shaw 1998; Stanton et al. 2008; Villa Rojas 1934). Two peripheral acropolis groups have also been noted. The Xkanhá acropolis lies approximately two kilometers to the north of the site center and another acropolis called Tzacauil is located three kilometers to the east. Given Yaxuná‟s close proximity to the large Carnegie Institution project at Chichén Itzá during the 1930s and the existence of the long causeway from Yaxuná to Cobá where Sylvanus Morley sent J. Eric Thompson in search of reported hieroglyphic inscriptions (Thompson et al. 1932), Yaxuná was accorded some brief attention by early researchers.

B. Roberts‟ trenches were augmented by 14 more excavated by George Brainerd in 1942, in order to clarify the preliminary chronology worked out by Smith. All 24 trenches were confined to monumental architecture in the site core except for three trenches excavated by Brainerd in a cenote located just to the northwest of the principle architecture. Thirteen trenches were placed in the North Acropolis (labeled buildings 1-5 on the Carnegie map). Three trenches were placed in Structure 6E-5 (Structure 13 on the Carnegie map). Four trenches were excavated at the Central Acropolis (Structure 8 on the Carnegie map) while one trench was placed in the radial structure of the E-Group (Structure 9 on the Carnegie map, although this stratigraphy of this trench was not recorded in Brainerd‟s field notes). Brainerd and Smith (Brainerd 1958:11-13) analyzed the Yaxuná material and were impressed by the presence of Chicanel, Tzakol, and Tepeu types which had strong affinities with Late Formative and Early Classic Petén material being excavated by the other large Carnegie project centered at Uaxactún (Smith 1955; Smith and Gifford 1966). Brainerd was particularly taken by the early date and large size of the Central Acropolis, which he compared, at least in size, to a large Late Formative mound at Kaminaljuyu. Although Brainerd did not excavate deep into the structures at the Central Acropolis he speculated that unlike the Late Formative highland tradition of placing rich tombs inside mounds, that the early Maya of northern Yucatán did not place such features inside these large structures. Despite the poor coverage and reporting of Formative sites in the northern Maya lowlands, Brainerd‟s identification of Yaxuná as a large Late Formative center did not go unnoticed and was cited by scholars who acknowledged the presence of the „Old Empire‟ in this area (Proskouriakoff 1968; Thompson 1945:4, 1954).

John L. Stephens was the first Westerner to remark upon the existence of the Yaxuná-Cobá sacbé, which he believed to travel in the direction of Chichén Itzá (Stephens 1969 [1843]; Villa Rojas 1934:189, 192). Thomas Gann and E.L. Crandall, with the Chichén Itzá Project of the Carnegie Institution traveled 16 km of the roadway in 1926, which spurred Robert Bennett (1930) to traverse another small section of the sacbé in 1930. Bennett, however, failed to locate the western end of the causeway and was forced to follow Thompson‟s assertion that Yaxuná was the terminus. Soon afterwards, Alfonso Villa Rojas (1934) accurately mapped and described Sacbé 1. While conducting ethnographic fieldwork with Robert Redfield at Chan Kom, a community very near Sacbé 1, Villa Rojas became interested in his informants‟ beliefs in the causeway (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1934). He proposed an exploration of the causeway, which was supported by Sylvanus Morley with Carnegie Institution funds. Villa Rojas subsequently documented the construction and course of the causeway while describing the various archaeological sites and monuments that were encountered.

Selz Foundation Fieldwork (1986 – 1997) In 1986 the Selz Foundation Yaxuná Archaeological Project resumed archaeological fieldwork under the direction of David Freidel and Tomás Gallareta Negrón (Freidel 1987; Suhler and Ardren 1994). Freidel was interested in the Formative at Yaxuná due to Brainerd‟s (1958) reporting of large Formative architecture. Another interest of the project was to test a hypothesis proposed by Anthony Andrews and Fernando Robles Castellanos 1985; Robles Castellanos and Andrews 1986). They proposed that a military and economic standoff occurred between a western polity centered at Chichén Itzá (identified with the Sotuta ceramic sphere) and an eastern polity centered at Cobá (associated with the Cehpech ceramic sphere) during the Terminal Classic (Figure 2.4). Yaxuná was key to understanding the relationship between these two polities, because of the relationship between Cetelac and the Itzá in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, the causeway connecting Yaxuná to Cobá, and Brainerd‟s conclusion that Sotuta (or Modified Florescent) ceramics were not present at Yaxuná. Andrews and Robles Castellanos suggested that Yaxuná was at the western extent of Cobá‟s realm and played a

Due to the possibility of connecting the northern lowland ceramic sequence at Yaxuná with the Petén-influenced center of Cobá, Morley sent several Chichén Itzá Project staff archaeologists to conduct limited research at Yaxuná from 1932 to 1936. John O‟Neill (1933) and Gustav Stromsvik completed a Maler-style map of the site core (Figure 2.2) which was subsequently published by George Brainerd (1958) over 20 years later along with a drawing of Yaxuná Monument 1 (Figure 2.3). H. B. Roberts excavated ten test trenches in architecture in 1932. The Yaxuná material was examined by Robert Smith in 1940, but he never published the full results. H. 7

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.2: Carnegie Institution Map of Yaxuná (taken from Brainerd 1958)

8

Background to the Investigations key role in the antagonist relationship with the Itzá polity. Yaxuná was further posited to have been a gateway community between the eastern Cobá and the western Puuc polities. Freidel (1987, 1992; see also Toscano Hernández and Ortegon Zapata 2003) argued that this gateway relationship was actually indicative of a Cobá/Puuc alliance against the incursions of the Itzá which led to the „differences‟ between the ruler of Cetelac and the Itzá in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel.

research at Xkanhá. Therefore, the settlement pattern studies were limited in their spatial range. Shaw (1998; Shaw and Johnstone 2001) documented changes in settlement architecture and ceramics after three proposed

The Yaxuná Project executed a program of survey and surface collection of the core area of the site during the 1986, 1988, and 1989 field seasons (Freidel 1987; Freidel et al. 1990). This phase of the research was aimed at creating an accurate topographic map of the site core, as well as documenting extant architectural features and associated surface ceramics. A 500 X 500 m grid was set centered near Structure 6E-14 at the approximate center of the monumental core. Most of the central four grid squares and a transect to the west where the field camp was constructed were mapped with a transit (Figures 2.52.25). All extant wall lines were plotted on the map, although features such as metates and column drums were not. Structures were given sequential numbers based on their grid location. The grid squares were numbered from east to west and given letters from north to south. Therefore, a structure was given a grid location (e.g., 6F) and a sequential structure number (e.g., 6F-68). Additionally, architecture and sculpture from X‟telhú and Popolá, two smaller centers near the modern ejido of Yaxuná (Figure 2.26) were examined by various project members during the initial mapping and surface collecting (Freidel 1987; also see Greene Robertson 1986). This preliminary research set the stage for excavations which began in 1989 and ended in 1996.

Figure 2.3: Yaxuná Monument 1 (taken from Brainerd 1958)

Phase II research began in 1989 with the systematic excavation of 2 X 2 meter test units in architecture. The 13 initial test units were excavated in 1989. These units were placed in various structures throughout the site core, in order to obtain ceramic samples to be used in determining a chronology and to test particular structures before decisions were made regarding the placement of large horizontal exposures in subsequent seasons (Freidel et al. 1990; Suhler 1990). This initial testing gave way to a program of test pit excavations in presumed domestic structures (small artificial mounds and foundation braces, low stone alignments that supported pole and thatch superstructures) throughout the site core, in order to gather settlement data (Suhler and Ardren 1992). Much of the data from this study were gathered in these excavations from 1991 to 1993. Specifically, the Terminal Classic was targeted by the test pitting program since one of the main goals of the project was to define the possible conflict among Chichén Itzá, the Puuc sites, and Cobá. For her dissertation, Justine Shaw (1998) examined changing settlement patterns from the Late Classic through the Postclassic as part of this research. All of the excavations (and most of the mapping) undertaken by the Selz Foundation project were in or very near to the site core, with the exception of the

Figure 2.4: Political Spheres (after Andrews and Robles Castellanos 1985, redrawn by Tatiana Loya) 9

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.5: Maler-Style Map of the Site Center of Yaxuná conquests (by Cobá, the Puuc, and the Itzá sequentially) and argued that the construction of Sacbé 1 represented the incorporation of Yaxuná into the Cobá polity as distant outlying architectural group which may have functioned similarly to the monumental assemblages closer to Cobá (see also Folan 1983; Stanton and Freidel 2005). Although late period structures were targeted for this research, many of the buildings had complex occupational histories dating back to the Early Classic and Formative. Further, a range of small structures not thought to date to these later periods was tested, in order to obtain a better understanding of domestic settlement throughout the entire chronological sequence.

excavated the satellite acropolis group of Xkanhá during the 1991, 1992, and 1993 seasons. Xkanhá lies two kilometers north of the core area of the site. Ardren‟s excavations revealed that Xkanhá was composed of a small acropolis with a patio-quad compound and associated mounds set atop a limestone outcropping adjacent to the only other cenote within the site center. Three distinct occupations were assigned to this site. The first dates to the Early Classic (Yaxuná IIa and/or IIb). At this time the patio-quad on the acropolis was constructed. Ardren (1997, 2002) argued that the Teotihuacan affinities of the people who sacrificed the Yaxuná ruler found in Burial 24 (described below) and the Teotihuacan style patio-quad as Xkanhá (constructed immediately after the sacrifice of the Yaxuná ruler) suggests that a new group of elites took control of Yaxuná during the

Additional excavations for dissertation research were undertaken at several other loci. Traci Ardren (1997)

10

Background to the Investigations

Figure 2.6: Topographic Map of Yaxuná

11

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.7: Detail of Northeast Quadrant of the 4E Grid Square Yaxuná IIa/IIb transition. Further, these elites had strong ties to the Teotihuacan-related central Petén centers (e.g., Tikal), although the nature and extent of this relationship remains to be determined as will be discussed in following chapters

abandoned and not reoccupied until the Terminal Classic when the conflict between Yaxuná and Chichén Itzá was potentially brewing. The Early Classic abandonment was marked by the deposition of desecratory termination deposits at the acropolis suggesting violent events. After the hiatus, the Xkanhá acropolis was fortified. As Xkanhá lies to the north of Yaxuná, it may have provided the

After the Early Classic, the Xkanhá Acropolis was

12

Background to the Investigations

Figure 2.8: Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 4E Grid Square residents living in the fortified core of the site with a buffer against military incursions from Chichén Itzá. Although Xkanhá did not suffer the same destruction wrought by the Itzá conquerors at the North Acropolis, it was abandoned during the latter portion of the Terminal

Classic when Puuc-style structures at the North Acropolis were ritually terminated. This suggests that the two events were related. The Xkanhá Acropolis and adjacent mounds were some 13

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.9: Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 4F Grid Square of the only locations reutilized during the limited Late Postclassic occupation of Yaxuná. Two shrines were constructed at Xkanhá; one on the largest mound on the acropolis, and another more substantial structure in the style of Late Postclassic shrines found along the Caribbean coast, at a small mound north of the acropolis. Ardren (2003) suggests these shrines formed not only part of a boundary maintenance system as proposed by

earlier scholars (Freidel 1981), but a means by which the Late Postclassic occupants of the area re-imagined their history at the site, well after the defeat by Chichén Itzá. Two Early-Late Classic elite residential platforms were investigated in the 1991 and 1992 field seasons (Freidel et al. 1992, 1998). Horizontal excavation and consolidation revealed complex construction sequences 14

Background to the Investigations

Figure 2.10: Detail of Northeast Quadrant of the 5E Grid Square and stucco façade elements. Data suggest that these platforms may have been the residences of the rulers buried in the North Acropolis (Freidel et al. 1998).

be of Middle and Late Formative date, while the 5E-30 Group was of strictly Late Formative date, although some evidence for a Late-Terminal Classic reoccupation was also recovered. The data from the excavations framed the study of early civic architecture and settlement patterns in Stanton‟s (2000; see also Stanton and Ardren 2005; Stanton and Freidel 2005) dissertation.

Excavations in three complexes in the southern zone of the site core revealed very early civic architecture. Both the 5E-19 Group and the 6E-30 Complex were found to

15

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.11: Detail of Northwest Quadrant of the 5E Grid Square In 1991 large-scale investigations began at the North Acropolis and its immediate vicinity (Ambrosino 2002, 2003, 2007; Ambrosino et al. 2001; Ardren 2002; Ardren et al. 1994; Freidel et al. 1992, 2003; Freidel and Suhler 1995; Suhler 1996; Suhler and Freidel 1998, 2000, 2003; Suhler et al. 2004). Several structures immediately south of the principle stairway to the acropolis were

investigated. The first was Yaxuná‟s only known ballcourt. Trenching revealed that this structure was constructed during the Terminal Classic and was superimposed on a wide Late Formative intrasite causeway (Sacbé 3). Puuc-style veneer stones and Cehpech ceramics were found in the excavations. The playing field of the ballcourt is parallel to Sacbé 3 and is 16

Background to the Investigations

Figure 2.12: Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 5E Grid Square in a direct line with the acropolis stairway and that of Structure 6F-3 suggesting that it was integrated into the existing civic plan of the site (Stanton 1998; Stanton and Freidel 2005). The ballcourt has since been excavated and consolidated by Lourdes Toscano Hernández (1997).

Excavations on the North Acropolis platform (Structure 6F-1) were concentrated at Structure 6F-3, the principle pyramid situated at the northern end of the acropolis, and Structure 6F-4, the eastern flanking structure (Freidel and Suhler 1999; Suhler 1996). Two frontal stairways were

17

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.13: Detail of Southwest Quadrant of the 5E Grid Square cleared at Structure 6F-3. A Terminal Classic stairway was followed less than halfway up the structure. It is unknown whether this stairway was completed, partially dismantled, or has suffered extensive postabandonment destruction. This stairway likely rose higher than its present level, but the evidence is inconclusive. Behind this stairway, the treads of a better preserved Early Classic stairway were exposed. This stairway led excavators to a series of Early Classic rooms and

passageways known as the labyrinth. In 1993, Charles Suhler followed architectural features to the tomb of an Early Classic ruler (Burial 23). This tomb had been sealed by subsequent construction only after it had been re-entered during an apparent ritual activity where the tomb underwent an apparent smoking ritual (Suhler and Freidel 1998). In 1996 during the consolidation of the Burial 23 excavation, several other passageways were discovered.

18

Background to the Investigations

Figure 2.14: Detail of Northeast Quadrant of the 5F Grid Square Excavations were initiated on the western side of Structure 6F-4 where it faced the plaza shared with Structure 6F-2 and Structure 6F-3. An Early Classic three-room range structure was exposed. The western stairway was composed of large blocks reminiscent of the Early Classic megalithic style of Izamal, Aké, and

Naranjal (Lincoln 1980; Mathews 1998; Roys and Shook 1966; Taube 1995), although the style is not exactly the same. Evidence suggests that this structure was burned and ritually terminated during the transition from Yaxuná IIa to Yaxuná IIb. A further clue to this destruction was found when Burial 24 was discovered above and behind

19

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.15: Detail of Northwest Quadrant of the 5F Grid Square the range structure. This burial consisted of a tomb of a probable Yaxuná king wearing sak-hunal royal emblems who was sacrificed along with ten other individuals (Freidel and Suhler 1995, 1998). Suhler and Freidel (1998) suggest that the other sacrificial victims were members of the king‟s royal lineage. Ceramics associated

with this activity were found to be closely related to the center of Oxkintok located in the Puuc Hills region leading Suhler and Freidel to conclude that Oxkintok was involved in the overthrow of the Early Classic royal family at Yaxuná (see also Ambrosino et al. 2003; Ardren 2002; Freidel et al. 2003; Suhler et al. 1998). 20

Background to the Investigations

Figure 2.16: Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 5F Grid Square On the southern side of Structure 6F-4, another range structure (Structure 6F-68) was appended to the mound during the Terminal Classic. This structure was constructed with a Puuc-style façade. Although the structure had been violently destroyed towards the end of the Terminal Classic, the complex basal molding of the

structure provided iconographic information suggesting that Structure 6F-68 was a council house or popol na (see Fash et al. 1992). Structure 6F-68 demonstrated signs of intensive burning. Ceramic vessels were broken in the three rooms and outside the doorways. These ceramics were a mixture of Sotuta and Cehpech types suggesting

21

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.17: Detail of Southwest Quadrant of the 5F Grid Square that the perpetrators of the violence were combatants from a site where Sotuta ceramics dominated, traditionally identified in the literature as “Itzá warriors.” In Room 3, a burial (Burial 25) of a woman was desecrated (Ambrosino 1997, 2002, 2003, 2007). The skull of the woman, along with many of her mortuary

goods, were removed and a fire was lit in the crypt. Off of the eastern edge of Structure 6F-4 in a sascabera tested by George Brainerd (1958), a deep deposit of Terminal Classic ceramics (some reconstructed into partial vessels) were recovered along with a human skull bearing evidence of decapitation and broken greenstone. 22

Background to the Investigations

Figure 2.18: Detail of Northeast Quadrant of the 6E Grid Square These data suggest that the destruction of this Puuc-style structure was quite extensive. The midden excavation in also provided evidence of earlier occupation.

noticed and mapped (Ambrosino et al. 2001). This hastily constructed wall was dated to the Terminal Classic and is believed to have been constructed during the Puuc/Itzá conflict culminating in the destruction of Structure 6F-68. The wall has several entrances, some of which are baffled for defense.

During the 1995 and 1996 seasons a defensive wall surrounding the terrace edge of the North Acropolis was 23

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.19: Detail of Northwest Quadrant of the 6E Grid Square Along the southern edge of the North Acropolis an architectural protrusion defines the eastern portion of the ballcourt plaza. This extension was the locus of the last standing vault in an exposed surface context at the site. After collapsing due to tree root damage earlier this century, Suhler (Suhler and Freidel 1993) excavated the

superstructure, Structure 6F-9. Since Suhler‟s excavations, Toscano Hernández (1997) has consolidated the superstructure, as well as the extension. Structure 6F9 was found to be a Sotuta construction characterized by boot-shaped Terminal Classic style vault stones (see Andrews 1979).

24

Background to the Investigations

Figure 2.20: Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 6E Grid Square To the south of Structure 6F-68 along the edge of the acropolis terrace the only known Late Classic construction at the North Acropolis was located. Structure 6F-8 is a two-room corbel vaulted building. The floors were covered with ash and burned ceramic material suggesting that the structure has been destroyed during the transition from the Late to Terminal Classic (Ardren

et al. 1998; Suhler 1996). These data suggest that the Cobá and Puuc occupations at Yaxuná were distinct and that the hypothesis of an alliance against Chichén Itzá was untenable. The most famous architectural feature at Yaxuná is Sacbé 1 to Cobá. First systematically investigated by Alfonso 25

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.21: Detail of Southwest Quadrant of the 6E Grid Square dated its construction to the 8th century A.D. similar to other intersite sacbeob emanating from Cobá (Folan 1977, 1983; Folan and Stuart 1974; Navarrete et al. 1979; Robles Castellanos 1976). Sacbé 1 runs west from Cobá towards the modern village of Dzibil where it jogs

Villa Rojas (1934), this feature has been implicated in the regional politics towards the end of the Classic in the northern lowlands (Andrews and Robles Castellanos 1985; Freidel 1987). Originally thought to be a Terminal Classic feature, the Selz Foundation investigations have

26

Background to the Investigations

Figure 2.22: Detail of Northeast Quadrant of the 6F Grid Square slightly and continues on a relatively strait course to Yaxuná passing through several small archaeological sites including Ekal (Villa Rojas 1934). The causeway terminates at Structure 6E-13, a small Early Classic mound renovated in the Late Classic with the arrival of

Sacbé 1 and which contains a Late Postclassic shrine on its summit (Ardren 2003; Ardren et al. 1994). This sacbé has been argued to represent the status of Yaxuná as a satellite site to Cobá (Folan 1983; Shaw 1998). Others have suggested that when Yaxuná lost its independence

27

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.23: Detail of Northwest Quadrant of the 6F Grid Square to Cobá that the sacbé served as a military link between the two centers so that materials and troops could be quickly dispatched to counter the growing threat of Chichén Itzá (Freidel 1987, 1992). This latter hypothesis is not supported by the more recent Late Classic dating of the causeway (Shaw 1998; Shaw and Johnstone 2001; Stanton and Freidel 2005).

In addition to extensive investigations at the North Acropolis, Charles Suhler (1996; Freidel and Suhler 1999) excavated two Late Formative dance platforms to the East of Structure 6E-2 of the East Acropolis. Both of these platforms (Structure 6E-53 and Structure 6E-120) were characterized by a complex series of interior passages and stairways much like Structure 36 at 28

Background to the Investigations

Figure 2.24: Detail of Southeast Quadrant of the 6F Grid Square Dzibilchaltún (Andrews and Andrews 1980). Ceramics from the fill of both structures were a mix of Middle and Late Formative types. Cache 5 from Structure 6E-53 consisted of one redware vessel and a rare polychrome bucket-shaped vessel that appears to be of Middle Formative date (Fernando Robles Castellanos, cited in

Suhler and Freidel 1993:38). Suhler et al. (1998) suggest that these structures were places for ritual theater and accession rituals associated with scaffold structures. Both structures appear to have been ritually terminated during the Late Formative. No architectural modifications of the buildings were found to date after the Late Formative.

29

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 2.25: Detail of Southwest Quadrant of the 6F Grid Square During the 1995 and 1996 seasons, Justine Shaw (1998) began a program of mapping of transects and milpas in the periphery of the site. While the program of settlement research in this zone was not able to be completed, the work that was done provides insights into the extent of the settlement of Yaxuná. A transect was extended to the east, along the southern edge of Sacbé 1, for a distance of

one kilometer from the previously mapped portion of the site (into Quadrants 7E and 8E). This indicated that, while dense settlement including substantial structures continued for much of the transect, a noted density dropoff did occur towards the end of the mapped zone. Interestingly, the density in this part of the site, along the roadway, was not notably higher than equivalent

30

Background to the Investigations

Figure 2.26: Map of the Yaxuná Region zones to the north, west, or south, possibly due to the fact that the sacbé was built relatively late in the site‟s history after its core was well established. The northern transect, also carried out for a distance of one kilometer from the already mapped site core, did not reveal density drop-off clearly related to distance. Instead, an „empty‟ zone existed immediately to the north of the North Acropolis, with medium to high structural densities in the remainder of the study area. Ardren (1997) reports that in her reconnaissance of the zone around Xkanhá, structural densities were also high. The southern transect,

dominated by colonial field walls in the vicinity of Hacienda Cetelac, also did not reveal any sort of density drop-off in terms of Classic Maya architectural remains. The mapping of milpas at greater distances from the site revealed little-to-no architecture, however, providing a preliminary indication that the site of Yaxuná might be defined by a zone with relatively dense residential remains lying within two to three kilometers of the site core. Beyond this limit, outlying groups with unknown political affiliations to Yaxuná are dispersed.

31

Natural Setting

CHAPTER 3 NATURAL SETTING

The Yucatán Peninsula is a large, low-lying Cenozoic marine limestone platform stretching from the north coast of Yucatán to the Petén (Maldonado-Koerdell 1964). This intrusive platform rose from the Caribbean during the Pleistocene and was overlain by Pliocene calcareous rock, most importantly limestone, marl, and gypsum. Apart from the Puuc Hills region in Yucatán and the Maya Mountains in Belize, this karst platform is relatively flat. Tectonic activity is rare.

which overlies a yellow subsoil. Ek lum is a very dark soil with a much better agricultural potential than kancab. Soils in Yucatán are relatively thin and large areas of the limestone bedrock are often exposed. The soils in the Yaxuná region are thicker than in the Northwestern Coastal Plain due to increased weathering brought about by greater precipitation, but they still rarely exceed over 20 cm in depth (Back and Hanshaw 1976). Due to the thin nature of the Yucatec soils and the lack of surface riverine systems which might deposit alluvial soils low masonry structures are easily detectable in areas cleared of vegetation.

Geologically, Yaxuná is located in what Isphording (1975) originally termed the northeastern Coastal Plain. This area extends from the east coast of Quintana Roo to the Puuc Hills region and the Northwestern Coastal Plain and is characterized by older limestone formations, as well as more extensive solution features (possibly resulted from increased precipitation towards the eastern coast). Only three rivers are located in the northern Maya lowlands and each of those is found in its southern reaches. The geology around Yaxuná is very porous and water seeps through the bedrock to feed an extensive underground river system (see Doehring and Butler 1974). These underground rivers are often connected to cenotes. Lakes are rare in Yucatán and none are located in the immediate vicinity of Yaxuná (see Whitmore et al. 1996).

The modern climate in most of Yucatán including the Yaxuná region is classified as a tropical wet and dry climate or an Aw (Vivo E. 1964). The maximum rainy season occurs from July through August (85 to 90 percent of the annual rainfall occurs from May to September) while the hottest and driest months occur in March and April (Back and Hanshaw 1976). Generally precipitation is greater towards the eastern portion of the peninsula. In the vicinity of Yaxuná rainfall averages between 1000 and 1200 mm a year. During the rainy season, temperatures average around 27 to 28 degrees Celsius and the vegetation drastically increases (Wernstedt 1972). Clearing and planting for milpa farming usually occurs just prior to the advent of the rains. During the dry season, the temperature cools off to a low of approximately 22 degrees Celsius and much of the vegetation withers.

Wilson (1980) reclassified the Yucatec geology by identifying a coastal zone and an inland zone within the Northeastern Coastal Plain (Figure 3.1). Within this system Yaxuná is located in the inland zone which is designated the Chichén Itzá district. This area is approximately 25 m above mean sea level and is characterized by numerous aguadas, cenotes, and rejolladas. These features were extensively utilized by the ancient Maya and were important elements in their subsistence strategies. Caves are also common in this area and appear to have been important loci for ritual activity.

The environment around the Yaxuná region has been classified as a tropical savanna and as a tropical deciduous or semi-deciduous forest. In contrast to the lush tropical rainforests which characterize much of the southern Maya lowlands, the Yaxuná vegetation is often termed a ‘scrub’ jungle. The forest canopy is much lower (with a maximum canopy height of 15 m) than in the regions to the south and many of the plants create a dense and thorny ground cover (see Gomez-Pompa 1998; Shattuck 1933), although much of the current forest cover is a product of millennia of human disturbance (Lundell 1934).

Beneath the thin, pitted karst bedrock several important geological resources can be found. The first is a white marl powder termed sascab. The geologic origin of this material is still not well understood, but it occurs in pockets which were extensively mined by the ancient Maya to be used for stucco and ceramic tempers (Littman 1958). The modern Yucatec people continue to use sascab as flooring in the more traditional dwellings. Chert also occurs in small pockets, but the quality is not as good as the chert sources in northern Belize.

Little or no primary forest remains in Yucatán. Current evidence suggests that forest clearance was extensive in some parts of the Petén by the Early to Late Classic (Binford et al. 1987). In the northern Maya lowlands, pollen cores from Lake Cobá (approximately 100 km to the east of Yaxuná) suggest that the first forest clearance occurred at approximately 1650 B.C. (Leyden et al. 1998). Large-scale forest clearance most likely occurred during the Late Formative as populations grew and the climate was relatively wet (Curtis et al. 1996; Whitmore et al. 1996). Data from the cenote at X’togil in the

A variety of soils are recognized by modern Maya populations in Yucatán (Dunning 1992). Most of these soils are classified as mollisols in the U.S.D.A. soil taxonomy. The most common in the Yaxuná region are termed kancab and ek lum. Kancab is a red clay soil

33

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 3.1: Map of Geological Zones (after Wilson 1980) vicinity of Yaxuná suggest that an agriculturally based human occupation was established by this wet period (Whitmore et al. 1996). During the Classic period, rainfall appears to have decreased (Curtis et al. 1996; Dahlin 1983) with a major drought period peaking around A.D. 900 (Hodell et al. 1995, 2005, 2007), but the effects on forest cover and indigenous agriculture are not well

understood at the present time. Forest clearance appears to have continued without long breaks through modern times, although social disturbances during the Caste War may have allowed some forests to grow unchecked by human activity (see Reed 1964).

34

Chronology

CHAPTER 4 CHRONOLOGY

At Yaxuná, ceramic chronology is the primary method for dating (Johnstone 2001; Suhler et al. 1998). The ceramic sequence is divided into six main periods corresponding with popular chronological terminology (Formative-Yaxuná I; Early Classic-Yaxuná II; Late Classic-Yaxuná III; Terminal Classic-Yaxuná IV; Postclassic-Yaxuná V; Colonial-Yaxuná VI). Most of these periods are further subdivided based on major shifts in ceramic types (Figure 4.1). In this volume we present a brief sketch of the ceramic chronology published in Suhler et al. (1998) and Stanton (2000) to help the reader through the excavations. There are plans for Johnstone (2001) to publish a full ceramic monograph that will accompany this report.

assess). Although Lowe (1978) views the similarities as a later Formative development, more recent dates for the Xe, Swasey, and Nabanché complexes suggest strong Middle Formative contemporaneity of these complexes (Andrews and Hammond 1990). The modal similarities between Nabanché and the Gulf Coast complexes are summed up in Joesink-Mandeville’s (1970:249-265) dissertation and will not be reiterated here. It is very interesting to note that not only are there strong ties between the slipped ceramics in these areas, but that large quantities of similar unslipped striated utilitarian wares are found in both areas. At the regional scale, the Yaxuná Ia ceramics have significant differences when compared to southern Petén sites despite some strong similarities. Differences include a lack of unslipped tecomates and hand modeled figurines, as well as an absence of excision in the Yaxuná material. Joesink-Mandeville (1970:234) noted that there is more of a family resemblance between the Nabanché complex and the greater Mamom sphere than strong modal ties. While this may be the case for Mamom ceramics in the central Petén, Andrews’ (1990) regional survey of Middle Formative ceramics led him to conclude that there are stronger tie between the Nabanché ceramics of Yucatán and Xe material from the Pasión drainage. The latter tradition may be traced back to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Early to Middle Formative Gulf Coast Olmec.

Yaxuná Ia (750/500 B.C.-250 B.C.) The earliest evidence of occupation at Yaxuná dates to the Middle Formative. Although a Formative occupation was identified by the Carnegie Institution of Washington archaeologists (Brainerd 1958; Thompson 1954:45), the timing, nature, and extent of the settlement was virtually unknown until recently. The Selz Foundation project identified both residential and monumental architecture in the core zone dating to the latter end of this period. These ceramics were placed in the local equivalent of the Mamom sphere, the Middle Formative ceramic phase of the Maya lowlands (Figures 4.2-4.3). Although the Dzibilchaltún Early Nabanché complex was quickly differentiated from the Mamom sphere ceramics found in the Petén by the Middle American Research Institute archaeologists, this ceramic material fits within the general Mamom ceramic sphere (Andrews 1986; Joesink-Mandeville 1970, 1977; Joesink-Mandeville and Meluzin 1976; Robles Castellanos 1997:257). The Yaxuná Middle Formative ceramic material strongly parallels the Early Nabanché at Komchen and Dzibilchaltún (Andrews 1981, 1986, 1988, 1990; Joesink-Mandeville 1970). Yaxuná Ia ceramics also appear to share many attributes with Mamom sphere ceramics (especially the red monochromes) in the Petén and northern Belize (e.g., Forsyth 1989; Kosakowsky 1987).

Andrews (1990) suggested two possible ceramic intrusions into Yucatán during the Middle Formative; the first was from the Pasión zone while the second was from Belize. If Andrews is correct, these vessel forms at Yaxuná would certainly fit into his model as they date towards the end of the Middle Formative. In fact, red slipped wares are more common than black slipped wares at Yaxuná just as they are in contemporary Belize. The Early Nabanché complex at Komchen has a reversed pattern, possibly reflecting the earlier Pasión influence. As the exposures of Middle Formative contexts were limited at Yaxuná, it is difficult to ascertain whether the difference between Komchen and Yaxuná is strictly temporal or whether some spatial differentiation occurred in prehistory. Recognizing that our understanding of Yaxuná Ia is hampered by limited exposures, the data suggest that the Middle Formative at Yaxuná is restricted towards the end of the Early Nabanché defined at Komchen (but see Stanton and Ardren 2005).

Andrews (1986) has suggested that the Dzudzuquil Group in northern Yucatán also evinces strong ties to the Middle Formative Gulf Coastal tradition at La Venta citing the Conchas White to Buff ware while Rust (1992) argued for strong similarities between Red on Cream wares from both regions based on analyses of the La Venta materials (stratigraphic contexts are not reported by Rust and temporal placement is somewhat difficult to

Although Johnstone (2001) proposed that the Formative at Yaxuná be divided into Middle Formative (Yaxuná Ia) and Late Formative (Yaxuná Ib) periods, there is now

35

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 4.1: Ceramic Chronology of Sites in the Maya Lowlands sufficient evidence to suggest a gradual transition between the two periods. Suhler et al. (1998) argued that the Sierra group does not enter the Yaxuná inventory until the Late Formative. Although Sierra Red is used as

a widespread diagnostic marker of the Late Formative by ceramicists despite the possibility that it may be a catchall category for redwares, both Gifford (1976) and Andrews (1986) noted that it is a derivative of Joventud

36

Chronology Formative which may be seriated out of the current chronological system. Formative monochrome red wares at Yaxuná were difficult to distinguish, but were differentiated based on variations in slip, paste, and vessel form when diagnostic attributes could be identified. Pure lots of Joventud and Dzudzuquil were found stratigraphically beneath lots of mixed Joventud, Dzudzuquil, and Sierra with no other Late Formative diagnostic types present (e.g., Polvero, Flor). If these lots represent mixed Yaxuná Ia and Ib ceramics, other Late Formative types should be present in at least limited quantities. As they are consistently absent, it is possible that a Late Middle Formative at Yaxuná may be seriated out in the future by the further study of contexts containing Joventud, Dzudzuquil, and Sierra without other Late Formative types.

Figure 4.2: Joventud Red

Yaxuná Ib (250 B.C.-A.D. 250) As the Middle Formative came to a close, Yaxuná continued to grow exponentially. Although there is strong evidence for similarities to southern lowland Chicanel sphere types including similar slips, pastes, and vessel forms, the local Tihosuco complex seems to have several distinct types (e.g., Tutul Xiu) and vessel forms (especially in the Sierra Group, Sylviane Boucher, personal communication 1998). After the Middle to Late Formative transition, a pure Chicanel ceramic inventory developed at Yaxuná reflecting a standardization of Maya ceramics during this period with an emphasis on regional ceramic spheres (Fry 1989:98; Willey et al. 1967). Although the Yaxuná material evinces strong ties to the general Chicanel development, its strongest relationship to published material is with the Late Nabanché material at Komchen and Dzibilchaltún (Figures 4.4-4.5).

Figure 4.3: Achiotes Unslipped Red and was produced alongside this diagnostic Middle Formative redware for some time towards the end of the Middle Formative in Northwestern Yucatán and Belize. In short, there is a transition from Joventud to Sierra that results in an overlap of the two types at the end of the Middle Formative (Gifford 1976:83; Kosakowsky 1987; Kosakowky and Pring 1991; Pring 1976:19). At Cuello, where this identification problem is not as pronounced, a transitional type, Sierra Red: Ahuacan variety has been seriated out. At most sites, however, this distinction is too difficult to be made. Analysis of the ceramics from the settlement zone at Yaxuná during the 1997 laboratory analysis confirmed that Sierra Red overlaps Joventud Red during the Middle Formative. There is evidence of some Sierra/Joventud overlap prior to the onset of the Late

Figure 4.4: Ciego Composite Andrews noted that Xanabá Red may have Late Formative antecedents at Komchen following Ball (1977) who recognized the Formative/Classic overlap of this type. At Yaxuná, sherds of the Usil Group are also present in very small numbers at the end of the Late Formative. Yet until the onset of the Early Classic Xanabá Red and other members of the Usil Group, Caucel Trickle on Red and Xanabá Punctate, would not be used in large quantities. 37

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 4.5: Sierra Red Huachinango Bichrome Incised is found in large quantities at the large center of Ek Balam (Bey et al. 1998; Ringle et al. 1991). Although the presence of this type at Yaxuná may indicate contact between the two sites during this period, there are only a handful of sherds of this type which have been recovered at Yaxuná, appearing to date towards the end of the Late Formative. Yet there seem to be consistent differences in the type of temper used at each site (Bey et al. 1998). Many of the Huachinango vessels at Ek Balam have some vegetal temper. At Yaxuná, only Cetelac Fiber Tempered has been found to have a vegetal temper; this type has been confined to the Early to Late Classic transition by Johnstone (2001).

Although Ball (1977) argued that Tituc polychrome was most likely produced north of Becán, some other polychromes found in Yucatán have been argued to be imports from the south (see Ceballos Gallareta 2003; Jiménez Álvarez 2002). Unfortunately our understanding of polychrome production, as well as polychrome sources is limited in the northern lowlands. One important monochrome type that appears to characterize this first phase of the Early Classic is Xanabá Red, a type we previously mentioned that first appears towards the end of the Late Formative. Aside from the polychromes, this particular type is one of the only clear markers of this period. Other ceramics such as Aguila Orange and Balanza Black appear to exist during both Yaxuná IIa and IIb.

Yaxuná IIa (A.D. 250-A.D. 400) Yaxuná II begins with the transition to the Early Classic. Although there is some overlap of ceramic types between the two periods, the Formative/Classic ceramic disjunction at Yaxuná is as pronounced as it is elsewhere in the Maya area (e.g., Neff et al. 1994). The Early Classic at Yaxuná is characterized by a local polychrome tradition and/or an influx of Petén-style tradewares relating to the Manik II phase at Tikal (Laporte and Fialko 1987, 1990, 1995) and an increase in production of Usil Group ceramics (Figures 4.6-4.12). Unlike some other major centers in the northern Maya lowlands including Ek Balam (Bey et al. 1998) which are almost bereft of Petén-style polychromes during the Early Classic, Yaxuná seems to have participated as a major player in the exchange of ceramic ideas with its southern neighbors (Smith 1940:249). Other centers such as Oxkintok (Varela Torrecilla 1998), Chunchucmil (Bond and Mansell 2006; Stanton et al. 2000); Xcambó (Ceballos Gallareta 2003; Sierra Sosa 1999), and Cobá (Robles Castellanos 1990) also participated in this interregional economic or ideational sphere, despite Lincoln’s (1985:55) claims that the Early Classic was virtually nonexistent in the northern lowlands.

Figure 4.6: Ichcanziho Striated

Figure 4.7: Saban Unslipped

38

Chronology

Figure 4.8: Caucel Trickle on Red Figure 4.11: Caucel Trickle on Red

Figure 4.9: Xanaba Red

Figure 4.12: Balanza Black Yaxuná IIb (A.D. 400-A.D. 550) During Yaxuná IIb the ceramic assemblage continued to be dominated by Petén-style polychromes. Many of these are most likely local Timucuy Group vessels, although Suhler et al. (1998) argued that Yaxuná was likely conquered by peoples from the western portion of the peninsula who may have brought many foreign wares with them or produced these new wares locally at Yaxuná. Additionally, a number of ceramic types which have been documented in western Yucatán entered the Yaxuná inventory (Figures 4.13-4.18). These types are primarily restricted to elite tomb contexts and have been identified as intrusive from the Puuc area (Suhler 1996; Suhler et al. 1998), specifically from Oxkintok (see Varela Torrecilla 1998).

Figure 4.10: Xanaba Red 39

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Yaxuná IIc (A.D. 550-A.D. 600)

An extensive analysis of the ceramic material in the settlement zone did not reveal a clear distinctive break between the Yaxuná IIa and IIb assemblages suggesting that the possible overthrow of the Yaxuná ruler and his faction did not impact the general ceramic economy to a great extent. The introduction of foreign types from the west appears to be primarily restricted to the elite contexts from the North Acropolis. Thus, it is extremely difficult to differentiate between Yaxuná IIa and IIb occupations in the residential zone in many cases. Changes in the residential assemblages included some trends that were experienced throughout the Maya area including the disappearance of Sierra Red. The Usil Group ceramics also disappear. Thus, Yaxuná IIb is characterized by a lack of abundant redwares, although one Hunabchen Red vessel was recovered in the Burial 24 tomb. Residential ceramic lots dating to Yaxuná IIa and IIb were differentiated based primarily on the presence and absence of Sierra and Usil Group ceramics, but there was great difficulty in accomplishing this.

The end of the Early Classic at Yaxuná is marked by the disappearance of a number of the Petén-style polychromes. The transitional period defining this trend, Yaxuná IIc, has now been conflated with Yaxuná IIb by Johnstone (2001). It was originally defined as a subphase characterized by the introduction of Cetelac Fiber Tempered Ware (Suhler et al. 1998), but now it is considered to be the latter facet of Yaxuná IIb. We continue to use the original Yaxuná IIc designation here as to avoid confusion prior to further publication of the Yaxuná ceramic sequence.

Figure 4.13: a) Balanza Black; b) Kanachen Black

Figure 4.15: Balanza Black

Figure 4.16: Peba Composite

Figure 4.14: Kanachen Black

40

Chronology Yet regardless of their origins, there is a general consensus now that slatewares begin to be produced in the Early Classic, possibly around A.D. 500-550 (e.g., Bey et al. 1992; Boucher 1992; Robles Castellanos 1997; Smyth and Rogart 2004). At Yaxuná we have hints of early slatewares, but the data are not sufficient to make general statements concerning their nature. There are claims that Muna Slate, especially during the Late and Terminal Classics, exhibited few to no modal differences across the Chenes, Río Bec, Puuc, and northern plains subregions leading some researchers to imply a monolithic ceramic industry starkly contrasting the mosaic of subregional spheres in the Petén (Ball 1993:257; see also Webster 1984). The widely believed exception to this point of view is the acknowledgement of strong differences in vessel forms and slip between the slatewares from the eastern and western portion of the peninsula (Andrews and Robles Castellanos 1985; Bey et al. 1992; Robles Castellanos and Andrews 1986). Such differences can be seen at Yaxuná which lies on the border of these two Cehpech subindustries. Yet more recent analyses indicate that there is more model variability among slatewares than was once supposed. Fernando Robles Castellanos (2006; see also Bey et al. 1992) now suggests that at least five different Cehpech zones may be identified instead of just two. Clearly more research is needed to solve the slateware problem.

Figure 4.17: Marmona Impressed Johnstone (2001) argues that Batres Red enters the ceramic inventory during this time. Although some Batres vessels may be present in a few contexts during Yaxuná IIc, data from the settlement zone suggest that this ware is primarily a Late Classic type. Shaw (1998) noted that Batres is consistently found alongside Arena Red, the Late Classic diagnostic at Yaxuná. The limited number of Batres sherds examined for this study were located in lots that contained mixed deposits. In most of these contexts, Arena Red was identified. Yet it is important to mention that very few Batres sherds were identified at Yaxuná. The type that has been most useful in definition of this period of time at Yaxuná is Cetelac Fiber Temper Ware. As mentioned previously, this is the only fiber tempered ware identified at the present time. Unfortunately, this type was only recovered in a few limited contexts. The lack of contexts is what led Johnstone (2001) to eliminate this phase of the Yaxuná Early Classic, although some of us believe that the Yaxuná IIc designation may prove useful with further research at the site.

Yaxuná III (A.D. 600-700/730) Yaxuná III composes the 100 year span of the Late Classic. There is strong evidence that Yaxuná was incorporated into the Cobá sphere of influence during this time (Ardren et al. 1998; Shaw 1998; Stanton 1999; Stanton and Freidel 2005). In addition to the construction of Sacbé 1, eastern Cehpech ceramics dominate the Yaxuná assemblage during this span of time (Figures 4.19-4.23). The primary ceramic marker of Yaxuná III is Arena Red, a prominent redware at Cobá (Robles Castellanos 1990). Most Late Classic burials at Yaxuná have at least one Arena Red vessel, often placed over the face of the primary individual. Cehpech-style slatewares also comprise much of the ceramic assemblage. Johnstone (2001) identified these slatewares as related to the eastern peninsula style. As argued above, we would also include Batres Red in the Late Classic ceramic inventory, although it will remain in the Yaxuná IIc temporal placement until further reexamination of the material. In stark contrast to other Late Classic sites in the northern lowlands, Chablekal Fine Gray was not identified among the thousands of sherds analyzed from the excavations. This type is a major diagnostic of the Late Classic at Dzibilchaltún (Ball 1979:23) and other sites including Cobá (Canché 1992; Robles Castellanos 1990:155-157). At this time, we cannot rectify why this diagnostic marker is not present given the construction of Sacbé 1 to Cobá. In any event, the people at Yaxuná were not participating in this widespread ceramic sphere.

Figure 4.18: Lucha Incised Another problematic type during this period is Muna Slate. Ball (1979) and Gifford (1976:328) both argued that the Late and Terminal Classic Cehpech ceramic complex developed out of Copo complex elite slatewares. It is also possible that Cehpech slates may have originated from Brainerd’s (1958) Flaky Redware (the Usil Group) or possibly from the Huachinango Group. 41

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 4.19: Arena Red

Figure 4.20: Arena Red 42

Chronology

Figure 4.21: Arena Red

Figure 4.22: Xcatun Impressed Yaxuná IVa (A.D. 700/730-A.D. 900/950) During the Terminal Classic, the ceramic situation drastically changes. Yaxuná IVa is characterized by the full arrival of western Cehpech sphere ceramics (Figures 4.24-4.38). Although Muna Slate, a major diagnostic of both eastern and western Cehpech ceramics, had been developing at Yaxuná for some time, many more diagnostic slatewares wares now entered the ceramic inventory (e.g., Xaya Gouged and Incised and Ticul Thin Slate). Arena Red was no longer utilized by the people residing at Yaxuná. Further, all polychrome production and/or importation ceased. The distinctive redware known as Teabo Red also entered the ceramic inventory. While we may consider that Yaxuná IVa overlaps with what we might consider the Late Classic at some other sites across the peninsula, the great shift in ceramic production, as well as architectural styles and burial practices, at Yaxuná around A.D. 700/730 led us to date the beginning of the Terminal Classic at this time.

Figure 4.23: Arena Red Cajete Supports 43

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 4.24: Cajetes, Muna Slate Variedad Cafetoso

Figure 4.25: Cajetes, Muna Slate Variedad Cafetoso 44

Chronology

Figure 4.26: Cazuelas and Cánteros, Muna Slate

Figure 4.27: Muna Slate 45

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 4.28: Ollas, Muna Slate 46

Chronology

Figure 4.29: Akil Impressed

Figure 4.31: Cazuelas, Sacalum Black on Slate

Figure 4.32: Chumayel Red on Slate

Figure 4.30: Tekit Incised 47

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 4.36: Dzibalchen Acanalado

Figure 4.37: Celtum Applique

Figure 4.33: Sacalum Black on Slate

Figure 4.38: Dos Caras Striated

Figure 4.34: Dzan Composite

Figure 4.39: Becal Incised

Figure 4.35: Muna Group, Unspecified 48

Chronology

Figure 4.40: Pisté Striated Yaxuná IVb (A.D. 900/950- A.D. 1100/1200)

distribution of Sotuta ceramics (Stanton and Gallareta Negrón 2001). Most settlements with large percentages of Sotuta material stretch north towards Isla Cerritos from Chichén Itzá (Gallareta Negrón et al. 1988; Robles Castellanos 1987, 1988). Yet some of the Puuc centers have late Sotuta using occupations as well (Andrews and Sabloff 1986; Carrasco Vargas and Pérez de Heredia Puente 1996; Kowalski et al. 1996; Pérez de Heredia Puente 2001; Schele and Mathews 1998; Stanton 1999). It is not surprising given the regional spatial pattern of Sotuta ceramics that Yaxuná does not have a large Sotuta occupation (Toscano Hernández and Ortegón Zapata 2003), especially in light of the possible hostilities between the two sites.

Although we do not believe that the extent of the settlement during Yaxuná IVb times is well understood (see for instance Suhler 1996; Toscano Hernández and Ortegon Zapata 2003), the beginning of this period is marked by a drastic event resulting in the introduction of Sotuta slateware ceramics. Most of the Sotuta ceramics recovered at Yaxuná by the Selz Foundation Project were excavated from termination deposits and were associated with burned masonry structures (Figures 4.39-4.46). As discussed previously, Sotuta sphere ceramics overlap temporally with Cehpech ceramics. Although this material was once thought to represent an Early Postclassic, some scholars (Andrews et al. 2003) argue that this period does not exist. Thus, without a replacement definition for the Early Postclassic the end of the Terminal Classic grades into the Late Postclassic (Stanton and Bey 2006).

At Yaxuná we define Sotuta ceramics as including types such as Dzitas Slate and Dzibiac Red. Pisté Striated also occurs, but much like the slatewares there is confusion as to whether we can use this type to identify “Itzá” occupation. Some tradewares also occur at Yaxuná at this time, but in small quantities. Both Silhó and Altar Fine Orange have been identified. Further, very small quantities of Peto Cream were identified.

Chichén Itzá appears to be the original production loci for the Sotuta tradition (Andrews 1998), although many questions remain concerning the meaning of the regional

49

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 4.43: Pisté Striated

Figure 4.41: Pisté Striated

Figure 4.44: Pisté Striated

Figure 4.45: Pisté Striated

Figure 4.42: Pisté Striated 50

Chronology

Figure 4.46: Pisté Striated

Figure 4.47: Chen Mul Modeled

51

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Yaxuná V (1100/1200-1400?)

Yaxuná V occupation occurred after this abandonment. Without further evidence from the residential settlement, this chronolocal point remains difficult to resolve. The final date for the Postclassic activity at Yaxuná has not yet been ascertained.

Yaxuná V, the Late Postclassic, is characterized by a number of shrines and one burial (Figure 4.47). Apparently, Yaxuná was the locus of Late Postclassic ritual activity, but did not sustain a substantial population. The majority of the ceramics are of the Chen Mul modeled type, although Mama Red and Navula Unslipped are also present (see Robles Castellanos 1990:224-227; Smith 1971:207-219). Suhler (1996) suggests that this activity be dated to the end of the Sotuta complex at Yaxuná and the beginning of the Tases as defined by Smith (1971) at Mayapán. Suhler argued that the Tases complex at Chichén Itzá represents the conquest of the Itzá polity by people from Mayapán. Extending this argument southward, Suhler suggests that this transition at Yaxuná was due to the same event. Although very little Postclassic material has been recovered at Yaxuná, it is an intriguing possibility. Ardren (2003) has suggested there was a significant period of abandonment at Yaxuná after the conquest by Chichén Itzá, and that the

Yaxuná VI (¿?) Yaxuná VI represents the Colonial period, a span of time that is not well understood at the site. We know that Yaxuná was occupied at various times during the historic period (see Alexander 2004), but in terms of ceramics we are at a loss to define the period. A handful of colonial period ceramics were recovered from surface collections during the survey of the site center. Unfortunately, we have not been able to assign these types to the existing typology that exists for the state of Yucatán (e.g., Burgos Villanueva 1990). Therefore, we acknowledge this period exists at Yaxuná and hope that future research will begin to understand the complexity of ceramic changes that must have occurred.

52

Excavations

CHAPTER 5 EXCAVATIONS

Operations 1 and 67: Structure 6E-13 Op. 1 was a 3 X 3.5 m unit placed at the summit of Structure 6E-13. Op. 67, the 1993 expansion of the excavations at the Structure 6E-13 locality, will be described first as Op.1 was the only unit that penetrated Early Classic levels. All of the lots from the Op. 67 excavations included the Late Classic diagnostic ceramic type Arena Red. Structure 6E-13, the terminus structure of Sacbé 1 to Cobá (see Villa Rojas 1934), is a 3.5 m tall pyramidal structure which faced Sacbé 1 during the Late Classic (Figure 5.1). Op. 67 began as a 2 X 2 m unit along the northern edge of Sacbé 1 approximately eight m east of the intersection of Sacbé 1 with Structure 6E-13. Very little ceramic material was recovered in this lot. No associated floors were found near the boulder-lined edge of the sacbé, although three flagstones were set flush with the edge of the boulders suggesting that the surface to the north of the sacbé may have been prepared for a plaster surface that has since eroded.

Figure 5.1: South Profile of Sacbé 1 Ramp and 6E-13 Structure 6E-13-2nd (Figure 5.1). A two meter wide trench was placed to expose the northeastern corner of the structure. The excavators recovered three to four cm thick polished plaster fragments near the intersection with the sacbé suggesting that the walls of Structure 6E-13-2nd were heavily plastered at one time. Near the northeastern corner itself, no stucco collapse was documented. At the intersection of the sacbé, the walls of Structure 6E-13-2nd were preserved to a height of two meters. These walls were constructed with roughly cut stones set without mortar, as well as two large worked stones which the excavator noted could be carved in an Early Classic style. These two larger stones were set in the northeastern corner. We believe that the roughly cut stones in the wall at the intersection with Sacbé 1 made a ‘skin’ or encasing wall that was constructed to cover the Early Classic interior of the structure (6E-13-3rd) as the Late Classic sacbé was extended to meet Structure 6E-13-2nd. Given that the original orientation of Structure 6E-13-3rd was towards the west (the continuation of Op. 67 to the west along the northern edge of the structure exposed the northern extent of the basal tread of the ten meter wide outset stairway of Structure 6E-13-3rd), it is most likely that the Late Classic builders of Sacbé 1 had to modify the structure in order reorient it towards the east to face Cobá. The ceramics above and in front of the wall were of Late Classic date, but the wall was not penetrated for a sealed ceramic sample. Beneath the broken stucco deposit, a poorly preserved plaster floor was located. This floor was built directly on top of bedrock.

This unit was extended to the west towards Structure 6E13 following the northern edge of the sacbé. The construction of the sacbé edge changed from boulders to much smaller stones which were difficult to distinguish from collapse and which finally gave way to three to four courses of preserved stonework as the excavations approached Structure 6E-13. This final course of construction was set without mortar and chinking. One meter to the east of the intersection of the sacbé and Structure 6E-13, a gray deposit of spalled stucco and deteriorated plaster was encountered to the immediate north of Sacbé 1. This lot contained a significant quantity of large broken Arena Red sherds many of which exhibited evidence of burning after breakage. It appears that this was some form of ritual deposit that included the burning and breaking of ceramic vessels much like those described elsewhere (Pagliaro et al. 2003). It is difficult to ascertain at this time if this deposit relates to Cobá’s conquest of Yaxuná at the beginning of the Late Classic, the Puuc intrusion at the end of the Late Classic, or some ritual activity that took place during the time between these two events in association with the use of Sacbé 1. Given the similarity to other terminal deposits of this nature (e.g., Coe 1959) and the evidence for the destruction of a Cobá-affiliated elite residence (Structure 5E-75) by Puuc related peoples, this deposit most likely represents part of the site wide destruction of Cobá architecture during the transition from the Late to Terminal Classic (Ardren et al. 1998).

Op. 67b was a direct continuation of Op. 1 (Figure 5.1). This was a 2 X 2 m unit placed directly to the east of Op. 1 on the summit of the platform (see Op. 1 below) along the eastern, or back, wall of a C-shaped Postclassic shrine (Structure 6E-13-1st). The first 20 cm was a loose dark

The northern sacbé wall was integrally attached to the eastern wall of the final basal platform construction of

53

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 recovered as was a small copper bell. No dry core fill was encountered in these upper levels. Three floors were encountered in the excavation (Figure 5.2). Although the first two correlate with the Op. 67 excavations, Floor 3 dates to the Early Classic. Underneath this floor was a layer of fine gray soil. In this layer at 62 cm, a concentration of sherds was exposed. The majority of these ceramics had sascab, white marl found in pockets beneath the limestone cap, adhering to their surfaces. The ceramics indicated that the fill beneath Floor 3 was most likely laid down during Yaxuná IIa. This would date the structure well before the construction of Sacbé 1 which has been redated to the Late Classic (Stanton and Freidel 2005; Suhler et al. 1998). Dry core construction fill was encountered at 70 cm and excavated to a depth of 115 cm beneath the superstructure. Although the lowest construction levels of 6E-13 were not penetrated, the excavation was halted due to the instability of the unit walls. No other artifacts were recovered from this level. From the ceramic data recovered, Structure 6E-13-3rd can be dated to the Early Classic.

Figure 5.2: South Profile of Test Pit on the Summit of Structure 6E-13

The function of 6E-13-3rd is difficult to ascertain from this small exposure. Its size and location would indicate that it may have functioned as a shrine or temple facing the west, but the data from Op. 1 provide little insight on this matter. Although the summit was plastered, no evidence of a superstructure was exposed. The choice by Late Classic Maya to construct Sacbé 1 to this unimpressive Early Classic structure and for Postclassic Maya to build a shrine on its summit may attest to its previous importance as a locus of ritual activity. Without further exposure we cannot test this hypothesis. Operations 2, 73, and 76: The Ballcourt Plaza Figure 5.3: Plan View of Structure 6F-14

The Ballcourt Plaza is defined as that area bounded on the north by the North Acropolis, on the south by the Ballcourt, and on the east and west by long parallel substructures extending south from the North Acropolis. Investigations in this area began in 1989 with the testing of the ballcourt, and continued in 1992 with the testing of Structure 6F-9. As the dating of the construction of these structures was not fully resolved, further excavation in this area was needed. At the time it was hoped that we could determine if the buildings in and around this plaza were ad hoc constructions built over a long period, or whether they represented a formal group added to the entrance to the North Acropolis during a single building episode. To this end, excavations were undertaken in structures 6F-12, 6F-14, 6F-15, and 6F-16.

humic soil. At 20 cm, the archaeologists exposed a poorly preserved 8 cm thick plaster floor associated with the Late Classic construction of the eastern encasing wall of Structure 6E-13-2nd. Beneath this floor and behind the eastern Late Classic encasing wall (Structure 6E-13-2nd), the top of the Early Classic wall (Structure 6E-13-3rd) was exposed. This wall was composed of a typical Early Classic construction documented elsewhere at Yaxuná. The stones were medium sized and set with mortar and chinking. This wall was not penetrated by the excavations and the unit was closed at this point due to time constraints. Op. 1 was a 3.5 by 3 m unit placed on the summit of Structure 6E-13 during the 1989 field season. A small Cshaped Postclassic shrine (Structure 6E-13-1st) facing west was exposed immediately below ground surface. Below this structure were two poorly preserved plaster floors within the first 40 cm. All of these levels were dated to Yaxuná V based on the presence of Tases ceramics, specifically Chen Mul modeled ware. Large amounts of Postclassic incensario fragments were

Operation 73: Structure 6F-14 Structure 6F-14 is the western constituent of a pair of linear structures extending south from the North Acropolis. It is the poorer preserved of the two structures; consisting primarily of a jumble of loose rubble thinly covered by leaves and humus. A 2 X 2 m test pit was placed in the center of this structure at its highest point. 54

Excavations Associated with Floor 3 was a low structure (6F-14-sub1); 44 cm high. The wall was composed of a single course of large unfaced stones running north-south covered with plaster which lipped up from the floor. Traces of blue and red paint were visible on the face. This structure was partially destroyed prior to burial. The plaster from the upper surface was stripped off to the edge revealing the underlying flagging stones, while the south face was removed exposing the structure fill. Floor 3 likely represents a plaza surface. It was composed of 12 cm of plaster over a thin layer of chich floor ballast. Below the chich was 70 cm of dry core fill.

