The Piedras Negras Project: Preliminary Report of the 2000 Field Season

In the Land of the Turtle Lords:
Archaeological Investigations at Piedras Negras, Guatemala
Stephen Houston, Héctor Escobedo, Mark Child, Charles Golden, Richard Terry, and David Webster
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Research Year:  2000
Culture:  Maya
Chronology:  Early Classic to Late Classic
Location:  Usumacinta River, Guatemala
Site:  Piedras Negras

Table of Contents

Abstract
Operations in 2000
Results in 2000
Acropolis and West Group Court Sector
Residential Excavations
Later Years at Piedras Negras
Miscellaneous Studies and Reconnaissance
Conclusion and Prospects
Acknowledgments
List of Figures
Sources Cited

Abstract

Over the last four seasons, the Piedras Negras Project has dedicated itself to understanding urbanism in the cockpit karst country along the middle reaches of the Usumacinta River. Questions about cultural and historical developments through time and over space have been clarified by earlier work, both by the Project and by the investigations of the University of Pennsylvania (Satterthwaite, 1943; see also Houston et al., 1998; 1999; 2000). The 2000 field season completed work in the Acropolis, or royal palace of the city, enlarged considerably our knowledge of the beginnings of Piedras Negras, and harvested fresh and deeper information about its artifacts and people. By custom, the kings of the city were known by the regnal name of "Turtle," and this paper reports of momentous matters in the place they built, cherished, and lost.

Submitted 09/01/2000 by:
Stephen Houston
Stephen_Houston@brown.edu

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