Site 104 occupies relatively level terrain atop a terrace south and east of Manacal Creek, said watercourse lying 27-330m to the north and 24m to the west (this considerable divergence in distances results from the widespread dispersal across the landscape of structures comprising Site 104). The land drops off gradually from south to north towards Manacal Creek, rising slightly from east to west. An unnamed, dry quebrada is ca. 1.5km south of Site 104 and the Rio Chamelecon lies approximately 1.75km to the southeast. Site 288 is 1.1km to the northwest while Site 489 is ca. 0.5km to the southwest.
The 15 constructions comprising Site 104 are distributed among four distinct entities; three patio-focused structure groups and Str. 104-1. The overall site form is a “V” open to the east with the building aggregate composed of Strs. 104-7/9 forming the apex. Structure 104-1 is a massive, conical platform that stands apart from all other recorded edifices (the closest buildings, Strs. 104-2/6, are 138m to the northwest). The structure rises 3m above current ground surface and has a basal diameter of roughly 49m. Structures 104-2/5 were apparently raised atop a low platform (Str. 104-6), each building occupying a corner of that substructure. Structures 104-7/9, 150m northwest of Strs. 104-2/6, define a patio open to the north and south. The largest Site 104 aggregate is composed of Strs. 104-10/15, ca. 348m northwest of Strs. 104-7/9 and 288m north of Str. 104-1. These relatively substantial platforms enclose a patio on all sides, access to the central space being restricted by the close juxtaposition of component buildings. With the exception of Str. 104-1, the edifices comprising Site 104 stand 0.25-1.2m high, with most occupying the lower end of that range (0.25-0.7m tall).
Site 104 has been significantly damaged over the years, the rate of dislocaton intensifying over the past two decades. The most severe recorded episode occurred between 1978 and 1979 at which time plowing in advance of planting grass for pasturage was carried out over all of the settlement. Initial damage estimates (Urban 1986a:300-302), fortunately, proved to be exaggerated and preserved architecture, along with associated artifact deposits, were uncovered by excavations in all but the Str. 104-10/15 group (the latter has not been tested). Nevertheless, Site 104 remains a significant component of a major cattle operation, the settlement suffering from continued mechanized plowing.
Structures 104-1, 104-4, 104-5, 104-7, 104-8, and 104-9 were excavated from May 22-June 21, 1996, a total of roughly 550 person-days of labor invested in uncovering 145m2 of prehistoric deposits. The work was directed by A. McCoy, L. Sering, J. Solmeto, M. Turek, E. Schortman, and E. Iglesias.
Structure 104-1 (Figures **-**) [contour map and 4 sections]
Excavations conducted in April and May, 1996 at Str. 487-1, located on the northern Naco valley margins, indicated that this massive platform dated almost exclusively to the Middle Preclassic. These findings contradicted our earlier notions concerning the character of Middle Preclassic Naco settlement, especially the amount of labor emergent elite coalitions could control. During the limited time remaining in 1996, therefore, we sought confirmation of the Site 487 results. Structure 104-1 is comparable in size, form, and isolation from other physically salient prehistoric remains to Str. 487-1 and the two edifices might, therefore, have fulfilled similar functions during the same temporal period. Time and financial constraints precluded the more extensive clearing excavations pursued at Str. 487-1, digging here being limited primarily to a 4x4m probe sunk into Str. 104-1's 4.5-5m diameter summit (Subop. 104E/H. Definition of two subops. for this excavation followed from our desire to keep the number of lots defined within any subop. to below 100; lot 104E/99 was, therefore, followed by lot 104H/01). Suboperation 104E/H was oriented 10 degrees and the area was thoroughly surface-collected prior to excavation (eventually, artifacts were recovered from the entire platform surface, their locations measured with respect to Subop. 104E/H) . Vertical and horizontal proveniences were recorded with reference to a fixed datum and the 16 1x1m blocks into which the square was divided. The latter blocks also demarcated different lots for the surface collection.
Excavation lots were generally defined every 0.2m within each 1x1m block, except where stratigraphic breaks were noted. Investigations of relatively thick fill units, therefore, were subdivided into 0.2m thick lots. Said lots were broken when floors and/or changes in the nature of the fill were noted, every effort being made to segregate materials recovered from on and above floors from those found within surrounding fill. Staggering the pace of excavation among the blocks comprising Subop. 104E/H facilitated the recognition of culturally significant features before they were encountered throughout the 4x4m square, helping guide the digging and recovery of items from behaviorally significant contexts. The entire sequence of excavated lots from eight of the blocks were screened (52% of the total, N=145), 31% of all collection units being processed through 1/4" mesh, 21% through 1/8" mesh. One screen size was used in processing matrix samples from each of these eight blocks, i.e., materials from a single block were not passed through both 1/4" and 1/8" screen. Unscreened soil samples were collected from particularly promising contexts (especially on and immediately above floors) for flotation processing. Digging reached a depths of 0.7-1.08m below platform summit throughout the 4x4m pit. Excavation carried out below this depth was initially reduced to eight of the original blocks (four of which were screened, four of which were not). These segments of Subop. 104E/H were carried down an additional 0.1-0.22m. Two adjoining blocks (one screened and one not) were then pursued for another 0.98m. A single block (screened through 1/4" mesh) was then taken town to a maximum depth of 4.16m below Str. 104-1's summit. The final 0.33m of the deepest probe was restricted to a 0.35x0.35m excavation dug in the approximate center of the excavation block.
In addition to the principal excavation, a 1x1m test pit was excavated immediately off the north edge of the structure. This probe (included with Subop. 104E/H) was dug to define the natural earth stratigraphy in the area of Str. 104-1. Such information, it was hope, would help distinguish natural from cultural stratigraphy in the platform excavation and provide some sense of the nature of the terrain above which Str. 104-1 was raised. This test was pursued to a depth of 1.22m over its full extent.
| Time Span | Construction Phase | Units | Strata | Features | Date |
| 1 | Str. 104-1-7th | U.1 | - | - | MPRECL |
| 2 | Str. 104-1-6th | U.2-4 | - | - | MPRECL |
| 3 | Str. 104-1-5th | U.5-6 | - | - | MPRECL |
| 4 |
Str. 104-1-4th |
U.7-8 |
- | - | MPRECL |
| 5 | Str. 104-1-3rd | U.9-10 | - | - | MPRECL |
| 6 | Str. 104-1-2nd | U.11-12 | - | - | MPRECL |
| 7 | Str. 104-1-1st | U.13 | - | - | MPRECL |
Time Span 1
The earliest event recognized in Subop. 104E/H is the erection of Str. 104-1-7th (U.1). The small exposed portion (0.7x1m) of this building is poorly preserved, consisting of two amorphous earthen “lumps” set against the western flank of what seems to be either an earthen wall stub or a platform facing (all U.1). The “lumps” may be remnants of steps, each 0.1m high, very tentatively suggesting that Str. 104-1-7th was a platform rising at least 0.2m high, facing west, and oriented roughly north-south. “Steps” and “facing” consist of a very fine textured gray to light gray clay (10YR 7-6/1) covered with a thin slip of the same material. A limited probe (0.2x0.2m) sunk immediately north of the “steps” revealed a deposit of comparable clay extending an additional 0.34m (minimally). The latter deposit is culturally sterile, at least over the limited portion revealed in our test, and may represent a fill unit No comparable strata were revealed in the test pit dug off Str. 104-1's northern margin, implying that the hard-packed gray clay exposed at the base of the principal excavation is localized beneath said building and may not have been deposited by natural means. If this is the case, U.1 may just be the uppermost segment of a much more substantial construction of undetermined dimensions. Unfortunately, the limited nature of our excavations, coupled with the heavily eroded condition of those segments of Str. 104-1-7th revealed in Subop. 104E/H, make a more precise reconstruction of building form and size impossible. All we can say at present is that an edifice of undermined size rests ca. 4m below the extant summit of Str. 104-1, hinting at a prolonged span of construction and occupation at this location.