Initial surface clearing revealed that a small (1.2 X 2.97 m) structure was situated below the limits of the excavation unit. At this point, the unit was divided into two lots, with lot 1 comprising the inside of the structure, and lot 2 falling outside to the east. A third 1 X 2 m unit (lot 3) was added to the south of the original unit to expose the south wall of the structure (Figure 5.3). Outside of the structure, the fill consisted of a brown soil mixed with cobble and plaster sloughed off the structure. Four courses of stones were still extant. The presence of larger stones adjacent to the wall, however, suggests that it was at least one course higher. Many large tabular pieces were recovered in the collapse, probably representing the final course. A large piece of very hard white plaster with three right-angled sides ten centimeter cm thick suggests that the upper surface of the structure was capped in this material. A two centimeter thick coating of beige unpainted plaster lipped up from the floor surrounding the structure to cover the walls to a height of two or three courses (Figure 5.4).

The final level consisted of a compacted layer of graybrown soil containing few rocks. As the soil immediately above bedrock is typically red, it is quite possible that at least one more layer lies below this. Due to safety considerations, however, bedrock was not reached. Excavations at 6F-14 revealed multiple construction episodes at this locality, and an unexpected structure (6F14 Altar). Floor 3 appears to represent the surface of Sacbé 3. Thus, this causeway dates to the Late Formative. This date was confirmed in the sweatbath excavations, as well as in the restoration undertaken by Lourdes Toscano Hernández in 1997 and 1998. At some later date, the early structure was defaced and buried when the main mass of 6F-14 was raised one meter and surfaced with a hard white plaster (Floor 2). It is possible that this construction episode dates to the Early Classic, as some large fragments of Caucel pottery were recovered from the construction fill. However, this temporal assignment must be regarded as tenuous. During the Terminal Classic, a foundation of flagging stones was laid upon the earlier floor and a small structure was constructed over the foundation. A final floor was built around this structure, with the plaster lipping up to cover the walls. It is likely that the uppermost structure atop 6F-14 represents an altar. The small size, lack of finished interior walls or door, and a solid fill of wet laid white marl rule out a room. Instead, what was constructed was a small solid block less than a meter tall capped and coated in plaster.

Figure 5.4: North Profile Op. 73 The fill within the structure was quite different from that outside the structure. It was composed primarily of wet laid white marl with gravel and the occasional cobble. The stones forming the wall were placed with their flattest face facing outwards. As a result, the inner face is quite irregular, making this an unlikely room. A polished white plaster floor was encountered under the lowest course of stones at a depth of 75 cm. The ceramics from the building fill included Muna and Yokat types suggesting a Terminal Classic Cehpech construction.

Operation 74: Structure 6F-12 Structure 6F-12 is a low, square building platform located in the center of the Ballcourt Plaza at the entrance to the North Acropolis. The mound measures 8 X 8 m, and is 0.5 m high. A wall of unworked stone 1-2 courses high defines the perimeter. Clearing revealed parallel wall lines three meters apart, running east-west and bisecting the mound. A semicircular foundation brace was visible on the surface between the parallel wall lines (Figure 5.5).

Floor 1 was penetrated to the east of the structure to test the contemporaneity of the building and the substructure on which it sits. The floor was composed of a seven centimeter layer of plaster overlying five centimeters of chich. It was continuous over the western half of the unit, and became less well preserved as one proceeded east. A second floor (Floor 2) was immediately under Floor 1 except for under the structure where a flagging stone plinth acted as a foundation for the altar. Dry core fill extended for a meter below Floor 2, at which point a third floor (Floor 3) was reached.

Excavation began in a 2 X 2 m unit located in the center of the structure. After removal of the surface debris, it became apparent that the unit straddled the edge of a large feature. To the east were two levels of carefully placed cut stone blocks forming a flagstone floor. The 55

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 construction corresponding to the original building of structure 6F-12. Between the ash and the bedrock was a 1-10 cm layer of red silt containing very few weathered ceramics.

western side of the unit was composed of very dark brown silt containing angular cobbles mixed with randomly oriented vault and veneer stones. The unit was expanded to define the rest of the feature, revealing an oval pit 2.2 m long by 1.5 m wide. A second semicircular foundation brace was exposed at the surface along the west edge of the pit.

Figure 5.5: Plan of Structure 6F-12 At a depth of one meter, the dark soil gave way to a series of ash lenses spanning the whole of the sunken feature. Orange stains within the ash and on the adjacent south wall of the feature suggested in situ burning. The ash continued to a depth of 1.4 m where a well preserved plaster floor was reached (Figure 5.6). The plaster lips up over the earthen walls of the pit and a raised bench extending 65 cm into the pit from the east wall. Face down on the floor was a broken stone monument portraying a seated woman carved in the round (Figure 5.7). This monument was defaced on its front and its head was broken off. The head was not recovered. We believe this figure to represent an image of the moon goddess, Ix Chel.

Figure 5.6: North Profile Op. 74 Three sub operations were opened to the north, south, and west of the first unit to define the parallel wall lines visible at the surface. The excavated material was unlike that from within the sunken feature, or from the flagstone floor surrounding it. These perimeter areas were composed primarily of loose angular boulders and cobbles with little soil matrix and no evidence of a floor. Upon clearing, a two course wall 40 cm high was exposed forming an oval enclosure for the sunken feature. A raised rectangular platform measuring 4.5 X 3 m and 25 cm in height was built onto the west end of the original structure giving it a T-shaped plan. This platform was composed of dry core fill capped with gravels and sascab and then plastered. Resting on the plastered surface was a one course high wall built onto the oval structure, squaring off the original construction with respect to the platform.

The floor covering the base of the pit was a thin coating of plaster over a 10 cm thick layer of sascab grading to a mixture of sascab and red ash. At a depth of 1.75 m, a lens of grey ash containing smashed and burnt human remains and potsherds was encountered. These probably represent a dedication event for the structure, as the ash lens is not found beyond the limits of the sunken feature. Differential burning of conjoining pieces suggest that these objects were broken before they were burned. The ceramics from this deposit include Sacalum and Muna sherds indicating a Terminal Classic date for the floor

Both the oval structure and the rectangular platform rested on a well preserved plaster surface that was the surface of Sacbé 3 before the construction of 6F-12. A 1 X 2 m unit was carried down through this surface to

56

Excavations

Figure 5.7: Sculpted Figure of Ix Chel sample the construction history of the plaza at this locality (Figure 5.6). The first floor was composed of 7 cm of hard polished plaster over 20 cm of pebbles and gravel. At a depth of 77 cm, a second floor was reached. This too was well preserved, and had a similar construction sequence as the first floor. The ceramics are quite fragmentary, but include Tipikal Red on Striated and Sierra Red, suggesting a Formative date for the construction of this plaza floor. A third floor was exposed 20 cm below Floor 2. This floor was composed of 2-3 cm of reddish sascab and plaster over 20 cm of chich and dry core fill. The ceramics were concentrated in the top of this level, and consisted of Formative types including Sierra Red and Ucu Black confirming the Late Formative date for this causeway in other excavations. The final level in this exposure consisted of a red clay loam containing some pebbles and gravel overlying the pitted and eroded bedrock.

a square enclosing wall and the filling of the intervening area with rubble. Later in the Terminal Classic, the sunken feature was deliberately filled in with a broken and defaced statue and vault and veneer stones robbed from nearby buildings. This infilling was accompanied by burning within the pit itself. Structure 6F-12 probably represents a subterranean sweatbath. Sweatbaths are known from a number of Maya sites, dating from the Middle Formative (Andrews and Andrews 1980:31). They appear to share characteristics such as small rooms with enclosing buildings and a firebox. Some contain drains, sunken passages, or permanent benches. Known sweatbaths are primarily above ground with enclosing masonry superstructures. Structure 6F-12 is different from the norm in that it is subterranean, possessed a perishable superstructure, and lacked a firebox. Despite these differences, structure 6F-12 displays the functional requisites for a sweatbath. The pit provides a small enclosed space sufficient for three people to sit side by side on the bench. A mat drawn across the opening would be sufficient to seal in the steam generated by water poured on heated rocks. In this context, a firebox would be impractical, as the smoke would be trapped along with the steam.

Excavations at Structure 6F-12 yielded a long and complicated sequence for this locality. Beginning sometime in the Middle to Late Formative, the natural red soil was covered by a plastered surface raised 60-70 cm above the ground surface. This building episode corresponds to the construction of Sacbé 3 connecting the North Acropolis to the southern core area of the site. The causeway was raised and replastered in the Formative, and once again at a later date.

The T-shaped plan of structure 6F-12 is a feature shared with the sweatbaths at Chichén Itzá. The fallen column east of the rectangular platform may have supported a portico constructed out of perishable materials, similar to the Chichén Itzá examples (Ruppert 1935:270, 1952:8083). Interestingly, another somewhat smaller building at that site displays the T-shaped ground plan with a foundation brace for a perishable superstructure. It is possible that this building and 6F-12 from Yaxuná represent earlier, less elaborate, but functionally similar examples of sweatbaths.

During the Terminal Classic, a pit was dug to a depth of 1.3 m through the causeway floor. Following a dedication event in which human remains and ceramic vessels were broken and burned, the floor and sides of the pit were plastered. It is likely that the oval foundation brace on the surface also dates to this time, as the walls and flagging stones rest directly on the old plaza surface. Later, a low rectangular platform was added to the west side of the structure, and corners were added to the original building, giving the renovated structure a T-shaped plan. The third and final phase of building construction is as yet undated, but involved the encircling of the T-shaped building with

The absence of burning within the pit prior to its filling 57

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 playing field, to look for ballcourt markers, as well as to give a long continuous section across the ballcourt (Figure 5.9).

argues against this being a large earth oven, while the open orifice does not promote food storage. The location of the structure in the center of the plaza leading to the North Acropolis suggests that this was an important building, supported by the dedicatory cache found beneath its floor. Its proximity to the ballcourt may indicate that it was part of a functional complex. A parallel is seen at Chichén Itzá where Structure 3E-3 is immediately associated with Ballcourt 3E-2, being built onto its south enclosing wall (Ruppert 1952:79).

The western structure (6F-15) was in much better condition than its companion building. The bench wall originally rose vertically from the playing surface 1.2 m. Only three courses remain, however, with the upper courses having toppled onto the playing alley. The remaining courses also lean towards the playing surface. The eastern (6F-16) bench wall has only its lowest course still in situ. In places, the second course is canted outwards, resting in part on the playing surface. The walls of both structures are composed of large uncut stones without chinking. Traces of plaster still adhere to the face of the west wall, suggesting that the whole surface was heavily coated. No relief panels were encountered on the bench wall. If these had been present, they would have had to have been molded in plaster. The northeast corner stone of 6F-15 was a cut stone set vertically, with the edge rounded.

The building was purposely filled in during the Terminal Classic. While this building does not display the white marl characteristic of termination events seen elsewhere at the site (e.g., Structure 6F-68, the ballcourt, the sacbé terminus from Cobá), the violence of the event as displayed in the burning and the destruction and burial of nearby monuments and buildings is apparent. Given these factors, it is quite possible that this event corresponds to the conquest and destruction of Yaxuná by the forces of Chichén Itzá (see Ambrosino 2007; Ambrosino et al. 2003; Freidel 1992). It is also possible that the final building episode represents not so much an addition, but an entombment of the sweat bath commissioned by the victors. Certainly, the fill between the original structure and the surrounding square wall plan bears no trace of a floor either through plaster fragments or a chich subfloor ballast.

The playing surface is in poor shape, with in situ plaster only remaining in areas protected by large collapsed blocks; particularly along the wall/floor interface. The floor is quite thin, with a 1 cm thick coat of plaster over a chich subfloor 8-10 cm thick. In some places, this subfloor rests directly on an earlier surface, while in others, a single layer of cobbles separates Floor 2 from the subfloor of Floor 1. No playing markers or caches were encountered. The playing surface measured 23 X 7.6 m.

Operations 2 and 76: The Ballcourt Operations 76 and 2 represent excavations in the west and east ranges of the ballcourt. The ballcourt straddles Sacbé 3 as it approaches the North Acropolis, and forms the southern limit of the ballcourt plaza. Excavations were concentrated in four areas around the ballcourt: the playing surface, the benches, the end walls, and the western extension of 6F-15 (Figure 5.8). The ballcourt was further excavated and consolidated by Lourdes Toscano Hernández en 1997 and 1998.

One 2 X 2 m unit penetrated the playing surface to reach bedrock. This unit was excavated to give some evidence of the construction history of the area prior to the construction of the ballcourt. Floor 2 is at present undated. It was in a better state of preservation than Floor 1, with patches of plaster, and continuous subfloor ballast. The floor was 10-12 cm thick, and rested upon an earlier floor (Floor 3). This floor was 2 cm thick, and composed nearly continuous plaster over 40 cm of angular cobbles and gravels in a gray soil matrix. The ceramics from this level included Sierra Red and Huachinango Incised, indicating a Late Formative date for Floor 3, likely the surface of Sacbé 3. At a depth of 87 cm, an pink-colored floor (Floor 4) was encountered. The plaster was 4 cm thick over a 15 cm thick layer of well packed chich. Below Floor 4 was a 70 cm thick layer of carbonate enriched pink soil containing a north-south rock alignment. We encountered a parallel feature two meters west in an adjacent pit. The ceramics consist of Late Formative ceramics including Flor Cream, Sierra Red, Ucu Black, and Chancenote Striated. The final level was a 10 cm layer of red soil above the bedrock.

Figure 5.8: Excavations at the Ballcourt

Only two units were placed in the playing benches. These were 2 m wide units situated in the center of each structure. The bench suboperations were designed to remove the collapse from the bench surface so that the bench angle and width could be defined along with the upper playing wall. The upper 2/3 of each bench was still

In the playing alley, 2 X 2 m test units were placed at the northern and southern ends of 6F-15 and 6F-16 facing inwards to define to edges of the buildings, and estimate the dimensions of the playing area. Additionally, two shallow connecting trenches were placed across the 58

Excavations

Figure 5.9: Cross Section of Ballcourt dry core fill. This fill is encased in 6F-15 by a retaining wall (Figure 5.10) associated with Floor 2 in the playing area. The external bench wall was then built against an intervening deposit of wet laid marl. Such a construction technique is employed in Terminal Classic buildings at Yaxuná, and is seen at Structure 6F-68 and Structure 6F4-1st. A stone spindle whorl was recovered from the marl deposit at the south end of 6F-15. A corresponding mason’s wall was absent from 6F-16, with the bench wall being separated from the unsupported dry core fill by a much thinner deposit of marl. This absence may explain the poorer state of preservation of 6F-16 as compared to 6F-15. Excavations along the end walls were designed to delimit the width of the structure 6F-15, the length of 6F-16, and to check for stairway access to the summit. To this end, 2 X 3 m units were placed at the corners of the end walls of the structures. Only one unit was placed against a 6F-16 end wall. It was located along the western edge of the south face. In this unit, no part of the wall was still in situ. The lowermost course was present but fallen out of position on to their faces. The stones were cut and finished Puuc style veneer stones. Two units were placed against the south face of 6F-15, at the west corner, and near the east corner. Three to four courses of stones were still standing. The eastern portion of the wall displayed cut veneer stone as seen in the end wall of 6F-16, but the western exposure displayed uncut stonework with chinking. The southwest corner stone was a vertically set reused pila, or water storage basin, ground into a stone robbed from an Early Classic building. Floor 1 was present for up to a meter from the wall. At the southwest corner, it sloped to the south and west. No stairs were encountered.

Figure 5.10: Plan of Ballcourt intact, while the lower section had eroded following the collapse of the bench wall. The benches originally were 4.5 m wide and angled at 15 degrees. They were surfaced in flagging stones and plastered, as indicated by a five centimeters thick layer of eroded chich ballast. While the vertical playing wall was encountered in both structures, it was differentially preserved, with only a single course in situ on the western structure, and 2-3 courses remaining on the eastern structure. Judging by the present height of the structures, the upper playing walls must have risen approximately 1.5 m above the playing bench. No rings or fragments were recovered.

A unit was placed near the eastern edge of the bench on the north face of 6F-15. This was a clearing operation designed to expose the wall and test the relationship of the major part of the structure with the western extension. One to three courses of cut veneer stone were still in situ to a distance of four meters west of the playing area. At this point, the wall continued without interruption, but built with uncut stones with chinking. Two meters farther west, the wall veered north for two meters before heading

Where the surfaces were eroded, the benches were excavated to examine the construction methods employed. Both benches are composed primarily of loose 59

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 5.11: North Terrace of Ballcourt

Figure 5.12: Western Extension of Ballcourt west again. This northern construction was a terrace 1.1 m above Floor 1. The north wall continued over the north terrace, with a basal course of large blocks remaining over a poorly preserved terrace floor (Figure 5.11). An outset stairway facing north gives access to the terrace level. The north terrace is variably preserved, with between two and six courses remaining.

efforts designed to remove the collapse and expose the walls and their relationships to each other. It was hoped that these excavations might expose stairs accessing the summit. Excavations began on the centerline section, with the removal of nearly 2 m of collapse. The mason’s wall was encountered 8.5 m west of the bench wall. An outer wall of uncut stones three courses high was exposed 1.6 m west of the mason’s wall. The intervening area was filled with dark brown soil. The north wall of the section exposed a rectangular addition built onto the mason’s wall extending 60 cm beyond the outer wall. Five to nine courses are still standing, though leaning outwards. The outer wall was apparently built onto this rectangular block. A poorly preserved floor slopes from the base of these walls to the west.

A 2 X 2 m unit was placed in the most eroded part of the terrace to test its relationship with the rest of the building. This unit demonstrated that the retaining wall continues behind the terrace. With no evidence of the end wall continuing past the curved jutting wall, (Floor 1 is absent here) the north terrace would seem to be an integral construction. The area between the mason’s wall and the outer wall is filled with dry core fill. A 30 cm wide deposit of wet laid marl is present between the fill and the outer wall.

The western extension of the ballcourt extends 6.5 m west of the main part of the structure. It is faced with cut Puuc style veneer stones 3-4 courses in height (Figure 5.12). The veneer facing abuts the rectangular block

The final area of excavations at the ballcourt took place on the west side of 6F-15 in the area of the western extension. Operations here were primarily stripping

60

Excavations Sometime in or between Yaxuná IIa and IIc the 5E-73 Complex platform was extended to the north. There is good evidence of a Yaxuná IIb occupation of the complex based on sherd material found in later fill, but there is no direct evidence of any constructional activity at this locus. The second platform wall in Op. 3g may have been constructed during this period, but the ceramics are equivocal. At Structure 5E-77, there does not seem to be a reflooring episode during this period and it is not known whether this locus was in use. The mixed midden material underneath the 5E-73 platform and the western stairway of Structure 5E-75 contain Yaxuná IIb ceramics suggestive of habitation, but the material may have come from the 5E-75 locus.

suggesting a later construction while the retaining wall runs behind both of these, making the block an intermediate construction. The area between the retaining wall and the veneer outer wall is filled with wet laid marl. It is likely that the western extension was a terrace at the same level as the north terrace. Clearing of the south face of the extension revealed a layer of collapse over a termination deposit. The collapse consisted of a mix of fill stones and facing stones in a loose sandy matrix. A broken glyph block reading kan, was recovered from the collapse layer (Figure 5.13). It is likely that this block was robbed from an earlier structure and used as fill, and that it became exposed when the western extension began to collapse. The termination deposit consisted of a 20 cm thick layer of white marl containing a dense concentration of large reconstructable Cehpech vessels. Such a deposit was found in front of Structure 6F-68, and probably relates to the destruction of Yaxuná in the Terminal Classic. At the west end of the extension, the floor steps up 30 cm.

Figure 5.13: Glyph Block Operation 3: 5E-73 Complex The 5E.73 Complex was selected for study in order to document the evolution of an elite residential group through time at Yaxuná and provide an estimate of when the southern portion of the site was occupied. Approximately a quarter of a kilometer south of the site core of Yaxuná, the 5E-73 Complex is an arrangement of foundation braces and mounded features. From what we know of the 5E-73 Complex it was first constructed as two elevated platforms (Structure 5E-75 and Structure 5E-77) during Yaxuná IIa (Figure 5.14). The original orientation of Structure 5E-77 is not known, although the superstructure was probably of pole and thatch construction and would likely have faced to the east towards Structure 5E-75. Structure 5E-75 faced south towards the 5E-50 Complex and was built on top of a taller raised platform than the rest of the complex. The lower height of the 5E-77 platform may be indicative of a lower status dwelling or an ancillary structure such as a kitchen. In any event, these two structures seem to be included in the same complex given their orientation around a common plaza area.

Figure 5.14: Construction Sequence of the 5E-73 Complex At the end of the Early Classic, the 5E-75 platform was again extended to the north. This wall was of a different construction style than the previous two and was heavily plastered. The construction was not of the same quality of previous Early Classic walls at this complex and elsewhere at Yaxuná. Again there was no Yaxuná IIc constructional activity at Structure 5E-77. The morphology of the 5E-73 complex during the Early 61

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 of the Cobá intrusion. The 5E-75 platform was not replastered. Structure 5E-77 was also modified as its platform and superstructure were refloored and new foundation braces for a pole and thatch construction were built. This superstructure was not oriented in the same direction as the original platform and Structure 5E-75-1st, but was skewed from the cardinal directions. Between Structure 5E-77 and Structure 5E-75 the plaza was filled and raised to make the 5E-73 platform.

Classic and the presence of the Yaxuná IIc midden under the Late Classic platform suggest that it was a residential complex. The 5E-75 platform is on the larger end of the scale for Early Classic residences at Yaxuná, but the evidence is equivocal as to whether this was an ‘elite’ complex. No workshop material was recovered and the identification of ancillary structures (specifically Structure 5E-77) is tenuous. Two middens with Yaxuná IIc material were located between Structure 5E-75 and Structure 5E-77. Given the connection of the 5E-75 complex with the 5E-50 complex, via Sacbé 8, Structure 5E-75 most likely served a part of an extended residential unit related to the upper stratum of Yaxuná society.

During the Terminal Classic, we believe that invading Puuc forces terminated the entire complex leading to its abandonment. Terminal deposits were scattered about the 5E-75 platform walls, the floors of structures 5E-75 and 5E-77. A small child was most likely sacrificed and placed within a crypt intrusive to the Structure 5E-77 floor. Other foundation braces have been noted on and around the 5E-73 platform including structures 5E-76, 5E-74, and 5E-78. The relationship of these structures to the complex are not known, although it is assumed they are relatively late and could possibly date to periods after the termination rituals conducted by the Puuc. If so, these structures would probably date to the Terminal Classic as Sotuta and later ceramics were not found at all in the vicinity of the complex. Op. 3a was a 4 X 2 m excavation at the base of structure 5E-75, through the stairs. Although some possible bits of broken plaster were discovered, no good floor was found within the unit and ceramics were entirely Muna Slate, which could not be used to distinguish between a Late and Terminal Classic occupation. The unit was continued to the top of the uppermost layer of subfloor fill.

Figure 5.15: Op. 3b Profile, East Wall

Op. 3b, another 2 X 4 m unit (Figures 5.15 and 5.16), was opened up immediately east of Op. 3a, in order to investigate the corner and wall of the east room of 5E-75. Five to six courses of a front wall of 5E-75 were found (Figure 5.17). Around the footing of the wall, fill changed from a medium brown to light gray brown. Floor was located in patches near the base of the wall. Sherds in the fill were primarily Terminal Classic. Inside the structure, floor was found intact in a few places within 20 cm of the wall. Ceramics from this lot were Late to Terminal Classic. Figure 5.16: Op. 3b Profile, North Wall During the Late Classic, Cobá appears to have seized control of Yaxuná. The superstructure of 5E-75 was almost completely razed and reoriented towards the north where a new stairway was constructed on top of the Yaxuná IIc stucco melt from the platform wall suggesting a time lapse between the Yaxuná IIc occupation at this structure and the Cobá construction. This time lapse may have been due to the hostile nature of the Cobá intrusion, although there is a strong possibility that the 5E-73 complex had been abandoned prior to the expansion of Cobá. In fact, no termination deposits were excavated in association with the Cobá construction as would have been expected if the complex was still in use at the time

Figure 5.17: Front Wall of Structure 5E-75

62

Excavations reached. The overburden consisted of a light gray soil and pieces of plaster.

In all, Op. 3b revealed the presence of three superimposed floors. The latest of these dates to the Late to Terminal Classic and is associated with the superstructure construction. The walls of this original structure appear to have been between four and six courses high with a rubble core. A second floor was intact over much of the unit and had underlying floor ballast and a third floor was found in a deeper level.

After the stairway was cleared, we exposed the area to the north. The light gray soil continued in the northeast and northwest corners of the unit. In stark contrast, a dark brown soil appeared immediately north of the first tread. The only identifiable sherds were Sierra Red, but the ceramics were badly eroded. One obsidian flake and another blade were recovered. A large amount of eroded plaster was encountered in this level which can be relatively dated to an earlier construction period as excavations continuing below the stairway clearly exposed this plaster running underneath the stairway. Based on the 1991 excavations, the stucco was dated to the Yaxuná IIc, but the stairway itself was dated to the Late Classic and was part of the Structure 5E-75-1st construction. The ceramic material in the stucco level is most likely mixed, but indicates that there was at least some Late Formative occupation in the vicinity of the 5E73 complex prior to its initial Early Classic construction. A 1 X 1 m probe of the fill beneath the stairway revealed a construction of dry core fill with absolutely no artifactual material. This unit was placed along the southern edge of the unit at the centerline. The treads themselves were composed of small irregularly cut limestone blocks. At only 105 cm below the datum, what was originally considered to be a poorly preserved plaster floor was encountered. Subsequent excavations would reveal that this feature was in actuality the Early Classic stucco melt from the platform walls that was exposed to the north of the stairway.

Figure 5.18: Northern Side of Structure 5E-75; Stairway is Located Farther to the North at the Base of the Platform

Below this stucco melt, dry core fill was encountered. No artifactual material was recovered and the construction episode could not be ceramically dated. Freidel et al. (1990) hypothesized that the stairway itself was fairly early, perhaps dating to Yaxuná IIa. They based this conjecture upon the presence of large quantities of preCehpech material in the mixed upper levels. More likely, the stairway represents a Late Classic reorientation of Structure 5E-75-1st from its original southern direction to a northern one. The ceramics dating to the latest period in a sealed context are from the Late Classic. Earlier material seems to have entered the matrixes as fill from older deposits. As the stairway is abutted against a very late Early Classic platform and is stratigraphically below the Late/Terminal Classic terminal deposit which will be discussed below, the ceramics confirm that it must be a Late Classic feature.

Figure 5.19: Plan of Op. 3d Op. 3c was a 4 X 2 m unit situated at the northern base of the 5E-75 platform (Figure 5.18). The purpose of this excavation was to test for the presence of a stairway. During the 1991 field season, this area was fully exposed in Op. 3d. Revealing the presence of an outset stairway, the upper levels of this exposure contained mixed Late through Terminal Classic sherds paralleling the situation above Floors 1 and 2 in Op. 3b. It is this material which relates to the terminal deposits associated with the abandonment of the complex. At approximately 95 cm below the datum, the upper treads of the stairway were

Op. 3d was a series of laterally contiguous exposures given respective lot numbers extending west from the northern outset stairway to the northwest corner of the 5E-75 platform and continuing south along the western edge of this platform to the southern edge of the western staircase (Figure 5.19). Each lot was conceived as a 4 X 4 m unit tied into the site grid, but each unit was truncated or extended to conform to the preserved architecture. In this way, the archaeologists were able to best maximize exposure and consolidation of the architecture. This was 63

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 stucco melt, Structure 5E-75 was likely abandoned at the time of the Puuc incursion. Alternatively, the Puuc may have occupied Yaxuná after the Maya from Cobá had deserted this area of the peninsula, but there is strong evidence to warrant that this scenario did not occur.

the largest contiguous exposure of the 5E-73 complex and was placed to uncover any preserved architecture of the 5E-75 platform. The upper levels of each of these units are essentially the same and will be summarized as such below. In the overburden above both the north and west walls and stairs a consistent pattern emerged. The walls themselves were slumped, most likely due to natural decay processes. Although differential weathering was observed on many of the recovered sherds, most of the sherds were typed as large storage vessels which were part of a Late/Terminal Classic termination ritual of this complex. Upon examination, the ceramic material resembles, in breakage patterns and distribution, termination deposits that we encountered at Yaxuná including Structure 6F-68 at the North Acropolis. The only difference between the ceramics here and those at Structure 6F-68 is that at Structure 5E-75 the types include Muna Slate, Sacalum, and Arena Red and do not include any of the Sotuta Complex diagnostics as noted for Structure 6F-68. The ceramics are large with sharp ‘fresh’ breaks (where weathering has not occurred) and from preliminary analysis tend to refit with great frequency suggesting that the partial or whole vessels were broken in situ. A detailed examination of the ceramics from lot 1 along the western side of the northern staircase revealed that many of the Muna Slate sherds were scorched on both sides.

On the western side of the platform, a well-preserved Late Classic stairway associated with Structure 5E-75-1st was exposed. Facing the Late Classic occupation at 5E-77 this staircase had the remains of the termination deposit scattered about it. Interestingly, one of the stones in the lowest had a pila incorporated into it. Pilas seem to have functioned as metates or grinding stones. Thought to serve as water storage basins when they were ground too deep for use in maize processing (Stromsvik 1931), this example may have been used for some other purpose which eludes us or may simply be a fortuitous reuse as a stairway tread. The position of the pila with the basin up suggests the former interpretation as the basin would have been a hindrance to the tread functioning as a step up. Only on the western stairway did the excavations in Op. 3d penetrate extant architecture to reveal construction episodes (Figure 5.20). This 1 X 1 test pit was excavated to bedrock, in order to date the stairway and any deposits that may have been laid down prior to its construction and remained underneath.

Large quantities of Late and Terminal Classic ceramics were broken along these walls of 5E-75-1st just as similar material has been deposited in the superstructure. The walls themselves are irregular and crude and were obviously meant to be covered by a thick coating of plaster. One of the excavators also noted a broken piece of polished greenstone, broken obsidian blades, burnt daub, a broken metate, hunks of a white marl-like material, and evidence of burning, some of which may have been recent. These are classic material patterns of hostile termination rituals (Pagliaro et al. 2003; Stanton et al. 2008). Although there is good evidence for the slumping of the materials along the walls in conjunction with the wall collapse which may confuse the original spatial pattern of this terminal deposit once it is completely analyzed, the general pattern suggests the ritual destruction of the structure by peoples using western Cehpech ceramics.

Figure 5.20: Profile of Western Stairway in Op. 3d

Beneath the terminal deposit and against the bottom portion of the wall, the same level of stucco melt encountered beneath the stairway in Op. 3c was exposed. As only one sherd that could be definitely attributed to the Late Classic was identified in any of these lots, the stucco most likely slumped prior to the Late Classic occupation of the complex. This suggests that there was some considerable time lapse between the Yaxuná IIc and III occupations of the 5E-75 platform and that the Cobá affiliated peoples, while choosing to rebuild the superstructure and reorient the platform to the north, did not invest the energy to replaster the Early Classic platform walls which were allowed to remain in a state of decay. As the terminal deposit was laid down over the

Below the Late Classic stairway, a sealed prepared surface of marl and small rocks was encountered. No other construction breaks or floors were noted until the original ground surface on which the 5E-73 platform was built was exposed. This outset western stairway was built on top of the Late Classic 5E-73 platform and not on top of the 5E-75 basal platform. The matrix beneath the stairway consisted of dry core fill. Although very few sherds were located given the amount of fill that was excavated, they all date, without exception, to Yaxuná IIa and IIb. Although this suggests a Yaxuná IIa or IIb construction of the platform underneath the stairway, we believe this material to have entered the matrix as much older fill. The platform underneath Structure 5E-75-1st 64

Excavations tested in 1989 (Figure 5.22). Level one was divided into thirteen lots with Late to Terminal Classic ceramics. Once this fill was removed, the final form of the plan was revealed to be a three room transverse plan superstructure with doorways to the east and west from the eastern and western rooms. A patio, modified from the Early Classic building platform, existed to the east and west of these rooms. Double wall lines in the east room, west room, and south wall of the central room were built in one construction period (Late to Terminal Classic). They were placed on the cleaned Early Classic platform that had a single row basal alignment of worked stone and associated floor. These double wall lines were comprised of alternating courses of horizontally and vertically laid blocks four to six courses high. Patches of floor corresponding to the latest floor in Op. 3b were first located in each room and on both patios. In the central area of the later superstructure, a wall of the Early Classic building platform was left unmodified as a step up into the building and as a base for a column drum. The open space for the central stairway was consistent with the addition of a contemporaneous northern stairway, reorienting structure 5E-75 from the south face the 5E-52 Group.

definitely dates to Yaxuná IIa as can be seen in the data from operations 3b and 3g, but the fill of the 5E-73 platform between structures 5E-75 and 5E-77 was placed during a later period, possibly Yaxuná IIc, but more likely Yaxuná III. The plaza space between these two superstructures was ambient ground surface through Yaxuná IIc. Middens containing Cetelac Fiber Tempered sherds were found underneath the Structure 5E-73 construction fill in both operations. Late Classic material was also found in the fill in Op. 3j making it more likely that this was a Yaxuná III construction episode contemporaneous with the razing and rebuilding of the 5E-75 superstructure and the construction of the northern stairway. These data indicate that the area between the 5E-75 and 5E-77 Early Classic structures was the ancient ground surface until the Late Classic suggesting that this western stairway of Structure 5E-75-1st was constructed about the same time at the 5E-73 platform. Just below the original ground surface what appeared to be a midden was located. Middens located underneath structures are quite common across the Maya area and are a good indicator of relative dates. As many as 97 percent of the identifiable sherds in the Op. 3d midden were from Early Classic contexts while the remaining 3 percent were dated to the Late Formative. Charcoal and faunal remains were also recovered in a matrix of dark soil. One vessel that could be partially refit was of an unslipped utilitarian type, possibly Chancenote Striated. Interestingly, 15 sherds were typed as Cetelac Fiber Tempered, a very diagnostic temporal marker of Yaxuná IIc. The implication of finding these sherds beneath Structure 5E-73 are crucial to the interpretation of the entire complex. As there is no possibility that these sherds could have been moved underneath the sealed platform, the 5E-73 platform was not constructed until after Yaxuná IIc.

Op. 3f, began as a 4 X 4 m excavation on the northeast corner of Structure 5E-77, to the west of Structure 5E-75. Structure 5E-77 is a small raised platform with an albarrada over its surface that likely contains many stones robbed from earlier excavations. The operation was conducted in order to investigate the relationships between the 5E-73 plaza group and Structure 5E-75. The retaining wall and northeast corner of the latest construction episode were cleared to display construction details (Figure 5.23). The wall was shown to contain various sized stones and lacked very square, sharp corners. Approximately 40 cm below the surface of the wall course, at the southern edge of excavation, a layer of hard packed matrix with small stones was revealed. Thought to be a floor, this layer was followed north along the wall until a small preserved patch of plaster floor was located directly adjacent to the wall. This floor initially appeared to continue beneath the wall. Further north, where no floor existed, bedrock was discovered at a level just below that of the plaster. No disintegrated floor was detected in the northern portion of the structure. Only very loose humus and bedrock were located in the north. Another 4 X 4 was added to Op. 3f in order to extend the excavations further south. This new unit, level one, lot two, reached well into Structure 5E-77. It was cleared to the same level as level one, lot one. More plaster fragments were found, just south of those in lot one, and a large patch of well polished floor was found in front of the wall base in the southern part of lot two. This floor appeared to go under the wall. It likely represents a surface for plaza 5E-73, which covered the lower step on the west stair of Structure 5E-75. In this southern part, the wall was less well preserved than previously exposed portions in lot one. Additionally, investigators searched for a central staircase, but only found a single step up into the building.

Figure 5.21: Structure 5E-75 after Consolidation Op. 3e was part of a program of excavations to continue investigation of the 5E-75 group during the 1991 field season. These excavations sought to investigate the relationship between the earlier and later structures at 5E75 and within the 5E-73 complex (Freidel et al. 1992). Op. 3e involved the clearance and consolidation (Figure 5.21) of the summit superstructure of 5E-75 that had been 65

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 5.22: Plan of Structure 5E-75 superstructure. As in Op. 3c, the Late Classic northern stairway was built on top of the Yaxuná IIc stucco melt and abutted against the northern platform wall. The stratigraphy can be clearly seen in the west profile of the trench. The platform wall of Structure 5E-75-2nd itself was similar to the rest of the northern and western walls exposed in the Op. 3d excavations (Figure 5.25). It was crudely made with irregular shaped large blocks of limestone held together with mortar interspersed with limestone chinking. The height of the wall varied between 1 and 1.4 m depending on the preservation of the upper construction. At the base of the wall the stucco melt banked up against it at a fairly sharp angle. The stucco itself was very compressed by the weight of the stairway making it hard and compact. Ceramic materials from this stucco level date to Yaxuná IIc as they do in operations 3b and 3d. The excavations were halted in front of the platform wall at this point. The ceramics and stratigraphy mirrored those of the Op. 3c excavation of the northern stairway. Op. 3g was continued behind the extant platform wall as a 2 X 2 m exposure. As the humic and upper levels were removed, a level of small stones or what appears to have been subfloor ballast was exposed. Although there was no evidence of a plaster floor, one probably existed at this level and deteriorated over time. Below this probable ballast, dry core fill was encountered. At 45 cm below the platform surface workmen exposed a level of stones laid flat on top of a gray clay loam. On top of these stones, small pockets of deteriorated plaster was noted. This lot was closed at this point, although the dry core fill above this construction pause or floor had not been fully cleared throughout the entire excavation unit. No artifactual materials were recovered in this lot except one shell fragment.

Figure 5.23: Plan of Structure 5E-77 Op. 3g was a 10 X 2 trench placed through the medial axis of the 5E-75 platform, in order to reveal its stratigraphic constructional history (Figure 5.24). The trench began at the northern stairway and continued south where it was terminated five meters north of the

The excavators decided to continue to expose the fill behind the extant platform wall as a separate lot due to evidence suggesting that this possible construction pause, 66

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Figure 5.24: West Profile of Op. 3g bedrock were exposed. As throughout the entire exposure of the Op. 3g trench, this ground surface was unmodified bedrock interspersed with pockets of red clay or kancab. No midden materials were encountered as in operations 3d and 3j, nor did the ancient Yaxuneros did not attempt to prepare the ground surface. This lack of ground surface modification was prevalent in all of the 5E-75 platform deep excavation probes. The ceramic materials from this lot suggest a Yaxuná IIc dating. Coupled with the ceramics associated with the plaster melt, this would place the actual construction of the extant platform wall at Yaxuná IIc. Another 2 X 2 m extension of the trench was begun just south of lot1/level 3 and lot 2/level 3. Although this lot was simply an extension of lot 1/level 3, it provided another possible Yaxuná IIc date for the material above the construction pause or platform surface as some ceramic material was finally recovered at this level. Only one sherd that may date to Yaxuná IIc was recovered. This was a Batres Red sherd, which may also relate to the Late Classic (Yaxuná III). All of the other material was dated to much earlier periods and were most likely incorporated as fortuitous use of older fill. In any event, this material comes from an unsealed context and cannot

Figure 5.25: Section of the Northern Wall of the 5E-73 Platform which was probably the Yaxuná IIc platform surface, did not fully extend to the northern limits of the platform. As they cleared down to bedrock between the wall and the break in the construction pause or floor, more dry core fill was encountered. This matrix continued uninterrupted by any other features until the ancient ground surface and 67

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 be accurately relied upon for dating. Additionally, an obsidian blade fragment was found among the dry core fill. This fragment had considerable use-wear damage along a contiguous portion of one edge.

chinking in the second wall, although a similar mortar was used to hold the stones in place. Behind the wall, lot 5 was extended four meters to the south. This lot exposed the entire 4 X 2 m area south of the second wall until a third wall approximately three meters behind the second was located (Structure 5E-754th). This wall was associated with the original Early Classic floor exposed in the Op. 3b excavations of the superstructure. The excavation was then leveled off behind the third wall as a plaster floor was exposed at its maximum height. Between the second and third walls the lot was continued until the height of the second wall was reached and the unit was leveled off. The third wall was very similar in construction to the second wall. Both were constructed with some large shaped stones and laid with a wet mortar without chinking.

Clearing the unit towards the south, excavators noticed a line of broken plaster. At approximately three meters south of the extant platform wall, another wall was exposed (Structure 5E-75-3rd). Although first thought to be a mason’s retaining wall, analysis of the material behind the wall would suggest that it was an earlier platform. The presence of this earlier wall suggested that the extant Yaxuná IIc wall was only the last of a series of extensions to the original Yaxuná IIa platform. After the dry core fill of lot 3/level 3 was cleared, the material constituting the construction pause was removed and a new lot was started. This lot contained only material sealed by the pause. The pause itself may actually have been a prepared surface on which a presumably deteriorated plaster floor was constructed during the Yaxuná IIc phase. If the second wall were to have functioned properly given the height of the present platform, it would have been half a meter taller. Instead, the most likely scenario is that the wall was lower than the superstructure giving the platform a terraced appearance. This is supported by the fact that the construction pause was a gray soil matrix capped with flagstones which were most likely used to prepare a floor surface which has since deteriorated. The ceramics above the flagstones give an inconclusive date between Yaxuná IIc and III. The only sherd from this level that could be ascribed to either period is a Batres Red variety. We suggest that on the basis that the prepared surface begins at the top of the second wall which is the same height as the first wall, that this may be the Yaxuná IIc surface and that the material above this surface may have accumulated during the Late Classic occupation of the platform.

Between the second and third walls the first layer removed was a humic level interspersed with irregular stones ranging in size from small to large. Beneath this level, a gray soil with deteriorated plaster was encountered. As this level is near the top of the walls, it may be the remains of a plaster surface. If so, the surface has deteriorated to a great degree and experienced considerable postconstruction movement.

As in lot 2/level 3, only dry core fill was encountered below the flagstones and gray soil until the kancab and limestone bedrock were exposed and the excavation was halted. Only ceramic material dating to Yaxuná IIc and a univalve shell were recovered. The shell had four holes drilled into it in such a manner as to suggest that it may have been attached to a garment. As all of the sherd material between the first and second wall can be ascribed to Yaxuná IIc, the final extension of the platform and the first wall (Structure 5E-75-2nd) seem to have been built towards the end of the Early Classic as a single event. The material above the height of both the first and second walls appears to be the remains of a deteriorated Late Classic occupation and possible reflooring episodes.

Figure 5.26: Plan of Burial 3

The Op. 3g trench was extended beyond the second wall as a new lot intended to include the unsealed fill behind the second wall. This wall differed in construction from the first. Some of the stones were faced while others were unshaped. The second wall gives the feeling of some effort being put into its construction while the first is a testament to crude irregularity. There was no evidence of

Behind the third wall, this lot was cleared down to a well preserved plaster floor which connects with the top of the wall. Above this floor, the same humic level described above was encountered. Directly to the south of the wall, between 10 to 30 cm, the partial remains of an unsexed individual were found (Burial 3). These remains were located 15 cm above the plaster floor and underneath a 68

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Figure 5.27: Plan of Op. 3h series of irregularly placed limestone blocks (Figure 5.26). There was no evidence of a crypt or prepared burial, nor were any artifactual remains which might constitute grave goods found. In fact, only one sherd (of Sierra Red variety) was located in the entire lot. The osteological material was eroded and fragmentary. Only leg fragments were identified including one femur, two tibia, and a partial fibula. Interestingly, the distal end of the femur did not align with the proximal ends of the lower leg fragments. Although this suggests that the deposition of the bones was secondary and that the rest of the individual may be elsewhere, given the poor preservation, the remaining osteological material may have deteriorated completely. We would surmised that Burial 3 is rather late in the occupational history of 5E75, but without the benefit of a sealed context or associated materials the dating remains unclear.

materials. Based on the construction style of the second wall, the extension probably dates to Yaxuná IIa or IIb. The original platform dates to Yaxuná IIa. Therefore, the Structure 5E-75-3rd wall must date in or between Yaxuná IIa and IIc. On a final note, the kancab was excavated as lot 7/level 3 and includes material from the kancab level behind the third wall. Excavations continued south of the third wall below the preserved plaster floor. Upon removing the floor, dry core fill consisting of large irregular limestone blocks and marl was exposed for the first 50 cm south of the wall. Beyond this limit, a bedrock outcrop was encountered. Above the bedrock the floor was laid right on top of this natural feature without the benefit of a subfloor ballast. Between the wall and bedrock the excavators followed the dry core fill down without any breaks to the level of the kancab. The ceramic material was extremely eroded and only two Sierra Red sherds were identified. Given the data from Op. 3b and the placement of the third wall, this seems to be the original platform construction dating to Yaxuná IIa. An obsidian blade and two shell fragments were also recovered.

Underneath the possible deteriorated floor between the second and third walls a new lot was started. The matrix consisted of dry core fill with considerable amounts of deteriorated plaster which may have sifted down from the above floor as it decayed. One obsidian blade was recovered and no other features were located until the kancab and bedrock were exposed. Few ceramics were recovered and included a mix of Formative through possibly Late Classic types, as well as an obsidian blade fragment. As the context was not well sealed, the dating of this extension remains tentative based on ceramic

Op. 3h was a horizontal excavation placed on the southern stairway of the 5E-75 platform. This stairway faces the 5E-50 complex and is approximately 18 m east of Sacbé 8 which connects the 5E-75 and 5E-50 platforms. A 9 X 2 m unit was cleared south of the

69

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 stairway and along its first two treads (Figure 5.27). An approximately 1 X 1.5 m unit was also placed along the western side of the stairway, in order to determine the relationship between this feature and the 5E-75-4th platform behind it (the 5E-75-2nd and 5E-75-3rd extensions were only constructed to the north of the superstructure). The length of the stairway was approximately 7 m while it protruded 2.5 m from Structure 5E-75-4th. All of the stones comprising the first two treads are in the characteristic large Early Classic faced style. These treads are 55 cm apart. Extending from beneath the first tread towards the south, a poorly preserved plaster floor was documented throughout the entire southern portion of the unit. Along the western wall of the stairway where it connects to the 5E-75 platform, excavators noted that the stairway was actually tenoned into the platform making the construction of both coeval. The platform wall did not pass behind the stairway. This suggested that the stairway dated to Yaxuná IIa. All of the ceramic material on top of the stairway came from unsealed contexts near the surface which is reflected by the mixed Early and Late Classic types that were recovered.

Figure 5.29: Plan of Northeast Corner of Structure 5E-77 As the excavations continued, it became apparent that this next level was only a mixture of gray soil and marl being used as fill. After clearing this deposit which varied in depth from 10 to 30 cm, a more white or pure mixture of marl and small stones was exposed as another layer of fill. This level was approximately 20 cm in depth. Beneath this level was a 20 cm thick plaster floor extending south from 5E-75 platform to out in front of the first tread. This is the same plaster floor that was identified during the initial exposure of the stairway, although it was much better preserved under the multiple fill levels.

Figure 5.28: North Profile of Probe in Op. 3h A 2 X 2 m unit was placed along the centerline of the stairway, in order to obtain a sealed ceramic sample, document the construction history, and search for any cache material that may have been placed in antiquity (Figure 5.28). Beneath the collapse, a 20 to 30 cm level of humus was encountered. This suggests that the stairway was abandoned long before the superstructure began to decay. As the structure was reoriented towards the north during the Late Classic, the southern stairway may have ceased to be utilized at this point allowing humic deposits to form while the structure was still in use. No ceramic material or other artifacts were recovered from this level. Given the lack of cultural materials, the structure was probably abandoned by the time the humus began to accumulate. Beneath this level, what appeared to be stucco melt was encountered. A new lot was started as the excavators believed that this level might seal material below it.

Below the plaster floor was another level of pure marl with small stone inclusions. This fill was laid directly on top of the bedrock surface. Representing an uncharacteristic modification of the ground surface for Yaxuná IIa construction in the 5E-73 complex, this marl fill may have been laid down prior to the construction of the stairway due to the fact that the plaster floor was constructed first. The sherd material (which was combined by the excavators as the stairway represented a single construction phase) dated to Yaxuná IIa as expected given the stairway’s association with Structure 5E-75-4th. Op. 3i was a horizontal exposure of Structure 5E-77. Structure 5E-77 is a small foundation brace situated on top of what appears to be an 11 X 14 m basal platform at the western edge of the 5E-73 Complex. The height of the

70

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Figure 5.30: West Profile of Op. 3i mound above the 5E-73 platform is just over one meter and the walls of the superstructure and the basal platform are not oriented in the same direction which may suggest a temporal gap between the two constructions. Although dating entirely to the Late Classic, the excavations from Op. 3f will be summarized first as it relates to the construction history of Structure 5E-77.

west of Op. 3f on the summit of Structure 5E-77. A 1 X 1 m extension was cleared in the southwest corner of the unit, in order to expose a Terminal Classic crypt burial. Beneath the first 10 to 15 cm of humic soil, the excavators exposed another 10 to 15 cm matrix of gray soil, small stones, and deteriorated stucco. All of these levels contained Late Classic ceramics. As the second layer was removed, an unpolished plaster floor (Floor 1) was exposed. This floor was about the same level as the possible Early Classic floor described in Op. 3f.

This unit was an 8 X 4 m exposure of the northeast corner of the basal platform of Structure 5E-77 (Figure 5.29). Although the superstructure had an Early Classic component, the basal platform and associated plaster floor were Late Classic (Structure 5E-77). Beneath the Late Classic floor (Floor 1), the excavators cleared a second plaster floor (Floor 2) which was not removed to obtain a sealed ceramic sample (Figure 5.30). Interestingly, this floor was at approximately the same height as the Early Classic floor which was excavated within Structure 5E-77. Although there is no date for the Op. 3f floor, it may be the platform on which the Early Classic superstructure was placed. If this is the case, then the westernmost extent of the Late Classic 5E-73 platform resting upon Yaxuná IIc middens does not underlie the Late Classic 5E-77 basal platform. Floor 1 appears to have been a Late Classic reflooring episode. Given the possibility that Floor 2 may be Early Classic, the plan of the basal platform may also be Early Classic. This may suggest that the disparate orientations of the superstructure and the basal platform are the result of changes in Early to Late Classic constructional ideals. Op. 3i was a 2 X 2 m test pit placed three meters to the

The Op. 3i floor covered the entire unit except for an intrusive burial in the southwestern corner. Burial 9 was a small crypt pit covered by three capstones. Broken Terminal Classic ceramics were located on top of the interment (Figure 5.31). Inside the crypt a preadolescent with a dental age of about four years was found. The osteological material was in generally good condition except that the parietal bone just posterior to the coronal suture was missing. Whether this element was missing due to violent trauma or differential preservation the project osteologist could not conclude. No pottery was recovered from inside the crypt, but two Spondylus americanus shell pendants along with possible brocket deer bones were recovered. This burial seems to have been placed in Structure 5E-77-1st during the Terminal Classic termination ritual associated with abandonment of the complex. Although we may never know whether this individual was sacrificed during a termination ritual, his/her death was perfectly timed to the activity surrounding the destruction of the complex. 71

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Floor 1 may be an Early Classic floor of 5E-77-2nd. Although only deteriorated stucco was found in the upper levels and no concrete evidence of a Terminal Classic floor was recovered, the stratigraphy and associated ceramics suggest that such a floor existed. The data remain equivocal at this time.

Below Floor 2, what was thought to be the characteristic red kancab was exposed. Unlike the previous red soils described for this complex, the level of this kancab was up to 1.6 meters below the top of the excavation depending on the level of the bedrock and contained many unworked stones in its matrix. This soil may have been transported as fill for Structure 5E-77-3rd as the underlying bedrock was so uneven and was not the red paleosol so commonly found on top of bedrock in the Yucatán Peninsula. All of the ceramics that were identified in this level dated to Yaxuná Ib further suggesting that the original construction at this locus was fairly early in the Classic or possibly even during the Late Formative. Additionally, a small chert flake and a fragment of a rounded highly polished greenstone were recovered. Op. 3j was a 2 X 2 m test pit excavated midway between structures 5E-75 and 5E-77. The upper 20 to 30 cm of the unit was humus (Figure 5.32). Below this level, 80 to 90 cm of platform fill consisting of dry core fill and marl was excavated. As in the excavation through the western stairway of 5E-75-1st (Op. 3d), midden dating to Yaxuná IIc was located beneath the platform. The ceramics were well preserved and the types that were identified were restricted to Dos Arroyos Polychrome and Cetelac Fiber Tempered. The soil itself was very dark suggesting organic decay and contained a fair amount of faunal material.

Figure 5.31: Plan of Burial 9 The excavation continued below the plaster floor which was laid down on top of a 10 cm layer of gravel/marl subfloor ballast. Below this ballast was a matrix of brown soil and chich. The ceramics recovered from these two fill levels were dated to Yaxuná IIa, although they were very eroded. There is no evidence of the original Early Classic walls associated with Floor 1, but we would suggest that the superstructure was of pole and thatch construction with a single course high foundation brace. This is the construction style of structures of similar size dating to this period, as well as the Late Classic superstructure. There is also no evidence for a Late Classic razing of Early Classic construction as there is for Structure 5E-75.

Figure 5.32: North Profile of Op. 3j Operation 4: Structure 6F-37 Structure 6F-37 is part of a residential group situated about 150 m east of the North Acropolis. Excavations were centered on a rectangular foundation brace, an apparent shrine, on Structure 6F-37. This shrine was made of a double wall-line of reused veneer stones and the remains of an elaborate mosaic superior façade. Op. 4 was a 2.6 X 3.4 m unit (Figure 5.33). The principle objective was to determine if the shrine was built during the Terminal Classic, as originally suspected because of the structure’s double wall line. This question was important in determining how well the age and function

Below the Floor 1 construction a single course high foundation brace and plaster floor (Floor 2) were exposed. The foundation brace appears to have been a single step platform edge and was exposed only in the western portion of the unit. Floor 2 was very well preserved and was very hard and well polished. If Floor 1 is part of the remains of Structure 5E-77-2nd, then the Floor 2 and associated platform were part of an earlier construction (Structure 5E-77-3rd). 72

Excavations arrangement of surface remains, they were not successful in estimating the age of the construction. This failure emphasizes the need for stratigraphic excavations, as the assignment of age based upon surface appearance alone was shown to be unreliable.

of structures might be estimated from surface remains; if double-wall lines always indicate the Terminal Classic, investigators might be able to state considerably more about the extent of occupation during this period at Yaxuná.

Operations 5 and 75: Structure 5E-19 Op. 5 was an initial 2 X 2 m test pit at the summit of Structure 5E-19 excavated during the 1989 field season. This unit revealed a very complex and confusing constructional history (Figure 5.34). Structure 5E-19 is a small triadic acropolis in the southern area of the core of the site (Ardren and Johnstone 1996, Stanton 2000; Stanton and Ardren 2005). Morphologically, this acropolis formation resembles typical Formative triadic design with a large temple mound flanked by two smaller structures. Examples of this type of arrangement are best known from the Petén (e.g. Hansen 1992; Ruppert and Denison 1943:20), but a possible Late Formative manifestation has also been tentatively identified in the northern lowlands at the site of X-Huyub near Ek Balam (Ringle and Bey 1992), as well as at Yaxuná and the outlying site of Tzacauil, located three kilometers to the east of Yaxuná (Stanton et al. 2008). Recent studies of the megalithic architectural style by members of the Yalahau Human Ecology Project suggest that similar triadic designs associated with sites such as Naranjal and Aké date to the Late Formative, Protoclassic, and Early Classics (Mathews 1998; Taube 1995), although the use of the term Protoclassic here does not seem to be congruent with southern ceramic types such as Aguacate Orange. In light of these data, this architectural grouping may be seen as pan-Maya rather than as a Petén phenomenon.

