One Day Left...

It's hard to believe three weeks have gone by so fast, but they have. Tomorrow is our last day at Sinsimbla.

Excavations in two of the three sub-operations have been completed and stratigraphic profiles (drawings that show the layering of soil, rocks and whatever else is in the ground) have been drawn. The third -- the test pit in Sub-operation E -- has been excavated to sterile soil (meaning there were no artifacts and likely no cultural material left to be found). To put that into perspective, it's about one cubic meter of dirt -- which may not seem like a lot until you see the hole it creates.

Tomorrow, all that remains is to draw the stratigraphic profile of Sub-operation E and then backfilling of all the units. Backfilling is when all of the soil and stone removed from the excavation unit during the course of the season is put back in the ground. Not only does this protect any remains uncovered during the season, but it leaves the surface of the site looking the same as it did when we arrived.

In other news, what follows is the promised photo summary of the "conditions of malaise" encountered by various members of Team PADO this season. They include but are not limited to:

Bruises:


Upset stomachs:

Falling down while walking:


Falling off rock walls combined with blistering sunburns:

And regular sunburns -- both from excavating and from riding in the back of the pick-up truck:


Tune in tomorrow for the next exciting installment of "PADO in the Field" ... where we highlight the art of backfilling!!!

Winding down

As hard as it is to believe, the 2011 PADO field season is almost over.

Emily, Thomas and Inga, and Denton, Tomoe and Merredith at Structures 1 and 9 respectively, have finished excavating and are now drawing profiles of their units. Ben, Eric and Ivey are continuing their excavation of Sub-operation E to the west of Structure 5 in the hopes of finding a midden. Thus far, they've been thwarted in their efforts but tomorrow is most certainly going to be the day! Outside of excavation, everyone has been working in the lab to clean and categorize their artifacts, writing up their final notes and crafting their deeply insightful reflection papers.


Bill has continued the task of creating a topographic map of Sinsimbla. This is accomplished by taking elevations (using equipment like that used by surveyors and road crews) with a Total Station and prism at hundreds of points around the site.

And, given that it's the end of the season, we thought it would only be fair to share photos from the menagerie of critters we've seen in the field since we've been here.



Not pictured are the geckos, the centipedes or the landowner's parrot.

Tune in tomorrow for a photo diary of the skin afflictions experienced over the past three weeks.

PADO's Excellent Adventure -- Part Deux

As you'll likely recall, when we last left our PADO adventurers, they were just leaving the cool temperatures of the highland town of Gracias in search of the Honduran Maya site of Copan.


Three hours of winding mountain roads, police check-points and numerous untethered cattle, the caravan pulled into Copan safe and sound. It only took the students long enough to take quick shower and change clothes before they freed themselves from the shackles of Sandra and Bill and went to explore the town. (Meanwhile, Bill and Sandra rested and then went for coffee at a nearby cafe). Dinner was at a local eatery, after which the students went to a local club called the Lost Monkey.

The next morning, after a traditional breakfast of beans, eggs, tortillas and cheese, Team PADO hiked to the ruins of Copan. Though most of the archaeological remains in Honduras belonged to Lenca and other cultures, the site of Copan is a huge Maya center located just near the border with Guatemala. During the Classic period, Copan was a dominate center in the region, with contacts extending as far away as central Mexico. It's an amazing site full of imposing buildings, elaborate stone carvings chronicling the rise and fall of kings, and tunnels into the acropolis that allow a view of Copan's earliest history. The site has a number of stela, including many of 18 Rabbit, the 13th ruler of Copan, who was eventually captured and beheaded by the ruler of the nearby city of Quirigua.


Other highlights include the ballcourt, the acropolis, and the hieroglyphic staircase.


Because the Maya tended to construct their buildings on top of each other over time, archaeologists have been able to dig tunnels into the most recent versions of structures (such as the acropolis) to find the earlier versions that are buried beneath. Many of these earlier buildings contain the tombs of kings, such the site's founder Yax Kuk Mo. Some of these are open to the public.



After exploring the site, the group visited the Sculpture Museum which houses much of the original sculpture from the site, including carved stone stela of kings, markers commemorating their reigns and a full-sized reconstruction of Rosalila, one of Copan's earliest royal buildings.