There are hints of one to three clay floors overlying the putative U.1 steps, tentatively suggesting that Str. 104-1-7th underwent a period of remodeling prior to its burial under Str. 104-1-6th.
A very pale brown (10YR-5/4) silty ash, changing to a brown/dark brown ashy silt (10YR-4/3) with increasing depth, overlies U.1 by 0.09m (U.2) and is surmounted by a 0.03m thick hard-packed earth floor (U.3) possibly covered with a thin plaster coating (U.3's overall color is light gray to very pale brown, 10YR-7/2 to 7/3). Unit 3 is not found throughout the entirety of the 1x1m test pursued at this depth, being limited to the southern and eastern margins of that probe. It is not clear why this construction was truncated. Unit 3, in turn, is overlain by U.4, a 0.01-0.05m thick floor composed of hard-packed gray clay (10YR-5/1). Separating U.4 from the preceding constructions is an ashy silt level, ca. 0.1m thick, rich in artifacts and organic remains (included in U.4). Relationships among U.1-4 are unclear: in the north trench wall, U.4 directly overlies U.2 with no sign of U.3; on the south, U.4 rests directly on U.1; while only on the south and east is the uninterrupted U.1-4 sequence revealed. These complex interrelations likely result from a series of small-scale renovations made to Str. 106-1-6th over a relatively brief interval. Such modifications probably consist of slight enhancements to the building’s height; whether they were associated with significant lateral expansions to the construction remains unknown.
Overall, Str. 104-1-6th seems to have been a low earthen platform that added roughly 0.25m to the height achieved by Str. 104-1-7th.
Unit 6, a hard-packed earthen floor, is the summit of the next renovation in the Str. 104-1 construction sequence (Str. 104-1-5th). Unit 4 is buried by 0.12-0.3m of earth fill (U.5), consisting of a light yellow-brown, clayey silt (10YR-6/4) intermixed with a grey silty clay (10YR-5/1). Unit 6 rests directly on U.5. Three sequential subdivisions of U.6 were tentatively recognized in the south trench wall: a basal element, 0.02-0.06m thick, composed of a brown silty clay (10YR-5/3) that may have been burnt; a succeeding entity, 0.02-0.04m thick, made up of dark yellow-brown silt (10YR-4/4); all of which is covered by a dark brown to dark yellow-brown silty clay (10YR-3/3 to 3/4) 0.01-0.06m thick. As was the case with the previous manifestations of Str.104-1, the version encompassing U.5 and 6 may well be no more than a relatively minor renovation to what still seems to have been a modest earthen platform. Structure 104-1-5th added 0.18-0.36m to the altitude achieved in the preceding building phase. The platform, therefore, stood approximately 0.8m high by the conclusion of TS.3.
This interval marks a major change in Str. 104-1's appearance. Fully 2.03-2.09m of earth fill (U.7), a brown mottled, tightly compacted loamy silt containing small angular stones but few cultural materials (10YR-5/3 and 4/4), was introduced on top of U.6 and is surmounted by another in the series of earthen floors (U.8). Unit 8 is, like its immediate predecessor, U.6, built up of three superimposed levels. The basal element is a light brown-gray ashy silt (10YR-6/2) measuring as much as 0.1m thick (not found in all exposures). This entity supports a heavily burnt brown silty clay (7.5YR-5/4) that is, in turn, covered by a very thin gray “wash.” This coating may have been an intentional surface treatment or, just as likely, ash resulting from fires lit atop the earthen surface. An irregularly shaped charred area (dark brown, 7.5YR-3/2 to gray, 10YR-6/1) covers slightly less than 0.5m2 of U.8's exposed surface, pinpointing one area where intesive burning occurred. So extensive is the burning, found wherever U.8 was exposed to sufficient depth, that it appears to have been intentional. Possibly, the intermediate level of U.8 was fired to provide a durable, substantial foundation for the hard-packed earthen floor surface. The latter is a tightly compacted brown-yellow silt (10YR-6/6) that overlies the burned level by roughly 0.05m. Unit 8 was exposed over a continuous 3m2 (parts of overlying floors, U.10 and 12, were preserved in place and not removed to expose U.8).
Overall, U.8 is 0.08-0.12m thick and is the end result of a fairly careful, labor-intensive construction effort. Structure 104-1-4th, therefore, is a considerably larger edifice than its predecessors, rising at least 2.9m high above Str. 104-1-7th and extending out horizontally to an undetermined extent.
Unit 8 is, in turn, covered by 0.32-0.38m of earth fill (U.9), a light yellow-brown clayey silt (10YR-6/4 to 5/4) containing relatively large quantities of cultural material and a few stones. Surmounting this unit is the last clearly identified earth floor in the Str. 104-1 sequence, U.10. Unit 10 is a hard-compacted yellow-brown clayey silt (10YR-6/4 to 5/4). No subdivisions were noted within this floor, nor is it distinguishable by color and texture from U.9. Unit 10, therefore, seems to be that portion of the underlying earth fill that was exposed, and compacted, during the use of Str. 104-1-3rd. There are no signs of the purposeful, careful construction procedures employed in the creation of U.8. Nevertheles, Str. 104-1-3rd was, largely due to earlier construction efforts, an imposing platform standing roughly 3.25m above the surrounding terrain.
Unit 10 was apparently truncated on the north and west, replaced in these areas by a complex sequence of undulating and sloping earth lenses (U.11) that run below and up to 0.56m over and on to Str. 106-1-2nd’s earthen summit. The soils in question are brown to light brown (10YR-4/4, 4/6, 5/4, 5/3, and 10YR-6/4), generally hard-compacted silts, sandy silts, clays, clayey silts, and loamy silts with varying amounts of small pebble and angular stone inclusions. Cultural material is also a fairly common component of U.11. The most complex interbedding of levels is recorded on the north pit wall, though comparable soils are revealed in all excavation faces. These earth levels seem to represent construction fill derived from slightly different sources, but why they should interrupt U.10's distribution remains unknown. Capping U.11 is the only stone construction recorded in the Str. 104-1 sequence (U.12). Unit 12 is a poorly preserved floor remnant composed of a single level of sizable river cobbles (0.08x0.18m to 0.32x0.4m) with, when excavated, ill-defined margins. Rocks that were likely parts of this surface were found scattered throughout the 16m2 of Subop. 104E/H and the floor may have originally extended over Str. 104-1-1st’s entire summit.
Structure 104-1-2nd, therefore, adds ca. 0.4m to the platform’s total height, resulting in a substructure approximately 3.65m high, capped, at least in part, by a stone floor.
The final period of activity identified in the Str. 104-1 sequence is the introduction of U.13, a loosely compacted, dark yellow-brown silt (10YR-4-4 to 4/6) incorporating pebbles and a few artifacts. Unit 13 overlies U.12 by 0.36m and was most likely surmounted by a summit floor comparable to the better preserved examples identified earlier in the building sequence (said floor was not identified, however). Given U.13's presence atop a massive artificial construction, it most likely acted as fill for the ultimate building stage (Str. 104-1-1st). The latter version of the platform, therefore, rose ca. 4m above the earliest element in the exposed sequence (Str. 104-1-7th).
The pit excavated off Str. 104-1's north flank revealed a sequence of three earth levels (S.1-3). The lowest entity in the sequence (S.1) is a tightly compacted dark yellow-brown (10YR-4/4 to 4/6) clayey silt incorporating small angular stones. Stratum 1 was exposed to a maximum thickness of 0.46m, though its base was not encountered. Stratum 2 overlies S.1 by 0.54m and is a dark yellow-brown silt (10YR-4/4 to 4/6) that is more loosely compacted and contains fewer inclusions than its stratigraphic predecessor. The uppermost level, S.3, covers S.2 by 0.21-0.23m and is a dark yellow-brown clayey silt (10YR-4/4) that is hard-compacted and contains the fewest small stones of all three strata. The sequence revealed in the northern probe seems to represent minor variations within a relatively homogenous, naturally deposited soil that corresponds most closely in color and texture to the final construction element in the Str. 104-1 sequence (U.13). The latter fill unit was, therefore, likely procured from earth formed under edaphic conditions that have persisted into relatively recent times. The original ground surface above which Str. 106-1-7th was raised lies well beyond the limits of the northern test pit.
