Searching
for Caracol's Last Urbanites:
Continued
Investigation of Small Structures in and near Caracol's Epicenter:
2005
Field Report of the Caracol Archaeological Project
Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase
Department of Anthropology
-
Report submitted to the Belize Institute of Archaeology
Searching for Caracol's Last Urbanites:
Continued Investigation of Small Structures in and
near Caracol's Epicenter:
2005 Field Report of the Caracol
Archaeological Project
Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase
The 2005 field season of the Caracol
Archaeological Project was carried out from the beginning of February until
late March. Sixteen staff participated
in the entire field season; six visitors were on-site for approximately a week
(Table 1). Excavations undertaken during
the 2005 field season were designed to complement investigations that have been
ongoing in the site epicenter since the 2000 field season. However, in addition to focusing on
architectural variation and potential areas of craft or food production, the
2005 investigations specifically sought to locate late epicentral remains.
It has been hypothesized that there were
two contemporary ceramic and material culture assemblages during the latest
occupation of Caracol and that these assemblages were status-linked (A. Chase
and D. Chase 2004, 2006). At the same
time, artifact distributions, iconography, and hieroglyphic texts indicate a
changed political and economic system that is re-focused on dynasty and
stratification as opposed to the symbolic egalitarianism of the preceding Late
Classic Period (D. Chase and A. Chase 2006).
The 2005 season of the Caracol Archaeological Project sought to focus on
the latest occupation of Caracol and on the relationship between the site's
outlying residential groups and it's epicentral populations. Investigations specifically sought to examine
the functional relationships between latest occupation in downtown Caracol and
the residential groups that immediately abut the urban core. To accomplish this, two specific loci were
targeted for investigation during the twenty-first field season of the project
(see Figure 1):
the I20 area, which involved four
excavations Đ one trench and one probe into Structure I20, the trenching and
horizontal stripping of Structure B59, and the probing of a depression north of
Structure B59.
and the B42 plazuela group, which
involved three excavations Đ one trench into Structure B40, one trench into
Structure B44, and a more expansive trench into Structure B42.
As in
the recent past, funding for the 2005 field season came from the Ahau
Foundation (through the auspices of the
The Problem: Terminal
Classic Ceramic Sub-Assemblages and the Decline of Symbolic
Egalitarianism
The Terminal Classic at some Maya
sites has been viewed as evincing a depopulation of many, if not most, outlying
residential groups (e.g.
The existence of two ceramic sub-assemblages,
only one of which is associated with elite palace contexts, is consistent with
other archaeological data and patterns derived from settlement investigations
at Caracol; these data indicate significant changes in the social, political,
and economic spheres during the Terminal Classic Period (e.g. D. Chase and A.
Chase 2003, 2006). For the most part,
Late Classic Period Caracol is characterized by a unified material culture and
what has been termed a "Caracol identity" (A. Chase and D. Chase 1996; D. Chase
and A .Chase 2004). This identity is
characterized not only by shared Late Classic ceramic types throughout all
parts of the site, but also by the existence of a shared ritual patterns that
span all Late Classic residential groups at Caracol. This shared identity includes: the presence
of an eastern mortuary structure with both single and multiple individual (and
entry) tombs; the use and placement of "face" caches and finger bowl caches
within these groups; and, the use of effigy incensarios. This shared identity and the relative
prosperity of households throughout Caracol has been interpreted as evidence
for a political system characterized by symbolic egalitarianism (D. Chase and
A. Chase 2006) and is believed to have been a by-product of the conscious
nation-building and successful warfare in the early part of the Late Classic
Period (A. Chase and D. Chase 1989; D. Chase and A. Chase 2002). This symbolic egalitarianism is no longer
evident in the Terminal Classic Period.
Just before A.D. 800, the Caracol shared identity broke down and marked
social stratification appears to have returned, as represented in the material
remains and ritual patterns found at the site.
Not only do the traditional Late Classic Period residential ritual
patterns fall out of existence, but on-floor artifactual debris suggests
disjunction in the access to specific material remains. A resurgence of hieroglyphs and iconography
in a new corpus of late stone monuments also appears, suggesting that these
changes may be correlated with a return to dynasty.
Archaeologically, it is difficult to
correlate all of the above factors to provide a comprehensive picture of
Terminal Classic Caracol. The
distribution of the Terminal Classic ceramic sub-assemblages at Caracol (and
elsewhere) is for the most part mutually exclusive (A. Chase and D. Chase 2006)
and the use of type fossils to temporally place both Late Classic and Terminal
Classic remains (e.g., Smith 1955:13 and Sabloff 1973:114, 121) means that
coeval materials that are found in spatially distinct parts of the same site
may become temporally separated in the analytical process. The 2005 excavations at Caracol sought to
find archaeological contexts where there might have been co-mingling of the two
Terminal Classic ceramic sub-assemblages and/or where it might prove possible
to gain better stratigraphic insight into the latest Maya at Caracol. Based on work undertaken in previous seasons
in and around the Caracol epicenter, it was judged that the best place to look
for such contexts would be in epicenter-core transition zones.
Groups Adjacent to Caracol's C Group
The major palace in the C Group,
centered on Structure B64, was investigated during the 1994 field season through
a combination of axial trenching (of Structures B63 and B64) and areal exposure
(of Structure B64's front courtyard).
