PIEDRAS NEGRAS ARCHAEOLOGY, 1931–1939 Throne 1, as assembled and slightly restored. PIEDRAS NEGRAS ARCHAEOLOGY, 1931–1939 PIEDRAS NEGRAS PRELIMINARY PAPERS PIEDRAS NEGRAS ARCHAEOLOGY: ARCHITECTURE Linton Satterthwaite, Jr., Mary Butler, and J. Alden Mason Edited by John M. Weeks, Jane Hill, and Charles Golden UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY Philadelphia, PA Copyright © 2005 by University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology 3260 South Street • Philadelphia, PA 19104-6324 All rights reserved. First Edition. Publication was made possible in part by a generous gift of the Women’s Committee of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in honor of Dr. Jeremy A. Sabloff and his ten-year tenure (1994–2004) as the Williams Director of the Museum. Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper. CONTENTS FIGURES ................................................................ viii TABLES ................................................................. xii INTRODUCTION ............................................................. 1 PIEDRAS NEGRAS PRELIMINARY PAPERS ................................................ 3 Piedras Negras Archaeology: Architecture ...................................... 4 University Museum and the Maya Area ........................................ 4 Preparation for Publication ............................................... 5 Acknowledgments .................................................... 7 Notes ............................................................ 7 PART I PIEDRAS NEGRAS PRELIMINARY PAPERS ............................................. 9 1 DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE, WITH SHORT NOTES ON THE EXCAVATIONS OF 1931–1932 ..................... 10 Introduction (J. Alden Mason, 1933) ......................................... 10 Description of the Site With Short Notes on the Excavations of 1931–1932 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1933) . 11 Notes ............................................................ 29 2 THE SOUTH GROUP BALL COURT (STRUCTURES R-11-A AND R-11-B); WITH A PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE WEST GROUP BALL COURT (STRUCTURES K-6-A AND K-6-B) (LINTON SATTERTHWAITE, 1933) ............. 30 Field and Structures; General Description ...................................... 30 Stone Markers and Two Carved Stones ........................................ 34 Periods of Building .................................................... 36 Details of Construction ................................................. 37 Positions of Objects ................................................... 47 Date ............................................................ 47 Preliminary Note of West Group Ball Court ..................................... 48 Terminology ........................................................ 48 Notes ............................................................ 49 3 PALACE STRUCTURES J-2 AND J-6; WITH NOTES ON STRUCTURE J-6-2ND AND OTHER BURIED STRUCTURES IN COURT 1 (LINTON SATTERTHWAITE, 1935) ......................................... 50 Preliminary Note ..................................................... 50 Acropolis Palaces: Introductory Remarks ....................................... 53 Structure J-2 ....................................................... 55 Details of Construction ................................................. 58 Structure J-6 ....................................................... 65 Conclusions ........................................................ 84 Notes ............................................................ 88 4 PIEDRAS NEGRAS POTTERY ..................................................... 90 4.1 Pottery Vessels (Mary Butler, 1935) ........................................ 90 4.2 Figurines, Ornaments, and Miscellaneous Objects (Mary Butler, 1935) ................ 121 5 A PYRAMID WITHOUT TEMPLE RUINS (STRUCTURE J-3)(LINTON SATTERTHWAITE, 1936) ................... 140 General Description .................................................. 140 Periods of Building ................................................... 145 Stelae ........................................................... 146 Lintel 5 .......................................................... 149 Objects ......................................................... 150 Date ............................................................ 152 Details of Construction ................................................ 152 Notes ........................................................... 153 vi CONTENTS PART II PIEDRAS NEGRAS ARCHAEOLOGY: ARCHITECTURE ..................................... 154 6 ARCHITECTURE: INTRODUCTION (LINTON SATTERTHWAITE, 1943) ................................ 155 General Remarks .................................................... 155 Authorship ........................................................ 155 Difficulties ........................................................ 156 Acknowledgments ................................................... 157 Personnel ........................................................ 158 Comparative Data ................................................... 158 General Objectives ................................................... 159 Location ......................................................... 159 Materials ......................................................... 162 Labor and Its Tools ................................................... 163 Plan of Publication ................................................... 164 The Map ......................................................... 170 Miscellaneous Notes .................................................. 180 Cross sections Through Main Groups ........................................ 181 Acropolis Restoration Drawing ............................................ 181 Reconstruction Without Specific Evidence ..................................... 181 Point of View ...................................................... 182 Accuracy ......................................................... 182 Sources Giving Original Data on Archaeology of Piedras Negras ....................... 183 Other Sources Cited .................................................. 183 7 TEMPLES .............................................................. 184 7.1 Structure R-9 (Temple and Associated Constructions) (Linton Satterthwaite, 1944) .......... 184 8 BALL COURTS ...................................................... 205 8.1 Ball Court Terminology (Linton Satterthwaite, 1944) ............................ 205 8.2 Structure R-11 (South Group Ball Court)(Linton Satterthwaite, 1944) .................. 210 8.3 Structure K-6 (West Group Ball Court)(Linton Satterthwaite, 1944) .................. 228 9 SWEATHOUSES ........................................................... 241 9.1 Recognition of Sweathouses at Piedras Negras: Diagnostic Traits and Terminology (Linton Satterthwaite, 1950) ........................................... 241 9.2 Structure N-1 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1950) .................................. 267 9.3 Six Partially Excavated Sweathouses: (Structures S-19, J-17, O-4, S-2, S-4, and R-13) (Linton Satterthwaite, 1950) .......................................... 281 9.4 Structure P-7 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1950) .................................. 293 10 UNCLASSIFIED BUILDINGS AND SUBSTRUCTURES ......................................... 318 10.1 Structure F-3 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1944) ................................. 318 10.2 Structure F-4 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1944) ................................. 323 10.3 Structure O-18 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1952) ................................ 328 10.4 Structure O-7 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1952) ................................. 332 10.5 The Plazuela of Structure V-1 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1952) ........................ 343 10.6 Sub-Acropolis Structures 1, 3, 4 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1953) ...................... 363 10.7 Structure P-6 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1952) ................................. 373 10.8 Structure O-2 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1952) ................................. 377 10.9 Structure J-19 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1952) ................................. 378 10.10 Structure J-24 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1952) ................................ 380 10.11 Structure S-5 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1952) ................................. 381 10.12 Structure O-3 (Linton Satterthwaite, 1949) ................................ 383 CONTENTS vii APPENDICES . ...................................................... 384 APPENDIX 1 PERSONNEL OF THE PIEDRAS NEGRAS EXPEDITION, 1931-39 ............................ 385 APPENDIX 2 PIEDRAS NEGRAS: AN OPPORTUNITY AND AN EMERGENCY IN AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY (LINTON SATTERTHWAITE, 1938) ..................................................... 388 APPENDIX 3 MAYA THRONES AND BENCHES (FRANK M. CRESSON, 1939) ............................ 390 APPENDIX 4 CARVED ORANGE AND CARVED GRAY WARES AT PIEDRAS NEGRAS (FRANK M. CRESSON, 1939) . 395 APPENDIX 5 POTTERY TYPES OF YUCATAN IN THE USUMACINTA AREA (FRANK M. CRESSON, 1939) ............... 398 APPENDIX 6 PIEDRAS NEGRAS SITE PLAN (SECTION DETAILS) ................................... 401 REFERENCES ............................................................. 410 INDEX ................................................................. 419 FIGURES Frontispiece Throne 1, as assembled and slightly restored. 1.1 Ruins of Piedras Negras ................................................. 12 1.2 Sections A–B through West and East Groups and C–D through