Investigations at Piedras Negras, Guatemala: 1998 Field Season

Between Mountains and Sea: Investigations at Piedras Negras, Guatemala
Stephen D. Houston, Héctor Escobedo, Perry Hardin, Richard Terry, David Webster, Mark Child, Charles Golden, Kitty Emery, and David Stuart

Operations in 1998

A larger labor force allowed the project to open more excavations than in 1997, often with as many as thirteen operations running simultaneously. Sixteen new operations followed the sequence established last year. Several earlier operations were re-opened, principally Ops. 1 and 11.  The first season relied heavily on large-scale test-pitting, a useful exploratory strategy at a site as large and complex as Piedras Negras. During the second season, project staff reduced the number of test-pits, restricting them to still-unexplored areas in the N/O and G/K sectors. (The "sectors" take their name from blocks of contiguous mounds and patio groups designated by letters on the University Museum map.) All soil, excepting loose rubble, passed through 1/4 in. screens. Samples of particular cultural interest – burials, middens, floors – were floated by Nicholle Townsend, who employed a wet-flotation process developed under the guidance of Prof. Deborah Pearsall of the University of Missouri. This material is now being processed at BYU. The technique also proved useful in extracting delicate material, such as a slender bone needle.

Most operations could be divided into two kinds of excavation: monumental architecture and small-scale structures and patios. Both could be time-consuming. At Piedras Negras, the excavation of monumental structures required exceptional caution because of unstable rubble, which required hard-hats and wood shoring. Several operations, including a trench through Court 2 of the Acropolis (Op. 32), had to be closed for fear of rock fall. Escobedo took the lead in such operations with a thorough investigation of Pyramid O-13, a structure with striking similarities to the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque (Macri, 1994). Mason had dug the pyramid in the early 1930s, leaving a deep cavity in its central axis and heaps of debris over its lower staircase. (Siftings through Mason’s backdirt attested to his haste and indifferent supervision, yielding the occasional chert eccentric from a mauled cache.) Pyramid O-13 had already been the focus of study in 1997, when Escobedo and Tomás Barrientos, with minor assistance from Houston, uncovered a royal burial that had been re-opened and burned a few years after its interment (Barrientos et al., 1997; Houston et al., 1998:18-19). The O-13 excavations had the objective of exploring the mortuary nature of the pyramid, mentioned hieroglyphically on Panel 3, and continuing the fine work of Proskouriakoff in reconstructing its sequence of construction.

By mid-season, Escobedo, with the assistance of Carlos Alvarado, had demonstrated several important features of O-13.  In the first place, the pyramid exhibited, in areas left undisturbed by Mason, an exemplary state of preservation. Its projecting stairway had most of its courses intact; terraces above still bore evidence of plaster flooring. More startling still, the back of O-13 displayed a continuous face of plastered, red-painted masonry, with considerable modifications and additions, along with evidence of intrusive burials (see Figure 1). But it was the front and axis of O-13 that revealed the nature of the building. Escobedo removed several tons of rubble, exposing the lower risers of the stairway, an outside balustrade (perhaps the footing of a fallen stela), and a flagstone pavement. Excavations to bedrock in Mason’s axial cavity failed to reveal any sign of a burial, and Escobedo determined to dig inwards on axis (see above).

Almost immediately, workers struck one of the largest known caches in the Maya Lowlands, consisting of approximately 129 eccentrics (54 chert, 75 of obsidian, most in groupings of nine equivalent shapes), 1 bird skeleton, 1 vessel with 8 jade beads and 9 pyrites (interspersed with jade, Spondylus, and hematite flecks), and a marine spiral shell, all placed in a prepared cist (Figure 2). The cache certainly marked the axis of the pyramid. With this indication, Escobedo began a tunnel, eventually aborted because of structural instability. We cannot discount the presence of a tomb within, although the tunnel did begin to reach a rising slope of sterile clay presumably leading to the hillside under O-13.  Probably our supposition last year was correct: Burial 13, a rich interment on axis of O-13, lying beneath the flag pavement but with proof of later reentry, represents the tomb of Ruler 4 of Piedras Negras. If so, the events recorded on Panel 3 – interment, followed 24 years later by tomb opening – correspond remarkably to our "reading" of this deposit. It would seem that the cache and pavement, which passes underneath the final stage of O-13, came into existence in A.D. 757.  The later phase and tomb reentry can be dated, if our reasoning is correct, to A.D. 782, in a ritual under the supervision of Ruler 7.  The connection with Ruler 7 is reinforced by the presence nearby of Altar 4, a gigantic, stone jaguar paw resting on four stones. The sculptors of this altar are known to have been active during the reign of Ruler 7, and the object itself may be mentioned on another monument of his rule, Throne 1.  (An earlier version of this monument may be mentioned on El Cayo Panel 1, from the time of Ruler 5.) Escobedo ended the season by plumbing the front platform of Pyramid R-1, with the same results of loose rubble core and multiple layers. The earliest levels proved to be of Early Classic date.

