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FAMSI © 2007: María de la Cruz Paillés Hernández |
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Las Bocas, Puebla, Archaeological Project Excavations at Unit 1 The transect used to place the test pits in 1998, which runs in a N-S direction with a 15° deviation, rectified, was the base line on which we laid out the grid for the excavation of Unit 1. Another line was laid out in an E-W direction based on the south wall of pit IV excavated in 1998. The grid was internally divided in squares measuring 2 m × 2 m at the sides, for a more accurate record of the excavations. Based on both lines the first section of excavations was delimited, contiguous to pits III and IV excavated in 1998, measuring 6 m in a N-S direction, and 4 m in an E-W direction. We have used a nomenclature for the charts, made of numbers and letters. Excavations began emptying pits III and IV utilizing its walls as stratigraphic references. As we did in the 1998 season, we excavated with metric levels of .20 cm for a more accurate control of the materials, referring to and recording the natural, cultural stratigraphic layers as well as other evidence of human activity, such as hearths. Soil colors were defined by using the Munsell Color Chart (1996). The consistency of the soils was made on the field by means of macroscopic observations directly made in the course of our explorations, thus the use of very broad terms such as soft, compact, and friable (Limbrey, 1975). From metric level 1, levels of .20 cm were dug in each of the A-B squares with the purpose of exposing the different occupations. Based on the analysis of ceramic materials from the 1998 season, we know that those deposited in the first level date to the Classic and Postclassic periods and are mixed, thus preventing their use as diagnostics; besides, the land surface was removed with heavy machinery back in 1994, and the occupations corresponding to those periods were destroyed.
Once we reached metric level 3 (.40 - .60 cm) in the A-B squares, the earthen floor was exposed with small fragments of mixed limestone, where in the prior 1998 season postholes were found (Photo 10, shown above) . This leads us to assume that possibly the excavated area was the patio or outer lot of a household where different activities might have taken place, for example stone cutting, or the carving of lithic objects (Photo 11).
This floor was recorded as Floor 1, and extends over the entire excavated area (Plate 2). Above this floor and in a northern direction, Feature 2, from grid squares A3 and B3 was explored, which consisted of an accumulation of limestone fragments that were possibly crushed to be further mixed with clay to flatten the floors, together with charcoal remains, metate fragments, carving debitage in the form of silex and obsidian chips, and cobbles (Photo 12, shown below). Floor 1 is composed of a mix of clay with ground limestone, and the samples taken from it during the 1998 and 2000 seasons confirm that the materials used were the same.
According to Barba (1990), this type of floor is frequent in archaeological contexts of the Formative Period in Mesoamerica, and through phosphate analysis one can identify a number of activity areas, so upon liberating Floor 1 in its full extension, we took phosphate samples every .50 cm, from each square of the grid, to later send them to a laboratory for analysis. On Floor 1, square B1, a flagstone that we recorded as Feature 1 (Photo 13, below) was found. Since the archaeological contexts are practically unknown because in the 1998 season only test pits were excavated, by doing an extensive excavation we now had the opportunity to appreciate the different activity areas and their interrelation through a thorough recording of the features exposed. The proximity of the flagstone to the postholes, their location at a possible patio or lot, and the fact that the flagstone was carved, led us to think it could be the lid of a troncoconic, similar to those explored at the site of Gualupita Las Dalias, as a part of the Puebla-Tlaxcala archaeological project (García Cook and Rodríguez, 1975).
Once Features 1, and 2, and Floor 1 were recorded, excavation continued downwards, bringing our work front closer to the flagstone. However, no troncoconic formation was found, and we observed that the flagstone had merely been tossed on the floor. A fragmented plate, that corresponds to Feature 3, was excavated (Photo 14, below) during the removal of Floor 1, it was in square B2, at a depth of .49 cm, and adjacent to Feature 2. The plate was surrounded by remains of ash, charcoal and charred earth which intruded towards the west into the non-excavated area. Throughout the extension of Floor 1, abundant fragments of figurines and ceramics were found.
The excavation of Unit 1 was extended towards the SW, as we observed that there was a slight elevation in the terrain. When the grid was once again laid out, we took the transect as the N-S base line, and the south wall of squares A1 and B1 as the E-W base line, so these squares were given the following nomenclature: D-3, D-4, E-3, E-4, F-3, F-4, and G-4. It is important to mention that the excavations in the A-B squares were not interrupted, and both fronts of work remained active at the same time, so as to correlate the stratigraphy and the different occupations of Unit 1.
