Another day, another bag of pot sherds and dirty clothes. Another day, another set of sore muscles and shiny sunburns. Another day, another rainstorm. Another day, another crazy idea to spruce up the bachelor pad from the boys (the latest was a pila cooling system tailor made for amoebic dysentery). Another day, another stealthy surprise from Inga (today's: she is the smallest person on the project and also the strongest). Another day, another type of Honduran fauna for Ivey to chase after (today: frogs living in the puddle at the bottom of our excavation unit). Another day, another fried, fatty culinary delight from Dona Pasquale. Another day, another adventure. Such is life at PADO central.
In archaeological news, now that we're a few days in, our excavations are starting to get more interesting. Just look at these happy excavators!...
Tumbled cobbles are beginning to look promisingly like they could conceal preserved architecture behind them. Artifact counts are increasing; maybe we'll find that midden behind Structure 5 after all. Chunks of adobe (we call it bajareque) offer clues about structure decay and construction practices. But, man has it been muddy! Screening the excavated soil was a particular trial today. It clumped into hard little balls of mud, concealing the artifacts lurking within and stubbornly refusing to pass through the fine mesh of the screens.
Last evening's crazy rainstorm, though, did serve to keep the morning blessedly cool. With the bad comes a little good. We're philosophical here at PADO central, too.
After a long morning creating new aches and pains out in the field, PADO staff and students are starting to settle into a quiet afternoon routine: lunch, errands, typing up field notes, washing artifacts, studying for classes, and exploring Jesus de Otoro.
It's a beautiful afternoon here in town--sunny skies are filled with confectionary clouds and the house is quiet and full of delicious dinner smells. La vida esta buena. Hasta la promixma vez!
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