Figure 5.33: Plan of Op. 4 The first level had a medium brown, loose matrix with numerous chunks of plaster mixed throughout. At about 25 cm below the surface, a plaster floor surface was encountered. This floor was six centimeters thick and had four evenly spaced molded depressions along the center line. These depressions are thought to have served to hold small bowls, like those known ethnographically to offer corn gruel to ancestors and gods (Vogt 1969). Also, mixed in the fill near the floor, three to four jaw bone fragments from a small herbivore were found. In the very center of this floor, directly upon the surface, a concentration of sherds was found. These ceramics were given a separate lot designation. A doorway at the level of this plaster floor exited Structure 6F-37 to the south, in the center of the structure. The ceramics were overwhelmingly Late Postclassic Chen Mul. The excavations continued through the plaster floor in the eastern half of the unit. Bedrock was discovered at 15 cm, 9 cm below the bottom of the plaster. Fill in level two was a loose, medium brown dirt with small stones. No subfloor ballast, like that seen in other examples at Yaxuná, was present. Once bedrock was reached, the other half of the unit was removed and added to level 2, lot 1. No ceramics were recovered in this level. Op. 4 revealed Structure 6F-37 to be a single component Postclassic structure constructed utilizing robbed façade and veneer stones from a Terminal Classic Puuc style structure. The presence of Chen Mul ceramics, lack of other Postclassic types, unusual floor features, size, and shape of the structure indicate that it served as a shrine. Thus, while investigators were able to accurately guess the general function of Structure 6F-37 from the size and

Figure 5.34: West Profile of Op. 5 The basal platform (Structure 5E-16) of the Yaxuná group rises six meters above the ambient ground surface, although it is unknown whether the ancient Maya 73

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 a ceramic sample. Recent reanalysis of the ceramics from this lot were undertaken by Socorro Jiménez and Teresa Ceballos Gallareta. Although they attribute a Middle Formative date to the context, there is some confusion as to whether the ceramics were divided by an earlier project ceramicist, bringing the date into question (Dave Johnstone, personal communication 2004).

fortuitously used any natural features on the landscape to facilitate its construction as has been noted for structures at other sites. Structure 5E-19-1st rises another six meters above the platform. During the 1993 field season, more extensive exposures of the 5E-19 Group were conducted as operations 75 and 75a. These excavations will follow Op. 5 so that the data will be kept in a coherent order in the text.

Op. 75a: Structure 5E-19

Op. 5

During the 1993 field season, two separate operations were initiated in the 5E-16 complex. One of these operations consisted of two large exposures of Structure 5E-19 while the other was comprised of a 2 X 2 m test pit on the summit of Structure 5E-18, one of the flanking mounds. The first unit of Op. 75a consisted of a two meter wide trench excavated from the base of Structure 5E-19 up the western side of the northern face to its summit (Figure 5.35). At its completion, the trench was 14.1 meters in length and was divided into five lots based on architectural changes as the excavations progressed.

The upper level of the superstructure consisted of 60 cm of brown soil and stones ranging in size from medium to large. Beneath this rubble was a plaster surface. The ceramics recovered from this upper level consisted of Postclassic Chen Mul incensario sherds, as well as numerous Late and Middle Formative varieties including types described by Andrews (1986) for Komchen and Joesink-Mandeville (1970) for Dzibilchaltún (similar ceramics are being reported from a suite of new sites). This first plaster surface (Floor 2) was approximately 30 cm thick, uncharacteristically deep for Classic construction leading the excavators to believe that this might be a Formative pyramid. Floor 1, exposed in the Op. 75 excavations, was not encountered in this initial test pit. The upper 20 cm of the floor was a very hard dark brown colored plaster while the bottom 10 cm was composed of compact marl. This construction episode was designated Structure 5E-19-2nd as it was assumed that the rubble above the floor was the collapse of the final construction episode. The Op. 75 excavations would reveal more substantive evidence for Structure 5E-19-1st. Below the floor was an approximately 60 to 80 cm deep level of dry core fill. Along the south wall, the remains of a plaster floor (Floor 3) were exposed. This surface appears to be the same surface exposed in the Op. 75 excavations. Both segments of this floor are at approximately the same level, but only a small portion of each was exposed. These appear to represent a Structure 5E-19-3rd construction which was heavily disturbed by later modifications, but more excavation is required to clarify this designation. At the present time the Structure 5E-19-3rd designation will be retained.

The Structure 5E-19 excavations revealed an extremely complex and confusing constructional history. The summit in particular was modified numerous times, although evidence from the northern stairway indicates fewer construction episodes. Several of the summit constructions appear to have been extensively disturbed by later activity including the razing of architecture prior to rebuilding and stone robbing. This adds to the difficulty of defining the already complex architectural sequence from the summit. Many of the architectural designations presented here are tentative and further excavation is required to clarify the construction sequences.

The dry core fill covered a set of rose colored plastered steps. Given the apparent destruction of Floor 3 above the rose colored plaster, this fill may have been deposited during either the second or third construction episodes. The rose colored plaster (Floor 4) continued up the structure to the top of the superstructure platform surface (Structure 5E-19-4th). The treads of the stairway were approximately 45 cm deep and 20 cm in height and the plaster was found in a semi-deteriorated and possibly burned state. Ceramics from this level were a mix of Yaxuná Ia and Ib material with several diagnostic Late Formative types suggesting an early Chicanel date or Yaxuná Ib for this Structure 5E-19-2nd/3rd construction episodes. A separate lot was conducted as a small probe below the preserved plaster of the top step. Only a limited amount of dry core fill mixed with tan soil was exposed to obtain

Figure 5.35: East Profile of Op. 75a 74

Excavations stones two courses high. A probe beneath the treads exposed dry core fill.

The first unit of the trench had exposed subsurface features nearly to the beginning of the extant incline of Structure 5E-19. Ultimately this goal was not reached due to work constraints and the exposure was limited to a 1 X 2 m extension of the trench. The unit was excavated as a single lot/level. No architectural surface features were noted by the excavators at the base of the trench. The first 10 cm were composed of a loose gray soil. Directly beneath this matrix, dry core fill was encountered. This fill was excavated to a level of 75 cm below ground surface without exposing any architectural features. At this level, the unit was terminated. Only 19 sherds were recovered from the matrixes. These dated to Yaxuná Ia and Ib.

Returning to the trench, immediately to the south of the last in situ balustrade stone a red plaster surface associated with a narrow poorly preserved 40 cm high stair or terrace was encountered. The plaster was not painted and the excavator noted that it differed in color from the rose colored plaster of Structure 5E-19-4th. From about the final balustrade stone to the terrace or stair, the plaster runs for about 40 cm where it stops. The terrace or stair consists of three courses of stone. On the upper level of these courses to the south of the upper stone, the red plaster begins again and continues for approximately 30 cm where it becomes too deteriorated. It is possible that the vertical distance between the two preserved portions of plaster was covered as well, but that it suffered accentuated weathering. To the south of the red plaster, dry core fill was again encountered. The overburden above the fill to the level of the red plaster was excavated as lot 1.

Continuing up towards the summit of the Structure 5E19, the excavators encountered overburden concealing extant architecture from 1 to 8.6 m from the northern limit of the trench. The first 10 to 35 cm of this unit consisted of humic soil mixed with small stones. This soil graded from a grayish to a brown color as the excavations progressed up the structure.

Although the majority of the ceramics from this lot were unidentifiable due to poor preservation and the unit was not broken down into operations, the ceramic materials suggest that the latest construction episode dates to the Classic. Ceramic material identified spans Yaxuná Ia to IIa, although most of the material falls into the Formative. Although the field observations of the ceramics led the excavators to believe that some Terminal Classic material was present, no slatewares were identified in the reanalysis. Dzudzuquil Group ceramics often tend to have a slate-like appearance which can be easily confused with Late and Terminal Classic diagnostics.

At 1.3 m of the trench, a sascab surface was exposed beneath collapse from the upper portion of the mound. Further exposure of this surface revealed it to be overlying two course stone wall which may have served as an interior construction brace for the Structure 5E-191st or Structure 5E-19-2nd/3rd stairway. The surface itself appears to have been a construction pause to add further stability to this construction episode and extended across the entire unit and 70 cm towards the south. Immediately to the south of the sascab surface, dry core fill was encountered. This matrix was exposed 30 cm below the ground surface and continued for 1.2 m before the excavation was halted. As the trench was being extended up to the summit of the structure and that the dry core fill was very unstable, the excavators leveled this area of the unit off to step up and continue excavating without the danger of the unit walls collapsing.

The dry core fill was excavated to a distance of 1.7 m south of the limit of the red plaster and to a depth of 1 m below the upper portion of the tread or stair as a separate lot. It was hoped that the red plaster was the remains of a plastered terrace and that the fill beneath it might date the construction episode. The excavators felt confident that although this did not constitute a sealed lot, that there was very little likelihood that there had been much or any contamination from subsequent activity. A study of the ceramics from the lot revealed a mix of Yaxuná Ia to IIa material suggesting that that the red plaster and balustrade are part of the Structure 5E-19-1st construction. Although this dating is tentative due to the unsealed nature of the lot, the data suggest a Classic date for the construction fill.

At 3.6 m, the dry core fill gave way to a single large stairway stone (at 40 cm below ground surface) situated upon a highly eroded packed earth and chich surface. This stone is most likely part of the western balustrade of Structure 5E-19-1st which survived the stone robbing or Structure 5E-19-2nd/3rd and was located along the eastern limit of the trench. As the preservation of the stairway construction episodes are so poor, it is difficult to stratigraphically associate this section of a balustrade with a particular construction. This balustrade continued up the stairway for a total of 2.4 m consisting of five more stones (all of which were smaller than the northernmost stone) before it disappeared.

The trench continued to the south as the excavators stepped up the mound at 8.6 m to reveal the rose colored plaster surface associated with Structure 5E-19-4th documented in Op. 5. This surface was 24 cm below ground level. No evidence of Structure 5E-19-1st or Structure 5E-19-2nd were recovered. These construction episodes seem to have suffered the effects of stone robbing and natural slumping over time.

A 2 X 3 m unit was excavated as the same lot immediately to the east of this preserved portion of the balustrade, in order to expose the treads of the associated stairway. Two treads spanning the entire length of the unit were exposed. These continued into the eastern wall of the 2 X 3 m extension. Each tread consisted of worked

The thick plaster was continuous for four meters in a series of three low broad steps. Unlike other plastered 75

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 steps which can be sharp and angular, this Formative stairway was characterized by broad rounded corners constructed by applying a thick coat of plaster over small loaf-shaped stones. In some places the plaster was cracked. Although the excavation did not penetrate this plaster in the trench, the excavators cleared some of the cracked areas down to a meter below the plaster surface and noted small 20 cm wide rectangular stones with smooth edges beneath the plaster much like flagstones underlying a plaza floor. The small loaf shaped stones we uncovered are characteristic of Formative building styles and gave the architects of this phase of 5E-19 great design flexibility which they utilized to its full extent. This construction style is characterized in the trench and in the summit excavations by the presence of complicated architectural details; low risers or steps leading to other risers set at 90 degree angles which ultimately produced a structure with many surfaces and acting places. Such a design was also noted for two Formative dance platforms excavated to the east of the East Acropolis. The dance platforms are characterized by a yellowish colored plaster, but the same idea applies. No further construction episodes were noted in the meter deep probe of the plaster cracks. Structure 5E-19-5th (exposed in the summit excavations, see below) is obviously far below Structure 5E-19-4th in the area of the stairway.

Figure 3.36: Plan of the Upper Levels of the Summit Excavations of Structure 5E-19 At the level of the terrace wall of Structure 5E-19-1st a new lot was started. This lot consisted of all material excavated from the terrace wall to the southern limit of the trench. The humic layer was a dark brown soil mixed with small stones and ranged from 20 to 50 cm in depth. Beneath this material was a 15 cm thick level of chich or small stones which may represent subfloor ballast. After removing this level, the excavators encountered a 60 cm matrix of boulder fill mixed with a tan soil and fragments of broken hard white stucco. This material was directly laid down upon Floor 1, Floor 2, or Floor 3. This surface could not be stratigraphically related to the summit floor sequence, but most likely is part of the Structure 5E-192nd or Structure 5E-19-3rd construction episodes.

At the southern end of this rose colored plaster on the highest riser, the plaster continued up the eastern side of the riser indicating that not only did the plaster probably continue up to the summit and was razed during the construction of Structure 5E-19-1st or Structure 5E-192nd/3rd, but that the stairway was broken by what appears to be a central platform. The western side of the rose colored plaster seems to have continued up as another riser as it lips up the southern edge of the next tread, but there is an ‘intrusive’ construction towards the central portion of the stairway. Only further excavation will resolve the question of how this area stratigraphically relates to the entire stairway. Above the highest riser of the rose colored plaster, evidence for the two subsequent constructions appeared again. Directly above the southern extent of the Structure 5E-19-4th plaster a fragment of a plaster surface was exposed at 30 cm below the ground surface. This floor was stratigraphically related to Floor 2 in Op. 5 and the Op. 75 summit excavations linking it with Structure 5E19-2nd. Very little of this surface remains and it seems to have suffered greatly from activity associated with the construction of Structure 5E-19-1st. The floor lipped up the front of the summit terrace wall (Structure 5E-19-1st) which was also exposed in the lot 8/ level 1 excavation. This wall consisted of three courses of preserved roughly shaped stones that were set without the use of mortar. Approximately 50 cm to the north of this floor and on the ground surface evidence for the Structure 5E-19-1st balustrade was located. Three aligned stones were noted in the area where the balustrade should have been located and surface evidence for steps was observed directly to the east. All of the identifiable ceramics recovered in this lot were of Yaxuná Ia and Ib date.

After the trench was completed, excavations were renewed at the summit of Structure 5E-19 in the area of Op. 5 (Figure 5.36). As the brown humic soil mixed with small to large sized stones was removed to the north of Op. 5, a matrix of dry core fill was exposed (Figure 5.37). This material appears to have been the remaining construction fill of Structure 5E-19-1st. At the southernmost extent of lot 5, the badly deteriorated remains of Floor 1 were exposed approximately 40 cm below the surface. This surface appears to be one of the few sections of this surface which is still preserved. Floor 1 was only found in the area of the preserved portions of the northern stairway of Structure 5E-19-1st. This section of Floor 1 was associated with the top stairway tread or foundation brace wall of Structure 5E-19-1st. The level of Floor 1 suggests that the final occupants of Structure 5E19 may have utilized part of the Structure 5E-19-2nd surface for their superstructure. Lot 5 was extended for another three meters to the east, in order to follow the broken section of Floor 1. No other features were noted. 76

Excavations

Figure 5.37: West Profile of Summit Excavations of Structure 5E-19

Figure 5.38: South Profile of Terrace Wall of Structure 5E-19 Only 18 sherds were recovered. Two of these date to the late phase at Yaxuná (both were Muna Group). The other identifiable material was dated Yaxuná Ib and IIa, reflecting the Formative construction of the structure.

extent. The ceramics from this lot consisted of Yaxuná Ia and Ib types. Additionally, one obsidian blade fragment was recovered. The excavations to the east and southeast of Op. 5 were designated lot 7. This lot consisted of a 2 X 6 m trench to the east following the northern extent of Floor 2 and a 1.5 X 2 m extension to the south. The stratigraphy was the same as described for lot 6. Floor 1 was well preserved throughout this entire lot. The southern preserved extent of Floor 1 was in the same area as discerned in the lot 6 excavation. Most of the 165 sherds recovered from above Floor 1 were highly eroded. The identified ceramics consisted of Yaxuná Ia and Ib types. No other artifacts were recovered.

To the west of Op. 5 on the summit, a new lot was cleared down to the level of Floor 1. This lot consisted of a 2 X 4 m unit cleared to the west and a 2 X 2.5 m unit cleared to the south. These units were excavated, in order to define the preserved limits of Floor 2. The first 30 cm consisted of humic soil and stones. From 30 to 70 cm, dry core fill was excavated (the fill of Structure 5E-19-1st). At 70 cm, Floor 2 was exposed. No architectural features were noted in clearing this surface to the west and south, although the floor was not preserved across its original 77

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 To the west and east of Op. 5 excavations continued beneath Floor 2 as two combined units (Figure 5.39). The western unit was an approximately 0.7 X 1 m extension of Op. 5 while the eastern unit was an approximately 0.7 X 1.3 m extension. Both units exposed similar stratigraphy to Op. 5 until the level of Floor 4. In the western unit, the western preserved extent of the rose colored plaster was noted only 25 cm to the west of Op. 5. Dry core fill mixed with tan soil was exposed to the west. This is the construction ballast of Structure 5E-194th. The excavation was closed in this section at this point. To the east of Op. 5, Floor 4 was again exposed. This portion of the rose colored plaster was blackened from intense heat suggesting that the structure had been burned in antiquity; possibly towards the end of the Middle Formative. Above the plaster, three roughly worked stones were exposed in a north/south alignment. These stones may represent part of a construction pen for Structure 5E-19-2nd or Structure 5E-19-3rd. Immediately to the east of this possible construction pen, the rose colored plaster was disturbed revealing an earlier wall (Structure 5E-19-5th). Below Floor 4, dry core fill and chich was exposed. This appears to have been the ballast for the rose colored plaster. As this matrix was removed, three courses of the Structure 5E-19-5th wall were exposed. This suggests that Structure 5E-19 has at least one more if not a series of substructures buried within it. No clear date could be established for this earliest exposed building.

Figure 5.39: Plan of the Lower Levels of the Summit Excavations of Structure 5E-19 To the north of lot 5, the excavation of the Structure 5E19-1st stairway continued as lot 8. This unit consisted of a continuation of the five meter east/west exposure of lot 5 while leaving the exposed terrace/stairway tread of Structure 5E-19-1st in situ. The unit was extended three meters to the south. Another 2 X 2 m extension to the west was excavated, in order to connect the summit excavations with the trench.

Immediately to the east, another unit, approximately 0.9 X 1.3 m, was extended to expose more of the Structure 5E-19-5th wall. Along the second step of the rose colored plaster, the surface dipped down into what the excavator termed a ‘box-like’ area (Figure 5.40). This area indicates that the terraced steps of Structure 5E-19-4th did not continue evenly across the entire south face of the structure. At the east end the second and third terrace steps dipped down. This may have given Structure 5E19-4th the appearance of a projecting stairway, although we are not altogether convinced of this idea. As Structure 5E-19-2nd or Structure 5E-19-3rd was built, several construction pens were added. This resulted in the ‘boxlike’ area being filled in with dry core fill. The ceramics from this lot (the area surrounding the Structure 5E-19-5th wall and the ‘box-like’ area) were predominately Middle Formative types with a heavy emphasis on the Dzudzuquil Group. Although the material from these two main areas of the lot were not separated, the overwhelming majority of Middle Formative types strongly suggests that Structure 5E-19-5th may be a pure Yaxuná Ia structure constructed before the Middle/Late Formative transition.

Immediately to the north of the top stairway tread or terrace wall preserved on the ground surface, a lower terrace/stairway tread was exposed. This lower level was approximately 60 cm below the ground surface. A single line of roughly cut stones were found at the base of this step up. On the surface to the north of this line of stones, three poorly preserved sections of Floor 1 were exposed. At both the eastern and western extents of this lot, evidence for two poorly constructed balustrades were found. These features were approximately seven meters apart giving the width of the final stairway. Approximately two meters to the north of the upper stairway tread or terrace wall, the 80 cm high terrace wall noted in the trench was exposed (Figure 5.38). This wall was three courses high and composed of roughly cut limestone blocks set without mortar. At the base of this terrace wall, two more poorly preserved sections of Floor 1 were exposed. At approximately 70 cm to the north of this terrace wall, the remains of another terrace or stairway tread were located. Only the top tread or course was exposed and the excavation was closed. The ceramics from lot 8 were highly eroded. Only Yaxuná Ia and Ib types were identified.

To the north of Op. 5, excavations continued beneath the level of Floor 2 in a 2 X 5 m unit. At approximately one meter, Floor 3 was reached. Only a small portion of this surface was preserved. Floor 3 appeared to lip up a wall foundation brace immediately to the south of the preserved section and was a tan color in contrast to the 78

Excavations

Figure 5.40: South Profile of ‘Box-Like’ Area of Structure 5E-19 Op. 75b: Structure 5E-18

dark brown color of Floor 2. This brace may have been the retaining wall for a plastered terrace associated with Structure 5E-19-2nd. The north edge of this terrace deteriorated before the final construction at 5E-19, but the area of Floor 2 exposed in Op. 5 appears to have been connected to this lower terrace plaster surface. The northern side of the foundation brace or terrace wall was plastered. This surface was stratigraphically related to Floor 2 exposed on the upper surface of the terrace. At the juncture of Floor 2 and Floor 3, the upper terrace plaster was applied on top of the lower terrace surface giving the appearance that the lower terrace lipped up. In fact, the Floor 3 lower terrace surface was found to run under the wall towards the segment of Floor 2 exposed in the Op. 5 excavation. On the southern side of the terrace wall foundation brace, Floor 3 was again exposed. This indicates that Floor 3 may have been the summit surface of Structure 5E-19-3rd. Immediately below Floor 3 and an underlying eight centimeter thick sascab ballast along the southern break, a one course high construction pen was exposed. The remains of this wall were only noted in the western portion of the unit.

The unit was positioned directly to the east of a low line of stones on the surface which appear to be the deteriorated remains of a foundation brace structure (Structure 5E-18-1st). These stones may be reused architectural stones and are set without mortar or plaster. Although no evidence of a floor was exposed in the excavation, the unit was clearly inside of this structure. Any floor may have deteriorated over the centuries.

The builders of Structure 5E-19-2nd chose to break through Floor 3 to the south of the foundation brace terrace wall before the terrace construction and modify the fill above Floor 4. The reason for this modification is unknown. Then the Floor 2 terrace was constructed as the summit for Structure 5E-19-2nd and the exposed portion of Floor 3 was utilized as a step down.

The first 20 to 25 cm consisted of a dark brown humic soil mixed with small to large sized stones (Figure 5.42). A variably preserved rose colored plaster surface (Structure 5E-18-2nd) was exposed in the eastern portion of the unit at 22 cm. In the western portion of the unit, a gray soil with chich and medium-sized stones was exposed. A 70 cm gap between the rose colored plaster

Structure 5E-18 is the east flanking structure on the 5E16 platform. The mound measures approximately 15 X 22 m and rises nearly three meters above the basal platform. A large albarrada runs across the structure in a north/south direction (not depicted on the site map). The Op. 75b excavation began as a 2 X 2 m test unit placed directly on the summit of Structure 5E-18, but was extended one meter to the north and 1.5 m to the east. Two smaller extensions in the southwest and southeast corners of the extended unit were also cleared to follow architectural features (Figure 5.41).

79

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 visible in the plan of the Structure 5E-18-2nd platform. The ceramics from this level indicate a Late Formative date with Sierra Red predominating. This suggests that the final occupation of the flanking structure was very early in the history of Yaxuná and that the Terminal Classic inhabitants did not modify the entire complex at the time when Structure 5E-19-1st was constructed.

and the gray soil continued to produce a dark brown soil. This soil was removed to a level of 40 cm where it became evident that the rose colored plaster surface extended as a lower step. In the western portion of the unit, the excavation continued through the gray soil and chich matrix. This appears to be a layer of construction fill for Structure 5E19-1st which buried the western steps of Structure 5E-182nd. The excavator noted that the chich near the top of this level may represent the subfloor ballast of a deteriorated plaster surface associated with Structure 5E-18-1st. Given this possibility, the rose colored stucco will be labeled Floor 2. This fill continued past the western unit wall and was 15 to 40 cm thick. Below this fill a level of tan soil and large stones was exposed.

The excavation progressed into the tan soil and large stone fill to the west of the rose colored plaster steps. This excavation followed the step down along the western edge of the third step. This step was not plastered (most likely the plaster was deteriorated) and the construction wall was exposed. The wall was composed of two to three courses of loaf-shaped stones in the northern half of the unit. These stones were set in an orange to red sascab or mortar. In the southern half of the unit only the orange to red sascab or mortar was preserved. At approximately 90 cm below the ground surface, a fragment of the rose colored plaster was exposed. This plaster lipped up the step wall suggesting that it did connect with the deteriorated plaster on top of the step. This surface continued for 40 cm to the west before it disintegrated. The excavations in the western portion of the unit were then closed. Only 17 sherds were recovered from this lot and they suggest a Late Formative date. This indicates that the fill for Structure 5E-18-1st was deposited in two levels both of which appear to be banked up against the lowest step of Structure 5E-18-2nd. A 1 X 1 m unit was placed as a subfloor test along the central portion of the eastern wall where the rose colored plaster was well preserved (Figure 5.43). A large stone from the fill of Structure 5E-18-1st had penetrated this floor pushing the plaster into the underlying level, but the context was sealed. The rose colored plaster was 15 cm thick and was underlain by 10 cm of tan-colored soil and chich. Below this matrix was a ten centimeter thick layer of white sascab. In the eastern profile, the tan matrix had been pushed through this layer by the force of the large stone described above as it was deposited on the rose colored plaster.

Figure 5.41: Plan of Op. 75b The rose colored plaster surface is identical in construction to the plaster of Structure 5E-19-4th suggesting that the two structures were built at the same time. At this level, this surface indicates that the platform was constructed of at least three or four stepped areas, although further excavations would reveal a fourth area which is not at the level to be the 5E-16 platform surface. Starting along the eastern wall, the plaster lips up indicating that another step or platform surface is, or was, (if the surface was razed during the construction of Structure 5E-18-1st) beyond the eastern wall of the unit. At approximately 90 cm to the west of this presumed juncture with a higher step, the plaster lips down to a third step 20 cm below the second step. The present evidence indicates that the third plaster step ran approximately another 90 cm to the west before it too lipped down a wall and joined with another lower surface. At the western edge of this step the plaster is not preserved. The stones composing the treads of these steps were well cut medium sized loaf shaped stones. These are

Below the white sascab layer dry core fill was exposed. This matrix was excavated to a level of 2.2 m below the summit surface without a break. At this level (this level had not reached the depth of the extant 5E-16 platform surface) the unit was closed. Very few sherds were identifiable, but those that could be typed were assigned to the Middle and Late Formative. Operation 6: Sacbé 1 Sacbé 1 is the 100 km road that connects Structure 6E-13 with Cobá, Quintana Roo (Villa Rojas 1934). Fernando Robles Castellanos excavated a cross-section of sacbé 1 near its terminus at Structure 6E-13 (Figure 5.44). The principle purpose of this operation was to obtain a ceramic sample in order to date the construction of the sacbé. It was hoped that samples from two locations 80

Excavations

Figure 5.42: North Profile of Op. 75b associated with the road, operations 1 and 6, would provide a very secure date for this critical construction.

IIa and III material along the very deteriorated southern side of the pyramidal base. Although no sealed lots of Early Classic date were found, the data suggest that this structure had a Yaxuná IIa occupation.

In this excavation, Robles Castellanos found that, like the ballast remaining under a plaster floor, the sacbé was constructed of a gradation from smaller cobbles to 30-50 cm rocks. These larger rocks were in a dark brown matrix. No evidence of a formal stairway ascending Structure 6E-13 from the sacbé was found in Op. 6. Instead, a ramp appears to join the Late Classic sacbé to the Early Classic 6E-13. Very few ceramics were encountered in this excavation. Sacbé 1 was eventually dated to Yaxuná III in the Op. 67 excavations.

Initial clearing of the southern face of the pyramidal substructure consisted of a 6 X 2 m exposure placed half way between the summit and the base. After the 20 to 30 cm level of humus had been removed, a thick level of masonry collapse was exposed. Below this collapse, large amounts of melted stucco mixed with collapsed dry core fill was located (Figure 5.45). In the northern end of the unit the top course of an in situ retaining wall was found. Given the extent of the collapse and damage to the structure, the structural relationship between this wall and the rest of the building is unknown. Similarly, no date for this wall can be assigned as no sealed ceramic samples were found and the excavation was terminated. All of the ceramic material dated to Yaxuná IIa and III suggesting that there were at least two discreet occupations of the 4E-3 locale. Additionally, two obsidian blade fragments were recovered. Given that stucco façades are unknown at Yaxuná during the Late Classic, the melted stucco may represent an Early Classic feature. Yet until dates can be obtained for the construction, this is mere speculation.

Operation 7: Structure 4E-5 Structure 4E-3 is a four meter high pyramidal mound and is in line to be the western terminus of Sacbé 5. This sacbé passes the Early Classic 5E-50 compound along its southern edge and terminates before it reaches Structure 5E-26, a structure which has not yet been investigated. Although plan maps of the superstructure indicate a tworoomed perishable foundation brace for the latest occupation of the building, further ground reconnaissance revealed that this was actually a three-roomed structure. This superstructure was assigned a separate structure designation (4E-4) during initial mapping. Although the Op. 7 excavations were designed to locate the central stairway which was thought to face a possible southern formal plaza, this stairway most likely faces towards Sacbé 5 to which it lines up. The excavations at the Structure 4E-3 locale revealed mixed deposits of Yaxuná

A 2 X 2 m unit was placed just south along the centerline of Op. 7a. The initial excavations revealed the same collapse as in the northern unit, but revealed that the collapse was much thicker and more extensive than has been thought. Beneath the humic level was a layer of dry core fill collapse, a layer of stucco melt and collapse, a

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Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 deterioration of the structure, most of the stucco may have melted off the wall first being deposited as the lowest level. As the structure continued to decay, the wall, armatures, and dry core fill may have collapsed on top of this stucco level. Given the state of decay of the southern face of Structure 4E-3 and the limited exposures conducted during the 1989 field season, it is impossible to confirm this hypothesis, but it remains the strongest possibility with the current state of the data. In sum, Structure 4E-3 may have been an Early Classic structure with a Late Classic occupation, but the data from this limited exposure are equivocal.

layer of pure dry core fill collapse, and a thick level of pure stucco melt. Near the central portion of the unit, two courses of a wall similar to the one located in Op. 7a were documented. This may be a lower retaining wall running parallel to the structure, but not enough of it was exposed to confirm its structural association. Although the ceramic situation was the same in this unit as in the previous one, the bottom levels may shed some light on the decay pattern of the southern face of the pyramid.

Operation 8: Structure 5F-3 Op. 8 was a 2 X 2 m unit placed on the eastern edge of the summit of Structure 5F-3, the tallest structure at Yaxuná. Structure 5F-3 is the eastern half of a pair of massive pyramidal structures on the Central Acropolis. Brainerd (1958) studied the ceramics from several trenches placed through the acropolis platform (Structure 5F-1) and was impressed by the Chicanel (Yaxuná Ib) date of all of the lots. Subsequently, he and others (Proskouriakoff 1968; Thompson 1954) placed Yaxuná in the Late Formative, although few Northern Lowland sites at that time could be assigned such an early date. Two smaller structures flank the western side of the acropolis, but have not been investigated.

Figure 5.44: North Profile of Op. 6 Structure 5F-3-1st faces Sacbé 1 to Cobá and may represent a reorientation of the pyramid during the Terminal Classic. What remains of the extant eastern stairway is constructed of Terminal Classic veneer stones indicative of the Puuc occupation, although most of the structure is very deteriorated and appears as rubble collapse. Originally, the structure may have been oriented in a different direction, but the data concerning the early stairway(s) are not available at this time. At the summit, a foundation brace for a perishable superstructure was exposed dating to the Puuc occupation during the Terminal Classic (5F-3-1st). This structure cannot be seen in the profile (Figure 5.46), but was located only 10 to 15 cm beneath the surface. No associated floors were

Figure 4.43: East Profile of Subfloor Test in Op. 75b The pure stucco melt was definitely thicker towards the center of the unit suggesting that a mask or façade had deteriorated in this area. Above this level in the collapse, a number of stones were identified as possible mask or façade armatures (Freidel et al. 1990). Given the amount of stucco beneath the structural collapse, it is very possible that a stucco façade or mask was built on tenoned armatures along the southern wall. During the 82

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Figure 4.45: Plan of Op. 7 documented. Below the remains of this structure a mixture of brown soil and marl was exposed. As this layer was removed, a deteriorated plaster surface was uncovered at about 30 cm below the summit surface. This floor was most well preserved in the western portion of the unit. At this juncture, two separate lots were excavated; one beneath the sealed plaster floor and the other in the surrounding dry core fill that had presumably underlain the plaster floor throughout the rest of the unit. Although the plaster floor (Structure 5F-3-2nd) had deteriorated to a great degree, it still sealed portions of the unit as it was extremely thick measuring at least 20 cm in the more preserved areas. Its white color and thickness suggested a Late Formative date based on other Late Formative plaster surfaces at Yaxuná and elsewhere. This lot consisted of the underlying matrix directly below this floor. Beneath the floor there was no evidence of a prepared ballast. Only dry core fill was noted. A marl ballast may have been present at one time, but it may have deteriorated and sifted down through the limestone cobbles below it. In fact, the dry core fill is rather uniform except for loose marl differentially present in the matrixes. The marl seems to have sifted farther down along the northern edge of the unit. Ceramics from this unit included only Yaxuná Ib types, specifically Sierra Red suggesting that Brainerd’s (1958) Late Formative date for the basal platform of the Central Acropolis may

Figure 4.46: West Profile of Op. 8 83

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Beneath the dry core fill of Structure 5F-3-2nd the orange colored marl was cleared. This matrix covered the entire unit and was thought to represent a construction pause. Only 20 cm of this matrix was excavated prior to the termination of the excavation. The material from this lot contained a mix of Yaxuná Ia and Ib material and can be dated to the Late Formative as the Yaxuná Ia material most likely entered the matrix as older fill.

be contemporaneous with the upper levels of this mound. Although this was only a single test pit at the summit of one of the pyramids of the Central Acropolis, it is surprising to find a sealed Late Formative ceramic sample, albeit below a floor very characteristic of Late Formative architecture throughout the Maya lowlands, at this height. If the Late Formative summit was at this height, this structure would rank as one of the larger Formative pyramids in the north known to date. Some structures in the southern lowlands were certainly much larger, including complexes at El Mirador and Nakbé (Hansen 1992).

Operation 9: Structure 6E-2 A 2 X 2 m unit was placed on the summit of Structure 6E-2, the principle structure at the East Acropolis, which has a Late Formative triadic form. This structure lies on the extreme eastern edge of the acropolis. The stairway faces west and lines up directly with Sacbé 2. This sacbé connects the central stairway of the acropolis platform (Structure 6E-1) with Structure 6E-12 a medium sized conical mound approximately 100 m distant from the acropolis.

The other surprising discovery at the summit of Structure 5F-3 is that no material dating to the Early Classic was located. Unless the unit missed an Early Classic component due to a later razing of the superstructure, this locale at the Central Acropolis was abandoned during the Early Classic. If so, this abandonment may explain the poor preservation of the thick Late Formative floor as it may have been exposed to the elements for several hundred years. During the Early Classic, the North Acropolis became the center for monumental construction and elite burial and seems to have superseded the Central Acropolis. In any event, these are questions which can only be answered through continued excavation and not from a single test pit.

The first 25 cm was a humic soil mixed with small stones (Figure 5.47). Only Postclassic ceramics were recovered. Beneath the humic layer dry core fill was encountered with no evidence of a floor or other architectural features. Again, only Postclassic ceramics were identified in this level. At 60 cm below the ground surface a packed sascab surface was exposed. This sascab surface extended over the entire unit and was 16 cm thick. The excavator believed this surface to be a construction pause as no plastered surface could be identified and the material was so thick. In screening the sascab, only one sherd was recovered. It was identified as Xanabá Red, a type indicative of Yaxuná Ib and IIa. Although this evidence is unsubstantial, it may suggest that Structure 6E-2 had an Early Classic component at this depth and that later activity during the Postclassic had obscured or destroyed most of the upper construction associated with it in the area of the test pit. Beneath the sascab surface dry core fill was again encountered. This matrix was excavated to 1.35 m below the ground surface where the unit was terminated due to instability of the unit walls. Only three unidentifiable sherds were recovered which does not shed any light on the dating of the fill. No other features were noted. Although the data from Structure 6E-2 are equivocal, the structure most likely predates the Terminal Classic. At this time, a Puuc style range structure was appended to the northern end of the acropolis (Structure 6F-9) facing Sacbé 1. The architecture of this structure is quite distinctive and its orientation faces away from the formal acropolis group suggesting that the acropolis may have ceased to function during this period. Given the sparse ceramic data from the test pit, the Early Classic is the most likely period of occupation prior to the Late Postclassic reuse of the summit. We suspect, given the triadic form of the acropolis, that there are Late and Middle Formative occupations in this architectural group. This idea is supported by the location of the dance platforms, but will require further excavation to resolve.

Figure 5.47: East Profile of Op. 9 84

Excavations

Operation 11: Structure 5E-84 Structure 5E-84, a small rectangular structure with cut block walls, lies directly south of the site center, adjacent to Sacbé 7. The northern and western walls of the structure are very poorly preserved (Figure 5.48). Op. 11 was a 2 X 2 m unit in the southeast corner of the structure. Due to time constraints, this was reduced to a 2 X 1.5 m unit after initial surface clearing. With such a restricted excavation area, we primarily sought to build the residential dataset, document the structure’s occupation history, and discover whether small, simple structures were built any differently than larger examples. Level 1 demonstrated that, although Structure 5E-84 was quite small, its eroded floor had the usual sequence of floor ballast from gravel to cobbles. Toward the center of the structure, bedrock was only 20 cm from the surface, but on the eastern edge of the pit, fill continued to a depth of about 40 cm. No ceramics were found in the cobble fill, but ceramics from below this level provided at Terminal Classic date for the structure. Structure 5E-84 was constructed on a natural bedrock outcrop that was leveled using cobbles and then gravel before a floor was laid. Although small in size, structure 5E-84 proved to be constructed in a manner typical of Terminal Classic residences at Yaxuná. The fact that this locus was first occupied in the Terminal Classic speaks to the large population present during this period. Excavations at Yaxuná and other sites have demonstrated that the Maya would re-occupy existing housing repeatedly before taking the time to prepare a new area for house construction (see Johnstone 1994). Therefore, this excavation, and many later operations, bolster the argument that Terminal Classic populations were larger than previous periods.

Figure 5.48: Plan of Op. 11

Operation 12: Structure 6F-3 Op. 12 was a 2 X 2 m unit placed on the summit of 6F-3. The upper 50 cm of the unit was composed of humus mixed with large rocks. The ceramics from this level were a mix of Classic and Postclassic types. Below this level in the southern portion of the unit was a plaster surface (Figure 5.49) and a hard-packed gray/brown soil. The fill underlying these two surfaces was composed of stones that appear to have been stacked vertically with a hard packed plaster matrix surrounding them. In the northern portion of the unit, there was dry core fill. The dry core fill appears to have covered the entire unit at one time and the plaster surface noted in the southern half of the unit may represent the remains of a later disturbance or construction episode. The disturbance appears to have originated during the Late or Terminal Classic. No other features were noted. Operation 13: Structure 6E-14 Op. 13 consisted of a 2 X 2 m test pit placed on the summit of Structure 6E-14, an approximately four meter

Figure 5.49: South Profile of Op. 12 85

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 The dry core fill was excavated to a level of one meter below ground surface. At this point the excavator reduced the unit to a 2 X 1.5 m exposure in the southern area of the excavation due to time constraints. The unit was continued for another 32 cm before it was terminated. No features were noted. The entire level was dry core fill. Six sherds were recovered, three of which could be identified as Yaxuná Ib and IIa types. These data suggest that the structure dates to either the Late Formative or the beginning of the Early Classic. One obsidian blade fragment was also recovered.

high pyramidal mound. The site grid is centered on this mound as it is located in the very center of the core area of Yaxuná. Much of the final construction is discernable from the extant remains. Large monolithic blocks were noted in extant walls and scattered around the base of the structure (Figure 5.50). These blocks are indicative of a megalithic style attributed to northern plains of Yucatán around the time of the transition from the Late Formative to the Early Classics (Lincoln 1980; Mathews 1998; Roys and Shook 1966; Taube 1995), but may have been robbed from other trsuctures at Yaxuná to construct Structure 6E-14. This style is most well known from sites including Izamal and Aké where it is expressed with an impressive degree of monumentality. Although this style of architecture appears to be concentrated in the northeastern portion of the peninsula, examples of this megalithic style are found from Cobá in the east all the way to Oxkintok in the west.

From this test pit it is difficult to assess the function of Structure 6E-14. It is a very unimposing mound dwarfed by the Late Formative Central Acropolis immediately to its southwest. Yet although its central location and megalithic architectural style warrants more extensive excavation, the structure was consolidated by Lourdes Toscano Hernández and the structure would have to be reopened to continue excavations into its fill. Yet it is an ideal locus to explore the transition from the Late Formative to the Early Classic and from its general morphology may reveal data concerning elite burial mounds or shrines from this period of great ideological and sociopolitical change. Operation 14: 6E-30 Complex The 6E-30 Complex was selected for study because it was thought to be part of a locus of early public, civic, and elite residential activity (Stanton and Ardren 2005). Like Op. 3, Op. 14 was initiated to reveal the life cycle of an elite group. The adjacent 5E-16 group dates to the Formative and displays the formal triadic arrangement typical of an early lowland Maya public temple complex. Its main pyramid, Structure 5E-19, had broad stairways on its northern side which allowed access to a series of large building platforms, pointing to a public ritual function for this adjacent group. For these reasons, it was hoped that the 6E-25 group would provide some of the earliest materials at the site.

Figure 5.50: Monolithic Blocks at Structure 6E-14

Op. 14a was the first of a several investigations conducted in the 6E-30 Group during the 1991 field season. The 6E-30 Group is comprised of several mounded structures and foundation braces located on a natural rise immediately to the southeast of Structure 5E19. Surface indications and the proximity to the 5E-16 Group suggested that some of these remains might represent early facet residential structures. With this idea in mind a series of test pits were placed throughout the group and in an associated north/south oriented sacbé. Op. 14a was a 1 X 3 m unit placed in the northwest corner of a rectangular foundation brace lying between Structure 6E-30 and Structure 6E-27, the two largest mounds in the group. The walls of the structure measures approximately five meters on a side. These types of foundation braces are often associated with Late to Terminal Classic perishable structures (Smith 1998). Therefore, the unit was placed to document the possible association of early and late occupations in the residential zone.

Figure 5.51: East Profile of Op. 13 The test unit was placed directly on the summit of the structure (Figure 5.51). There was no evidence of construction postdating the megalithic component. The first 20 cm consisted of dark humic soil mixed with cobble-sized stones. Only one unidentifiable sherd was recovered, but as there was no evidence for later modifications to the structure this level may date to the Early Classic based on the data from level 2. At 20 cm dry core fill was exposed with no evidence of a floor or other features present. 86

Excavations was not well separated from the previous matrix and some mixing may have occurred. Interestingly, the ceramics identified from this level indicated a strong disjunction from level 2. Middle Formative types including varieties from the Dzudzuquil and Joventud Groups were predominate rather than the Late Formative Sierra group types. This suggests that there is good stratigraphic integrity in the Formative levels of the 6E30 Group and that it was a locus for both substantial Middle and Late Formative occupations. Although these levels appear to be fill and are not associated with architectural features, these data suggest that the 6E-30 Group may have been the residential area associated with the Middle to Late Formative 5E-19 temple. This level continued down to bedrock where a sterile red paleosol overlay the capstone. Again predominately Middle Formative types were recovered further reinforcing the stratigraphic integrity of the unit.

Figure 5.52: North Profile of Op. 14a The unit was placed so that it bisected the western wall of Structure 6E-28 leaving a roughly 1 X .75 m unit outside of the structure and a 1.5 X 1 m unit inside (Figure 5.52). A 75 cm balk beneath the wall separated the two portions of the unit. The inside and outside portions of the unit were excavated as separate lots. Inside of the structure, the excavation revealed only chich and dark humic soil to a level of 46 cm below the ambient ground surface. No evidence of a preserved plaster floor was found. Analysis of the ceramics indicated a mix of Formative and Late/Terminal Classic types. Outside of the structure, the excavators proceeded down to a level 77 cm below ground surface without changing lot or level designations. Although the stratigraphy of the outside unit paralleled the stratigraphy inside of the foundation brace, cultural material cannot be assigned to different levels. Given the stratigraphic parallels, there is a strong possibility that the lower levels correspond with Formative occupations of the area. Very little artifactual material was present outside of the structure, but the ceramics suggested a mix of Late/Terminal Classic and Formative sherds.

Figure 5.53: North Profile of Op. 14b Op. 14b was placed at Structure 6E-29. This structure, located immediately to the east of Structure 6E-28, is an apsidal foundation brace measuring 6 X 4 m. The structure was oriented northwest to southwest along its long axis and there was no surface evidence for an entrance. The 2 X 2 m unit was placed in the southern interior corner abutting the wall (Figure 5.53). A subfloor matrix of chich and dark humic soil was encountered at 26 cm below ground surface suggesting that the floor of the structure had deteriorated. The ceramics from the humic level were almost entirely Terminal Classic and material from the subfloor ballast contained some Muna Slate suggesting a single period occupation for Structure 6E-29 roughly contemporaneous with Structure 6E-28. Apsidal structures are predominately very late in the northern Maya lowlands (Freidel and Sabloff 1984; Smith 1962), but no Postclassic material was identified.

Inside of the structure below the level of the chich and dark soil, an increase of chich inclusions coupled with a lighter soil with sascab inclusions was noted. This type of matrix is often found beneath preserved plaster floors at Yaxuná and may have been the ballast for a now deteriorated floor. As this possible ballast had a corresponding matrix in the profile of the outside unit, this may not be the floor ballast of the Late/Terminal Classic perishable foundation brace (although no trace of a floor were noted in the preceding level). The possible ballast was excavated as a 20 cm deep level. At this point (66 cm below the ground surface), the excavator terminated the arbitrary level, although there was no change in the matrix. The ceramics recovered from this level were entirely of Late Formative date. None of the Dzudzuquil Group types were identified during analysis.

Immediately below the subfloor ballast, a light brown soil mixed with chich, sascab, and medium-sized stones was exposed. This matrix corresponds with Op. 14a, lot 1/level 3 and may be Late or Middle Formative plaza fill. The level was excavated to 64 cm below the ground surface without encountering any features or changes except for the exposure of bedrock in the eastern portion of the unit. Only Middle Formative types were identified, although one Sierra Red sherd and one Ucu Black sherd,

The excavation continued down in another 20 cm level. Some bedrock appeared along the western edge of the unit. Although a slight soil color change to a darker brown was noted as the profiles were cleaned, this level 87

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 5.54: Plan of Burial 6 Crypt which are both found in Late/Middle Formative deposits at Yaxuná, were also recovered. Two sherds of an unidentified white-slipped ware were also found. This type is rare at Yaxuná, but seems to have been available to the ancient Yaxuneros only during a short span around the transition between the Middle and Late Formative. Additionally, a spherical limestone artifact of unknown function was recovered. This object represented half of a sphere and appears to have been fashioned by human hands.

Op. 14c consisted of a 2 X 2 m unit placed on the summit of Structure 6E-27, the tallest mound in the 6E-30 Group. The structure is approximately five meters high and roughly measures 20 to 30 m on a side. No evidence of an extant stairway or other architectural features was noted. There was no humic development. Only a thin layer of chich was documented on the surface. Below the chich dry core fill was encountered. This matrix was excavated to a level of 67 cm below the summit surface. At this juncture, the level was terminated and a program of excavating in 20 cm arbitrary levels was continued.

Continuing down in the same matrix for another 20 cm, the excavators recovered more of the same material. There was no change in the matrix and the ceramics included Middle Formative types along with the unspecified white-slipped ware. No other artifacts were recovered. More bedrock was exposed.

Before the excavation had begun, the excavators thought that this unit might reveal an Early Classic or Late Formative construction episode. Only 28 very eroded ceramics were recovered from this fill. All of those that could be identified were of strictly Late Formative date. Given the lack of any later materials including the almost ubiquitous Cehpech ceramics, a tentative Late Formative date can be assigned for this construction.

Uneven bedrock was exposed from 0.46 to 1.04 m below ground surface. Very little artifactual material was recovered from the lowest level of the matrix found in levels 3 and 4. The only identified sherd was from the Joventud Group. Below this matrix, a thin sterile red paleosol was encountered lying on top of bedrock.

Op. 14d was placed in Structure 6E-31. This structure is the rectangular superstructure of Structure 6E-30. Together they comprise a two-stepped flat-topped

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Figure 5.55: Plan of Burial 6 the foundation brace of Structure 6E-31. The unit exposed a double lined foundation brace indicative of the Terminal Classic (Structure 6E-31-1st). Ceramics from the upper levels corroborate this dating. The top 20 cm covering this structure was a dark humic soil. Below this matrix, a lighter gray/brown soil was exposed. This level was approximately 15 to 20 cm thick. At 25 cm below ground surface the top of a Terminal Classic crypt burial of an adult female was encountered (Figure 5.54). This crypt was placed through Floor 1 and the skeletal material was located at 75 cm below the ground surface (Figure 5.55). Several complete vessels were recovered in the crypt. One plate was placed over the head. Large numbers of Middle and Late Formative sherds mixed with Terminal Classic types were identified in the fill of these upper levels suggesting that another early phase construction might be encountered as the excavation progressed down. Beneath the gray/brown soil, a level of gravel was encountered. This matrix was approximately 20 to 25 cm thick and rested upon Floor 1.

Figure 5.56: Plan of Floor 1, Op. 14d pyramidal mound facing due north in a direct line with Sacbé 6. The superstructure itself is approximately 1.5 m high and is 15 m long (east/west axis) by 7 m wide (north/south axis). It is situated on top of a 2.5 m high basal platform. On its summit lies a single roomed masonry foundation brace for a perishable superstructure. As a column drum fragment was incorporated into the wall of this foundation brace, at least one phase of the occupation of the building was assumed to be very late in the Yaxuná sequence. Multiple wall lines and foundation braces were noted on the sides of both Structure 6E-30 and Structure 6E-31, but these features were not investigated.

The plaster floor (Floor 1) exposed at 60 cm was reddish in color (7.5 YR 7/3) unlike the white Terminal Classic floors found throughout the site, but resembled the color of the plaster associated with the lower construction levels exposed at Structure 5E-19 (Figure 5.56). This suggests that the Terminal Classic foundation brace described above (Structure 6E-31-1st) was built on top of a Middle to Late Formative structure and that the floor associated with the later construction had deteriorated. Floor 1 (Structure 6E-31-2nd) was well preserved in the

A 2 X 2 m unit was placed east of the center axis inside

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Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 northern and extreme southern portions of the unit. The crypt of Burial 6 had pierced the floor along the western edge of the unit and dry core fill was exposed where the floor was absent to the south and southeast of this feature. Where the floor was preserved it ranged in thickness from 7 to 15 cm (Figure 5.57).

represents a construction pen or some type of early superstructure. Given the lack of evidence for a living surface to the west and the proximity to the level of the basal platform surface, the former interpretation is more likely. It very may well represent part of a construction stabilization attempt when the basal platform was completed before the superstructure of Structure 6E-312nd was raised. This would indicate that the Structure 6E30 basal platform and the Structure 6E-31-2nd superstructure were built during a single construction episode.

This lot constituted the floor itself and the material directly below it. Nineteen sherds were recovered from this sealed context. All of these materials dated to the Late Formative. These data along with evidence from Structure 5E-19 suggest that the use of thick reddish stucco in the construction of temple structures dates from the Middle/Late Formative transition into the Late Formative contemporaneous with Late Nabanché at Komchen (Andrews 1988). Directly below the floor, dry core fill was encountered. No evidence of a prepared subfloor ballast was noted.

The excavation progressed to a depth of three meters below the summit surface and was terminated due to safety concerns. No change in the dry core fill matrix was noted suggesting that all of this material was fill for Structure 6E-31-2nd/Structure 6E-30. Only 22 sherds were recovered. Approximately half were identified as Late Formative types strengthening the argument that Floor 1 was constructed during this period. No other artifacts were recovered.

Figure 5.57: North Profile of Op. 14d The excavation progressed below the level of the floor as a single lot across the entire unit. The dry core fill was comprised of large irregular boulders with very little soil or marl inclusions. At approximately 1.15 m, the top of a two course high dry laid wall was exposed in the eastern portion of the unit. The stones were roughly shaped limestone blocks measuring between 30 and 60 cm in length. Oriented directly north/south, the wall disappeared past the southern portion of the unit. Running almost two meters along the eastern edge of the unit the wall made a 90 degree turn and continued past the eastern extent of the excavation. This wall was left in situ and no attempt was made to determine whether any features or floors were associated with the probable interior bounded space to the east of the wall. No evidence for a floor or living surface was noted to the west of the wall. As this construction feature was not further investigated, it is not known whether the wall

Figure 5.58: South Profile of Op. 14e

90

Excavations At the same level as Lot 1/ Level 4 in the 2 X 2 m extension to the south a similar situation was noted. This unit exposed the fill behind the wall revealing that the wall was a one-stepped terrace leading to the superstructure stairs from the Floor 1 plaza surface. The wall itself was set into the mortar of Floor 1, but was dry laid in its construction. The ceramics were predominately Formative, although one Muna Slate and two Arena Red types were identified. This parallels the situation above Floor 1 and suggests that there is strong stratigraphic integrity in spite of the lack of a sealed context. These few late sherds in this level may be the result of limited mixing. The difference in color between the reddish Floor 1 of Structure 6E-31-2nd and the beige colored Floor 1 of Structure 6E-30-2nd suggest that they may have been constructed a slightly different times. Further excavation would demonstrate that the basal platform’s construction history was much more complex than that exposed in the summit excavations. The next level was approximately 10 cm deep and included the remainder of the matrix above Floor 1. The floor was in very good condition and was unbroken from the terrace wall to the northern extent of the unit. All of the ceramics directly associated with the floor were of Late and Middle Formative types further suggesting a Formative date for its construction.

Figure 5.59: East Profile of Op. 14e Op. 14e began as a 2 X 2 m test of the Structure 6E-30 basal platform directly to the north of Op. 14d. The unit was extended to a 2 X 4 m trench, in order to better expose a substructure associated with Floor 1. In the humic level and an underlying layer of loose brown soil mixed with sascab, fine Terminal Classic veneer stones were exposed suggesting that the foundation brace on the summit of Structure 6E-31 was accompanied by a more substantial labor investment at this locus (Figure 5.58). These stones were not found in their original position and may have come from the northern stairway of Structure 6E-31 directly to the south of the unit. Late and Terminal Classic Cehpech ceramics were found all throughout these upper levels.

Following the clearing of Floor 1, the next level consisted of the excavation of Floor 1 and the material immediately below it. The floor was beige in color and about 15 cm thick. The excavators noted that it was extremely hard and compact. Only six sherds were recovered from this level, but they all dated to Middle Formative times suggesting an early date for the floor. The terrace wall was left in place and the unit was constricted to a 1.5 X 2 m area. Beneath Floor 1, dry core fill was exposed. No soil was found in the matrix, although 36 sherds were recovered. The fill was excavated to a level of 1.1 m below the platform surface where the level was arbitrarily terminated. This appears to be the same fill found in the lower levels of Op 14d. Ceramics from the matrix were typed as strictly Middle Formative. Given the similarities in the plaster color of Structure 5E-19-4th and Structure 6E-30-2nd, as well as the absence of Late Formative types Sierra Red, this early dating seems to be rather secure.

At approximately 60 to 80 cm below the ground surface, an east/west alignment of finely dressed stones was exposed (Figure 5.59). This wall was only one course high and was directly associated with a 15 cm thick beige colored floor (Floor 1) to the north. The excavators designated this wall Structure 6E-30-sub1 due to the fact that it was so deeply buried and the difference in stone carving style from the previous levels. In keeping with the original designation, this construction will be labeled Structure 6E-30-2nd. Floor 1 appears to have been the basal platform plaza floor, but does not follow Terminal Classic construction norms. Level 4 represents the 10 cm level which exposed the top of the wall itself in the original 2 X 2 m unit. Although the brown soil matrix with sascab inclusions remained the same, the ceramics recovered from this level drastically changed. Although two Muna Slate sherds were recovered and many of the ceramics were too eroded to be identified, most of the material was Middle to Late Formative varieties.

The excavation progressed through the dry core fill to a depth of 1.8 m. At this level, a thin layer of light brown soil was exposed. A tremendous amount of ceramic material was recovered from the level 8 fill. Just as in the previous level, all of the sherds indicated a Middle to Late Formative transition. Large numbers of Joventud, Dzudzuquil, and Ucu Group ceramics were identified. Additionally, one shell fragment was recovered in this lot. Directly below this loose soil, a layer of plaster melt associated with a substructure wall (Structure 6E-30-3rd) was exposed (Figure 5.60). The wall itself was 91

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Immediately below Floor 2 and Structure 6E-30-3rd another construction episode (Structure 6E-30-4th) and associated floor (Floor 3) were exposed in the southeastern portion of the unit. This corner of the unit seems to have exposed a one course high masonry foundation brace for a possible apsidal structure. Again, without further excavation, the entire plan of the foundation will remain unknown. Several apsidal foundation brace structures were excavated in the 4F quadrant (see below). Most of the structures were identified as Late Formative suggesting that this structure plan can date to the early facet occupation at Yaxuná. If Structure 6E-30-4th represents such a structure, it may an early domestic residence built on top of a one meter tall platform which was already raised above the surrounding ground level by virtue of being placed on top of a natural rise. Floor 3 was not well preserved and the ceramics are similar to the previous lot. Some chich was noted at the level directly below the floor suggesting an attempt by the ancient Maya to prepare a subfloor ballast prior to the actual construction of the plaster floor.

constructed of one course high roughly worked stones which had been coated with plaster. It ran directly north/south, but with the limited exposure the plan remains unclear. The matrix behind the wall to the east was not excavated. It may represent a terrace edge or the foundation brace for a perishable structure. Only further excavation will shed light on this question. Again, the ceramics from this level were strongly weighted towards Middle Formative types, although a few Late Formative types were identified. Beneath the plaster melt, a floor (Floor 2) directly associated with the wall was exposed to the west. Where the floor was best preserved, it was hard and compact, but the effects of weathering reduced most of it to loose sascab. No evidence of subfloor ballast was encountered.

