Pusilhá Archaeological Project

Summary of Previous Research at Pusilhá and other Inland Sites of Toledo District

The site of Pusilhá was rediscovered in 1927 and investigated by the British Museum Expedition to British Honduras in that year and three subsequent field seasons (Gruning 1930, 1931; Joyce 1929; Joyce et al. 1927, 1928; Thompson 1928). The discovery of numerous monuments bearing Long Count dates in the Stela Plaza of Pusilhá led project members to shift their focus from Lubaantun to the more distant site. During the seasons that followed, many of the Pusilhá stelae were broken up and transported to London, and structures in the Stela Plaza, Big Tree Group, Southwest Group, Pottery Cave Group, and Gateway Hill were subject to limited excavation. For the most part, researchers were disappointed with the quantity and quality of artifacts found during their investigations, but excavations in an "oubliette" (Joyce 1929:443) called Pottery Cave yielded great amounts of ceramics, including many fragments of fine polychromes (Joyce 1929:Plate XLIII-XLV; Joyce et al. 1928:Plate XXXIV).

Subsequent analyses of the hieroglyphic texts from Pusilhá revealed that the monuments were carved between 9.7.0.0.0 (A.D. 573; Stela O) and 9.15.0.0.0 (A.D. 731; Stela E), and a retrospective date refers to events in 9.3.0.0.0 (A.D. 493; Stela D) (Joyce et al. 1928; Thompson 1928). Early investigators also noted irregularities in the Lunar Series content of Initial Series dates. Morley (1938), presuming that the "blank" stelae represented continuations of the period-ending commemorations celebrated by the inscribed monuments, posited that the date sequence should be extrapolated both forward and backward in time. In this manner, it was deduced that Pusilhá was occupied in both the Early and Late Classic periods.

Pusilhá was next visited in 1970 by Hammond (1975), who collected additional ceramics from Pottery Cave and another cave. Hammond also restudied ceramics from Lubaantun and Pusilhá curated by the British Museum, but found the collections to be in disarray. Nonetheless, he was able to conclude that: (1) the pottery of Pusilhá is generally earlier than that of Lubaantun; and (2) Pusilhá probably was a regional capital abandoned in favor of Lubaantun in the late 8^th century. Leventhal’s (1990, 1992, n.d.a, n.d.b) Southern Belize Archaeological Project conducted two two-month seasons of fieldwork at Pusilhá during 1979 and 1980. During this time, project members: (1) relocated all the groups sketched by the British Museum Expedition; (2) discovered two enclosed ballcourts, the Machaca Plaza, and numerous smaller groups; (3) conducted a systematic pace-and-compass survey along narrow east-west and north-south transects; (4) mapped by transit several important groups, including the two enclosed ballcourts and the Machaca Plaza; and (5) conducted limited excavations in five groups (the Stela Plaza, two ballcourts, Machaca Plaza, and the top of Gateway Hill). An important contribution of the project was the first usable settlement map of Pusilhá that shows not only the principal structures of several large groups, but also their relative positions and the locations of many smaller residential groups (Figure 1; Leventhal 1990:Figure 8.1; Ulrich 1982). I stress that this map is among the best of its kind. Nevertheless, like all pace-and-compass maps, its accuracy is greatest within individual groups. The spatial relationship of distinct groups is more suspect. For example, the location of the Gateway Hill Acropolis with respect to the Stela Plaza is off by more than 400 m. Moreover, since the map was generated from narrow, orthogonal transects (as well as additional opportunistic survey), it is incomplete. The large spaces in Figure 1 do not represent vacant terrain, instead they indicate that large portions of the site were not surveyed. Finally, test excavations were not designed to recover artifacts from households representing the full spectrum of social status at Pusilhá. Instead, the recovered samples came from the largest and most important ceremonial and residential groups at the site.

An important aspect of both Hammond’s and Leventhal’s research is the identification of southern Belize as an archaeological region within the Maya area. Hammond (1975) considered Lubaantun and Pusilhá to be sites within a large Maya "realm" (i.e., he adopted a regional perspective to the archaeology of Toledo district) and Leventhal (1990, 1992) set out to identify the traits that define the archaeological region. These include: (1) ballcourts built within walled enclosures; (2) the construction of facades on features of the natural terrain; and (3) the re-use of tombs for sequential burials (Leventhal 1990, 1992). To this list, we add: (4) incorrect or otherwise non-standard Lunar Series information (Morley 1938; Thompson 1928); (5) a lack of corbeled arches; and (6) a lack of stone superstructures (see Hammond 1975).

