Map of the Maya area showing the location of the Petexbatun region (drawing by Luis Fernando Luin). The archaeologist in the center of the line had a Brunton compass, a cutting map, graph paper and a pencil. During the project, the site was mapped, several of the large structures in the epicenter were.
An appropriate strategy was needed to meet the goals of the Intersettlement Settlement Model subproject. This refers to areas approximately 150 m above sea level in the western part of the Petexbatun River. Schematic drawing of transect mapping methodology of the Cross-Country Settlement Model subproject (from Killion et al.
Recovered ceramics from these trenches place the date of the wall's construction in the Late Classic period. Late Classic potsherds have been found from the surface of the unit and in the fill. Ceramics recovered from the fill of the terraces date them to the Late Classic period.
Two of the structures located west of Quim Chi Hilan were investigated by the intersite settlement model subproject.
Summary and Discussion
The northernmost 30 cm of the test pit (the area north, or outside, of the structural wall), was relatively rock-free. Bedrock in this section of the test pit was reached 50 to 70 cm below the modern ground surface. The top 20 cm of the test pit was littered with limestone boulders averaging 20 cm in diameter.
Bedrock was reached 15 to 20 cm below the modern ground surface in the northern 160 cm of the test pit. A shallow, narrow ditch (20 cm) runs east-west across the structure 5 m north of the south end. Test pit 4 (Figure 5.45) was located in the southern structure of the central square of Group D.
It was located on the north side of the structure, 3 meters east of the northwest corner. Test pit 7 was located in the largest structure of this Group D section, the building on the north side of the central square. Test pit 7 was located north of the southeast corner of the main structure and was oriented 128° east of north.
The surface of the test pit was covered with medium and large (up to 50 cm in diameter) limestone rocks. The excavation measured 1 meter x 2 meters and was placed over the western wall of the mound. Test pit 19 was located just south of the first bend, as described above, in Wall 2.
A soil sample was collected from the eastern (uphill) side of the wall for examination by Dr. The western 120 cm of the test pit was simply humus over bedrock, which was reached 35 cm below the modern ground surface. Below this level, a line of uncut stones ran from the northwest corner to the east side of the test pit (Figure 5.53).
Summary and Discussion
Under this floor, rubble was found in the southern half of the test pit. The humus layer in the northern half of the test pit contained few stones of any size. The Preclassic midden in the northern part of the test pit extended below the wall and fill across the excavation.
The center encompassed the perimeter of the test pit, which began approximately 38 cm below the modern ground surface. At a depth of 60 to 80 cm below today's ground surface, in the westernmost 80 cm of the cave, we encountered larger rocks (20 to 50 cm in diameter). East of the soil and wall fill material, it continued to a depth of 240 cm below the modern ground surface.
Much of a fragmented vessel was located in the ash on the west side of the excavation at a depth of 245 cm. A possible hearth, defined by a semi-circle of limestone boulders, was excavated at this depth in the northern 40 cm of the test pit. A well-made wall of cut limestone was discovered below the floor in the southern half of the test pit.
The extension of the trial pit above the crypt yielded similar remains to those found in the original 1 x 2 meter excavation. In addition, an obsidian blade fragment and a prismatic chert blade were discovered in the eastern end of the extensive excavation. The crypt itself began at a depth of 65 cm in the eastern end of the extension and 41 cm in the west.
The rocks of the crypt and the soil mixed in with the rocks yielded few artifacts. Most of one vessel, Vessel 1, was crushed between rocks in the northeast corner of the extension. Its center was located 75 cm north and 89 cm west of the southeast test pit extension corner.
Summary and Discussion
The transect started 120 meters west of the northwest corner of the defensive wall on Cerro de Mariposas. Moreover, they stated that no prehistoric structures existed between the end of the transect and the modern village. The purpose of the unit was to study the construction and of the wall and date it.
It was constructed on the west side of the structure near the northwest corner. The eastern 110 cm of the excavation tested the structure itself, while the western 90 cm was located outside the structure. Part of the wall was discovered just below the modern ground level at the western end of the excavation.
The soil to the east of the structure wall contained fill material consisting of small stones (less than 5 cm) and a few potsherds. Excavations west of the wall revealed several mounds and fills similar to those found to the east. The pit traversed part of the wall that surrounds Cerro de Yax in an attempt to date the wall's construction.
The center of the wall was built directly on the rock and reached a height of 30 cm. Tumbling of the wall laid to the east and west of the wall, covering the excavation area. Small amounts of ceramics, lithics and obsidian were recovered from the fill of the wall.
Test pit 10 was a 1 x 2 meter excavation, oriented 87° east of north and centrally located on the west side of the structure. Test pit 11 was located on the east side, near the northeast corner, of the largest structure in Group A, Structure 3. This structure measures approximately 10 x 7 x 1.5 meters and is located on the east side of the central plaza.
Summary and Discussion
No midden was found in the excavation, and few artefacts - some Late Classic potsherds and lithic debris - were unearthed. At each hilltop fortress, except possibly Cerro de Miguel, approximately half of all structures were left unprotected. The only advantage of settling in the marginal area west of Aguateca was the defensible hilltops.
Close-up map of the Aguada and walls west of Quim Chi Hilan, Transect 1 (from Killion et al. Close-up map of the walls and terraces west of Quim Chi Hilan, Transect 1 (from Killion et al.