In 1997 the Acropolis, almost certainly the royal palace of Piedras Negras, had begun to reveal its secrets. Court 3 was shown to contain Early Classic structures on a different orientation from buildings on the surface (Golden, 1997:95). In 1998 we resolved to excavate in many places within the Acropolis, since these investigations would capture its constructional history and functional complexity, presumably mirroring changes in court activity. Overall, the excavations showed unambiguously that the Acropolis had significant Early Classic components, including an enigmatic, ritual component in Court 3: a bedrock outcropping and abyss accessed by steps. Nonetheless, other data pointed to its overwhelmingly Late Classic construction. Court 1 was found to have many buried layers in Structure J-7 – in reality a platform permitting access from Court 1 to Court 2 vía terraces on Pyramid J-4.  Uppermost was the level surface of J-7, then came a courtyard with several episodes of replastering, a buried terrace, and lower still, a cluster of buildings facing Court 1 on its east and north sides. Work by the University Museum demonstrated that Court 1 possessed a deep patio filled to its current level when the buildings were constructed underneath J-7.  Lowermost was a level with Early Classic material, but it was thinly distributed and embedded in what appeared to be natural clay (Satterthwaite, 1954:71). Ceramics from all subsequent deposits dated to the Late Classic period (Yaxche to Chacalhaaz phases), with a few artifacts from the Early Classic/Late Classic transition (Balche). Coincidentally, excavations in the J-7 sequence demonstrated that Pyramid J-4, so intimately associated with Ruler 4 (died before 9.14.18.3.13, the accession date of his successor), was constructed after these platforms. If Pyramid J-4 were truly his burial structure, then the platforms must antedate his death and the building of his mortuary pyramid. The presence of Chacalhaaz materials in these deposits suggests strongly that ceramicist George Holley placed the beginning of the Chacalhaaz some ten to twenty years too late (Holley, 1983:155-156).

An epigraphic observation brings the end of the Acropolis – and Piedras Negras – into finer perspective. Along with Dos Pilas and a few other cities, Piedras Negras may have highly specific information bearing on its collapse. Yaxchilán Lintel 10, a crudely planned monument and the last-known at that center, refers to an important captive of K’inich Tatub Hol, the final ruler of Yaxchilán. The captive’s name resembles closely that of Ruler 7 of Piedras Negras, also the last ruler of his site (Figure 3). What makes the pattern more than coincidental are the dates and signs of systematic destruction in the Acropolis. The Yaxchilán reference is, at A.D. 808, the latest linked to Ruler 7 – the last mention at Piedras Negras comes at A.D. 795.  Moreover, Throne 1, an important monument of Ruler 7’s reign, was violently smashed, and Structure J-12 experienced intense burning. Long ago, Satterthwaite attributed such damage to class-struggle (Satterthwaite, 1935:11-12). But could such violence result instead from an attack by Yaxchilán? Nonetheless, it is naive to see local collapse solely in terms of successful battles. The fact that both Yaxchilán and Piedras Negras suffered abandonment within a few years of one another may reflect less the outcome of warfare than a more general debilitation that allowed such warfare to take place.