Structure 104-4 (Figures **-**) [plan, section, D96-102]
Structure 104-4 is on the northeast corner of a patio whose other intercardinal
corners are defined by Strs. 104-2, 104-3, and 104-5, located ca. 10m to the
southwest, 10m to the south, and 6m to the west, respectively. The edifice was
raised over terrain ascending approximately 0.2m from north to south and 0.2m
west to east. Originally mapped as a substructure (Str. 104-6) supporting Strs.
104-2/5, this eminence no longer seems to have been a purposeful construction.
Instead, it may be the outcome of gradual, long-term accumulation of trash and
building remnants at this locale. Suboperations 104C and 104K were pursued on
and around Str. 104-4, completely clearing the building and revealing fragments
of constructions immediately west of the structure that were not visible on
ground surface. Excavations were pursued to maximum depths of 0.82m below current
ground surface outside construction and 0.6m into and through architectural
fill. A total of ca.50m2 of contiguous deposits were uncovered in Subop. 104C
and 104K, resulting in the tentative identification of four building phases.
All work reported herein was overseen by J. Solmeto.
| Time Span | Construction Phase | Units | Strata | Features | Date |
| 1 | - | - | S.1 | LCLII? | |
| 2 | Str. 104-Sub1 | U.1 | - | F.1 | LCLIII |
| 3 | Str. 104-4-2nd | U.2-6 | - | - | LCLIII |
| 4 |
Str. 104-4-2nd |
U.7,8 |
- | - | LCLIII |
| 5 | Str. 104-4-1st | U.2a, 9-20 | - | F.2 | LCLIII,EPC? |
| 6 | - | - | S.1 | F.3 | - |
Time Span 1
Stratum 1, a yellowish brown silt (10YR-5/4 and 4/4), was found at all depths throughout the excavations, its lower sections underlying constructions from every time span. The base of this earth level was not encountered, but it extends as much as 0.74m and 0.44m below architecture on the north and south respectively. Recovery of artifacts from S.1, including remnants of perishable construction (i.e., bajareque fragments), indicates human habitation in the immediate vicinity of Str. 104-4's future location during TS.1.
Structure 104-Sub1 is represented by a single construction remnant (U.1) buried by later architecture (U.3 and 6). The uncovered portion of U.1 is 1.18m long, averages 0.3m wide, is 0.23m high, and is aligned roughly 281 degrees. Unit 1 is fashioned of unmodified river cobbles, averaging 0.16x0.18m in size, with no effort apparently devoted to placing these stones in horizontal courses or to orienting their flatter faces in a consistent direction. A brown mud mortar was used as a binding agent. This construction is probably part of a building raised directly on ground surface, serving as a footing for perishable (most likely bajareque) upper walls.
Located 1.56m north of U.1, and at approximately the same depth, is F.1. The latter is a concentration of river cobbles covering an observed 0.28x0.48m that continues eastward under U.3. Feature 1 may well be the remnants of architecture contemporary with U.1, possibly even part of the same building as U.1. The very small portion of F.1 exposed in 1996 precludes identification of the role these stones played in ancient construction.
Both U.1 and F.1 imply the existence of edifices that predate the Str. 104-4 construction sequence. The versions of Str. 104-4 that follow in TS.3-5 are not a continuation of Str. 104-Sub1 and whatever lay near it as architectural features pertaining to TS.2 were not incorporated in subsequent constructions.
The following divisions in Str. 104-4's architrectural history are based on observed relations among exposed units, both the manner in which they articulate with each other and their relative depths below a fixed datum. It is impossible to say how much time elapsed between time spans; in general, we presume that the modifications visited on Str. 104-4 were renovations conducted during a relatively protracted, but not over-long, interval.
Structure 104-4-2nd is reconstructed as a surface-level building defined by cobble foundations (U.2-5), and with doors in the northeast and southwest corners. The footings, which most likely supported bajareque upper walls, are 0.3-0.6m wide and are preserved 0.23-0.5m high. Units 2-5 are all built of cobbles the naturally flat faces of which are oriented outward on both wall interiors and exteriors. One artificially modified stone was noted at the eastern terminus of U.2, the northern foundation. Coursing is variably expressed in these foundations, being best represented in U.5, the western footing. Stone sizes range from 0.05x0.07m to 0.2x0.65m, with most falling towards the middle of that range. Medium to large rocks are generally found resting on a basal level of smaller stones, most notably in U.3 and 4 (the eastern and southern foundations). All U.2/5 cobbles are set in a brown mud mortar.
The 3x4.6m interior space contained by U.2/5 is surfaced with earth. The only extant construction found in this area is U.6, a stone-faced and surfaced bench or shelf that abuts U.3 and 4 at their southeast interior corner. Unit 6 stands 0.25m high, runs 1.65m along U.3's interior face, and is 0.3m wide. This entity is built of cobbles measuring 0.04x0.06m to 0.1x0.3m, the larger rocks capping the construction. Though some effort was devoted to orienting the naturally flatter faces of these stones outward, there are no signs of clear horizontal courses. A brown mud mortar was employed as a binding agent. Unit 6 clearly postdates U.3 and 4 but could have been introduced at any point in the occupation sequence from TS.3-5. There is no compelling reason for placing its construction in any of these intervals, its inclusion here being a matter of convenience.
Entrance to Str. 104-4-2nd’s room is provided in the form of two doors. One, measuring 0.9m across, is located in the building’s northeast corner while a second, 2.2m wide, breaches the southwest corner. The widest portal faces into the patio defined by Strs. 104-4-2nd, implying that accessing the building’s interior was easiest from this enclosed space.
Structure 104-4-2nd, therefore, is a surface-level building encompassing 4x5.6m, oriented approximately 351 degrees, and containing a single, earthen-floored room encompassing 13.8m2. A narrow shelf/bench may have occupied the southeast corner of the enclosure while doorways 2.2m and 0.9m wide provide access to the interior through the southwest and northeast corners, respectively. No obvious effort was devoted to leveling the terrain over which Str. 104-4-2nd was raised, the bases of foundations being 0.48m higher on the north than on the south, ca. 0.3m higher on the east than on the west.
Units 7 and 8 are cobble foundations measuring 0.2-0.44m high and 0.3-0.5m wide that together form an “L” extending into the building’s interior (westward) from the south end of U.5, the western foundation. Stones making up U.7, the southern component of the pair, have their naturally flatter aspects oriented both north and south, the rocks in U.8, projecting north from U.7's east end, are generally flatter on the east. Cobbles in both units measure 0.06x0.07m to 0.18x0.45m and are held together by a brown mud mortar. Unit 7 abuts and forms an inset corner, measuring 0.2x0.3m, with U.5; U.7 and 8 are integrated at their junction. Both footings are built over sloping terrain, their bases ascending 0.04-0.05m west-to-east and 0.05-0.1m north-to-south.
Adding U.7 and 8 narrowed the southwest entryway to 1.1m and reduced the amount of interior space to approximately 10.85m.
