Disappearing snake

The week started off with a snake in the roof of Outhouse 3. For the second time this season, by the time the men got to the outhouse, the snake was gone. Earlier in the season, the disappearing snake had been seen in Outhouse 2, but we knew it was still around because it shed its skin over Outhouse 1. We just need to keep being vigilant and carrying machetes.

All excavations wound down by Thursday and backfilling started in West Puchituk on Friday. Drawing and recording was finished in West Puchituk on Thursday and in Monterey on Friday. Friday and Saturday were transitional into a laboratory mode with the men doing odd chores like pumping water and obtaining wood for building repairs (as well as washing sherds).

Barracuda

In Barracuda both the northern and eastern excavations (C216B and C216C) were taken down to bedrock. Doing this in the eastern building revealed a western step for the rear tomb that had been missed during initial excavation; this portion of the chamber had suffered collapse from the dry-core fill placed around the chamber; besides bone, three new vessels and pieces of a cylinder and dish were recovered in this lower entryway.

Tuna

In Tuna, the rear tomb and the Early Classic crypt were completely finished and bedrock was dug through the excavation all the way up to the rear chamber. The small stela in front of the structure was also moved from its bedrock siting, but did not yield another deposit. Cleaning the excavation for final photos revealed the edge of a crypt in the northwestern corner of C217B; a tree was growing in the middle of it and the decision was made to leave this deposit for a future generation. Snapper (C218) was finished at the beginning of the week; both structures in this group were built directly upon shallow bedrock in what appears to have been the late Late Classic Period.

Caracol’s “urban renewal”

In the Monterey area, Boulder was completely finished and drawn by the beginning of the week. The Monterey Ballcourt excavation was also finished and recorded. The eastern pyramid of MPI continued in excavation at the summit and base; bedrock was reached and penetrated at the base. The summit revealed a detailed series of floors, all situated over dry core fill and associated with architectural renovations. In Pebble, both C219C, the northern excavation, and C219D, the eastern excavation, were taken down to bedrock. Both excavations revealed fragments of earlier constructions, indicating that heavy renovation and “urban renewal” had taken place in this group towards the end of Caracol’s occupation.