The areal exposure not only recovered a stucco text associated with this
palace (containing the names of individuals not occurring in the stone
monuments), but also encountered a large amount of Terminal Classic trash,
indicating that the inhabitants of Structure B64 participated in the Terminal
Classic epicentral ceramic sub-assemblage (the same sub-assemblage was also in
evidence in Barrio to the southwest). A
burial recovered within Structure B63 stratigraphically demonstrated that
traditional "Late Classic" ceramics were being utilized during a "Terminal
Classic" timespan and indicated functional differentiation of late ceramics; traditional
ceramics were included within late interments even though a non-traditional
sub-assemblage may have been utilized by the inhabitants. Excavations south of the C Group in 2004 in
Structures B52 and B53 revealed Terminal Classic materials here, as well, in
the form of a modeled-carved sherds on the surface of Structure B52. However, a ubiquitous utilitarian ceramic assemblage
was recovered in association with Structure B53 that is not part of the
Terminal Classic palace ceramic sub-assemblage. Taken together, these findings indicated the possibility
that there could be an admixture of late ceramic sub-assemblages within this
portion of Caracol. It was specifically
this hope of further refining the Terminal Classic ceramic situation that led
to the selection of the I20 area and the Structure B42 group for further
investigation during the 2005 field season.
Structures at the Southern End of the C
Group: The B42 Group
The B42
plazuela group lies immediately southeast of the raised platform that supports
the main buildings within Caracol's C Group (see Figure 1). This group is also directly east of
Structures B52 and B53 and the Barrio palace complex. As mapped, this plaza group has three focal
buildings, Structure B40, B42, and B44 Đ all of which were the focus of
excavation during 2005. Prior to
investigation, all indications were that the nine structures within this unit
formed a regular Caracol residential group (Figure 2). Yet, the proximity of this plaza group to so
many other areas that had yielded Terminal Classic remains made the complex a
good candidate for having been occupied as well during this era. While the spatial configurations between the
I20 and B42 groups are different, both structural concentrations appeared to
place similar emphasis on northern and eastern structures, thus allowing for
the possibility that excavation of analogous structures in these two groups also
could provide useful comparative data.
Structure B42
Structure
B42 clearly represented an eastern shrine building, being a squarish
construction that anchored the eastern end of the residential plaza. It was selected for excavation on the basis
of its being such a shrine building; it was hoped that its investigation would
yield a sequence of deposits that extended into the Terminal Classic era (and
this was indeed the case). The
unexcavated building rose roughly 1.2 m above the interior plaza and the
southeast corner of the building had the remains of a partial looters' trench
running toward the structure's centerline.
A single axial trench was placed into Structure B42 (Figure 3). This excavation was completely backfilled at
the conclusion of the field season.
Suboperation C171B was assigned for the
8.1 m long by 1.5 m wide trench that originally bisected Structure B42 (Figure 2, Figure 4). While this excavation
penetrated the core of the building to a depth of 1.4 m below the surface of
the building summit, bedrock was not encountered. Instead a series of burials were found which
required two areal extensions south of the original section line to more fully
expose these interments (Figure 2); the easternmost extension ran 2.2 m further
south of the original excavation and extended from the eastern excavation limit
1.7 m to the west; the westernmost extension was an additional 1 m to the south
by 3.4 m east from the western excavation limit.
Only a
single construction phase was encountered within Suboperation C171B and nowhere
were any substantial architectural remains encountered (Figure 5). A single course of stones represented the
remains of a crude facing on the summit of the structure and the three stairs
that were recovered were in similar disrepair.
The remains of a plaster floor were found in the plaza to the front of
the building; this floor did not extend behind the front stairway; one cache
and one burial appear to have been sealed by this floor. Apart from the summit facing, the frontal
stairs and this floor, the only other constructed remains were associated with
interments. Archaeological data
recovered in Suboperation C171B indicate that Structure B42 was constructed in
a single building effort sometime during the transition from the Early Classic
to the Late Classic Period. Interments
and other materials associated with this building indicate that it was used
from this time period into the Terminal Classic era.
Excavation
of Structure B42 recovered 6 interments and 4 caches as well as other artifactual
materials. A piece of a slate monument
fragment was found on the surface of Structure B42 just south of the western
excavation extension (Figure 6).
Material found immediately west of the front steps and overlying S.D.
C171B-2 included a number of reconstructable Terminal Classic ceramics (Figure 7), including one modeled-carved vessel (Figure 7d) that is almost
complete. All of these ceramics, even
though reconstructable, were scattered within the general area and were mixed
with some human bone, leading to the possibility that at least the modeled-carved
cylinder was associated with a burial located barely beneath the ground
surface. If it was associated with a barely
buried interment, however, this would represent the only instance of this
phenomenon at Caracol. Given the
presence of other, more partial, Terminal Classic ceramics from this same area
(see Figure 7), it is more likely that these vessels were defacto refuse.
Both of
the modeled carved vessels associated with Structure B42 contain some surprises
within their iconography. The glyphic
panel on the bowl incorporates elements of a sky band combined with a
Most of
the recovered data from Structure B42 relates to ritual and burial. Three interments were found within the
building and three were located west of the front step (Figure 8). One cache was found within the building core,
one was found almost at ground surface at the upper limit of the stairway, two
were found sealed by the plaza floor, and several cache vessels appear to have
been redeposited within S.D. C171B-2 (Figure 9, Figure 10).
S.D. C171B-1 (Figure 9, Figure 13a5) was
assigned for a small face cache and flat disc lid that were found almost as
soon as the eroded upper plaza floor was stripped away; it was set in fill
above the better preserved (and plastered) lower plaza floor. This cache is located well north of the axis
on which the majority of the other deposits were found. Based on spatial location, it may have been
positioned in front of the building in relation to S.D. C171B-7, a crypt located
in the summit of the construction.