While excavating the first metric level in squares F-3 and F-4 at the SW section of Unit 1, we found a number of faced stones laid in courses and joined together with clay cement, that are architectural vestiges (Photo 15, above). To understand the construction system of what might be a portion of a platform, we decided to lower the level of squares F-4 and G-4, carefully recording the stones to later remove them (Photo 16).
In view of the fragility of the construction system, as the stones were joined together only with a mix of clay with fragments of figurines, sherds, chips of chert and obsidian, chipped lithic fragments and objects such as metates and carved greenstone, shell fragments and objects, we decided not to fully excavate squares E-3, F-3, and G-3 since by excavating their three first metric levels we found that it was possible to detect and record the extension of the stone alignment (Plate 4). Preserving the architectural vestiges was one of the main reasons for suspending the excavations in this sector, since no restoration team was available at the time; besides, the type of architecture involving clay requires a special treatment for its conservation; therefore we decided to preserve it by not exposing it (ICOMOS France UNESCO, 1999). Excavation continued in squares F-4 and G-4, aimed at understanding the construction system and recording the adjacent occupation levels. A flat section of clay with fragmentary limestone was found, intruding at approximately .70 cm and corresponding to Floor 1 of the A-B squares (Photo 17). Since in this section of the grid the terrain is at a greater height, there is a difference of approximately .20 cm between this area and the area of squares A-B. This shows that Floor 1 extends all along Unit 1.
At a depth of 1.10 m a second floor was found, formed by limestone fragments packed with clay, which was placed on a stone alignment of larger sized stones, this finding corresponded to Floor 2 of squares A-B, which shall be described later (Photo 18).
We continued to lower this second floor which ended at a depth of 1.30 m, and we noticed that its construction system was similar to Floor 2 of squares A-B, and used fragmentary limestone mixed with clay and placed on larger, faced stones to form the lower part of Floor 2, which like Floor 1, extends all throughout Unit 1 (Plate 3). Below the floor and at metric level 7 (1.20 - 1.40) in squares F-4 and G-4, a number of depositions begin, consisting of finer clay with sand, abundant sherds, fragments of figurines, chert and obsidian chips. Initially, we thought that these depositions could be a filling with materials brought from elsewhere in the site; however, this cannot be confirmed until analysis of the materials from this section of the excavations is completed (Paillés, Velasquez and Bojalil, 2000). This deposition continues, but as of metric level 10 (1.80 - 2.00) and down to metric level 11 (2.00 - 2.20), the sandy clay, in addition to the large amount of figurine and ceramic fragments, presents an abundance of charcoal, ash, and loose bones, while at the bottom of this level, an alignment of faced stones was uncovered. At a depth of 2.20 m, in the same squares F-4 and G-4, charcoal was more abundant, together with charred earth and ash, in association with loose human bones represented by one mandible fragment and one long bone. Excavation continued down to metric level 17 (3.20 cm- 3.40 cm) which was composed of the same type of fill (Photo 18); at a depth of 3.30 m, a small greenstone axe was recovered, on the SE corner of square G-4. When we reached this level we suspended the excavations in this sector and initiated excavation of squares E-4 and F-4, in an attempt to gain a greater understanding of the construction system. In correlating these excavations with the excavation of square A-1 (pits IV and III in the 1998 field season), it is evident that the occupation extends throughout Unit 1, as we have a series of layers conformed by materials, floors, and evidence of similar activities. On the south wall of pit IV, and towards the west wall of pit III excavated in 1998, Floors 1 and 2 were recorded, together with the clay and sand fill, and fragments of figurines, sherds, silex and obsidian chips, while at a depth of 1.92 m a mandible fragment associated to ash and abundant charcoal was also excavated (Paillés, 1999: photo 21). Going deeper in the excavation of squares F-4 and G-4 allowed us to observe on the profile of the east wall of square E-4 that the series of aligned stones ended at a depth of 1.40 m (Plate 4; Photo 19, below). Sediments of very compacted clay continued below.
In squares D-4 and E-4 we descended the first three levels, to expose another section of aligned stones with clay cement (Photo 20, below). Towards the north edge a looters pit was found, and we therefore decided to suspend excavation in this sector.