More significant modifications to Str. 104-4 were initiated during TS.5. The northeast doorway was sealed at this time by northward and eastward extensions made to U.2 (included within U.2a). Beginning ca. 0.8m east of the edifice’s northwest corner, U.2a buries U.2's north face, creating a cobble wall 0.6-0.7m wide. Addition of U.2a created an inset corner measuring 0.4x0.8m on the northeast where U.2, 2a, and 5 meet. An area covering 0.76m east-west by 0.32m north-south and paved with schist slabs is recessed ca. 0.2m below U.2a's top, flush with that wall’s north face. Placed near U.2a’s center, this entity may be a 0.17m high step providing access to what was now a platform summit (the second riser, a still-protruding segment of U.2, is 0.07m high). The northern half of what had been Str. 104-4-2nd’s room was now partioned from the rest of the building by U.9, a casually built cobble wall ca. 0.35m high and 0.2-0.3m wide that runs east-west between U.3 and 5, the east and west foundations. Unit 9 exhibits no coursing and very little effort was apparently expended in selecting rocks with flat faces for inclusion in this entity. The area contained by U. 2/2a, 3, 5, and 9 was then filled with a yellowish brown silt indistinguishable from S.1 (U.20) that, in turn, was capped by a floor partially surfaced with four flat-laid stone slabs (three schist and 1 tuff examples, U.11). The latter stones are concentrated in an area encompassing 1.2x1.48m just south, and even with the top, of U.2/2a, in line with the putative steps. Recovery of large jar fragments from on top of U.11's slabs supports the view that the living surface was now above ground surface. The area enclosed by U.7/9 was probably also filled with earth (included in U.20), as indicated by the presence of schist slabs (now jumbled) in association with an in situ artifact deposit set agaist the upper portion of U.8 (F.2). Neither summit floor (U.11 and F.2) is clear, but there is sufficient evidence to suggest that Str. 104-4-1st consists of a 0.2-0.4m high L-shaped platform covering most of what had been the interior of a surface-level edifice. Fragments of what seem to have been a stone-faced and surfaced bench were recorded on the western summit margins (U.10). Unit 10 is roughly 0.15m high, 0.4-0.6m wide, and runs for at least 1.1m U.9 northward along U.5's east face. A concentration of stone rubble lying between U.10's apparent northern end and U.2 may imply that this element was originally somewhat longer, possibly extending the full 1.9m between U.9 and 2.
The southeastern portion of the building, defined by U.3, 4, 7, and 8, was not apparently filled in but remained open throughout TS.5. This space was enlarged through the addition of a very casual stone wall extending 2m west from U.4's southwest corner (U.16). Unit 16 is 0.18m high by 0.2m wide and is aligned slightly differently from other Str. 104-4-1st walls, running at ca. 274 degrees. Unit 16 is integrated with U.17 on the west, the latter being another casual stone construction this time in the form of an “L” the east arm of which is 1.5m long (north-south), 0.25m wide, 0.2m high, and oriented 9 degrees. The southern extension projects at least 0.8m westward from this element’s southern terminus, continuing beyond excavation limits. Addition of U.9 and 16, therefore, created an earthen-floored, L-shaped, surface-level room wrapped around the southern platform projection (U.7 and 8). Unit 6, the stone-faced bench/shelf located in the room’s southeast corner (see TS.3) was still in use during this interval.
Two low (0.18-0.27m high), narrow (0.35-0.4m wide) cobble-faced terraces are appended to the east and west faces of Str. 104-4-1st (U.12 and 14 respectively). Unit 12 extends 3m south from the building’s northeast corner along U.3's east face while U.14 intersects U.5 0.5m south of its junction with U.2, running 2m souuthward from that point. Overlapping both constructions are two stone walls standing 0.11-0.18m high and measuring 0.2-0.3m across (U.13 and 15 on the east and west, respectively). Unit 13 overlaps the southern portion of U.12 by 0.4m and has a total length of 1.2m; its western counterpart, U.15 overlaps U.14's southern end by 0.75m and is 1.35m long. Whereas U.12 and 14 are probably terraces, U.13 and 15 seem to be separate, later constructions, possibly parts of surface-level buildings erected around Str. 104-4-1st.
Additional remnants of such constructions are noted west of the building (U.18 and 19). Unit 18 is a concentration of stone measuring 0.6x1m, ca. 0.4m west and slightly downslope from U.14. These rocks appear to be the somewhat jumbled remnants of two adjoining rings spread out east-to-west. The overall diameters of these entities are approximately 0.6m and each contains a hole in its approximate center measuring 0.22-0.25m across. The architectural significance of U.18 remains uncertain; the two rings may have served as supports for posts incorporated in surface-level buildings raised between Strs. 104-4-1st and 104-5-1st to the west. Unit 19 is a stone arc running at least 1.65m north-south, its southern terminus lying outside Subops. 104C and 104K. This cobble unit, 0.1-0.15m high and 0.2m wide, is ca. 0.3m west of U.15 and within 0.16m of U.18 on the north.
Structure 104-4-1st, therefore, is a complex construction composed of both surface-level and elevated components. The latter are represented by a 0.2-0.4m high stone-faced platform the main body of which measures 2.8x3.9m. A 1.4x2.2m extension (composed of U.5, 7, 8, and 20) projects southward from the platform’s southwest corner, giving the building an L-shape, the stem of which runs east-west. Wrapping around the platform is an L-shaped surface-level room, encompassing 8m2 (delimited by U.3, 4, 7, 8, and 16). The latter was entered through a 1.3m wide doorway in its west wall (between U.7 and 16) while the two stone-faced and surfaced steps set into U.2/2a’s approximate center provided access to the platform’s summit. That summit was surfaced at least partially with stone and supported a bench on its western margin. A bench/shelf occupies a considerable portion of the surface-room’s east wall near its southeast corner. Two low terraces extend the platform to the east and west, and may have provided other means for ascending to the summit. Overall, Str. 104-4-1st encompasses 4.75x6m and maintains its earlier alignment, roughly 351 degrees.
Evidence of surface-level edifices raised around Str. 104-1-1st is found east and west of the building. Low, casually built cobble walls found in both directions may well be remnants of foundations for the perishable upper walls of relatively insubstantial edifices (U.13, 15, and 17). Unit 18 may preserve signs of postholes used in such constructions. The manner in which the U. 19 stone arc was articulated into this architectural complex, however, remains unclear. All TS.5 construction, like its predecessors, shows signs of having been raised over gentle west-to-east and north-to-south ascents, no effort having been invested in leveling the terrain prior to construction.
Time Span 5 architecture universally consists of unmodified cobbles set in a brown mud mortar with little sign of horizontal coursing or a compulsion to select rocks for their naturally flat aspects. Stone sizes range from 0.04x0.06m to 0.2x0.4m, with most falling towards the middle of that range.
Following abandonment, Str. 104-4-1st was buried by the continued deposition of the yellowish brown S.1 silt (see TS.1). This soil blankets all but the uppermost construction stones and contains in its upper segment a dispersed collection of rocks dislodged from final-phase architecture (F.3). Feature 3 is found for up to 1.6m beyond Str. 104-4-1st architecture on all sides of that building.
Structure 104-5 (Figures **-**) [plan, 2 sections; D96-101]
Structure 104-5 is on the northwest corner of the patio whose remaining intercardinal
corners are defined by Strs. 104-2, 104-3, and 104-4, located ca. 6m south,
15m southeast, and 6m east of Str. 104-5, respectively. This platform is raised
above relatively level terrain, originally though to be the summit of a low
platform that supported the Strs. 104-2/5 patio group. Excavations conducted
on and around Strs. 104-4 and 104-5 did not reveal such a substructure and its
existence is now very much in doubt. Fully 39.3m2 were cleared on and around
Str. 104-5 in the course of excavating Subops. 104B, F, I, and O. Digging reached
maximum depths of 1.24m below modern ground surface into architectural fill
and 1.05m below ground level outside construction. The full sequence of lots
excavated in the southeasternmost 1x1m block in the axial trench (Subop. 104F)
was screened through 1/4" mesh while earth removed while clearing Burials 1-3
was passed through 1/8" screen. A single major building phase, to which renovations
had been made, was identified in the course of this work overseen by L. Sering.
| Time Span | Construction Phase | Units | Strata | Features | Date |
| 1 | - | - | S.1 | F.1 | LCLII |
| 2 | Str. 104-5-1st | U.1-13 | - | F.2,3; Bu. 1-3 | LCLIII |
| 3 | - | - | S.1 | F.4 | - |
The lower exposed segments of S.1, a brown (10YR-5/3), moderately hard-compacted, clayey soil, underlie exposed construction by as much as 0.5m (S.1's base was not revealed). There is a slight indication that S.1 becomes increasingly sandy in texture with greater depth northwest of the platform but , in general, we did not discern notable changes within this layer in areas beneath uncovered architecture. Recovery of artifacts from the lower portions of S.1 points to human occupation in the immediate vicinity of Str. 104-5-1st prior to that platform’s erection. Feature 1 is a semi-circular concentration of burnt earth that measures 0.32 southeast-northwest, extends 0.31m into excavation from the northeast trench wall, and is ca. 0.1m below the base of Str. 104-5-1st construction (represented here by U.1, the closest component of that building). Feature 1 may be the remains of a perishable surface-level edifice that predates Str. 104-5-1st’s erection or of an activity area located outside standing architecture (e.g., a hearth).