S.D. C171B-2 (Figure 4, Figure 8, Figure 9,
Figure 10) was assigned for materials that were associated with a 30 cm deep stone
crypt placed immediately in front of and partially beneath the front step for
Structure B42. Building the eastern wall
of this crypt clearly disturbed an earlier cache, S.D. C171B-10, which had been
placed within construction fill behind the front step of the building. Major portions of some of the vessels in this
cache instead ended up within the crypt (see Figure 11c and 11d). Investigation of the crypt revealed an interment
that was packed with bones and whose excavation indicated a series of sequentially-placed
articulated individuals. However, it is
not clear how much, if any, time intervened between placements. The stratigraphic sequence within this crypt
revealed that the last vessels to be placed were a polychrome bowl (Figure 11b)
against the west wall and a small cache vessel (Figure 11e) atop of the eastern
crypt wall (Figure 9). It is possible
that the modeled-carved cylinder discussed above represented a later
depositional episode at this locus. Once
the upper layer of bone and the bowl had been removed, a complete polychrome
cylinder (Figure 11a) was recovered amid more bone. This cylinder, in turn, lay over even more
bone and the two vessels that are believed to have originated within the
stairway cache; sherds that fit one of the vessels in the stairway cache (see
Figure 22d) were also recovered in the northern part of this crypt. An articulated individual was found beneath
these ceramic pieces at the very bottom of the crypt. The ceramic cylinder and bowl ostensibly date
to the late part of the Late Classic Period.
Artifactual materials recovered with S.D. C171B-2 included a pair of
moon snails, a drilled animal tooth, three shell discs, and a pristine obsidian
blade (Figure 12). Probably 7
individuals were placed within S.D. C171B-2.
The lowermost individual in the crypt was certainly an adult female and
the last individual placed within the crypt was a young adult male with notched
teeth. Another young adult male included
within this interment had three jadeite inlays in his maxillary teeth
(minimally the 2 incisors and 1 canine on his left side; the upper right front
teeth were missing). One other adult female,
one other adult male, and two subadults were also included in this burial.
S.D. C171B-3 (Figure 4, Figure 8, Figure 9) was
assigned for a 25 cm deep crypt encountered immediately within the westernmost
extent of excavation C171B. The remains
of 3 individuals were encountered in this crypt. A single adult individual of unknown sex was in
an extended supine position with head to the north. This individual had suffered ante mortem
tooth loss and also exhibited both caries and tartar on their teeth. A subadult skull was placed immediately east
of the extended individual's pelvis.
Another subadult skull was located just west of the same individual's
knees. Both subadult individuals were
approximately 4 years old at their time of death. A single ceramic dish (Figure 13b) was found
immediately north of the extended individual.
The stone that formed the northern wall for the crypt rested on the
upper third of this vessel, indicating that the human and pottery materials had
been placed within the grave before the crypt construction was finalized.
S.D. C171B-4 (Figure 9) was assigned for pottery
cache vessels found barely under the ground
surface at the approximate level of the upper stair for Structure B42. While two vessels (Figure 13c and 13d) were
recovered, it may be that the smaller one with the crude face on it served as a
lid for the larger urn. Even though
barely under the surface when found, it is likely that these materials were
once located within the core of the building.
Special Deposit C171B-4 is clearly on a ritual axis comprised of the
three burials set to the front of Structure B42 and two other caches (the cache
vessel on the eastern edge of S.D. C171B-2 and the cache vessels in S.D.
C171B-5).
S.D. C171B-5 was assigned for cache vessels set
directly above the eastern wall of the crude cist that was labeled S.D.
C171B-6. This cache had been sealed
beneath the one well preserved plaster floor found in the plaza. Three distinct cache vessels were recovered
at this locus, consisting of a small cylinder, a single finger bowl, and a
larger lidded urn (Figure 13e, 13f, and 13g).
S.D. C171B-6 (Figure 4, Figure 9) was assigned
for a cist set between the two better constructed crypts in front of Structure
B42. Special Deposit C171B-6 was sealed
beneath the well preserved plaza floor and was also located direction beneath
S.D. C171B-5. The bones that were
recovered from within the stone-lined cist were in very poor condition, but
proved to be the remains of a single subadult individual that was 2 to 3 years
of age at the time of death and was probably extended in supine position with
head to the north.
S.D. C171B-7 (Figure 4, Figure 14) was assigned
for a crypt located within the main trench of excavation C171B. This crypt was north of the primary axis of
the majority of the Structure B42 deposits and was set immediately west of the
single stone facing remaining on the summit of Structure B42 (Figure 5). The crypt extended across the entire trench
(Figure 14) and was approximately 40 cm in depth. It had once been sealed with large capstones
that had large fallen into the burial.
Preservation was very poor in this crypt and very little bone remained. From the small amount of bone that was
recovered, it would appear that the crypt held minimally 2 individuals, one an
adult and the other a sub-adult about 3 years old. No artifactual material was recovered in
association with this crypt.
S.D. C171B-8 (Figure 4, Figure 9) was assigned
for a concentration of bone located directly in the fill of the building core. The remains do not appear to have been
articulated. However, the recovered bone
can all be associated with a single adult individual; age and sex cannot be
determined. It is possible that the
limited cranial and long bone fragments recovered in the vicinity of S.D.
171B-10 should be included with this deposit.
S.D. C171B-9 (Figure 4, Figure 15, Figure 16,
Figure 17) was assigned for a collapsed tomb found in section at the eastern
limit of excavation C171B. The looters'
trench in this portion of the structure had penetrated the collapsed fill that
engulfed the chambers, but had not disturbed the in situ on-floor materials.
The tomb was one of the more elaborate ones found at Caracol in that it
had a formal chamber and an antechamber as well as an entryway (Figure 16). The antechamber was at a lower level and was
smaller than the main chamber. (Figure 17).
The preserved eastern wall in the main chamber rose to a height of
1.25m, which represented the point at which the spring for the vault
occurred. The antechamber was similarly
at least 1.25 m in interior height. Wall
stubs, a single stone slab wide (ca. 25 cm), formed the eastern wall of the
antechamber and provided an 80 cm wide doorway into the main portion of the
tomb. The remains of two articulated adult
individuals were found in the main chamber.
No sex identification was possible given the poor condition of the bone. Both individuals had been placed on their
backs with their heads to the south.