Reents (n.d.) conducted the first examination of the non-calendrical contents of the hieroglyphic texts of Pusilhá. In her study, she: (1) identified seven possible rulers; (2) discussed the Pusilhá emblem glyph and concluded that its apparent use at Quiriguá implies that the Pusilhá "royal bloodline" continued at that site; and (3) noted particular similarities in the unusual syntax of the Pusilhá and Nimlipunit inscriptions. Although the earliest monument (Stela 15) then known at Nimlipunit dates to 9.14.10.0.0 (A.D. 721)–representing an overlap of only 10 years with the inscriptions of Pusilhá–she suggested that the two sites must have been contemporaries for a period longer than that suggested by the dated texts.

In 1989-1991, Walters led small teams from his Maya Cave Project to Pusilhá, and found several large groups (including the Moho Plaza, the Ik Bolay Complex, and the Northern Fortifications) two to three kilometers southwest and northwest of the groups mapped by Leventhal. These are not distinct sites, but instead represent significant portions of Pusilhá that previously were unknown. In these seasons, Walters discovered several caves in the Pusilhá region and removed ceramics from them. In 1992, Walters obtained a permit to explore Pusilhá, and left work in the hands of Weller and Gibson, two well-meaning amateur archaeologists. During this period, Weller: (1) produced a sketch map of many of the structures in the Moho Plaza; (2) discovered the largest ballcourt known in southern Belize; (3) found three carved ballcourt markers and their dedicatory caches; and (4) cleared a hieroglyphic stair. Gibson explored the hilltops circumscribing the northern and southern boundaries of the site, and rediscovered many groups in an area stretching four kilometers to the west and northwest of the village of San Benito Poité. What little is known about the 1992 season is thanks to Weller, who wrote a brief but informative report in Walters’ name for the Department of Archaeology (Walters and Weller n.d.).

Connections between southern Belize, Copán, and Quiriguá.

Economic, political, and stylistic connections between Pusilhá and the Copán-Quiriguá region have been inferred from four sources of data: (1) zoomorphic altars at all three sites; (2) similarities shared by the Pusilhá and Quiriguá emblem glyphs; (3) apparent references to kings of Copán in the texts of Pusilhá; and (4) ceramics from Pottery Cave that resemble polychromes from western Honduras. Additional information suggesting a link between southern Belize and western Honduras has been found at Nimlipunit, where rulers often are portrayed wearing "turbans" similar to those of Copán’s kings. A recently discovered stela seems to discuss an event at ox witik (’three root’, a place name for the epicenter of Copán) attended by a king of Nimlipunit in 9.17.0.0.0 (A.D. 771) (Mexicon 1998; Wanyerka 1999). But the phrase may refer to a root used in a sacrificial event, or, alternatively, ox witik may be a title or part of the name of the ruler of Nimlipunit.

The discovery of three zoomorphic altars (representing frogs or ocelots with human-like faces) by the British Museum Expedition long ago fueled speculation of a connection of some sort between Pusilhá and Copán or Quiriguá. Moreover, similarities between the emblem glyphs of Quiriguá and Pusilhá have been known for some time (see Reents n.d.). Hammond (1986), in fact, suggests that since the emblem glyph first was used at Pusilhá 40 years before it appeared at Quiriguá, it may be that the ruling dynasty of that site came from Pusilhá. Although these scholars argue that Quiriguá and Pusilhá shared the same emblem glyph, in reality the glyphs are similar but not identical. The main signs of the two emblem-glyphs consist of what Schele and Mathews (1998) call the tzuk (’partition’) symbol, but it consistently appears in different orientations at each site. Moreover, the Pusilhá emblem glyph also contains an additional element resembling a stair. Thus, a connection between the two sites is suggested by their similar main signs, but there is insufficient evidence to propose that Pusilhá and Quiriguá were ruled by members of the same dynastic line. Perhaps the two provinces became allies in a loose confederation after each had gained independence from Copán.

The rapid advances in hieroglyphic decipherment of the 1980s and 1990s have brought Pusilhá once again to the attention of Maya scholars. Although there has been no systematic study of the Pusilhá texts since Reents’ (n.d.) research, the epigraphic corpus of the site currently is the focus of much speculation. As often is the case with such research, results appear more in electronic mail, personal communications, and other "gray" sources than they do in peer-reviewed literature. One such important discovery was made by Simon Martin (personal communication to Lorington Weller, 1993). He notes references to an individual whose name resembles that of Copán Ruler 11. During his long reign, Ruler 11 oversaw the dramatic expansion of the Copán state. Since the Pusilhá king lived slightly later than Ruler 11, it is possible that he was named after the great Copán king.