Structure 104-5-1st is a sizable, earthen-filled platform bounded by surface-level rooms on its southeastern, patio-facing, flank and stone-faced terraces on the remaining sides. The core platform is delimited by massive stone retaining walls that rise a preserved 0.9-1m high and measure 0.8-1.1m across (U.1, 3, 10, and 11 on the northwest, southeast, southwest, and northeast, respectively). These walls are fashioned of unmodified river cobbles set in seven to fourteen horizontal courses, pebbles used as chinking stones, and all embedded in a brown mud mortar (based on the most thoroughly exposed U.1 and 3). The U.2 fill consists of a brown (10YR-5/3) clayey soil identical to S.1. There is a subtle indication that this core construction was raised in two stages. Feature 3, a level of stones, including some schist slabs, rests on U.2 and extends between U.1 and 3. This rock level is 0.4-0.47m above the bases of U.1 and 3, roughly 0.2m thick, and seems to have been buried by an additional ca. 0.3m of U.2. Unit 2 contains more rocks where it covers, than where it underlies, F.3. Though far from clear, F.3 may be the remnant of a stone floor that capped the penultimate version of Str. 104-5-1st, subsequently covered during a final effort to increase the platform’s height. If this was the case, we would expect to see evidence of construction changes in the encircling retaining walls corresponding to the different building episodes. No disjunctions suggesting vertical enhancements to the retaining walls were noted. This, counpled with the jumbled appearance of F.3 rocks, urge caution in accepting multiple building phases for Str. 104-5.
Units 4-6 are cobble walls that, together with U.3, seem to define an earthen-floored room built against Str. 104-5-1st’s southeast flank. All four walls rest at approximately the same depths, though the core retaining wall (U.3) enjoys temporal priority, being abutted by the northeast and southwest elements (U.4 and 5, respectively). Units 4-6 are built of unmodified river cobbles, set in a mud mortar, and lacking clear signs of horizontal coursing. Heights range from 0.58-0.65m and U.6, the only element whose width was fully exposed, encompasses 0.78m across at its widest point. These substantial constructions define a room covering 1.5x1.7m and entered from the northeast through an 0.8m gap between U.4 and 6. Unit 6 continues to the northeast, eventually cornering with U.8, the northeastern terrace. Additional surface-level enclosures may be found in this area as well as in the unexcavated terrain bordering U.3 to the southwest [tripartite room divisions on the patio side, e.g., Site 426?]. Whether this is the case or not, the 1.7m separating U.6 and 3 was apparently filled to the top of U.6 with a brown (10YR-5/3) clayey earth fill containing some cobbles (U.13). The flat-laid dispositions of the included rocks imply that the soil in which they are embedded was purposefully introduced as fill and did not accumulate gradually after Str. 104-5-1st’s abandonment. If the latter had been the case, then the stones would represent wall fall and should be tilted down and away from architecture, as is generally the case with the rocks making up F.4 (see TS.3). Introduction of U.13 converted the surface-level room into part of a 0.58m high, 2.38m wide earthen-floored terrace on Str. 104-5-1st’s patio-facing side. A ca. 0.25m high cobble wall abuts U.6 and extends at least 1m southeastward into the patio from that construction (U.12; its southeastern terminus was not found)). Unit 12 appears to be a very late addition to Str. 104-5-1st, possibly a foundation defining an earthen-floored, surface-level room built off what was now the platform’s southeast terrace (U.6). No other components of this putative construction were identified.
Unit 8, a 0.24m high cobble-faced riser, marks the northeast edge of a ca. 1.65m wide terrace on Str. 104-5-1st’s northeast side. Units 6 and 8 form an inset corner (0.15x0.6m) on the east while U.8 junctures directly with U.9 to form the north terrace corner. Unit 8 may have been extended northeastward in several stages; a possible earlier version of the construction is 0.6m back (southwest) of the ultimate terrace face. If this putative earlier line is projected southeastward, it links up directly with U.6. The U.6/8 inset corner may, therefore, be a product of adding to U.8 without making comparable enlargements to U.6. Unit 9, a cobble wall comparable to U.8, delimits the northwest edge of a much narrower terrace (ca. 0.6m across). Unit 9 was not encountered in excavations 2.1m southwest of its southwesternmost exposed point, suggesting that the terrace was limited to the immediate vicinity of the platform’s north corner. Unit 7, a 0.13-0.21m high cobble riser, defines the margins of a 0.7m (on the northwest) and 1.7m wide (on the southwest) terrace. The corner formed by U.7-northwest and southwest is inset 0.6x0.75. A 0.3m wide stone projection extends 0.4m northwest from U.7's west corner (composed of a single, large cobble; included in U.7). Unit 7, like U.9 to the northeast, does not extend along the full length of the platform’s northwest face but starts 0.6m northeast of the west platform corner (the junction of U.1 and 10). Units 7-9 are all built of unmodified, river-worn stones, set in a brown mud mortar but without clear, horizontal coursing. There is a tendency, however, for the larger stones incorporated in these risers to form lines capping a level of smaller rocks.
A circular concentration of flat laid cobbles lies ca. 1.8m northwest of U.1, just southwest of that building’s center-line (F.2). Feature 2 measures approximately 0.6mx1m. The significance of this rock cluster is uncertain. Three burials, two of which are fragmentary (probably secondary) interments (Bu.1 and 2), were found in the course of excavating Str. 104-5-1st. Burial 1 contains the remains of a child located immediately outside and at the base of Str. 104-5-1st’s northwest basal facing (U.1). Burial 2 is an adult situated just beneath F.3 within the U.2 fill. Only fragments of a cranium were recovered from Bu.3, located at the base, and immediately southeast, of U.1. Additional remains might have been uncovered had time permitted further excavation, Bu.3 being found in the proverbial last minutes of the last day. No imperishable offerings were associated with these interments. All three burials are located along Str. 104-5-1st’s approximate northwest-southeast axis.
Structure 104-5-1st, therefore, consists of a ca. 1m high cobble-faced, earthen-filled platform that mat have achieved its full height in two stages (including U.1/3, 10, 11, and F.3). The building’s summit measures 5.4x5.6m and seems to have been featureless (roughly 57% of the summit was cleared). At least one surface-level room was raised against the platform’s southeast (patio-facing) side. That enclosure was later filled in the course of creating a 2.38m wide earthen terrace on this flank. Erection of surface-level rooms on the platform’s southeast side may have continued, now incorporating the southeast terrace riser (U.6) into these constructions. Comparably expansive terraces are found on the northeast and southwest, while more spatially restricted entities face parts of the northwest flank. Overall, Str. 104-5-1st covers 8.6x8.8m (maximally) and is oriented ca. 50 degrees.
Following Str. 104-5-1st’s abandonment, deposition of S.1 resumed. This level eventually buries all but the uppermost portions of TS.2 architecture. Stratum 2, a grayish-brown (10YR-5/2) moderately hard-compacted clay, overlies S.1 by as much as 0.55m southeast of construction, lensing out on the northwest over U.6. Most likely, S.2 was formed under conditions very similar to those that gave rise S.1, the minor differences separating them being the result of inconsequential local variations in the depositional and post-depositional environment. Feature 4 consists of rocks fallen from final-phase architecture. These dislodged stones are found for up to 0.5m southeast of U.6 and for at least 1m northwest of U.1. Tumbled stone is much denser, as well as more extensive, northwest than southeast of Str. 104-5-1st (the other flanks were not sufficiently exposed to determine the density and distribution of tumbled architectural debris).
