Investigations at an Olmec Community

Fieldwork

The primary focus of the investigations at El Bajío (UTM 1965768 N, 0313973 E) was the excavations along the profile that was cut by the Río Chiquito (Figure 4 and Figure 5, shown below). In addition to the profile excavations, we excavated two test pits (2x2 m and 2x4 m) and two trenches (both 1.5x12 m) – the positioning of these was determined by the results of the auger testing program. The test pit and trench excavations are described elsewhere (Wendt, 2000; 2001).

The auger testing program was initiated at El Bajío in order to identify and sample the site’s strata and buried archaeological materials. Auger tests were dug every 5 meters throughout the entire site core. In order to determine the total site area, auger tests were also dug at twenty-meter intervals to the north and east of the site core and at twenty-meter intervals along a southern transect (Figure 6). In all, 283 auger tests were completed at El Bajío.

Profile Operations: In an attempt to destroy as little land as possible, we were forced to situate the excavations in a manner that conformed to the natural surface contours of the profile. We did this by dividing the entire 55-meter long profile into 12 Blocks, ranging from .90 to 7.75 meters in length that matched up with the river cut. Using this technique, our excavations only cut into the surface area a maximum of 40 cm in any particular area.

Initial work along this cut was tedious due to the lack of work space, but since the natural riverbank was at an angle, the deeper we excavated, the larger the excavations area became, hence the easier it was to work inside the excavations. Once the intact Early Preclassic deposits were encountered (roughly 2 to 2.5 meters in depth), we had a 1.5 to 3 meters wide and 55 meter long exposure. Horizontal control along the 55-meter profile was achieved by dividing the area into 55 separate one-meter divisions, which were subsequently subdivided into 1 or 0.5 meter quadrants and sampled when we encountered any sort of archaeological feature. Halfway through the season, it was necessary to excavate a 3x6 meter extension off Block 2 to follow-out features in what appears to be a domestic structure. All of the excavations were dug following both natural/cultural and arbitrary levels.

The profile operations, test pitting, trenching, and subsurface surveys together allowed us, (1) to identify the site boundaries, (2) to map and sample the distribution and density of subsurface cultural deposits, (3) to determine the depth and stratigraphy of the subsurface deposits, and (4) to locate, sample, and excavate important archaeological features. Pollen and phytolith samples were taken, along with standard excavation samples (e.g., carbon and flotation), to address the environmental aspect of the research.

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