Site 101

Site 101 (called “Las Vegas” by Strong, Kidder and Paul [1936:34-35]) overlooks the Rio Chamelecon where that watercourse exits the Naco valley on the northeast. The settlement occupies a diminuitive, triangular-shaped terrace, ca. 75m on a side, bounded by steep escarpments of CerroBuena Vista on the north and east, while equally dramatic slopes drop down to watercourses on the remaining sides. The Rio Chamelecon lies immediately to the south and west down. An 8-10m deep quebrada channel cuts north-south through Site 101, isolating Strs. 101-10/13 to the east. The shelf’s summit drops gradually from north-to-south and east-to-west on both sides of the seasonal stream course. La Sierra is approximately 5km south of Site 101, while Sites 108 and 100 are located roughly 900m and 700m to the south and north, respectively.

Site 101 contains 20 surface-visible structures, 14 of which are arranged into three patio-focused structure groups while the remainder are scattered around these clusters. Four monumental buildings (Strs. 101-1, 3/5) define a plaza on all sides in the site center. Other components of this aggregate are Str. 101-2, a low platform fronting Str. 101-1 on the west, and Strs. 101-6/9, built into the upper slopes of the descent to the Rio Chamelecon immediately south of Str. 101-3. Structure 101-2 was trenched by Strong and his colleagues in 1936 (Strong, Kidder, and Paul 1938:34-35). Though sherds are reported from the excavation, no mention was made of any architecture. These pioneering investigators also noted the presence of a boulder bearing the carved visage of a monkey on the plaza surface (ibid.). This monument had disappeared from Site 101 by 1975 when the settlement was first recorded by the NVAP survey. Structures 101-14/19, ca. 10m east of the aforementioned aggregate, delimit a patio open to the east. The third patio-focused entity has been severely disrupted by natural processes of channel cutting and erosion. It contains three surviving buildings (Strs. 101-10, 12, and 13) situated ca. 54.5m east and across the quebrada from Str. 101-9. Structure 101-11 is approximately 87m northeast and upslope from the Str. 101-10, 12/13 cluster.

Eight buildings, Strs. 101-3, 4, and 15-20, were excavated from March 23-May 10, 1992 under the direction of J. Ehret, B. Etheridge, and S. King. Fully 520 person-days of labor were invested in clearing 308m2 of prehistoric deposits at Site 101. This synopsis draws heavily on detailed accounts provided by Ehret (1994) and King (1993) of the excavations they supervised.

Structure 101-3 (Figures **-**) [2 sections, 1 plan; D95-32]

Structure 101-3, closing off the south side of the plaza defined by Strs. 101-1, 3/5, is ca. 5m southeast of Str. 101-4 and 9m southwest of Str. 101-1. The platform is built over land that currently rises 2.28m over 17.5m south-to-north and 0.73m over 21m west-to-east.

Excavations began as two 1x22m trenches that bisected the platform’s cardinal axes, extending from beyond Str. 101-3's final-phase architecture on all sides and cross-cutting the summit. Lateral clearing of units exposed in the axial trenches (limited to the summit and northern, patio-facing, side) was pursued as time allowed. All investigations were conducted as parts of Subops. 101F, 101G, 101H, and 101J, digging being carried down to maximum depths of ca. 2m below modern ground surface into architectural fill and 1.2m below ground level outside construction. A total of 80m2 was cleared in the course of this work, supervised by J. Ehret, resulting in the identification of a single major building phase.

Time Span 1

Stratum 1, a gray, fine-textured, soft-compacted, ash-tinted soil, is the lowest earth level uncovered in excavations on and around Str. 101-3. This layer contains numerous pebbles 0.01-0.02m in diameter but is largely devoid of cultural materials; whether the ash that pervades S.1 has a cultural or natural origin is unknown. Stratum 1 is at least 0.28m thick (its base was not uncovered) and is overlain by 0.2-0.25m of S.2. The latter is a light tan, soft-compacted, fine-textured soil incorporating few rocks but some cultural debris (primarily ceramics). Stratum 2 ascends 0.05m over 1m north-to-south, a slope running the opposite of those characteristic of subsequent earth levels. Deposition of approximately 0.15m of S.3 directly on top of S.2 concludes TS.1. Stratum 3 is a tan, fine-textured, hard-compacted clay-silt containing sizable quantities of cultural material. Time Span 1, therefore, seems to have been an interval of gradual soil accumulation in the vicinity of Str. 101-3's eventual construction site. Human settlement in the area may have become more substantial with time; artifact densities increase from 0/0.2m3 at the base of excavation in S.1, through 19/0.2m3 in the next ascending level, and culminating with 195/0.2m3 in the uppermost soils dated to this span. The sample is, however, small and will not bear the weight of more onerous inferences.

Unit 1, a cobble wall 0.1-0.18m high by 0.25m wide, seems to be the remnants of a foundation formerly incorporated within an earthen-floored, surface-level edifice (Str. 101-Sub2). The footing was exposed over a distance of 3.1m north-south (its full length is not shown on the section) and is aligned roughly 7 degrees. Unit 1's southern terminus was identified while its northern end lays outside excavation limits. Rocks comprising U.1 are cobbles measuring 0.04x0.05m to 0.25x0.36m, with most falling towards the middle and larger end of that range. The stones are set in a brown mud mortar.

Deposition of S.3 resumed following Str. 101-Sub2's abandonment, eventually covering U.1 and accumulating to total exposed thickness of 0.12-0.16m over S.2. Stratum 3 slopes up 0.44m over 4.8m south-to-north and contains large amounts of cultural debris.

Structure 101-Sub3 is represented by 1.1m long exposed segment of cobble foundation (U.2) resting atop S.3, 0.3m east of U.1. Unit 2 is 0.06-0.1m high and aligned approximately due north-south (its width was not uncovered). While the southern end of U.2 was identified, its northern extreme was not. Unit 2 is built of small to medium-size river cobbles (0.02x0.06m to 0.18x0.32m) bound together with a brown mud mortrar. Like its western predecessor, Str. 101-Sub3 was probably a surface-level building.

Time Span 5

This interval is chacterized by the introduction, probably by natural means, of a diverse set of soils that buried earlier construction (Str. 101-Sub3) and formed the substrate above which Str. 101-3-1st was erected. The earth layers in question were revealed in discontinuous segments, often separated by considerable horizontal distances, and it is not possible to relate many of them stratigraphically. The order in which they are numbered, and described, here, therefore, does not necessarily imply an established chronological sequence. About all that can be said with assuredness about these strata is that at least portions of them were laid down prior to Str. 101-3-1st’s construction in TS.6.

Stratum 6 directly overlies S.3 by 0.2-0.25m, buries U.2, and slopes upwards 0.41m over 4.8m south-to-north. This brown, fine-textured, hard-compacted soil in which many small erocks and artifacts are found. Strata 4 and 5, in turn, were uncovered 5.2m further upslope (north of) from S.6 and form a sequence running beneath Str. 101-3-1st’s southern core retaining wall (U.4). The lower of the two, S.4, is a reddish-brown, fine-textured, hard-compacted clay that was revealed to a maximum thickness of 0.16m (its base lies beyond our excavations). Despite its limited exposure, S.4 yielded substantial amounts of artifacts (157 items/0.11m3) along with 70 shells from freshwater snails (jutes). Apparently, S.4 is part of a midden associated with settlement later covered by Str. 101-3-1st. This level was covered, in turn, by roughly 0.1-0.12m of S.5, a gray, fine-textured, soft-compacted, ashy clay. Stratum 5 contains sizable quantities of cultural material, both artifacts and organic debris. Like its predecessor, S.5 seems

to be part of a trash deposit.

Stratum 7, a dark brown, moderately soft-compacted, sandy silt, was exposed only east of Str. 101-3-1st. This earth level ascends 0.29m over 2.2m east-to-west and is largely free of both rocks and cultural material. Stratum 8 covers S.7 by 0.27-0.32m and consists of a reddish-brown, very hard-compacted soil containing a great many stone inclusions. The latter are primarily schist fragments, probably derived from local bedrock. Artifacts are relatively scarce in S.8, mostly consisting of very small pottery fragments. Stratum 8 is found on all sides of Str. 101-3-1st save the south; S.8's full thickness only being uncovered where it overlies S.7 on the east. A similar red-brown, gravel-rich soil underlies Str. 101-4-1st construction to the northwest and Strong, Kidder, and Paul report encountering a similar soil in their excavations between Strs. 101-1 and 101-2 to the north (1938:35). East and west of Str. 101-3-1st, S.8 extends up to current ground surface; on the north the earth layer is sealed by the plaza floor (U.23).

Approximately 0.1m of S.9 overlies S.8 and runs beneath Str. 101-3-1st’s eastern basal terrace (U.18), suggesting that deposition of S.9 had been progressing for a relatively short interval before the platform was raised. A similar situation pertains on the south where approximately 0.07m of S.9 covers S.6 and runs under Str. 101-3-1st’s southern basal terrace (U.9). Stratum 9 is a brown, hard-compacted, fine-textured soil containing few rocks and a modicum of artifacts. This earth level is not found in similar stratigraphic relations to TS.6 architecture elsewhere on and around Str. 101-3-1st. Stratum 9 will, however, eventually cover the platform on all sides after its abandonment (TS.7).