Both individuals exhibited Type A2 filing on their upper and lower
incisors and canines, meaning that each of these teeth were
double-notched. The mandible of the
western individual also had ante mortem tooth loss, indicating a more advanced
age than the eastern individual. It is
possible that the western individual was placed in the chamber at a slightly
later date given its position at the extreme western end of the inner chamber. A sizeable number of ceramics (Figure 18) and
artifacts (Figure 20) accompanied these two individuals. Four vessels (Figure 18b, 18c, 18g, and 18J)
plus a lid with a vulture head handle (Figure 18a) were found in the main
chamber; five more vessels (Figure 18d, 18e, 18f, 18h, and 18i) were found in
the antechamber. The lid (Figure 18a)
exhibits polychrome decoration that matches the decoration on the footed barrel
(Figure 18b), but rather than being atop this barrel (which it also fits), it
was set astride a larger bowl (Figure 18j) in the southwest corner of the
chamber; this fact could indicate some minor disturbance in the chamber at the
time of the placement of the western individual. All of the vessels in this chamber may be
dated to the transition between the Early Classic and Late Classic Period or to
ca. A.D. 550. Two of the vessels in the
tomb contained artifactual remains (Figure 19).
The bowl (Figure 18j) in the southwest corner of the main chamber held
the remains of a single pyrite earflare (Figure 19a; Figure 20c); three pieces
of a second pyrite earflare were found associated with the eastern individual,
one piece between the eastern tibia, one piece beneath the eastern skull, and
the central disc below the footed barrel (Figure 18b). The barrel (Figure 18b) in the main chamber
also contained two pairs of drilled shells (Figure 19b; Figure 20d, 20e, 20f,
and 20g), as well as some animal
bone. A third pair of shells that were
still occluded (Figure 20f) was found in the vicinity of the skull of the
eastern individual, as was a set of spiked shell discs (Figure 20a and 20b). A single bone disc (Figure 20m) was found
east of the tibia of the eastern individual and a single broken piece of carved
jadeite (Figure 20j) was recovered from the chest area of the eastern
individual. Indications are that the
western individual wore a bead necklace when interred as 3 jadeite beads
(Figure 20i, 20k, and 20l) and 5 spondylus beads (Figure 20n-r) were found
beneath and around the western mandible.
S.D. C171B-10 (Figure 4, Figure 9) was
assigned for a cache that had been located immediately behind the lower step
for Structure B42. The cache consisted
of 3 bucket-like vessels, 1 finger bowl associated with a human phalange, and a
large globular urn that had a crude face appliquŽd onto its side and that was
capped with a curved lid (Figure 21, Figure 22). Pieces of one of the buckets in this deposit
(Figure 22d) were actually recovered intermixed among the bones within S.D.
C171B-2 and the finger bowl and partial bucket recovered with S.D. C171B-2
(Figure 11c and 11d) match similar pieces within this cache. Thus, it appears that the crypt for S.D.
C171B-2 cut into this earlier cache, disturbing several of the vessels that had
been placed within it. Given the
prevalence of the bucket form at the earlier end of the Late Classic Period
(see A. Chase 1994:172), consistent with the dating for S.D. C171B-9, and the
fact that the globular effigy cache vessel is out of place at this earlier
date, it may also be speculated that the globular urn and lid may have been a
later Late Classic addition to re-consecrate an accidentally disturbed earlier
deposit.
Structure B40
Structure
B40 anchored the plaza group on its north side and was the most massive
construction in the group, rising some 2 m above the plaza surface (Figure 23). It was selected for excavation with the hope
that it would prove analogous to other north structures at Caracol; Caana's
Structure B19 and the Central Acropolis' Structure A34 both produced basal
interments, while Structure A3 produced a tomb at its summit; Structures B19
and A3 also yielded Terminal Classic incensarios on their main axes. Toward this end, a single axial trench was
placed into Structure B40 (Figure 3).
This excavation was completely backfilled at the conclusion of the field
season.
Suboperation C171C constituted a single axial trench placed into
Structure B40 that measured 7.4 m by 1.5 m (Figure 24, Figure 25). It was dug to plaza level in the interior of
the structure and resulted in the discovery of earlier architecture as well as
two special deposits, one of which was a tomb.
Bedrock was not encountered in the excavation. Architecturally, the latest version of
Structure B40 was not well preserved and no formal structure plan could be
discerned on the summit. Three lower
steps, probably associated with Structure B40-1st, were identified
at the plaza level (Figure 25). Within
construction core at the summit of Structure B40, the remains of two single
stone facings and an associated floor were encountered (Figure 25); these
architecture features represent Structure B40-2nd. A construction floor was also encountered in
the core of the building some 30 cm below the plaster floor at the summit; this
construction surface later proved to have served as a cap for a tomb and to
have been bounded by large upright boulders on its southern side (Figure 23). Part of an earlier step was found
approximately 30 m beneath the latest plaza step and set back about 10 cm
(Figure 26). This step was constructed
over an earlier floor and was associated with a cross-wall for a small platform
that once ran east (Figure 26), and which would have been earlier that -2nd. The floor upon which the step was set was cut
through to place S.D. C171C-2, so it too is earlier than Structure B40-2nd. Other indications of earlier construction
activity included a plaster floor beneath the tomb floor (Figure 24). Investigations into Structure B42 proved it to
have been in use from the early Early Classic ("Protoclassic"), based on the 2
deposits described below, through the Terminal Classic era, based on the
recovery of a partial modeled-carved bowl in the humus levels of the building's
summit (Figure 27).
S.D. C171C-1 was assigned for 2 vessels
found in the fill outside of the corner of a tomb (Figure 28). The ceramics were discovered before the tomb
was found. Excavation immediately north
of the materials revealed that the tomb's southwest corner had either collapsed
or been removed in such a way as to have permitted entry into the chamber. It is quite possible that the two vessels found
face down in the fill outside the tomb corner originally came from inside this
chamber. Twenty small pieces of animal
bone are also recorded as coming from the vicinity of these vessels; some human
bone was scattered in the fill matrix that was above these vessels. The northernmost vessel was an appliquŽd
collared bowl with three exterior handles; its exterior was unslipped, but its
interior was slipped brown and the interior lip was gooved (Figure 29b). The southernmost vessel was a polychrome tetrapod
with its feet removed; the interior of this vessel exhibits what appears to be
a porcupine tied onto a whale as well as four stylized toads (Figure 29a),
perhaps representing a unknown Maya mythical scene. Both vessels date to the early Early
Classic. The appliquŽd collared bowl is
quite similar to another found in the Structure B36 platform during the 2004
field season (A. Chase and D. Chase 2005:26).
