Archaeological Reconnaissance in Southeastern Campeche, México: 2002 Field Season Report

Other sites
In addition to those discussed above, a few minor sites were recorded or reexamined in 2002. Following are only brief remarks on some of them.

We inspected the group of mounds mentioned by Ruppert and Denison (1943: 29) in relation with the "aguada of Misterioso" (the name is, in fact, La Misteriosa). The group, placed about 400 m east of the aguada and just north of the village of Ley de Fomento Agropecuario, consists of 15 to 20 mounds disposed in patio groups and dominated by a 7 m high pyramidal structure. Other low mounds are found both within the village and in the surrounding area.

At Guillermo Prieto, recorded as a small site with a cave in 2001, another group of mounds was visited in 2002. Remains of a stairway were observed on the west side of a relatively small mound elongated in a roughly north-south direction (Figure 25).

The site of El Carmen is situated on gentle natural slopes about 3.5 km northeast of the modern village El Carmen II. Architectural remains, while apparently covering a rather small area, include a 17 m high pyramidal mound, which rises on the west side of a plaza enclosed by elongated mounds on its east and south flanks. Other mounds arrayed in patio groups are scattered in the neighborhood.^[5]

The relatively small site of La Retranca is situated approximately 13 km west of the village Once de Mayo, within the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. Several patio groups consisting of low mounds are distributed upon a natural elevation elongated in a north-south direction. The highest structure, a pyramidal mound about 10 m high, occupies the northern extreme of the area, overlooking a plaza to the south. The ceramic fragments collected in looters’ trenches pertain to the Late Preclassic Chicanel and Early Classic Tzakol complexes. The architectural remains, including another group of mounds about half a kilometer to the south, cover an area of about 0.5 km².

Endnote

5. Due to a negative attitude of the inhabitants of El Carmen II, we could not survey the lands pertaining to their ejido in a satisfactory manner, and thus were not able to establish the eventual relationship between this site and that of Placeres; the latter is located near the village, which was founded on the place of the former central chiclera of Placeres (Morley 1937: pl. 179; M.A.R.I. 1940; Ruz 1945: 109; Müller 1959: 57). While we heard of some large mounds and a carved stela, it may also be recalled that a stucco façade was taken away from this site years ago; after appearing in New York for sale, it was fortunately returned to México and is now exhibited in the Museo Nacional de Antropología in México City (Mayer 1988; 1992; Freidel 2000).

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