The diverse soils laid down during TS.5 hint at the operation of varied, localized edaphic processes. Some factors helping to shape these events may be cultural (eg., the apparent midden represented by S.4 and 5) while others are undoubtedly natural. The especially the high rock content of S.6 and 8, for example, may result from episodes of relatively intense erosion off the neighboring hills. Ehret makes a very reasonable case for seeing S.7 and 8 as fill units introduced to level out the eventual site of the plaza defined by Strs. 101-1, 3/5 (1994:34-37). We have shied away from this interpretation because the ubiquity of soils closely resembling S.8 north and west of Str. 101-3-1st, including areas outside the Str. 101-1, 3/5 plaza, suggests that this gravel-rich earth was deposited by natural means throughout the settlement.

Structure 101-3-1st is a massive platform that, based on available data, was raised as part of a single construction episode of unknown duration. Units 3-6 define the building’s core. These massive cobble walls, 0.78-1.3m wide, define a space encompassing at least 3.6x5.1m that was filled to a depth of roughly 2m with an artifact-rich earth fill (U.21 and 22). Unit 21, covering S.5 by 0.55-0.63m, is a gray, fine-textured, hard-compacted ashy clay that contains large quantities of artifacts and organic debris. Stratum 5 and U.21 are virtually indistinguishable, the former representing a putative in situ trash deposit, the latter midden redeposited as fill. Overlying U.21 by 0.76-1.07m is U.22, a gray, fine-textured, soft-compacted soil rich in cultural material. Units 21 and 22 are both probably parts of the same deposit, composed of trash derived from middens spanning a considerable portion of the site’s history (Middle Preclassic through Late Classic III diagnostics were identified from fill contexts here). Differences in compaction that distinguish these entities are likely the result of U.21's compression beneath U.22 over the centuries. Unit 22's upper surface served as the superstructure’s earthen floor. Though far from clear, this surface may have originally been located ca. 0.25m below the tops of U.3-6, the latter doing double-duty as fill retaining walls and foundations for the superstructure’s perishable upper walls. The latter almost certainly consisted of bajareque, large quantities of this material being found on the summit and off the platform’s western flank.

The core walls delimit the principal summit room, measuring 3.6x5.1m. This enclosure is bordered on the east by a smaller cubicle (1.1x3.6m) bounded by U.5, eastward extensions of U.3 and 4, and U.20. The latter is a 0.48m high by 0.71m wide cobble foundation set into, and rising an extant 0.09m above, U.22 fill. The resulting superstructure, therefore, covers 3.6x7m and contains two adjoining enclosures. The eastern room may have been added relatively late in Str. 101-3-1st’s occupation sequence, there being evidence that the upper portions alone of the northern and southern core facings (U.3 and 4) were extended eastward over U.5, presumably joining U.20. At least the central portion of U.5 might have been covered with a thin lime plaster, based on the recovery of fragments of this material within S.9 in the immediate vicinity of this wall’s summit. No built-in furniture was noted in either enclosure; this statement can be given greater weight for the western room, which was cleared for over half of its extent, than for its eastern counterpart, only ca. 28% of its inferred interior space was excavated.

Two stone-faced terraces ascend Str. 101-3-1st’s eastern and western flanks (U.18/19 and U.7/8, respectively). Units 7 and 8, the basal and first ascending western risers, are 0.3 and 0.36m high and 1.34m and 1.25m wide, their western analogues measuring 0.6m high by 1.58m across (U.18) and 0.73m tall by 0.92m wide (U.19); U.18 and 19 were heavily disrupted by tree roots, their dimensions only being tentatively reconstructed here. Terrace treads were earthen and ultimately culminated in U.6 and 20, the western core facing and foundation marking the superstructure’s eastern limit. Units 7 and 8 are backed by U.22. The fill underlying U.18 and 19 was not investigated. Three terraces are built against Str. 101-3-1st’s southern, downslope side (U.9-12, 24). Moving from the base upwards, U. 9, 11, and 24 ascend 0.74m, 1.1m, and 0.74m and have treads 1.5m, 1.53m, and 1.28m wide. The intermediate terrace, bordered by the U.11 riser on the south, is paved with a cobble surface (U.12). The other treads apparently supported earthen floors. At some point late in the occupation sequence, the middle southern terrace was expanded 0.42m southward through the construction of U.10, a cobble stack set on the U.9 tread and up against U.11's riser. The lower terrace was now 1.08m wide, the next ascending entity measuring 1.95m across. The eastern, western, and southern terraces each terminate in obstacles that block summit access. The upper surviving portions of the U.6 and 4 core facings rise 0.85m and 0.72m above the U.8 and 24 terraces on the west and south while the U.21 foundation precludes passage into the superstructure from the east. Summit access was, therefore, limited to the northern, patio-facing side.

The northern staircase consists of approximately five cobble-faced steps (U.13-17), each 0.16-0.42m high by 0.26-0.88m wide, culminating in a 0.24m high ascent onto the northern core wall’s (U.3) summit. Unit 3 is capped near its center by five unusually large (averaging 0.3x0.58m) river cobbles, these sizable rocks possibly marking a formal threshold marking a formal entrance into the superstructure’s principal western room. The putative “entry feature” is ca. 2.6m long and stands roughly 0.4m above the rest of U.3. Unit 13 does not run the full length of Str. 101-3-1st’s north facade, running back 0.35m to join U.14, the next ascending riser, 1.5m east of the latter’s northwest corner. Unit 14, in turn, runs an undetermined distance back to, presumably, junction with the platform’s north basal facing (U.3?). Though clearing excavations were limited, and preservation poor, on the north face, it appears that the U.13/17 stairs were outset from the main body of Str. 101-3-1st.

At some point late in the construction sequence, U.25 replaced U.13 as the basal riser on the building’s north flank. This cobble step rises 0.17m above the U.23 plaza floor and runs 1m back (south) to U.13. Unit 25's surface appears to have been a mix of cobbles and earth. Unit 13 probably still stood 0.24m above this level. Unlike the earlier steps, U.25 gave no evidence of being part of an outset construction. Instead, the line was uncovered extending for a preserved 4m east-west and may have continued in this direction until it formed the edifice’s northwest and northeast basal corners with extensions of U.7 and 18, respectively. This supposition was not tested in the field.

Unit 23 appears to be a continuation of the cobble pavement encountered fronting Str. 103-4-1st patio-facing (eastern) side (designated U.17 in that case). This floor was traced for 2.8m north of U.25 and runs below that late construction. Unit 23 is one stone (ca. 0.14m) thick and rests directly on S.8. Fragments of what seem to be lime plaster were found lying immediately above U.23, tentatively suggesting that the pavement was formerly covered with this material.

Unit 26 is an 0.18m high cobble construction that abuts, and projects ca. 1.2m west from, Str. 101-3-1st’s western basal terrace (U.7). The full width of U.26 was not revealed and its behavioral and architectural significance is uncertain. It may have been a late addition designed to buttress U.7 and/or to create additional work space off the western basal terrace.

Structure 101-3-1st, therefore, is a stone-faced, earth-filled platform built outwards from an earthen core contained by massive stone retaining walls. Two (on the east and west) and three (on the south) stone-faced terraces rise towards the summit while an outset staircase composed of five cobble risers ascend from a stone pavement on the north to the superstructure. The latter covers 25.2m2 dividided between two adjoining earthen-floored rooms, a large western enclosure (18.4m2) and a smaller, eastern cubicle (4m2; the width of U.5, separating the two rooms, is included in the summit area but excluded from computations of room dimensions). Bajareque upper walls set on stone foundations bound the superstructure’s interior, movement into and between rooms being chanelled across formal thresholds (over U.3 and 5). The building rises 1.7m on the north, 3.59m on the south, 1.8m on the east, and 1.6m on the west (these discrepancies are due to the south-to-north and east-to-west ascents of the underlying ground surface above which Str. 101-3-1st was erected). The platform encompasses 12.6x13.1m and is aligned 90 degrees. Late modifications to the edifice (U.10, 25, and 26) changed the dimensions of the second and third ascending southern terraces (U.9 and 11/12), may have augmented work space off the basal western terrace (U.7), and changed the appearance of the northern facade while adding a sixth step to that staircase. Str. 101-3-1st would have measured 13.6m north-south by 13.1m east-west after these changes (excluding U.26).

All Str. 101-3-1st architecture is fashioned using unmodified cobbles (primarily), along with a few schist slabs, set in a brown mud mortar. Stone sizes range, on average, from 0.05x0.05m to 0.29x0.36m, the larger rocks generally being set in horizontal courses with the smaller stones packed around them to fill in gaps and level out the rows. Care was taken to orient the cobbles so that their naturally flatter aspects faced outwards. The principal exception to this pattern is U. 25. Here, the northern facing consists of cobbles set on end rather than laid flat in horizontal courses. Stones comprising U.25 average somewhat larger than those found elsewhere on the building, i.e., 0.12x0.15m to 0.3x0.43m. Plaster, as noted, may have been used to surface the plaza pavement (U.23) and a possible threshold on U.5. Otherwise, no evidence of how Str. 101-3-1st’s facings were surfaced remained extant.

Deposition of S.9 resumed after Str. 101-3-1st’s abandonment, eventually covering most of the platform. This earth level eventually accumulates to depths ranging from 0.05-0.77m above earlier strata and architecture. Embedded in the upper portions of S.9 are stones fallen from final-phase architecture (F.1). Feature 1 extends for 0.4, 1m, 1.8m, and 2.8m north, west, east, and south of Str.101-3-1st, being densest on the east and south.