S.D. C171C-2 was assigned for the tomb that was discovered deep
within the core of Structure B40 (Figure 24, Figure 28, Figure 30, Figure 31). The chamber was oriented on a north-south
axis and measured 2.2 m by 1.2 m in area by 1.2 m in height. The northern end of the chamber was closed by
leaning 3 large slabs from a base wall toward the center capstones (Figure 24);
the side two slabs were in place while the central one had collapsed inward,
leading to the partial infilling of the chamber with dirt. Nothing was intact on the tomb floor; the
chamber appeared to have been largely emptied in antiquity and, thus, the
suspicion that the vessels in S.D. C171-1 had originally come from within the
chamber. The limited bone and teeth that
were recovered above the tomb floor indicated that a minimum of two
individuals, an adult and a subadult, had once occupied the chamber. Resting at the top of the dirt matrix that
had come to infill the chamber were the seemingly complete remains of a brocket
deer with its two small antlers. The
deer bone was introduced into the chamber after it had been largely infilled
with dirt, indicating the possibility of multiple entries into this tomb over a
lengthy period of time.
Structure B44
Structure
B44 is a range building that defines the southern edge of the plaza. It rises only about 90 cm above the plaza
surface. It was selected for excavation in
order to try to gain complementary information that would help understand the
sequence of construction and use relative to Structures B40 and B42. To accomplish this, a single axial trench was
placed into Structure B44 (Figure 3, Figure 32). This excavation was completely backfilled at
the conclusion of the field season.
Suboperation C171D consisted of an
axial trench placed over Structure B44 that measured 6.7 m by 1.5 m (Figure 32,
Figure 33). Excavations revealed that
this construction was accomplished as a single building effort. Architectural features recovered include the
basal plaza step as well as indications that the summit of the building
supported a bi-level substructure (Figure 34), as indicated by a preserved
plaster floor and facings. No deposits
were found in association with this excavation.
Summary of Excavations
in the Structure B42 Group
Excavations
undertaken within the Structure B42 Group during 2005 indicate a long history
of occupation. The earliest deposits were
located in the northern building, Structure B40, and date to the very beginning
of the Early Classic Period. It is
likely that even earlier Preclassic remains are hidden somewhere within this
plaza, especially as bedrock was not reached in any of the excavations and
Early Classic materials were fairly well represented in the building
fills. It is similarly probable that
Early Classic interments are also located within this group, probably on an
earlier axis in the vicinity of Structure B42.
The Late Classic is well represented within this plaza. The Late Classic sequence starts with the
double-chambered tomb from the rear of Structure B44 that dates to the
transition between the Early and Late Classic Periods and then continues with
the series of burials placed within the plaza to the front of the
building. The latest Late Classic
burials appear to have been made in the upper portion of S.D. C171B-2 based on
associated ceramics (although S.D. C171B-7 could be even later). Terminal Classic materials were either
discarded or purposefully placed towards the front of the building. It is likely that these Terminal Classic
materials represent primary trash that was temporarily deposited on the
southern side of the frontal stairway projection; however full excavation of
this area was not possible because of a large tree in this locus. Archaeology indicates that all three of the
excavated structures in this group were in use during the Late Classic
Period. At least the northern and
eastern buildings continued to be used into the Terminal Classic Period.
Structures at the Northern End of the C
Group: The I20 Group
At the northeast corner of the
broader C Group plaza defined by Structures I19 and B60 lie a set of three
structures that look suspiciously like a late group appended onto an epicentral
area. Structures I20, I21, and B59 form
their own architectural complex (Figure 35) and were hypothesized to comprise a
Terminal Classic Period residential group (although this group would be
somewhat atypical in not having is own raised platform). The positioning of these three buildings
relative to the other C Group structures, when combined with known
archaeological data that indicated a Late Classic to Terminal Classic date for
C Group palaces (specifically Structures B62 and B64 excavated in 1994), suggested
that there was an excellent probability that all three of these buildings were
late (i.e., Terminal Classic) constructions.
It would not prove surprising if careful cleaning of the C Group plaza
in the vicinity of these structures did not yield Terminal Classic house pads to
the west and south (similar to those found during the 2004 field season on the
Structure B36 terrace) that would better define a formal group. During the 2005 field season, two of the
three identified structures in the I20 group were investigated.
Structure B59
Structure
B59 is a square mound located in a northeast corner area of the broader C Group
plaza that is defined by the eastern range building, Structure B60 , the
northern range building, Structure I19, and the western platform that is
surmounted by Structures B61, B62, and B64 (Figure 1). Structure B59 is located immediately
northeast of Structure B60. It was
selected for excavation because of the possibility that it was a shrine that
would yield primary deposits, hopefully of a very late date; it proved to be
neither a shrine nor to have associated deposits. The structure was penetrated by a single
trench that was combined with areal excavation (excacavation C172B). A second excavation (C172E) was placed
immediately north of the building across a possible reservoir or sump (see
Figure 35). Both excavations were
completely backfilled at the conclusion of the field season.