Below the level of Floor 3, chich mixed with brown soil was exposed. This matrix was approximately 10 to 15 cm think and was laid directly on Floor 4, another poorly preserved plaster surface. Again the ceramics from this level suggest a Late/Middle Formative transition date. This floor was located at 2.05 m below the basal platform surface and was not associated with any construction. Another subfloor ballast similar to the previous lot was exposed beneath Floor 4. Again, the ballast was 10 to 15 cm thick, but only four sherds were recovered in this matrix. This is a sharp contrast to the 100 sherds recovered in the Floor 3 ballast. Below the Floor 4 ballast a well preserved plaster surface (Floor 5) was encountered. This floor was approximately 12 to 15 cm thick and was very compact. As with Floor 4, no construction associated with Floor 5 was exposed in the limited area opened up by the unit. Beneath the sealed floor, dry core fill lacking soil inclusions was exposed. This fill was the original platform construction. Therefore, Floor 5 was the first living surface at this locus and is designated 6E-30-5th. Floors 3 and 4 appear to both be reflooring episodes of this original platform and were not given separate substructure designations. They are part of Structure 6E-30-5th. The ubiquitous red paleosol was reached at 2.95 n below the basal platform surface. No artifacts were recovered from this fill. Bedrock was exposed at 3.25 m. Seventeen sherds were recovered from this usually sterile matrix suggesting an occupation in the area prior to the construction of Structure 6E-305th. The material is Middle Formative. Op. 14f was a 2 X 2 m unit placed in the center of the southern terminus of the causeway near where it joins with the 6E-30 Group. Sacbé 6 is a low causeway running due north from the 6E-30 Group. It runs in a direct line with both Structure 6E-30 and Structure 6E-26 (Stanton 2005). Although it was first thought that this causeway dated to the Terminal Classic due to construction

Figure 5.60: Plan of Structure 6E-30-3rd 92

Excavations roughly halfway between Structure 6E-30 and the southern terminus of Sacbé 6 on the direct line between them. It measures slightly over two meters on a side.

techniques, further analysis of the ceramics from Op. 14f suggested a Formative date. Ringle and Andrews (1990) have noted a similar causeway at the Middle to Late Formative center of Komchen while Suasnávar (1993) located Formative sacbeob at Nakbé in the Petén region suggesting a great antiquity for this type of construction. The first level consisted of humic soil and a large number of stones of small to medium size (Figure 5.61). All of the identified ceramics consisted of Middle and Late Formative types. This seems rather unusual given the great degree of Terminal Classic activity in this vicinity. At approximately 20 to 25 cm below ground surface, a lighter brown soil with small stone inclusions was exposed. This level was only about 15 cm thick, but seems to have been the main construction of the causeway. No construction pens were noted, but as the unit was placed near the center of the sacbé, there was not a high probability of exposing architectural features. The ceramics consisted of pure Middle Formative types weighted heavily on Dzudzuquil Group. Below the construction fill, a red paleosol was exposed. This soil directly overlaid the bedrock. The only identifiable material was a single Middle Formative Dzudzuquil sherd. All of the other eleven sherds were highly eroded and fragmentary suggesting that they had been exposed to the elements for some time before being sealed by Sacbé 6. One bivalve shell was also recovered.

Figure 5.62: Plan of Op. 14g The matrix inside of the structure was designated lot 1, while the matrix outside of the structure was separated as lot 2. The first five cm level inside the structure was a dark humic soil. In the southeastern portion of the unit, bedrock was exposed only two centimeters below the ground surface. Elsewhere in the unit, a lighter brown soil was encountered. The very eroded ceramics from this lot were entirely Formative. In fact, 27 percent of all of the sherds were identified as Dzudzuquil Cream to Buff, a diagnostic Middle Formative type. Encountering Formative material at the surface of this construction suggested that it had been built and used at a very early period and not during the Terminal Classic when multiple foundation braces had been built in the area. A tubular piece of greenstone was recovered in this lot. Greenstone objects are fairly rare in the Maya area prior to the Late Formative and are found in highly ritually charged contexts. The presence of such an important object in this context during the Middle/Late Formative transition at Yaxuná supports the proposition that this structure was a shrine, or at least an important locus of ritual activity.

Figure 5.61: East Profile of Op. 14f The total lack of post-Middle Formative sherd material and the alignment of the causeway with a known Middle Formative structure (Structure 6E-30) suggests that Sacbé 6 is likely Middle Formative (Stanton 2005). Another possibility is that the Terminal Classic occupants of Yaxuná constructed the causeway using fill from the Formative occupation. There was a high degree of Terminal Classic occupation in this area, but without good sealed contexts for the causeway construction the data can only be argued to better support the former interpretation. It must be noted that no Terminal Classic materials were identified in the Sacbé 6 excavation.

The area outside of the structure to west was excavated as lot 2. Dark humic soil directly overlaid bedrock 5 to 15 cm below the ground surface. The ceramic material was highly eroded, but the identified types were Middle and Late Formative types. No other artifacts or features were noted.

Op. 14g was a 2 X 2 m unit placed directly into the center of the Structure 6E-30 plaza inside a fragmentary foundation brace, Structure 6E-121 (Figure 5.62). The size and central location of this structure suggested that it may represent a shrine. Structure 6E-121 is located

The excavators continued inside of the structure down to bedrock which was reached at 20 to 25 cm below the ground surface. Several lenses of brown soil with a high 93

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 density of small stones were noted just above the bedrock capstone. These features may have been placed on the bare limestone to level the surface prior to the construction of Structure 6E-121. The ceramics from this lot were also of Formative date with a heavy emphasis on Middle Formative types. No other artifacts or features which might give a further clue as to Structure 6E-121’s function were recovered.

ceramic evidence. No substantial constructions were evidenced for that later period. Structure 6E-32, a 2.8 m mound, flanks Structure 6E-31 on its eastern side and was excavated as Op. 14i. Op. 14i was a 2 X 2 m unit placed on the summit of Structure 6E32. No architectural features such as the Terminal Classic foundation braces seen elsewhere in the 6E-30 Group were noted on the surface of the unit except for an historic albarrada.

Figure 5.63: Plan of Op. 14h Op. 14h was opened to explore Structure 6E-26, a small mound on the northern edge of the 6E-25 group. It is the possible terminus of Sacbé 6. The majority of the construction of 6E-26 was apparently leveling and terracing the existing natural surface of raised bedrock. As there was no good place to excavate on the summit because of this bedrock, a 2 X 2 m pit was placed near the southwestern basal corner of the structure to investigate a possible stone alignment visible on the surface. Excavations revealed a north-south terrace, or platform retaining wall, at a depth of about 17 cm (Figure 5.63). An east-west platform retaining wall, built over the northsouth wall, that appeared to be part of another terracing effort extended south from 6E-26. This was accompanied by a fragment of plaster floor in the northeast corner of the unit. The mixture of marl, gravel, and plaster that make up levels two and three occurred directly on top of bedrock, without the usual red soil found in other operations

Figure 5.64: West Profile of Op. 14i The first 25 cm of the unit consisted of collapse and humic soil (Figure 5.64). None of the stones were well worked and architectural features could not be defined. At 25 cm, a level consisting of a loose gray/brown fill between collapse debris was exposed. Most of the ceramics in level 1 were highly eroded, but only Middle Formative types were identified upon analysis. This contrasts to the upper levels of Structure 6E-31 where a substantial Terminal Classic occupation was found on top

Structure 6E-26 appears to have been built in the Late Formative, at the same time much of the 6E-25 Group. The structure appears to have been re-occupied or reused during the Terminal Classic, leaving a light scatter of 94

Excavations mixed with pink/gray sascab was excavated as a single lot across the entire unit. At this depth, the dry core fill was boulder sized. The matrix continued without change until a depth of 2.98 m was reached. At this point, a dark brown soil was encountered. The material recovered from the fill was completely Middle Formative. No other artifacts were found.

of the original Formative pyramid. It is apparent that the Terminal Classic occupants of Yaxuná did not chose to occupy the entire group. In addition to the Formative ceramic material, two shell fragments were recovered. The excavation progressed through the gray/brown soil and collapse. Many large boulders were noted in the matrix suggesting that some of this material may be dry core fill for the ruined superstructure of Structure 6E-321st. No evidence of a floor was noted, but given the erosion of the ceramic material, such a feature may have weathered away over the millennia. At 75 cm the level was terminated arbitrarily. The ceramics from this level were also Middle to Late Formative, but were better preserved than those from level 1. Three shell fragments were also recovered.

The excavators separated another lot at the interface between the fill and the dark brown soil. This level was less than 10 cm in depth and closely represents a midden deposited prior to the construction of Structure 6E-32. The common dark organic soil stain indicative of Maya middens was present across the entire unit and a tremendous amount of material was recovered. This suggests that this area may have been a dumping area for trash. The sherds were strictly Middle Formative types.

At 90 cm, a well preserved floor (Floor 1) was encountered. It is unclear whether this floor represents Structure 6E-32-1st or Structure 6E-32-2nd due to the ambiguous collapse above. The fill or collapse above Floor 1 was laid directly on its surface and was substantially lighter than in level 2. No other architectural features were exposed by this unit and the floor was continuous throughout the 2 X 2 m area. The ceramics were Middle Formative. One shell fragment was also recovered.

Excavating into the midden, more material was recovered. The midden continued to a depth of 3.11 m below the summit surface. One chalcedony flake, 20 shell fragments, and 329 sherds were recovered. None of the shell fragments were worked. Again, no faunal remains, obsidian, or charcoal were found. The ceramic material was entirely Middle Formative. Below the midden level, a flagstone pavement was exposed. These stones were roughly shaped and covered the entire area exposed by the unit (Figure 5.65).

Floor 1 was excavated throughout the entire unit except for a strip along the western edge. The floor was a mottled red and 20 cm thick. Directly below Floor 1, Floor 2 was exposed. No ballast or fill separated these two features, but 27 sherds and a simply engraved shell fragment were found directly on the surface of Floor 2. The ceramics from this well sealed context were Middle to Late Formative. It is unlikely that these materials were deposited as fill, since there was no space separating the two floors. These ceramics were sealed from a functioning Middle/Late Formative structure and provide the strongest evidence for a transitional phase between these two periods in which some Late Nabanché types such as Sierra Red were in use at the same time as the Joventud Red. Floor 2 was more compact than Floor 1 and was gray in color. The surface of Floor 2 was only preserved in center and the northwestern portions of the unit and was 15 to 20 cm thick. This lot was the excavation of the floor itself. Immediately below the level of Floor 2, a pink/gray sascab soil was encountered at 1.25 m below the summit surface. This mixing of red soil and plaster or marl was also noted for the Middle/Late Formative transition period Structure 5E-19-4th plaster surface and the floor of Structure 6E-31-2nd. The sascab matrix here appears to have been laid down as a prepared surface for Floor 2, in order to level the underlying fill. Dry core fill mixed with the pink/gray sascab appeared directly below the prepared surface. One obsidian blade fragment and seven unmodified shell fragments were also recovered.

Figure 5.65: Plan of Flagstone Pavement in Op. 14h Beneath the flagstone pavement, more midden was encountered. Bedrock was exposed at 3.68 m below the summit surface. Although the midden was continuous above and below the flagstones, the character of the matrixes were quite different. The midden below the pavement was very moist and oily with a tremendous amount of small charcoal (too small to be collected) and sascab inclusions. This contrasts with the absence of sascab, charcoal, and the oily texture in the midden above

The matrix below the level of Floor 2 was dry core fill. At 1.55 m below the summit surface, the dry core fill 95

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 the flagstones. This suggests that the pavement was placed to cover the original midden and that subsistence or trash disposal practices had changed at this locus. In the midden below the flagstones, 93 sherds were recovered along with 13 pieces of broken unmodified shell and one exhausted chert core. The ceramics in both middens were mirror images of each other suggesting that very little time separated the two deposits.

excavation continued in the southern portion of the unit. A lighter colored humic soil was excavated to a level of approximately 30 cm below the ground surface (Figure 5.67). Many chich inclusions were noted in the matrix. The ceramics indicated a terminal Late Formative date. No Late or Terminal Classic sherds were recovered. At 30 cm, the soil was much lighter and included many sascab and chich inclusions. This matrix resembled deliberate fill for a structure, possibly for the perishable structure above. At 50 cm, the fill changed from chich to large irregular stones resembling dry core fill. Levels were changed at this point. The ceramics in the chich fill were exclusively Middle and Late Formative types, but were heavily eroded. Additionally, two obsidian blade fragments were recovered.

Op. 14j was placed to explore Structure 6E-33, a low mound measuring 7 X 15 m. A double wall foundation brace defines the northern side of the mound while remnants of other foundation braces are found along its western and southern extents. Colonial period stone robbing is the most likely explanation for the fragmentary nature of the foundation. A Colonial albarrada bisects the mound in a north/south direction.

This large stone fill was directly laid down upon a crushed plaster floor (Floor 1). Near the interface with level 3, the associated soil was a light brown. At the bottom of level 4, the soil was a gray/pink color suggestive of the Formative practice of adding red soil to the sascab. The floor itself was also pink in color indicating an association with Structure 5E-19-4th, Structure 6E-31-2nd, and Structure 6E-32-1st or 2nd. Ceramics from above the floor were Middle Formative types. This floor may be part of Floor 1 of Structure 6E32-2nd indicating that it was part of a raising of the plaza in the 6E-30 Group during the Middle Formative. Alternately, Floor 1 of Structure 6E-33 may be a separate platform. It will be designated Structure 6E-33-2nd until this problem can be resolved stratigraphically.

Figure 5.66: Plan of Op. 14j Op. 14j was a 2 X 2 m unit placed in the center of the mound. As the initial humic level mixed with chich was removed, another double wall line was exposed in the northwestern portion of the unit (Figure 5.66). This wall was roughly oriented east/west. Throughout the remainder of the unit, a matrix of large unworked stones mixed with gravel was encountered. The date of the ceramics from this upper level was equivocal. Most of the sherds were highly eroded. Sierra Red was typed along with tentative identifications of Xanabá Red and Muna Slate. The relationship of the double wall line exposed in the unit and the foundation braces noted on the periphery of the mound is not known. Given their vertical proximity to each other, they may be contemporaneous with the unit wall representing an internal division of the perishable structure. They will all be considered part of Structure 6E-33-1st for the present time. The matrix between the courses of the double wall line was excavated as lot 2. Only humic soil was encountered with a few small stone inclusions. The ceramics were highly eroded and only one Sierra Red sherd was identified. The double wall line was left in place and the

Figure 5.67: North Profile of Op. 14j 96

Excavations Floor 1 extended across the entire unit sealing the material below. It was approximately 10 to 15 cm thick and very compact. The floor may have been thicker when it was constructed, but it appears to have been severely compressed by the fill above it. Below Floor 1, dry core fill mixed with pink sascab was exposed. This sascab was the same color as the floor. The fill continued until a red paleosol was exposed at 1.25 meters below ground surface. Ceramics from the fill were Middle Formative types.

stairway and a new superstructure (Structure 6E-31-1st). Although Sacbé 6 was not refurbished, Structure 6E-26 was constructed at its southern terminus at the northern end of the basal platform directly in line with Structure 6E-30. It is not known whether the Maya placed this structure on this axis with the intention of utilizing the deteriorated sacbé, but its position may not be coincidental.

The red paleosol was 5-10 cm thick and laid directly on bedrock. Although the excavated volume of soil was very small, 42 sherds were recovered suggesting that this area may have been a midden. All of the sherds dated to the Middle Formative indicating that they may be contemporary with the material in the Op. 14i middens. No other material was recovered and the soil did not have the oily midden-like stains common among Maya trash pits.

Op. 15a was an initial 2 X 2 m test pit placed in the center of the elevated plaza of the Structure 5E-50 platform. The 5E-52 Group was extensively tested along with the 5E-73 Complex because their size and location relative to a series of sacbeob suggested that they were the remains of elite residences. Composed of a series of mounds and foundation braces situated on top of an elevated basal platform (Structure 5E-50), this group is connected to the 5E-75 Complex by Sacbé 8, a north/south oriented causeway. As Structure 5E-75 only faced south towards the 5E-52 Group during the Early Classic, it is probable that this feature dates to Yaxuná II. The excavations described below confirm a large Early Classic component of the 5E-52 Group. Additionally, a large Terminal Classic occupation was discerned immediately to the west of the Structure 5E-50 in the form of a large number of foundation braces which once supported perishable structures. The 5E-52 Group does not seem to have been seriously disturbed by this later occupation.

Operation 15: 5E-52 Group

The present data on the 6E-30 Group represent a very small window into the early phase residential occupation at Yaxuná. Clearly more work is warranted in this important complex and the summary provided here does not offer a comprehensive description of the group. Regardless, these excavations have documented that Yaxuná was occupied during the Middle Formative and can be considered contemporaneous with the early occupations at Komchen (Andrews 1986) and Xocnaceh (Stanton and Gallareta Negrón 2002).

Sacbé 5, the east/west oriented causeway which connects the possible Early to Late Classic Structure 4E-3 with Structure 5E-26 in the 5E-30 Group, abuts the south side of the 5E-50 platform. As there are indications that this causeway may date to the Early Classic, the 5E-52 Group appears to have been well integrated into the overall site design suggesting an increased importance compared to other Early Classic residential complexes. The ancient Maya were cognizant of how structures could be manipulated to embody ideological concepts in both domestic and monumental contexts (e.g. Ashmore 1989, 1991, 1995). At Yaxuná, the 5E-52 Group was placed at the southern end of a modified cruciform pattern, site plan which has also been noted at other large Maya centers. Many north/south sacbé systems linked elite residential complexes with the loci for revered elite ancestors. The 5E-52 Group’s placement in this locale, along with its complex stucco façade, suggests that this was the residence of the ruling elite of Yaxuná during the Early Classic.

Although our understanding of Middle Formative chronology is limited, at some point prior to 400 BC, an irregular platform was raised at 6E-30. This appears to have taken place in successive stages as evidence for floors and possible residential structures was recovered. All three of the main structures (6E-30, 6E-27, and 6E32) were raised in what could be interpreted as a triadic arrangement. Structure 6E-26 at the northern end of the basal platform was also tested, but only revealed Terminal Classic construction. Along with the three principle structures, Sacbé 6 was also raised in a direct line with Structure 6E-30. This suggests that this southern structure was of great importance to the early Yaxuneros and may have served as a lineage structure or ancestor shrine as has been proposed for certain structures in Belize (McAnany 1995). The presence of a central shrine dating to this period on the axis between Sacbé 6 and Structure 6E-30 appears to support the ritual nature of this architectural assemblage. Further investigation is required to address these types of questions.

Op. 15a was placed directly to the east of Structure 5E52. Although the plan of Structure 5E-52 is still not well known, the open raised platform to the east suggests that it is oriented in this direction. The unit was excavated in arbitrary 20 cm levels by the investigator (Figure 5.68). In the first level, a dark humic soil was removed to 15 cm below the ground surface. An even layer of chich was then exposed and excavated to a level of 40 cm. The ceramics from these levels are mixed Early, Late, and Terminal Classic types.

Construction appears to have diminished during the Late Formative, although pure Late Formative fill was noted at Structure 6E-27 and Structure 6E-31. This reduced activity seems to have ended by the beginning of the Early Classic when the area was abandoned. It was not until the Terminal Classic that the Maya chose to reutilize the complex. Several foundation brace structures were built on the basal platform and the southern principle structure (6E-30) was refurbished with a possible veneer 97

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 exposed. The large rocks were less evenly distributed in this level suggesting that it might be the red paleosol frequently encountered above bedrock. As bedrock was exposed directly underneath this matrix in level 6, it appears either that the chich construction of Structure 5E50 was placed directly on the ground surface for leveling purposes or that the kancab was brought in a fill itself. This latter practice is rarely seen at Yaxuná, but was noted in the Op. 3i excavations beneath Structure 5E-77. The red paleosol was excavated to bedrock. Op. 15b consisted of a 3 X 24 m trench through Structure 5E-52, the principle mound of the 5E-52 Group (Figures 5.69-5.70). The trench was oriented east/west just south of the center of the mound. Structure 5E-52 measures approximately 20 X 40 m, but rises only roughly about one meter about the ambient surface of the Structure 5E50 platform. Although no evidence of a formal frontal entrance was exposed in the excavations, Structure 5E-52 most likely faces the formal plaza of Structure 5E-50 towards the principle stairway to the east. The trench was excavated in four levels across the entire structure. The upper three levels contained a high amount of Late to Terminal Classic material while the bottom level was characterized by a high amount of Early Classic material spanning Yaxuná IIa through IIc. Some Late Classic material is also present in this lowest level, but given the problems defining the junction between level 3 and level 4, this material may not be associated with the floor and subfloor deposits.

Figure 5.68: North Profile of Op. 15a At 40 cm, a mixture of large rocks and red soil was exposed. Although later materials were deposited on the plaza surface, there does not appear to have been any later modifications after Yaxuná IIa when the 5E-50 platform was completed. This large rock and red soil fill was laid down on several lenses of compositionally different fill. Subsequently, a layer of chich was deposited, in order to level off the plaza for a presumably now deteriorated floor. The later ceramics located in the chich level probably entered the matrix by filtering down through the unsealed humic level.

The superstructure appears to have been built during Yaxuná IIa. The structure seems to have been subjected to ritual destruction and burial during the transition between Yaxuná IIc and III during the period when it has been hypothesized that Cobá took control of the site. Levels 1 through 3 date to this event. Level 4 may represent the debris on the floor and subfloor deposits, but the limit of level 4 above the extant structure floor is unknown and may reach into the upper deposits of marl.

As the excavation continued into the next 20 cm level, another level of chich was exposed in the eastern portion of the unit. The level 3 matrix continued in the western portion of the unit and it became evident that this new level of chich sloped underneath the fill. During subsequent excavations into the plaza a similar chich layer was found at this level. Although it was first thought that this level might represent a second platform surface, its unevenness and the lack of any evidence for a floor suggests that this chich was deposited as fill for the single construction episode of the platform. A second raising of the platform surface would have sealed and protected a plaster floor if it had existed. The identifiable ceramics from this level were entirely of Late Formative date further suggesting that Structure 5E-50 was constructed towards the end of the Late Formative and that very little or no time had elapsed between the deposition of the two layers of chich.

A humic layer ranging between 8 to 40 cm thick overlaid the entire surface of the trench. The excavators noted broken fragments of a stucco frieze at this level (see Figures 5.71-5.72 for examples). These fragments were found scattered throughout all of the levels down to the final floor of Structure 5E-52-1st. The fragments near the surface were weathered and stained dark brown by the humus, but the stucco buried in the deeper deposits were very well preserved. Many of the fragments exhibited sharp breaks and appear to have been broken intentionally and scattered within the thick marl deposit which buried the structure upon abandonment. This suggests that the structure was both intentionally destroyed and ritually buried in a thick layer of marl.

At 80 cm the layer of large rocks and red soil had all but disappeared. Only in the extreme western portion of the unit did this matrix continue. By one meter below the platform surface it was completely excavated. The underlying chich layer continued, sloping up to the east. In the extreme eastern portion of the unit below the level of the chich another layer of large rocks and red soil was

The fragments of the frieze themselves are characterized by a series of geometric and anthropomorphic elements which stylistically date the façade to the Early Classic. The construction technique is similar to the Late Classic stucco façades at Dzibilchaltún with white modeled

98

Excavations

Figure 5.69: North Profile Profile of Western Portion of Trench, Op. 15b 99

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 5.70: North Profile Profile of Eastern Portion of Trench, Op. 15b stucco underlying a red paint (see Coggins 1983). Lazy S-scrolls which have been identified with muyil or clouds (Reilly 1996) were found along with a fragment (lower half) of an anthropomorphic face with a tau-shaped incisor and large corner scrolls in the mouth (Figure

7.71). We have identified this type of face as indicative of Tzuk, the Hero Twins, and First Father, but note that depictions of Early Classic rulers such as the stucco masks at Kohunlich can also incorporate this iconography. Clearly, the symbols which adorned 100

Excavations masks at Kohunlich can also incorporate this iconography. Clearly, the symbols which adorned Structure 5E-52 mark it as an important structure, perhaps the residence of a high elite extended family, a conjecture which is strengthened by the fact that the complex is tied into the principle internal causeway by Sacbé 7.

constitute the foundation of a second, more robust layer of wall stones, but the excavations did not confirm this possibility. In any event, both walls appear to have been foundation braces for a now deteriorated superstructure. To the west of Structure 5E-52, two terraces were exposed. Both of these features extended approximately two meters out and were one meter in height giving the rear of the structure a stepped appearance. Dry core fill was encountered behind each of the construction walls which were not well preserved. No evidence of a plaster surface on the terraces or plaster plaza floor at ambient ground level was found.

Below the humus, a thick layer of marl was exposed across the entire trench. This marl was divided into two levels. The upper level was much darker than the lower level which is attributable to the leaching of organic matter from the humic level thus staining the marl. In the lower levels, the marl was pure white with no inclusions except for broken stucco façade fragments and large sherds. This marl covered the interior floor and was thickly banked up against both the east and west sides of the structure. Along the exterior portion of the eastern wall, the marl was over one meter thick.

The interior floor of Structure 5E-52 was well preserved. It was a white and hard plaster surface (Structure 5E-521st Floor 1) approximately 20 cm thick which is indicative of other Early Classic floors at Yaxuná. A 3 X 3 m probe beneath this floor in the central area of the room revealed a dry core fill construction. No evidence of a chich subfloor ballast was noted. It is unclear from the field notes if a ceramic sample was recovered from this subfloor test and, if so, to which level it may have been assigned.

Figure 5.71: Stucco from Op. 15b

Figure 5.72: Stucco from Op. 15b

Structure 5E-52 was seven meters wide and must have supported a perishable superstructure, although no evidence of wattle and daub or pole and thatch construction was recovered. The two outer walls were distinctive from each other. On the western side, the wall was preserved to a higher elevation, but the stones were approximately half the size of the stones used in the construction of the eastern wall. A row of fallen worked stones was documented off of the western wall and may

Beneath the marl off the eastern side of the structure the 5E-50 platform Floor 1 was exposed. This surface was very well preserved in this area due to the thick layer of marl which had protected it for centuries and was found to be approximately 20 cm thick. The placement of the floor in association with the Structure 5E-52-1st eastern wall revealed that this floor was constructed in conjunction with the raising of the building. A 2 X 3 m probe beneath the floor was placed abutting the exterior 101

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 the principle stairway and rises a little above a half a meter above the ambient platform surface (Figure 5.73). The foundation brace walls are oriented in the same direction as Structure 5E-52. Floor 1 (Structure 5E-551st), associated with the extant foundation brace, was located at approximately 40 cm below the ground surface. The floor was thin and compact suggesting a Terminal Classic date. This date was corroborated by the Late and Terminal Classic sherds recovered in the humic level and the underlying tan colored marl which had been deposited on top of the floor.

of the eastern wall. In contrast to the other operations excavated into the 5E-50 platform, a more complex floor sequence was noted within the first 35 cm below Floor 1. Two more plaster surfaces were exposed. The second of these, Floor 3, was found at 35 cm below Floor 1 and was correlated with Floor 2 in Op. 15c by the excavator. Floor 1 in Op. 15c has been dated to the Terminal Classic, long after any of the surfaces in Op. 15b were likely constructed. This leaves two floors dating most likely to Yaxuná IIa above Floor 1 identified as the final construction of the 5E-50 platform in the Op. 15c excavation. As Op. 15b, Floor 1 is integral to the construction of Structure 5E-52-1st, this structure postdates the latest modification of the 5E-50 platform to the east of Structure 5E-52 (unless some evidence for a deteriorated surface is found in the future, an unlikely prospect due to the multiple tests of the platform). This suggests that the final construction of Structure 5E-52 was placed on top of an existing platform and that earlier substructures may lie underneath. The only non-stucco or ceramic artifact recovered was a single obsidian blade fragment.

Beneath Floor 1, the marl continued and became increasingly more white as the excavation progressed. A small pocket of chich mixed with marl was noted in the eastern portion of the unit. At 80 cm, Floor 2, a well preserved plaster surface, was exposed. Resting on this floor was a single course line of worked stones oriented roughly north/south. This appears to be the remains of a foundation brace for a perishable structure (Structure 5E55-2nd) and not a retaining or terrace wall. Floor 2 is at the approximately the same level as the final plaza between Structure 5E-52 and Structure 5E-55. Although the stratigraphy is inconclusive with the current exposures in the area, these data may indicate that Floor 2 was the final plaza construction of Structure 5E-50. If this hypothesis is correct, then Structure 5E-55-2nd represents a foundation brace structure which utilized the current raised plaza floor as an interior living surface. The ceramics from between Floor 1 and Floor 2 are sparse. Only 11 sherds were recovered. Of those, two were identified; Sierra Red monochromes. Given that underlying levels produced Early Classic materials, a Late Formative date can be ruled out. The presence of these two sherds can be explained in one of two ways. Structure 5E-55-2nd may date to Yaxuná IIa. Sierra Red is found during this period and the Op. 15a excavation strongly suggests that the final construction of the 5E-50 basal platform was completed at this time. It must be noted that the Op. 15a data help to date the construction of Floor 2, not Structure 5E-55-2nd. Alternatively, when Structure 5E-55 was buried in a thick layer of marl prior to the construction of Floor 1 the Sierra Red sherds may have entered the matrix as earlier fill. Floor 2 was 10 to 15 cm thick and was well preserved throughout the entire unit. Below the Floor 24 cm of dry core fill was exposed. No subfloor ballast was present. At this depth, another hard well preserved plaster floor (Floor 3) was exposed. The ceramics from between Floor 2 and Floor 3 were dated to Yaxuná IIa confirming the date of the Structure 5E-50 final plaza surface. Additionally, four obsidian blade fragments were recovered.

Figure 5.73: East Profile of Op. 15c

Floor 2 appears to have been a slight raising and reflooring of the 5E-50 platform. If this identification is correct, then Floor 3 may be the original platform surface. In Op. 15a, a second platform surface could not be clearly discerned, although a second level of chich was exposed. Interestingly, there were no chich subfloor ballasts

Op. 15c was a 2 X 2 m unit placed in the southwest corner of the 3 X 5 m rectangular foundation brace resting on top of the Structure 5E-55 mound. This mound is situated directly across the 5E-50 plaza to the west of 102

Excavations Op. 15d consisted of a 2 X 2 m unit placed over the southwest corner of Structure 5E-53, a 4 X 5 m rectangular foundation brace at the southern edge of the 5E-50 platform. Most of the unit was outside of the structure and the interior stratigraphy of the foundation brace was only exposed in the northeast portion of the unit. Beneath a 10 cm thick level of humus a mixture of gray to brown soil and marl was exposed (Figure 5.74). Although the evidence is inconclusive, the marl have eroded from the thick white deposit documented in operations 15b, 15e, 15e-1, and 15f which covered Structure 5E-52 at the time of its abandonment. The lack of the pure thick deposit at this locus suggests that only Structure 5E-52 was buried at a later date. This matrix beneath the humus layer in Op. 15d was 20 cm thick and rested directly upon a well preserved hard plaster floor (Floor 1). The ceramics from above this level were mixed Early, Late, and Terminal Classic types. Floor 1 was found throughout the unit and does not seem to be associated with the extant foundation brace. In fact, no evidence of a floor or subfloor ballast was exposed in association with Structure 5E-53.

underneath Floor 2 or Floor 3 in Op. 15c. This may indicate that these floors at the Structure 5E-55 locality may be separate constructions from the 5E-50 plaza which would suggest that they are substructures for Structure 5E-55 and not part of the raising of the plaza platform. If this is correct, the remains of a superstructure associated with this construction were not exposed. Without an expanded horizontal exposure, this question will remain unanswered. Regardless, both Floor 2 and Floor 3 are roughly coeval with the construction of the 5E-50 platform. Level 4 consisted of a 20 cm excavation into the dry core fill beneath Floor 3. Continuing down in the dry core fill a red soil mixed with small stones was exposed at approximately 1.9 m below the ground surface. The ceramics in this second level of dry core fill corroborated the Yaxuná IIa date. The first 40 cm of this fill was excavated as an arbitrary level. This soil is not the sterile red paleosol found in the bottom of so many units, but is artificial fill. Although a few possibly Early Classic types were recovered, the material was predominately Late Formative. None of the Early Classic polychromes or orangewares were found. This indicates that the fill came from terminal Late Formative deposits.

Floor 1 appears to be the final 5E-50 plaza surface. Although the floor was measured to be 10 cm thick and appeared in character to resemble Terminal Classic floors, it was found at the same level as the Floor 1 chich ballast in Op. 15 a and Floor 2 in Op. 15c. Unlike the Op. 15a situation, the plaza floor was well preserved. This floor was not underlain by a subfloor ballast, but by dry core fill. The data suggest that Floor 2 in Op. 15c may be a substructure (Structure 5E-55-2nd) associated with the foundation brace and that Floor 3 may be the original platform surface. The situation in Op. 15d beneath Floor 1 parallels that beneath Floor 3 in Op. 15c perfectly and it would appear that these two sections of the plaza were constructed at the same time. This contrasts with the situation in Op. 15a and suggests that the plaza was constructed in separate stages.

The red soil and small stone matrix continued to uneven bedrock which was first exposed at 2.5 m. As in the previous level, the ceramics indicated a terminal Late Formative date for the fill. More sherds were recovered in this level, many of which exhibited signs of burning. This may indicate that the material was taken from a Late Formative midden. Additionally, an obsidian blade fragment was recovered.

Below Floor 1, dry core fill was exposed. The excavation continued into this fill as an arbitrary 20 cm level. As with the Op. 15a and Op. 15c excavations, a Yaxuná IIa date was confirmed by the ceramics which were highly eroded, but identifiable. Additionally, two obsidian blade fragments were recovered. A red soil mixed with small stones was excavated in three 20 cm levels down to bedrock. As in the corresponding matrix in Op. 15c, the ceramics indicated a terminal Late Formative date given the presence of Xanabá Red and Sierra Red without the Early Classic polychromes. One shell fragment and one obsidian blade fragment were recovered. Op. 15e consisted of two contiguous 2 X 2 m units along the southern portion of the eastern wall of Structure 5E52 (Figure 5.75). These two units were separated into two distinct units, Op. 15e and Op. 15e-1 by the excavator. These designations will be retained and Op. 15e-1 will be described below as a separate operation. Op. 15e was the original 2 X 2 m unit opened in this area and was excavated in arbitrary 20 cm levels.

Figure 5.74: South Profile of Op. 15d

103

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 contrasted with those exposed in Op. 15c and Op. 15d, it was felt that the 5E-50 platform could be better understood by a probe beneath the plaza floor fronting Structure 5E-52. Op. 15e-1 was also excavated in arbitrary 20 cm levels. The stratigraphy and artifact yield of the upper 80 cm paralleled Op. 15e, although the humic layer was slightly thicker as the marl and gravel deposit sloped down farther to the east of Structure 5E-52. This deposit appears to have been placed like a thick blanket over this principle structure of the group only as evidence for it was not recovered in the Op. 15a unit. Again, painted and modeled stucco was found broken throughout the layer suggesting that the marl was deposited all at one time. Very few ceramics were recovered, but they suggested a Late Classic date. At 80 cm, the Late Classic material was no longer being recovered, although there was no break in the matrix. This parallels the situation in Op. 15e. None of the Early Classic polychromes were recovered, but the presence of Xanabá Red suggests a late Yaxuná Ib or Yaxuná IIa date. Given the stratigraphic situation in Op. 15e, the latter date is favored. No other artifacts besides ceramics and stucco fragments were recovered.

Figure 5.75: North Profile of Op. 15e The first 30 to 46 cm was composed of a dark humus and mixed Early and Late Classic ceramic material was recovered. Below the humus, the excavators exposed a thick layer of marl and gravel across the entire unit. This layer appears to be the same as that exposed in Op. 15b and can be related to the final destruction and abandonment of Structure 5E-52. Pieces of painted and modeled stucco consistent with the complex stucco façade located in the Op. 15b trench were recovered throughout this entire layer. Similarly, worked building stones were also found scattered throughout the marl. At approximately 60 cm, the eastern wall of Structure 5E-52 was exposed oriented roughly north/south across the center of the unit. The construction of the wall is the same as described in the Op. 15b excavation. The unit progressed outside of Structure 5E-52 to the east. Mixed Early, Late, and Terminal Classic ceramics indicative of termination deposits were recovered to a depth of 80 cm below the top of the unit. At this depth the Late Classic types disappeared.

The matrix continued with the same ceramic types down to approximately 80 cm where the 5E-50 platform floor (Floor 1) was encountered. This is the same floor at which the Op. 15e excavation was terminated. In addition to ceramic materials, stucco fragments and a ground stone pila were recovered. The pila was very well preserved and was found in contact with the floor. The excavator noted that the pila was filled with marl and that the top of the basin was at a level of marl where the stucco frieze fragments were concentrated. Below Floor 1, a matrix of dry laid irregular stones was exposed. This material resembled dry core fill and no evidence of a chich subfloor ballast was noted paralleling the stratigraphy in the other 5E-50 subfloor plaza tests except for Op. 15a discussed previously. Only eight sherds were recovered. Two were identified as Xanabá Red suggesting that the Yaxuná IIa date for Floor 1 was tenable in this area of the plaza as well.

Although the white marl and gravel matrix continued below 80 cm without a change, the ceramics from the lowest two 20 cm levels consisted of much earlier ceramic types than had been recovered in the upper levels. Only seven sherds were recovered in level 5, but the only identifiable specimen was Sierra Red. No other artifacts were recovered.

The dry core fill continued for another 30 cm where a compact gravel and marl matrix was exposed. Some of the underlying marl and gravel was excavated in this level and it can be considered to be a mix of the two matrixes. The ceramic material was highly eroded and the only identifiable types dated to the Middle Formative. These types are likely intrusive and the evidence suggests that the marl/gravel matrix may have been brought in as fill along with early phase Yaxuná Ia material. At approximately 2.35 m below the ground surface Floor 2 was exposed. The marl/gravel matrix rested directly upon this earlier platform surface.

At approximately 1.26 m below the ground surface, Floor 1 was encountered and the excavation was halted. This floor corresponds with Floor 1 in Op. 15d and Floor 2 in Op. 15c. It is the final raised plaza surface of the 5E-50 platform. The identifiable ceramics associated with this floor were all Sierra Red. Op. 15e-1 was a 2 X 2 m unit placed directly to the east of Op. 15e. The objectives of this extension were to better document the marl and gravel deposit mixed with the stucco façade over the 5E-50 plaza surface and to test below the plaza floor. As the stratigraphy in Op. 15a had

The excavation progressed for 10 cm below Floor 2 before it was halted and the unit was backfilled. Below 104

Excavations these upper levels were Late to Terminal Classic. Interestingly, the ceramic stratigraphy of the marl layer was internally consistent in Op. 15f unlike the situation noted in Op. 15e and Op. 15e-1 where earlier materials predominated in the lower levels. Stucco frieze fragments were recovered from throughout all levels of this marl matrix.

Floor 2 a brown soil was exposed. No evidence of a chich subfloor ballast was found. The ceramics from this level consisted of Middle and Late Formative types and could possibly be interpreted as being transitional between the two periods. If so, Floor 2 may not be the same as the lower floors exposed elsewhere on the platform. One possibility is that Floor 2 is part of the remains of a substructure below Structure 5E-52-1st. Without larger horizontal exposures at this depth, the stratigraphy will remain unclear. At this point in time the 5E-50 platform appears to have several different construction stages and is more architecturally complex than previously thought. The excavations in Op. 15d and 15c are stratigraphically similar, yet Op. 15e-1 and Op. 15a present two different stratigraphic profiles. The present excavations of the plaza are not adequate for understanding the relationship of different construction episodes and the architectural morphology of the platform over time.

At 65 cm below the summit surface, a level of dry laid fill was exposed. No evidence of a plaster floor was noted as was exposed at this level in Op. 15b. The excavator noted two possibilities for the lack of evidence for a floor at this level. First, the floor may have been dismantled during the destruction episode described for the Op. 15b excavations. Alternatively, the plaster floor may have been present, but was blended into the marl deposit so well that no stratigraphic break could be noted. In either case, given the stratigraphic similarities between Op. 15b and Op. 15f, as well as the presence of dry laid fill, a floor (Floor 1) was almost certainly present at this level during some point in the Structure 5E-52 occupational history. the top of the dry laid fill, ten Balanza Black sherds were recovered. Some of these sherds were refitted during analysis and all appear to come from the same pot. The context of the deposit is similar to the terminal offerings described by Coe (1959) at Piedras Negras where several incomplete vessels were found in a ritual deposit associated with Structure K-5-2nd. This deposit at Yaxuná most likely relates to the ritual destruction of Structure 5E-52 when the stucco frieze was dismantled and the overlaying marl layer was deposited. The dry laid fill extended to a level ranging between 1.01.1 m below the summit surface. At this level a matrix of tan colored soil mixed with gravel and small stones was exposed. Only two sherds were recovered; both were typed Xanabá Red. Given the data recovered in the lower levels of the unit, a Yaxuná IIa date is favored over a Yaxuná Ib date. The tan soil matrix continued for 40 cm at which point Floor 2 began to be exposed. This floor was approximately 1.4 to 1.5 m below the summit surface. Twenty sherds were found in association with the lower level of the tan soil and suggest a Yaxuná IIa date. In contrast to the preceding level, there were plentiful artifacts found in association with Floor 2 including 200 sherds, 2 obsidian blade fragments, and 1 drilled shell. The shell exhibited two drilled holes at one end and may have been attached to a garment. Most of the ceramic material was unidentifiable, but it strongly suggests a Yaxuná IIa date for the final deposit on the floor. Along with 22 Xanabá Red sherds, 2 Tituc Orange Polychrome sherds were recovered strongly suggesting that the final use of Floor 2 prior to the deposition of the tan soil and dry laid fill occurred during the first phase or second phase of the Early Classic.

Figure 5.76: North Profile of Op.15f Op. 15f was placed six meters north of the Op. 15b trench just east of the presumed north/south centerline of Structure 5E-52. This was a 2 X 2 m unit designed to probe the northern portion of the building. As in the other units, Op. 15f was excavated in arbitrary 20 cm levels. The first 15 to 25 cm consisted of a dark humic soil (Figure 5.76). Below this humus, the excavators exposed the same thick marl layer which had been excavated in Op. 15b, Op. 15e, and Op. 15e-1. The marl in this area of the structure was not as thick as had been noted in the other operations. This may be due to erosion as Op. 15f is near the summit of Structure 5E-52. The ceramics from

Additionally, 16 sherds which may come from the same pot were recovered. Although refits were not possible and 105

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 represents. It does not date to the previously identified ritual terminations of the structure, although this type of activity cannot be ruled out. More likely, the marl may be the remains of eroded plaster from the interior structure walls or a poorly weathered reflooring episode.

the vessel (if it is one vessel) was very fragmentary, the possibility of pot smashing on Floor 2 echoes the pot drops (or terminal offerings) noted at the Floor 1 level directly above where the incomplete Balanza Black vessel was broken in association with a clear destruction sequence including the possible tearing up of the floor and the deposition of a thick layer of marl. The sherds in question on Floor 2 were of a type not common at Yaxuná and could not be positively identified. A probe beneath Floor 2 yielded Yaxuná II ceramics. Op. 15g was a 2 X 2 m unit placed along center of the southern edge of Structure 5E-59, a 12 X 17 m mound on the northwest extension of the 5E-50 platform. The structure faces west with a stairway leading from the base of the mound directly off of the basal platform towards a cluster of low mounds and superstructure foundation braces. Structure 5E-59 rises a little over one meter above the surface of this platform and another stairway was located in the short space between Structure 5E-59 and the back of Structure 5E-52. Op. 15g was excavated in arbitrary 20 cm levels.

Figure 5.78: Plan of 5E-59-2nd Floor 1 was roughly 10 cm thick. Below this surface, a matrix of marl and small stones was encountered. This matrix appears to be construction fill and functioned as a subfloor ballast for Floor 1. At approximately 60 cm, Floor 2 was encountered. This surface was very thin and rested on top of an earlier substructure (Structure 5E-592nd). As Floor 1 appears to be a reflooring episode, Floor 2 is also designated as Structure 5E-59-1st. The exposed walls of Structure 5E-59-2nd suggest that it was a two course foundation brace for a perishable superstructure that was of a tandem plan (Figure 5.78). The matrix surrounding this structure was a mixture of marl, and small to medium sized stones. The ceramic material from this level also suggested a Late/Terminal Classic date. Burial 5 was encountered in the fill below the level of a presumed floor for Structure 5E-59-2nd (Figure 5.79). No evidence of a plaster surface was encountered, but it is most likely that such a surface existed and was dismantled or has since weathered away. Given the good preservation of the preceding floors, the former interpretation is favored. Burial 5 consisted of a Late Classic interment of a child between the ages of two and four years. There was no evidence of a crypt consistent with other Late Classic burials at Yaxuná and an Arena Red bowl was recovered inverted over the child’s head, which exhibited signs of cranial deformation. At 90 cm, Floor 3 (Structure 5E-59-3rd) was exposed. This surface was well preserved across the entire unit. Despite its

Figure 5.77: East Profile of Op. 15g The first 24 cm was composed of humus and small stones (Figure 5.77). Beneath this layer, a 10 cm deposit of soft white marl mixed with small stones was exposed. Directly below this layer, Floor 1 (Structure 5E-59-1st) was exposed across the entire unit. The ceramics associated with the marl layer above the floor were Late/Terminal Classic. It is unknown what the marl layer 106

Excavations close stratigraphic proximity to Structure 5E-59-2nd, it does not seem to have been utilized as a living surface for this later structure.

mixed with the humic soil behind the structure. The ceramics from this top 60 cm of this deposit consisted of Late/Terminal Classic types. At approximately 60 cm, Floor 1, the platform surface, was exposed. This plaster surface was well preserved across the entire unit. On top of the floor a number of very large sherds were recovered. These included Dos Arroyos Polychrome, Arena Red, and Oxkintok Composite suggesting that they may be from the termination ritual represented by the thick marl deposit in the upper levels of Structure 5E-52. These sherds would date the deposit to the transition between Yaxuná IIc and III.

This lot consisted of the excavation of Floor 3 and included a small portion of the underlying dry core fill. Floor 3 was approximately 20 cm thick. Only six sherds were recovered. Only one was identified (Caucel Trickle on Red). No other artifacts were recovered and no architectural features were noted. Given the evidence from Op. 15h, Floor 3 appears to have been the first raised portion of Structure 5E-59 in this area above the 5E-50 basal platform. The dry core fill beneath Floor 3 contained sparse artifactual materials. At approximately 1.5 m, Floor 4 was exposed.

Floor 1 was approximately 10 cm thick and was measured to be at approximately the same level as the floor in Op. 15g. This suggests that they may be part of the same surface, although the difference in subfloor ballast indicates that they may be part of two separate construction episodes. Beneath Floor 1 in Op. 15h dry core fill was exposed in contrast to the red soil and stones encountered underneath the floor in Op. 15g. All of the sherd material recovered from the uppermost level of the dry core fill was too eroded to be identified accurately. No other artifacts or features were noted.

Figure 5.79: Plan of Burial 5 Floor 4 was also well preserved across the entire unit, but unlike the thick Floor 3, this plaster surface was only 10 cm thick. From the excavations at Op. 15h, Floor 4 was determined to be the original 5E-50 platform surface. Below this surface, the same mixed red soil and small stones described in the lower levels of the 5E-50 platform tests to the east of Structure 5E-52 was exposed. The material from the first 20 cm of this fill consisted of three sherds dating to Yaxuná IIa and one shell fragment. An obsidian blade fragment was recovered near bedrock. Op. 15h was a 2 X 2 m test unit placed in the 5E-50 platform between Structure 5E-52 and Structure 5E-59. The purpose of this unit was to determine the constructional sequence of the platform behind Structure 5E-52 as this portion appeared to be an irregular extension of the formal group arrangement. The unit was excavated in arbitrary 20 cm levels. The first 40 to 60 cm consisted of a gray humic soil (Figure 5.80). The color of the humus may have been considerably lighter than expected due to the leaching and erosion of the thick marl deposit on Structure 5E-52. This marl appears to have

Figure 5.80: North Profile of Op. 15h The next 40 cm consisted of a continuation of the dry core fill. In contrast to the above level, the ceramics were much better preserved. Although one Arena Red and two Muna Slate sherds were recovered and may have entered the matrix from a higher elevation during excavation, the ceramics from this level and below are quite confusing. 107

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 The ceramics overwhelmingly suggest a Yaxuná IIa date in spite of the few sherds mentioned above. No other artifacts were recovered, but ceramic material from underlying levels suggests that a Yaxuná IIc or III date may be considered. Given the overwhelming amount of Yaxuná IIa material and the Yaxuná IIa date assigned to the middle to lower levels of the 5E-50 platform elsewhere, this earlier date would be expected. Yet there is a strong possibility, if contamination from upper levels during excavation can be ruled out, that this portion of the platform was constructed during the last phase of the Early Classic during the time when the last extension of the 5E-75 platform was built. Alternatively, this area between Structure 5E-52 and Structure 5E-59 may have been filled in and sealed with a plaza floor during Yaxuná III. The use of Yaxuná IIa and IIb materials as construction fill would account for the great amount of these materials, but very little other evidence of a Yaxuná IIc occupation of the platform has been recovered. This may be a sampling bias, but given the close proximity of the Yaxuná IIc occupation at the 5E-73 Complex and the evidence for Yaxuná III activity elsewhere on the 5E-50 platform, this later date is more likely. Directly beneath the dry core fill a tan soil with very few stone inclusions was exposed.

mounds, as well as a set of unique patio groups which probably served administrative functions (Figure 5.83). The area surrounding the acropolis contains a number of small mounds; five of these were mapped due to their direct proximity to either the acropolis or the cenote. These mounds are largely residential, although we also found examples of well preserved ceremonial architecture in this zone. The cenote is located only 500 m from the acropolis and represents one of the very few fresh water sources within Yaxuná territory.

The first 20 cm of this tan fill yielded 97 sherds and two shell fragments. Again, the overwhelming number of sherds suggested a Yaxuná IIa date, but one Muna Slate, two Cetelac Fiber Tempered, and four Oxkintok Composite sherds were recovered. These materials suggest that the fill came from mixed Yaxuná IIa and IIc deposits, possibly midden. The next 20 cm of fill yielded only Yaxuná Ib and IIa materials. No other artifacts or features were noted. Much fewer sherds were recovered from this level than the previous one. The third 20 cm level beneath the dry core fill was predominately characterized by Yaxuná Ia materials, specifically from the Dzudzuquil Group. Some Late Formative sherds were also recovered, but in very small quantities. No other artifacts were found.

Figure 5.81: Topographic Map of Xkanhá

Operation 16: Xkanhá Acropolis The Xkanhá Group is a small acropolis located almost two kilometers northeast of the center of Yaxuná, within the ancient city’s extended settlement (Ardren 1997). The name of the group comes from a nearby cenote, known in colonial and historical period documents as k’anha’ or yellow water. The cenote and associated mounds are found along the northern boundary of the Yaxuná ejido, near the neighboring ejido of Popolá. The acropolis was built upon a natural limestone outcropping, four to five meters high, which provided an ideal location for ancient settlement in a cooler area elevated above the ground surface (Figure 5.81). It is roughly square and approximately 80 m on a side. It contains the preserved remains of 14 structures or structure groups, 12 of which were investigated (Figure 5.82). A variety of structure types are represented on the Acropolis, including ceremonial buildings, residential palaces and

Figure 5.82: Maler-Style Map of Xkanhá 108

Excavations

Figure 5.83: Plan of the Xkanhá Acropolis There are three occupational periods at Xkanhá that were recorded during our investigations. The initial settlement occurred at the beginning of the Early Classic, or A.D. 250. We calculate that by about A.D. 450, the area was abandoned, most likely coinciding with a political change at Yaxuná (see Ambrosino et al. 2003; Suhler 1996). The second occupational period at Xkanhá is the Terminal Classic, from A.D. 750 to A.D.900/1000. This was a time

of regeneration at Yaxuná. The Terminal Classic at Xkanhá also ended in depopulation or abandonment, again the result of intra-Maya political struggles which appear to have left Yaxuná and its allies defeated, while nearby Chichén Itzá flourished. The final occupational period at Xkanhá is the Postclassic, of which we have a late component, probably post A.D.

109

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 well preserved as the previous two, and did not extend throughout the entire unit. Floor 3 is probably a construction pause in the sub-floor ballast of Floor 2, rather than a true floor. An uneven bedrock surface was found directly beneath the third floor, at depths ranging from 1.42.0 m below ground surface. Ceramic material from under Floor 3 was also Early Classic and very similar to the sherds recovered from beneath floors 2 and 3 in Op. 16-A, of Structure 8. The structure investigated in Op. 16-D probably experienced two phases of construction during Period 1. The walls and first two floors are clearly contemporary, and share a number of similarities with the latest levels in Op. 16-A.

1400. During this time there is evidence of ceremonial activity, but no residential settlement. A few residential mounds from the Postclassic have been found in Yaxuná proper, but it appears that during this time Xkanhá and Yaxuná were visited by what has been described as ‘squatter’ or semi-transitory populations. Although this period is still poorly understood, it is clear that any population at the site was greatly diminished after the fall of Terminal Classic Yaxuná.

Operations 16-M, 16-T, and 16-U were all located in the area of Structure 13. Excavation in Op. 16-M began with a 2.5 X 2.5 m unit placed at the summit of the southwestern corner of Structure 13. The wall lines which were exposed as part of the testing in 1991 were still visible from the ground surface, and these provided a guide for the location of excavations. Op. 16-M was located to the south of the area excavated in 1991 as Op. 16-D, with the goal of uncovering the exterior southern face of the building. After removal of surface debris and loose humic soil, a large number of collapsed wall stones which had fallen outward from the structure walls were encountered. This collapse was fully documented and then removed to look for in situ architectural remains.

Figure 5.84: South Profile of Op. 16-D The Early Classic Structure 13 Op. 16-D was a 2 X 2 m unit placed atop Structure 13, which divides the interior plaza from the middle patio group along the northern side of the acropolis (Figure 5.83). The intersection of two walls was visible from ground surface prior to excavation. A well-preserved floor in this unit was encountered at one meter below ground surface, and a second well preserved floor was found 10 cm below the first (Figure 5.84). The matrix in between floors 1 and 2 was hard packed sascab with very little artifactual material, and represents the resurfacing of Floor 2, rather than a new construction episode. Although the ceramic sample from between floors 1 and 2 is quite small, the recovered sherds date the resurfacing of Floor 2 to the Early Classic. The second floor had a layer of sascab, fist-sized chich stones, and dry core fill with a good amount of ceramic material beneath the preserved plaster surface; the ceramics in this fill were all Early Classic.

Figure 5.85: Wall of Structure 13, Xkanhá Directly below the first levels of collapse a very large rectangular stone was uncovered, adjacent to the lower two courses of preserved wall (Figure 5.85). This stone seems to have functioned as a step, although its dimensions are much greater than any other similar features at Xkanhá. Clearing around this ‘step’ exposed an area of very dark gray powdery matrix which contained a large concentration of ceramic sherds, apparently from a single vessel, broken in antiquity, and designated Feature 1. The soil all around this area was medium brown and loose with small stones, characteristic of the natural post-abandonment accumulation. This sherd concentration was surrounded by a circle of unworked stones, haphazardly placed to define the activity area. Feature 1 was documented and removed, exposing a very well preserved floor underneath. This feature represents one element in a large termination ritual enacted by the inhabitants of Xkanhá at the end of Period 1.

The two intersecting walls visible from ground surface abutted the second floor, and did not continue beneath it. A third floor, found 1.4 m below ground surface was not as 110

Excavations The eastern front wall was better preserved than the western, with four courses of stonework intact. Immediately in front of this wall another area of fine dark gray soil surrounding large ceramic sherds was encountered, identical to Feature 1, and this area was designated Feature 2. In the western entrance area, two more areas of dark gray soil and ceramics were found, although these sherd concentrations were not surrounded by stone as in Feature 1. These are additional elements of the termination of Structure 13, and will be discussed more fully below. Excavation in Op. 16-M continued to the east, exposing both the exterior face of this front wall, as well as the interior area to the north of the wall. On the exterior side, 1.65 m more of the exterior wall was revealed before this wall made a 40 cm jog to the south and then cornered to the east again. At this juncture a very large basal cornerstone was exposed which appeared to be a re-used pila, turned on its side with the central depression filled in with stucco and small stone. This corner was taken as the intersection of Structure 13 with Structure 4 immediately to the north, and Op. 16-T began to expose the exterior face of Structure 4.

Figura 5.86: Eastern Wall of Structure 13 Floor 1 was preserved throughout the area in front (south) of the structure and step, and had a well polished plaster surface. Floor 1 extended south to the edge of a platform which appears to underlay all of Structure 13. The platform edge is 1.08 m south of the front wall of Structure 13, and is composed of a line of long rectangular stones, evenly shaped and set into the platform at floor level. Occasionally patches of plaster floor appeared on the upper surface of the stones.

Inside Structure 13, 2.05 m of the eastern entrance wall was exposed before this wall also cornered to the south, to create a small niche 70 cm wide and 20 cm deep, which connected with the main eastern interior wall of the building. This eastern wall was very well preserved, with up to eight courses of stonework and chinking intact, and illustrates well the construction techniques of this structure.

The front wall of Structure 13 was two courses thick and continued three meters east of the western excavation limit. This marked the western edge of the open entrance along the front of Structure 13. Directly east of this western entrance 1.8 m we discovered a column fragment in situ, 50 cm in diameter, set 1.5 m back (north) from the platform edge. The base of the column was set eight centimeters into the upper cap of the plaster floor. Immediately to the south of this basal fragment we found another column fragment, 43 cm in diameter, which had fallen from its original location. The matrix around these column fragments and above the floor was dark and loose near ground surface, becoming lighter surrounding the collapsed wall stones which continued to appear in great numbers.