Structure 101-4(Figures **-**) [2 sections, 1 plan; D92-50}

Structure 101-4, ca. 5m northeast of Str. 101-3, defines the west side of the plaza whose east, south, and north flanks are delimited by Strs. 101-1, 101-3, and 101-5, respectively. This monumental platform is built over land that rises 0.34m over 23.2m south-to-north and 2.42m over 23m west-to-east. Consequently, Str. 101-4 is much taller on the west than on any of its other sides, rising 4.44m in the former direction and between 2-2.4m on the remaining flanks (surface measurements made prior to excavation). Partly as a result of the western flank’s height and steepness, architecture here has suffered more from the depredations of erosion than has construction on the other, lower sides.

Excavations here consist of two cross-cutting axial trenches that run completely across construction north-south (24.2m) and east-west (23m). Time restrictions limited the amount of lateral clearing of architecture to 23m2 removed while following the eastern summit margin and 8.8m2 uncovered tracing the eastern basal wall (all included in Subops. 101C, 101D, 101E, and 101I). In addition to these excavations, two 1x1m probes were dug in the plaza 9.1m and 6.6m east of Str. 101-4 to evaluate the extent of the paved surface encountered adjoining this side of the platform (Subops. 101N and 101m, respectively). All told, ca. 81m2 were cleared on and around Str. 101-4, digging being carried down to maximum depths of 1.3m below modern ground surface outside construction and 2.8m below ground level into and through architectural fill. Two building phases were recognized in the course of this work, overseen by B. Etheridge.

 

Time Span	Construction Phase	Units	Strata	Features	Date
1	-	-	S.1		MPRECL
2	Str. 101-Sub1	U.1,16?,19?	-	-	LCLI?
3	-	-	S.2	-	LCLI
4	Str. 101-4-1st	U.2-15, 17-18, 20-21	-	-	LCLIII, EPC
5	-	-	S.2	F.1	-

            

Time Span 1

Stratum 1, a red-brown, hard-compacted, fine-textured soil containing numerous small rocks, that underlies all recovered construction. This layer was uncovered in only a few isolated, deep probes. Based on these limited exposures, S.1 seems to ascend approximately 1.3m over 8.6m west-to-east and 0.66m over 23m south-to-north. Recovery of, primarily, Middle Preclassic diagnostics from this level indicates early human occupation in the immediate area during and/or soon after S.1's deposition. A particularly rich concentration of Middle Preclassic material, including large sherds, bajareque, shell, and animal bone, was retrieved from a 1x1m probe into S.1 dug 2.27m south of Str. 101-4-1st. The diversity and amount of remains unearthed here suggest a midden associated with a fairly substantial settlement. Recovery of Middle Preclassic diagnostics in consistent, albeit small, amounts from later fill contexts supports the view that this early occupation was well represented in the immediate vicinity of what would eventually become Str. 101-4-1st’s construction site.

Stratigraphic relations among the components comprising TS. 2 and 3 were not established, making it impossible to reconstruct temporal relations among these intervals. The postulated sequence is, therefore, tentative.

Unit 1 consists of the northern and western cobble foundations for what was probably an earthen-floored, surface-level edifice later buried by Str. 101-4-1st (Str. 101-Sub1). The most thoroughly exposed portion of the buillding is the northern footing, measuring 0.14-0.17m high, 0.4m wide, and running at least 1.8m long on an alignment of approximately 76 degrees. The western foundation is partially obscured by Str. 101-4-1st’s massive western core retaining wall (U.2) and was only uncovered for 0.75m north-south. A roughly triangular-shaped hole, encompassing 0.35x0.6m and 0.4 to 0.45m deep, is surrounded by a ca. 0.3m thick cobble wall in the interior corner formed by the northern and southern foundations. This hole was filled with a distinct dark brown, ashy soil that may be the burnt remains of a post that originally was part of Str. 101-Sub1's corner construction. Unit 1 rests directly on S.1 and rises ca. 0.2m over 1.8m west-to-east. Apparently, this early construction was raised atop the S.1 ascent, no effort being made to level ground surface prior to Str. 101-Sub1's erection. Overall, Str. 101-Sub1 is a surface-level edifice the earthen-floored interior of which is delimited by low stone foundations that supported perishable upper walls, most likely fashioned of bajareque. Substantial wooden posts were incorporated into construction, at least at the building’s corners. Str. 101-Sub1 may have been destroyed in a conflagration prior to being buried by Str. 101-4-1st. The stones comprising U.1 are cobbles ranging in size from 0.11x0.14m to 0.4x0.46m, set in a brown mud mortar. Some effort was made to orient the naturally flatter aspects of these rocks facing outwards (evident in the north footing, the western foundation’s exterior is buried under U.2).

Unit 16 is a line of cobbles, one stone (0.3m) wide, oriented 174 degrees, and set flush with the U.17 floor that covers the patio east of Str. 101-4-1st. This entity is 0.2m east of U.6, Str. 101-4-1st’s eastern basal terrace, and runs for an undetermined distance below that construction. Unit 16 was traced for 3.5m north-south. The behavioral significance of U.16 remains eminently unclear. It may well be part of a TS.2 construction that was razed prior to TS.4, only its lowest stones being incorporated within U.17. It is also possible that this cobble alignment simply represents stones used to build U.17 that fortuitously line up. No comparable patterns were noted elsewhere in U.17, however. For the time being, U.16 is tentatively included in TS.2, though the weakness of this temporal attribution is acknowledged.

Unit 19 is a single large cobble, measuring 0.21x0.31x0.4m, located 0.28m north, and 0.03m below the base, of Str. 101-4-1st’s northern basal terrace (U.11). This rock is set with its naturally flatter aspect facing north and may be part of a foundation extending eastward beyond excavation limits. The U.19 stone seems to have been purposefully placed in the position where it was found; i.e., it is not part of tumble nor is a stone this size likely to have been a natural inclusion in the earth level that envelops is (S.2). It may be part, therefore, of the poorly understood complex of humble constructions that were later disrupted and/or buried by Str. 101-4-1st’s construction.

An undetermined amount of S.2, a brown, fine-textured, hard-compacted soil, underlies Str. 101-4-1st construction and so must have been laid down prior to TS.4. Perhaps as much as 0.58m intervenes between S.1 and TS.4 architecture, though this stratigraphic relationship was not directly established. Artifacts are recovered from throughout S.2, implying that there was human settlement in Str. 104's immediate environs during this span. As noted under TS.2, we are not sure where this interval of soil deposition falls within the Str. 104 occupation sequence. Stratum 2's apparent absence beneath U.1, the element most securely dated to TS.2, may indicate that Str. 101-Sub1 was raised prior to S.2's introduction. Unit 19, north of Str. 101-4-1st, rests in S.2, however, possibly indicating that S.2 was in the process of being laid down during TS.2. As discussed above, however, U.19's architectural significance, let alone its placement in the temporal sequence, remains uncertain.

Structure 101-4-1st was raised during this interval. The platform’s core is defined by 1.2-1.5m thick cobble walls exposed to heights ranging from 1.27-2m (U.2-5). These massive stone constructions define the edifice’s summit and retain an fill composed of fine-textured, hard-compacted soils that grade from red-brown, pebble-rich layers near the base upwards to tan to gray earth with fewer included stones (U.15). Unit 15 covers U.1. while U.2, the western core wall, rests directly on top of the earlier footing in several places. The upper portion of U.15 served as the earthen summit floor, U.2-5 apparently acting as foundations for the superstructure’s perishable upper walls (the latter almost certainly made of bajareque). Clearing along the eastern, northern, and approximately half of the summit’s southern margins revealed only a single component of superstructure architecture (U.18). Unit 18 is a cobble wall measuring 0.4m across, 0.35m high, and projecting 1-1.1m west from U.3, the eastern core wall. This entity abuts the latter construction and is supported by U.15. No other signs of room divisions or built-in furniture were noted. Recalling that only ca. 20% of the summit was cleared, it still appears that Str. 101-4-1st’s summit was partitioned into no more than two enclosures, U.18 possibly marking the east side of a doorway between northern and southern rooms. The area contained within U.2-5 encompasses 4.9x12.8m , the putative rooms covering 4.9m east-west by 4.2m (northern) and 8.2m (southern) north-south.

Structure 101-4-1st’s flanks were not well preserved on any side, making description of terrace numbers and dimensions difficult. We have reconstructed two cobble-faced terraces ascending all of the platform’s flanks (U.11/12, 9/10, 13/14, and U.6/8). Units 11 and 12, the basal and first ascending northern terraces, are each 0.45m high by 0.47 and 0.64m wide. Units 13 and 14, occupying comparable positions on the south, are 1.08m and 0.42m high, 0.68m and 0.74m wide. The western ascents are, by far, the most thoroughly disrupted, these entities having inferred heights and widths of 0.9m by 1.52m (U.10, the basal riser) and 0.7m by 2.75m (U.9, the next ascending terrace). The situation on the eastern, patio-facing, side is somewhat more complex. Here the basal riser consists of two components that may have been built at different times. The eastern facing (U.6) rests on the U.17 plaza floor, 0.3m above the base of the terrace’s western flank (U.7). Unit 17 stops somewhere within the U.6/7 terrace. The temporal discrepancy need not have been great, certainly not enough to warrant defining distinct time spans for each building episode. The U.6/7 terrace is 0.6m high by 2.1m wide, the next ascending entity (U.8) measuring 0.7m tall by 0.88m wide. All terraces, save for the southern pair, end in high (0.94-1.38m), steep ascents to the summit formed by U.2/4. Unit 5 on the south rises only a reconstructed 0.3m above U.14's inferred tread. Unit 15 earth was found backing U.6/7, while terrace fill on the west and south consists of medium to small cobbles set in a brown mud matrix (U.20 and 21, respectively). All terrace treads are surfaced with a mixture of earth and stone; none have clearly defined, formal pavements.

