Las Bocas, Puebla, Archaeological Project

Problems Faced

Due to a delay of a month and a half by INAH in delivering the funds granted by FAMSI, Inc., that I deposited myself at the Institute as Third Party Contributions to be further disbursed according to procedures, regulations and dispositions established by INAH, we had to initiate our field work on May 4, 2000, well into the rainy season, which hindered access to the archaeological site and created unnecessary difficulties for our explorations.

For this reason, we were forced to cover the excavated areas with tarps and several roofs to protect the fragile archaeological contexts (Photo 6), which once exposed by the excavations risked being washed away or deteriorating.

Click on image to enlarge

As days went by and rains grew stronger, access to the site by the laborers with the tools they used for the excavations became increasingly difficult. When we began work, we would cross the Atotonilco River stepping on a number of stones that were placed at the river bed, but later these were covered by the increased water flow, and then we had to use the trunk of a fallen tree as a bridge to reach the location of Caballo Pintado. During our last week of work, the strong water currents carried the trunk away, and from then on we had to take long walks through very muddy terrains to finally reach the site, crossing the river towards the east edge of the town of San José Las Bocas.

In addition to the natural events, one of the major social inconveniences all across Izúcar de Matamoros is the large amount of kidnappings perpetrated by criminal bands, as this is a passing zone between the states of Morelos, Guerrero and Oaxaca. During our explorations, several inhabitants of the municipio were kidnapped, and during the last two weeks of work, helicopters from the state of Puebla’s Attorney General’s office would fly over our excavations at different times of the day, in an attempt to spot the criminals who customarily hid in the many caves from the nearby hills of the Caballo Pintado region.

Previous Page  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Page

Return to top of page