Structure 104-7(Figures **-**) [1plan, 1 section; D96-98]
Structure 104-7, situated on the north flank of a patio the western and southern sides of which are defined by Strs. 104-8 and 104-9, is ca. 5m east and north of the last two buildings, respectively. The edifice is raised on land that slopes up gradually ca. 0.2m over 3.6m north-to-south. Fully 29m2 were excavated in the course of clearing Str. 104-7 (conducted as part of Subops. 104G, J, M, and N). Digging was carried down to maximum depths of 0.63m below modern ground surface into architectural fill and 0.87m below ground level outside architecture, revealing two construction phases. Lots in the northeasternmost 1x1m block dug in Subop. 104G (the initial trench that cut across Str. 104-7's approximate center from northeast-to-southwest) were screened through 1/4" mesh; the remaining collections units were not processed in this manner. All work was overseen by A. McCoy.
| Time Span | Construction Phase | Units | Strata | Features | Date |
| 1 | - | - | S.1,2 | - | LCLII?,III |
| 2 | Str. 104-7-2nd | U.1-4 | - | - | LCLIII |
| 3 | Str. 104-7-1st | U.1a,3a,5-11 | - | F.1,2 | LCLIII |
| 4 |
- |
- |
S.2,3 | F.3 | - |
Time Span 1
Stratum 1, a gray-brown, soft-compacted, moderately fine-textured soil with numerous small pebble inclusions (diameters 6mm<), was exposed to maximum thicknesses of 0.14m and 0.03m north and south of Str. 104-7 (the base lies beyond excavation limits). Though exposed in two, discontinuous segments, S.1 appears to rise 0.3m over 1.8m north-to-south. No cultural materials were retrieved from S.1, though this may be a consequence of the very limited portion of the soil level that was exposed in excavations.
Roughly 0.2m of S.2 intervenes between S.1 and the base of construction pertaining to TS.2 and 3. This earth level is a brown, moderately fine-textured, hard-compacted clayey soil. Recovery of some cultural material from the lowest reaches of S.2 indicates a human presence in the immediate area prior to Str. 104-7-2nd’s erection.
Structure 104-7-2nd is a surface-level building delimited by substantial cobble foundations that stand a preserved 0.24-0.54m high and measure 0.35-0.75m across (U.1-4). Units 1-4 are fashioned of river-worn stones, ranging in size from 0.04x0.08m to 0.33x0.4m, set in a brown mud mortar. Five intentionally-faced masonry blocks are incorporated in U.1, the southern, patio-facing, foundation. These rocks do not seem to comprise a distinct element within U.1; rather the stones are dispersed as a minority component among the far-more-numerous cobbles. No other modified rocks were noted in Str. 104-7-2nd construction. The earthen-floored room delimited by U.1-4 measures 1.25x2.9m and was entered through a 0.4m wide gap in the northwest corner between U.3 and 4 (the northern and western footings).
Structure 104-7-2nd, therefore, covers 2.7x3.7m (measured across the approximate center), contains a single, featureless room encompassing 3.6m2, and is aligned approximately 285 degrees.
Time Span 3 witnesses the transformation of Str. 104-7 from a surface-level edifice to a platform. This meatmorphosis began with the erection of U.5, a 0.6m wide, 0.24m high cobble wall, located 0.4m west of U.4, Str. 104-7-2nd’s western foundation. Unlike its predecessor, no gap in U.5 provided access to the new building’s interior. Instead, the former southern and northern foundations were extended 1m (U.1a) and 1.4m (U.2a) westward to join U.5, sealing the perimeter. These additions are suggested by changes noted in U.1 and 2's construction. The area bounded by U.1, 1a, 2, 2a, 3, and 5 was then filled in up to the tops of these walls with a brown, moderately fine-textured, hard-compacted soil, virtually indistinguishable from S.2. Only the uppermost stones of U.4 were still visible on the earthen-floored summit. Also visible on that summit, near its approximate center, is a large (ca. 0.4m diameter), roughly circular, flat-laid stone (F.2). This rock was not integrated into any clear architectural element. Nevertheless, F.2's size and undisturbed appearance hint at its having played some role in superstructure construction. The summit encompasses 1.2x3.75m (within the area defined by the basal facings) and, aside from F.2, is featureless
A surface-level room, defined by 0.14-0.28m high, 0.25-0.35m high cobble foundations on the east and south (U.8 and 7), was appended to the platform’s patio-facing southern flank. The enclosure’s northern side is defined by U.1 while the west flank is defined by a 0.14m high, 1m wide, by 1.47m long stone shelf (U.6). Unit 6 has a 0.7m wide (east-west) projection that extends 0.45m into the patio from the approximate center of its southern face (not included in the above length). This seemingly late addition maintains the same height as the rest of U.6 to the north. No clear means of accessing the southern room’s interior was noted, though the 0.14m high southern footing would not have posed a significant obstacle. The earthen-floored cubicle measures 1.2x1.8m (across the center) and may contain a 0.8x1m low stone-faced shelf in its northeast corner (F.1). Feature 1, when excavated, consisted of a disrupted cobble concentration with barely discernible western and southern perimeter lines. Its status as a formal construction, therefore, remains questionable.
Access to the summit may have been by means of two steps located on opposite sides of the platform. On the north, remnants of two cobble steps project roughly 1.4m from U.3/3a (U.9). The basal riser ascends 0.19m and is succeeded by an 0.87m wide cobble-surfaced tread above which the second riser stands 0.28m. The cobble tread backing the second ascending step is ca. 0.5m wide. Unit 9 is, like all Str. 104-7-1st architecture, faced with river-worn stones. Unlike these other entities, however, U.9's core (at the junction of the first and second step) consists of cobbles and schist slabs set on end (all included in U.9). Unit 9 was not well preserved and we were not able to reconstruct its east-west dimensions. Unit 10 is a low, cobble step that projects 0.4m (maximally) south from U.1, is 0.7m wide, and begins 0.1m east of U.8.
The footings, steps, and facings that comprise Str. 104-7-1st are built of unmodified cobbles set in a brown mud mortar. Clear horizontal coursing is not evident nor was much effort apparently invested in collecting rocks with naturally flatter faces for inclusion in TS.3 architecture. No artificially modified stones were recorded. Rock sizes fall within the same range as that described for Str. 104-8-2nd.
Structure 104-7-1st, therefore, consists of a, earth-filled core platform, rising 0.24-0.54m high and covering 2.5x4.9m (measured across the center) against which at least one surface-level room was raised on the south side. The dirt-floored platform summit apparently supported a single room covering 4.5m2 in the approximate center of which was a large, roughly circular, stone. The southern enclosure contains approximately 2.2m2 and is bounded on the east and, possibly, west by two stone-faced and -surfaced shelves. Though the platform’s low height would seem to obviate the need for formal summit access features, two casually built sets of stone steps were noted on the edifice’s north and south flanks. The more elaborate of the two constructions consists of two reconstructed stone risers (U.9, on the north).
Following abandonment, Str. 104-7-1st was buried by continued deposition of S.2 which eventually reached total thicknesses of 0.46-0.6m. Capping S.2 by 0.09-0.15m is S.3, a dark brown, moderately fine-textured, hard-compacted, root-rich clayey soil. Stratum 3 seems to be an upward continuation of S.2, the former slightly modified by its greater organic content resulting from proximity to ground surface. Feature 3, a moderately dense concentration of stones dislodged from final-phase architecture, extends up to 0.7m away from construction.