Exposures of Str. 101-4-1st terraces were usually limited to the one-meter widths of the axial trenches that cross-cut the building. The once exception is U.6, the eastern basal riser being followed for a total of 6m north-south. This entity runs for 2.9m south of the approximate platform axis before stepping out 0.5m to the east. After this course change, U.6 continues south for the remaining 3.1m over which it was uncovered. It is not clear how common these changes in direction are on the other terraces.

Unit 17 is a cobble pavement that covers the plaza bordered by Str. 101-1, 3/5 to an undetermined extent. This floor, as noted above, underlies U.6, Str. 101-4-1st’s eastern basal terrace facing, and was traced for 5.4m to the east. Portions of what is apparently the same pavement were revealed in test pits 4.6m southeast and 5m northeast of the easternmost limits of Str. 101-4-1st excavations. Unit 17 was also followed for 4.6m south where it fronts U.6 and the floor reappears ca. 6.2m to the southeast in excavations conducted on the northern, patio-facing side of Str. 101-3-1st. It is likely, though not established, that U.17 covers the entire plaza surrounded by Strs. 101-1, 3/5.

Structure 101-4-1st, therefore, covers 13.3x17.8m, rises 1.7-2.5m (highest on the downsloping, west side), and is aligned roughly 80 degrees. The earthen-floored summit encompasses 4.9x12.8m, may have contained two large rooms, but was otherwise featureless. The superstructure most likely consisted of bajareque walls set on top of stone foundations, though how its rooms were accessed remains unknown. Architectural stability was ensured by creation of an earthen core retained by four massive stone walls. Two terraces were then built off each side of this substantial nucleus, these entities faced by cobble risers that retained a fill of earth or earth mixed with stone.

All Str. 101-4-1st constructions was fashioned using small to large cobbles set in a brown mud mortar. The core retaining walls (U.2/5) were fashioned of 15-22 courses of large cobbles packed round with chinking stones. Rock sizes range from 0.05x0.1m to 0.22x0.48m, with most falling within the upper end of this continuum (0.16x0.2m and larger; excluding the chinking stones). Care was taken to orient the naturally flatter aspects of U.2/5 cobbles outward. Construction techniques are far less clear for Str. 101-4-1st’s other units. Some effort seems to have been taken to place the larger cobbles that make up these entities into horizontal courses and to set the flatter faces of these rocks looking outwards. Stone sizes here encompass 0.08x0.08m to 0.4x0.5m, with most falling towards the middle of the range (ca. 0.2x0.2m). Chinking stones were less in evidence outside of U.2/5. A marked construction change was noted ca. 0.5m above U.2's base. This disjunction coincides with a slight change in fill (U.15) composition, from red-brown to tan clay. At roughly 1m above U.3's base there is another shift in U.15 fill (from tan to gray soil), the interface marked in spots by a thin level of flat-laid sherds (not visible on the section drawing). These changes in fill and architecture may signify breaks building sequence, implying that Str. 101-4-1st was not raised as part of a single construction effort. The duration of such “breaks” is unknown. There is no sign, however, that Str. 101-4-1st was preceded by, and encapsulates, significant earlier versions. We would, therefore, surmise that any building hiatuses were short-lived. Units 2, 4, and 5 were not exposed to sufficient depths to ascertain whether they also contained architectural disjunctions suggestive of breaks in the construction sequence.

Deposition of S.2 resumed following Str. 101-4-1st’s abandonment, this brown soil eventually accumulating to depths of 0.17-0.57m above the U.17 floor and 0.22-0.82m over S.1. Feature 1, a variably dense concentration of stones dislodged from final-phase architecture, is embedded in the upper portions of S.2 both above architecture and extending for 0.78m to at least 3.15m away from Str. 101-4-1st. Feature 1 is densest on the west, north, and south; only a moderate concentration of tumbled rocks being identified on the east. The F.1 stones also extend the shortest distance away from construction in the latter direction.

Structure 101-15 (Figures **-**) [1 section, 1 plan; D92-51]

Structure 101-15 is on the northern edge of the patio defined by Strs. 101-14/19, ca, 1.25m west of Str. 101-14 and 18.7m north and across the patio from Str. 101-19. The ground here is relatively level, descending 0.36m over 9m east-to-west and ca. 0.4m over 8m north-to-south. Approximately 26m2 were cleared within Subop. 101K, uncovering in the process all but a 1.75m long segment of Str. 101-15-1st’s western foundation and small portions of Str. 101-Sub5's summit. Digging was carried down to maximum depths of 0.43m below modern ground surface outside construction and 0.2m within architecture, revealing a single building phase and a previously unrecognized edifice (Str. 101-Sub5). All work was overseen by S. King.

Time Span	Construction Phase	Units	Strata	Features	Date
1	-	-	S.1-3		LCLIII
2	Str. 101-Sub15-1st, Str. 101-Sub5	U.1-5	-	F.1	LCLIII, EPC
3	-	-	S.3	F.2	-

Stratum 1, a brown/dark brown (7.5YR-4/4), hard-compacted, silty sand containing large amounts of small schist fragments, was revealed below construction pertaining to both Strs. 101-15-1st and 101-Sub5. This layer runs more-or-less even over the 2.96m it was uncovered running east-west, west of Str. 101-15-1st, achieving a maximum revealed thickness of 0.05m in this area and 0.11m west of and below Str. 101-Sub2 (the base was not found in either case). Stratum 1 slopes down 0.19m over ca. 2.3m east-to-west from Str. 101-Sub5. A total of 0.08-0.2m (or more) of S.2, a dark brown (10YR-4/4 to 4/3), hard-compacted, silty loam, was subsequently laid down over S.1. Like its predecessor, S.2 also declines east-to-west, dropping 0.38m over 9m across str. 101-19-1st and 0.13m over ca. 2.3m west of Str. 101-Sub5. Stratum 2 contains a relatively high density of cultural material, especially ceramic sherds, an attribute that distinguishes it from culturally sterile S.1. Stratum 1, therefore,was apparently introduced when human occupation in the immediate area was absent or scant, S.2's deposition coinciding with a significant upsurge in settlement. This shift is not contemporary with erection of Strs. 101-15-1st and 101-Sub5, both of which sit above this artifact-rich level. Roughly 0.02-0.07m of S.3, a brown/dark brown (10YR-4/3), hard-compacted, silty loam, intervenes between S.2 and TS.2 architecture. Apparently, the raising of Strs. 101-15-1st and 101-Sub5 interrupted S.3's deposition, this soil’s accumulation resuming in TS.3.

Structure 101-15-1st is a surface-level building that underwent significant modifications over what must have been a prolonged use-life. The earliest identified component of this edifice consists of as rectangular, earthen-floored room delimited by low, variably wide, cobble footings (U.1). The most substantial of these components is the eastern foundation (U.1-east), measuring 0.6-0.75m across and rising to a preserved 0.31m tall. The northern and southern U.1 elements are considerably smaller, 0.25-0.3m wide and 0.11-0.15m high, while the western perimeter wall covers 0.45m across and is up to 0.38m tall. Such variation may be the product of differential preservation and/or the nature of the upper construction each foundation supported. The room enclosed by U.1 encompasses 0.9x2.9m and was probably entered through a doorway set in the western footing. Only the northern portion of this passageway was revealed, the gap measuring at least 0.6m north-south.

Units 2 and 3 comprise an integrated set of casually built foundations that together define two earthen-floored rooms east and north of the U.1 enclosure. These footings are 0.45-0.85m wide and rise roughly 0.15m high. The cubicles they enclose cover 0.8x2.5m (eastern) and 0.5x1.4m (northern, measured across the center). The low U.2/3 foundations would not have posed significant obstacles to passage into room interiors, and a door(s) cut through the perishable walls set on these footings could have been located anywhere along their lengths. A formal entryway into the eastern room may, however, be indicated by the incorporation of two schist slabs into U.2 construction in the enclosure’s southeast corner (such rocks often being used to pave thresholds in the Naco valley). All three rooms in Str. 101-15-1st lack clear built-in furniture. Unit1-east, however, is wider than most foundations, impling that it may have served another function (e.g., a bench).

Appended to Str. 101-15-1st’s southwest corner is a 0.14m high cobble-faced terrace (U.4). Unit 4 has a definite triangular shape, its west facing continuing the line of U.1-west for an additional 1.8m south. The eastern U.4 facing runs for 2.5m southwest from its junction with U.1-south, eventually forming a point where it converges with U.4-west. This very unusual architectural form may be due, in part, to the builder’s desire to make the terrace fit in the small space intervening between Strs. 101-15-1st and 101-Sub5. Unit 4 is 0.4m east of, and parallel to, the latter platform’s east facing.