Suboperation C172B consisted of the
trenching and associated areal excavation of Structure B59 Figure 36, Figure
37). The axial trench was 7.65 m in
length and was approximately 1 m wide, completely encompassing the alley
between the two central benches (Figure 38, Figure 39). It became clear quite early that Structure
B59 was not an eastern building substructure of piled-up fill material, but
rather the remains of a collapsed stone building that had once been
vaulted. The central portion of the
excavation was filled with overlapping large rectangular limestone slabs, which
had at one time formed a vaulted stone roof; these slabs began to appear within
the humus level and extended down to rest directly on the floor of the central
alleyway (Figure 36). One other
excavated building at Caracol, Structure A7, had yielded a analogous collapsed
roof with the overlapping slabs resting directly on a structure floor. Areal excavation of Structure B59 resulted in
an extension of excavation C172B south an additional meter outside of the
building and an additional 2.3 within the building (Figure 37). The areal excavation revealed a square
building completely infilled with raised benches except for a central alleyway
(90 cm wide) that extended two-thirds of the way into the room. Two stone piers, 60 cm square, rose from the
raised surface of the bench floors to either side of the alleyway at its
end. These piers are not known from
other structures at Caracol, although a disrupted square area of plaster
flooring approximately 95 cm square, suspected as resulting from the removal of
just such an architectural feature, was recovered from within Caracol Structure
A10 (see 1999 field report at www.caracol.org). As found, the exterior facing stones for the
wall of the building were missing; the lack of these stones in the building
collapse indicates that stone-robbing may have taken place. In the building interior, only the lower
facing stones were present; the interior walls all appear to have collapse
outward based on stone fall (see Figure 39), possibly a result of the stone
robbing of the building's exterior facing stones. The facing stones for the step-up into the
building's alleyway were present in the front of Structure B59 and rested on a
slightly outset plinth. Excavation to
the front of Structure B59 also revealed a frontal platform some 2 m west of
the formal edifice. Trenching the
building showed that it had been built as a single construction unit and that
the benches were not added afterwards, but were instead integral to the
original plan; the stones for the benches extended down to a fill layer that
had been placed to level the underlying platform surface. This basal fill layer rested on a dark soil
horizon, which presumably represented an old surface level. The bench facings originally rose 75 cm above
the basal fill layer, but with the addition of the central alleyway, the actual
bench height varied between 45 and 50 cm above plastered floor in the
alleyway. The eastern extent of the Structure
B59 axis was quite disturbed on the building's axial line. The fills behind the raised bench at the end
of the alleyway were also different, consisting of larger stones that rested on
the old surface level (Figure 38). The
rear wall was not present in this area (Figure 39) and it is possible that
there might have been some other feature appended to this portion of the
building. In fact, if there were an
additional feature at the rear of the building on its axis, the overall plan of
the structure would resemble that of a sweathouse (for comparative purposes,
see plan of steam room of Structure 3E3 at Chichen Itza; Ruppert 1952:80-83). In this case, a "firebox" would have been
appended to the eastern side of Structure B59.
The unusual stone roof slabs, the deep central alleyway, and the small
frontal entrance (which was less than 1 m in width) would all support such an
interpretation. No deposits or in situ trash were found in association
with the building. Based on the sherd
materials sealed beneath the floor of the alleyway, Structure B59 was built in
the Late Classic era or later.
Suboperation C172E was assigned for an
excavation unit placed over a sump immediately north of Structure B59 and south
of Structure I21. The excavation
measured 3.92 m north-south by 2 m east west (Figure 40, Figure 41). Only the humus was stripped out of this
area. The pattern of stone fall indicate
that a depression had indeed existed here.
A crude facing was encountered about 1 m south of Structure I21, but the
excavation was closed prior to establishing the existence of any formally
constructed facings to either the north or south sides of this sump. A sizeable amount of trash was found within
this excavation, including a pyrite piece from a mirror, a stalagtite fragment,
a human patella, a large amount of animal bone, and two reconstructable
vessels. Smashed in situ at the bottom of the sump were the complete rim of a very
large unslipped olla and approximately half of a small unslipped bowl (Figure
42). It is suspected that further
excavation here would produce the remnants of a more formally constructed
reservoir that was immediately adjacent to Structure B59. If Structure B59 were in fact a sweathouse,
it would have made sense to have had a source of water immediately adjacent.
Structure I20
Structure
I20 is a raised structure with its own stairway that sits atop the eastern end
of the long range building, designated Structure I19, which comprises the
northern limit of Caracol's C Group. The
summit of Structure I20 is roughly 2.25 m above the present plaza surface. It was selected for excavation because it was
a discrete northern building and it was hoped that it would produce one or more
basal burials of a late date, mimicking similar situations in Structure B19 and
Structure A34; this expectation was met.
To accomplish this goal, an axial trench was placed into Structure I20
and, subsequently, a smaller excavation was placed to the east of this trench
to investigate a feature encountered in the main trench (Figure 35). These excavations were completely backfilled
at the conclusion of the field season.
Suboperation C172C was assigned for an
axial trench into Structure A34 that measured 9.25 m north-south by 2 m
east-west (Figure 43, Figure 44, Figure 45).
Bedrock was reached at two places within this excavation. The locus showed evidence of multiple
constructions based on fill materials, although it is unlikely that any were
earlier than the Late Classic Period.
Removal of the humus immediately revealed a series of facings (Figure
46), showing evidence for a frontal stairway leading up first to a broad
platform and then to a series of stepped levels at the summit of the
building. At minimum, two distinct
buildings are indicated by these facings.