The eastern wall was 2.8 m long, and intersected with the northern wall at a narrow doorway in the northeastern interior corner of the structure (Figure 5.86). This doorway is only 60 cm wide, and leads out into the patio area to the north of Structure 13. It was partially blocked in antiquity with slab like stones, to a height of approximately 50 cm above the floor level. There were no other doorways or entrances found along the back wall of the structure, which ran for 8.5 m east-west before excavation was halted to avoid entering an area which had been previously excavated in 1991. This back wall was well preserved, with four to five courses of stone work intact, and large areas of plaster attached to the front of the wall. The plaster floor extended throughout this entire area and often lipped up the front of the northern wall. Fragments of red-painted stucco were occasionally found in the collapse immediately in front of this wall along with one stucco aperture.

Very little ceramic material was encountered in this collapse, mostly Terminal Classic with well-preserved surfaces. As part of this architectural collapse two large trapezoidal slabs of worked limestone were found, possibly suggesting that the roof of Structure 13 was robbed of larger numbers of flat vault-type stones, although it is more likely that these isolated examples reflect materials used as part of the wall construction. No ‘boot-shaped’ vault stones have been found at any point in the excavation at Xkanhá.

Except for the area excavated in 1991 and a small section in the far west of the building, the entire remains of Structure 13 were exposed. After full documentation, two areas were selected for sub-floor testing in order to examine the construction of this structure and its floors, look for dateable ceramic material which would identify the period of construction, and locate earlier structures beneath Structure 13. Sub-floor test number 1 was a 1 X 1 m unit located in the western half of the building, adjacent to the southern edge of the open entrance. Sub-floor test number 2 was also a 1 X 1 m unit, placed at the base of the niche in the southeastern corner of the building.

The opposite (or eastern) edge of the front entrance of Structure 13, was 5.5 m to the east of the western edge. In other words, this southern face of the structure has two short walls with a 5.5 m open area between them, in which one column was found; a second column probably existed. 111

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Figure 5.87: Plan of Structure 16 Sub-floor test number 1 was in an area where Feature 1 was found, a concentration of dark gray soil and sherds, known to comprise part of the termination of Structure 13. Interestingly, this discoloration continued through the 20 cm floor and below into the sub-floor fill, where it appeared as an area of very fine loose dark soil intruding into an area of white and cream colored sandy soil underlain by small chich and dry core fill. Relatively little ceramic material was found in this unit, so excavation was extended two meters toward the back wall. In the area of this unit closest to the southern edge of the platform, a second floor was encountered 34 cm below the surface of Floor 1. It extended north for 20 cm, and may have run in front of Structure 13, but more probably it was part of an earlier and separate construction episode. Time constraints prevented us from exposing more of this surface. Below the dry core ballast of the floor, a thin layer of fine brownish-gray soil without any cultural material was encountered. This matrix appears to have been laid down to level the uneven bedrock surface much like in other structures at Yaxuná. Excavation was terminated when bedrock was reached in this area only 60-72 cm below the surface of Floor 1. The stratigraphy of sub-floor test number 2 was largely the same as the first. Beneath the 20 cm of sascab which constituted Floor 1, there was 60 cm of rock and boulders mixed with a small amount of dark gray soil which overlay a 10-25 cm layer of fine brownish-gray soil on top of the uneven bedrock. In this area, bedrock was 0.95 -1.3 m below the surface of Floor 1.

Running along this northern exterior face of Structure 13 was a low step or plinth, which was 40 cm below the thresh-hold of the doorway. A plaster floor was found 12 cm below this riser, and this floor continued throughout most of the exposed area. The wall of Structure 4 that intersected with the exterior of Structure 13 was very unusual and will be discussed in the Period 2 section. The final aspect of Structure 13 which was investigated in 1992 was part of Op. 16-U and consisted of a one meter wide trench which ran north over the back wall of Structure 13, leaving it intact, to expose the northern exterior face of the structure as well as the remains of the patio floor level in the area to the north. The back wall itself was two rows of stone thick; it was comprised of a worked stone facing the interior of the structure with its unworked side inside the wall, and a similar stone with its faced side directed toward the exterior of the structure with its unworked side hidden inside the wall. Two courses of this wall were preserved on the exterior, with a third row of stones set out as a step or riser in front of the wall. At 95 cm below the upper surface of the wall stones we encountered a poorly preserved floor, which must be the remains of the patio surface. Beneath this surface we found sub-floor ballast, and 40 cm into the dry core fill we terminated excavation. Structure 15 and Structure 16 Op. 16-W was located on the extreme northern edge of the acropolis, where a series of contiguous structures called the ‘middle patio group’ are located. Op. 16-W covered the eastern half of this patio group, while the adjacent Op. 72-A covered the western half of the same area. Op. 16-W began in the northern structures of the middle patio group and eventually revealed the association of this area with the northern room of the Structure 12 patio-quad through an intermediary structure, designated Structure 15.

Finally, excavation was also conducted in the area of the doorway in the northern or back wall of the structure. Outside the doorway, we were able to follow the exterior wall 68 cm east before it cornered to the south and ran for 22 cm where it intersected with an exterior wall of Structure 4. To the west of the doorway we exposed only 20 cm of the exterior wall, although it obviously continued farther. 112

Excavations the walls in many places. A well-preserved plaster floor was found in front (to the north) of the exterior of Structure 15 at the same level as the broken plaster floor associated with Structure 16. Excavation progressed into the interior of Structure 15, continuing to remove surface humus and wall collapse to the level of the plaster floor. We began in the northern interior corner of Structure 15 and left the bulk of the back wall unexcavated. An identical unit was laid out in the southern interior corner and surface humus and collapse was removed down to the same floor level. From the plan of Structure 15 it is easy to see the structure was originally oriented onto the central patio area of the middle patio group. The western or front face of Structure 15 was open with probably two central wall piers, one of which was uncovered as part of Op. 16-W. Throughout Structure 15, three to four courses of wall height was preserved, or approximately 70-90 cm, with the southern wall where Structure 15 and Structure 4 connect, preserved to a height of 1.5 m. The floor of Structure 15 had two distinct plaster surfaces. As excavation within the room progressed westward through the front entrance toward the interior patio, the initial plaster surface we had been following broke off and a second plaster surface immediately underneath the first was apparent. This second floor curved downward over the threshold and was intact for 50 cm in front of the room.

Figure 5.88: North Profile of Structure 15 We began Op. 16-W on the southern face of Structure 16 (Figure 5.87). The upper preserved courses of the front wall of Structure 16 were visible from ground surface and a 2.5 X 2.5 m unit was laid out to encompass this wall. Surface debris and loose humus were removed in the area south of this wall, and two courses of stone were preserved in situ with patches of beige plaster adhering to the wall at its base. The wall was constructed with very little chinking and was made with large well-shaped stone which looked to have been robbed from another building. At the base of the two to three courses of preserved wall 80 cm below ground surface we encountered a floor which was very fragile and broken in many places. The wall did not appear to continue beneath the floor.

The southern interior of Structure 15 was completely cleaned of debris and fully documented. Subsequently a 1 X 1.5 m sub-floor test unit was set out in the extreme southeastern interior corner (Figure 5.88). Material between Floor 1 and Floor 2 was only 12 cm thick and consisted of the plaster floor surface and associated sub-floor ballast. It is clear that Floor 1 represents a resurfacing of Floor 2, and not a separate construction event. Floor 2 was laid nearly directly upon the natural bedrock surface which is uneven and pocketed in this area with only a 6-16 cm level of subfloor ballast and soil. From this soil a small ceramic sample was obtained. This sample contained a significant amount of Late Formative and Early Classic material. The sub-floor test unit was terminated when the bedrock surface was cleaned and fully documented. As in the sub-floor excavations in Structure 12, the two floors of Structure 15 do not represent significantly different occupations, but rather are both integral to the original construction of this building sometime at the beginning of the Early Classic. After the plan of Structure 15 and its sub-floor construction was fully documented, the area was completely backfilled and Op. 16-W was closed.

Excavation was extended east to continue clearing along the front wall of Structure 16 at the level of Floor 1 and to look for the exterior corner of this building which might be associated with an entrance into this patio group. The wall continued east for 3.5 m and then a single course of stone was preserved for another 70 cm. This single course of wall stones may have been fortuitous collapse in line with the original wall. The excavation continued to the east and one meter south of the southeast exterior corner of Structure 16 we encountered the northern exterior face of Structure 15, a rectangular C-shaped room oriented west which runs northsouth between the first and second patio groups. The eastern side of this building was uncovered in 1992 as part of Op. 16-K, and the wall shared between the two patio areas is 50 cm in width and two rows of stone thick. Structure 15 was better preserved than Structure 16, with three to four courses of stone in situ and plaster adhering to

Op. 72-A was located along the western end of the northern side of the acropolis, adjacent to Op. 16-W. From the southeastern exterior corner of Structure 16 east was designated Op. 16-W, including the intersection of Structure 16 and Structure 15. Op. 72-A covered all the excavation inside the interior of Structure 16 as well as the front face of this building. No previous excavation had been done in the area of Structure 16, although the visible surface remains had been mapped in 1991. 113

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Fiure 5.89: Plan of the Structure 12 Group Op. 72-A began with excavation along the exterior face of Structure 16 which was exposed in Op. 16-W. Surface humic debris and collapse were removed to the base of the wall where a 30 cm wide basal molding joined the wall to the plaster floor. Plaster fragments were preserved on the wall and occasionally were continuous with the plaster floor demonstrating a lipping of the floor. Only two courses of wall stones remained in situ, and the walls of Structure 16 bowed outward, indicating that the upper courses had probably fallen in front of the structure. Clearing along the exterior wall continued for 1.3 m west of the southeast exterior corner of Structure 16 before an entrance into Structure 16 was found. The doorway was approximately one meter wide and proved to be the only entrance into this building. Clearing along the wall continued to the southwest exterior corner of Structure 16, for a total wall length of 9.4 m.

West of the doorway the front wall continued for 2.6 m before intersecting with a partition wall. West of the doorway the wall was better preserved and had plaster remaining in situ in many places. The partitioning wall also had two courses of stone preserved and a narrow central doorway leading into another small room to the west. The southern doorjamb of this doorway contained a single very large worked stone; probably one of the re-used architectural stones from the earliest phases of Structure 11, although we cannot be certain. Excavation continued at the level of Floor 1 through the doorway of the partitioning wall into a second room which was only 2.5 m deep, but as wide as the first room (3.5 m). The northern wall of both rooms had completely eroded off the back of the acropolis, although the original location of this wall was identified by where the floor plaster broke off and in some places lipped upward. As much of the preserved floor surface as possible was exposed during the excavations to determine the interior dimensions of Structure 16.

Once the entire front face of Structure 16 was exposed we began excavation inside the entrance. Humic debris and collapse were removed for 60 cm before the first plaster floor was reached. Excavation was extended at the level of Floor 1 along the interior of the front wall. This wall was preserved for 1.05 m to the east at which point excavation revealed structural details which showed that the wall originally continued farther, but had slumped off the back slope of the acropolis. The plaster floor was preserved throughout this area and the broken edge where it originally lipped up the wall was still in situ.

When the plan and dimensions of Structure 16 were fully documented a sub-floor test excavation was lain out to obtain a ceramic sample for dating purposes. The 1 X 1 m sub-floor unit was placed inside Room 1 of Structure 16, directly east of the partitioning wall doorway. All material below Floor 1 was designated level 2. We removed 10 cm of plaster and chich before encountering the small stone and 114

Excavations possible crypt stones. No interments were found beneath the stones, and indeed the uneven bedrock surface was encountered between 14-30 cm below the upper surface of the stones. Few ceramics were found in this sub-floor fill, although curiously eight small round stones were found scattered throughout the ballast.

large boulders of the sub-floor ballast which continued for two meters beneath the floor surface before the unit was terminated due to safety considerations.

At 80 cm west from the eastern edge of the platform we encountered an area of packed sascab, probably plaster melt, sloping up from the level of the platform surface 30 cm. This plaster melt was 20 cm thick, and when removed revealed the 80 cm high intact back wall of the platform. This platform wall had three courses of stonework preserved in situ and another two courses of collapsed wall stones immediately in front of the wall. The platform was covered with a plaster floor which lipped up the front of this wall and was preserved in many places. At a later point in the excavation of Op. 16-K, we discovered that the back wall of the platform appears to be earlier than the platform itself. Thus, this plaster floor was added at the time the platform was built to integrate the platform and wall into a single architectural unit.

Figure 5.90: Plan of Op. 16-K The natural bedrock surface appears to be quite uneven in this area, and the depth of dry core fill found in this unit may indicate that this entire side of the acropolis was shored up to construct Structure 16. The sub-floor sequence showed no evidence of an earlier construction beneath Structure 16 and after the sub-floor test area was fully documented this area was backfilled as was the entire interior and exterior face of Structure 16.

We exposed 6.1 m of this wall and associated platform before we uncovered the front of Structure 12 which abutted the platform wall (Figure 5.91). The platform wall continued to the south behind the Structure 12 wall. At this juncture the platform wall was 1.4 m high with eight courses of stone preserved in situ, and for the last two meters before the juncture the last 60 cm of soil above the platform floor was very fine and reddish. All other matrix removed to expose the wall and platform was very loose dark brown humus, typical of surface levels at Xkanhá.

Structure 12 Group This operation began as a 1.5 X 1.5 m unit in the central floor area of the easternmost patio group. Each patio group has a ‘sunken’ central area which represents the interior floor of the group, surrounded by structures of varying heights on all four sides. It was hoped that excavation in the central area would encounter a preserved floor which could be followed to associated architecture (Figure 5.89).

From this intersection excavation was extended toward the east and we began the exposure of the interior of Structure 12. Inside Structure 12 we also encountered the reddish soil at up to approximately 40 cm above the structure floor, which had been re-surfaced or capped with a second layer of plaster. The red soil is unique at Xkanhá and was virtually sterile of cultural material. It was found throughout the interior of the northern room of Structure 12, at a uniform depth. Structure 12 appears to have been intentionally filled with this sterile red soil as part of a later ritual termination.

In Op. 16-K we removed 50 cm of loose humus soil before we encountered three large flat rectangular stones set horizontally like ‘flagstones’, running east-west across the unit, which were surrounded by collapsed stone from nearby structures and designated Feature 1 (Figure 5.90). The construction collapse was documented and removed to look for further in situ ‘flagstones’. Beneath the collapse the soil became finer and gray before a plaster floor was uncovered 85 cm below ground surface datum. This floor is associated with the flagstones and was later designated Floor 2 because it is physically lower than an earlier floor encountered later in the Op. 16-K excavations.

The first wall of Structure 12 ran for 1.7 m east from the juncture with the platform wall before it ended and cornered to the south. This corner formed the western half of Doorway 1, which was 1.35 m wide. On the other side of Doorway 1 was a square pier approximately 1.5 m on a side. The doorway led from the north into the interior of the northern room of Structure 12.

Excavation proceeded west to follow the line of flagstones. We encountered a platform edge perpendicular to the flagstones and slightly higher. This platform was composed of a line of well worked masonry blocks and a well plastered floor which was 75 cm below ground surface datum. The flagstones appear to run beneath this platform, and represent the remains of the patio surface. At a later point in the season these three flagstones were examined as

On the western side of Doorway 1, the Structure 12 wall initially uncovered turned out to be a facing wall, 30 cm behind which the true structure wall appeared. This front wall was not as well preserved, with only one course of stone on the eastern end, and four courses on the western end. The true wall is 1.4 m in height, although it is not plastered, while the facing wall does have plaster remaining in situ. The 30 cm between these two parallel walls is filled 115

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 5.91: Front of Structure 12, Xkanhá with fine red soil, and no cultural material whatsoever. This area was intentionally filled in either during the construction of Structure 12 or a later modification. Interestingly, the pier on the eastern side of Doorway 1 in Structure 12 also shows signs of structural modification which parallel the facing wall/true wall construction on the opposite side of the doorway. The pier was clearly built in two stages, either for structural modification or stability.

smooth plaster floor that extended throughout the unit. Toward the south and the interior patio area, this floor surface curved down six centimeters over a step or curb to a lower plastered level. This curb appeared structurally identical to the platform edge exposed early in Op. 16-K. By following this floor we were able to expose the back wall of a structure and the eastern and western sides of the entrance into this small room, which is part of the Structure 12 Group. The entrance was 1.2 m wide, and the rectangular room was 1.0 m wide. Four meters of the back wall of this room were exposed before excavation was terminated. Throughout the room only two to three courses of the walls were preserved, although occasionally we found fragments of wall plaster in situ. We sectioned off a 1 X 1 m area in the middle of the exposed floor to sub-floor test. Floor 1 was 14-20 cm thick, contained a few ceramic sherds, and was lain directly upon an earlier floor. None of the structure walls continued beneath Floor 1. Floor 2 extended throughout the test area, and although largely broken and uneven, in places an extremely white and very hard surface was preserved. Floor 2 was 10 cm thick and below this we encountered sub-floor ballast of rubble and dry core fill. Immediately below the sascab of Floor 2, but above the dry core fill, we recovered a concentration of Early Classic polychrome sherds, although beneath this in the dry core fill we found only plain wares. We removed the dry core fill to a depth of approximately 1.5 m where we encountered a 10 cm layer of dark brown soil overlaying the bedrock. This brown matrix contained a large number of ceramic fragments, although no other artifactual material was recovered from this level. Bedrock was exposed beneath this soil at a depth of 1.46-1.68 m below ground surface datum, and excavation was terminated.

The wall on the western side of the doorway continued south for 1.46 m before it cornered west, and 1.9 m farther south we encountered the back (southern) wall of Structure 12. The area between this corner and the back wall was not investigated but appears to be a continuation to the west of the main room of Structure 12. Nine meters of the back wall of Structure 12 was exposed before the southeastern interior corner of the structure was encountered. A single doorway in this wall, 80 cm from the southeastern corner, was the only access between the southern and northern rooms of Structure 12. Further evidence that the red soil found above Floor 1 throughout Structure 12 was intentional fill and not postabandonment accumulation is the general state of preservation within Structure 12. All four walls of the structure were intact to almost two meters in height, while many of the structures found at Xkanhá and elsewhere at Yaxuná have only a single or double course of foundation stones preserved in situ. Clearly the walls and floor of Structure 12 were not subject to the same postabandonment processes as many of the structures at Xkanhá. Op. 16-S was a 2 X 2 m test unit placed on the summit of the low structure on the northernmost side of the Structure 12 patio Group. After removing 96 cm of loose humus soil and collapsed rubble, we encountered a

To establish better chronological control of the construction of the patio-quad area, sub-floor testing was

116

Excavations believed to be contemporaneous. The dividing wall of Structure 12 continued below Floor 1 to abut Floor 2, and consequently Floor 1 represents a re-surfacing of this area at a later date. When Floor 2 was documented, excavation continued and six centimeters below the surface of Floor 2 a layer of cream colored sascab, probably a construction pause, was found. This sterile layer was 10 cm thick, and was underlain by dry core fill of unworked boulders. Dry core fill continued until the uneven bedrock surface was reached 0.8-1.6 m below the surface of Floor 1. In a naturally occurring pocket in the bedrock, we were fortunate enough to encounter a sizable deposit of charcoal. This sample could provide excellent chronological information regarding the original occupation of this area and was carefully removed.

conducted inside Structure 12 proper as well. Two 1 X 1 m test units were laid out inside the structure; sub-floor test number 1 was adjacent to the SE interior corner (Figure 5.92), and sub-floor test number 2 was further west and adjacent to wall 1.

We began Op. 16-V to the south of the area explored in 1992 as Op. 16-K, the rectangular northern room of Structure 12, and to the east of Structure 4, the ‘tower’ located just to the west of the Structure 12 patio-quad. Excavation began with a 2 X 2 m unit adjacent to the dividing wall inside Structure 12. With clearing of the natural collapse and debris in front of this wall we encountered a very well preserved plaster floor 1.75 m below the upper preserved wall course. The matrix that was removed above the floor was separated into two levels based upon a distinction in the color of the soil; the initial 80 cm below ground surface was a dark, very loose soil which is found throughout Xkanhá and represents the natural humic layer. The 95 cm below level 1 and above Floor 1 was a fine reddish soil with fragments of chich and natural limestone building material. This matrix was identical to the culturally sterile red soil matrix we found within the patio-quad areas of Structure 12 in 1992.

Figure 5.92: South Profile of Subfloor Test in Structure 12 In both test units Floor 1 was from 20-25 cm thick, composed of layers of grayish soil alternating with pure white sascab. The bottom course of the walls of Structure 12 are set approximately eight centimeters into the floor and do not continue beneath it. After removing the floor matrix we immediately encountered sub-floor fill of medium sized rock for approximately 20-30 cm overlaying large unworked boulders which were lain on top of bedrock. The bedrock surface was very uneven and ranged from a depth of 0.7 -1.8 m below the surface of Floor 1. In sub-floor test number 1 pockets of a very fine gray soil were found mixed in with the sub-floor construction fill. Often this fine soil contained some ceramic material. In sub-floor test number 2, beneath the large boulders we encountered a very thick and very hard layer of pure sascab. At 1.84 m below the surface of Floor 1 the construction fill disappeared and we began removing this pure sascab, which continued for 50 cm before excavation was terminated due to time constraints. This layer of sascab was devoid of any cultural material and probably represents a technique where sascab was hauled in to even out the rough bedrock surface before construction began. Evidence of this technique was also encountered in the earliest components of Op. 16-H.

The reddish matrix of Level 2 within Op. 16-V contained a number of large rectangular stones, approximately 0.8-1.0 m long which resembled vault or roofing stones. Five of these stones were found just above Floor 1 during Op. 16V. There was no apparent pattern to the location of these stones, and we do not believe they represent collapsed roofing material. They appear to be part of the same filling episode as the red soil. Once the depth of Floor 1 was established, we expanded excavation to the east to clear along the same wall. We followed this wall 8.2 m to the east before it cornered to the south and we discovered we were inside a second range structure or ‘gallery’ of the Structure 12 Group. The eastern wall of this range structure was 1.8 m long and then cornered with a wall butt which formed the entrance on the southern side of the structure. The plan of this new gallery was exactly symmetrical to the room just on the other side of the back wall, exposed in 1992. Further clearing showed that the dimensions of these two rooms were indeed identical in all respects, although the location of two piers along the front of both rooms is slightly different. A single doorway connecting the two rooms is located in the central wall toward the eastern end of the rooms. This doorway did not appear to have been blocked with stone or other material and probably was in use throughout the history of the Structure 12 Group.

A single 1 X 1 m test unit (Op. 16-T) was placed adjacent to the dividing wall of Structure 12 inside the southern room, to examine the sub-floor construction and look for dateable ceramic material. Floor 1 was only four centimeters thick and sloped slightly upward to the north. It was underlain by 12-16 cm of small chich stone and gray soil. Below this we encountered a second floor which was very hard and white. Floor 2 is at the same elevation as the floor inside the northern room of Structure 12, and is 117

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Structure 4 as part of Op. 16-T in 1992. All of the columns found along the southern face of the patio groups appear to have been disturbed or perhaps robbed of their upper segments; in all cases only the lower one or two sections remain. Re-used column sections have not been found in any other Xkanhá contexts. The entrance between the eastern wall butt and pier one was blocked by a double line of rough, re-used stones lain between the two features. There were two courses of reused stone in situ, intentionally placed to seal off this entrance and restrict access into the front room of Structure 12. This blocked off entrance was designated Feature 1, and may have been the foundation brace of a perishable barricade or part of the termination activities carried out in this area at the end of Period 1. No similar features were found between Pier 1 and Pier 2 or between Pier 2 and the western wall butt, and these entrances appear to have been in use throughout the occupation of this group.

Figure 5.93: Northern Profile of Op. 16-V

In addition, as part of the final cleaning of Floor 1 in the area of the two piers, a concentration of ceramic fragments was discovered just north of Pier 1. These fragments were resting upon the plaster floor and represent a smashed Dos Arroyos Orange Polychrome vessel. This smashed polychrome vessel is a component of the termination ritual associated with the severe modification of this room at the end of Period 1. These vessel fragments would not have been preserved without the addition of the sterile red soil above the floor.

Op. 16-V continued with the clearing of collapse and debris from the eastern exterior face of the Structure 12 gallery rooms. This clearing exposed three to four courses of wall in situ with fragments of a plaster floor in front. The northern half of the wall was covered in the nearly sterile red soil found inside Structure 12 which is quite distinct from the dark brown humus we removed from the exterior wall farther south. This exterior wall ran north for 5.7 m before a second wall was found which abutted the original exterior face of Structure 12. This second wall was only preserved to two to three courses, but the construction was of a similar quality and style to the exterior wall of Structure 12 we had been following farther to the south. Through careful probing we established that the original wall continued behind the second wall for at least 50 cm. The new wall was set 45 cm out from the original and had a plinth running along the bottom which extended 15 cm in front of the wall. This architectural configuration is identical to the platform wall found on the opposite side of the patioquad in 1992.

The entire interior area of the southern gallery room of Structure 12 was eventually cleared of collapse and debris as well as a 50 cm area to the south in front of the piers and entrances. The room was then fully photographed and drawn before a sub-floor test unit was set up inside Structure 12. A 1.5 X 1.5 m unit was placed along the center axis of the southern room adjacent to the back or interior wall (Figure 5.93). Floor 1 was comprised of an eight centimeter thick layer of pure sascab, underlain by ten centimeters of small chich and five centimeters of dark brown soil. Beneath this soil was a second layer of sascab without any finished surface, underlain by six centimeters of brownish-gray soil. At 40 cm below the upper surface of Floor 1 we encountered Floor 2 which was poorly preserved but did retain some surface and extended across the test unit area. Due to the tight construction sequence between Floor 1 and Floor 2, the second floor may in fact be a robust construction pause associated with the manufacture of Floor 1, not a separate living surface. Yet for purposes of analysis, all material from beneath Floor 2 was given a separate level designation. Floor 2 was underlain by an eight centimeter layer of black soil with small stone which was placed on top of dry core fill. The extremely uneven bedrock surface was just below the black soil layer in the eastern part of the unit, and 80 cm below the soil layer in the west. This unit was terminated 1.4 meters below the upper surface of Floor 1. The sub-floor test unit was fully documented and then backfilled, followed by the reburying of the entire southern gallery room of Structure 12.

As clearing continued at the level of Floor 1 inside the southern gallery room of Structure 12, we encountered two piers set equidistant between the wall butts which formed the southern or front face of this structure. Pier 1 was located 1.5 m west of the eastern wall butt and Pier 2 was 1.8 m west of Pier 1. Both piers were preserved to three to four courses in height and approx. 1.5 m eastwest by 80 cm north-south. They were identical in construction technique and materials to the two piers found on the front of the northern gallery room of Structure 12. Immediately in front of Pier 2 we discovered two column fragments in situ but not resting on a floor surface as the plaster from inside Room 2 of Structure 12 did not extend outside the structure. These column fragments were 50 cm in diameter and resting one upon the other. They appear identical to the column fragments found in front of 118

Excavations

Figure 5.94: North Profile of Op. 72-C platform found on the western side of the patio-quad as part of Op. 16-K in 1992. Excavation continued north along this wall until the natural corner of this wall was found 8.2 m north of the northern gallery room entrance. This wall cornered east to form the original entrance into the interior patio space, between the eastern platform wall and the shrine area to the north. This entrance had been walled up, however, just as many of the entrances into the gallery rooms were walled up at some point in the history of this group. The area between the end of the eastern platform wall and the eastern wall butt of the shrine area was blocked with four courses of re-used wall stones, set without mortar or chinking. Similarly, the easternmost entrance into the shrine area was blocked with one course of re-used wall stones, haphazardly set on the floor of the northern room. Excavation and clearing of the northern side of the Structure 12 patio-quad proceeded with the 1992 excavations in mind. The plaster floor was largely intact across the northern room, which had two wall piers set equidistant along the front or southern side. These piers created three entrances into the central patio area and were aligned with identical piers in the northern gallery room of Structure 12. The back or northern wall of the northern room had largely slumped off the back of the acropolis, but was preserved in a single row of stone showing that the northern room was connected on both ends with the western and eastern platforms of the patio-quad. Because the four exterior walls of the Structure 12 patio-quad are contiguous and the piers in alignment, we can assume that this patio group was designed and built as a single architectural unit, although there is evidence that the building took place in stages. After the entire plan of the northern and eastern sides of the Structure 12 Group were fully documented this area was completely backfilled.

Figure 5.95: Plan of Xkanhá Structure 14 Op. 72-C began along the eastern side of the interior patio area of Structure 12. We removed surface debris and located an extant wall running north-south between the northern room of Structure 12 and the shrine area, visible from ground surface (Figure 5.94). Excavation began in front of this wall and we removed 20 cm of natural humic soil followed by 65 cm of the deep red sterile soil which was found inside both gallery rooms. This wall had three to four courses of stone preserved with a narrow strip of plaster floor in front and in all respects was identical to the 119

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 The collapse contained very little ceramic material, although two obsidian blade fragments were recovered. The walls of Structure 14 were very well preserved, with plaster adhering in situ in many places. Where the plaster had fallen off it was possible to examine the evenly shaped rectangular blocks and chinking used in the construction of this structure. This construction style is consistent with similar workmanship found in other Period 1 structures at Xkanhá. At 1.6 m below ground surface we encountered a level of very hard sascab and chich. On this surface we found a few fragments of plaster painted a brilliant red, as well as two patches of dark gray soil in the southeast and northeast corners. These patches may have been burning episodes, but did not contain any cultural material. They are believed to be elements of the ritual termination of this area at the end of Period 1. The first well preserved floor was encountered only 10 cm below the surface of the hard packed sascab level. Floor 1 was intact across the unit. The 10 cm of sascab above Floor 1 contained a large number of sherds as well as patches of dark gray matrix, which relate to the termination of Structure 14. This layer of sascab and ceramic material may represent the remains of wall stucco from the interior walls of Structure 14. A second floor was encountered 12 cm below Floor 1. Floor 2 was also very well preserved and extended throughout the unit. The matrix between Floor 1 and Floor 2 was dark gray, becoming white immediately above the second floor. There was no ceramic or artifactual material between these floors. After removing the Floor 2 material we encountered the sub-floor ballast in the form of dry core fill. This dry core fill was removed for 1.1 m in a restricted 1 X 1 m corner of the unit, until excavation became unsafe. Very little ceramic material was removed from this dry core fill. Figure 5.96: Profile of Eastern Interior Wall of Structure 14, Op. 16-R

Op. 72-E was a surface clearing operation located in the westernmost patio group of the northern side of the acropolis including the platform in between the westernmost patio group and the middle patio group. In 1992 Op. 16-R was carried out in the Structure 14 Group, but this test unit did not reveal the overall plan of the group and its articulation with the other patio groups farther east. Op. 72-E was designed to elucidate the plan of this area without duplicating the work of Op. 16-R.

Structure 14 Group Op. 16-R was a 2 X 2 m test unit placed at the summit of Structure 14 which is part of the westernmost patio group along the northern side of the acropolis (Figure 5.95). Wall lines visible from the surface were mapped as part of the 1991 research in this area, although no excavation was conducted. Op. 16-R was located inside Structure 14 to include two of the walls visible from ground surface.

Due to time and labor constraints, Op. 72-E was not a full excavation of the entire patio group, but instead focused on clearing the 10-15 cm of surface debris from around the patio group wall lines which were largely visible from ground surface. With this limited exposure we were able to identify the original plan of the entire western patio group as well as a series of modifications such as blocked doorways and wall additions.

Excavation began by removing the dark loose surface humus to a depth of 20 cm across the unit and documenting the wall collapse exposed at this level (Figure 5.96). Removal of collapse exposed a wall running east-west along the northern side of Structure 14, the side previously believed to be the open end of a three-sided room. This wall intersected with the two walls visible from the surface to form the north, east, and western interior walls of this structure.

Op. 72-E began on the extreme western side of the patio group where a large wall running north-south articulated with the front of Structure 14. This wall proved to be the 120

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Figure 5.97: West Profile of Op. 16-Z

Figure 5.98: Plan of Operations 16-A, 16-J, 16-L, and 16-N

121

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 The lower and presumably earlier part of the wall was made of large non-rectangular stones which appeared to continue beneath the level of the floor. The upper part of the wall was made of evenly shaped stones and resembled the construction style of other Period 1 Xkanhá walls. Excavation continued along the western interior wall of Structure 4-2nd until the southern corner of this wall was reached, for a total length of 3.5 m. The original corner of the Structure 4-2nd western wall is integrally joined with the southeastern exterior corner of the nearby Structure 13, so that the area between western and eastern walls originally opened onto the interior plaza of the acropolis, perhaps in a gallery like the one found in Structure 12 to the east.

front of a long narrow room, 2.3 m wide, which had a single entrance onto the central patio area. This entrance was blocked in antiquity with re-used architectural stone, entirely closing off this room. North of this room were two similar rooms with narrow doorways, the first 125 cm wide and the second 80 cm wide. The rooms on the north side of the patio appeared very similar to Structure 16 of the middle patio quad, although much smaller. The northern room in turn articulated with a 70 cm wide wall on the eastern side of the patio group which formed the barrier between the western and middle patio groups. The division between western and middle patio groups was made by the back wall of a C-shaped structure oriented east onto the middle patio group, and mirroring the design of Structure 15 directly across the central open area of the middle patio group. This C-shaped structure was designated Structure 17 and appears to have had at least one large column along the eastern or front face of the building.

Excavation of the dry core fill was halted after the western and northern interior walls of Structure 4-2nd were exposed due to the instability of this matrix. Both walls and their associated plaster floor were fully documented and a small 1 X 1.5 m sub-floor test unit was lain out adjacent to the western wall. The sub-floor unit removed the matrix of Floor 1 for approximately 15 cm and immediately encountered the natural bedrock surface underlying the floor. Although the sample of ceramic material recovered from beneath the floor is very small, it correlates with the other Late Formative-Early Classic types found beneath the original floors of the patio group structures. Consequently we can assume structure 4-2nd was built at the same time as the adjacent Structure 12 Group and the medial Structure 15 and may have been the original point of entry into the more private central patio areas of the eastern and central patio groups. The sub-floor test unit was fully documented and the entire interior area of the tower was backfilled at the end of the excavation.

Although only a minimal amount of soil was removed from around the walls of the western patio group as part of Op. 72-E, a small number of sherds were recovered for later analysis. After the exposed walls were documented by plan mapping, the western patio group and associated parts of the middle patio group were completely backfilled. Structure 4 Op. 16-Z was located immediately to the west of the Structure 12 Group, and was designed to fully document the unusual ‘tower’ structure previously mapped and testexcavated in 1991 and 1992. The Tower or Structure 4, rises far above everything else on the northern side of the acropolis, yet is integral to the patio-group construction style of Xkanhá. Structure 4 links the eastern and middle patio groups and provides access to their interiors.

Structure 10 Moving to the eastern side of the acropolis or Area 2, Op. 16-N was a 2.5 m wide trench running 4.5 m east-west from the area between Xkanhá Structure 8 and Structure 9 in the west, across the ‘alley-way’ between the two rows of room blocks along the eastern side of the acropolis, to the summit of Structure 10 in the east (Figure 5.98). The objective of this operation was to look for further evidence of a formal access way to the acropolis and its inner plaza by following the exterior floor surface of the eastern structures toward the outer wall or Structure 10, perhaps revealing a passageway or stairway between them.

Op. 16-Z began as a 2 X 2 m unit placed adjacent to the front face of Structure 15 at the intersection of Structure 15 and Structure 4 (Figure 5.97). Immediately adjacent to the front wall of Structure 15 at its southern end, excavation revealed a set of stairs. Adjacent to the back or southern side of the stairs was an interior room wall identical in construction materials and style to the walls of Structure 15, and this wall was designated part of Structure 4-2nd. The interior wall of Structure 4-2nd, however, was in a much better state of preservation and fortuitously some of the red paint covering the plastered wall was preserved beneath the dry core fill. A plaster floor was encountered at the same level as the floor inside Structure 15 and it extended throughout the excavation area.

Floor 1 of Structure 8 extended 1.1 m east of the eastern face of the structure before it disappeared. Excavation at this level continued to the east and 80 cm further east we encountered a row of large rectangular stones running north-south at the same level as Floor 1 of Structure 8. These stones were the uppermost tread of a four step stairway leading down between the two rows of structures along the eastern side of the acropolis.

A second wall from the original interior of Structure 4 was found running north-south adjacent to the eastern wall of Structure 13. This wall was better preserved and survived to a height of 2.4 m above floor level, although the construction of the wall seemed to illustrate a series of at least two building phases. Large patches of red painted plaster were found in situ on this wall, and through close examination it was apparent that this plaster had been used to join disparate construction styles.

The stairs were covered in loose brown soil and unworked stone collapse from the surrounding structures. At the base of the stairway a plaster floor was found, 1.27 m below the level of the upper stair tread and Floor 1. To the east of the lowest stair 1.35 m, the plaster lipped up onto the front of 122

Excavations It is notable that the natural edge of the bedrock was one meter west of the edge of the ‘entrance’, and this meter extension was filled in with a mixture of unworked stone and sandy soil to create a level surface. Unfortunately no in situ evidence of architecture surrounding this entrance was found; and the construction fill that was encountered could easily have been part of the leveling of the uneven bedrock surface rather than a floor or surface level.

Structure 10, a long wall-like structure running north-south along the entire eastern face of the acropolis. This wall blocked the stairway as well as the central structures of Area 2 of the acropolis. The Entrances Op. 16-we was a 2 X 4 m unit placed in one of only two possible locations for an entrance to the acropolis. Both entrances are located on the eastern side of the acropolis, approximately halfway up the slope. At this location there is a relatively flat area 3 X 5 m, between two largely collapsed structures which were mapped in 1991. The goal of Op. 16-we was to locate empirical evidence for this entrance and evaluate the degree to which access was restricted.

Structure 8 and Structure 9 Op. 16-A was a 2 X 2 m unit placed on the summit of Structure 8, one of the low structures which border the interior plaza of the acropolis on its eastern side. Two intersecting wall lines were partially visible from the ground surface. We followed the two wall lines down and removed 50 cm of matrix before reaching Floor 2 (Figure 5.99). Beneath Floor 2 we found a very hard packed layer of chich and grayish soil on top of loose construction fill. A greater number of sherds came from beneath Floor 2 than from any other level in Op. 16-A. The ceramics from under Floor 2 are Early Classic in date.

We removed surface debris and loose humus soil for approximately 20 cm before exposing large unworked stones which had fallen from the structures to either side of the entrance. In the area in front (to the east) of the entrance we found a lighter tan soil and a higher concentration of ceramic material. The collapse inside the entrance was documented and then removed, although very similar construction fill continued beneath the collapse for 1.3 m before we encountered the natural bedrock surface of the acropolis.

At 85 cm beneath ground surface the third floor was encountered. It was also very well preserved and extended throughout the entire unit. The two walls visible from the surface do not continue beneath Floor 3, and are associated with the same construction episode as this floor. Floor 3 corresponds to the exterior floor identified in Op. 16-J. Beneath Floor 3 was a layer of dark gray soil and large boulders, with a significant amount of ceramic material. At 1.5 m beneath ground surface, bedrock was encountered and Op. 16-A was terminated. The ceramics from beneath Floor 3 are also Early Classic in date. Op. 16-J was located in the area between two collapsed structures on the eastern side of the acropolis. One of these structures was investigated in 1991 as part of Op. 16-A. These two mounds, Structure 8 to the north and Structure 9 to the south, comprise the northern half of the interior row of room blocks along the interior plaza. The southern wall of Structure 8 was still visible from ground surface and provided the starting point for removal of surface debris. At 20 cm below ambient ground surface and adjacent to the southern wall of Structure 8 we uncovered collapsed wall stones which were well formed, rectangular stones averaging 15 X 25 cm. After documenting this collapse we removed the stones in an effort to locate in situ architecture, and retained the collapsed wall stones for future reconstruction. At 75 cm below ground surface we encountered a layer of dark gray compacted soil flecked with sascab. This probably represents stucco melt from the exterior of Structure 8. At 95 cm below ground surface datum we encountered a layer of hard packed white sascab which represented the first floor surface encountered outside Structure 8. This floor corresponds to Floor 3 from Op. 16A inside Structure 8. In areas, Floor 1 was covered by a five to eight centimeters layer of fine gray soil which may be the poorly preserved floor surface. Through probing, it became clear that the exterior wall of Structure 8 did not continue

Figure 5.99: Southern Interior Profile of Structure 8, Op. 16-A 123

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 acropolis. This structure is separated from Structure 8 and Structure 9 by a single unexcavated mound, Structure 18. A row of wall stones was visible from the ground surface on the summit of Structure 3, and this unit was placed to encompass this alignment as well as the western face of the structure.

beneath Floor 1, and that these two features were constructed contemporaneously (Figure 5.100). Preservation on the eastern exterior of Structure 8 was not as good, and only a single course of wall stones remained in situ. Yet we were able to define the dimensions of Structure 8, which measured 3.8 X 2.9 m. Floor 1 continued around the eastern side of the building showing that this entire area was built on a single platform surface. The sequence of architectural construction uncovered in the southern half of Op. 16-J was completely distinct from the Structure 8 sequence described above. In front of Structure 9 we encountered the first floor only 60 cm below ground surface datum, and although broken in places, overall this floor was in a much better state of preservation than the floor associated with Structure 8. The surface of the floor in front of Structure 9 was much smoother and very well polished, although its overall thickness was only two to five centimeters with very little sub-floor ballast between the plaster and the large boulder fill beneath it. Floor 1 of Structure 9 extended only 30 cm in front (to the north) of the structure, leaving an area of approximately two meters of broken plaster between the two structures. The floor lipped up the front of Structure 9 and covered most of the first course of the northern wall of this structure.

Once surface debris was removed it became apparent that the line of stones was not a wall line but the upper tread of a stairway. The surface of the upper tread was only 13 cm below ground surface. Excavation was extended to the west to expose the stairway which covered the entire western face of Structure 3. Removing only 10-20 cm of surface humus we exposed five courses of stairs which were less well preserved at the base than at the top. The upper two courses were made of well worked rectangular stones approximately 40 cm long, while the lower three courses were made of much larger rectangular stones, approximately 70 cm long. Extremely little material was recovered above this stairway and time constraints prevented further excavation below the level of the collapsed stairs. Structure 2 Moving to Area 3 on the south side of the acropolis, Op. 16-H was located on the southern side of the Xkanhá acropolis, where the architectural remains of a large Cshaped structure, Structure 2, are preserved. Features of this structure were partially visible from ground surface in 1991, and were mapped as part of the topographic mapping program conducted on the acropolis. Excavation began by clearing the loose dark humus soil from in front of the north wall, and continued around the east, south, and west sides of Structure 2. The details of Structure 2 will be discussed in the Period 2 section. After the features of Structure 2 were fully documented, a 1 X 1 m unit was placed in the center of the structure to examine the sub-floor construction sequence. Floor ballast was removed for 50 cm; this sub-floor ballast was composed of small rocks mixed with tan soil overlaying larger unworked stone and very few ceramic sherds. Beneath the ballast Floor 2 was encountered. Not particularly well-preserved, it was comprised of an 8 to 10 cm layer of tan soil and small chich with a dense concentration of ceramic material beneath and imbedded in this matrix. Floor 2 was underlain by dry core fill of unworked boulders placed on top of bedrock. The natural bedrock surface was encountered 1.1-1.5 m below the surface of Floor 2 (Figure 5.102).

Figure 5.100: Southern Exterior Profile of Structure 8, Op.16-J The remains of Structure 9 were very close to the surface, and only 20-30 cm of loose dark soil was removed before the two preserved courses of this structure were exposed. Like Structure 8 to the north, Structure 9 was originally a four sided room block with an entrance from the north, 3.5 X 2.5 m. This plan was modified at a later date and an 1.7 m extension west toward the interior plaza was added (Figure 5.101). Although a large amount of red painted stucco fragments were found in the matrix surrounding the exterior of Structure 9, very few ceramic or other artifacts were recovered, and the function of this structure and its addition remain unclear.

Floor 2 extended north-south 2.95 m, and at the northern and southern limits we uncovered a single course of very well shaped rectangular stones which are platform edges of Structure 2-2nd (Figure 5.103). Excavation in front of the northern edge of this platform did not find any distinct surface which might be the original level of the interior plaza floor, but did encounter approximately 40 cm of grayish soil mixed with very small stone overlaying another 40 cm of loose stone. Together these levels represent the interior plaza floor fill. It is possible that the interior plaza

Structure 3 Op. 16-Q was a 2 X 2 m test unit located on the summit of Xkanhá Structure 3 on the acropolis. Structure 3 is the southernmost structure of the interior row of room blocks which run along the eastern side of the interior plaza of the 124

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Figure 5.101: Plan of Structure 9, Op. 16-L While defining the dimensions of Structure 2-2nd, a curious feature was exposed in association with the southeastern corner of Structure 2-2nd. Adjacent to this corner were two small square stones running south, which in turn were connected to a line of four re-used veneer stones running east-west. These re-used stones were not associated with any other architectural feature. Our conclusion is that these stones were part of an unfinished component placed on top of Floor 2. The construction of Structure 2-2nd is significantly more substantial than the later modification of Structure 2 as can be seen in the profile of Op.-H (Figure 5.102). For the construction of Structure 2-2nd, 20-35 cm of pure sascab was brought in and lain directly on top of the natural bedrock surface, presumably to level the surface and provide a secure foundation for the large boulders that comprise the principle support for the platform. The large boulders and smaller unworked stones comprised a full meter of dry core fill beneath the floor of Structure 2-2nd, which was a thick ten centimeters of pure sascab mixed while wet with ceramic material and then given a hard final surface. The ceramics found beneath Floor 2 have been identified as Early Classic, and many construction features of Structure 2-2nd correlate well with this identification. These features include the use of wet lain floor construction, the thickness of Floor 2 and its preserved surface, the depth of sub-floor support and leveling, and the placement of such sub-floor leveling directly on top of bedrock.

Figure 5.102: Profile of Eastern Interior Wall of Structure 2 with Sub-Floor Test, Op. 16-H did not have a plastered surface at this early point, or that due to its exposed nature, a formal surface has not been preserved.

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Figure 5.103: Plan of Structure 2-2nd, Op. 16-H

Figure 5.104: Profile of Eastern Interior Wall and Entranceways of Structure 11, Op. 16-X Structure 11

extended throughout the unit, lipping up the front wall and excavation was extended west at the level of the plaster floor to the back or western wall of Structure 11. Both walls had three courses of preserved stonework and were made of distinctive large rectangular stones. These wall stones were much larger (50 X 50 cm) than most components of standing architecture at Xkanhá and are extremely wellworked on all sides. These stones were re-used as doorjambs, steps, and other features, in secondary contexts throughout the acropolis.

Moving to Area 2 or the west side of the acropolis, Op. 16X was located in Structure 11, the largest mound on the acropolis and began as a 2 X 1.5 m unit placed on the centerline of the summit of Structure 11. The southernmost doorjamb was visible from ground surface and this was used as a guide for unit placement. At 70 cm below ground surface we encountered the first plaster floor associated with the interior of the front wall of Structure 11. Floor 1 126

Excavations The curious lack of preservation of the original Structure 11 walls even though they represent some of the finest architectural construction on the acropolis can be explained through intentional stone removal. At many other locations on the acropolis, well shaped stones of similar dimensions can be found adjacent to a structure or even incorporated into structures as cornerstones or doorjambs, yet there are no other structures with standing architecture made entirely of this type of stonework. Therefore the walls of Structure 11 were probably dismantled and the high quality stones used in other later buildings. Excavation in the entrances continued east to the front face of the building. In both locations the uppermost stair tread was found in situ, with dry core fill construction material beneath it. No other stair treads were found and excavation did not continue down the front of Structure 11 since so little of the original face of this structure appeared to remain in situ. The stair treads encountered were consistent with the architectural style of Structure 11; very large wellworked stones set without mortar or chinking. Excavation also continued inside Structure 11. The northern two-thirds of the eastern and western walls were completely exposed, however excavation failed to locate the connecting northern wall (Figure 5.105). Floor 1 was extant to the northern edge of the summit of Structure 11 where it crumbled away. The northern wall appears to have been entirely dismantled for stone re-use, perhaps due to its proximity to the patio groups along the northern edge of the acropolis. After the interior of Structure 11 had been completely documented a sub-floor excavation in the center of the room was conducted. The sub-floor unit was located 70 cm north of the northern edge of the Terminal Classic Feature 1, which was left in situ. The unit was 1.5 X 1.5 m and material from below Floor 1 was designated Level 2. Floor 1 was 15 cm thick and was underlain by a layer of small rock and sascab which in turn cm supported by dry core fill (Figure 5.106). The dry core fill continued for one meter below the surface of Floor 1, and then a layer of unfinished sascab appeared and extended throughout the unit. This sascab was 25 cm thick and was underlain by 10 cm of dirt and then dry core fill. The sascab and dirt layer represents the same construction pause in the dry core fill that was discovered inside Feature 1.

Figure 5.105: Plan of Xkanhá Structure 11 Op. 16-X continued with excavation through the northern and southern entrances in the eastern or front wall of Structure 11. Surface debris and collapse was removed to the level of Floor 1 which was preserved intact throughout both entrances. The doorjambs had only three courses of stone preserved in situ. A marked distinction became apparent, however, between the northern and southern edges of the two entrances. The southern side of both entrances was characterized by very large wellworked stone, set very tightly with almost no chinking. In contrast, the northern sides of both entrances were made of small uneven rectangular stones, held together with chinking and mortar (Figure 5.104).

The second finished plaster surface was encountered at 1.9 m below the surface of Floor 1. At this point excavation was extended one meter to the south to stabilize the walls of the unit. Floor 2 was very hard and beige colored. It extended throughout the 1.5 X 2.75 m of exposed area, and at the extreme eastern edge of the exposed area there appeared to be a cut in the floor, or a break in the plaster surface. Further examination of this cut would have entailed removal of more sub-floor ballast and proved impossible. Indeed, due to safety concerns related to the damp weather and the relative instability of dry core fill, this sub-floor unit was closed without any further examination of Floor 2. After full documentation, the sub-floor area was backfilled.

When this area was completely cleared it became obvious that the entrances into Structure 11 had been narrowed, probably late in Period 1 when many entrances into rooms on the acropolis were modified and restricted. Whereas the original width of the Structure 11 entrances had been two meters, the later modifications left them only 90 cm wide. The back wall of Structure 11 was continuous and did not show signs of similar modification. 127

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 The construction pen and sascab pause were fully documented and then the three central boulders of the construction pen were removed to expose more of the sascab surface in an effort to examine whether it represented a possible floor or was associated with architectural remains. Real elevations reveal that this sascab level was 40 cm below the level of the sascab construction pause identified in the summit sub-floor excavations, yet appears identical in construction technique and materials. It is probably the same surface, stepped down as part of terraces along the front face of Structure 11-2nd. When this sascab pause was fully documented excavation continued below the sascab level and into the dry core fill for one meter before the eroded Floor 2 surface was exposed. Floor 2 was at a level 30 cm lower here in the eastern trench than the level identified inside the summit sub-floor excavation, and again this difference in elevations is due to terracing or steps on the front face of the building. The surface of Floor 2 was not as well preserved here, although it continued across the entire width of the eastern trench and still retained its polished surface in places. A single shallow terrace step was uncovered just over a meter west of the front edge of Floor 2. Floor 2 was fully documented and excavation continued beneath the floor to obtain a sealed sub-floor ceramic sample to date the construction of Floor 2 and its associated Structure 11-2nd. Figure 5.106: Southern Profile of Sub-Floor Test in Structure 11, Op. 16-X

Floor 2 was underlain by 1.05 m of dry core fill and then 40 cm of compact gray soil before excavation reached the natural bedrock surface. Immediately above bedrock a five to eight centimeter layer of very black oily soil was found which was lain on top of the bedrock to provide a level building surface. The soil contained no cultural material and hence does not represent a re-used midden, although the composition of the matrix suggests this. The ceramic sample from beneath Floor 2 and above bedrock appears to be Late Formative/Early Classic and the sherds have traces of limestone mortar adhering to their surfaces which indicates wet-lain architecture, a technique not used in the Terminal Classic at Xkanhá. When the bedrock surface was completely cleaned and documented, this trench and the entire interior area of Structure 11 were completely backfilled with alternating layers of soil and rock.

Op. 16-X continued with a trench on the front or eastern face of Structure 11. Because the summit sub-floor excavation was closed due to safety concerns, a 1 X 3 m trench was placed on the front of Structure 11 to try and locate more of the Floor 2 surface and any associated architecture. Investigation began by establishing the elevation of Floor 2, and then the trench to encompass this point on the front slope of the structure was set up, in alignment with the southern entrance into the summit room of Structure 11. Surface debris and loose dark matrix which contained a significant amount of small rock and construction ballast was removed. There was very little worked stone on the surface of Structure 11, either in situ or collapsed. At the eastern limit of this trench a single course of stair stones from Structure 11-1st was found in situ, these were cleaned and fully documented (Figure 5.107). Forty centimeters west of the level of Floor 2, up the slope of Structure 11, we found another stair tread of Structure 11-1st in situ, running north-south across the unit. This stair was cleared of debris and we followed the same level west into the mound to look for an associated surface or adjacent stair tread.

Structure 6 The area surrounding the acropolis was designated Area 5. Op. 16-G was a 1.5 X 1.5 m unit placed in the center of Structure 6, a C-shaped structure atop a small mound directly to the east of the acropolis. During the removal of surface soil, a well preserved wall running along the southern edge of the unit was discovered (Figure 5.108). Little artifactual material was found in the relatively dense, tan colored surface matrix.

No other stairs or surfaces were found in situ, although 1.7 m west of the lower stair, excavation revealed a construction or retaining wall of large unworked boulders which held dry core construction fill. This construction pen or wall was set upon an unsurfaced sascab layer which probably represents a construction pause for stabilization.

A poorly preserved floor was discovered 80 cm below ground surface, which was underlain with loose dry core fill and a greater amount of ceramic material. Approximately 50 cm below the surface of the floor, excavators found a large slab of worked stone which extended along the 128

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Figure 5.107: Northern Profile of Trench on Eastern Exterior Face of Xkanhá Structure 11, Op. 16-X northern third of the unit. At first this stone appeared to be bedrock, but when fully uncovered, it clearly had worked edges and a depression worn in the center. This stone may have been a discarded pila. Due to time constraints this feature was not further investigated. True bedrock was encountered 1.4 m below ground surface. All ceramic material from this excavation dates to the Early Classic.

was cleared of 10-15 cm of loose matrix which contained a large amount of Terminal Classic slateware ceramic material and small stone. The soil was brownish gray, flecked with sascab fragments, and represents the remains of a highly eroded floor surface. Directly below this eroded surface we encountered dry core fill of primarily large unworked boulders and very little soil. This loose dry construction fill was virtually sterile, and was removed to a depth of 2.2 m below ground surface before the unit became unsafe and excavation was concluded. The analysis of the ceramic material recovered from the dry core fill indicates that this platform was built in the Terminal Classic. The lack of other cultural material in the fill, as well as the general homogeneity of fill material, leads us to the conclusion that these defensive modifications were conducted in a relatively brief period of time, when the inhabitants of Xkanhá needed to create a highly secure and private area, fortified against possible intrusion.

The Terminal Classic Structure 4 Op. 16-P was a 1.5 X 1.5 m test pit positioned on the summit of Structure 4 of the acropolis, aimed at identifying the spatial and chronological relationships between this large pyramidal mound and the adjacent patio groups. Structure 4 was mapped in 1991, but no excavation had previously been conducted in this area. The ground surface 129

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 continued south along the new wall to the platform edge, and then 50 cm farther south, where this wall cornered east and ran uninterrupted for four meters. At this point it intersected with the western wall butt of Structure 12. In front of the last segment of the southern exterior face of Structure 4, three column fragments were found above the plaster floor which ran in front of this structure. Based upon examination of the relationship between this floor and the column fragments, only one of the three sections was in situ, although it appears as if the other two did not fall far from their original locations. The state of preservation of this exterior wall of Structure 4 was not as good as that of Structure 13 immediately to the west, or Structure 12, immediately to the east. The wall of Structure 4 was made of well worked rectangular stones, but lacked the chinking and mortar found between the stones of Structure 13, which contributed to the permanence of the other building. The plaster floor in front of Structure 4 was cream colored and broken in many places, and appeared much less durable than the floor found in the entrance of Structure 13. Additional excavation was conducted on the northern exterior wall of Structure 4, where it intersected with the rear entrance of Structure 13. This very unusual wall was composed of roughly hewn blocks packed in tan colored matrix rather than mortar. This wall ran diagonally northwest-southeast for only 20 cm and then intersected with another wall of Structure 4 of similar construction, which ran diagonally from northeast-southwest for 1.6 m, of which only 85 cm were exposed (Figure 5.109). Both of these two walls from Structure 4 had three-four courses of stone preserved. Although time constraints prevented us from further examination of this area, it is now clear that Structure 4 underwent significant modification during the course of Xkanhá’s occupation and use.

Figure 5.108: Southern Profile of Xkanhá Structure 6, Op. 16-G

Op. 16-Z was designed to more fully document the unusual tower structure previously mapped and test-excavated in 1991 and 1992. A summit test unit in 1991 showed the Tower to be only thinly capped with plaster and composed of nearly pure dry core fill. Op. 16-Z was designed to completely expose this sequence. Op. 16-Z began as a 2 X 2 m unit placed adjacent to the front face of Structure 15 where we anticipated the intersection of Structure 15 and Structure 4. Immediately adjacent to the front wall of Structure 15 at its southern end excavation revealed a set of stairs, five courses high and 80 cm wide, which led from the level of the plaster floor found outside Structure 15 up 1.3 m to the level of the highest preserved parts of the Structure 15 walls. These stairs were covered by the loose dark brown humic soil which is found throughout Xkanhá in surface contexts.