Structure 101-Sub5 is a 0.09-0.17m high platform defined by cobble facings (U.5) on all sides. No remnants of superstructure construction were recognized, the exposed portions of the summit being surfaced with a mixture of cobbles and earth.

Overall, Str.101-15-1st is a surface-level edifice covering 3.2x4.6m (measured across the center, excluding U.4), enclosing three earthen-floored rooms measuring 2.6m2, 2m2, and .7m2, and oriented approximately 1 degree. A triangular-shaped, 0.14m high terrace extends southward from the building’s southwest corner, its west face paralleling Str. 101-Sub5's eastern facing a scant 0.4m distant. The latter building is a 0.17m high platform encompassing 2.55m on a side and aligned roughly 359 degrees. No summit architecture was preserved on this edifice.

Three flat-laid cobbles, comprising a line 0.33m long and 0.12m high, were located 3.29m west of Str. 101-15-1st (F.1). Resting on S.2, these rocks may be part of yet another construction contemporary with Str. 101-15-1st but not perceived on ground surface. Feature 1 was not cleared and its behavioral significance remains uncertain.

All revealed architecture was fashioned using unmodified river cobbles (primarily) set in a brown mud mortar. As noted above, two schist slabs are incorporated into U.2's southeast corner, possibly marking a threshold. Construction style varies considerably among, and even within, buildings. Unit 1-east, for example, consists of one-to-two courses of relatively large rocks packed round with chinking stones. Units 1-north and 1-south, however, are made up of a single line of cobbles while U.1-west lacks clear coursing. Chinking stones are used in all U.1 segments, however. The naturally flat aspects of U.1 cobbles are consistently oriented outwards as are the stones comprising the single line that delimits U.4's west and east facings. Units 2 and 3 are more casually built; they lack coursing and the rocks used were not chosen for their naturally vertical faces, nor were they modified to create such faces. Structure 101-Sub5's basal risers (U.5) generally consist of a single cobble line, though the use of chinking stones and orientation of flat rock faces varies among U.5's constituents. Average cobble sizes (excluding chinking stones) for both edifices are dispersed along a continuum from 0.13x0.18m to 0.28x0.55m, with most falling towards the middle and upper end of that range. Both Strs. 101-15-1st and 101-Sub5 are built directly on the sloping terrain characteristic of the area; the former’s wall bases decline 0.11m over 3.2m east-to-west and 0.25m over 4.6m north-to-south while Str. 101-Sub5 is built over 0.05m east-to-west and 0.12m north-to-south drop-offs (both measure over horizontal distances of 2.55m). There is no sign that the terrain was levelled prior to erecting either structure.

Time Span 3

Continued deposition of S.3 characterizes the post-abandonment interval here, this soil eventually accumulating to thicknesses of 0.2-0.28m over S.2. All but the uppermost stones in Str. 101-15-1st architecture were covered by S.3 and Str. 101-Sub5 was completely obscured. A very few stones dislodged from the former building were found extending for up to 0.72m away from the edifice (F.2). No tumbled stone debris was identified on and around Str. 101-Sub5.

Structure 101-16 (Figures **-**) [2 sections, 1 plan; D92-51]

Structure 101-16 closes off the western flank of the patio surrounded by Strs. 101-14/19 on the western Site 101 margins. Structures 101-17 and 101-15 lie ca. 5m to the southeast and 15.5m to the east, respectively. The land surrounding Str. 101-16 currently drops 0.2m over 11m east-to-west and 1.15m over 13.84m north-to-south. Excavations here, conducted within Subop. 101A, cleared approximately 45.5m2, most work being concentrated in the building’s better-preserved northern half. Digging was pursued to maximum depths of 0.52m below modern ground surface outside construction and ca. 0.72m below ground level into architectural fill. Two construction phases were indentified in the course of this work overseen by S. King.

Time Span	Construction Phase	Units	Strata	Features	Date
1	-	-	S.1-3	-	LCLII,III
2	Str. 101-16-2nd	U.1-5	-	-	LCLIII?
3	Str. 106-16-1st	U.6-17	-	-	LCLIII, EPC
4	-	-	S.3	F.1	-

Time Span 1

Stratum 1, a brown (10YR-5/4), hard-compacted clayey loam, was uncovered over a horizontal extent of only 0.98m, 3.84m south of, and 0.8m below, revealed construction. This layer was revealed to a maximum thickness of 0.06m (its base lying beyond excavation limits) and slopes up 0.11m over 0.98m south-to-north. An insufficient amount of S.1 was dug to determine, with any assuredness, whether it contained cultural material. No artifacts were recovered from the small portion of this layer that was investigated, however. Stratum 2 is a yellowish-red (5YR-4/6) to dark brown (7.5YR-4/4), very hard-compacted silty sand containing large quantities of schist fragments that covers S.1 by 0.26-0.3m. This rock-rich level achieves total exposed thickness of 0.09-0.3m; its base is only identified in the limited area where S.2 covers S.1. Stratum 2 ascends 0.26m over 10.95m west-to-east and 1m across 13.84m south-to-north, underlying all TS.2 and 3 architecture. A very similar soil is found in an analogous stratigraphic position throughout most of Site 101 (e.g., Strs. 101-3, 101-4, 101-15, 101-18, and 101-19). No artifacts clearly derived from S.2 and it seems likely that there was no human occupation in the immediate vicinity of Str. 101-16's construction site when this layer was being deposited. An undetermined amount of S.3, a dark brown (10YR-4/3 to 4/4), hard-compacted, silty sand, covers S.2 and predates TS.2 and 3 construction. Stratum 3's lower reaches do yield artifacts, hinting at nearby human settlement during the layer’s initial period of deposition.

Structure 101-16 began its use-life as a surface-level edifice delimited on all sides by bi-level cobble foundations (U.1 and 2). Unit 1 is the innermost of the paired walls, rising 0.4-0.6m high and measuring 0.34-0.6m across. Unit 2 extends 0.4-0.5m beyond U.1 and stands 0.25-0.3m high (the southern U.1/2 pair is not sufficiently well preserved to include in these measurements). Components of Unit 1/2 pairs have comparable basal depths and are integrated, suggesting that these entities were raised together as parts of a single construction. The result is a substantial stone foundation ascending in two steps from exterior-to-interior, achieving total heights of 0.4-0.6m and widths of 0.8-1m. Unit 2's northwest corner is inset 0.3x0.7m, the northeast corner showing no evidence of a comparable indentation.

The interior space delimited by the U.1/2 footings encompasses 3.9x4m and was subdivided by a 0.5m wide, 0.44m high cobble wall running 3.2m north-south. The latter abuts the interior of U.1-north but stops ca. 0.8m north of U.1 south. Whether the latter gap represents a doorway between putative eastern and western rooms or was created by wall collapse down the relatively steep southern slope is not certain. The western enclosure was subsequently divided by the construction of U.4, a ca. 0.45m high by 0.15m wide cobble footing that abuts U.3 and U.1 on the east and west, respectively. The room defined by U.1, 3, and 4 in Str. 101-16-2nd’s northwest corner measures 1.1x1.8m and is paved with schist slabs (U.5) across its entire extent. Unit 5 abuts the surrounding footings. The room south of U.4 was not fully uncovered and only its east-west dimension (1.9m) can be reconstructed. No clear signs of a stone floor were identified here. Renovation east of U.3 was extensive in TS.3, precluding description of spatial arrangements within Str. 101-16-2nd in this area. It may be that the entire eastern half of the edifice was taken up with a single enclosure, covering 1.75x3.9m. Outside of the U.5 floor, no other constructions (such as benches) were noted within the aforementioned rooms. How movement among rooms was achieved is not clear. If the 0.8m gap between U.3 and U.1-south was a dorrway, then it would have facilitated passage between the eastern and southwestern enclosures. Access to the northwest room is not so obvious. A 0.4m wide breach in U.3, between it and U.1-north, likely served as a doorway into the renovated northwest room during TS.3. Whether this was the case in the preceding interval is far from certain.

Structure 101-16-2nd, therefore, is a surface-level building measuring 5.7x5.8m, containing at least three rooms, each covering 1.1x1.8m, 1.75x3.9m (?), and 1.9m across, and oriented approximately 11 degrees. Bajareque walls most likely topped the substantial stone foundations defining Str. 106-16-2nd’s perimeter. How the building’s interior was accessed remains a mystery. Passage from the eastern to southwestern room may have been through an 0.8m wide doorway located off the south edge of the medial wall (U.3) while the northwest enclosure might have been accessed via a 0.4m wide passage off U.3's north edge. No built-in furniture was recorded in the investigated portions of Str. 101-16-2nd.

Structure 101-16-2nd’s architecture was fashioned from unmodified river cobbles, carefully selected for their naturally flat aspects which are consistently oriented outwards. These rocks are placed in horizontal courses, chinking stones being packed in around the larger cobbles to even out the rows. A brown mud mortar is employed as a binding agent in U.1-5. Average cobble sizes range from 0.06x0.12m to 0.27x0.32m while the schist slabs comprising U.5 vary from 0.1x0.13m to 0.36x0.42m, averaging 0.16x0.22m.