At the front of the building were two stairways. The latest stair was poorly preserved, but is
represented by a massive basal step, which is slightly offset from and overlays
a better constructed step that is associated with a plaster floor for an
earlier stairway inset. At the summit,
at least two different sets of steps can be discerned and there is evidence for
an earlier inset corner set on a plaster floor within the trench (Figure 46). Excavation of the summit humus revealed
approximately half of a modeled-carved vessel associated with the uppermost
facings (Figure 47a), indicating that the use of this building continued into
the Terminal Classic era; excavation at the base of Structure I20 also
recovered sherds from Pantano Impressed bowls of a similar date. Penetration of the summit also yielded two
deeply buried and fairly well-preserved plaster floors. The uppermost one disappeared in the middle
of the trench, but may have connected with the broad frontal building terrace
or, alternatively, with a facing that was not uncovered. The lower plaster floor capped two large
stones for a wall facing north and abutted another northern facing 1.25 m south
of the first facing. These lower facings
and plaster floor represent the earliest construction at this locus. In the middle of Structure I20, where a broad
platform was postulated to have existed, the fill was relatively continuous,
changing only to large boulders immediately above bedrock. A possible cache, S.D. C172C-1, was recovered
directly set in this fill. Excavation in
the front of Structure I20 recovered the remains of a stairway inset. The buried stairway extension was almost
congruous with the eastern section for Structure I20 (Figure 45) and the rear
facing for this inset extended across the entire trench, rising 95 cm above an
associated plaster floor. The bottom
portion of this rear facing had collapsed (Figure 43) and its excavation
(Figure 44) revealed a burial intruded through the floor and under the facing
that was designated S.D. C172C-3. This
burial was covered with large capstones (Figure 48); a single bowl, designated
S.D. C172C-2, had been set over these capstones within the grave. The ceramics associated with the burial
permit these activities to be dated to the Late to Terminal Classic
Period. Deeper excavation to the front of
Structure I20 found no plaza floors, but did encounter bedrock (Figure 45).
S.D. C172C-1 was designated for a small
unslipped olla (Figure 47c) found within construction fill of Structure I20
(see Figure 45 for location) that may represent an intentional cache.
S.D. C172C-2 was assigned to a partial vessel
(approximately two-thirds) that rested in the fill immediately above the
capstones for S.D. C172-3 (Figure 48).
The vessel was an outflaring rimmed bowl with a slight ring base (Figure
47b) that contextually must date to the Late to Terminal Classic Period. While unslipped, it was exhibited a brown-colored
surface and had been burnished. The
positioning of a vessel directly over capstones occurs in other contexts at
Caracol; two dishes were broken and included in the fill over the Structure A3
tomb and other vessels (dish, plate, and cache vessels) were set over capstones
for crypts in residential groups in the southeastern portion of Caracol.
S.D. C172C-3 was assigned to a burial encountered
in a grave that was intruded through a plaster floor and underneath a facing
west of a stairway outset (Figure 49, Figure 50). The burial had then been covered with a later
stairway that hid the earlier construction features. The roots of a palm tree had severely
disrupted the southwestern portion of the grave. The bones were not in a very good state of
repair, nor were the associated artifacts (Figure 52) or ceramic vessels
(Figure 50, Figure 51), although it was possible to make out many of their
design elements. The adult individual in
the grave had been laid out in a supine position with head to the south; no sex
identification possible. The
individual's teeth were inlaid with pyrite; the maxillary teeth had inlays
extending from first pre-molar to first pre-molar on either side; the
mandibular teeth probably had inlays in the incisors (lateral left present) but
not in the premolars (the canines were not present). Four polychrome vessels were set in the leg
area (Figure 50). A plate and cylinder
were over the femurs and two deep bowls were set over the tibia. These vessels date the interment to the very
late Late Classic Period. A large number
of artifacts also accompanied the interment.
A cowerie shell (Figure 52a), drilled for suspension, and a modified deer
bone (Figure 52k), possibly used as a tool, were recovered in the western part
of the grave beneath the southernmost deep bowl. A bone rasper (Figure 52p) was beneath the ceramic
plate at the western edge of the grave.
A bone pin (Figure 52l) rested on the inside of the individual's right
femur. A bone labret, inlaid with pyrite
pieces on its two sides (Figure 52j), was recovered from within the vase east
of the right femur. A palm tree had
severely disrupted the southern part of the chamber, where many artifacts were
found. Two jadeite discs (Figure 52h and
52i), which may have functioned as earflares, were found to either side of the
area where the decomposed skull was located.
Three bone hairpins (Figure 52m-52o) were found in the chamber above the
skull area. The southern area of the
grave, from the vicinity of the skull to the end of the chamber, was also full
of small shell beads (Figure 52b-52g); some 330 shell beads are recorded as
coming from this area. This count is
possibly inflated because most of these beads were shell discs that easily
fractured down the middle. However, it
is suspected that these shells had been sewn into a head piece that may have
been attached to the individual's hair with the bone pins that came from the
same area.
Suboperation C172D was separated from
excavation C172C by a balk, but was placed immediately east of that excavation
to investigate the suspected stairway extension found at the eastern limit of
the main trench (Figure 35). The
investigation measured 2.5 m north-south by 1.5 m east west. This excavation succeeded in recovering the
remains of four well preserved steps (Figure 53), as well as a heavier line of
stone along the western limit of the excavation, suggesting the existence of a
possible stair balustrade. It did not
prove possible to test for a different structural axis, which would have been
in alignment with this set of stairs at the summit of Structure I20, because of
an extremely large tree. Artifacts
recovered from this surface excavation included a complete granite mano and a
partial bark-beater (Figure 54).
Summary of Excavations
in the Structure I20 (C) Group
Excavations undertaken in the I20 Group
during the 2005 field season indicate that this area was heavily utilized during
the Late Classic Period and, presumably, into the Terminal Classic as
well. These archaeological data are
consistent with information gathered during the 1994 field season indicating a
similar use life for the stone palaces in the C Group. While Early Classic sherds were mixed into
fill recovered from deep within Structure I20, the bulk of this substructure
contained Late Classic materials, indicating a construction that was largely
built during the late Late Classic Period and that was modified into the
Terminal Classic era. In spite of the
fact that a burial was encountered in excavation C172C, it is considered
unlikely that Structure I20 was utilized as a residential structure. Given its prominent position in public space
on the north side of the C Group, it is likely that it served a different
function and that the individual interred here was being placed in a high
status location. Structure B59 also
appears to have been a special-function public building, tentatively identified
as a sweathouse. The excavations
undertaken during 1994 and 2005 demonstrate that the C Group played a major
role in Late to Terminal Classic Caracol.