The Acropolis raises another question: Where did the Early Classic rulers live? Where was their palace? A strong candidate came to light under the West Group Plaza. During test-pitting, Lilian Garrido found at least two structures, fronted to the south by at least two, successive monumental stairways. Dating to the Early Classic period, these structures had been systematically leveled and their superstructures tossed, after demolition, into areas around the buildings. By this means the Maya of Piedras Negras achieved the current level of the West Group Plaza. The bases of the structures were finely plastered, with evidence of several entrances or access stairways. Moreover, the plan of the buildings lay on the same orientation and general axis as Court 1 of the Acropolis. It is difficult to escape the notion that the buildings constituted an earlier, smaller palace of more open, accessible form. In turn, Court 1 represented an attempt to emphasize dramatic enclosure and spatial exclusivity, a pattern found also in comparable buildings at Uaxactún (Proskouriakoff, 1963:111-129). Next season we expect to clear the tops of these truncated structures to establish more precisely their date and internal sequencing. Clearly, the Maya chose at the end of the Early Classic to reconfigure, through gigantic effort, processional approaches to the Acropolis. It apparently went from a natural hill with structures on its summit, to a complex that was almost entirely artificial in appearance. This effort reshaped the urban form of Piedras Negras, lending a monumental aspect, including Ballcourt 2 and later stages of Pyramid K-5 (Coe, 1959:152), integrating isolated buildings, and bonding the northern and southern portions of the site.

For his doctoral research, Child further investigated the famed sweatbaths of Piedras Negras, a feature known elsewhere but of relative rarity outside the Usumacinta basin. (An unpublished example at Yaxchilán parallels those at Piedras Negras.) Child concentrated on sweatbaths P-7, S-2, S-4, and S-19, most arranged around a planned area oriented to the S-group. Urquizú showed that the group contained high-quality masonry and most likely served as a residence of nobles or lesser royalty. The sweatbaths can in all cases be shown to have at least two phases of construction. Primary, sealed contexts dated their earliest building to the Naba period (R-13), late Naba/early Balche (P-7), Yaxche (S-4 and S-2 in sequence), and early Chacalhaaz (S-19). The advent of this type of structure raises many questions, none answerable at present: Do they represent a new cult of purification? Do they simply replace perishable versions as yet undetected? Is their number attributable to different treatments or illnesses? Or do they correspond to the needs of different lineages or lords, a conjecture perhaps supported by their varying date? Whatever their precise use, they served as efficient and ingenious chambers.  P-7 proved to have a cistern above its steam room, collecting rainfall for bathing. The reconstruction of P-7 allowed Child to bring hot stones into its rejuvenated fire-box. When basted with water, the rocks generated heat that became almost intolerable within minutes, particularly if (unwise) bathers stood atop benches within the chamber.

Another crucial focus of the Piedras Negras project were small-scale residences, which typically receive little to no scholarly attention in the western Maya Lowlands. Working around Str. R-20, Nancy Monterroso found an unprecedented deposit: a Late Classic Maya cemetery (Figure 4). Initial clearance exposed seven burials (three infants, two children, 1 adult male, 1 adult woman), all with the same general north-south orientation. Within R-20 was found a burial (#45) along the same orientation, but with far richer remains. Burial 45, an adult male, lay within a cist covered by meter-long slabs. Niches to the side held polychrome dishes, some emblazoned with a peculiar glyphic formulae of day signs and other suffixes that is unique to Piedras Negras (e.g., ‘Imix’-zo/‘Winik’-mi//K’IN-ni/‘Chuwen’-zo//K’IN-ni/"Imix’-zo//‘Imix’-zo/chi-ni, or some variant thereof). It would seem likely that these burials possess a familial relationship and that Burial 45 contains a lineage founder, a possibility to be tested in the future with additional analyses. Nearby, Christian Wells undertook the first stripping excavations within Piedras Negras, in an area of concentrated settlement between the arroyo and the South Group Plaza. Finds included a dense concentration of obsidian flaking, antler cutting, as well as additional evidence of an ancestral burial in a small, eastern platform. This area was thoroughly soil-tested by Hardin, Parnell, and Terry, and showed striking patterns of elevated phosphorus concentration along the platform edge, which may have served as a midden or an easily cleaned work station (Figure 5). Nicholle Townsend conducted a small-scale excavation in conjunction with soil sampling by Hardin and Parnell northeast of Piedras Negras, on the trail to México (Op. 38). Low background levels of phosphate (<3 mg/kg) were found in suspected ancient agricultural fields compared to elevated phosphate concentrations in suspected patio soils adjacent to house mounds (Figure 6).