Structure 101-16-1st is the product of a complex set of modifications visited on its predecessor, ultimately creating a bi-level edifice set on ground surface on the east and elevated very approximately 0.4m above that surface on the west. The western rooms were filled with cobbles set in a brown earth matrix indistinguishable from S.3 (U.17). Capping this entity is a 0.12-0.3m thick floor composed of schist slabs (U.12) resting ca. 0.4m above the earlier U.5 pavement and covering the excavated area west of U.3. Unit 12 was heavily disrupted when uncovered and specifying its precise depth is virtually impossible. Equally unclear is how, if at all, the portion of Str. 101-16-1st west of U.3 was divided. A 0.3-0.5m wide L-shaped cobble wall (U.11) was appended to U.3's west face at this time, turning from its north-south course to run 0.7m west over the top of U.4. Unit 11 may be a bench/shelf, at least 1.5m long north-south (its southern terminus was not identified) within the newly elevated western room(s). Unit 4, the cobble wall that originally divided the western half of Str. 101-16-2nd into northern and southern enclosures, may have continued to perform this function. This foundation is tall enough that ca. 0.05m of it may still have protruded above the U.12 floor, but whether U.4 continued to be a significant barrier to north-south movement is uncertain.

The situation east of U.3 is more complex. Here a 1m wide segment of U.1 and 2 was ripped out down to the basal stones on the building’s center-line. A cobble floor (U.7) was then laid down covering a corridor measuring 1m wide and extending 3.4m eastward from U.3. Unit 7 incorporates the U.1/2 stones and extends 0.9m east beyond Str. 101-16-2nd’s perimeter. East of U.2, the floor widens, covering at least 1.7m north-south (U.7 disappears into the southern excavation limits). Rising ca. 0.4m above this pavement on the north and south are two cobble facings (U.8 and 6, respectively). These entities stop 0.1m short of (U.6) and/or abut U.3, extend 1.65m and 1.5m eastward to U.1, and run down below U.7 to an undetermined extent. Unit 6 is at least 0.5m wide (its southern limits lying outside our excavation boundaries) while its northern counterpart,U.8, is the facing for a 1.15m wide (north-south) by 1.65m long (east-west) bench. The fill retained by U.8 consists of a dense packing of cobbles set in a brown earth matrix (U.10). A 0.3x0.4m indentation at U.8's junction with U.3 may mark a step-up from the U.7 floor to U.8/10 bench. This putative riser, U.9, ascendes 0.12m above U.7 and is paved with two schist slabs. A 0.4m gap in the upper ca. 0.1m of U.3's north end possibly signifies a doorway, implying that the western enclosure(s) were accessed by passing from U.7, up the U.9 step, across U.10, and through a door between U.3 and U.1-north.

It was at some point in this time span that a series of poorly understood constructions were added around Str. 101-16-1st’s southern and eastern perimeter. Unit 13 is a 0.15m high cobble wall that was raised 0.84m south of U.2-south. This rather casual construction may be the remnants of a terrace erected to slow erosion down the relatively north-to-south slope over which Str. 101-16-1st was built. Unit 15, a 0.17m high by 0.48m wide cobble wall lying 0.37m east of U.7, poses greater interpretive challenges. This construction’s base is a scant 0.08m below that of U.7, rises only 0.04m above that pavement, and does not seem to have been a terrace facing. Instead, U.15 runs at least 4.9m north-south, paralleling, but not joining, Str. 101-16-1st’s east face. Units 14 and 16 are cobble walls measuring 0.23m high and 0.4m and 0.3m wide, respectively. Unit 14 runs 1.3m east-west between U.2-east and U.15, is ca. 0.3m north of the U.7 corridor, and rests on/marks the northern limits of U.7. Unit 16, in turn, extends at least 1m south of the northern Subop. 101A excavation limits, lies 0.5m east of U.2-east, and ends approximately 1m north of U.14. Units 14 and 16 appear to be foundations for surface-level buildings raised on Str. 101-16-1st’s patio-facing side relatively late in the occupation sequence. Unit 15 may be part of this complex, though its great length and association with Str. 101-16-1st (running parallel to that building’s east face) suggest that it might have been raised to screen activities conducted in that building from public view or at least control access to the edifice’s eastern entrance. This interpretation presumes that U.15 is the footing for a perishable upper wall.

Structure 101-16-1st, therefore, is a complex construction divided into eastern and western segments by the U.3 medial wall. The eastern component consists of a formal entryway marked by a stone-paved, east-west running corridor flanked by a low cobble wall and bench on the south and north. Passage to the more secluded western room(s) was indirect, being achieved via a stone step-up and door set into the bench and medial wall, respectively. Structure 101-16-1st’s eastern half is set directly on ground surface while the western enclosure(s) is elevated ca. 0.4m above that level. The area west of U.3 has a schist slab pavement and probably supported an L-shaped bench that faces westward. Overall, the building retains its original measurements and orientation (5.7x5.8m, aligned 11 degrees), though the extension of the U.7 floor 0.9m east of U.2-east does expand the building’s east-west dimension in this limited area. Room sizes are difficult to determine; if there is a single western enclosure, then it covers 1.8m by at least 3.1m north-south. The eastern room, including U.7-10, bounded by U.6 on the south, encompasses 2.4m on a side (the the eastern limits of U.2-east). A long, low cobble wall may have been added on the east to channel passage, and/or obstruct viewing, from the patio into the building. Subsequently, casually built surface-level edifices were added between this eastern wall and the body of Str. 101-16-1st north of the eastern corridor. A low terrace raised immediately south of the structure may have been designed to slow erosion on this downsloping flank.

Much of Str. 101-16-2nd’s architecture remained in use during this interval, U.1/2 converted from foundations to fill-retaining walls on the west while U.3 continued to function as the principal space-divider within the edifice. All facings and walls added in TS.3 are fashioned of unmodified river cobbles set in a brown mud mortar. Coursing is only clearly attested to in U.8, the bench-facing east of the U.3 medial wall. Otherwise, stones do not seem to have been placed in even rows within walls, though there does seem to have been a tendency to place a level of larger stones on top of a lower segment composed, primarily, of small rocks. Average cobble sizes range from 0.08x0.09m to 0.33x0.33m, with most falling towards the middle of that range. The putative late walls (U.13-16) seem to be the most informal of all excavated constructions onm and around Str. 101-16-1st, lacking clearly demarcated exterior faces.

Deposition of S.3 resumed after Str. 101-16-1st, eventually reaching total thicknesses of 0.1-0.41m. Embedded within this layer are moderately to very dense concentrations of stones fallen from final-phase architecture (F.1). Tumbled cobbles are especially prevalent south of Str. 101-16-1st, where they extend for 1.57m beyond U.13. Feature 1 is somewhat less dense on the other flanks, being found for 1.15m north of U.2-north, 0.94m west of U.2-west, and 1.01m east of U.15.

Structure 101-18 occupies the southwest corner of the patio group composed of Strs. 101-14/19 on the western site margin. Structures 101-19 and 101-17 are ca. 5m to the east and 10m to the north, respectively. The land on which Str. 101-18 is situated currently drops 0.97m over 10.44m east-to-west and 0.32m over 8m north-to-south. Excavations conducted within Subop. 101B uncovered all of Str. 101-18 with the exception of its southeast and northeast corners (31m2 cleared). Digging was pursued to a maximum depth of 0.47m below modern ground surface outside construction; architectural fill was not probed. A single building phase was identified in the course of this work, overseen by S. King.

Time Span	Construction Phase	Units	Strata	Features	Date
1	-	-	S.1,2	-	LCLII,III
2	Str. 101-18-1st	U.1-3	-	-	EPC, LPC?
3	-	-	S.3,4	F.1	-

Time Span 1

Stratum 1, a dark brown (7.5YR-4/6; called “red-brown” where it appears beneath Strs. 101-3-1st and 101-4-1st), coarse sand containing large quantities of schist fragments and gravel, underlies all construction. This soil layer was exposed to a maximum thickness of 0.2m (the base lies beyond excavation limits) and rises 0.61m over 9.69m west-to east and 0.31m across 7.84m south-to-north. Stratum 1 is devoid of cultural material. A total of 0.07-0.2m of S. 2, a dark brown (10YR-3/3), hard-compacted, sandy silt containing sizable quantities of gravel, is subsequently laid down over S.1. This deposit is relatively rich in cultural remains, hinting at a substantial human presence nearby prior to Str. 101-18-1st’s construction. The source of this material is not hard to guess; Str. 101-19-1st is just 5m to the east and was in use during the time periods specified for TS.1.

Structure 101-18-1st is a low platform delimited by cobble facings that rise an extant 0.17-0.37m high (all included in U.1). The downslope manifestations of U.1 are 0.1-0.17m higher than their upslope counterparts. The above discrepancy probably reflects steps taken to strengthen those sides of the building under greatest stress from erosion. Unit 1 is set 0.03-0.18m into S.2. Structure 101-18-1st’s summit is completely paved with cobbles (U.2) and is otherwise featureless. Most likely, U.1 served both as basal facing and foundations for perishable upper walls (most likely bajareque) that enclose Str. 101-18-1st’s single stone-floored room. A 0.15m high sone-faced terrace extends the platform’s western face 1m further in that direction (U.3). Unit 3's very casual western facing retains a fill composed of a few cobbles set in a dark brown soil matrix indistinguishable from S.2 and is topped with an earthen surface incorporating a few scattered cobbles (all included in U.3). Unit 1's western facing rises an inferred 0.21m above U.3. The western terrace runs for nearly the entire north-south length of U.1-west, stopping 0.85m south of the platform’s northwest corner.

