Copyright by Micaela Nerio Obledo 2011 - The University of Texas ...

final construction phase dating to the Classic period; though its architectural
foundation dated at least as early as the Terminal Late Preclassic. Excavations also
show that the abundance of Middle Preclassic architecture at the site were low
platforms that likely had a domestic or residential function. In the Late Preclassic,
these structures were replaced by higher platforms in the ceremonial core of the
site, with the eventual placement of three successive pyramids resulting in the final
form of Structure 35 (Hammond 1980a, 1980b, Hammond et al 1991: 15; Hammond
and Gerhardt 1990). Over 100 interments and 20 buildings were discovered during
the course of the Platform 34 excavations (Hammond et al 1991: 15).
The 1980 season excavations in the area of the North Square and South Square
revealed more evidence of Late Preclassic ritual activity (Hammond 1980a, 1980b,
1991a). Numerous apparently domestic buildings with multiple interments within
them were found in the North Square while South Square excavations indicated a
plain stela placed in from of Structure 35, numerous caches and a mass burial of 15
individuals (Hammond 1982). Another mass burial was located in the Middle
Preclassic courtyard fill (Hammond 1985).
Lastly, a return was made to the North Square in 1987 with the goal of
determining the function of the buildings on the north side of the patio, solidifying
the chronology that had been established and gaining a broader understanding of
the ecology and economy of earlier occupations at the site. The excavations showed
that the back areas of all phases of late Middle Preclassic buildings had been
removed during a ritual termination event prior to the construction of Platform 34.
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