Figure 5.109: Plan of Structure 4-2nd, Op. 16-Z Op. 16-T was an extension of the excavation begun as Op. 16-M, clearing the exterior of Structure 13. As mentioned in the discussion of Op. 16-M, a large re-used pila stone was found as the basal cornerstone of a wall adjacent to the southern exterior wall of Structure 13. With a 1.5 m wide trench running east-west, we continued to expose this wall and the floor in front of it, which was situated on the same platform as Structure 13, removing surface humus and wall collapse above the platform or Floor 1 level. This wall ran east from the pila cornerstone 1.5 m, until a second wall running north-south abutted the first. The original wall appeared to continue behind this juncture. Excavation

The stairs were constructed of long rectangular stones with a few patches of thick beige plaster still preserved on the five treads found in situ. A preserved plaster floor was found at the base of the stairs and to the west toward Structure 4. The stairs were added on to the earlier 130

Excavations 10 cm of matrix we immediately encountered boulders and very little cultural material. Separate lots were designated for spatially distinct areas. After removing approximately 60 cm of dry core fill, it became clear that there was an earlier substructure beneath the Tower (Figure 5.110).

Structure 15 as evidenced in the red-painted plaster surface still intact on the exterior of and which continued behind the stairs themselves. Thus, the construction of this stairway may coincide with the re-plastering of the interior of Structure 15.

While removing the dry core fill inside Structure 4 we encountered a special deposit of ceramic vessels, human remains, and shell artifacts lain directly in the construction fill. The special deposit of three vessels surrounded by human teeth and bone and a shell bead and shell earflare was found 50 cm to east of the Structure 4 west wall datum and 40 cm below ground surface. Excavation of Feature 1 was conducted from above, removing the surface matrix and then 35 cm of uniform dry core fill material. The first vessel was complete although broken and had been covered by five centimeters of soil and a re-used wall stone, which was lain on top of the deposit. Vessel 1 is a very eroded Early Classic plate with tripod supports. There was no cultural material inside the vessel. Just to the east of the plate we encountered many extremely small fragments of human bone and seven teeth, identified as those of a young woman, 19-22 years old. These human remains are designated Burial 21 and probably represent a human head thrown into the dry core fill with the three vessels. Determinations about the state of the human remains at the point of deposition are difficult because dry core fill is an extremely porous matrix and preservation here was worse than usual. A few centimeters below the first vessel and slightly to the south we found Vessel 2 of Feature 1, a small bowl identified as the Terminal Classic type Teabo Red. A third vessel was found in the screening of the matrix removed from the surrounding area, as well as a very small Spondylus bead and a carved shell earflare. Vessel 3 is also a small bowl, of Late Classic-Terminal Classic manufacture, Tinaja Rojo type.

Figure 5.110: East Profile of Probe of the Tower

After Feature 1 was thoroughly documented and removed, excavation continued along the western interior wall of Structure 4-2nd until the southern corner of this wall was reached, for a total length of 3.5 m. Adjacent to the southern corner of this wall was an addition to the wall built to hold in the dry core fill construction material of the tower. This retaining wall was poorly constructed and appeared to have been made of unworked boulders mixed with re-used wall stones stolen from other structures. There was no plaster or chinking visible in the wall which was preserved for a meter or so above plaza floor level. The retaining wall ran south for 90 cm and then cornered east, blocking off the original entrance into Structure 4-2nd. The exterior face of this construction wall was exposed in 1992 as part of Op. 16-T. Excavation of the dry core fill was halted after the western and northern interior walls of Structure 4-2nd were exposed due to the instability of this matrix.

Excavation continued at the level of the plaster floor south behind the stairs where a small area of backfill surrounding the rear entrance to Structure 13 from Op. 16-M in 1991 was removed. There is a 1.1 m gap between the back or southern face of the small stair unit and the back or northern face of Structure 13. Excavation exposed this gap which was filled by a low retaining wall made of large unworked boulders lain diagonally between the structures to seal up passage between structures. This retaining wall was built without mortar or chinking and was never surfaced with plaster. The western side of this wall was exposed in 1991 as part of Op. 16-M. Behind the retaining wall to the east the solid dry core fill of the tower remained in situ. Excavations of Op. 16-Z continued by selectively choosing an area of this dry core fill to remove in an effort to expose the original architecture of Structure 4, while leaving the retaining wall in situ.

Structure 15 and Structure 16

The area inside Structure 4 packed with dry core fill had very little soil or matrix at ground surface. Below this 5 to

Op. 16-W was located on the extreme northern edge of the acropolis, where a series of contiguous structures called the 131

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 ‘middle patio group’ are located. Op. 16-W began on the southern face of Structure 16, a room along the northern side of the middle patio group which had been mapped during 1991 but not test excavated. Excavation was extended east to continue clearing along the front wall of Structure 16 at the level of Floor 1 and to look for the exterior corner of this building which might be associated with an entrance into this patio group. The wall continued east for 3.5 m and then a single course of stone was preserved for another 70 cm. This single course of wall stones may have been fortuitous collapse in line with the original wall. It is also possible that this row of stone was part of a makeshift blockade added onto the original exterior corner of Structure 16. The original southeastern exterior corner of Structure 16 was likely the location of an entrance into this patio group from the northern side of the acropolis. There is a 2.5 m area between the eastern edge of structure 16 and the western edge of Structure 15 which would have allowed the only easy access into the acropolis from the north. During the later periods of occupation this entrance may have been modified to form a baffled entrance merely 50 cm wide by means of a wooden palisade set into a row of stone.

above this first floor dates to the Terminal Classic. Some small fragments of stucco, probably fallen from the walls, were mixed in with the material from this level. Floor 2 was encountered only ten cm beneath Floor 1. The matrix between floors 1 and 2 was gray, loosely packed and contained very few sherds. These sherds have been identified as Terminal Classic types.

Extending east from the southeastern exterior corner of Structure 16 was a line of reused architectural stone which overlapped with an identical line of stone running east-west one meter north of the northern face of the nearby Structure 15. In addition, further excavation on the northern face of Structure 15 showed that a wall butt had been added to the original northern wall of the structure, re-orienting Structure 15 toward the north and the baffled entrance, rather than toward the west as it had originally been designed. Excavation continued east along the northern exterior wall of Structure 15 for three meters until the intersection of Structure 15 and Structure 12 was found. This intersection represents an entrance to the northern room of the Structure 12 patio-quad.

Figure 5.111: Plan of Column Fragments in Xkanhá Structure 15 Structure 10 Op. 16-N was a 2.5 m wide trench running 4.5 m east-west from the area of Structures 8 and Structure 9 in the west, across the ‘alley-way’ between the two rows of room blocks along the eastern side of the acropolis, to the summit of Structure 10 in the east. After exposing the stairs between Structures 8 and Structure 9 and the wall or Structure 10, excavation was extended north to determine the exact dimensions of Structure 10 which had three to four courses of stone preserved under a meter of loose humus soil and small stone. Excavation also penetrated the interior construction of this wall at the summit of Structure 10.

Excavation progressed into the interior of Structure 15, continuing to remove surface humus and wall collapse to the level of the plaster floor. In the southwestern interior corner we uncovered four very large column fragments out of their original context, perhaps thrown into the interior of Structure 15 as part of the filling of the tower area (Figure 5.111). Three of the column fragments were found inside the room with two on top of one another, and the fourth was found in the southern entrance into Structure 15. The fragments were 65 cm in diameter and 25 cm thick. There was 28 cm of matrix between the lowest column fragment and the floor, indicating that these columns were thrown into the room as part of the modification of Structure 15 to create a ramp leading to the summit of the Tower.

Seven meters of the approximate 20 m north-south length of Structure 10 was exposed (Figure 5.112). The wall was approximately 4.5 m wide and was built with unmortared walls of crudely shaped stones running the length of the structure. The area between these two walls was then filled in with very large unworked boulders, to a height of approximately 2.5 m above the floor level. The construction fill inside Structure 10 was virtually sterile, with very little matrix and no surfaces or floors. The only differentiating feature to the dry core fill inside Structure 10 was a masons wall 95 cm below the level where the floor and the base of the western wall of Structure 10 intersect (Figure 5.113).

Structure 8 Op. 16-A was a 2 X 2 m unit placed on Structure 8, one of the low structures which border the interior plaza of the acropolis on its eastern side. Two wall lines visible from ground surface were followed down in unit 16-A, and 40 cm of loose dark soil and collapsed stone was removed above the first poorly preserved floor. The ceramic material 132

Excavations

Figure 5.112: North-South Profile of Xkanhá Structure 10 construction of the wall on the outer edge of the natural limestone bedrock. Structure 10 is thus most likely a later modification to the face of the acropolis, designed to restrict the primary access way of the group, and was probably built at the beginning of Period 2 in conjunction with similar defensive measures undertaken in other areas of Xkanhá. Structure 2 Op. 16-H was located on the southern side of the Xkanhá acropolis, where the architectural remains of a large Cshaped building, Structure 2, were visible from ground surface. Excavation began by clearing the loose dark humic soil from in front of the north wall which faces the interior plaza, and continued around the east, south, and west sides of Structure 2. A few Terminal Classic sherds as well as a number of plaster fragments were encountered in this upper level of matrix. In some areas two courses of stonework were preserved in situ, principally along the northern face, while the southern face was the least well preserved and due to the natural geography of the acropolis much of the southern wall was in the process of slipping down the back slope of the acropolis.

Figure 5.113: Profile of Showing the Base of West Wall of Structure 10, Xkanhá In order to test the association of this hastily constructed wall with the well preserved stairway immediately to the west, a sub-floor test pit was put in the narrow 1.35 m area between the basal step and the wall. The stairway did not continue beneath the floor in front of the wall, indeed bedrock was encountered only 70 cm below the floor level, a much higher elevation than the bedrock surface at the base of the unit inside the wall only 50 cm to the east. Thus the base of the stairway coincided with the edge of the natural limestone outcrop at this point of the acropolis. The ceramic materials from beneath the narrow area between Structure 10, the wall, and the central stairway leading to the acropolis were very generally eroded Early Classic types, probably mined from a nearby midden during the Terminal Classic re-occupation of Xkanhá.

At 10 cm below ground surface we encountered a patch of plaster on top of one of the northern wall stones, representing the remains of the interior floor surface of Structure 2 (Figure 5.114). Excavation continued at this level south into the interior of the structure and found the floor to be very poorly preserved, and primarily represented by a layer of light gray soil with very chich. The chich may be sub-floor ballast appearing only a few centimeters below the scattered patches of in situ plaster floor.

The placement of Structure 10 allows only a narrow 1.35 m passageway between the back of Structure 10 and the stairway leading up to Structure 8 and Structure 9 and then into the interior area of the acropolis. This narrow passageway was covered by a single continuous floor, leading to the assumption that the two architectural features, the wall and stairway, were utilized simultaneously at some point in time, probably when the wall was first constructed. This passageway is so narrow, however, as to suggest that it is not part of the original architectural plan of the eastern face of the acropolis, but rather a by-product of the

At various locations in the interior of Structure 2, large flat ‘flagstones’ were set at the level of Floor 1, yet they were not found uniformly in any area, nor were they found to follow any pattern of placement. They were not present in the central entrance area and appeared to be clustered closer to the two ends of this structure where the small C-shaped rooms are located. These ‘flagstones’ were carefully documented and examined as possible crypt stones, however they seem to have been simply set into the floor during construction of Structure 2.

133

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 5.114: Plan of Xkanhá Structure 2 Further excavation uncovered the foundations of two Cshaped rooms at either end of the rectangular platform of Structure 2. The room block on the eastern end of Structure 2 is a simple C-shape, with the entrance from the west, allowing access only from the interior of Structure 2. The other C-shaped room block on the western side of the structure has two entrances, on both the eastern and western sides of the room, allowing access from the exterior as well as the interior of Structure 2. In front of the entrance to this western room is a patio which runs the length of the western side of Structure 2, and is three meters wide. This patio is paved with a mixture of small stones and chich set into the floor. There is no evidence that this area was plastered over as was the interior floor. The patio level is contiguous with the platform level of Structure 2 and slightly lower than the interior floor. The design of Structure 2 is very similar to residential structures found at a satellite residential group 3.5 km from the center of Cobá.

techniques used in the construction of Structure 2 indicate this building was built rapidly, during a period of limited construction resources. Structure 11 Op. 16-B was a 2 X 2 m unit later extended to 3.5 X 2.5 m, placed at the base of the largest mound on the acropolis, Structure 11. The unit extended from the floor of the interior plaza into the structure along its central axis. No architecture was visible from ground surface. Surface debris and matrix was removed and 15 cm below ground surface we exposed collapsed stone and construction fill. The collapsed stone was recorded and the construction fill removed in an attempt to expose in situ architecture. The construction fill consisted of unworked medium sized stone, dark loose soil, and very little ceramic material. A few redpainted stucco fragments were found in this level. At 90 cm below ground surface a layer of fine grayish soil with a concentration of sascab and broken stucco fragments was encountered. Due to the quality of the material recovered and the lack of a preserved surface, it is likely this layer constituted a leveling off episode above the surface of the bedrock, rather than a floor. The uneven bedrock surface was encountered only 10 cm beneath the leveling episode. Very little remains of the original surface of this structure and the plaza floor level in front is in very poor condition. All the ceramics from this excavation were from unsealed lots below ground surface, and were of Terminal Classic manufacture.

After Structure 2 was fully documented, sub-floor construction was investigated in a 1 X 1 m unit placed in the center of Structure 2. The basal course of Structure 2 was laid directly upon an earlier floor, with approximately two centimeters of matrix between the floor and foundation stone. The upper preserved course was laid directly on top of the foundation course, and only 40 cm of mixed rock and sandy soil was used as fill in the area that was covered with Floor 1. The ceramic material from beneath Floor 1 was entirely Terminal Classic in manufacture. The construction 134

Excavations (85 X 45 cm on average). The matrix surrounding these stones was identical to that found outside the limits of the feature; loose, dark brown soil which represents the natural humic decay mixed with flecks of spalled off wall plaster. We found fragments of Postclassic incensario wares inside the feature matrix at surface level, as well as a number of gray obsidian fragments just above the large flat stones. There was no intact plaster surface anywhere inside Feature 1, yet the flagstones were set flush to the level of Floor 1. After documentation, the first three slab stones were removed. Below the stones was a single large sherd of trickle painted ware, probably the Terminal Classic ware Holactún Black on Cream, lain on top of the second layer of large slab-like stones. These stones were in turn documented and then removed. Beneath the second level of slab stones we encountered dry core fill which continued to a depth of one meter below the surface of Floor 1. This fill represents the ballast of Floor 1, which clearly had been penetrated by Feature 1. Beneath this one meter level of sub-floor ballast a layer of dark brown soil mixed with ceramic material began to appear. This matrix was apparently a construction pause with no associated floor because dry core fill construction began again at 1.35 m below Floor 1 and continued unchanged to a depth of 1.5 m below Floor 1 where excavation was halted due to the instability of unit walls. Since no cultural material or artifacts were found within the Feature 1 area, and because Feature 1 penetrates the Floor 1 surface, we believe Feature 1 marks the removal of the original dedicatory offering placed in the heart of this building during construction. Clearly Feature 1 represents a deliberate termination of Structure 11 during the Terminal Classic, perhaps after efforts to defend the acropolis had failed.

Figure 5.115: Plan of Feature 1, Op. 16-X Op. 16-X was located at the summit of Structure 11 and began as a 2 X 1.5 m unit placed on centerline. As part of the clearing of Floor 1 an alignment of re-used construction stones lain directly upon the Floor 1 surface and adjacent to the back wall of Structure 11 was discovered (Figure 5.115). The alignment was roughly U-shaped, and with the back wall blocked off a roughly square area 1.7 m northsouth by 1.5 m east-west. This alignment of stones was designated Feature 1.

The Postclassic Structure 11

Outside Feature 1 immediately to the east, we found a single greenstone bead, two centimeters long, resting directly upon Floor 1. On the south side outside Feature 1 we found a concentration of sherds also directly upon the floor, which extended beneath one of the boulders that defined the feature. The floor around the sherds was dark gray, cracked and had been burned. The central concentration of these sherds is from a single Yokat Striated vessel. The vessel appears to have been smashed against the wall of Feature 1 and then burned. The remaining sherds are all Arena Rojo and are likewise from a single vessel. While Arena Rojo is a Late Classic pottery type, Yokat Striated crosses the temporal boundaries of the Late Classic and early Terminal Classic, thus suggesting a Terminal Classic date for Feature 1. The burnt and broken ceramics within Feature 1 are characteristic of a termination ritual and appear to be integral to the construction of Feature 1 which is clearly intrusive to Structure 11.

Op. 16-X began as a 2 X 1.5 m unit placed on the centerline of the summit of Structure 11. The southernmost doorjamb was visible from ground surface and this was used as a guide for unit placement. All surface debris and natural collapse was designated Level 1. This loose matrix was a dark brown color. About 10 cm below ground surface we began finding broken incensario fragments; very small decorative elements of Chen Mul Modeled incensario ware. These Late Postclassic ceramic fragments were very eroded and appeared to have been broken in antiquity. They were not found in association with any other artifacts or architectural remains. Once excavation reached the 10 cm of grayish soil above Floor 1, the incensario fragments were no longer found. Structure 7 Op. 16-E was a 1 X 1 m test unit placed on the summit of the second small mound to the east of the acropolis. The unit was immediately in front of a well preserved Postclassic shrine which faced west. In the removal of 20

Excavation was then directed inside the Feature 1 area where the surface of Floor 1 had been broken and the central area sealed with three large flat rectangular stones 135

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 shrine we found a layer of broken fragments of floor plaster and very light gray soil which results from plaster decay. Mixed with this layer was a large quantity of broken incensario fragments, including a decorative face from a Chen Mul Modeled Incensario. These fragments are probably the remains of incensarios left inside the shrine during the final periods of its use.

cm of surface soil a number of incensario fragments were discovered, including one intact basal foot. These fragments were encountered directly above the construction fill which would have underlain a floor in front of the shrine. No evidence of the floor survived. The construction fill consisted of medium to large unworked stone with very little matrix or ceramic material, underlain by large boulders. The unit was terminated 1.7 m below ground surface in nearly sterile construction fill. It appears that this is a single component Postclassic mound, although the well preserved shrine at the summit deserves further excavation. All the ceramics recovered from this excavation were Postclassic incensario wares.

After the interior surface of the shrine and its associated artifacts were completely documented we removed the broken plaster floor to obtain a sub-floor sample of ceramic material for dating purposes and to look for earlier constructions beneath the Late Postclassic shrine. The floor material was 10 cm thick and was underlain directly by dry core fill of small rocks and unworked boulders. At 1.8 m below the surface of Floor 1 we encountered a sascab construction pause with three worked stones resting on top of the sascab but not in association with one another. The sascab and associated materials were only 10 cm deep and then boulder sized dry core fill resumed. At 2.5 m below the surface of Floor 1 excavation became prohibitively dangerous and investigation was concluded although we had not yet reached bedrock. The ceramic materials removed from beneath the floor of the shrine include a small percentage of Classic wares such as polychromes, as well as a large percentage of Terminal Classic Slatewares. As no earlier constructions were encountered beneath Floor 1, the early ceramic materials are probably the result of midden mining for construction ballast by Postclassic peoples. This sub-floor excavation was fully documented and then backfilled. Op. 72-B also included an examination of the preserved exterior of Structure 7. Surface debris was cleared from the standing exposed shrine walls in a one meter wide trench around the northern, eastern and western sides of the building. In most places the walls were well preserved, with four to five courses in situ, resting on a basal plinth which extended 15 cm in front of the walls. The northern wall was in the best state of preservation while the east wall and especially the southeast corner were almost completely collapsed. Patches of a plaster floor were found in association with the exterior face of Structure 7, although it was very poorly preserved. Redpainted stucco fragments were also found in association with the material. After documentation, the exterior walls of Structure 7 were re-buried.

Figure 5.116: Plan of Structure 7, Op. 72-B Op. 72-B was a thorough investigation of Structure 7 of the Xkanhá group, located approximately 250 m east of the base of the acropolis. This operation was designed to document the preserved standing architecture at the summit of this mound; architecture which proved to date to the Late Postclassic. Op. 72-B began with a 1 X 1 m unit in the interior area of the shrine at the summit of Structure 7. From ground surface approximately a meter of the three walls of the C-shaped shrine were visible. The fourth side faces west and consists of a step or ledge which separates the interior shrine area from the plastered floor in front. The walls of the shrine are two courses thick, and the exterior walls of the structure extend below the interior floor level to a basal plinth which runs around the northern, eastern, and southern sides of Structure 7 (Figure 5.116).

Operation 18: Structure 5E-96 Structure 5E-96 was excavated in 1991, in order to determine how L-shaped structures differed from more prevalent rectangular and apsidal structures found at Yaxuná. Structure 5E-96 is a multi-room stone foundation brace resting on a raised rectangular platform with a monolithic block retaining wall (5E-95). Structures 5E-97 and 5E-98 also occupy this platform. A 2 X 2 m pit, placed in the northwest corner of the southern room, was used to obtain ceramic samples in order to determine when the structure was constructed and occupied (Figure 5.117).

After removal of 30 cm of surface debris and accumulated humic soil the floor of the shrine appeared. This plaster floor was in a very poor state of preservation, and was only intact in a 30 X 30 cm area of the southeast corner of the shrine. At the same elevation in the other areas inside the 136

Excavations

Figure 5.117: West Profile of Op. 18, Structure 5E-96

Figure 5.119: Plan of Burials 1 and 8 Operation 19: Structure 5E-103 Structure 5E-103 is a two roomed, ground-level superstructure foundation brace with a double wall line around its perimeter and a single dividing wall. No substructure walls are visible on the surface, but a large patio was found to the west of the two-roomed structure. Op. 19a was a 2 X 2 m test excavation placed in the southwest corner of the southern room of structure 5E103 (Figure 5.118). Op. 19b was a 3.0 X 1.4 m extension used to expose two burial crypts encountered in Op. 19a.

Figure 5.118: West Profile of Op. 19a, Structure 5E-103 When the surface rocks were initially cleared, some chich was observed on the surface. Although not further clarified by excavations, this may have been the remains of a final flooring episode. Pieces of broken floor, small rocks, and gravel were found mixed with the dark humus characteristic of the first 30 cm of fill. At a depth of 59 cm below datum, in the southwest corner, a small floor fragment was found in situ. Several rocks were found immediately under the level of this floor fragment but situated to the northwest of it. Floor fragments and rocks were left in place while the remainder of the level was taken to approximately 75 cm below datum. Retrospectively, it appears that the floor fragments, rocks, and fill constituted a flooring episode. The level was unfortunately not broken at this floor, but instead at an arbitrary point below it. Ceramics date this level to the Terminal Classic. Dry laid construction fill at between 90 and 102 cm. Bedrock was encountered below this level.

The ground surface of the unit Op. 19a was relatively clear prior to excavations. It appeared to contain much more dark brown soil than gravel and was relatively uniform across the unit. This mixture continued through level one, which reached to 58-60 cm below datum, or about 14 cm. Sherds from Op. 19a were primarily Terminal Classic. The cobble ballast normally seen in other Terminal Classic constructions was totally absent. Below this level the fill became very fine and silty and then abruptly switched to fist-sized chich with a dark soil matrix. This may have been sub-floor ballast, although previous upper floor features were lacking. This 13 cm thick layer rested on the red soil that often overlies bedrock. In the southwest corner of the unit, at 76 cm below datum, the top of a human skull was encountered (Figures 5.119-5.120). Op. 19b was initiated to explore and remove this burial (Burial 1). In the process of doing this, another interment, Burial 8, was encountered (Figures 5.119 and 5.121). The crypt of Burial 1 was almost at ground surface. Due to deflation of the structure, it actually began at a point 15 to 20 cm higher than the corner of the operation. This is an unusually high position for a burial. The crypt was oriented northwest to southeast with the head at the north end. This orientation is atypical of Terminal Classic interments at Yaxuná.

Structure 5E-96 experienced a number of construction episodes. The initial rectangular substructure was built by placing floor ballast directly over bedrock. This took place prior to the Late Classic. Over this, a number of Terminal Classic flooring episodes appear to have taken place. The first of these included 25 to 30 cm of dry core fill, while the second only raised the living surface about 16 cm. The final Terminal Classic flooring required another substantial investment, putting down 60 cm of fill before the L-shaped foundation brace. 137

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 the bone, which may have been the result of a muscle injury. Neither porotic hyperostosis nor cribra orbitaia were seen and the nine long bones gave no indications of infection. The mandible showed signs of recent antemortem molar loss and a large abscess was evidenced in the area of the right canine and first premolar. An Akil Impressed vessel was the only artifact recovered.

Generally, such burials are oriented east-west and have vessels inverted over their faces. Tooth development indicated that the individual was a child aged 5-7. Deer tibia placed along the individual’s tibia, and a Spondylus americanus shell pendant signify that the individual was a female according to Landa’s accounts (Tozzer 1941) Cranial deformation was present, but no hands or feet were preserved. The seven preserved long bones indicated that the individual was not suffering from a systematic or local infection and no porotic hyperostosis was detected on the well-preserved portions of the crushed skull. The burial was accompanied by a Sacalum vessel placed on a slateware cajete under the center capstone. These covered the legs and pelvis. The Sacalum vessel cannot be definitively dated to the Terminal Classic; the aberrant Sacalum form suggests that the Late Classic is also a possibility.

Figure 5.120: Plan of Burial 1 Burial 8 was located north of Burial 1 and at a lower elevation. The crypt was better constructed than that of Burial 1, with better shaping of individual stones. The crypt was oriented in the usual east to west manner with the head at the eastern end. The individual in Burial 8 was an adult female, as indicated by a broad sciatic notch. Extensive lapping on the sacrum, skull sutures, and the auricular area of the pelvis indicating an age of 30-40. Cranial deformation was present and the one tooth recovered with the burial was filed. The left radius had a nub of bone on the posterior side of the distal portion of

Figure 5.121: Plan of Burial 8 138

Excavations

Figure 5.123: North Profile of Op. 20, Structure 5E-105

Figure 5.122: Plan of Op. 20, Structure 5E-105 Operation 20: Structure 5E-105 Structure 5E-105 is a two-roomed, double wall lined structure on an elevated platform. A possible patio extended a meter outside of the room walls. No other structures are visible on the surface of the platform. Op. 20 was a 2 X 2 m excavation in the northwest corner of the southern room of structure 5E-105. After the structure was cleared, a tree collapse or sink hole in the northern room allowed investigators to examine some of the stratigraphy prior to excavation, leading them to believe that cultural deposits might continue for a considerable depth.

Figure 5.124: South Profile of Op. 20, Structure 5E-105 Burials 2 and 4 appear to have been intruded through the floor. The dry core fill under this floor was truncated in the south profile by the burial fill (Figure 5.124). The floor of the crypt of Burial 2, a mix of marl and rock, began at the approximate level of the bottom of the marl/gravel layer in the north profile. It was laid directly on a floor. Below this floor was natural red soil. The burials themselves were disturbed, as the same crypt was used for two separate burial episodes. The crypt containing these burials was of the usual construction technique, although in relatively poor condition. It was oriented in the expected north-south manner (Figure 5.125).

Collapse from the fallen walls mixed with dark soil and chich was encountered in the upper levels. Remnants of a plaster floor were encountered at the base of the wall in the northwest corner of the unit (Figure 5.122). This floor was five to eight centimeters thick where preserved (Figure 5.123). Ceramically, the poorly preserved lot was Terminal Classic. Construction fill was exposed beneath this level. At least two burials (2 and 4) were discovered in this level. Ceramics date this to the Terminal Classic, although Early Classic and Late Formative sherds are most numerous. The stratigraphy indicates that Terminal Classic sherds entered the level as a result of the intrusive burials.

Burial 2 was the uppermost, and presumably latest, individual in the crypt. Based upon the morphology of the pelvis, fused femur head, and auricular area of the pelvis, the individual was a 30-40 year old female. Her head was in the northern end of the crypt and she was lying extended and supine. Deer bones were placed along the left femur of Burial 2. The northern part of the crypt had been damaged and the upper thorax and arms were 139

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 missing or disturbed. No teeth were found for this burial. The four long bones present showed no infection or trauma. Grave goods included a Sacalum bowl inverted over the face and a Tabi Gouged and Incised vessel found in a niche under the capstone seen in the south profile.

interred at the same time, the absence of similar examples of double burials makes it more likely that the crypt was re-entered for Burial 2 some time after Burial 4 took place. Operation 21: Structure 6E-121 Structure 6E-121 is an apsidal stone foundation brace for a perishable superstructure. It measures approximately five meters east-west and has what appears to be a doorway to the south. A 2 X 2 meter unit was placed near the center of the structure, abutted against the doorway. Only one level was found, comprised of a reddish-brown soil with accompanying rocks. This level was taken down to bedrock which was 40 cm below the surface in the deepest parts of the unit. Although ceramics were not plentiful in this unit, the seventeen sherds present indicate that the structure was in use only during the Terminal Classic. It appears that structure 6E-121 was occupied during the Terminal Classic by persons of lower economic status. No evidence of any plaster, patio, or other similar investments was found (Figure 5.126). Also, the inhabitants were forced to build on an undesirable, flat spot on the reddish-brown soil. Presumably, if raised areas were available to the Terminal Classic inhabitants, these would have been selected prior to this setting. Instead, the Terminal Classic is the first period in which extensive off-mound occupation has been documented.

Figure 5.125: Plan of Burials 2 and 4 Burial 4 was under Burial 2, oriented 180 degrees in the opposite direction. The proximity of the two burials and the poor preservation of the bones made separating the individuals difficult, although investigators are certain that grave goods were correctly assigned to individuals. Like Burial 2, Burial 4 was lying extended and supine. It had its femora, pelvis, thorax, and skull in place. The lower arms and legs had been disturbed by the interment of Burial 2. Tooth development indicated that the individual was about fifteen years old at the time of death. Thick and thin bands on the skull across the frontal and the parietals behind the coronal suture may have been caused by a tump line and/or intentional deformation. Grave goods included a Muna Slate bowl inverted over the face of the individual, a large Muna Slate sherd over the chest area, and a shell pendant found around the pelvis. As in Burial 1, these artifacts were taken to mean that the juvenile was a female. Like Burial 2, Burial 4 can be said to securely date to the Terminal Classic because of the form of the Sacalum vessel. Although it is impossible to say that the two individuals were not

Figure 5.126: Plan of Op. 21, Structure 6E-121 140

Excavations encountered. The gray soil mixed with marl and gravel appears to have been the fill for the low platform on which the foundation brace rested. It was very thin and the uneven bedrock surface was encountered at only 5085 cm below the ground surface. This fill was deposited directly upon the bare bedrock. At the interface between lot 1 and lot 2, a piece of a polished plaster floor was recovered. This floor fragment may indicate that a plaster surface once existed at this level. This might explain the quantity of marl in the fill of lot 2. This marl may be the deteriorated remains of this possible surface.

Figure 5.128: West Profile of Op. 22, Structure 6E-122 Most of the 80 sherds that were recovered were highly eroded. Those that could be identified were typed as Batres Red or various Yaxuná Ib materials. These data are equivocal, although the structure may be dated to Yaxuná IIc or Yaxuná III. No other artifacts were recovered. The Op. 22b unit outside of the structure was placed to look for evidence of midden material directly off the low mound. No evidence of this type of material was located and considerably fewer sherds were recovered outside of the structure than within. The unit was excavated in four arbitrary 20 cm levels as no change in the stratigraphy was noted by the excavator. The matrix from the ground surface to bedrock consisted of a similar gray soil mixed with gravel as was noted in lot 2 of Op. 22a. In the first 20 cm 18 sherds were recovered. This material suggested a Yaxuná IIc or III date, although no Arena Red, the ubiquitous Late Classic diagnostic was not found in any of the Op. 22 lots; supporting the former date. No other artifacts were recovered. Part of the uneven bedrock surface was exposed near the top of level 3. Bedrock was completely exposed at 64 cm below the surface. As in the Op. 22a excavation, the gray matrix was deposited directly upon the bedrock surface.

Figure 5.127: Plan of Op. 22, Structure 6E-122 Operation 22: Structure 6E-122 Structure 6E-122 is a small rectangular foundation brace (measuring 3.5 X 4.5 m) situation on a very low rise 15 m to the southwest of Structure 6E-12. Unlike Terminal Classic foundation brace structures, the walls of Structure 6E-122 were composed of a single line of large worked stones one course high. There appears to be evidence of stone robbing, especially along the eastern and western walls and it is difficult to identify an entrance with any degree of accuracy. Op. 22 consisted of two adjacent 2 X 2 meter units separated by a balk (Figure 5.127). Op. 22a was placed in the interior of the foundation brace in the northwest corner. Op. 22b was placed directly to the north of Op. 22a, although the two units were separated by a thin balk comprising the soil directly beneath the northern wall.

Operation 23: Structure 5E-166 Structure 5E-166, a two roomed structure, has a double wall line like that seen in other structures dating to the Terminal Classic. Additionally, it had a patio to the east and possible doorways opening to the south in the southern room and to the east in the north room. A 2 X 2 m unit was placed in the southeast corner of the southern room, directly against the walls, in order to investigate Terminal Classic residences.

The upper 10 to 15 cm of the Op. 22a unit was composed of large irregular stones (Figure 5.128). As these stones were removed a dark brown humic soil was exposed. This matrix continued to a level of 40-50 cm. At this level a gray soil mixed with marl and gravel was 141

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 5.130: Plan of Op. 25, Structure 6E-109

Figure 5.129: West Profile of Op. 24, Structure 6E-112 The only material recovered from the unit was from a brown soil mixed with gravel. No evidence of a floor or subfloor ballast was located. Wall stones were laid directly on the ground surface and bedrock was encountered only 10-15 cm below the surface. With the exception of one Laguna Verde Incised sherd, all ceramics from this operation were Terminal Classic. Operation 24: Structure 6E-112 Structure 6E-112 is a low platform measuring 8 X 22 meters (long axis east/west) to the south of Structure 6E12. Although the two small rises on the platform were designated separate structure numbers (Structure 6E-113 and Structure 6E-114), both mounds may have been part of one contiguous structure. The wall lines of this structure were very difficult for the excavators to discern. Thus 6E-112 may have been a boulder-lined platform and the rubble may have been from a floor or platform on top of it (6E-112) with no superstructure present. A perishable rather than a masonry superstructure was likely to have been the platform. The upper 45 cm consisted of a mixture of humic soil and small to large sized stones (Figure 5.129). At this level a series of large flat stones averaging 12 cm thick were exposed. These stones were not found across the entire unit and it remains unclear whether they were intended to comprise a surface serving as flagstones. Given the disturbed nature of the platform, this possibility is likely. The ceramics from this humic level were a mix of Yaxuná Ib and IIa types. One Valladolid Incised Bichrome sherd was recovered. This is the only clearly Yaxuná IIa type recovered in the entire excavation. Given that it was found in the humic level it cannot be used to date the structure. A Late Formative date is more likely as the ceramics and architecture are overly indicative of this period.

Figure 5.131: North Profile of Op. 25, Structure 6E-109 Below the possible flagstones a tan soil with few gravel inclusions was exposed. This matrix was excavated for approximately 35 cm without a break. Very few artifacts were recovered. The few sherds that were found were identified as Late Formative types. This tan soil rested upon another tan soil which was differentiated from level 2 by a slight orange tint. The tan/orange soil was laid directly upon bedrock. In addition to two shell fragments, ten sherds were recovered. This material also dated to the Late Formative. 142

Excavations profile. The remains of the floor were rather thick (20-25 cm) suggesting a Formative date, but no remains of associated architecture were noted. A large number of sherds were recovered from this level. The overwhelming majority were Sierra Red suggesting a Late Formative date for the surface. Below Floor 1 the common red paleosol was exposed. A large amount of Late Formative sherd material was recovered from the upper 20 cm of this matrix corroborating the date suggested from the level 4 material. The red paleosol continued for approximately another 20 cm where bedrock was exposed. Only six sherds were recovered. These were of Late Formative date. Operations 26 and 33: Structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 On the present landscape, Structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 appear as 2.5 to 3 m high, 15 to 20 m diameter, hemispherical mounds (Figure 5.132). We initiated a test excavation in Structure 6E-120 during the 1991 season, anticipating that this mound probably represented the locality of a Terminal Classic elite residence, possibly resting on an Early Classic platform (Suhler 1996). We were surprised to discover that Structure 6E-120 was instead an extraordinarily complex stepped platform that had been ritually terminated in the Late Formative and never reused. During the 1992 field season, we completed our excavations in this structure. As a matter of convenience, we started test excavations on nearby Structure 6E-53 at the same time. With the exception of a short stone alignment on the top of Structure 6E-53, both of these structures are completely devoid of surface features. Prior to our excavations on Structure 6E-53, we believed this summit stone alignment to be the remnants of a Terminal Classic superstructure foundation brace. Once excavation was underway on Structure 6E-53, we discovered that this supposed Terminal Classic foundation brace was the uppermost preserved course of a truncated Late Formative masonry wall in another complex stepped platform similar in design to Structure 6E-120. We encountered this situation in other excavations at Yaxuná; that is, features and structures erroneously assigned to the Terminal Classic based on our initial survey assumption that the remains currently visible at the site would date to the latest period of intense occupation.

Figure 5.132: Plan of Structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 Operation 25: Structure 6E-109 Structure 6E-109 is a roughly 10 X 16 m rectangular foundation brace structure just off the northeast corner of the East Acropolis. The walls of the structure are composed of a double line of well-worked monolithic blocks only one course high. These walls are well preserved except in the northeastern and southwestern portions of the structure. A concentration of chich was noted near the center of the structure and most likely represents the remains of a subfloor ballast dating to the final construction phase. A 2 X 2 m unit was placed along the central portion of the western wall. On the surface, a number of unworked stones were noted (Figure 5.130). The first 20-40 cm consisted of a humic soil often found in the excactions at Yaxuná (Figure 5.131). At this level, a fill consisting of medium to large unworked stones was exposed. Although this fill was likely the ballast for the superstructure floor, there was no evidence of a prepared surface. This material was approximately 30 cm thick where it was preserved in association with the extant western wall. Below this level, a brown soil was exposed. This level was approximately 25 cm thick. Below this brown soil, the remains of a floor (Floor 1) were discerned. The ceramics above this floor indicated a Terminal Classic date for the superstructure.

Both of these buildings were stepped platforms with outer surfaces composed of modeled plaster directly over compact core material. Since the outer surfaces of these platforms were both partly destroyed at the time of termination and subsequently eroded, we can say little more about the outside designs except that they were both apparently four-sided and lacked superstructures of stone or plastered concrete. We did find evidence of postholes on the summit of Structure 6E-120 suggesting a perishable superstructure or scaffold. The interior plans of Structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 included very similar quatrefoil-shaped corridors running around central rooms inside them. On Structure 6E-120 the serpentine corridor was pierced by ground-level entrances on three sides facing cardinal directions, north, east, and south (Figures

Floor 1 was not very well preserved, although it appeared to seal much of the unit. Only a small section of well preserved polished floor was identified in the northern 143

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 5.133-5.135). The western side of this platform was too damaged to confirm an access way, but there was a roomlike feature discussed below. On Structure 6E-53, there were at least two ground-level doorways on the south and east. The other two sides of this platform are too badly damaged to know if there were doorways. Finally, each of these platforms had a stairway leading from an interior corridor up to the summit (Figure 5.136). We infer that these access ways to the summit were not visible from ground-level outside the platforms and that they had the appearance of trap-doors. The two structures also share a number of other design details throughout their respective interiors (Suhler 1996). Figure 5.136: Stairway of Structure 6E-53

Figure 5.133: Doorway in Structure 6E-120 Figure 5.137: North Profile of Structure 6E-120 The walls of the interior corridors of Structure 6E-120 were covered with a relatively thick layer of beigecolored plaster. This layer represented several episodes of refurbishment of the plaster on the walls. The surface of the interior corridor walls were backed by cut masonry blocks a single course thick set into beige grouting. These walls retained a core of alternating layers of a tan, packed, marl/gravel mixture and chich (Figure 5.137). Our initial test into Structure 6E-120 came down astride the south wall of the corridor leading into the interior chamber. The upper 20 cm was composed of loose, dark topsoil containing a mixed sample of ceramics with Terminal Classic Cehpech wares being the latest phase present. Below this topsoil was a layer of the tan marl/gravel matrix, loosely packed and interspersed with some cobble sized, unworked pieces of limestone. We interpret this deposit as a deliberate capping layer placed over the structure at the time of its Late Formative termination.

Figure 5.133: Doorway in Structure 6E-120

The base of this tan capping deposit rested on top of the layered marl/gravel and cobble construction layers and the topmost preserved portion of the interior corridor walls. The walls of the corridor were best preserved here, close to the summit of the platform, to a height of ca. 2.2 m above the corridor floor. At several places along the tops of the corridor walls there were areas where the surface plaster appeared to curl up and in. We believe that

Figure 5.133: Doorway in Structure 6E-120 144

Excavations these mark the point at which the ceiling began, and therefore maximum corridor wall height, which generally was lower in the outer corridor than in corridors leading into the central chambers. We also found seven postholes at the top of the construction layers during the excavation of Structure 6E120 in 1991. The majority of the postholes were situated in the southeastern corner of the southern side of the inner sanctum passage. We found a single posthole on the northern side of this passage and another one on the eastern exterior south of the main entrance. These postholes varied in width from between 17-24 cm and showed no apparent pattern. We determined that posthole number one was 1.62 m deep. The postholes were integral to the original construction of the platforms. This could be seen in the way the compact marl/gravel and cobble construction layers were shaped to the surfaces of the postholes. If the postholes had been later additions to the building, we would have expected to find disturbed areas in the construction, which we did not. An unusual feature we observed in the innermost corridor walls of structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 were niches that seemed similar to curtain holders reported at Tikal and Palenque. These niches were made with masonry blocks and were built into the original construction of the walls (Figure 5.138). Each niche was 32-40 cm deep with a 3 cm hole in the base about midway back inside the wall. Rather than the lips being made of the truncated necks of ceramic vessels, as was the case at Tikal, the round edges were formed when the wall was plastered. We do not have a firm explanation for the function of these wall niches. They do not have a matching number on the opposite walls, so their function as curtain holders is doubtful. Possibly they were designed for small lighting torches or as receptacles for counterweights to facilitate the hanging of articles against the wall. Structure 6E-120 has 11 of these niches, eight on the innermost corridor wall on the east side of the structure, one in each of the north and south vertical wall niches in this same eastern side, and one on the innermost wall in the southern corridor. We found only one of these features in Structure 6E-53, located on the innermost wall on the eastern side of the building.

Figure 5.139: North Profile of Subfloor Test Pit in Structure 6E-120 The interior floors of both structures were very hard and polished. A test pit through the Structure 6E-120 interior floor revealed that it was the uppermost floor in a three floor sequence (Figure 5.139). The lowest floor rolled up onto the face of the walls, forming the first layer of plaster. This earliest floor was laid on top of a 15-20 cm layer of gravel ballast. We found a 110 cm layer of dry core boulder fill below the gravel layer before encountering dirt. The boulder fill formed the lowest layer of Structure 6E-120 and was laid on top of the dark red topsoil that formed the original ground surface in many areas of the site. The first 20 cm of this dark red soil had a heavy mix of charcoal, ash, bones and sherds. The bones were definitely animal bones. The sherd sample, based on a field inspection, appeared to be composed of late Middle Formative Nabanché types. These sherds indicated that Structure 6E-120 was constructed on a Middle Formative occupation surface or that this building is in fact of Middle Formative date. As mentioned above, each of the structures had a staircase leading to the summit and built into the innermost wall of the circum-perimeter corridor. In Structure 6E-120 this staircase was on the north side of the structure ascending to the west. The stairs in Structure 6E-53 were on the south side of the structure and ascended to the north. In both structures the stairs were built into the wall of the corridor and therefore dated to the initial construction of the building. They were planned features and not later additions. The stairs themselves were constructed from the same materials as the wall facings, cut blocks and the marl and gravel

Figure 5.138: Niches in the North-South Corridor of Structure 6E-120 145

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 cache void outside the limits of the test pit with at least one ceramic vessel visible through gaps in the dry core fill. Upon careful removal of rocks from the western wall we gained entrance to the cache pit (Cache 5). The cache pit itself was oval in outline with diameters of 1.1 m eastwest by 0.8 m north-south. The cache pit was almost a meter deep and the bottom of the pit was a plastered surface laid on top of a layer of dry core fill.

matrix (Figure 5.140). The stairs then received a heavy coat of plaster, giving them the same beige, rounded contours as the rest of the buildings. There was evidence of several episodes of stair replasterings seen at each of the structures. The stairs in both structures were truncated when we found them. On Structure 6E-120 the truncation occurred 12 cm up the fourth riser. On Structure 6E-53, the stairs were truncated at the top of the fifth tread.

The top of Cache 5 was covered by an eight centimeter thick limestone slab with an area slightly larger than the opening at the top of the cache pit (Figure 5.141). This limestone slab extended under the south wall of the sanctum establishing that Cache 5 was placed before construction of the wall and was therefore integral to the construction of Structure 6E-53. The walls of the cache pit were made from a mixture of large cobbles and limestone slabs placed to form the oval outline. The materials from Cache 5 consisted of two ceramic vessels originally placed lip to lip (Figures 5.142-5.143). As found the vessels had slumped to the east. A shallow redware bowl with incised vertical lines on the exterior was placed inverted over a very well made rare polychrome cache ‘bucket’ with flaring walls. These ceramic vessels have been assigned to the Late Formative, but may in fact be Middle Formative. Reanalysis of these two vessels continues, but the general consensus now is that these vessels are Early Nabanche.

Figure 5.140: South Profile of Stair of Structure 6E-53

Figure 5.141: Plan of Cache 5 The final shared interior architectural feature in the two structures is an interior chamber, an inner sanctum, in the center of each one. In Structure 6E-120 access to the sanctum was by a single corridor running east-west to the eastern entrance. In Structure 6E-53 the sanctum had two entrances, one to the north and one to the west. The interior walls and floors of both sanctums were devoid of features or modifications. We placed a subfloor test pit into the southeastern corner of the sanctum in Structure 6E-53. This subfloor test established a straightforward sequence of construction for the structure. The floor was a very hard and thick (20-25 cm) stucco layer laid on top of 5-7 cm of gravel to level. Beneath this floor sequence there was approximately 160 cm of dry core fill resting on top of a thin (less than 10 cm) layer of the red soil which covered an undulating bedrock surface. The surface of the plaster floor rolled up onto the walls in much the same fashion as the earliest floor in Structure 6E-120. In the western profile of this subfloor test the local Yaxuná excavators noticed a large

Figure 5.142: Bucket Vessel from Cache 5 We found a large, carefully worked spherical stone in the center of the red bucket, resting in a matrix of what we supposed to be decomposed organic material (Figure 5.144). We believe the presence of this spherical stone was deliberate as it would have had to have been deposited before the space in the vessels was sealed by their lip-to-lip placement. The limestone slab covered the entire top of the cache and we therefore discount the possibility that the rock could have fallen into the bucket fortuitously.

146

Excavations east to west, while that of Structure 6E-53 ascends from south to north. Together they point inwards to a common central space defined on the western side by the massive Structure 6E-2. If this were the case, then the missing room for Structure 6E-53 would have been located on the north side of the building. This side of the structure was particularly hard hit when the building was terminated and therefore we found no evidence of such a room during the excavations. The roofing over the corridors and sanctums above the ceiling curl of the wall plaster was destroyed when the buildings were terminated, except in the central corridor of Structure 6E-120. There we found some slab stones of a crude corbel in place with the ceiling plaster still attached to the stones. Otherwise we are left to conjecture about roof design on circumstantial evidence. Given the thick pier-like design of the building cores surrounding the corridors in the two buildings we believe that the roofing was beam and mortar and that much of the shattered concrete debris filling the corridors came from the roofing material. We think that we would have found some preserved traces or indications of superstructures if the platforms had been made to support such features in stone and plaster.

Figure 5.143: Lid to Cache 5

Our conjecture is strengthened by the staircases, which only make sense if they gained access to a summit surface on the platforms. A vaulted roof over all of the corridors is a possibility, but seems to be unlikely because aside from the crude slabs over the central corridor in Structure 6E-120, we found no vault stones or the even quantity of stone needed to ballast such a series of vaults in the other corridors. Moreover, the width of the sanctums is too great to have been vaulted. Hence we surmise that the platforms had some sort of beam and mortar roof utilizing the same construction technique as the walls and piers. Beam and mortar roofing of Maya public buildings was a common practice in the Postclassic, but there are examples of this type from earlier periods as well. The famous Early Classic mural in Group A at Uaxactún shows a beam and mortar roofed building (Smith 1950).

Figure 5.144: Cache 5 In Situ There was also a large amount of what we believe to be decomposed organic material lying on top of the plastered base of the Cache 5 pit. Given the presence of these organic remains and the large unfilled space of the Cache 5 pit we postulate that a large part of the cache itself was composed of organic materials which originally filled the pit and covered the two ceramic vessels. We hope eventual analysis of the collected organic remains will shed light on this possibility.

We found indirect evidence for this type of roof on structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 in that the debris ritualists used to fill up the corridors was the same concrete material we observed in the walls and the piers (hardened marl, plaster, and gravel). We also found retaining wall stones in this fill, as if these people had toppled down the upper levels of the corridor walls along with the roof when destroying the platforms. Some were even corner stones, plastered on two vertical surfaces with thick marl, plaster and gravel concrete adhering to the horizontal surfaces. This masonry-laden corridor fill was distinct from the capping layer over it, which contained no wall stones. Moreover, we found pieces of burnished plaster with five centimeters of marl and gravel backing attached to them in the corridor fill. These were not pieces of wall plaster as there was no marl and gravel backing on plaster found on, or just fallen from, the walls. Plaster was laid directly onto the wall facing stones. We interpret these

The interior plans of the two structures may have differed in one major aspect. On the western side of Structure 6E120 we found the remains of what we believe to have been a room. As only the eastern wall and portions of northern and southern walls were present we cannot state with certainty the exact size of the room. Given the marked degree of interior symmetry within and between the two structures, however, we believe it possible that this room also led to a western entrance. As was the case in much of the architecture of the two buildings the western side of the room had been simply ripped out. While we did not find a counterpart for this room in our excavations on Structure 6E-53, we are prepared to make a case for the original presence of such a feature. The orientations of the staircases of the two structures form a pattern. The stairway of Structure 6E-120 ascends from 147

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 gravel and marl backed pieces of plaster as fragments of the ceiling from the corridors and chamber. They were, we think, part of the roof brought down into those areas.

outside. Here over half of the entrance was removed in the termination ritual, as well as almost the entire wall west of this southern entrance. Presumably this western section would have ended in a niche and corner much like that on the east. The effect in plan would have been something like a flange at the doorway. Whatever this meant to the builders, it is commensurate with the deliberate inclusion of niches in some of the corners of the corridors. These embellishments, clearly without any practical function in facilitating movement, confirm the proposition that the plan of the corridors expressed an important icon and symbol.

On their exteriors, the masons of structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 utilized the same techniques to shape and finish the platforms. They built up the gently rounded stepped terraces with layers of the aforementioned concrete and cobbles. They faced the compact hearting with a thick layer of the same beige plaster used on the interior corridor walls. Despite the general absence of coursed stone retaining walls on the outsides of these platforms, the masons did use dressed stone blocks for two purposes. First, they marked out the plan designs of the platforms with a single course of worked, rectangular blocks. These masons placed the basal courses directly on top of the dry core rubble fill that formed the foundations of the structures. They also raised the concrete and cobble construction layers directly on top of the rubble ballast, building the terraces up inside of the plans of the structures they had laid out in cut stone. Second, they used masonry at the ground-level entrances. The sharply vertical surfaces of the entrance walls at the junctures with terraces likely encouraged the builders to use masonry retainers here.

The ritualists responsible for the burial of Structure 6E-53 performed with energy and determination to render the stepped quadrangular shape into a rounded hummock. In the destroyed southern and western sections of Structure 6E-53, we could easily see the transition from polished plaster floors and walls to unconsolidated rubble and fill of the platform. This truncation continued to the north, wrapping around the building and encompassing large sections of the western and northern sides of the structure from the interior corridor wall out. The eastern side of the eastern doorway had also been partly torn out. Enough remained, however, to indicate to us that it was originally either the same shape as the eastern entrance of Structure 6E-120, or like the flanged shape of the southern entrance on 6E-53. To the north of this eastern entrance the ritual termination efforts were again quite evidence. The northern wall and associated flooring forming the interior passage and entrance vestibule was simply gone a meter north of the east-west passage. As on the south side, the change was from well-preserved architecture to an unconsolidated mix of the tan gravel/marl matrix and cobbles. In the southern area of southeasternmost corner of the interior corridor there was a section of wall that had been ripped out from the basal course of the facing stones up. On either side of this gap we found well preserved plastered wall surfaces.

The forms of the entrances varied both within the structures and between the structures. In the case of Structure 6E-120, the eastern approach was an inset niche in the terraces defined in coursed masonry. This was the most elaborate entrance preserved on the structure. The northern and southern entrances on Structure 6E-120 were masonry walls that exited the passage connecting the interior corridors and then cornered while remaining flush with the remnants of the exterior surfaces. All three of these entrances were fronted by a low step up onto a basal terrace that represents a secondary addition to the building. We found the remnants of broad steps that led up to this terrace in front of entrances. We also located the surface ballast and plaster of this lowermost terrace rolling up the face of the exterior basal course of masonry and then covering the marl/gravel and cobble construction layers of the upper terraces. We made these observations in our excavations to the north of the eastern entrance. The presence of this later terrace addition, and the replastering of worn stairs noted earlier, indicates to us that the buildings were used long enough to allow for architectural additions, and that the stairs themselves were functional. They were not ornamental but provided passage through the lower doorways and the interior corridor to the upper surface of the platform.

The only place on Structure 6E-53 where we encountered a preserved exterior surface was on the southern face of the structure to the east of the southern entrance. Here we found the basal exterior course with a piece of plaster rolling up this basal course and onto the construction layers of the building. This design was almost identical to that discovered in our excavations of Structure 6E-120. Overall, the level of destruction was much greater on Structure 6E-53 than on Structure 6E-120. The walls were preserved to a lower elevation and portions of the interior corridor were damaged or completely removed. This contrasts with Structure 6E-120 where almost the entire interior corridor was left intact. Additionally, the exteriors of the entrances were almost obliterated on Structure 6E-53. Perhaps this has something to do with different styles of entrances on the two structures, although as we have argued above we think that they were probably similar.

The southern and eastern entrances at Structure 6E-53 were the only ones well enough preserved to permit analysis of their pre-termination form. In the case of the eastern doorway, there is a preserved section of an inset on the southern side, so this doorway may have been an inset niche rather like the eastern doorway on Structure 6E-120. The southern entrance is different. On the eastern side of this doorway, there is a preserved niche that constricts back before the door gives way to the terrace

Besides the scale and pattern of architectural destruction documented in the two buildings, we found additional 148

Excavations mound with the remains of a wall on the north side of the mound. It is located to the southeast of the East Acropolis (6E-1). A 2 X 2 m unit was placed in the approximate center of the structure, in order to better explore the functions of chich mounds. The first level was characterized by brown soil and chich (Figure 5.145). This level continued 45 cm to the top of some rocks scattered about the unit. Ceramics from this lot are primarily Terminal Classic. Under this soil, rock, and gravel mix was dry cobble fill. The fill from this fill was primarily Late Formative. Under this was a light tan, compact fill which was not explored due to time constraints. In the southeast corner of the unit, at one meter below datum, the Terminal Classic crypt capstones of Burial 7 were discovered (Figure 5.146).

evidence for the deliberate ritual termination of structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 by the Late Formative Maya. The lower two risers of the staircase in Structure 6E-53 were covered by a layer of white marl or sascab. The use of layers of white sascab in termination rituals is a practice that has been noted in our excavations at an Early Classic elite residence at Yaxuná and in other areas in the Maya lowlands such at Cerros. In a large communal tomb (forty bodies) discovered during excavations in the Terminal Classic Monjas complex at Chichén Itzá, Bolles (1977) found the entire floor and the bodies, to the level of the second riser, covered with a layer of white sascab. Both Structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 were swept clean before they were terminated. The only material found on the floors was the destruction debris described above. If the structures had been simply abandoned, we might expect to have found deposits of trash and wind-blown dirt on the floor. This was not the case. Our contexts seem comparable to those found in the recent excavations in Late Classic Structure 10L-32 at Copán. There the floors were swept clean prior to the termination of that structure (Andrews and Fash 1992). Further, one of the postholes on the top of Structure 6E-120 was deliberately covered by a rock fitted to its top. This rock occurred at the same level as the highest preserved portion of the southern wall in the corridor leading into the sanctum. This indicates to us that the entire roof was removed to this level, this particular posthole was capped, and then the remaining portion of the structure was filled. Finally, upon excavation we found that all of the wall niches in both Structure 6E-120 and Structure 6E-53 were carefully filled in with a mixture of the marl/gravel matrix and small rocks. This act had to have been performed prior to the filling of the structure corridors.