Our procedures for determining soil phosphate merit detailed review, since such activities are seldom undertaken in difficult field conditions. Hardin and Parnell employed a field lab adapted from the Hach soil test kit. The extraction solution was the Mehlich II consisting of 0.2 M CH3COOH + 0.015 M NH4F + 0.2 M NH4CL + 0.012 M HCL.  Two grams of air-dried, sieved soil were placed in a 50 ml jar. Six of these jars were attached to a board that facilitated the simultaneous preparation and shaking of a number of samples. To these samples we added 20 ml of the Mehlich II extractant, which we shook for five minutes. After filtration, the filtrant was collected in clean 50 ml jars. Five ml of the extract were dispensed to a vial, diluted to 10 ml, and augmented by the contents of a PhosVer 3 powder pillow. Shaken by hand for one minute, the samples stood for another four minutes, resulting in good color development. A Hach DR 700 spectrophotometer determined phosphate at a wavelength of 880 nm.  Using a standard curve, we then converted the percent transmittance to mg/L.  Appropriate dilution factors were used to convert the concentration values to mg P/kg soil.

Test-pitting by Arredondo and Aguirre added considerably to our number of burials, bringing the current total to forty-six. In the N/O sector, Arredondo also found an extraordinary special deposit of fine ceramics in an ashy lens (Op. 24b). In 1997, Golden found a similar deposit of Early Classic date under J-20, and Wells encountered a slightly later lens of fine, burnt material under F-2.  Such finds appear to involve termination rituals, although less obviously so in Arredondo’s case: the lens lay between two, low-lying buildings only slightly visible on the surface. The quality of this material was stunning: many figurines, including probable portraits; ocarinas and a polyphonic flute with three chambers (a puff of air through the joint mouthpiece would sound three notes, an unusual example of chording in Classic Maya music); incised ceramics referring to Ruler 2 (accession A.D. 639, death A.D. 686, Figure 7). It seems plausible that this material came, not from buildings around it, but from the Acropolis. Why it would appear in Op. 24b continues to be a mystery.

The settlement survey, conducted by Pennsylvania State under project permit and supervision, far extended the results of the 1997 season. As mentioned before Kirker and Kovak located eighty-four separate mound groups or platforms within their survey blocks (Figure 8). Topography clearly determined density: gentle slopes invited settlement, broken terrain repelled it, a pattern quite distinct from that around La Pasadita, where structures abounded on mesa summits. According to preliminary study, most sites date to the Yaxche and Chacalhaaz phases – firmly in the Late Classic period, and further evidence of a population explosion at that time. A more extensive excavation by Webster and Kovak retrieved far deeper chronology, from Balche to late Chacalhaaz, over 200 years of occupation. That site may be anomalous because of its position astride one of the few access routes into Piedras Negras. A large number of chert points plausibly attests to its function as a guard post. Another discovery made during survey may explain the name of Piedras Negras, y-okib (yo-ki-bi), an archaic term for ‘entrance’ (later texts employ a logograph with ‘cave’ element). Close to the Webster/Kovak excavation is a rise, also with mound group, that leads up a narrow defile to a dry cenote fully 200 m. across and 200 m. deep, to our knowledge the largest yet found in Guatemala; a shallower cenote lay directly to the west. Initial attempts at exploration were stymied by the steep drop. But it seems probable that these features intrigued the Maya, to the extent that they used them in their place name.

As for faunal material from these excavations, the Piedras Negras assemblage consists so far of over 2000 bone and shell specimens. These are both well preserved and fairly ubiquitous across the site. Zooarchaeological analysis of remains from over 150 loci in over 20 habitation units revealed a fairly high taxonomic diversity (42 species represented), particularly in areas where the soil had been screened and floated. Overall, the most common species were white-tailed deer, riverine molluscs, and blanca turtle. Most of the remains were mammalian (67%), while molluscs (10%, predominantly riverine snails) and reptiles (9%) were also abundant. Despite their rarity at other archaeological sites, fish bones occurred frequently, perhaps in reflection of ancient diet, proximity to the river, and, most salient, favorable conditions of preservation at Piedras Negras. (To cite one example, two riverine catfish pectorals that accompanied stingray spines were shaped into apparent bloodletters [Burial 28].) Artifactually altered animals remains were also found at the site, as fully 17% of identified bone and shell. Less than 2% of the Piedras Negras were exotic in nature, indicating a marked tendency to exploitation of local resources.

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