Ceramics recovered by the British Museum Expedition support an economic connection between Pusilhá and Copán. Illustrated fragments of polychrome pottery show profiles of birds and monkeys executed in a Honduran style (Joyce 1929:Plate XLV). Some examples look somewhat similar to Copador Polychrome, best known from Copán and western El Salvador. In a study of the chemical composition of pottery from the southeastern Maya zone, Bishop and Beaudry (1994) analyzed paste samples from sherds in the Pusilhá collection at the British Museum. These turned out not only to be Copador Polychrome, but also are chemically identical to Copador used at Copán (see also Bishop et al. 1986). What is particularly fascinating about this result is that Copador Polychrome is quite rare at Quiriguá, but apparently is more common at Pusilhá. It is possible, then, that Pusilhá had closer economic ties with Copán than did Quiriguá. Nonetheless, many of the ceramic motifs illustrated by Joyce (1929) appear to be local in origin. The "twist-and-bud" motif (Joyce 1929:Plate XLIII), common on Pusilhá ceramics including some examples of Copador Polychrome, appears neither in western Honduras nor El Salvador. Bishop and Beaudry’s (1994) results, therefore, seem to suggest that plain ceramic vessels produced in the Copan region were brought to Pusilhá and painted by local artists.

Ceramic influences from other regions also are found in the Pusilhá assemblage and collections from Lubaantun. Hammond (1975), for example, illustrates stamped jars that are a local variant of Pantano Impressed, known from the Pasión zone and other regions to the west. Examples from Lubaantun, however, differ in that profile monkeys and birds replace the calendrical glyphs and other motifs used elsewhere. Still other vessels illustrated by Joyce (1929) appear to be Belize Red, a common utilitarian ceramic from Cayo district. Several authors have argued that an extensive interaction network linked northern and western Belize to western Honduras, including non-Maya sites where Uluá-Yojoá Polychromes were produced (Beaudry-Corbett et al. 1993; Hirth 1988; Joyce 1988; Sheptak 1987; Urban 1993). It may be that Pusilhá served as a conduit for the exchange of ceramic ideas between these regions.

It should be stressed, however, that ceramic data for Toledo district are quite limited. None of the projects that have worked at Pusilhá, Nimlipunit, Uxbenka, or within the Maya Mountains have published descriptions of their pottery. With the exception of Lubaantun, where Hammond (1975) defined 14 types for a single Late Classic phase, no typological data have been published. In fact, the closest regions for which diachronic ceramic data are available are the southeastern Petén (Laporte 1995) and Stann Creek district (Graham 1995). A major goal of PUSAP, therefore, is to develop the first multi-phase ceramic chronology for a site in southern Belize.

Pusilhá as an example of the dynamic model of state formation and fragmentation.

Drawing upon these and other data, Marcus (1992, 1994) describes the political trajectory of Copán, Quiriguá, and Pusilhá in terms of the dynamic model. According to her reconstruction, Pusilhá began as an independent capital of a "province," equivalent to Hammond’s (1975) "realm" and Leventhal’s (1990) "southern Belize region." She suggests that during the reigns of Copán’s Ruler 11 and 12 (A.D. 578-695), both Pusilhá and Quiriguá were incorporated into the expansionist Copán state. Evidence for the exchange of ceramics and the introduction of modes from the southeastern periphery during this period are consistent with some level of economic interaction with the Copán core. In A.D. 738, Ruler 13 (Waxaklajun-Ubah-K’awil) of Copán was captured and beheaded by K’ak’ Tiliw ("Cauac Sky"), a lord of Quiriguá, and the Quiriguá province regained its independence. Presumably Pusilhá also reasserted its independence at about that time. Given similarities in the emblem glyphs of Pusilhá and Quiriguá, it is possible that the two provinces joined in some sort of an alliance. But within a few decades, the dynastic line of Pusilhá came to end, and the provincial capital was moved to Lubaantun (Hammond 1975). The cyclical nature of these events–initial independence (before A.D. 600 or so), incorporation into the core of an expansionist state (during the 7^th century), and regained independence of the province (during the early 8^th century)–are proposed by Marcus (1992, 1994) as an example of her dynamic model. Following Hammond (1975), we also propose a final stage to this sequence: the apparent end of the Pusilhá dynasty and the movement of the provincial capital to Lubaantun. The economic effects of all these political events, however, remain to be studied.

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