Structure 104-8 (Figures **-**) [plan, 1 section; D96-98]
Structure 104-8, the tallest building in the group composed of Strs. 104-7/9, closes off the western side of the patio defined by these buildings. Structures 104-7 and 104-9 are each roughly 5m east of Str. 104-8. Investigations here were limited to a single 1x13m trench that cut across the edifice’s approximate center from north to south (Subop. 104L). Digging was carried down to maximum depths of 0.64m below modern ground surface outside construction and 0.72m below ground level into and and beneath architectural fill. Lots in Subop. 104L’s northernmost 1m2 block were screened through 1/4" mesh; the remaining collections units were not processed in this manner. A single building phase was revealed in the course of investigating Str. 104-8. Suboperation 104L was supervised by A. McCoy.
| Time Span | Construction Phase | Units | Strata | Features | Date |
| 1 | - | - | S.1,2 | - | LCLIII |
| 2 | Str. 104-8-1st | U.1-12 | - | - | LCLIII,EPC? |
| 3 | - | - | S.2,3 | F.1 | - |
| 4 |
Str. 12-Sub2 |
U.2 |
- | - | LCLII, III |
| 5 | Str. 1-1st | U.4-25, 27-30, 33 | - | F.2 | LCLII, III? |
| 6 | Str. 1-1st | U-26, 31, 32, 34 | - | - | LCLIII, II |
| 7 | - | - | S.8, 9 | F.3 | - |
Time Span1
Stratum 1 is a light brown, fine-textured, moderately soft-compacted clayey soil with few included stones that underlies all exposed construction. This earth level ascends irregularly 0.37m over 4.12m south-to-north and 0.68m over 8.88m north-to-south towards a high point located beneath Str. 104-8-1st’s approximate center. Stratum 1 is 0.31m higher at the southern limit of Subop. 104L than it is at the trench’s northern margin. This discrepancy probably reflect a general north-to-south rise in the area. It may be that S.1 was mounded up to form Str. 104-8-1st’s core, thereby making its manifestations within the edifice’s boundaries architectural fill. Alternatively, and more likely, this earth level is part of a low rise that predates Str. 104-8-1st’s erection. Recovery of artifacts from S.1 does indicate human habitation in the area when the level was deposited and we can not rule out the possibility that S.1 is part of an artificial, if not strictly purposeful, accumulation of debris (e.g., a trash mound). Stratum 1 was exposed to thickness of 0.1-0.23m, its base lying beyond excavation limits.
Structure 104-8-1st’s substantial northern and southern basal facings are set into S.1 but the more casual terraces built off these constructions sit up in S.2. This earth layer, a brown, moderately fine-textured, moderately hard-compacted clayey soil incorporating numerous small (0.03cm< diameter) rounded rocks, covers S.1 by roughly 0.2m (the estimated distance between S.1 and the base of architecture found within S.2). Most likely, S.2 was in the process of accumulating around the base of the low S.1 rise when construction on Str. 104-8-1st began. Those portions of Str. 104-8-1st built on the upper slopes of the S.1 ascent, therefore, were sunk into that soil while extensions to the north and south were raised above the newly formed upper S.2 surface. The cultural material found in the lower portions of S.2 indicate human occupation in the immediate vicinity while this earth level was being deposited.
Structure 104-8-1st’s core is defined on the north and south by U.3 and 1, massive cobble facings that are 1.3m and 0.82m wide and rise to preserved heights of 0.71m and 0.43m above S.1, respectively. Unit 1, the southern retaining wall, extends 0.11m into S.1 on the south and 0.28m into that level on the south. Unit 3 is sunk 0.04m and 0.17m into S.1 on the north and south, respectively. These discrepancies are a consequence of U.1 and 3's construction over S.1's ascents. Supporting the above view is the difference in the basal depths of U.3; the north, downslope, flank is 0.2m below the bottom of the southern, upslope side. Unit 3's greater width and height may follow from the builders’ efforts to stabilize the northern platform flank in an area of undulating terrain; S.1 dips down percipitously immediately north of the facing before ascending and then leveling off south of the unit. The reasons for this irregularity are unknown. Unit 3 is backed on the south by brown earth fill containing numerous medium-size to small cobbles (U.12) and resting directly on S.1. Unit 12 is approximately 0.3m thick, equivalent to U.3's top. Unit 1 is succeeded on the north by 0.2m of exposed S.1 followed by a cobble floor (U.4) that runs at least 1.05m up to and under U.2. The latter is a 1.58m wide stone-faced and surfaced bench. Unit 2's north face protrudes an estimated 0.14m above the top of U.12 on the north and rises 0.36m above the U.4 pavement on the south. Unit 5, a cobble wall that runs between and abuts U.1 and 2, probably defines the east side of a room the north side of which was at least partially defined by the U.2 bench. Stones comprising U.5 both rest on and extend below the U.4 floor.
A 0.2m high stone-faced riser defines the limits of Str. 104-8-1st’s 2.02m wide southern terrace. Backing U.7 on the south, and extending to U.1, is a fill composed of medium to small cobbles set in a brown earth matrix (U.8). Unit 8 is approximately 0.2m thick and rests directly on the upper slope of S.1 just south of U.1. A sequence of two stone-faced terraces is recorded on the north. Unit 6 is a 0.34m high by 0.48m wide cobble facing that seems to have defined the northern limits of a 1m wide terrace appended on to U.3. The fill backing U.6 (U.9) is a dense concentration of large to small cobbles set in a brown earth matrix and sloping down from U.6 over the aforementioned declivity in S.1 bordering U.3. The U.6/9 terrace buries most of U.3, leaving only a reconstructed 0.23m of the latter still exposed. Unit 10, located north of U.6, is is a 0.34m high, 0.32m wide terrace facing. The fill backing U.10, a brown soil containing large amounts of medium to small cobbles (U.11), completely buries U.6. Units 10 and 11, therefore, were apparently introduced to extend the U.6/9 terrace an additional 0.67m to the north, burying the earlier U.6 facing in the process. Neither terrace extended completely across Subop. 104L east-west, both being restricted to the eastern half of the trench. It is unclear why these units should have ended without clear resolutions. For the moment, we are interpreting their truncation as a result of post-abandonment activities, though no other clear indicators of what those activities might have been were identified.
All exposed facings and terrace risers comprising Str. 104-8-1st are built of unmodified river stones set in a brown mud mortar. Units 1-3, the most substantial architectural elements uncovered in Subop. 104L, are carefully fashioned using cobbles set in horizontal courses (two to five preserved) and with their naturally flatter aspects oriented outwards. Pebbles were used as chinking stones in these walls. Units 5-7, 10 are more casually built of cobbles that were not chosen for their flat faces. Horizontal coursing is much less obvious in these entities and chinking stones are rare to absent. The sizes of rocks used in wall construction range from 0.05x0.06m to 0.22x0.4m. Terrace surfaces seem to have been covered with dirt while at least part of the summit is paved with cobbles (U.4).
Structure 104-8-1st, therefore, rises 0.57m on the south and 0.77m on the north, measures ca. 9.4m across north-south, and is oriented roughly 296 degrees. Differences in height may result, in part, from the north-to-south rise in the landscape noted in TS.1. The summit, defined by U.1 and 3, encompasses 5.68m north-south and supports a 0.36m high (on the south) 1.58m wide bench, running approximately east-west. This construction seems to have divided the summit into two compartments, a partially paved entity south of the bench and an earthe-floored cubicle to the north (between U.2 and 3). The former covers 1.25m, the latter 0.73m, north-south. The floor of the northern enclosure may have been 0.17m above that of its southern counterpart. A 2.02m wide terrace fronts the platform on the south while on the north the building was extended by the addition of stone-faced terraces in two increments, ultimately creating an entity measurung 1.67m across.
Continued deposition of S.2 succeeded Str. 104-8-1st’s abandonment, eventually creating a level 0.18-0.39m thick overlying S.1. Stratum 3, a brown, moderately fine-textured, moderately hard-compacted root-rich, clayey soil, coves S.2 by 0.05-0.12m. Feature 1, a light to moderately dense concentration of stones dislodged from final-phase construction, is found embedded in upper S.2 and S.3 for ca. 1.2m south and 1.7m north of architecture. The stones are more densely packed south of U.7 than north of U.10.