During the exploration works carried out in 2000, we realized that it was not possible to observe these smaller looter pits on the ground surface, which unlike the very large ones that are easily observed, are instead narrow and deep (Photos 21 and 22, below). Some of our workers told us that when they were little boys in the 1960s they would occasionally come close to observe how illegal excavations were being done, and that they also saw female looters, who were in charge of the "small excavations".
Excavations continued in the A-B squares, and when metric level 6 was reached (1.20 m), Floor 2, also explored in squares F-4 and G-4, was found and, like Floor 1, covered all the excavated area from Unit 1. Floor 2, squares A-B We shall now describe Floor 2 from squares A-B, because due to the extent of the excavated area in this section of the grid, it is possible to more distinctly observe the activity areas and the construction system. Floor 2 appeared at metric level 6 (1.00 - 1.20 m), as it did in squares F-G, encompassing mainly square A3 in its south side, A2 in its north side, and B2 in its west side (Plate 3).
This is an earthen packed floor, very smoothed and compacted, the color is Light Brown 7.5 YR 6/3 and lies on a sub-floor of grinding debris and cut stones. Within this clay sub-floor there is a mix of large and small sherds, and debitage fragments of obsidian and chert carvings. In square A1, and south of square A3, a large concentration of charcoal was revealed. The texture of the earth is clayish and very small bone fragments were recovered (Photo 23, above, and Photo 24, below).
Floor 2 was sampled with a .30 × .30 cm test bed .20 cm deep, but due to its fragile constitution of fine, compacted clay on pieces of stone without cementation, it was not possible to fully remove it, but it was sampled by sections, according to its component parts, for further lab analysis (Photo 25, below). Also, in A3, the zone where Floor 2 seemed to be best preserved, soil samples were taken each .50 cm for flotation.
In the 1998 season, at the same level of square A1, an earth bank was left unexcavated, because the land owner had interrupted the exploration work. This section of Pit IV, which corresponds to the SE corner of square A1, was explored during the present 2000 season. Here, remains of Floor 2 have also been found, with small concentrations of ash, and as the excavation proceeded it revealed three large, aligned stones each approximately .20 cm high, with an orientation of 120° in relation to the N, similar to that of the excavated walls in the 1998 season at Pit III, which also correspond to Floor 2 (Photo 8). These stones form an angle in the B1 square with another alignment along which a metate was found. The corner of a possible stone wall or fence was found below the alignment of faced stones in square A1, while a concentration of heavily burned earth was revealed towards the north, intruding at a depth of 1.00 - 1.10 m, Pink 7.5 YR 8/4 in color. The stones were surrounded by areas of concentrated charcoal. Another alignment of large stones was revealed in the middle of square A3, at level 7, oriented towards the E and intruding below Floor 2, together with an additional course of large, faced stones in square B2 with an additional metate and surrounding charcoal remains. Interestingly, Floor 2 was entirely covered by large concentrations of figurine fragments, and fragments of ceramics, bones, obsidian and silex chips, suggesting areas of domestic activities, just like the charcoal remains and areas with ash.
When the components of Floor 2 in square A1 were removed, and we went deeper into the excavation, we found at a depth of 1.78 m and at metric level 9, a semicircle formed by stones of approximately .10 cm in height, separated from one another. All of the surrounding earth presented small fragments of charcoal and there were also ash remains. The remaining section of the circumference intruded below wall E in the non-excavated area (Photo 26, shown above). We believe this might have been an outdoors hearth for firing pottery, as these hearths were customarily built by placing stones on the ground at a certain distance, then building a support on top of them with reed or spikes to support the vessels, to further cover them with branches that were subsequently lit (Meggers and Evans, 1969). The finding of unfired wedged clay at the same depth level in square B2, in addition to the numerous fragments of ceramics and figurines found in all occupation levels, suggests that this was a pottery production center.
Perhaps this explains the large amount of charcoal fragments mixed with earth present within these excavation levels, which were already detected in 1998 as of metric level 9 and downwards, in pits III and IV; here precisely at a depth of 1.63 m, the lower limb of a hollow figurine of the "baby-face" type, completely charred, was found (Photo 27), similar to the Tlapacoya "baby" that Niederberger (1987: 420, fig. 260) denominated the Pilli Sans Pupilles type, and assigned to the Ayotla phase, from 1250 to 1000 B.C. |
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