Figure 5.146: Plan of Capstones of Burial 7 The crypt of Burial 7 was oriented east-west, with the head at the eastern end (Figure 5.147). The bone was in good condition and the skeleton was relatively complete. The pelvis had a moderate sciatic notch and prominent preauricular sulcus, identifying it as a female. Mandibular molars had been lost prior to death and the three remaining teeth were too worn to be informative. The auricular area of the pelvis and the endocranial sutures were used to determine an age of 25-35. No infections, trauma, porotic hyperostosis, arthritis, dental caries, nor macroghypoplasias were found. Cranial deformation, consistent with other Terminal Classic burials, was apparent. Grave goods consisted of a Muna Slate vessel by the left femur and deer bones by the right femur. No vessel was placed over the face of the individual.

Figure 5.145: West Profile of Op. 27, Structure 6E-58 Operation 27: Structure 6E-58 Structure 6E-58 is an amorphous 50 cm high chich

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Figure 5.147: Plan of Burial 7 Formative sherds are also prominent. Lacking any signs of a floor or floor ballast, structure 6E-60 is much like the apsidal structure 6E-121, excavated in Op. 21. Without significant investments, it appears to have been constructed during the Terminal Classic by persons of rather limited resources. Operation 29: Off-Mound, Structure 6E-120 This 2 X 2 m unit was placed ten meters to the northeast of Structure 6E-120. The upper level was a mixture of humus and gravel. A wall line was exposed at 12 cm below the surface. This wall was in association with a well-preserved stucco floor. The wall itself was only one course high and appears to be a foundation brace, although no structure number was given to this feature. Due to time constraints this unit was terminated before more of the feature could be exposed.

Figure 5.148: Plan of Op. 30, Structure 4E-42 The portion of Structure 6E-58 excavated represents a Terminal Classic platform construction with an associated crypt. Because the operation was terminated prior to bedrock it cannot be determined if the earlier ceramic materials present were introduced as construction fill, or brought up from a previous occupation by construction of the crypt. The included burial and structural characteristics do indicate that the chich structure was a Terminal Classic residence.

Operation 30: Structure 4E-42 Structure 4E-42 is a 12 X 14 m boulder-lined platform which has been heavily disturbed by the modern road from Yaxuná to Popolá which bisects the structure along its east/west axis. The platform is just over one meter in height and supports two rectangular foundation braces (Structure 4E-43 and Structure 4E-44). Neither of these structures was tested, but may date to the late phase occupation at Yaxuná. Several other large boulder lined platforms were noted in the vicinity of Structure 4E-42 and Middle Formative through Terminal Classic material was noted in surface contexts with a heavy emphasis on the Late Formative, Early Classic, and Late Classic. Op. 30 was a 2 X 4 m unit placed in the undisturbed southwestern portion of the platform (Figure 5.148).

Operation 28: Structure 6E-60 Structure 6E-60 is an apsidal construction to the southeast of structure 6E-58. Op. 28 was a 2 X 2 m unit placed in the center of the structure. The only level was brown soil mixed with large rocks. No gravel was present in the fill. Bedrock was reached at 20-25 cm below the surface. Ceramics recovered from the fill date the structure to the Terminal Classic, although Late Classic and Late 150

Excavations brace was set directly on bedrock. Immediately to the north of the southern extent of the foundation brace a lighter brown soil mixed with gravel and chich was exposed. Although the southern extent of Structure 4E-45 was set on bedrock, the inhabitants leveled out the uneven bedrock with this light brown fill. Although no evidence of a prepared floor was noted, the interface between level 1 and level 2 was most likely the living surface of the structure. If any plaster floor had been existent, it has long since deteriorated. The light brown fill was only 15 cm in depth at maximum.

Figure 5.149: East Profile of Op. 31, Structure 4E-39

Operation 31: Structure 4E-39 Op. 31 was a 2 X 4 m test unit placed in the southeastern corner of Structure 4E-39 abutting the eastern wall. Like Structure 4E-42, Structure 4E-39 was a large boulder lined platform (measuring approximately 28 X 46 m) which was bisected by the Yaxuná to Popolá road causing heavy disturbance along its east/west centerline. The platform was nearly two meters in height and supported one unusually shaped foundation brace structure (Structure 4E-40). This structure was not tested, but consisted of a two room plan comprised of a semicircle and a rectangle separated by an interior wall. The structure approaches an apsidal plan, but the eastern wall is strait rather than curved. The northern wall of the platform was not found in a well preserved state, but there appears to be a projection of the platform to the north at the northeast corner. This projection supports no architecture and is aberrant for this type of architecture at Yaxuná. To the west of this projection, the northern wall of the platform is absent.

Figure 5.150: West Profile of Op. 32 The upper 10-15 cm of the entire unit was a dark humic soil. Just below the surface an alignment of stones was exposed. These appear to be the southern extent of an apsidal plan foundation brace structure (Structure 4E-45), although the full plan of this building was not exposed. Given the probable Formative date for the boulder lined platform and the identification of Late Formative apsidal structures elsewhere at Yaxuná, there is the strong possibility that this superstructure and the platform were constructed around the same time.

This unit was excavated as one lot down to bedrock which was reached at 10 to 47 cm below the ground surface indicating that the builders of the platform made fortuitous use of a rise in the bedrock (Figure 5.149). The matrix was a homogenous fill of dry laid stones mixed with a dark brown soil. Plentiful ceramics were recovered (423 sherds). This material clustered in two phases (Yaxuná Ib/IIa and Yaxuná III). This may suggest that the platform was constructed at the end of the Late Formative or beginning of the Early Classic and was later reused by the Late Classic occupants of the site. This appears to have occurred at the 4E-19 platform 100 m to the south. Given the construction style of the platform, this is the most likely scenario. Additionally, a bifacially flaked rose colored chert fragment and an obsidian blade were recovered. The chert fragment may have been part of a projectile point, but another function cannot be ruled out.

Bedrock was quickly exposed immediately to the south of the foundation brace revealing that this portion of the structure was set directly upon the unmodified bedrock surface. A large number of sherds were recovered from this lot. Only two out of 135 sherds were identified as dating to the Classic. The overwhelming majority of the ceramics were Late Formative strongly suggesting that the platform and the superstructure date to this period. Additionally, one marine shell and four obsidian blade fragments were recovered. The dark humic soil continued in the southernmost portion of the unit. Bedrock was fully exposed to the south of the superstructure 15 cm below the base of the superstructure wall. Only Yaxuná Ib/IIa material was recovered further suggesting that the construction and occupation of the platform was restricted to the Late Formative. The excavation inside of Structure 4E-45 continued as a separate lot. At the level of the base of the foundation brace, bedrock was exposed immediately to the north confirming that this portion of the foundation

Operation 32: Structure 4E-30 Op. 32 was a 2 X 2 m test unit placed at the summit of Structure 4E-30, a nearly four meter high pyramidal structure measuring approximately 15 m on a side. No extant architectural features were noted and the mound appeared a rubble collapse. Several small foundation brace structures surrounded this mound and an albarrada ran over the mound on its east side. 151

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Floor 3 extended halfway across the unit and was broken at its easternmost extent. At the point of the break in Floor 3, the white marl layer extended downwards. At approximately 85 cm below the summit surface in the eastern portion of the unit, a lower terrace covered by Floor 3 was exposed. This surface was associated with a terrace wall comprised of roughly worked limestone blocks (Structure 4E-30-2nd). The white marl layer leveled out at this level. Above the white marl and Floor 3 a gray colored marl had been exposed. This matrix appears to have been deposited at the same time as the underling white marl, but may have become discolored by leaching from the humic level which was thicker in this area of the unit. The ceramics associated with the constructions above Floor 3 were of Late to Terminal Classic date.

Figure 5.151: North Profile of Op. 32

The excavation progressed below the upper terrace of Floor 3. Dry core fill was exposed and excavated to a level of 1.8 m below the summit surface. The ceramic material was overwhelmingly Late Formative. Along the eastern terrace edge, two courses of the terrace wall were exposed. The upper courses of this wall were not recovered, but may have collapsed down the structure as the terrace deteriorated. The lower terrace level of Floor 3 was abutted against the terrace wall. This may suggest that the terrace wall was not plastered or that the stucco has since deteriorated. Below Floor 3, a thin ballast was exposed. The composition of this ballast was not recorded by the excavator, but yielded 21 sherds. This material dated the construction of the floor to the Late Formative period. Below the ballast, another surface (Floor 4) was exposed. Floor 4 was not well constructed and appeared as almost a stucco lens. There is a possibility that this surface represents a construction pause, but the data are inconclusive. It also abutted the terrace wall. Below the floor, another thin matrix which was not recorded by the excavator was exposed. At approximately one meter, Floor 5 was encountered and the excavation was closed. No artifactual material was recovered, but Floor 4 most likely dates to the Late Formative. Operation 34: Structure 6F-9 Structure 6F-9 represents the only visible remains of standing vaulted architecture at Yaxuná (Figures 5.1535.154). The building is located on a narrow projection protruding south from the center of the southern side of the North Acropolis. It appears to have partially collapsed after the 1940s. We know it fell sometime after Brainerd’s (1958:13) work at Yaxuná, as his description indicates that Structure 6F-9 (Building 5 in Brainerd’s terminology) was still standing in 1942. The eastern walls fell down the relatively steep eastern slope of the platform on which the structure is situated. The western walls also fell to the east, into the interior of the building (Figure 5.155). The section of fallen western wall to the north of the only doorway fell largely en masse, effectively blocking exploratory excavation of the northern half of Structure 6F-9.

Figure 5.152: Plan of Floors 1 and 2, Op. 32 The upper 10-30 cm was comprised of a humic soil mixed with small deteriorated stucco fragments and chich (Figures 5.150-5.151). Below this matrix, a level of marl and chich was exposed. In the western half of the unit, the marl was pure white and approximately 30 cm thick (Figure 5.152). This marl covered several features including a two deteriorated plaster floors (Floor 1 and Floor 2) associated with a foundation brace superstructure (Structure 4E-30-1st) and a well preserved plaster floor (Floor 3) associated with an earlier construction. The foundation brace was set on top of a compact sascab layer. The associated floors were only discerned in the westernmost part of the unit. 152

Excavations

Figure 5.153: Walls of Structure 6F-9 In the southern half of the building it appears that the western wall south of the doorway broke up as it fell and the southern wall fell south outside the building (Figure 5.156). Our excavations were of the southern half of the building because the fallen western wall had filled the southern interior with pieces of a size manageable enough to excavate. The resulting size of the excavation unit was a rectangle two meters north-south and 2.5 m east-west. Lourdes Toscano Hernández has since consolidated the building, although this work has not yet been published. Interior dimensions of the intact structure were approximately 14 m north-south and 2.6 m east-west. The interior walls are of Puuc veneer masonry over a concrete load-bearing core. This concrete core is approximately 80 cm thick and veneer stones today occur only on the interior walls, the exterior veneer stones having fallen away, leaving concrete core exposed. The in situ vault stones are not true Puuc boot-shaped stones. Archetypical boot-shaped vault stones, however, were visible in collapsed sections of the vault, indicating that the building dates from the change from semi-boot shaped to pure boot shaped vault stones.

Figure 5.154: Structure 6F-9 The floor, or what would have been the floor was found at approximately 1.5 m below the top of the collapse (Figure 5.157). The walls surrounding the southern interior of Structure 6F-9 varied from between 0.3-1.4 m in height. The walls were worst preserved on the east where the majority of the stress from the collapse was focused and were better preserved on the west where the wall fell inward. The remains of the floor took the form of a compact sascab layer that was patchy over the entire unit.

Along the northern wall, a false soffit was used to spring the vault while a true soffit was used on the western wall. These true soffit stones are almost identical to the ones found in Structure 6F-68. While no decorated stones were found during our excavations into the interior of the building Brainerd (1958) reported finding decorated stones in the plaza to the west of Structure 6F-9.

In the middle of the unit there were remains of a hearth. This hearth was composed of burned rocks, marl, and 153

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 The walls were footed on a single layer of flagstones set on top of a 5-10 cm layer of gravel. Beneath this layer of gravel we found nothing but dry core fill mixed with a dark brown matrix. The floor was laid on top of the flagstones and lipped up on the walls, but did not continue beneath them. The south edge of the western medial doorway was located and an outer floor was recorded at the base of the outer basal line of stones, about 25 cm below the door. About 30 cm below the remains of the floor, we came upon a burial (Burial 10). This burial was a juvenile, aged 12-15 years found in the northwest corner of the structure, just inside the doorway (Figure 5.158).

charcoal in the form of large chunks and burned elotes. Local lore has it that the building was a refuge during the War of the Castes and that it was occupied sporadically up until the time it collapsed. There was no other cultural material associated with the hearth and we believe it dates very late, probably within the last 50 years given the presence of the corn cobs.

There were several things about Burial 10 that set it apart from the majority of the burials excavated at Yaxuná. First of all, the preservation of the bones was better than anything thus far seen at Yaxuná, the bones were not fragile and fragmentary and all the bones seem to have been present (Figure 5.159). The incredibly well preserved nature of the bones was even stranger given the total lack of a crypt. Rather, it seems the burial was laid in a hasty void excavated out of the floor right in front of the door. Two stones to either side of the torso may have been a crude attempt at lining the grave or they may have been stones from the fill of the building that were not removed. These stones were between 12-22 cm below the floor. The grave was then filled with very fine tan soil and a few rocks. The last unusual item of note was the total lack of grave goods with the burial.

Figure 5.155: West Wall of Structure 6F-9

Every other burial excavated at Yaxuná, with the exception of Burial 3 and Burial 20, was provided with some form of grave goods. After screening the fill around the body we did come up with two artifacts. They consisted of a small lead ball, probably from a pistol and a glass or porcelain button. Clearly we were dealing with a Colonial burial and not a Precolumbian burial, hence the reason for the deviations from the Terminal Classic burial patterns. We interpret Burial 10 as a Colonial youth who may have been killed by the pistol ball found in the grave fill. The dating of this burial is problematic, but probably dates to sometime after 1773 when the Rancho de Cetelac is mentioned in the archives (see Alexander 2004). The unusual location of the burial and its rather hurried appearance indicates that it occurred in less than normal circumstances. If this is indeed the case then the skeleton may represent foul play or the burial may represent a Maya casualty from the Caste War. The YaxunáYaxcabá area was a hotspot in the war. The only other subfloor feature found in the Op. 34 excavations was a cache (Cache 7) in the northeast corner of the unit (Figure 5.160). This cache was disturbed by the placement of Burial 10. Its western end was missing, however, and there were some materials found between the two deposits that would seem to go with the cache, namely an abnormally sized and shaped piece of obsidian and the distal and medial portion of a small projectile point.

Figure 5.156: South Extension of West Wall, Structure 6F-9 154

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Figure 5.157: Plan of Structure 6F-9

Figure 5.158: Plan of Burial 10

Figure 5.160: Plan of Cache 7 The cache itself was laid in a prepared pit just inside the east wall. There were at least two stones covering the cache and these were plastered. Below these two stones there was a partially plastered basin. The only in situ cache item was a fragment of an Espita Applique incensario resting on top of this plastered surface (Figure 5.161). This fragment was a piece of a larger vessel that

Figure 5.159: Burial 10 155

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 findings. At this point the pit was too deep to work safely and excavations were terminated.

had spiked appliques, circular openings painted red around their perimeter and a calcareous white wash applied to the outer surface.

Op. 34 documented that Structure 6F-9 represents a single phase Terminal Classic construction added onto the southern main entrance of the North Acropolis. This structure and the small group built to its west represent another focus of elite Terminal Classic settlement at Yaxuná. A cache below the floor of the building contained a Sotuta ceramic vessel, tying this vessel in with Yaxuná IVb rather than IVa constructions. Architecturally this is significant because this building is the only one known to use „pure‟ Terminal Classic construction techniques in its entirety. This architectural sequencing is further supported by the fact that, unlike the plaza to the south of Structure 6F-4 (structures 6F-68, 6F-7, and 6F-8), gray Cehpech Pizarra sphere ceramics were not found in excavations at Structure 6F-9, indicating that western Puuc influence was decidedly on the wane prior to the construction of Structure 6F-9. Operation 35: Structure 5E-80 Structure 5E-80 is a low mound with a double-walled foundation brace superstructure on its summit. This mound is situated approximately 25 m to the north of the Structure 5E-75 basal platform and measures 12 X 15 m. The foundation brace is most likely Terminal Classic in date given its morphological similarity to other late foundation braces at Yaxuná and the presence of some Terminal Classic ceramics in the upper levels. There is an east/west internal partition suggestive of a covered patio area or some variation of a tandem plan, but the only visible entrance faces the south towards Structure 5E-75. No entrance on the northern side of the structure could be discerned from the extant architecture. Several smaller foundation braces (structures 5E-79 and 5E-166) were also noted in the vicinity. Although these structures were not tested, they may be the remains of ancillary structures such as kitchens. Additionally, a colonial albarrada runs over the mound connecting another near the eastern wall of Structure 5E-80.

Figure 5.161: Incensario Fragment from Cache 7

Figure 5.162: West Profile of Op. 35, Structure 5E-80

Op. 35 consisted of a 2 X 2 m test unit placed along the interior of the foundation brace immediately to the east of the entrance. The first 20 cm consisted of five centimeters of humic soil under which a dark brown loose soil was exposed (Figure 5.162). One large piece of preserved floor was recovered. This floor appears to be out of place and may have been part of the floor exposed at a lower level which worked its way up through bioturbation. The floor associated directly with the extant foundation brace was exposed at a much lower level. Although the ceramics recovered from this upper level were extremely eroded, Late Formative, Early Classic, and Terminal Classic types were identified suggesting that this mound was the locus of several occupations. Given that doublewalled foundation brace construction is overwhelmingly Terminal Classic at Yaxuná and that Terminal Classic material was found in this upper level, the extant architecture most likely dates between A.D. 730-900.

The poorly preserved nature of the floor made it impossible to tell if this cache was integral to the initial construction of the building or if it was a post-construction event. However, the fill above the cache stones is consistent with the marl subfloor ballast layer in the rest of the unit and there was no sign of a disturbance in the flagstones in this area. It seems likely that Cache 7 is dedicatory to the construction of Structure 6F-9. Below the level which contained the cache there was only dry core fill with some dirt and ceramics mixed in. One interesting item encountered was a single stone with a stucco and painted surface, there was no pattern discernible on this stone which was had colors of cream, orange, and blue. This dry core fill was excavated to over two meters below the surface of the floor with no 156

Excavations of Yaxuná IIa and IIb materials in the upper levels, this fill to build this Terminal Classic mound with a perishable superstructure could have been taken from a nearby area in which Yaxuná Ib to IIb ceramics had been deposited during previous occupations. In short, this Terminal Classic fill could have Late Formative and Early Classic midden incorporated within it. Alternatively, the Terminal Classic occupants of Structure 5E-80 may have placed Floor 1 in a relatively unmodified ground surface which may date to Yaxuná IIa or IIb. Evidence to support this latter hypothesis includes the fact that no subfloor ballast was laid down prior to the construction of the floor. As many prepared surfaces for Terminal Classic floors have such a ballast (Shaw 1998), it would be rather unusual for the Terminal Classic Yaxuneros to prepare fill for a raised mound surface and not include a subfloor ballast of chich or sascab. Purposeful fill for architectural construction usually contains a greater proportion of limestone inclusions and does not normally consist of good agricultural soil. Although the data are equivocal, given that no Terminal Classic materials were identified in the sealed subfloor unit, these materials most likely represent light Late Formative and Early Classic midden material on top of which a Terminal Classic perishable structure was built. At 50 cm below the ground surface, the matrix became more dense and the carbonate content increased. At 70 cm, a hard packed brown soil was exposed. No ceramics were recovered, but a worked shell was. This marine shell had a elongated hole drilled into one end. Bedrock was exposed at 80 cm.

Figure 5.163: Plan of Structure 5E-82

Operation 36: Structure 5E-82 Op. 36 was the first of a series of excavations in the 5E167 Group, a Terminal Classic residential complex situated to the east of Structure 5E-80 near the juncture of Sacbé 3 and Sacbé 7. This 2 X 2 m unit was the only one of the three excavations to exposed considerable material dating to the early phases of occupation at Yaxuná. The unit was placed approximately in the center of the roughly square shaped foundation brace (Figure 5.163). Although the walls of the foundation brace consisted of large roughly cut boulders indicative of Formative structures, Terminal Classic material was recovered in the upper levels. The walls of the foundation brace measured approximately five meters on a side. A possible eastern doorway was noted. In the west wall, a pila had been set to help support the perishable superstructure. This suggests that the material used to build the brace had been scavenged or robbed from earlier structures.

Figure 5.164: West Profile of Op. 36, Structure 5E-82 A partially preserved plaster floor (Floor 1) was located between 30-35 cm below the ground surface. Although there were a tremendous amount of sherds above this floor, most of them were deteriorated beyond identification. Floor 1 can be identified as Terminal Classic given its stratigraphic relation to the extant foundation brace in the southern portion of the unit. The floor abutted what would be considered the door jamb, but was only preserved in the eastern and southwestern portions of the unit.

The first 20 cm consisted of a dark gray sandy loam with some gravel inclusions (Figure 5.164). At 13 cm, a very large irregularly shaped rock was exposed in the northcentral portion of the unit. The ceramics from this upper level were Terminal Classic. Although no evidence of an associated floor was noted, the ceramics indicate that the foundation brace was indeed a Terminal Classic perishable structure which had been built using stones robbed from nearby structures. If a plaster floor had existed, it has since deteriorated. At 20 cm, the soil

Below Floor 1 a subfloor fill of mixed dark brown soil and limestone rocks was exposed. After the floor had been removed, the excavation progressed for 20 cm in the areas of the fill which had been sealed by the floor. Only 17 sherds were recovered. Those which could be identified were of Late Formative and Early Classic date (Yaxuná Ib and Yaxuná IIa). Two possibilities can account for the presence of these earlier materials in the fill of this much later structure. First, given the presence 157

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 As in Op. 35 where a Terminal Classic foundation brace seems to have been constructed directly on top of an unmodified earlier ground surface, Structure 5E-82 appears to have been built on top of an unmodified Late Formative midden. The erosion and fragmentation of the sherd material is indicative of weathered material from exposed midden. Similar materials were not recovered in nearby excavations including operations 37, 38, and 42. This indicates that the Late Formative midden was localized as a trash dump in a vacant lot. No structures which can be attributed to the Late Formative are found in the immediate vicinity. No other artifactual materials or carbon were recovered from the midden except for an exhausted adze bit. Given the extremely weathered nature of the ceramic material and the extremely long temporal gap between the Late Formative and the Terminal Classic (approximately 500-1,100 years), the midden appears to have been heavily leached and all perishable material decayed.

shifted from dark gray to reddish brown. Some large irregular rocks were also noted. Over 120 sherds were recovered from 20 to 40 cm. Most of these were eroded beyond identification, but the majority that could be typed were of Late Formative date, all in the Sierra Group. Only two Terminal Classic sherds were identified. Given the likelihood of mixing, these late sherds may have been redeposited at this lower level due to bioturbation.

At 60 cm, the soil with the midden material ended and a red sterile paleosol was exposed. The large rock exposed in the upper levels rested directly upon this paleosol. The ceramic material recovered was extremely weathered and friable. These ceramics mirrored those found in the previous level. In short, the Late Formative midden was deposited on top of the red paleosol around the large rock. Many centuries later a hastily constructed foundation brace was built directly on top of this material.

Figure 5.165: West Profile of Op. 37, Structure 5E-83

Operation 37: Structure 5E-83 Structure 5E-83, like Structure 5E-82 and Structure 5E167, is part of the 5E-167 Group. Much like structure 5E82 in terms of its dimensions (five square meters) and foundation brace construction technique, the door of structure 5E-83 faces south instead of east. A 2 X 2 m test unit was placed in the center of the structure. No evidence of a floor was encountered in the first level, characterized by chich. At a depth of 20-30 cm, the first level was stopped when a packed earth surface was encountered (Figure 5.165). Ceramic material provided a Terminal Classic date for the foundation brace construction. Below the packed earth surface, a gravel in a reddish-brown matrix was encountered. The first 20 cm of this contained dense cobbles suggestive of subfloor ballast. This was separated by an apparent construction pause over a second layer of red soil with few inclusions. These levels contained Late Formative sherds. Operation 38: Structure 5E-167 Structure 5E-167 is the main structure of the 5E-167 Group (Figure 5.166). It is composed of a low rectangular mound running north-south, with a superstructure on the northern end. This square superstructure has a double wall line to the south and single lines of uncut stone to the north and east. Both construction styles are preserved two courses high. Three excavation units were placed in Structure 5E-167.

Figure 5.166: Plan of Structure 5E-167

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Figure 5.167: West Profile of Suboperation 38a, Structure 5E-167 Figure 5.170: Dzibical Black on Red Vessel, Burial 11 Suboperation 38a was initiated as a 1 X 2 m unit inside the east wall of the superstructure (Figure 5.167). The large quantity of wall collapse found in the humus above the soil suggested that the walls were originally a course higher than what remained. After these materials were removed, floor ballast was revealed about 12 cm below the surface. Additionally, small fragments of plaster between one and five centimeters thick were discovered near where the floor surface would have been. When this floor ballast was removed, a well preserved polished plaster floor was uncovered 34 to 38 cm below the surface. This floor meets the foundation brace near the lowest course. The ceramics were Terminal Classic. Small fragments of polished plaster were included in the matrix of this second floor. These may be the remnants of an earlier flooring episode. Below this was five centimeters of sascab and chich. These, in turn, lay on three large, flat, irregular stones (Figure 5.168). When lifted, the easternmost stone revealed a burial (Figure 5.169). Ceramics from this lot provide a Terminal Classic date. The unit was extended to the west by 60 X 170 cm to account for the Burial 11. It was possible to clearly see where Floor 2 meets the lowest wall course. Identified ceramics from level 1, lot 2 were exclusively Terminal Classic. The capstones of the burial crypt were located directly below Floor 2. The crypt measured 80 X 30 cm and was built by placing four irregular pieces of flat limestone over abbreviated capstones.

Figure 5.168: Plan of Capstones of Burial 11

The body was buried extended and supine, with the tibias crossed. Due to weathering and root action, the bones were poorly preserved and very little information could be obtained. However, a broad sciatic notch indicated that the individual in Burial 11 was a female and one worn maxillary canine suggested that she was at least a young adult. Three vessels were associated with the burial: a Dzibical Black on Red vessel was placed over a Sacalum Trickle vessel inverted over the face (Figure 5.170). Finally, a Yokat Striated vessel was placed alongside the left tibia (Figure 5.171). Also, a small round shell disc,

Figure 5.169: Plan of Burial 11 159

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 structure located at the northern apex of the triadically arranged North Acropolis. It was mapped in 1986 as a multi-terraced mound with a central staircase ascending 11 m to a summit plaza. A five meter tall summit superstructure is located on the northern side of the summit plaza. Based on the current body of data the building shows evidence of use from at least the beginning of the Early Classic to the Postclassic, although it is likely that Formative architecture exists.

blue painted limestone bead, and an obsidian blade accompanied were found. Suboperation 38b, a 2 X 2 m unit, was placed at the southern end of the platform, in order to provide a comparison for the superstructure. No plaster remained on the final surface of the mound. Only dense floor leveling and ballast testified to the existence of a floor. The level was taken down to Floor 2. Ceramics were primarily Terminal Classic. Floor 2 was composed of packed sascab over much of the unit. This floor rested upon mixed fill of earth and stones. Under this, at a depth of 27 cm, bedrock was encountered. Only two to three centimeters of red soil separated bedrock from sub-floor ballast.

Structure 6F-3/6th The earliest architecture exposed during excavations is Structure 6F-3/6th. At present do not know what this architecture represents; we only exposed a very small portion of the structure. The problem is that Structure 6F-3/6th architecture was found at the base of the Burial 23 tomb shaft excavation and was visible only in the north wall and eastern profile of the antechamber, below the Structure 6F-3/5th polished plaster floor (Figure 5.174). The northern wall of the Burial 23 antechamber is an irregular masonry wall with heavy marl grouting (Figure 5.175). This wall continues to the west of the entrance of the Burial 23 tomb chamber. Indeed, the northern wall of the Burial 23 tomb chamber, below the vault spring, was added onto a western portion of this northern antechamber wall. In the eastern profile of the antechamber, below the level of the Structure 6F-3/5th floor, there was what we believe represents the face of a wall, possibly a corner, four courses in height. This wall is backed by dry core fill which rises above its preserved level. In the southeastern corner of the antechamber there is again a preserved wall, and again possibly a corner. In this instance, however, the feature projects almost a meter north from this southern profile. All three of these possible Structure 6F-3/6th architectural features give the impression of „finished‟ features; the masonry work is of a final quality and there is good marl grouting between all the courses.

Figure 5.171: Yokat Striated Vessel, Burial 11

We believe this architecture is the remains of a Structure 6F-3/6th and, more specifically, remnants of an interior room which was heavily modified during the construction of the Burial 23 tomb chamber. While we consider the above to represent the most likely scenario, alternative interpretations are possible. One possibility is these features represent only internal constructions built to reinforce Structure 6F-3/5th during the placement of the Burial 23 tomb chamber. Evidence in support of this likelihood is the lack of a floor assignable to a Structure 6F-3/6th at the base of the Burial 23 tomb shaft excavation.

Finally, Structure 5E-167 was investigated as Op. 38c, a 1 X 2 m unit situated between the two previous units. The upper floor was very deteriorated, although some scattered chunks were found in the northern end of the unit. These appear to have been protected by the collapse of the adjacent superstructure. The few sherds recovered provide a Terminal Classic date. A typical floor ballast sequence under the first floor was then exposed. Floor 2 continued in the unit, although it lacked the sascab found in Op. 38b. Bedrock rose in places to the level of the second floor, falling off to a depth of 70 cm to the west. Mixed fill over sterile red soil leveled the construction to an even height. A number of poor quality chert flakes, a broken projectile point, two heat modified bone beads, and some burned human bone fragments were included in this fill.

Structure 6F-3/5th As was the case with Structure 6F-3/6th, the only evidence for a Structure 6F-3/5th was found in the excavation shaft of the Burial 23 tomb chamber. Only the smallest edges of the Structure 6F-3/5th floor were visible above and to the north and south of the Burial 23 antechamber walls. To the west of the antechamber, a

Operation 39: Structure 6F-3 Structure 6F-3 (Figures 5.172-5.173) is a 16.5 m high

160

Excavations top of Structure 6F-3/5th. Late in the construction of Structure 6F-3/4th, this area of the floor was penetrated and Burial 23 reentered prior to the completion of Structure 6F-3/4th.

larger section of the floor was preserved. This lack of floor in the center of the area bounded by the masonry encasing walls was due to deliberate actions on the part of the ancient Maya while building Structure 6F-3/4th on

Figure 5.172: Plan of Exposed Areas of Structure 6F-3 161

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 5.173: North-South Section of Structure 6F-3

Figure 5.174: Plan of Structures 6F-3/5th and Structure 6F-3/6th 162

Excavations making its placement prior to the Structure 6F-3/5th floor. This stratigraphic relationship is crucial to the interpretation of the ritual activities which accompanied the construction of Structure 6F-3/4th. As mentioned in the Structure 6F-3/6th section, the entrance to the Burial 23 tomb chamber was fronted by a U-shaped antechamber which probably used modified Structure 6F-3/6th architecture. The northern and southern walls of the tomb chamber are offset about 20 cm from these respective Structure 6F-3/6th walls (Figure 5.176). The vault spring for the roof of the tomb chamber rests on top of the 82 cm high ledge created by the placement of the northern and southern wall tomb chamber walls. On the western side the antechamber wall contained the entrance to the vaulted tomb chamber (Figure 5.177), therefore, this wall was also the eastern wall of the tomb chamber. The stone functioning as the lintel in the entrance was also the easternmost capstone of the vault, located 1.44 m below the polished surface of the Structure 6F-3/5th floor (Figure 5.178). Below the lintel/capstone there was only the unsealed entrance, the jambs were formed by the eastern edges of the vault, the northern, and the southern tomb chamber walls. There an eastern wall was present only above the level of the capstones.

Figure 5.175: North Profile of Burial 23 Shaft

Figure 5.176: E-W Section of Burial 23 Tomb Chamber In profile, however, the exposed Structure 6F-3/5th floor was visible and underlain on all sides by between 50-60 cm of sub-floor ballast and cobble-sized dry core fill. Below this sub-floor construction ballast was the Burial 23 tomb chamber and remnants of Structure 6F-3/6th architecture. The Structure 6F-3/5th floor appears to continue in all cardinal directions out from the penetrated (during Structure 6F-3/4th construction) area located directly above the antechamber and under the bases of the architectural features relating to the later Structure 6F-3/4th. Indeed, during 1995 excavations below the floor of the subterranean summit plaza corridors we found this same Structure 6F-3/5th floor at the appropriate elevation and in an unbroken and otherwise well-preserved and polished state. Therefore, the Burial 23 tomb chamber, located to the west of the antechamber, lies beneath an unexcavated portion of the Structure 6F-3/5th floor;

Figure 5.177: West Profile of Burial 23 Shaft The northern and southern walls of the tomb chamber were built onto extant Structure 6F-3/6th walls. The western wall, below spring level, must also have been built at this time because it was placed between the 163

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 northern and southern walls and is a load-bearing component of the vault. Once these walls were erected, the vault was sprung and corbelled on top of the ledge furnished by the northern and southern tomb walls.

Figure 5.180: Burial 23 Prior to Excavation

Figure 5.178: North Profile of Structure 6F-3/6th in the Burial 23 Tomb Chamber

Figure 5.181: Offerings in Burial 23 Above the level of the spring, the western wall was stepped slightly inwards in concert with the vault. Presumably this corbelling allowed for the tenoning of the architecture above the level of the spring into the surrounding construction ballast. If indeed the case, such a technique would have greatly contributed to the overall structural integrity of the tomb chamber. It was not until this point in the building of the tomb chamber, the raising of the vault, that there is any evidence of construction on the eastern wall of the tomb chamber. Below the level of the capstones the eastern end of the vault is an open space framed by the ends of the northern and southern tomb walls and vault. There was a single course high north-south line of stones at the base of the entrance. This line of stones formed a small blocking wall; the same height as the stone which was used as a step at the tomb entrance. This line of stones may represent the footer of a larger wall which originally sealed the entrance to Burial 23 and was later removed during the re-entry of the tomb chamber. Alternatively, this line of stones may represent a sill marking the formal step down from the antechamber into the burial chamber proper. Burial 23 Burial 23 contained evidence indicating two separate periods of activity. When first exposed the floor of the

Figure 5.179: Plan of Burial 23

164

Excavations Once the rocks from this later ritual activity had been removed, we were free to excavate the burial (Figures 5.181-5.182). North to south the tomb chamber measured 1.28 and 2.78 m long east to west. The entrance measured 99 cm wide at the base. The height of the chamber was 90 cm from floor to spring and 1.4 m from floor to bottom of the capstones. The tomb was a few degrees from lying directly east/west. The orientation of the north-south wall was 355 degrees and that of the east-west walls was 277 degrees as taken at the northeast corner of the tomb. Some of this error may be explained by walls that were not perfectly smooth. The chamber was set onto a very fine white marl surface laid on top of dry core fill; there was no sign of a polished floor. The current interpretation is that this dry core fill below the marl surface of the tomb pertains to Structure 6F-3/6th.

chamber was covered by a layer of large rocks with the area of the skeleton left clear (Figures 5.179-5.180). The archaeology indicates this rock deposit was a product of the later penetration of the Structure 6F-3/5th sealed floor and the re-entry of the Burial 23 tomb chamber during the construction of Structure 6F-3/4th.

The walls were covered with a thick, coarse stucco; in several places workmen had left hand and fingerprints on the rough plaster which was used as both a wall grouting and rather haphazard wall covering. The floor was not polished stucco but rather a packed marl deposit 15-20 cm thick laid down over the dry core fill. Once the tomb chamber was ready, but prior to the placement of Burial 23, certain artifacts were placed into the tomb. In the northwest corner four small lidded vessels were placed near the western wall. The lid of each vessel had been made out of a worked sherd. These vessels had been sealed and wrapped before they were placed in the tomb and at least two of them still retained the organic markings of the material used to wrap them once they were filled and sealed. Just to the east of this concentration of sealed vessels was a stack of three ceramic vessels. The bottom most was a large, shallow, medial flanged, ring based, polychrome dish of the type Tituc Polychrome: variety Camichin. The exterior of the bowl was unslipped and unpolished. The entire interior of the vessel was slipped orange with several black and red horizontal lines placed around the circumference. The only other decoration consisted of four red ovals placed equidistantly around the interior wall.

Figure 5.182: Individual in Burial 23

Placed inside vessel #9 was vessel #6, a straight sided, slightly round bottomed bowl with a gutter spout of the type Balanza Black. This vessel showed signs of heavy use with the bottom and lower sides being particularly scuffed and worn. Part of this use involved the heating of the vessel, probably over an open flame. Portions of the exterior of vessel #6 were heavily covered with a black, uneven discoloration. This discoloration was the result of many episodes of a resin-like soot deposition. Placed apparently upside down and within vessel #6 was a tan slipped cup (vessel #5). Vessel #5 was formed by joining a pedestal base to a small mouthed tecomate. The end result was a pedestalled cup. We do not have a type on this vessel, however, if the slip were a more uniform black we would assign it to one of the Cobá described Balanza Black types. Vessel #5 also shows signs of use,

Figure 5.183: Caucel Trickle on Red Vessel, Burial 23 165

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 A small turtle carapace (less than 20 cm in length) was found leaning against the western wall at the approximate mid-point of the wall. Some of the individual plates had holes drilled in them and the entire shell showed traces of red coloring, perhaps red hematite or cinnabar. The turtle carapace is intimately related to the Ol, or the heart of heaven portal and therefore the act of creation (Freidel et al. 1993). The depiction of the gods being created, reborn, or manifested out of cracked turtle shells is a common theme on Maya ceramic iconography. This is just the first of many instances of the theme of resurrection being addressed in Burial 23.

although not as much or of the same kind as vessel #6. Given the archaeological association between vessels 5 and 6 as well as their complementary nature (spouted vessel and cup), we believe they represent a paired set. To the east of the vessel 9, 5, and 6 stack there was a Caucel Trickle of Red jar (vessel # 10). Unfortunately, this vessel (Figure 5.183) was broken during the Early Classic re-entry of the Burial 23 tomb chamber. The presence of this Caucel vessel allows us to establish a rough time frame for Burial 23 and therefore the construction of Structure 6F-3/5th. Robles Castellanos (1990) dates the ceramic type Caucel to the Terminal Formative-Protoclassic-Early Classic at Cobá, more specifically to the period A.D. 200-350. At Yaxuná we would extend this another 50 or so years, to around A.D. 400. Whatever the exact date, the presence of this locally made vessel in Burial 23 ceramically dates the internment to Early Tzakol II.

Pre-internment preparations in the southwestern corner included the placement of three carved deer bones. There was part of a ceramic ring on one of these bones and a small carved greenstone head pendent (a royal jewel or sak hunal) had been pressed, facedown, into the open end of another (Figure 5.184a). The deer bones are all carved with identical imagery; rosettes, scrolls, and what appear to be projectile points, knives or spear points. Individually these bones are similar to the handles of knives or feather bundles seen in the imagery of ceramic vessels. Taken as a set, however, they may have formed the legs of a stool used to support a ceramic vessel or other perishable item. The final arrangement of the bones as found is quite suggestive of the pattern such a stool would have made after its organic binding failed and it collapsed. The pressing of the greenstone head into the opening of one of these carved deer bones was probably related to later re-entry of the tomb chamber.

Figure 5.184: Sak Hunal Jewels Found in the Burial 23 Excavations

This particular greenstone head is but one of three found during excavation of Burial 23 (Figure 5.184). Besides this one, from the tomb chamber, another royal greenstone jewel came from the antechamber fill while the last one came from the dark soil/dry core fill immediately above the white antechamber fill. Based on their shared style of very angular carving, these three jewels were apparently originally interred as a set with the body of Burial 23 and worn either around the forehead or neck. During the later re-entry these greenstone jewels were manipulated and moved to their final locations. Together these three jades form a set of sak hunal, or royal jewels. Each of the heads wears the three part headband which appears to mark royalty. The possession of such jewels marked a person as certainly high elite and most likely in the royal line and therefore suitable to rule or to produce one acceptable to rule (Freidel and Suhler 1995). Further, the possession of a certain number or variety of necessary types of such jewels may have been used to mark a person as the king. To the west of the three deer bones there was found a small head carved from either a sherd or a piece of fired clay, a carved bone artifact found in several pieces in the western end of the chamber, and two carved shell ornaments. The carved head is quite fascinating, if for no other reason than the detail worked into a piece that is less than two centimeters in its largest dimension (Figure 5.185).

Figure 5.185: Carved Clay Head, Burial 23 166

Excavations Moreover, the iconography of the piece is quite illustrative. The artifact appears to represent some sort of jaguarian type creature, possibly a masked human. The half closed eyes, the lolling (and apparently pierced tongue), and the beribboned flesh at the neck indicates it is a severed head. This creature wears what appears to be a segmented, multi-piece headband with a forelock in the center. This forelock seems to be a recurrent element in royal Maya iconography, possibly even dating back to the Olmec. Even though it is not of greenstone this head may have functioned as a sak hunal. Alternatively, it may have been a trophy, representing a vanquished foe and thereby marking its owner as a manifestation of Chak the executioner.

Figure 5.186: Carved Bone, Burial 23

Figure 5.188: Carved Spondylus Shell, Burial 23 The carved bone piece was found in two places (Figure 5.186); several sections were in the southwest corner and a large piece was in the northwest corner. The portion in the northwest corner was found in association with the remains of a small rodent nest, complete with gnaw marks. Therefore, it is most probable that the entire artifact was originally placed in the southwest corner of the tomb chamber. Due to the rodent taphonomy suffered by this artifact we are left with a less than complete specimen. The piece is a carved section of long bone; whether human or not will have to await the result of DNA testing, as no distinguishing characteristics remain. The top of the bone appears intact but how much is missing below the lower break is unclear. We believe this bone represents a quasi-text with an intended and understood meaning written in the form of totem stacking. From top to bottom the various images represented are a smoking ahau on top of what appears to represent a bird of some sort facing to the left. Below this bird there is what seems to be a segmented helmet known as the pineapple or balloon headdress (Schele and Freidel 1990). This helmet is supported by a hand with a crossed band; below this level deterioration has rendered the images indecipherable. The basic corpus of the bone seems to relate to the dual symbols of rulership and warfare. This bone, if human, could represent a trophy fashioned from the vanquished foe and possibly commemorated in the text. Close to the carved head and the engraved bone pieces in the southwest corner, we also found a small carved shell artifact (Figure 5.187). This piece depicts a frog or turtle squatting on top of a bearded profile head. Both the frog and turtle are tied to birth metaphors and the turtle is also related to the place of rebirth in the heavens. Perhaps this piece marks the king‟s ability to travel the path of death and resurrection.

Figure 5.187: Carved Shell Depicting Frog or Turtle, Burial 23 167

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 dish; placed so that what was originally the side of vessel #3 became the base and a fire was burned below it. The fire appears to have been very brief and intense: scorch marks are not present on a 20 cm diameter circle at the base of the vessel. Beyond this circle of combustion the vessel has been soot-blackened. The pattern of blackening is inconsistent around the base, further reinforcing the idea that the fire was a one-time event. We believe this fire took place on the central rock of the three laid east-west along the centerline of the tomb. During excavation we found an extensive sample of charcoal on top of and at the base of this central rock. Therefore, it seems possible that vessel #3 was laid on top of the central rock and a rather intense fire burned beneath its base. We know the hieroglyphic record speaks of the smoking of various types of architecture including rooms, buildings, and tombs. This seems to represent the archaeological confirmation of such practices. The chronological placement of the burning episode is more difficult to place. Vessel #3 lay below the rock layer relating to the re-entry of the Burial 23 tomb chamber and somewhat within the marl layer which covered much of the tomb chamber floor. All this indicates is that the placement of the vessel predates the laying of the rocks during the re-entry. Therefore, the burning of vessel #3 on the central rock in the Burial 23 tomb chamber occurred either at the end of the original internment or at the beginning of the re-entry ritual. In the northeast corner two ceramic vessels had been placed in the area formed by the northern edge of the entrance step and the north and east wall of the tomb chamber. Both vessels were Caldero Buff basal flange polychromes. However, the bottom vessel had little decoration on the interior beyond a few horizontal lines close to the rim. The top vessel had an avian-looking zoomorph holding an unknown object painted on its interior (Figure 5.189). This vessel is part of a pair found in the tomb. Its twin was found on edge against the north side of the cranium. We believe the final position of this vessel was a result of activity undertaken during the tomb re-entry.

Figure 5.189: Caldero Buff Polychrome, Burial 23 In this same area, we recovered a piece of Spondylus shell carved into what appears to be a death head (Figure 5.188). The association between these carved shells and a sak hunal indicates they are probably related to the complex of acknowledged royal jewelry. We found a rodent nest in this southwest corner as well as two human upper incisors and several small pieces of chewed bone. The teeth had been inlaid, and while the inlays were not in or with the teeth, we did find one greenstone inlay with the skull pieces; the two are most likely related. East of the southwest corner, along the south wall, was a small pile of 40 tiny cowries, slices of manatee bone, and a pile of 36 limpets, 3 with red paint. To the east, a giant cowrie was set on the packed marl surface which formed the floor of the burial chamber.

Following the placement of these artifacts, the entire surface of the tomb chamber was covered with a ten centimeter layer of fine white marl, possibly mixed with water. A mat woven of coarse organic vines or fibers was laid down on top of the marl. This mat extended 1.15 m from the western wall of the tomb, covering all the previously placed artifacts except for vessel #3. This laying of the mat appears to have been the last ritual action taken before the actual placement of the body. The tomb chamber was now ready for final placement of the dead king.

In the southeast corner, the only artifacts were several badly burned pieces of a large, unnamed Early Classic striated water jar (vessel #3) placed on the marl surface. When all the pieces were put back together the “vessel” was revealed to really be a body fragment, representing perhaps 30% of the original circumference. Vessel #3 was broken at the juncture between neck and rim and above the base. The use pattern on this water jar fragment is quite interesting. The piece was used as a platter or

The body was laid parallel to the long axis of the tomb with the head to the west (Figure 5.190). The head and shoulders rested on the fiber mat. Osteological analysis indicates the occupant of Burial 23 was a 40 to 50 year old male. He was in apparent good health at the time of 168

Excavations his death with no evidence of prolonged illnesses, serious infection, or trauma. The body was extended and supine and the arms were folded over the pelvis with the hands cupped between the femora. Portions of the headdress were found below the secondary marl deposit; unfortunately, there were no mat fibers preserved in the area of the headdress to indicate its position relative to the mat. Surviving depictions of Maya elite have shown that headdresses were very elaborate, composite constructions made up of a diversity of materials. Presumably the deer bones, antlers, and manatee bones found in situ composed the rigid frame of the headdress and the more fragile portions were not preserved.

Figure 5.191: Bone Tube, Burial 23

Figure 5.192: Shell Earflares, Burial 23 Found in association with the other bones which comprised the headdress was an 11 cm bone tube (Figure 5.191). The tube is 1.0-1.5 cm wide. At the smaller end the bone is beveled to a very smooth, rounded edge. Michael Coe (1988) views similar tubes at Uaxactún as enema tubes; we see no flaw in his argument and, given the extensive portrayal of Maya enema scenes, believe these Yaxuná examples both represent enema tubes. The skull was semi-crushed and exhibited the poorest bone preservation in the burial. Probably this was due to the re-entry, when we think Vessel #4 was moved from its original but unknown position and placed on the face. Over time the weight of the vessel compressed the decaying bone and eventually broke it down. Once the front of the skull gave way the vessel rolled off onto its side. Below the headdress were two large Spondylus earflares in place on each side of the skull (Figure 5.192). These are the earflares of both Chak and First Father; they are depicted wearing them in many scenes portrayed on the ceramic iconography. Nearly 300 tiny greenstone beads were found between and above the vertebrae from the shoulders to the waist. These may have covered a vest, sash, or the perhaps the funerary wrapping itself was decorated. There was also a quantity of large greenstone and Spondylus beads in the area of the thorax, probably forming a necklace or collar. Held in the cupped hands, between the femora, were three greenstone beads, representing the three hearth stones of creation and indicating the king was buried with the knowledge that he would be reborn or created in the heavens. Underneath the hands, and farther down from the palms holding the three beads, was a very tight grouping of artifacts; perhaps representing a small bundle or composite talisman.

Figure 5.190: Plan of Burial 23 169

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 5.193: Artifacts in Possible Bundle, Burial 23 head from the southwest corner of Burial 23. Additional iconographic elements which mark the person portrayed on the carved Spondylus head as an ahau include the scrolls to either side of the forelock, the handle-bar mustache, and the protruding teeth. The back of this piece presents a complicated series of drill holes. Although some of these were probably made to drill the openings through the nostrils and ears, others suggest the piece was intended for mounting against some sort of backing. Also concentrated in this area were two standing figures, one of shell the other of greenstone (Figures 5.193b and 5.193d). Both figures are standing erect and their arms are in the „crab claw‟ position. This position is the one adopted by rulers when they are clutching the double-headed serpent bar. These small companion figures accompany Maya Kings portrayed on stelae and crawl along their back-racks or their double-headed serpent bars. The final iconographic element in this area was a small pendant carved in the profile of a long lipped individual (Figure 5.193a). This face is shown wearing a knotted headband. This headband is more specifically the sak-hunal or White-Headband. Epigraphically, king‟s accept or tie the sak hunal when they accede into office (Schele and Freidel 1990). This piece should mark the king as ruler. Deep in the stucco under the area below the hands, was a miniature, pedestal cup, ceramic vessel (#13). The only material in this vessel was the hardened stucco that also surrounded it. Finally, two large greenstone beads were found at the ankles.

Figure 5.194: Doorway Behind Main Stairway, Structure 6F-3

Structure 6F-3/4th

The center piece is a piece of very thick Spondylus carved in the portrait of a young lord (Figure 5.193c). Again this image depicts the forelock seen on the ceramic

The next construction in the Structure 6F-3 architectural sequence represented a major modification on top of Structure 6F-3/5th. Our current reconstruction of this 170

Excavations with the construction episode documented by this excavation.

building indicates it was a large multi-terraced pyramidal structure with a summit plaza, covering a series of subterranean corridors (Figures 5.194-5.195); we were able to explore only the southern portion of these corridors during our time at Structure 6F-3. Lacking anything more than a test pit into the topmost architecture, its base on the northern section of the summit plaza, we cannot yet integrate the unknown form of the apical architecture into our current reconstruction of Structure 6F-3. From the level of the summit plaza down, however, we were able to put together the architectural sequencing for the building. As it stands now, the central portion of the southern face of Structure 6F-4/4th, at the terrace level below the summit plaza shows no evidence of a grand or central staircase. A small excavation in front of this area, beneath Late-Terminal Classic Stair B, revealed only an unadorned vertical masonry face. This central area was likely a series of terraces ascending from the plaza floor or perhaps a decorated façade.

From the southern edge of the vertical façade, a terrace ran north for approximately 8.4 m, this terrace took a one or two course step up at about 3.6 m north of its southern edge. At its north edge the terrace disappears underneath a vertical masonry wall assigned to a subsequent construction episode, Structure 6F-3/3rd. This exterior of the Structure 6F-3/4th summit plaza architecture was pierced in its center by a doorway located at least 97 cm above the floor of the mid-level terrace. Excavations to date have not furnished a method of ascent from the terrace to this doorway. It is possible that later construction associated with Structure 6F-3/3rd covered or destroyed this means of access. Alternatively, a perishable ladder or step may have provided access to the doorway. Whatever the method of entry, once inside, the entrance became a 1.4 m long vaulted interior connecting passage. At its northern end this passage intersected with the also vaulted, east-west running interior northern corridor. No part of the vault above a few spring stones was in situ in this corridor; therefore, it is presently impossible to know the original interior height of the vault. The top of the summit plaza, however, lies only 2.6 m above the corridor floor. Therefore, by leaving room for construction ballast, we believe the original height of the vault must have been between 2.22.4 m. To the east the south wall originally continued from the northeast corner of the interior connecting passage where it ended in a vertical masonry face. This masonry face is the interior portion of a 1.1 m thick wall. A very cursory probe in the summit plaza construction fill on the exterior side of this wall indicates it was intended as a free standing structure and, therefore, represents a southeastern corner of Structure 6F-3/4th.

Figure 5.195: Blocking Wall in Labyrinth, Structure 6F-3 Our current excavated view of Structure 6F-3/4th is bounded on the south by this vertical face and ends at the northern edge of the Burial 23 tomb chamber excavation at the level of the summit plaza. At the present time very little is known about the summit temple located on the northern side of the summit plaza. The superstructure seems to have a central outset staircase on its southern side which leads from the summit plaza to the ultimate summit of Structure 6F-3. Some wall lines are also visible on the northern and eastern sides of the building. There is, however, no evidence of a vaulted masonry temple such as adorned Structure 6F-4/3rd. Instead the presently visible summit superstructure of Structure 6F-3 seems to have been a flat-topped pyramid.

The issue of the extent of the subterranean summit plaza corridors notwithstanding, it is clear that in at least one of its aspects Structure 6F-3/4th was conceived by the Maya as a „dance platform‟ analogous to the Late Formative examples represented by structures 6E-120 and 6E-53 at Yaxuná. This cosmic building had, however, been raised five meters above the plaza surface into a place of even greater public visibility. The entrance at the top of an unadorned terrace face gave the impression of being the cave entrance into the center of the mountain. Possibly, just as at the dance platforms, there were stairs leading from the floor of the subterranean corridors to trap-door exits in the surface of the summit plaza. Such exits were found with the Structure 6F-3/3rd architecture and are discussed in the following section. Further excavation will probably demonstrate that corridors did originally traverse the area under the surface of the Structure 6F-3/4th summit plaza over a larger area than thus far exposed.

Stratigraphic information provided by a 1995 excavation placed in the summit plaza immediately in front of the summit superstructure staircase was not at odds with the 1989 excavation: it showed essentially a single construction event. Ceramics date this architecture to the Early Classic but a determination cannot be made as to whether it relates to Structure 6F-3/4th initial summit plaza building or 6F-3/3rd amplifications. Whatever its ultimate source, the latest staircase was built in concert

Structure 6F-3/3rd 171

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Figure 5.196: Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-3-3rd

Figure 5.197: South Profile of Doorway Behind Main Stairway, Structure 6F-3

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Excavations

Figure 5.198: North Profile of Doorway Behind Main Stairway, Structure 6F-3 extensive. On the terrace a series of thick, well coursed, heavily chinked, load bearing, masonry walls were erected. Whether or not a new surface was placed on top of the terrace prior to the raising of these walls is uncertain. The northernmost wall was built against the face of the entrance to the Structure 6F-3/4th labyrinth. The seam marking the interface between these two walls is visible in the interior connecting passage. This wall was 1.2 m thick extending the interior connecting passage an equal length. The floor of the newly extended interior connecting passage was located 1.32 m above the floor of the chamber with no visible means of ascent. Clearly a means of entering the passage must have existed, perhaps a perishable ladder or steps (Figure 5.197). Approximately two meters to the south of this masonry face was the southern wall of the chamber. This wall was built on top of and 20 cm north of the southern edge of the original Structure 6F-4/4th. A doorway in this area was originally spanned by four stone lintels, of which only one is in situ today (Figure 5.198). East and west walls were built between the passage formed by the northern and southern chamber walls (Figure 5.199). The western face of this eastern mid wall was 1.6 m east of the eastern jamb of the interior connecting passage. The eastern face of the western mid wall was two meters west of the western jamb of the interior connecting passage. The end result was a 2.0 m north-south by 4.2 m east-west subterranean chamber on the approximate centerline of the vaulted building. Although the roof has since collapsed, probably its top was at the same level as the surface of the summit plaza. If that was indeed the case, then the southern edge of the summit plaza was extended by some 4.6 m. The size of all the chamber walls were quite robust, probably in response to the pressures that would have been exerted on the chamber. Further, the construction technique appears to have been essentially modular. Each wall was built as a

Figure 5.199: Looking South Across the Structure 6F-3 Labyrinth from the Summit Structure 6F-3/3rd was built over portions 6F-3/4th (Figure 5.196). Our current view 6F-3/3rd has been limited to the area of centered around the summit plaza and immediately below. In this area, however, brought about by the new construction

of Structure of Structure excavations the terrace the changes were quite 173

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Figure 5.200: Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-3-2nd separate unit. Probably, in its original form the new constructions ran east-west from edge to edge on top of the terrace. The current jagged and uneven appearance of the east and west edges of the southern wall indicates this feature was probably truncated at a later date; further clearing is required to examine the ends of the mid and northern wall sections.

Ceramic analysis of excavated lots indicates the chamber was open and in use during the Yaxuná III occupation at Structure 6F-3/2nd. There were two major modifications assignable to the 6F-3/2nd building phase. One was the construction of a vaulted corridor immediately adjacent to the south side of the chamber. The northern spring and vault of this corridor had been intruded into the southern exterior masonry façade of the Structure 6F-3/3rd chamber. The building of the southern corridor extended the area covered by the summit plaza another 2.48 m to the south.

This new architecture led into the subterranean passages which appear to have been essentially untouched during the use of Structure 6F-3/3rd. These included the eastern and western ends of the interior northern corridor and the eastern and western sides of the chamber and terrace it was built on. Again given the lack of evidence for a central staircase we think the building still gave the appearance of a mountain and the entrance in the southern wall of the newly built chamber was the cave mouth which granted entrance to the mountain.

Other areas of the summit plaza, however, did not undergo this same amplification. Instead, given the uneven nature of their exteriors and the unfinished look of the terrace in profile, eastern and western portions of the southern wall of the Structure 6F-3/3rd chamber and the earlier terrace were removed. If the façade had collapsed, it would have presented a wealth of prime, low cost construction material for later peoples to use in their refurbishing of the structure.