Significance
Information
that is collected during each field season at Caracol adds to our broader
understanding of the site. Among other
goals, the 2005 investigations sought to build on investigations of small
epicentral structures that had been undertaken during the 2000, 2003, and 2004
field seasons. Taken together, this body
of data not only permits comparison of how epicentral structures were utilized
within broad social and economic systems, but also permits the wider analysis
of contemporary variation in material remains.
From this vantage point, it is significant that both Structure I20 and
Structure B59 were found to constitute "public space," meaning that each of
these buildings transcended any strict residential unit, even though late,
presumably non-elite, living platforms like Structure I21 were placed
nearby. In contrast, the Structure B42
group provided evidence of a long-term residential unit with occupation
spanning some 600 years. Interestingly,
no evidence for craft production was found within the excavations in this
group; given the area's proximity to the epicenter and isolation from
agricultural fields, it is thought likely that the group's inhabitants
functioned within an epicentral bureaucracy.
Because
of the recovery of relevant materials and deposits, the investigations undertaken
during 2005 in the I20 and B42 areas permit a better definition of the latest
occupation and ultimate abandonment of Caracol at the end of the Classic
Period. Both groups produced late
burials and caches. These confirm the
use of traditional ceramics in the mortuary realm into the Terminal Classic
Period (see also A. Chase and D. Chase 2006).
However, both areas also yielded clear Terminal Classic ceramic markers. All of these markers are associated with the
latest use of the investigated structures.
For Structure I20, the markers consist of a modeled-carved cylinder and
possibly a Pantano Impressed bowl. For
Structure B40, the marker consisted of a modeled-carved bowl. For Structure B42, the markers consisted of a
modeled-carved bowl, a modeled-carved cylinder, a footed and fluted brownware
cylinder, and a three-pronged burner. It
is important to note that only certain Terminal Classic vessel froms were
encountered in this excavation. With the
exception of the burner, all are what would be considered "serving
vessels." The modeled-carved vessels on
the summits of B40 and I20 would have to be considered to be in situ.
The Structure B42 vessels were found to the south side of the front
stairway; this location would have been appropriate for the placement of sheet
refuse Đ material that would have been collected and redeposited had the site
not been abandoned. In no case is the
full palace sub-assemblage (A. Chase and D. Chase 2004, 2006), like that found
in neighboring Barrio and in the Structure B64 palace, present. At least for the Structure B42 Group, a suggestion
must be made that there was a proximity-based trickle-down effect of certain
high-status goods.
Like most
excavations, the 2005 investigations also raise new questions. These questions have to do with the
transition between the Late to Terminal Classic Periods at Caracol and with the
spatial variation in Terminal Classic remains at the site. Why were modeled-carved ceramics not
incorporated into burials? Present
archaeological data from Caracol would suggest that modeled-carved cylinders
were not considered appropriate in the mortuary realm. People died and were buried while
modeled-carved ceramics were in use and it would appear that polychrome
ceramics, much like those that were found in S.D. C172C-3 or in S.D. C171B-2,
were included within their burials Đ making the analytical separation of Late
Classic from Terminal Classic exceedingly difficult. Other questions revolve about Caracol's
economic system. Were markets still in
use during the Terminal Classic? And, if
so, how and why were some goods kept out of the system Đ as is indicated by the
existence of status-linked artifactual inventories? Did the trickle-down effect of the Terminal
Classic palace inventory apply to the ends of causeway termini Đ areas
important for the social and economic integration of Caracol during the Late
Classic Period? Or, was social and
economic power completely centered in the epicenter during the Terminal Classic
Period? These and other questions will
hopefully be answered as investigation continues at Caracol in the years to
come.
Acknowledgements
The
figures included within this report were drafted by Arlen F. Chase with the
help of Amy Morris and Diane Z. Chase; all figures were finalized in Photoshop
by Arlen Chase. Field drawings were
undertaken by all staff members and by some of the short-term visitors. As during the past several field seasons, the
Belize Institute of Archaeology has cooperated with and substantially aided the
project; without the help of Jamie Awe, John Morris, George Thompson, and Brian
Woodye, the field camp and project at Caracol would not have functioned. Major funding for the 2005 field season was
provided by the Ahau Foundation (through the
References
Chase, Arlen F. and Diane Z.
Chase
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Archaeology 49(5):66-72.
2004 "Terminal Classic Status-Linked Ceramics
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2006 "Contextualizing the Collapse: Terminal
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S.
Varela and A. Foias, Eds., Terminal
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TABLE 1:
Caracol Project Members: 2005 Field Season
Staff:
Arlen
F. Chase C1
Diane Z. Chase C2
Amanda
Groff C150
Susan
Stans C169
James
Crandall C170
Sean
Kopaniasz C171
Patrick
Rohrer C172
Belizean Labor:
Rita Wilshire
Angelica
Meneses
Margarita Quintaros
Carlos Ivan
Mendez
Gustavo
Mendez Sr.
Gustavo
Mendez Jr.
Carlos
Castillo
Jaime
Iglesias
Asterio
Moralez
On-Site
Visitors:
Chris Parkinson (UCF Biology colleague)
Elayne
Zorn (UCF Anthropology colleague)
Petra
Cunningham-Smith (UCF Maya Studies student)
Mark
Sullivan (UCF Maya Studies student)
Barbara
Verchot (UCF Maya Studies student)
Jason
Wenzel (UCF Maya Studies student)
Figures
Figure 1. The B Quadrangle of the Caracol map,
showing the location of Structures
B40, B42, B44,
B59, and I20 Đ all excavated during the 2005 field season.
Figure 2. General plan of the Structure B42 Group
showing the location of excavations
relative to
buildings.
Figure 3. Photograph of Structure B42 excavations
(C171B) looking east.
Figure 4. Section of excavation C171B [south
wall] that penetrated Caracol Structure B42.
Figure 5. Plan of excavation C171B after the
removal of the humus, showing building
and plaza
features.