Ceramic Analysis of Temple B, Río Bec, Quintana Roo, México
Stan Freer

Miscellaneous Items associated with ceramics

In addition to those ceramics discussed above others are associated with Structure 1, Mound 1, Mound 6, Mound 21, Mound 22, Mound 24A, Group 1, Casa de Sara, the Lost Group, Structure 0, and Diego’s Temple, a House Mound, and the early stairway to Temple B (See Chart 17 and Chart 18, and Table 5, shown above). Structure 1 ceramics included Types from Pakluum, Chacsik, Sabucan and Bejuco at levels 6 and 7 (60-79 cm). Mound 1 had a sub-floor fill at level 3 consisting of materials from Sabucan, Bejuco, Chintok, and late Xcocom. The later suggests that individuals were still living at Río Bec during the beginning of the Postclassic. House Mound level 1 had a combination of ceramics from Pakluum through Xcocom suggesting a mixing at the top level. Level 4 of the House Mound had Pakluum, Sabucan, and Bejuco with only Pakluum in Level 5. All these examples fall within the expected time periods.

Diego’s temple, a large three-towered structure, was discovered for the first time during the field reconnaissance. A cache was discovered within one of the towers which consisted of a sting-ray spine, black coral, a large jade ear plug, and an eccentric point. Land shells where also present within the vessel. The vessel was identified as a Paaktzatz Modeled: Paaktzatz Variety dating to Bejuco or Chintok times (see Photo 9, shown below). Pieces of this ceramic type were found associated with Temple B.  A similar complete vessel with apron lid (see Photo 10, shown below) was found in House Mound 6G at Becán which our team excavated. Fill within the structure’s tower contained a Carro Modeled: Carro Variety of Early Xcocom/ Chintok and a Becanchén Brown: Becanchén Variety of Bejuco. Black coral is only found at very deep depths in the Caribbean. The eccentric point was the largest known one for the area at the time of discovery.

The stairway cache vessel with lid, object 119 (see Photo 11, shown below), was discovered on the terrace on the east side of Temple B.  The vessel was very eroded making it impossible to identify with the comparative sample present at the time of excavation. A projectile point was found within the jar along with other lithic debitage. Another partial and badly pitted vessel was found to the rear of Temple B in grid 108N by 104E.  This aberrant pottery piece comes closest in comparison to a Tzakol Monochrome Z angled dish illustrated in Smith (1955 vol 2 figure 18:1) which was found at Waxaktun in the Petén placing the vessel in early Classic times, which would be Chacsik and Sabucan at Río Bec.

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