Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Two
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RESEARCH REPORTS FROM THE PROGRAMME FOR BELIZE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT, VOLUME TWO Edited by: Fred Valdez, Jr. The University of Texas at Austin Contributors Kirsten Atwood James E. Barrera Angeliki Kalamara Cavazos Robyn Dodge David J. Goldstein Robin Goldstein Liwy Grazioso Sierra Jon B. Hageman Brett A. Houk David M. Hyde Erol Kavountzis Brandon S. Lewis Maria Martinez Antonio Padilla Deanna M. Riddick George Rodriguez Dara Shifrer Lauri McInnis Martin Rissa M. Trachman Debora Trein Fred Valdez, Jr. Jason M. Whitaker Oliver Wigmore Kimberly T. Wren Occasional Papers, Number 9 Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory The University of Texas at Austin 2008 Contents Situating Research: An introduction to the PfBAP Research Reports (Vol. 2) Fred Valdez, Jr......................................................................................................1 Excavations of Plaza A, Structure 4, at the Site of La Milpa, Belize: A Report of the 2007 Field Season Rissa Trachman...................................................................................................11 Archaeological Investigations at La Milpa, Structures 3 and 93: The 2007 Field Season Liwy Grazioso Sierra...........................................................................................19 Excavations at La Milpa, Belize, Los Pisos Courtyard, Operation A2: Report of the 2007 Season Maria Martinez....................................................................................................29 The 2007 Season of the La Milpa Core Project: An Introduction to the Texas Tech University Investigations at the Plaza B Area Brett Houk...........................................................................................................45 Excavations of Monuments in Plaza B and at Structure 21: The 2007 Field Season Debora Trein.......................................................................................................61 The 2007 Field Season Excavations at Structures 23 and 27 Antonio Padilla....................................................................................................69 Excavations at Structure 22: The 2007 Field Season James E. Barrera.................................................................................................79 Preliminary Comments for Courtyard 149: The 2007 Field Season at La Milpa, Belize Brandon S. Lewis, Robyn Dodge, and Oliver Wigmore......................................87 Excavations in Depression A at La Milpa East (RB LME, Operation 1) Estella Weiss‐Krejci.............................................................................................93 Excavations at Group A of the Medicinal Trail Site: Results from the 2007 Investigations David M. Hyde and Kirsten Atwood..................................................................111 Report of Excavations at the Medicinal Trail Site: Operation 7, Structure 2 George Rodriguez..............................................................................................137 Burial 2 at Group A of the Medicinal trail Site: Report of the 2008 Season Excavations Kimberly Wren and Angeliki Kalamara Cavazos.............................................147 i Preliminary Notes on the Cist Burial Associated with the Late Preclassic Settlement at Group A of the Medicinal Trail Site Angeliki Kalamara Cavazos and Kimberly Wren.............................................153 Medicinal Trail Site, Group B: Report of Excavations for the 2007 Season Deanna M. Riddick............................................................................................163 Preliminary Report on Group, Operation 12 of the Medicinal Trail Site Lauri McInnis Martin........................................................................................173 Report of Fieldwork at Operation 11, Medicinal Trail Site: 2007 Field Season Jason M. Whitaker.............................................................................................177 Nothing Fauna About It: Overview of the 2007 Field Season Jon B. Hageman, David J. Goldstein, Erol J. Kavoutzis, and Robin Goldstein............................................................................................................203 Educating with Consistent Cultural Capital in a Mennonite Community Dara Shifrer.......................................................................................................217 ii SITUATING RESEARCH: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PfBAP RESEARCH REPORTS (Vol. 2) Fred Valdez, Jr., The University of Texas at Austin INTRODUCTION The reports presented in this volume represent much of the research from the 2007 field season of the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP). The 2007 season was the 16th year of consecutive research in Belize by the PfBAP. All archaeological research was conducted in northwest Belize in an area known as the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (RBCMA). More than 260,000 acres of the RBCMA area is owned and operated by the Programme for Belize (PfB), a wholly owned and managed Belizean conservation organization (Figure 1). The PfBAP works in collaboration with PfB and is charged with the task of documenting sites, determining research avenues, and reviews protection measures for all cultural property concerns. It is among the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project's research agendas to conducts its research with the intent of producing an integrated view of the history and cultural evolution of northwest Belize. The primary research interest was originally the Maya Period (of ca. 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1400), but has been broadened to include pre- Maya data as well as early Historic Period activities. The PfBAP's research property includes urban centers, towns, villages, and hamlets (Figure 2) of the prehistoric Maya. Approximately 70 such sites have been identified of which five are currently categorized as “cities.” The region also includes several known early historical settlements, Holotunich (Ng 2005) and Qualm Hill (Cackler et al. 2007). The PfBAP is committed to sampling each level of social occupation within the settlement hierarchy of the prehistoric Maya. Site functions, occupational specialization, and chronologies of the region are of critical interest as well. These efforts remain part of the long-term research interests. BACKGROUND Since its initial field season, in 1992, the PfBAP has maintained an annual research season effort every year. The PfBAP was initially organized as one research project with various research interests each season. The program was re-organized in 1995 as an umbrella research entity with several “independent” research programs under its permit from the Government of Belize. The new format allowed for each independent entity to pursue funding per research program and interests. A significant effort was initially placed at understanding the geography of the region including some effort at noting micro-environments. Three well-defined topographic features define the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area. The La Lucha 1 Valdez Uplands and Rio Bravo Terraces, the Rio Bravo Embayment, and the Booth’s River Upland and Depression are among the significant features affecting life and settlement in northwest Belize. Among these components we find a microcosm of the variability found elsewhere in the Maya Lowlands (cf. Dunning et al. 2003). It is the biological and topographic diversity of the RBCMA that provides the PfBAP many opportunities to witness and examine the various adaptations by prehistoric and historic communities. The PfBAP intends to sequence these adaptations over the course of occupations from Middle Preclassic beginnings (for the Maya) through Postclassic activities. Figure 1. Map with location of project area in northwest Belize. 2 Situating Research Figure 2. Map of archaeological sites in the PfBAP area. Map version by Rissa Trachman, courtesy PfBAP. PROJECT ORGANIZATION AND RESEARCH PROGRAMS The PfBAP serves, as noted above, as an umbrella organization under which several projects operate. Among the various (independent) projects are:* Project (title/name)* Director(s) LaMilpa Group A Valdez LaMilpa Group B Houk La Milpa, South Groups Lewis La Milpa East Weiss-Krejci Medicinal Trail Valdez Dos Hombres-La Milpa Transect Hageman * All "projects" operate under the PfBAP and share a common research facilty, the Richard E. W. Adams Archaeological Research Facility. Each project may also have Field Directors and Excavation Directors beyond the listed Project Directors. 3 Valdez Although each project/program functions as an autonomous unit in terms of revenue procurement and staffing, all operate under the conditions of the permit issued to the PfBAP by the Institute of Archaeology (IoA) in Belize. All programs also share facilities and data as pertaining to the general objectives of the PfBAP as a regional research endeavor. Previous research seasons have been reported through a variety of venues. A 15-year bibliography of the PfBAP's productivity is currently being compiled as a source of the program's research interests, endeavors, and success. NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT: Research Design and Methods The PfBAP continues to refine its regional research procedures and methodologies as well evaluate the effectiveness of the regional approach for the of the prehistoric Maya. The survey methods employed by the PfBAP follows the strategy that was successfully utilized during the first decade of the project. Mapped roadways, logging paths, and oil exploration transects are often