An Unexplored Realm in the Heartland of the Southern Gulf ... - Famsi

There are also high concentrations of K centered at 994033N/265900E,
1994019N/265877E, 1993988N/265882E, 1993998N/265898E, 1993990N/265910E, and
265903N/1993977E. All of these images show a decidedly circular and relatively equal
lessening of P concentrations as it moves away from the center. This distribution appears
to be consistent with fireplaces where wood ash or charcoal is distributed evenly around
the feature (see Middleton and Price 1996).
The concentrations of Mn are extensive across the survey area in Plaza I, but they
do not occur in spaces where high levels of K are present. The footprints of Mn actually
wrap around or are adjacent to the possible fireplaces. The activities that produced these
patterns, whether they are food preparation, ceramic craft production, or both,
demonstrate clearly significant human activity in the plaza. Phosphorus is also present in
varying concentrations and also spatially correlates with Mn, but is not present at the sites
of high K deposition.
Elemental Analysis of the Soils from Plaza II
In comparison to Plaza I, the chemical concentrations of K, Mg, and P in Plaza II
are low to say the least (Figure 4.30). A single substantially elevated level of K is present
at 1993965N/265787E, and there are other lower concentrations scattered across the
plaza. If these are indeed indicators of fires, they are significantly larger than those
detected in Plaza I, ranging up to 10 m in diameter. Manganese and P concentrations are
aligned and have a significant degree of overlap. The infrequent and lower levels of these
three elements may indicate that this plaza was cleaned repeatedly following activity
events, thereby not allowing chemical residues to become fixed in the soils.
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