Overall, Str.101-18-1st began as a 0.12-0.23m high (above S.2) cobble-faced platform measuring 4.3x4.35m, and aligned approximately 353/84 degrees. The platform apparently supported a single, stone-paved room lacking extant built-in furniture, such as benches and shelves. At some point in the occupation sequence, a 0.15m high by 1m wide stone-faced terrace was appended on to the platform’s west side, transforming Str. 101-18-1st’s dimensions to 5.3x4.35m (measured across the center).

All Str. 101-18-1st architecture consists of unmodified river cobbles set in a brown earth matrix. The U.1 stones are generally set in a single course, surrounded and, in the case of U.1-south, underlain by chinking stones. Unit 3's western facing is more casually built, less care being taken to place the stones in a level horizontal course. Rock sizes range from 0.1x0.2m to 0.15x0.32m (excluding chinking stones), there being a tendency to use the larger cobbles as cornerstones. There was no effort made to choose rocks with naturally flatter faces for inclusion in Str. 101-18-1st facings.

Stratum 3, a dark brown (10YR-3/3), hard-compacted, fine-textured sandy silt with few included stones, buries S.2 on all sides, save the west, by 0.09-0.17m. This earth level was not identified west of Str. 101-18-1st. Here, S.2 is directly overlain by 0.02-0.06m of S.4, a brown (10YR-5/3) very hard-compacted sandy silt. Stratum 4 is is the latest earth level attested to throughout Subop. 101B, covering S.3 by 0.02-0.12m. Strata 3 and 4, together, bury all but the uppermost stones of Str. 101-18-1st and contain stones fallen from final-phase architecture (F.1). Feature 1 is particular dense on the downsloping south and west sides, extending for 1.6m south and 0.82m west of construction. Many fewer dislodged cobbles were found 1m north and 1.18m east of the platform.

Structure 101-19(Figures **-**) [1 section, 1 plan; D92-51]

Structure 101-19, ca. 5m east of Str. 101-18 and 10.7m west of Str. 101-4, occupies the southeast corner of the patio defined by Strs. 101-14/19. The land here is relatively level, dropping only 0.35m over 10.8m north-to-south. Structure 101-19 was almost completely cleared as part of Subop. 101L. These investigations also uncovered the remains of a previously unidentified building lying immediately north of the surface-visible edifice (Str. 101-Sub4). Approximatelt two-thirds of this construction was also cleared with Subop. 101L. Approximately 34.5m2 of prehistoric deposits were excavated in the course of this work, digging reaching maximum depths of 0.4m below modern ground surface outside construction and an equivalent depth below ground level within the building. A single construction phase was identified for Strs. 101-10 and 101-Sub4, all field research being directed by S. King.

 

Time Span	Construction Phase	Units	Strata	Features	Date
1	-	-	S.1,2	-	?
2	Str. 101-19-1st, Str. 101-Sub4	U.1-8	-	F.1	LCLII,III,EPC
3	-	-	S.2	-	-

Stratum 1, a strong brown (10YR-4/6), coarse-textured, clayey sand containing large quantities of schist fragments, underlies all uncovered architecture. This earth layer ascends 0.19m over 10.8m south-to-north. Stratum 1 did not yield cultural material in the limited areas where it was exposed (0.06-0.21m thick; the base was not encountered). It may well be, therefore, that there was no appreciable human occupation in the area investigated within Subop. 101L when this rock-rich soil was being deposited. Approximately 0.02-0.15m of S.2, a dark brown (10YR-3/3), hard-compacted, fine-textured silt, covers S.1 and runs beneath most revealed construction. Artifacts were found throughout S.2, though none can be definitively associated with that portion of the soil laid down in TS.1. It should be noted that the amount of S.2 intervening between S.1 and construction declines moving upslope from south-to-north. In fact, Str. 101-Sub4's northern facing and at least part of its eastern retaining wall (U.4-north and U.4-east) rest directly on S.1. This pattern suggests that erection of Strs. 101-19-1st and 101-Sub4 occured when S.2 was first being laid down on S.1's downsloping side but before it had begun to accumulate further up the ascent. After both edifices were abandoned, deposition of S.2 resumed throughout the excavated area.

Structure 101-19-1st is a surface-level building containing two earthen-floored rooms. The edifice’s perimeter is delimited by 0.2-0.43m high by 0.5-0.8m wide cobble foundations that likely supported bajareque upper walls (all included in U.1). The southern footing is by far the most substantial, 0.6-0.8m wide and up to 0.43m tall. This discrepancy may follow from the builders’ desire to create a foundation that could withstand erosion on the building’s downsloping southern side (the ground drops off fairly rapidly south of Str. 101-19-1st). The space enclosed by U.1 covers 1.8x2.9m (measured across the center) and is divided into eastern and western compartments by U.3. This north-south running foundation is 0.5m wide by 0.36m high and abuts U.1's northern and southern interior faces. The rooms thereby created encompass 1.3x1.8m and 1.1x1.7m on the east and west, respectively. The western cubicle was entered through a 0.5m wide breach in the southern half of U.1-west. This doorway has a threshold paved with schist slabs and is flanked on the south by a 0.6m long by 0.6m wide westward extension of U.1-south. The above projection may have functioned to channel traffic into the western room. No extant break in the medial wall (U.3) provides passage between the two enclosures. The eastern room may have also been accessed from outside. The southernmost 0.6m of U.1-east narrows to just 0.1m, this reduction in width coming at the expense of the footing’s exterior and may signal another, less formal, doorway.

A ca. 0.14m high cobble-faced and -surfaced terrace extends 0.5-0.7m south of U.1-south (U.2). Unit 2 abuts U.1-south, is 1.9m long, and is located slightly west of the southern foundation’s center. This slightly elevated space may have been built both to shore up the southern footing and create a raised work area. A 0.6m wide cobble wall projects 0.6m north of U.1-north’s approximate center (U.7). Unit 7 may be part of foundation for a surface-level construction raised adjacent to Str. 101-19-1st’s patio-facing side. A 0.55x1.22m segment of cobble paving (U.8) was identified extending east and north from Str. 101-19-1st’s northeast corner. Unit 8 abuts U.1-east and may be part of a walkway connecting the edifice to buildings located to the north and east that were not identified on ground surface.

A deposit of dark brown (10YR-3/3) loamy clay containing numerous artifacts, especially pottery sherds, was found covering the floors of both rooms to an estimated depth of 0.2m (F.1). Feature 1 may represent trash deposited in Str. 101-19-1st soon after the latter’s abandonment, suggesting that the building was recycled as a midden receptacle. It is unlikely that F.1 is fill, introduced to convert Str. 101-19-1st from surface-level edifice to platform. The primary argument against this view is that the western door was clearly not filled in, leaving a 0.5m-wide gap from which the platform’s hearting would spill. It may be, however, that F.1 contains the remnants of material originally stored/used within Str. 101-19-1st. The depth of the deposit argues against such a view as does the absence of large fragments of vessels that might have been broken in place.

Structure 101-Sub4 is a low, cobble-faced platform delimited by 0.2-0.27m high retaining walls (U.4). Investigated portions of the summit (one-third to one-half of the total area) are covered with a cobble pavement (U.5). No other superstructure remnants were identified. Structure 101-Sub4's perimeter defines a trapezoid, the east and west facings being parallel and 2.2 and 2.65m long, respectively. Unit 4-north and U.4-south converge from their western to eastern corners, measuring 1.95m and 1.9m long. Unit 6, a 0.23m high by 0.5m wide cobble wall, appears to be a fragment of earlier construction projecting 0.4-0.45m north of U.4-north and continuing for an undetermined distance into the platform’s core. Unit 4-north is built around U.6, strongly arguing for the latter’s temporal priority. We do not know where the other components of the edifice of which U.6 may have been a part are located or why this segment was left protruding from Str. 101-Sub4.

Structure 101-19-1st is, therefore, a surface-level building that measures 3.1x3.55m (the U.1 perimeter only), contains two adjoining earthen-floored enclosures with areas of 2.3m2 (east) and 1.9m2 (west), and is oriented roughly 96 degrees. The rooms are entered through doorways in the east and west walls. The more formal of the two entryways, that on the west, has a schist slab threshold and is bordered on the south by a westward continuation of the southern foundation. Structure 101-19-1st lacks built-in furniture but a low terrace set against the building’s south flank may have provided a raised work area. Located 1.05m north of Str. 101-19-1st is a 0.27m high stone-faced platform that covers 2.2-2.65m north-south by 1.9-1.95m east-west. This building’s summit is paved with cobbles but is otherwise featureless. Structure 101-Sub4 is aligned approximately 3 degrees (the better preserved eastern U.4 facing).

