News from Banana Bank Lodge

We spent most of our time excavating a 2 x 2 m unit at the platform of Temple 2F and Structure 3C, a relatively small structure (7 x 3 m, 1 m tall) in an intriguing location between two major temples (Strs. 3B and 3D) on a large semi-restricted plaza, Plaza 3. Cross-culturally priests live near or in temples (e.g., Aztec Mexico, Medieval Europe, ancient Egypt, etc.). Was this the case for the Classic Maya as well? Could Str. 3C have been a priest's house? Or did it house ceremonial objects? Preliminary lab analysis, conducted at Banana Bank, indicates feasting activities, and perhaps a living space. Sarah supervised Str. 3C excavations, while Melissa ran things at the Platform 2F test pit. At the latter, she and her crew exposed several burned floors and platform steps; at first we were not sure what was going on until one of the sidewalls revealed a chamber! The Maya, at c. 200 B.C. had buried something, likely an important individual; they continued to visit the chamber and make offerings (expressed via burned floors built against the chamber walls) for centuries. Sometime, perhaps c. A.D. 250, they removed whatever was in the chamber, conducted more rites involving burning, and covered the entire chamber with platform steps. We are pretty sure it was the penultimate resting place for someone who was important to the inhabitants of Yalbac-perhaps for their first king. Unfortunately for us, the Maya had removed any objects that would have indicated its actual function.
Andrew Kinkella, a PhD student at the University of California, Riverside, collected the last of the survey data he needed for his dissertation on the settlement patterns between Yalbac and the Cara Blanca pools to the north and northeast. We also had a brief visit by one of the top freshwater divers, Dr. Patricia Beddows, who starts a new position at Northwestern University in the fall. We took her to visit some of the pools. She was quite impressed with their location and geological significance, and has agreed to help me organize a diving expedition for May, 2009. We will collect geological information and plot any ancient Maya artifacts. Several pools have ancient Maya structures nearby, indicating that the Maya likely made offerings into the pools. They, like caves, are portals to the underworld or Xibalba.
The students also took advantage of the swimming pool at Banana Bank almost every day after work and visiting the local sites. Many hope to return next season. We all had a wonderful time at Banana Bank. Everyone there made us feel so welcome. See you all next season!