The students continued their exploration of the Copan in the afternoon and, from all reports, called it an early night. Even though it was a great trip, everyone seemed to be happy to return to Jesus de Otoro and their own beds.

Coming up tomorrow, a photo diary of this summer's skin conditions and possibly the critters seen thus far in the field.

Gracias and Copan -- Part One

So much happened on our trip to the Lenca highlands and Copan that it's hard to fully summarize. Having said that, we'll try. The first part of Thursday was spent in the field excavating. But after a productive morning and a delicious lunch of arroz con pollo, we piled into the trucks and pulled out of town. Although it took the Gringo Parade about two-and-a-half hours on winding mountain roads to make it to Gracias, the spectacular views made it entirely worth it.


We pulled into Gracias a little before 5 p.m. and settled into our hotel, Guancascos. Though the accommodations and hot showers were amazing, the best part of the evening had to have been the pizza! It was a feeding frenzy of epic proportions followed by an impromptu game (or 10) of Texas Hold 'Em (macaroni instead of chips) in the hotel restaurant.


Gracias is a beautiful town that, in 1544 briefly served as the Audencia for Central America. Currently it's undergoing something of a cultural revival and there are numerous churches and parks that have been newly restored or are under renovation. Even the owner of the hotel was trying to get an international accreditation for environmental sustainability.

Friday morning, after a delicious breakfast (several students had pancakes), we stopped into the casa de cultura (cultural center) to look at the local artifacts and exhibits and then climbed up to El Castillo de San Cristobal, a hilltop fort that was built during the 19th century.

Though several of the students wanted to stay and explore the town, Copan was in our future and we had miles to go before we slept.

Tune in tomorrow for Part Deux of PADO's excellent adventure!

Back to Otoro Safe and Sound

We have returned from a three-day tour through the Lenca highlands, Copan Ruinas, and all points in between. After many hours spent on the roads of Honduras there's plenty to report, but we'll leave that for tomorrow. At the moment we're all looking forward to a quiet dinner and early night. We're back in the field tomorrow to continue excavations and start mapping.

For those of you who are wondering what it is like to drive in Honduras...

Mud, Mud and More Mud

One of the challenges of working in Honduras during the rainy season is ... well ... the rain. Usually in the late afternoon or evening, the sky opens up and dumps rain on the valley. It can cause difficulties if you're trying to excavate. Team PADO knows this from experience. Last night's rain made excavation rather challenging for the students today.

At the test pit to the west of Structure 5, Ben, Ivey and Eric bailed water and screened soupy mud.


Mud was not the problem at Structure 9, however. For Tomoe, Merredith and Denton, it was the clay in the soil they had to deal with. Not only is it hard to excavate but it's also almost impossible to screen.


At Structure 1, things were a little drier for Inga, Thomas and Emily, as they continued work in their new excavation unit.


On a final note, everyone is looking forward to our trip to Gracias and Copan. We leave tomorrow after lunch and will travel to Gracias where we will spend the night. On Friday, we'll head to Copan where we'll stay until Sunday morning.

Stay tuned ...

It was just another typical day for the students of the PADO archaeological field school. The weather was tolerable, the snacks were delicious and the work progressed just that much further.


Over at Structure 1, Thomas, Emily and Inga opened a new excavation unit in their never-ending search for architecture.


Tomoe, Merrideth and Denton, under the supervision of "Wild Bill" McFarlane at Structure 9, also opened a new excavation unit.


And finally, over in the shaded area to the west of Structure 5, Ben, Ivey and Eric finished yesterday's 10 centimeter level and started on a new one.

Even though there's lots of archaeology at Sinsimbla, there's also a lot of wildlife. In addition to the cattle who are ever-curious about what these crazy gringos are doing digging square holes in their field, today the men who were clearing the site found a snake that they pronounced to be a False Fer de Lance (Xenodon rabdocephalus). Though no one is sure how they managed it, the snake was put inside a soda bottle so the students could see it.


Following the excitement of the morning and a lunch of beans, plantains, rice and tortillas, the afternoon was spent in the lab cleaning and processing artifacts, repairing the screens used for sifting through the dirt and entering field notes into the computers. All in all, it was a good day in Honduras.