The facings and foundations of both buildings are made using unmodified river cobbles set in a brown mud mortar. The principal Str.101-19-1st foundations (U.1,3) are generally carefully constructed of two to three courses of large to medium-size rocks packed round with chinking stones. Unit 1-west diverges from this pattern in that here coursing is less obvious. The naturally flatter aspects of U.1 cobbles are oriented both towards the building’s interior and exterior; the vertical faces of U.3 stones are oriented into both rooms. If anything, greater care was taken to direct these flat faces inward than outward (most evident on U.1-south). Coursing is not as clear on U.2, the southern terrace. Structure 101-Sub4's basal facings generally consist of a single line of cobbles, chinking stones being used sparingly to fill in around the larger rocks. The naturally flatter sides of these cobbles are usually directed outwards. Average cobble sizes for both edifices, excluding chinking stones, range from 0.09x0.1m to 0.29x0.31m, with most falling towards the middle of that range. The Str.101-Sub4 cobbles are less varied in size than those used in their southern neighbor, commonly measuring 0.15x0.19m to 0.19x0.25m.

Stratum 2 continued to be deposited after Strs. 101-19-1st and 101-Sub4 were no longer being maintained. Eventually, this layer accumulated to thickness of 0.13-0.33m, burying all but the uppermost stones of U.1-south. Very few rocks have apparently fallen from either building since abandonment, though there are signs that a portion of Str. 101-19-1st’s northwest corner was removed at some point in antiquity. Such recycled cobbles may well have found their way into nearby Str. 101-18-1st (see above).

Structure 101-20 (Figures **-**) [1 section, 1 plan; D92-32]

 

Time Span	Construction Phase	Units	Strata	Features	Date
1	-	-	S.1-2	F.1	MPRECL?, LCLI,II
2	Str. 101-20-1st	U.1-12	-	-	LCLIII
3	-	-	S.2-3	F.2	-

Time Span 1

Stratum 1, a light brown, soft-compacted, sandy silt that contains few rocks but a moderate amount of cultural material. This earth level was exposed to a maximum thickness of 0.48m (its base lies beyond excavation limits) and ascends 1.16m over 6.44m east-to-west. Stratum 1 subsequently descends to the east, dropping an observed 0.19m over 0.76m in that direction. Structure 101-20-1st may, therefore, have been erected atop a natural rise, the land sloping away east and west from an undetermined point below the building’s approximate center. It is possible that S.1's western descent marks the eastern edge of a pit dug some time in TS.1 and filled in prior to Str. 101-20-1st’s erection. This would account for the east-to-west drop-off that is not paralleled by modern ground surface or overlying S.2. Strong evidence in support of this interpretation was not recovered during excavation, however.

An undetermined amount of S.2 accumulated above S.1 prior to TS.2. Stratum 2 is a medium to dark brown, moderately hard-compacted clayey silt incorporating artifacts and a few rocks. Portions of this layer underlie Str. 101-20-1st construction (U.2, 3, and 11), suggesting that these segments were laid down prior to Str. 101-20-1st’s construction. The situation is less clear on the west where U.1 protrudes 0.32m into S.1. Here, S.2 overrides S.1's west-to-east upward slope (digging was not pursued to a sufficient depths further west to establish stratigraphic relations among U.5-8, S.1, and S.2). It may be, therefore, that S.2 was in the process of being laid down on S.1's downsloping eastern flank during TS.1, this soil level only appearing on the west after Str. 101-20-1st was abandoned. Feature 1, an 0.08m thick level composed of heavily burnt earth, rests on the S.1/2 interface immediately east and 0.28m below the base of a low terrace that may have served to slow erosion east of Str. 101-20-1st (U.14). This charred soil may be the remnants of a purposefully or accidentally burnt earth floor. No other architecture associated with this putative living surface was recorded.

Most of the analyzed temporal diagnostics recovered from the relevant portions of S.1, 2, and F.1 date to Late Classic II and, to a lesser extent, LCLI. The Middle Preclassic component of the assemblage is very small and probably represents material washing out of earlier deposits further upslope. (see Strs. 101-3 and 101-4 for possible sources of this material).

Time Span 2

Structure 101-20-1st is a surface-level edifice the small rooms rooms of which are defined by low cobble foundations (U.2-8). These footings rise 0.11-0.42m high (all but U.2 are 0.11-0.33m tall) and measure 0.4-0.6m across (U.4, 5, and 8s’ widths were not determined). The three rooms uncovered in excavation are arranged in an east-west line and are generally surfaced with earth. The westernmost enclosure is an exception; the space delimited by U.6-8 has a cobble floor (U.9). Only the east-west dimensions of the Str. 101-20-1st cubicles were revealed, their dimensions, from east-to-west, being, 0.65m, 0.85m, and 1m. Two stone-faced and -surfaced benches/shelves were identified (U.1 and 6a). Unit 6a, built against the eastern wall of the westernmost room, is 0.38m wide and rises ca. 0.15m above the U.9 pavement. Unit 1, a 1.02m wide construction, divided the central and easternmost cubicles and may have faced both ways. This is the most substantial construction identified in Str. 101-20-1st, fully 0.48m high, 0.32m of which is sunk into S.1. Remnants of what may have been a cobble floor (U.12) fill the 0.38m between U.1 and the U.2 foundation. Unit 12 ‘s top is a scant 0.12m below that of U.1 and it is quite possible that the former is a disrupted eastward continuation of the latter. Unit 10, projecting 0.6m east of Str. 101-20-1st’s eastern foundation (U.3), stands 0.22m high and is at least 0.5m wide (the last dimension was not completely revealed). Unit 11, a 0.1m high, 0.65m wide cobble wall 2.5m east of Str. 101-20-1st, may have been a terrace designed to slow erosion down the eastern descent. No clear sign of fill backing U.11 on the west was noted. Instead, the construction is set on the S.2 slope and was probably erected more to retard soil loss than artificially level the terrain.

Structure 101-20-1st is a surface-level building the cobble foundations of which supported perishable (almost certainly bajareque) upper walls and enclosed at least three very small rooms measuring 0.65-1m wide. The edifice covers 5.7m east-west (exclusing U.10) and is oriented roughly 352 degrees. Two (possibly all three) of the rooms contained a bench/shelf standing 0.12-0.16m tall and encompassing 0.38-1.02m across. Only the westernmost cubicle was surfaced with a cobble pavement, the remaining enclosures having earthen floors. A low stone projection is appended to the building’s eastern flank while erosion off this side may have been countered through the erection of a low terrace ca. 2.5m distant and downslope from the edifice.

All construction consists of unmodified cobbles set in a brown mud mortar. Average stone sizes range from 0.07x0.08m to 0.27x0.37m. In general, horizontal courses are not much in evidence nor are chinking stones very common. Units 1 and, possibly, 2 differ from this pattern in that their larger cobbles are set in vertical stacks, chinking pebbles being packed in around the more sizable rocks. Unit 10, fashioned from cobbles and schist slabs set on end, is another exception to the almost universal tendency on Str. 101-20-1st for wall stones to be laid horizontally. As a consequence of its construction style, U.10's summit is very uneven. Structure 101-20-1st was apparently raised on top the natural east-to-west upward slope of the local terrain, basal depths of construction being 0.36m higher on the building’s western limit than on the east. No attempt was made to level the terrain prior to constructing this surface-level building.

Stratum 2 continued to be deposited following Str. 101-20-1st’s abandonment, eventually accumulating to depths of 0.07-0.46m above S.1. Stratum 3, a medium brown, hard-compacted, clayey loam, buries S.2 by 0.08-0.26m and constitutes the modern humus horizon. Together, S.2 and 3 cover final-phase construction and incorporate light concentrations of stones fallen from Str. 101-20-1st after abandonment (F.2). Feature 2 extends 0.54m east of U.3 and is not clearly represented on the building’s west (uphill) side.

Site 101 is one of the longest-lived settlements identified in the Naco valley. A substantial Middle Preclassic occupation appears to have been localized in the Strs.101-1/5 patio area, a midden associated with that habitation being tentatively identified immediately south of Str. 101-4. Middle Preclassic diagnostics also incorporated within the fill of Strs. 101-3-1st and 101-4-1st, but are rare (Str. 101-20) to absent in any contexts elsewhere at the site. Altogether, this evidence points to the Strs. 1/5 patio as the original locus of a substantial early occupation, some of the remains of which were recycled into later constructions. Use of this area may have persisted through the Late Preclassic and into Late Classic I when Str. 101-Sub1 was possibly erected (buried beneath Str. 101-4-1st). Structure 101-20's environs may also have supported Late Classic I occupation, suggesting that the settlement was now expanding soutyhward from the Strs. 1/5 patio area. This dispersal apparently continues in the succeeding period, Late Classic II habitation being found in all portions of Site 101. At least two buildings were probably raised now (Strs. 101-Sub2 and 101-Sub3), though we can not rule out the possibility that other of the investigated edifices were begun at this time. Site 101 apparently achieved close to its final form in Late Classic III, all but one of the excavated buildings being raised and/or completed at this time. The two monumental platforms investigated in 1992, Strs. 101-3-1st and 101-4-1st, were seemingly erected in single, massive construction efforts during this interval. Evidence for Early Postclassic use of Site 101 is widespread, being attested to on or near all but one of the buildings in our sample (Str. 101-20). Structure 101-18-1st was raised at this time, while the other edifices yielding diagnostics from this span may well have continued in use with little modification. It is, however, difficult to assign the construction of particular architectural units to specific periods and some of the additions made to Strs. 101-3-1st, 101-15-1st, 101-16-1st, and 101-19-1st may date to the Early Postclassic. The only sign of Late Postclassic occupation at Site 101 is a single sherd characteristic of the period found off Str. 101-18-1st. The settlement did not support a significant human presence from the Early Postclassic through the Historic eras.