Structure 104-9 (Figures **-**) [1 plan, 1 section; D96-98]
Structure 104-9 defines the southern side of the patio the northern and western flanks of which are defined by Strs. 104-7 and 104-8, the latter building lying 5m to the north and west, respectively. The building was raised over land that slopes up from east-to-west towards the patio, modern ground surface ascending 0.16m over ca. 8.7m in that direction. Structure 104-9 was investigated by a single trench, Subop. 104D, that cuts east-west across the edifice. Suboperation 104D measures 1x8.7m and was dug to maximum depths of 0.82m below modern ground surface outside architecture and 0.67m below ground level into and through construction fill. A single building phase was revealed in the course of this work overseen by A. McCoy and E. Iglesias.
| Time Span | Construction Phase | Units | Strata | Features | Date |
| 1 | - | - | S.1,2 | - | LCLIII |
| 2 | Str. 104-9-1st | U.1-9 | - | F.1 | LCLIII |
| 3 | - | - | S.2,3 | F.2 | - |
Time Span 1
Stratum 1, a gray-brown, moderately fine-textured, loosely compacted soil incorporating numerous small pebbles (0.05m<diameter, most are 0.01m<diameter), lies ca. 0.2m below the base of architecture. This earth level has a maximum uncovered thickness of 0.45m, though its base lies beyond excavation limits. In general, S.1 rises 0.28m over 7.76m east-to-west, though the revealed portions of the surface are highly irregular. East of construction, for example, S.1 ascends 0.21m and then drops 0.13m within the space of 0.93m east-west, descending 0.19m north-to-south within the same area. Stratum 1 disappears into the base of excavation 1.07m west of Str. 104-9-1st, hinting at the presence of yet another declivity in this area. The causes of these undulations, natural or cultural, are unknown. No artifacts were definitively associated with S.1, though we can not categorically state that it was culturally sterile.
Stratum 2 is a brown, moderately fine-textured, hard-compacted clayey soil that lacks the gravel inclusions identified in the underlying S.1. Roughly 0.2m of this earth level was deposited atop S.1 prior to Str. 104-9-1st’s erection. Cultural material recovered from S.2 indicates human habitation in the immediate vicinity of the area investigated by Subop. 104L, predating TS.2.
Structure 104-9-1st is a stone-faced platform the southeastern and northwestern margins of which are defined by 0.44m and 0.35m high basal facings (U.2 and 1, respectively; U.2's height is estimated based on its poorly preserved remains). Unit 2 is backed by a fill composed of large to small cobbles set in a brown soil matrix indistinguishable from S.2 (U.3). Unit 3 terminates at U.4, a 0.36m high by 0.41m wide cobble wall (U.4) that defines the southeast side of a paved summit surface (U.5). Unit 4 may have been completely buried on the southeast by U.3 fill, tentatively suggesting that U.2/3 represent an addition to an earlier structure of which U.4 was the southeast basal facing. This expansion of the building created a southeastern summit floor that was 0.3m above the northwestern pavement (U.5).
The ca. 2.45m intervening between U.1 and 4 is completely covered by the U.5 cobble floor above which rise the remnants of possibly two rooms lying northwest and southeast of U.6. The latter is a 0.6m wide by 0.34m high stone wall that runs 0.9m southwest from its intersection with U.8. Unit 8, defining the northwestern room’s northeast margin, rises 0.22m above U.5 and is approximately 1m long. The full width of U.8 was not revealed, though it measures at least 0.85m across. This unusual breadth, especially for a summit construction, implies that U.8 may not have been a shelf instead of a foundation for superstructure walls. The putative southeastern enclosure is delimited on the northwest, southeast, and northeast by U.4, 6, and 7, respectively. The last of these components consists of a single stone extending 0.3m northeast of U.4, rising 0.12m above U.5. The 0.48m gap between U.6 and 7 may mark a doorway connecting the southeastern room with an enclosure in the unexcavated portion of the summit to the northeast. Similarly, U.6's formal termination on the southwest might have functioned as the northeast side of a passageway between the northwest and southeastern cubicles. The northwest and southeast rooms are ca. 1m and 0.85m wide northeast-southwest.
Unit 9 is a 0.2m high cobble construction that abuts U.1 and projects ca. 0.4m northwest of that basal facing into the patio. This entity may be a step or terrace appended to Str. 104-9-1st relatively late in its occupation span. Unit 9 did not run along the entire northwest face of Str. 104-9-1st. Feature 1, a 0.05-0.1m thick level of small (0.1m and less diameters) cobbles embedde in S.2, lies 1.2m northwest of U.9, the two entities resting at about the same depths. This stone concentration probably constitutes tumbled architectural debris derived from a building not visible on current ground surface.
All components of Str. 104-9-1st architecture are fashioned of cobbles bound together with a brown mud mortar. Foundations and facings comprising the edifice’s putative early version (U.1, 4, 6, and 8) generally consist of rocks, the naturally flatter aspects of which are oriented outwards. There is also a tendency in all four of these cases to set the larger stones comprising a wall on top of a basal level of smaller rocks, though, otherwise, horizontal coursing is not much in evidence. Some use of chinking stones is also attested to in U.1, 4, 6, and 8. Later additions to Str. 104-9-1st (U.2 and 9) are more casually built, little effort having been invested in selecting rocks with vertical aspects for inclusion in these entities nor are chinking stones common. Cobble sizes range from 0.15x0.15m to 0.26x0.42m, excluding chinking stones.
Structure 104-9-1st, therefore, is a platform standing 0.35-0.44m high, measures roughly 5.2m across northeast-southwest, and is oriented approximately 20 degrees. The building may have been erected in two phases. The initial substructure encompasses 3.16m across and supported two small, stone-paved rooms (0.85m and 1m wide) defined by low cobble footings. A 0.22m high cobble-faced and -surfaced shelf may have occupied the northeastern wall of the northwestern enclosure. Passage between cubicles was via gaps in the foundations. The building was subsequently expanded southeastward, creating a 1.64m wide surface set approximately 0.3m above the northwestern paved surfaces. No sign of room divisions or built-in furniture was noted atop this southeastern extension. At some point in this sequence, a 0.2m high by 0.4m wide step/terrace was appended to the northwest, patio-facing side of the platform, possibly to formalize summit access.
Deposition of S.2 resumed after Str. 104-9-1st, eventually creating an earth level 0.27-0.38m thick where it overlies exposed portions of S.1. Stratum 3, a dark brown, moderately fine-textured, hard-compacted, clayey soil, covers S.2 by 0.08-0.14m and contains a dense network of roots from modern vegetation. Embedded in the upper portions of S.2 and S.3 is F.2, a variably dense concentration of stones dislodged from final-phase architecture. Feature 2 is best represented on the southeast where a moderately dense collection of stones from U.2's collapse extend up to ca. 1m from that architectural element. Tumbled construction debris is much sparser on the northwest, the few stones comprising F.2 here extending for approximately 0.4m from U.9.
Initial occupation at Site 104 dates to the Middle Preclassic, use of the settlement during this span being localized at Str. 104-1. The incremental growth of the Str. 104-1 earthen platform over seven time spans hints at protracted occupation on this spot. Structure 104-1 was seemingly abandoned by the end of the Middle Preclassic, the massive structure looming over, but not incorporated into, later settlement to the west and north.
Habitation resumes at Site 104 in Late Classic II, ceramics diagnostic of this period being found in deposits predating significant construction at Strs. 104-4, 104-5, and, possibly, 104-7 to the west of Str. 104-1. No architecture is unambiguously assigned to this interval, though hints (such as F.1 beneath Str 104-5) suggest that such constructions were probably fashioned primarily of perishable materials (probably bajareque). Late Classic III seems to have been the interval of most intense occupation in the investigated patio groups. All of the studied buildings, in their various manifestations, were raised and in use at this time. Constructions dated to this interval included both surface-level and elevated edifices, though there seems to have been a trend toward converting the former buildings into platforms as the span wore on. The frequency of renovations attested to on the most thoroughly cleared edifices (Strs. 104-4, 104-5, and 104-7) implies that habitation at Site 104 encompassed most of Late Classic III.
Slight evidence of Early Postclassic use of Site 104 is indicated by the recovery of a few ceramics diagnostic of this period on and near Strs. 104-4 and 104-8. No architecture is assignable to this span nor, given the paltry quantity of remains found, does occupation during the Early Postclassic seem to have been significant. Site 104 was apparently abandoned by the end of the Early Postclassic.