Early Copán Acropolis Program 2000 Field Season

Documentation of Archaeological Materials

The FAMSI grant allowed ECAP to complete its basic documentation program during the 2000 season, although we expect supplemental photography and other forms of artifact documentation to continue as analyses proceeds over the next several years. With the completion of the Margarita Tomb and the final architectural probes in the ECAP tunnels, the basic excavation records (scaled plans and sections) were completed by a skilled architectural drawer, Melvin Espinoza. During the 2000 field season the documentation of the last artifacts removed to the ECAP field laboratory from the Acropolis excavation area was completed. In addition, FAMSI funds supported a new documentation effort conducted in 2000, the electronic scanning of all excavation and artifact drawings to create a secure and computer-accessible copy of these irreplaceable records. Ellen Bell (Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania) continued in her capacity as supervisor of the documentation effort in the field laboratory, in addition to her demanding duties as a member of the Margarita Tomb excavation team. The key to the documentation of all excavated materials is a computerized data base (Filemaker Pro) maintained and updated each season by Bell in the ECAP field laboratory. During the final months of the 2000 season Bell completed the cataloguing of all artifacts excavated from primary contexts, integrating these vital data into the project’s computerized data base. Related to this task, Ellen also volunteered to assist a team from IHAH to catalogue the ECAP artifact collection for a Honduran government inventory of all objects under their jurisdiction (Figure 4).

In addition to cataloguing, Bell oversaw two collateral documentation efforts. The first of these was the continuation of the artifact photographic record, accomplished as in former seasons by Project photographer Eleanor Coates (M.A. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania). This record includes both conventional color and black and white photography, along with digital imagery. Most of the objects photographed in 2000 were recovered from the Margarita and Hunal tombs over the past two field seasons. The artifact photographs taken in the field laboratory completes the photographic record begun with excavation photographs made while objects were still in situ, prior to their removal.

As mentioned, the other vital aspect of documenting ECAP’s research was begun in 2000 with the electronic scanning of all original scaled drawings, including excavation plans and sections, and artifact drawings. The goal of this effort is to scan and digitally archive (on CD-R disks) all ECAP’s paper and mylar drawings that are currently archived in the CRIA, subject to water, insect, and other damage. In 2000 this work was carried out by an ECAP staff member hired especially for this task, and successfully scanned over 3,000 original scaled drawings, thus ensuring that this essential record of ECAP’s research will be preserved as a basis for interpretation and publication in the future. Multiple copies of the scanned files were made and archived in the CRIA, the IHAH offices, and at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. These disks will be checked and renewed periodically to ensure their continued viability in the face of technological change.

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