Structure 6F-3/2nd This next building episode at the North Acropolis took place during Yaxuná III (Figure 5.200). At Structure 6F-3, the Yaxuná III modifications resulted in Structure 6F-3/2nd. The dominant ceramic type during this period is Arena Rojo. This type is dominant in the eastern portion of the peninsula, especially around Cobá (Robles Castellanos 1990). Our materials from this period also contain slight amounts of southern imports, mainly Saxche and other types of polychromes.

Evidence of the destruction of Structure 6F-3/3rd architecture prior to Structure 6F-3/2nd construction was found behind two blocking walls added to the eastern and western ends of the Interior Northern Corridor. Directly behind the eastern blocking wall a three meter long section of the north wall had been removed to the level of the footer. We think this is evidence of desecration performed during the Yaxuná IIb termination ritual. 174

Excavations The entire area was then filled with a mixture of very fine, white marl and dry core fill. Explorations in this area failed to reveal any feature that might relate to this stratigraphy and we think this was Yaxuná III re-healing ritual construction, especially given the very special nature of the fill used behind the eastern blocking wall. At its western end, the new Structure 6F-3/2nd interior northern corridor was marked by architectural features which provided access from the subterranean passage to the surface of the summit plaza (Figure 5.201). Excavations below the surface of the third step show that the northern wall of the Structure 6F-3/3rd interior northern corridor continues west into the construction fill of the Structure 6F-3/2nd modifications. This Structure 6F-3/3rd wall was used as the base for the Step 4 riser and the southeast corner of the Structure 6F-3/2nd north-south summit plaza exit passage was also footed on the truncated base of this wall. The southern wall in this area does not continue west beyond the face of Step 3. This situation is the opposite of that presented behind the eastern blocking wall where the northern wall was removed after the blocking wall and the southern wall continues east until it reaches the inner face of a wall. In this western area there is no evidence of the very clean white marl such as was used to fill the area behind the eastern blocking wall. In spite of our knowledge of what the stratigraphy in these areas is like, it is yet impossible to know with certainty the reasons for both the patterning and the destruction in these two areas. The other major new construction was the construction of a central staircase (B) on the south face of the terraced, basal platform. Stratigraphically and architecturally, B and the southern portion of the southern corridor are a single architectural unit. This information was provided by an excavation into the centerline of Stair B at the level of the current floor in the southern corridor. The stratigraphy in this operation showed the construction fill of the southern corridor wall and Stair B laying directly on top of the unadorned southern wall and eroded floor of Structure 6F-3/4th. Sherds from the fill of the Stair B sample were identified as slatewares. Slatewares, however, were present at Yaxuná at least as early as the Late Early Classic. The highest preserved portion of Stair B is at the top of a tread located 2.8 m above the corridor floor and 1.84 m below the level of the summit plaza. Due to the collapse of everything above the spring level in the sub-summit plaza architecture there is no way of knowing whether Stair B led directly to the summit plaza or whether this topmost preserved tread represented a pause in Stair B and the ascent began again some distance to the north. From the top of the highest preserved tread, Stair B descended uninterrupted for 28 steps 25 cm wide by 22 cm high. Each tread was formed by a row of roughly shaped blocks with each lower step supporting a portion of the preceding step. Presumably these steps would have been heavily plastered when in use.

Figure 5.201: Western Profile of Interior Northern Corridor, Structure 6F-3-2nd 175

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Figure 5.202: Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-3-1st The western limit of Stair B showed no evidence of a balustrade, the edge of each step was also the top of the western retaining wall of the staircase. At the base of the 28th step there were two 50 X 50 cm steps. These two massive steps were built from two courses of the stones used to form the regular steps. Below these larger steps were found two more regular steps which descended to a packed marl surface. This surface was followed south for 2.7 m where it disappeared into the unexcavated construction core of the lower courses of Stair A. The surface likely represents a lower terrace of Structure 6F-3/2nd at the base of Stair B. As we did not remove any of Stair A, we could not follow this surface to see if it began descending again in more steps farther to the south or whether it might have been truncated by the construction of Stair A.

retaining wall on top of the edges of Stair B and the lower terrace. There is a clear disjunction between the architecture of the western retaining wall of Stair B and that of the retaining wall of Stair A. The fact that the retaining wall of Stair B has not collapsed makes these differences even more apparent. The retaining wall of Stair B was better built than Stair A; better shaped blocks, more even coursing, and heavier use of grout. Overall Stair A shows signs of atypical Yaxuná IV construction techniques. Most important among these is the composition of the fill. As mentioned earlier the fill of Stair A is composed of unworked stones in a matrix of loose, dark soil. This is the only place at Yaxuná where this type of fill is encountered. Normal fill for Yaxuná IV is dry core fill. Additionally, a stone figurine was found in association with this staircase (Figure 5.203). Although its iconography is not diagnostic, we suggest that it too dates to the same period.

Structure 6F-3/1st Constructions pertaining to Structure 6F-3/1st are represented only by Stair A, built directly on top of Stair B (Figure 5.202). The steps of this staircase were set onto a 1.5-2.0 m thick layer of construction ballast composed of unworked small boulders and cobbles in a soil matrix laid over Stair B. The ceramics from the Stair A fill were primarily Terminal Classic, assigning construction of Stair A to this ceramic period. The Stair A construction fill was held in place on each side by the construction of a

The lacking structural integrity of the construction techniques used in this latest staircase is revealed by the fact that the western side of Stair A has sloughed off from the edge for at least 1.5-2.0 m inward down the majority of the feature. In our clearing operation we removed no in situ stair stone of Stair A when clearing to Stair B. 176

Excavations While the inferior construction materials used in Stair A certainly contributed to stability problems the biggest factor may have been the fact that it was never completed. Currently Stair A is represented by 19 steps rising from the main plaza floor to a maximum height of 5.36 m. The central southern basal course of Structure 6F-3 is composed of a 15.2 m line of large, monolithic blocks laid end to end. This type of construction technique is not Puuc-like in nature and probably dates this portion of the architecture to Yaxuná III or earlier. Above this basal perimeter there are four broad terraces built with marl and small stones. The riser for each of these terrace steps was formed of rectangular Puuc-style stones. A preserved portion of polished floor against the face of the third Puuc-style terrace riser indicates each terrace surface was originally covered by a polished plaster floor. Terrace step width for the first four steps was from between 0.8-1.0 m, from the fourth to the fifth terrace width increased to 1.95 m. Immediately above the 5th terrace step Stair A proper rose to a height of 5.36 m over the North Acropolis plaza surface. The preserved stairs were not well shaped blocks. Unlike the risers of the lower terraces and the facing stones in the retaining walls, these in situ Stair A stones were very rough; almost semi-shaped and devoid of the expected sharp edges and well-pecked faces. The explanation of this apparent disjunction was found in the fill immediately overlaying the preserved risers of Stair A. Here we found a jumble of what were indeed well-made Puuc veneer stones. While we found no direct stratigraphic associations between the in situ Stair A risers and this layer of Puuc-style stones we believe the Puuc stones were the veneer facing originally built over the core risers of Stair A. Such a technique would be more parsimonious with the style of architecture which we know covered „finished‟ surfaces in the lower area of Structure 6F-3/1st; the basal terrace risers and the side walls built on top of the edges of Stair B.

Figure 5.203: Stone Figure Found on Stair A

Above Step 19, however, the situation is less clear. There are no preserved steps above the 19th tread. The fill behind and above this step, to a height of 7.56 m above the plaza floor appeared to be the same fill as that forming the core of the lower, intact staircase. Except for a very small section of retaining wall, located on the eastern side of the staircase, there was no evidence of retaining walls or steps above Step 19 level. On top of the 7.56 m level, the material appeared to originate from the collapse of the summit plaza into the chamber and outer vaulted passage rather than from the dirt and cobble construction fill of the stair core. In general, the overall inferior nature of Stair A indicates hurried construction. The use of atypical construction techniques and low-grade materials suggest the staircase was built in a time of stress when the corporate body, management capabilities, and resources which produced Structure 6F-68 and other Yaxuná IV constructions, including those in the densely occupied settlement zone,

Figure 5.204: Plan of Burial 19 177

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 vault collapse found throughout our clearing of the outer vaulted passage. Further excavation into this penetration showed it to contain a human internment; designated Burial 19 (Figure 5.204).

were impaired. The unfinished building sequence and the indications it gives of a stressed social infrastructure, point to Stair A as one of the last monumental constructions at Yaxuná, its completion interrupted by the fall of the city.

The occupant of this feature was a robust male 25 to 30 years of age. A stature of 162.88 cm was indicated. Besides evidence of minor infection of the left tibia, possibly the result of a bruise, there was no evidence of trauma or infection on the long bones. Due to the poor preservation of the skull, no observations concerning deformation or other possible conditions could be made. Thirty-two teeth were recovered and none were filed or inlaid. All of the teeth, including the articulating surfaces were, however, covered with a thin layer of dental calculus. This indicates the diet of this person for some time prior to his death consisted of non-solid food, most likely corn gruel or pozole. The only ceramic vessel associated with Burial 19 was a large, incomplete portion of a censer found in the southwest corner of the depression (Figure 5.205). There were a large number of faunal remains associated with the burial. Laid around the occupant of Burial 19 were two deer skulls with horns, a bird skeleton, a small rodent skeleton, and portions of a snake. Such a mortuary menagerie is unique for any period at Yaxuná and further indicates the difference between this internment and the other, more mainstream Terminal Classic burials. Another concentration of faunal remains was found in the doorway of the chamber and continued into the southwest corner. Included in this sample were the bones of fetal and adult deer, rabbit, birds, lizards, and snakes. This is likely a continuation of the scattering of animals in Burial 19. The amount and variety of faunal remains represented and the fetal deer is striking. Rather than opportunistic gathering of such animals, we believe it possible at least some of these were domesticated, especially the deer. The others may have been kept in some sort of semi-domesticated environment.

Figure 5.205: Fragmentary Censer from Burial 19

Further investigation in the doorway of the chamber revealed the bones continued below the surface of the chamber in this area. Some 21 cm below the surface in the doorway we came upon a cached Chen Mul incensario face and arm (Figures 5.206-5.207). Below these ceramic items the bones continued for about another 10 cm and included a semi-articulated portion of a what appeared to have been a small felid. This entire deposit rested on a very compact surface which was the original terrace surface upon which the chamber addition was originally built.

Figure 5.206: Chen Mul Incensario Fragments Just North of Burial 19

Evidence of a deliberate collapsing of vaults can be found in an examination of the architecture. The outer room and outer vaulted passage are very robust constructions. The southern and western walls of the outer room are 1.4 m thick well built and coursed, grouted and chinked masonry features. The vaults were built of stepped courses of rectangular shaped slab vault stones set long axis perpendicular to the long axis of the vault. These

The roof collapse in the outer vaulted passage lay directly on top of a packed marl surface, originally relating to the construction of Structure 6F-3/2nd. Cleaning of this packed marl surface revealed an oval penetration located directly in front of the southern doorway of the chamber. The fill in this penetration was composed of the same 178

Excavations vaults in the two areas. The shock of such a rapid destabilization would bring about almost a total collapse of the vaults over the outer room and the outer vaulted passage.

vaults were constructed on well-ballasted springs. The stones of the springs were also built into the ballast in the same fashion as the vault courses themselves. The placement of the long axis of the vault and spring stones into the surrounding ballast yielded a tenoned effect, further reinforcing the vault. In our opinion, if all essential structural components were left in place, the vaults of such sturdy architecture should have been found at least partially, if not totally, intact. However, we found these roofs neither totally nor partially intact, they were entirely collapsed into the interior of their respective rooms and passages. Part of the reason for this uniform state of collapse is visible in the southern doorway. Originally the top of this 88 cm wide doorway was spanned by either three or four stone lintels. Only one lintel was left in situ. This lintel is ovoid in cross section; 18 X 40 cm and over a meter in length. We think the three missing lintels were deliberately pulled out, in order to collapse the vaults of both the outer vaulted passage and room. These vaults were collapsed after the internment of Burial 19.

At the base of Stair A we found another deposit which represents a terminal type of feature. In this case, however, the tenor is much more tenuous. The feature in question was a „pot drop‟ located on the surface of the fifth terrace step 2.2 m west of the eastern edge of Stair A and 20 cm in front of the riser for the sixth terrace step. Pending ceramic analysis of the lot the exact type and number of vessels in the deposit are not known. The sherds were, however, mixed in with and lay on top of a concentration of fire cracked rocks. The entire deposit was then covered by a layer of gray/white marl which itself was overlain by the unconsolidated collapse which covered all of Stair A. Operation 39: Structure 6F-4 Structure 6F-4 is the 8 m tall mound located on the east side of the North Acropolis (Figures 5.208-5.210). Six construction episodes were uncovered during our excavations Structure 6F-4/6th The earliest construction that we uncovered is Structure 6F-4/6th. Glimpses of this building have only been seen in sub-floor tests beneath the Room 1 floor and the gallery floor north of the Room 1 dividing wall of Structure 6F-4/2nd. Due to the small sizes of these units, the only exposed architecture pertaining to Structure 6F-4/6th has been two 1.0 to 1.5 m tall sections of vertical, masonry wall. In the gallery sub-floor test, a 1.5 m wide section of the wall was exposed; an additional two meters was visible through the covering dry core fill to the north and 1 m was visible to the south (Figures 5.211-5.212). The wall itself was composed of medium sized unworked and roughly worked limestone cobbles laid in semi-regular courses. The wall was laid on top of a 20-30 cm thick layer of leveling ballast footed on a stabilizing core of large, boulder sized dry laid fill. To the west of the face of the wall a 10-15 cm thick polished plaster floor was placed on top of the dry core fill. This floor was built after, but in conjunction with, Structure 6F-4/6th. This facing was preserved only in places, but enough was left to realize that it originally covered the entire rough masonry wall.

Figure 5.207: Detail of Chen Mul Incensario Head The southern wall of the outer room is also the northern wall of the outer vaulted passage. As such, this wall supports not one but two vaulted spaces. The centrally located entrance, which pierces the southern wall of the outer room, is the weakest spot along this wall, and therefore the weakest spot for both the outer room and the outer vaulted passage. Within this doorway, the lintels supported the vault springs of two vaults as well as the roof of the doorway. If removed, the absence of the lintels would immediately destabilize fifty percent of the

The original height of Structure 6F-4/6th cannot be told from the architecture present in the two sub-floor tests. In the gallery sub-floor test, the top of the wall was capped by a ten centimeter layer of a relatively fine-grained gray marl overlain by a 8-10 cm white plaster floor. This floor is related to the construction of Structure 6F-4/5th and polished in places. It is likely that a portion of the Structure 6F-4/6th terrace wall was removed during the laying of the basal terraces of Structure 6F-4/5th. 179

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Figure 5.208: Plan of Structures 6F-4 and 6F-68 180

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Figure 5.209: Cross-Section of Structure 6F-4

Figure 5.210: Plan of East Side of Structure 6F-4 181

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 5.211: East Section of Gallery Wall In the Room 1 sub-floor test, only the top preserved portion of the Structure 6F-4/6th terrace wall was exposed (Figure 5.213). We did not excavate below this level and could not determine whether or not this southern buried wall rested on the same floor as the northern portion of 6F-4/6th. The southern wall is also positioned further east than the northern section, indicating that the wall of 6F-4/6th jogs farther to the east some place between the two exposures and continues south, presumably cornering further to the south to form a southern side of 6F-4/6th. Ceramic dating of Structure 6F-4/6th is based on the field analysis of a sealed sample from beneath the plaster floor at the base of and to the west of the northern wall section. The sherds from this lot were assigned to the Late Formative. Many Late Formative structures at Yaxuná share a very hard, beige colored plaster used to cover roughly coursed masonry walls with soft, rounded edges. This is in contrast with the rather whiter plaster and sharper edges which characterize Early Classic architecture. We believe the position of this structure indicates that, at least by the Late Formative, the North Acropolis was a triadically arranged group of the kind first documented in the southern Maya lowlands.

Figure 5.212: 6F-4 2nd, Gallery Subfloor, North Profile 182

Excavations

Figure 5.213: East Profile Showing Room 1 Subfloor Test, Structure 6F-4 From its western edge, the uppermost western terrace of Structure 6F-4/5th extended one meter to the east where it then stepped up to an unknown distance. Only the first one to two courses of this terrace step were preserved, the bulk of what is presumed to have been the summit to the east of the step-up had been removed. At the present time there is no way of knowing whether this destruction represents a penetration to place a tomb or large terminal cache into the center of Structure 6F-4/5th prior to its internment by Structure 6F-4/4th or is merely the result of the preparatory destruction necessary to successfully ballast the covering 6F-4/4th. The removal of the architecture to the east of the western upper terrace edge also makes it impossible to tell if the summit of Structure 6F-4/5th was a flat-topped mound or whether it did, in fact, originally have a masonry superstructure. We found a portion of the main staircase below the floor of the Burial 24 tomb chamber. Two treads were exposed in this sub-floor test. An east-west section of the staircase provided construction details: the core of the stairs was composed of cobble-sized dry core fill with a heavy mix of soil, very few voids were visible. This is in contrast with the large voids present in terrace and platform construction fill at both the site in general and Structure 6F-4 in particular. Possibly the differing construction techniques were a response to the need for stairs to hold up under the wear resulting from their everyday use. A 10-15 cm thick layer of coarse marl-mixed soil was laid on top of the close-packed core, forming the ballast for the formal, plastered stair surface and the base of each riser.

Figure 5.214: Room 2, Subfloor Cut, Plan View Structure 6F-4/5th Structure 6F-4/5th is a building that was exposed in various places during excavations along the central west face of 6F-4. During the 1992 field season, summit level excavations at Structure 6F-4 revealed what we believe represents the apex and uppermost western terrace of an at least 7.6 m high ceremonial structure.

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Figure 5.215: Plan and Profile of Burial 24 The risers were formed of two courses of rectangular worked stones. The surface of the stairs was a five centimeters thick, polished, very hard, white plaster layer, this plaster surface continued from the lower tread, up the riser, and onto the upper tread in an unbroken flow. Beyond an inexplicable small cut and the associated removal of two riser stones, the staircase suffered none of the construction/termination ravages exhibited by its successor, Structure 6F-4/4th. Again, sub-floor tests in the rooms at the base of Structure 6F-4 revealed architecture assigned to Structure 6F-4/5th. In the northern gallery test we found Structure 6F-4/5th directly underlying the 6F-4/3rd floor.

large boulder dry core fill. This dry core fill was laid directly on the lower floor and against the walls of Structure 6F-4/6th to the level at which the earlier terrace had been truncated. It was then covered by a 10-15 cm layer of a coarse, almost grout-like gray marl mixture. The lower terrace 6F-4/5th floor was laid directly over this marl mixture and it appeared that the upper terrace was also laid on top of this ballast layer. This method of floor and terrace construction is identical to that found on the 6F-4/5th staircase, underlying the floor of the Burial 24 tomb chamber suggesting that the two are contemporaneous (Figure 5.215). The stratigraphy also suggests the western main staircase was also built coeval with the rest of Structure 6F-4/5th.

The basal portion of Structure 6F-4/5th seen in the northern gallery sub-floor test was a multi-level portion comprised of two Terrace Levels (Figure 5.214). At the base of this portion was a lower terrace floor which extended over the entire surface of the test pit; its construction was presumably the reason for the truncation of the Structure 6F-4/6th terrace. At the northern and eastern edges this floor rolled up onto northern and eastern faces to create a 30 cm terrace step. The northwest corner of this architecture was also present in the gallery subfloor test. In places along the top edge of the terrace step the polished plaster could be seen rolling from that face onto what we presume to be a floor. This indicates this terrace, unlike the walls of 6F-4/6th, was not partially razed when it was buried by succeeding building episodes.

The current view of Structure 6F-4/5th is that it represented a typical Maya elite structure. The lack of large living space at the either the top or the base indicate the building functioned in a ritual or ceremonial context; in essence it was a temple. Dating of the building at this time is not secure. Stratigraphically there were only two possibilities for the recovery of sealed deposits from Structure 6F-4/5th; one from the sectioning of the stairs below the Burial 24 tomb chamber floor and the second from beneath the lower terrace floor at the base of Structure 6F-4 in Room 2. Unfortunately, the sectioning of the stairs was a small cut and produced no sherds. The material from below the lower terrace floor, while very few in number were all very Early Classic in date dating Structure 6F-4/5th to somewhere between A.D. 250 and 350.

This basal 6F-4/5th terrace was footed on a foundation of 184

Excavations

Figure 5.216: Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-4-4th

Figure 5.217: Isometric Drawing of Structure 6F-4-3rd 185

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Structure 6F-4/4th

sub-floor test pit, we encountered what may represent a very small portion of Structure 6F-4/4th. Against the western wall of Room 2, below the 6F-4/3rd east gallery wall and above the 6F-4/5th upper terrace step there is what appears to be part of a polished plaster. This section is a little over a meter in length and never more than seven centimeters in height and five centimeters in width. The entire section was intensely burned. This small section is likely all that remains of the base of the Structure 6F-4/4th main staircase or, perhaps, a terrace step, either possibility originally footed on the Structure 6F-4/5th terrace. As mentioned throughout this description, the level of destruction wrought upon Structure 6F-4/4th is truly impressive and makes such determinations quite difficult.

The overall appearance of Structure 6F-4/4th has been a frustrating topic since it was first discovered during the 1992 field season. This is mainly due to the fact that whole portions of the building were removed during its termination and burial by Structure 6F- 4/3rd. Summit excavations revealed that this portion of Structure 6F-4/4th was a standing masonry single or tandem roomed superstructure (Figure 5.216). The walls of the superstructure were load bearing and constructed of thick large stone blocks. Prior to its internment the roof of the Structure 6F-4/4th superstructure had been removed as had the great majority of the plaster on the walls and the floor in the central passageway.

The confusion over the number of rooms in the summit superstructure is a result of uncertainty as to whether or not the eastern exterior wall represents a back wall of the Structure 6F-4/4th superstructure, or is a continuation of the encasing wall built on the western side of the summit superstructure as part of the 6F-4/4th termination and burial by Structure 6F-4/3rd.

Below the level of the superstructure there began a series of terraces. During excavations at the upper reaches of Structure 6F-4 we found two in situ terrace steps relating to Structure 6F-4/4th. These were formed of roughly shaped stones laid in semi-regular courses and then faced with a surface coating of polished plaster. The highest terrace (6F-4/4th-Terrace A) was only a single course in height (40 cm) with no evidence of a plaster floor on top.

Within this same context of terminal destruction, the roof is also a problem. The removal of the roof, prior to Structure 6F-4/3rd construction, renders impossible any determination of the type of roof: corbel vaulted, or beam and mortar. Given the robust nature of the superstructure walls, either type of roof would have been feasible. Circumstantial evidence, however, would seem to argue in favor of a vault; the covered areas at Structure 6F-3, which we believe to have co-existed with Structure 6F-4/4th, are all vaulted. The only place at Yaxuná where we have evidence of a beam and mortar roof is in the Late Formative dance platforms.

The surface of the 6F-4/4th occupation floor found in the southern room of the summit superstructure was 60 cm higher than the top of the preserved portion of Terrace A. Without further excavation to physically link up these two areas it is impossible to know whether Terrace A was originally at the same level as the interior summit superstructure floor and a portion of it was, therefore, razed to support Structure 6F-4/3rd; or if Terrace A was always this high and lead to another set of steps (also razed) which rose to the interior floor level of the summit superstructure of 6F-4/4th.

The stimulus for the termination of Structure 6F-4/4th was the construction of Structure 6F-4/3rd. As such, Structure 6F-4/3rd was footed on Structure 6F-4/4th, which was subjected to an extensive and deliberate ritual termination. Central to this termination was the placement of two termination deposits: Burial 24 and Caches 2 and 3. Stratigraphy indicates the laying and sealing of these deposits was the final task in the construction of Structure 6F-4/3rd; dedicating, and presumably also consecrating the newly built Structure 6F-4/3rd.

The polished plaster facing on the vertical face of Terrace A extended down and became an intact terrace floor which ran for 1.1 m west before arriving at the edge of another, lower terrace, 6F-4/3rd-Terrace B; composed of two rough masonry courses, approximately 50 cm high. At the base of this lower terrace wall a 5-15 cm thick white, packed marl surface extended 2.2-2.5 m to the west before it ended at the eroded slope of the entire western side of Structure 6F-4. This packed marl surface was underlain by a medium sized cobble dry core fill.

Burial 24 was within a vaulted tomb chamber, oriented parallel to the north-south axis of the building, just to the west of the lower Terrace B and below the level of the white packed marl surface which extended west from the base of the Terrace B retaining wall. We believe the internment of the occupants of the Burial 24 tomb chamber represents the termination of a ruling lineage at Yaxuná during the Early Classic.

At the present time there are two possibilities concerning this packed marl surface west of the Terrace B retaining wall: it represents either another, very eroded, Structure 6F-4/4th Terrace Level (C), the western edge having been lost to the collapse on the western side of Structure 6F-4, or it represents a construction surface pertaining to the placement of the Structure 6F-4/3rd Burial 24 tomb chamber. Given the massive damage wrought by Burial 24 construction in this area of Structure 6F-4/4th, as well as the absence of a prepared, polished surface on this marl layer, we are inclined to favor the latter possibility.

Structure 6F-4/3rd was a radical departure from the temple-like forms of the earlier two buildings. Structure 6F-4/3rd was a more residential-like construction, containing a basal, vaulted gallery running the entire

At the base of Structure 6F-4, again in the gallery 186

Excavations length of the western side of the building (range structure). The summit superstructure focus of the earlier buildings was gone, replaced by a series of western terraces built above the roof/terrace of the basal rooms. The uppermost of these western terraces (Terrace Level 5) supported two sloped, masonry walls which may have displayed decorated stucco façades. If such façades existed, then this area became the visual focus of Structure 6F-4/3rd.

Figure 5.218: West Side of Structure 6F-4

Figure 5.220: Doorway in the Southern Wall of the 6F-4 Gallery The western wall of the gallery was set back 15 cm from the western face of the Terrace Level 1a retaining wall (Figure 5.219). The 6F-4/3rd gallery was covered with a load-bearing, corbelled, slab-stone vault, sprung 2.3 m above the floor of Terrace Level 1a. We have found direct evidence of three western entrances from Terrace Level 1 into the gallery, all symmetrically placed. Extrapolating further north into the uncleared portion of the basal gallery suggests the presence of two more, yielding a total of five entrances.

Figure 5.219: Western Juncture Between Structures 6F-4 and 6F-68

The southern wall of the basal gallery was pierced by a doorway which presumably opened on to a southern extension of Terrace Level 1 at Structure 6F-4/3rd (Figure 5.220). Architecture on the southern side of the building was severely impacted by later constructions and, therefore, we do not have a good feel of how this area is related to Structure 6F-4/3rd. Preliminary excavations below the interior floors of Structure 6F-68, however, exposed a polished plaster surface at approximately the same elevation as western Terrace Level 1. Therefore, the southern side of Structure 6F-4/3rd was an open terrace area at the same elevation as the western Terrace Level 1.

In contrast to its predecessor, Structure 6F-4/4th, the summit of Structure 6F-4/3rd was a plain, flat-topped surface (Figure 5.217). The basal gallery walls are footed on the 2.6 m wide Terrace Level 1a (Figure 5.218). The surface of Terrace Level 1a was approximately 30 cm above the original Structure 6F-4/5th Terrace Level 1. The core of Terrace Level 1a was a medium sized dry core fill fronted by a single course of well shaped masonry blocks. These blocks formed the retaining wall exposed in the excavations. Terrace Level 1a was laid directly on the surface of Terrace Level 1. The apparent jump from Structure 6F-4/5th Terrace Level 1 to Structure 6F-4/3rd Terrace Level 1a is due to the fact that this is the area where only the burned and unanchored strip of Structure 6F-4/4th architecture was found at the base of the eastern gallery wall; further testament to the level of destruction wrought on Structure 6F-4/4th.

At the northern edge of Terrace Level 1, which is also the northwest corner of the building, there is an intact staircase which ascends east from the surface of Terrace Level 1 onto Terrace Level 2 which is found only on the northern side of Structure 6F-4. These stairs were built 187

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 against a vertical face which is probably the northern exterior wall of the uncleared portion of the western gallery. The bottom most excavated portion of the northwestern staircase is in line with the face of the topmost riser of the main staircase which leads from the central plaza to Terrace Level 1.

face of the south wall of the niche. As cleared, however, all we found was a plain limestone stela laying against the sloped wall in the eastern corner of the inset. Most likely, this stela pertains to Structure 6F-4/2nd construction rather than Structure 6F-4/3rd. Therefore, at some point in time, probably during the Structure 6F-4/2nd Yaxuná III modifications, the eastern Structure 6F-4/3rd stairs were removed and the space was used for the display of what is now a plain stela. We followed the Terrace Level 3 retaining wall for 1.4 m past the eastern edge of the niche but did not find the northeastern corner of Structure 6F-4/3rd.

This step is 40 cm high and leads to a 1.6 m wide terrace which seems to represent the northern portion of Terrace Level 1. Between this area and the six steps leading to Terrace Level 2 there may have been an additional step or perhaps the retaining wall of Terrace Level 1a; this uncertainty is due to the fact that preservation in this area was not that good. Rising above this possible Terrace Level 1a area there are six steps composed of large rectangular cut limestone blocks.

Terrace Level 3 is the surface which marks the visual separation between the upper and lower portions of Structure 6F-4/3rd. The surface of Terrace Level 3 is six meters above the ground surface in the main plaza. Based on excavations to date, Terrace Level 3 was present on at least three sides of Structure 6F-4/3rd; west, north, and south. On the northern and southern side Terrace Level 3 seems to have been better preserved.

On the northern side of this staircase we cleared the remains of what is probably a combination balustrade and retaining wall of the stairs. This feature was in poor shape, mainly because its upper courses were pushed over by the mass of slump coming down from the upper levels of the building. The presence of this balustrade/retaining wall at the northwest corner of Structure 6F-4 suggests that the, as of yet, uncleared northern side may contain room blocks much like the western side.

On the northern side of Structure 6F-4/3rd, Terrace Level 3 was originally 3.8 m wide. Here the surface from the area of the northwest corner east onto the northern side of Structure 6F-4/3rd, was much better preserved than on the west side proper. This is because the northern portion of Terrace Level 3 was laid on solid core fill. Thus, in contrast to the western roof terrace, where the surface, along with the vaults, collapsed into the basal rooms, the northern side was subjected to less slumping of the terrace edge. The preserved section of Terrace Level 3 continued east until we stopped excavation, almost ten meters to the east of the westernmost preserved edge of the roof terrace. The surface proper was a 15 cm thick, compact plaster floor, polished in places.

We only cleared a 1.4 m wide section of Terrace Level 2. Given the position of the northern edge of the balustrade Terrace Level 2 will likely extend north to at least this distance. The southern edge of Terrace Level 2 abuts against the vertical face of the northern Terrace Level 3 retaining wall. Terrace Level 2 and the Terrace Level 3 retaining wall were followed east for 14.2 m from the face of the lowest step on the northwestern staircase. The face of the Terrace Level 3 retaining wall was pierced in two places along its cleared length. A second staircase which provided access from Terrace Level 2 to the northern part of Terrace Level 3 was built into the Terrace Level 3 core with its western edge three meters east of the face of the topmost tread of the northwest staircase. This upper northern staircase contained five steps composed of regularly shaped cut stone blocks.

On the western side, Terrace Level 3 was originally 4.8 m wide, extending west from the base of the Terrace Level 4 retaining wall to the exterior edge of the roof of the basal room block. A great portion of this area, including the edge where the Terrace Level 3 would have rolled up to become the vertical face of Terrace Level 4, was lost when Terrace Level 3 collapsed into the basal room blocks. At present our only preserved sections of the surface of Terrace Level 3 on the western side were found in the area of the northern and southern corners.

Four meters east of the eastern edge of the upper northern staircase we found another break in the Terrace Level 3 retaining wall. This corner marked an a inset which stepped back 60 cm to the south and became a rough, unfinished limestone wall. This wall sloped upward and inward from the level of Terrace Level 2 to the surface of Terrace Level 3 and continued 1.5 m east from its western limit before turning to the north for 60 cm and then turning back to the east where it again became the retaining wall of Terrace Level 3.

On the southern side excavations have revealed parts of Terrace Level 3; impacted by the construction of Structure 6F-68. Thus, the original position of its southern edge cannot be placed. In the middle of the southern side of Structure 6F-4 a large portion of Terrace Level 3 is preserved at the base of and within a U-shaped area bounded by the retaining walls of Terrace Level 4, the next Terrace Level up. Excavations on the northern side of the building revealed no method to climb from Terrace Level 3 to Terrace Level 4. A small masonry feature placed in the approximate northern center of Terrace Level 3, however, against the face of Terrace Level 4 may have, at one time, provided such access.

Beyond the eastern edge of this sloped niche the terrace face architecture is not as well preserved as the first section of the Terrace Level 3 retaining wall. Possibly, the sloping wall in the eastern niche was at one time a companion staircase to the western stairs. This absent eastern staircase would have been laid onto the sloping 188

Excavations

Figure 5.221: Profile of Terrace Level 4, Structure 6F-4 Terrace Level 4 may, however, be preserved in a section at the southwest corner of the building. Here, the possible western and southern limits of Terrace Level 4 may be preserved in the profile (Figure 5.221). The western Terrace Level 4 is the portion of Structure 6F-4/3rd which contains the Burial 24 tomb chamber. The architectural mechanics of the construction of the Burial 24 chamber, although extensive and destructive, are fairly straightforward. An excavation was undertaken to the west of Structure 6F-4/4th Terrace Level B retaining wall. As far as could be determined all Structure 6F-4/4th architecture in the area of the Burial 24 chamber was removed. This excavation, at least within the immediate interior of the burial chamber, was not stopped until the Structure 6F-4/5th stairs were encountered. It was into this area that Burial 24 was placed. First a layer of small cobble dry core fill, gravel, marl, and soil was laid on top of the lower Structure 6F-4/5th steps to a level even with the top of the uppermost Structure 6F-4/5th tread within the burial chamber. A 10-15 cm thick, very compact, white marl surface was laid on top of the Structure 6F-4/5th tread and the fill to the west. Once this surface was in place, formal construction of the burial chamber began. The walls were formed of roughly shaped rocks in semi-regular courses laid directly on the packed white marl surface (Figure 5.222). The stones were grouted with a mixture of gravel, soil, and marl; very similar to the material used in the interleaving of the walls at the Dance Platforms. Small, irregular stones were used as wall chinking, probably for added stability. Unlike Burial 23, found in Structure 6F-3, the walls of the Burial 24 tomb chamber were left bare; we found no evidence of plaster coating on any of the interior walls.

Figure 5.222: Eastern Wall of Burial 24 Tomb Chamber On the western side of Structure 6F-4, Terrace Level 4 was somewhat wider. Unfortunately, exactly how much wider will probably never be known. The Terrace Level 4 floor runs west for 1.7 m and then it is lost in the collapse which marks the western edge of Structure 6F-4/3rd. The collapse of the western edge of the lower terrace was but one result of the overall collapse of the vaults of the western basal rooms. As discussed earlier the collapse of the room block vaults also took with it the majority of the next terrace below Terrace Level 4; the roof of the gallery, Terrace Level 3. An idea of the possible limits of

The entrance to the tomb was located at the northern end of the chamber. A 58 cm wide ledge was constructed there at the same height as the vault spring. The north end of this ledge then became a 30 cm tall riser and tread, presumably leading up the surface of the ledge north to the entrance of the tomb, located on the surface of 189

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 Terrace Level 4. This step and the ledge granted access to the interior prior to the sealing of the chamber during the Early Classic. The roof of the burial chamber was a rather unusual example of a corbelled vault; probably because the chamber was to have been entered from above, at what was essentially spring level. The technique is quite similar to that used in the roof-top exits of the Dance Platforms and the Summit Plaza level at Structure 6F-3/3rd. In this context, the northern ledge is reminiscent of a formal antechamber located at the base of the entrance steps before and above the floor of the burial chamber. Figure 5.223: Burial 24 Prior to Excavation

The vault springs at 1.08 m above the burial chamber floor. Unlike most Maya vaults, however, the spring continues around the south side of the chamber. This is atypical in that usually only the long, vaulted sides of a chamber are sprung in order to initiate the inward and upward stacked corbels. The purpose of the springing of the south wall in the Burial 24 chamber is to facilitate just such a vaulting. Further, the north and east walls are interlocked with the southern side of the vault. All of these rather unusual vault construction techniques seem to be a result of the structural demands made by the open entrance at the northern end of the vault.

At its eastern limit a vertical, masonry, retaining wall is footed on polished plaster surface of Terrace Level 5. The sloped, masonry stucco façade armatures were built on top of this upper terrace floor and against the encasing wall. The armatures are located at the northern and southern ends of the western encasing wall. Differing construction styles are apparent on the encasing wall and the sloped armatures. The construction wall is built of large, roughly shaped blocks laid in somewhat regular courses with the liberal use of small stones for chinking. The armatures exhibit much more precise coursing and the use of smaller and better trimmed stones. Although Terrace Level 5 itself has not been found on either the northern or southern side of Structure 6F-4/3rd, the encasing wall built on top of Terrace Level 5 continues east from the northwest corner of the northern masonry armature. Four meters east of this corner the encasing wall performs a 40 cm jog to the north and then resumes its run to the east. We did not find the northeastern corner of the building before excavations were halted.

The capstones run from the southern end of the burial chamber to a point even with the southern end of the entrance ledge. In fact, the entire corbel process ends at the southern edge of the entrance ledge. The walls to either side of the ledge were vertical masonry constructions which completed the enclosure of the burial chamber, but did not support any of the vaulted roof. The northern roof is composed of three or four tabular stones laid at a slant perpendicular to and on top of the northernmost vault capstone and the lowest tread of the entrance stairs. This seal was then covered with construction fill and finally sealed by Terrace Level 4 of Structure 6F-4/3rd.

On the southwestern corner, later architectural modifications erased the exact location of the Terrace Level 5 corner. What is again present, however, is the southern portion of the encasing wall which supported the flat topped summit of the building. This encasing wall is well preserved for its entire southern length and exhibits the same careful use of well-shaped, regularly coursed limestone blocks as on the northern side of Structure 6F-4/3rd. Additionally, the southern terrace wall makes the same type of jog as that made by its counterpart on the northern side of the building.

Our discovery of the tomb chamber was made possible by the outward collapse of a portion of the western ledge wall. In clearing the Terrace Level 4 collapse, we noticed a void in this area marked by the presence of one or two of the tabular plug stones and several of the rectangular worked wall stones. The collapse of this portion of the wall appears to have resulted from the general erosion of the western face of the structure. Terrace Level 5 sits above the Burial 24 tomb chamber and Terrace Level 4 and extends for 1.9 m east from its 60 cm rise above the eastern edge of Terrace Level 4. Terrace Level 5 was found only on the western side of Structure 6F-4. There is currently no evidence that Terrace Level 5 continues around to either the northern or southern side of Structure 6F-4/3rd, suggesting it was designed as a visual space. In such a strategy, performances undertaken at Terrace Level 5 would be framed by whatever decorations covered the northern and southern sloped armatures.

The construction of the encasing wall above Terrace Level 5 would have allowed the interior of the summit superstructure, minus its roof, to remain open while work proceeded on the rest of Structure 6F-4/3rd. The stratigraphy indicates that terminating rituals were undertaken when all work was completed on Structure 6F-4/3rd except for the sealing of the Burial 24 tomb chamber and the filling of the area of the Structure 6F-4/4th summit superstructure encased by the masonry wall built above Terrace Level 5. 190

Excavations these bone fragments suggests the initial burning of the skeleton took place approximately 70 cm north of the southern wall and on the approximate centerline of the east-west axis. At the northeast corner of this burned area there was a rock resting on the packed marl surface which made up the floor of the tomb. Under this rock we found four pierced mussel shells and a whole obsidian blade. Apparently this deposit represents another step in the preparation of the burial chamber, perhaps prior to the burning of the individual represented by the Burial 24-14 bones. Following the burning, the skeleton was scattered deliberately and/or disturbed by the entry and placement of the other articulated and fresh victims. Many fragments of burned human bone assigned to Burial 2414 were found distributed randomly distributed about the packed marl surface which formed the floor. Stratigraphically these burned bone fragments always underlay the later individuals and therefore preceded the rest of the deposit. There were several artifacts which probably pertain to Burial 24-14; these include several burned and blackened greenstone beads and another burned piece of greenstone carved into the likeness of a quetzal (Figure 5.226).

Figure 5.224: Burial 24 Showing Placement of “La Muñeca” The setting for this ceremony would have been on the surfaces of the two terraces, level 4 and level 5. The decorated sloping armatures at the northern and southern ends of Terrace Level 5 would have provided a backdrop to these initial and any later ritual activities carried out on the upper performance spaces of Structure 6F-4/3rd. Whatever the iconography of the decoration, it surely commemorated and legitimated the actions of those responsible for the construction of Structure 6F-4/3rd and the dispatch of the vanquished. The tomb, and indeed the west side of Structure 6F-4/3rd, was intended from the outset to be the focus of ritual activities that would have been highly visible from the main plaza of the North Acropolis. Burial 24 The internment contained a mass sacrifice of eleven individuals; ten men, women, and children, placed around a central decapitated male (Figures 5.223-5.225). After the Burial 24 tomb chamber architecture was completed, the space was ritually prepared. This preparation, however, was in direct contrast to the venerating rituals undertaken in the Burial 23 tomb chamber. The first action was the burning and subsequent scattering of human bone. A burned area with higher concentrations of

Figure 5.225: Burial 24 Prior to Excavation 191

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996

Figure 5.226: Carved Greenstone in Form of Quetzal, Burial 24

Figure 5.228: Vessel 5, Burial 24

Figure 5.227: Crown Made of Strombus Shell, Burial 24 Based on this information, we believe the protagonists burned and scattered a sacred ancestor bundle in order to desecrate the space inside the tomb chamber. The burning of an ancestor bundle was a grave act for the Maya. Scenes depicted on ceramic vessels show what appear to represent ancestor bundles on display in various depictions of royal Maya life. The need for access to selected departed predecessors is consistent with the Maya necessity for communication with apotheosized ancestors in the otherworld. Also it appears from the burgeoning body of evidence concerning the Maya view of ancestors and bones that a requirement of otherworld communication was that it be undertaken in close proximity to the actual bones themselves: the re-entry of Burial 23 is a good example of such communication and its necessities.

Figure 5.229: Artifacts Inside of Vessel 5, Burial 24 This then is the ritual context into which the proposed bundle represented by Burial 24-14 was introduced. If this was the case, then the specific purpose of the Burial 24 ceremony was directed towards eradicating one of the most sacred Maya relationships; that between the ruler and his ancestors: or, perhaps even more pointedly, between the ruler and a venerated ancestor. The next act taken in the chamber was an attack against the current king (Burial 24-7) by the burning of another fire on the floor of the tomb chamber. This second fire 192

Excavations was marked by a 20 cm in diameter, five cm high concentration of heavily blackened material containing small bits of burned bone. Within this burned deposit were three worked pieces of strombus (Figure 5.227). One of these pieces is somewhat charred and only about 80% complete while the other two are intact. Each piece was crescent shaped, perforated on both ends, and heavily smoothed on the concave side. We think these three pieces of shell comprise the remains of a crown or circlet. The perforation of all ends indicates they were meant to be strung together end to end, while the smoothing on the convex side suggests use wear from friction between the individual elements of the crown and the skin of the wearer.

Burial 24 was the last event and consecrated and/or dedicated the building. Stratigraphically, the polished surface of Terrace Level 4 sealed the entrance to the tomb. When intact, this partially collapsed terrace would have provided ample space for the performance of the pre-internment activities. As built the tomb is integral to the building, therefore, the Terrace Level was designed to surround and cover the tomb and provide the necessary architectural support. This is particularly true of the vault which required the weight of the overburden in order to maintain the structural integrity of the corbel. Therefore it seems most likely the entire area was finished with only the tomb entrance left open until the last.

Following the burning of the crown, preparation of the chamber continued. A group of ceramic vessels was next laid into the southwest corner of the tomb chamber. As none of these vessels showed evidence of burning or thermal alteration, even though they were in direct contact with one or both of the burned areas, they must have been placed into the southwest corner sometime after the fires had cooled.

The burial referred to as Burial 24-7 occupied the central position in the tomb and may have been the patriarch of the group. While there is no direct evidence telling if Burial 24-7, Burial 24-2 or Burial 24-11 were placed in the tomb in any particular order, it seems that the leader would have been dealt with first. He was lying on his back with the neck towards the north and the feet towards the south. The legs had originally been flexed with the knees upright, through decomposition over time the legs fell over onto the burials on each side.

The two vessels placed into the southwest corner proper are a matched set of the type Balanza Black: variety Cadena Creek. Vessel #2 is a pedestal base bowl. Decoration consists of a fillet of semi-raised, half-moon shaped elements running in a counter clockwise fashion around the upper portion of the vessel, approximately 15 cm below the rim. Vessel #3 is a cylinder tripod with an outcurving rim and three roughly triangular cuts in each foot. The decoration on this vessel is the same type as vessel #2 except the fillet is at the base and runs in a clockwise direction.

Although the body of Burial 24-7 appears to have been placed in the tomb first and the other burials placed or tossed in afterwards, this may not have been the case with the skull. The skull, that of an elderly male with large brow ridges, rounded orbits and large mastoids, was lying over on the east side of the tomb beside and above the pelvis of Burial 24-4, one of the last individuals to have been placed in the tomb. There is no plausible explanation, as in Burial 24-11 and Burial 24-13, why the skull should have rolled to its location at the time of excavation. It was not against a wall or other high area, nor was it lying on another burial articulated with its own skeleton. It seems most probable the skull was removed prior to the interment of Burial 24-7, was added after the other burials, and came to rest on the pelvis of Burial 24-4.

Placed in and over the immediate area of the burned crown was a polychrome vessel of the type Tituc Orange. This vessel (#5) depicts a standing individual costumed as a zoomorph with the principal characteristics being avian (Figure 5.228). His mask is certainly a bird; we believe this bird to most likely be a fire macaw. Feathers seem to extend from either side of the individual‟s body. In his left hand he is grasping what appears to be a turtle carapace shield. Finally his feet are represented as cloven hoofs or paws.

The pelvis is male with a narrow sciatic notch and a short pubis. Other robusticity measurements are well into the male range. Age was derived from the obliterated endocranial sutures and the pubic synthesis, which gave an age of over 55. There also was vertebral lipping consistent with this age. The rib ends had ossified extensively. There was no infection or trauma on the six long bones present and free of erosion. The surface of the skull was roughened and it was not possible to see any porotic hyperostosis that may have been present. No orbital bone was present. There was extensive arthritis throughout the skeleton. There were spurs in the acetabulum and on both distal humeri. The lumbar vertebrae all had lipping to nine millimeters. The lower four thoracic vertebrae also had lipping and the only cervical vertebra present; the seventh had lipping of four millimeters. Stature was 159.48 cm. The skull was probably not deformed.

Returning to Burial 24; inside vessel #5 was a rather eclectic assortment of artifacts. These included two shells with very small cuts in one end, several pieces of what appear to be either abalone or mother of pearl shell, a possible animal claw, pellets of a green and black organic material (possibly pigment), two multi-pointed round shell disks (Figure 5.229a), a long bone implement (Figure 5.229b), and an unusually shaped piece of stone (Figure 5.229c). The final item of interest in vessel #5 was the skull of Burial 24-14, the bundle first burned to desecrate the tomb chamber. Once these initial preparations were complete the burial chamber was ready to receive the occupants (Figure 5.230). We believe the sacrifice of the royal members of 193

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 The lack of the upper cervical is another argument that the body went in headless. In a situation where the skull might have just rolled away from the body as a result of decomposition there should have been upper cervical vertebrae found in situ. No teeth have been assigned to this burial, again evidence for decapitation prior to internment. Materially there were two sting ray spines (Figure 5.231) and a small greenstone bead on the sacrum and a whole obsidian blade where the head should have been. There were also two flat Spondylus beads, pierced longitudinally, in the area at the right wrist, probably representing part of a bracelet. An unidentified and slightly modified bone that resembles a fish head was with in the thorax of this person. There was also a second smaller obsidian blade located somewhere in the area of the torso. By the left ankle there was a small shell bead which had been worked into a rough representation of a face (Figure 5.232), much like the more formal ones found with Burial 24-2, Burial-23, and one found at the 5E-73 Complex. Subsequent to its initial carving a hole was drilled through the mouth of this bead. There were two ceramic vessels associated with Burial 24-7: vessel #8 by the right neck area and a broken vessel (#9) just to the south of that. Vessel #8 is a very small spouted cup with a pedestal base of the type Balanza Black: variety unknown. The spout on this vessel is almost perpendicular to the body. The bottom of the vessel may have been fluted and is discolored gray, possibly the result of thermal alteration. Overall the vessel exhibits signs of extensive use. Vessel #9 was recovered in pieces, it too is a spouted, pedestal base vessel of the type Balanza Black: variety unknown. This vessel is larger than vessel #:8 and the spout is at a much steeper angle relative to the body. The slip itself looks like the variety Cadena Creek but a great part of the body is covered with vertical, fine line, post-slip, incising.

Figure 5.230: Plan of Upper Level of Burial 24

This young skeleton of Burial 24-2 was lying along the east wall of the tomb with its skull to the south. The skeleton was extended and supine with the legs lying reversed under Burial 24-1 along the east wall. The legs of Burial 24-7 had fallen over and were partly on the thorax of Burial 24-2. Burial 24-4 was partially lying on top of Burial 24-2. This individual had a dental age of 12-15 and due to that fact, no sex was assigned. The articulated pubis, however, appeared to have some developing female characteristics; most importantly the shape of the pubis, although it was not possible to know how far fusion of the three parts of the pelvis had progressed.

Figure 5.231: Stingray Spine, Burial 24

There was no infection or trauma visible on the five long bones that were sufficiently preserved to make that determination. It was not possible to know if there was any anemia present at death and there was no arthritis. Four of 19 erupted teeth present had surface caries; these were all 12 year molars. No macrohypoplasias were

Figure 5.232: Shell Bead with Carved Face, Burial 24 194

Excavations visible. No stature could be calculated for this juvenile. It is doubtful the skull had been deformed. It had been crushed a long time ago and much of the bone was missing or had deteriorated.

three lobed element, much like the three shell pieces found in the burned area in the southern part of the tomb. In our opinion this piece is a sak hunal and marks its wearer as royalty. The next greenstone piece is a profile head with its drill holes suggesting it was meant to be secured against a backing rather than suspended (Figure 5.234c). This head is rather stylized and wears a headdress marked by a large “X” or possibly crossed bands. The third greenstone piece appears to represent a figure in the Charlie Chaplin style (Figure 5.234d). The problem is that the piece is so worn that only the outline is visible. Moreover, we think the figure is in the dancing pose. This pose is marked by the individual appearing to be standing with one foot on the ground and the other with the ball of the foot on the ground and the heel raised (Grube 1992). Given the wear exhibited by this piece we can only believe it is an heirloom, passed down through generations of royalty.

A crushed skull was most likely the cause of death. Given the absence of re-entry of the tomb chamber, there was no opportunity for anyone to crush the skull after it had grown softer with decay. Additionally there was no evidence of rock fall from the ceiling or wall which could have caused a crushed skull. On the other hand, if Burial 24-2 was originally interred with a crushed skull, this trauma would have resulted in accelerated decomposition of the damaged area and produced the condition encountered during excavation. The teeth were not inlaid or filed although one maxillary second incisor had a small notch in the center of the occlusal edge. This may have been the result of a particular use or the beginning of a filing pattern.

Figure 5.233: Oliva Shells, Burial 24 There were quite a few artifacts associated with Burial 24-2, the great majority of them were excavated from the area of the upper chest and neck area. These appear to represent a collar or necklace whose preserved elements are composed of worked pieces of greenstone and shell. The shell portion of the necklace consists of eight oliva shells carved into goggle-eye faces (Figure 5.233). Some of these have almost a beak-like mouth while others appear more as skulls (Figure 5.234a). In any event these are incredibly similar to the Spondylus specimen from Burial 23 and are almost identical to one found in the excavations at Structure 5E-75, also from an Early Classic context.

Figure 5.234: Artifacts from Necklace in Burial 24: a. Olivia Shell; b-d. Greenstone Sak Hunal Burial 24-12 was an infant located in the lower torso of Burial 24-2 and was at first thought to be fetal because the vertebral arches, ribs, malar bones and pelves were recovered with the lower ribs of Burial 24-2. The pelves were very small; however, a tooth recovered from the screen gave an age of from birth to six months (Figure 5.235). While most of the long bones were recovered, it is not certain if they were from within the pelvic area or

The greenstone elements of the collar or necklace are three different but interrelated pieces. First is a small carved pendant representing a bearded head (Figure 5.234b). In profile this pendant exhibits several similarities to the pendant found in the pelvic area of Burial 23, particularly in the depiction of a headband and the knot at the back of the skull. Above the headband is a 195

Archaeological Investigations at Yaxuná, 1986-1996 complete pelvis with male characteristics. An age of over 50 was determined by the endocranially obliterated coronal, sagittal, and lambdoidal sutures; the lipping on the lumbar vertebrae of up to eight millimeters and, most importantly, the absence of a symphyseal rim on the pubic synthesis.

beside it. It is possible that this was a nearly full term fetus or, that it was a newborn lying on the lap of what we believe was a young royal female. Burial 24-11 was the last of the first three articulated individuals to have been placed in the tomb. The body was lying on its back with the tibia flexed back and to the left side under the femora and the knees were touching the pelvis of Burial 24-7, located directly to the north. The body was placed against the wall of the tomb in such a way that the skull rolled down between the left arm and the south wall as the ligaments released. All in all the position of the body gives some indication that it may have been placed in a wrapped or semi-bundled state.

The surfaces of the long bones were not clear enough to see infection and there was no indication of trauma. Porotic hyperostosis was absent and there were no orbits to examine for cribra orbitalia. There was extensive arthritis on the spine. The lower four thoracic vertebrae had a pointed lip on the center of the anterior body which does not continue onto the lumbar vertebrae below. It is possible that this condition is the result of an old injury. There were also arthritic spurs on the elbows and the medial condyle of the femur. There were no caries or macrohypoplasias on six erupted teeth. The two mandibular premolars showed extreme wear. Stature was 154.28 cm. The skull had probably been culturally deformed. The sagittal suture line was indented and the parietals were rounded. The upper central incisors had been filed but not inlaid. The unburned artifacts assigned to Burial 24-11 included four greenstone beads, several bone and Spondylus beads and a small portion of a stingray spine found with the skull. Interestingly, data from Burial 24-11 indicated the presence of cinnabar on the bones. The cinnabar was restricted to a broad stripe from the skull to the pelvis, giving the impression that it had been essentially painted on with a brush. So pervasive was the presence of the cinnabar stripe that traces were between the articulating surfaces of the bones it covered. Burial 24-10 is perhaps the least well-defined individual from Burial 24. It consists of a skull lying directly east of the pelvis of Burial 24-7 and a spinal column continuing north beside that individual. There were vertebrae, a pelvis, and sacrum on top of the thorax of Burial 24-7 and flexed legs extending to the south under the pelvis. The skull had female characteristics and the pelvis had a broad sciatic notch. Analysis demonstrated that the cranial sutures were open, the teeth were all erupted, and tooth wear was light. The iliac crest of the pelvis was also recently united. These data indicate an age at death of 20-25 years. Bone surfaces were eroded and the bones were fragmentary, therefore, we were not able to compute stature for this individual. Also, no information is available about infection or trauma. There was, however, no evidence of porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, or arthritis, and no macrohypoplasias were visible. There was a depression behind the coronal suture on the parietal bones which probably was the result of intentional cranial deformation. There were no caries in 17 erupted teeth and the teeth were not filed or inlaid.

Figure 5.235: Burial 24-12 This individual was also lying within the Burial 24-14 burn area, yet the bones exhibited no signs of thermal alteration. There was burned bone from Burial 24-14 beneath the legs and pelvis and burned teeth between the skeleton and the south wall. This dichotomy between the burned and unburned bones and artifacts made it a fairly straightforward process to differentiate between Burial 24-11 and Burial 24-14.

This body had obviously not been placed in the tomb with care. The head was on the feet of Burial 24-7 and the careless placement may have been the reason the legs of

Sex was indicated by large mastoids, robusticity measurements (well within the male range), and a nearly 196

Excavations third molar had a carious lesion and three roots. The mandibular incisors were marked by two macrohypoplasias just above the cemento-enamel junction indicating an illness at age two or three. The teeth were filed in a style which has been associated with the Early Classic. There were no inlays present.

Burial 24-7 fell from their original position. This woman should also be considered as a possible mother for the infant (Burial 24-12). There was a quantity of greenstone and shell beads between Burial 24-10 and Burial 24-2 (which lay to its immediate east). Some of these materials, but not the greenstone and shell collar, that was definitely in association with Burial 24-2, could have belonged to either of the bodies. Burial 24-6 was located near the west wall about one meter from the south end of the tomb. The legs of Burial 24-13 were partially overlying the thorax and the legs of Burial 24-7 had fallen back onto this burial. Yet the legs of Burial 24-6 were located on top of the thorax of Burial 24-7 and the vessels located next to the west wall. This individual was lying on its left side with the legs loosely flexed. The pelvis indicates this was a female (the pubis and the sciatic notch were both present.) The teeth gave an age of 20-25, the pubic synthesis and age of 20-21. The union of the ischial tuberosity was in its final stages which would give an age of