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

Another possible basalt deposition event occurred in conjunction with Structure
109, approximately 650 m to the southeast of 84 (see Figure 6.7). As noted in Chapter 4,
Structure 109 is a rectangular, truncated pyramidal platform with rounded corners and a
large, level summit area. The most notable feature of the structure is a ramp extending
from the top of northeast side of the platform that gradually descends over a distance of
nearly 100 m. At the end of this incline is a remarkably straight anomaly that extends
approximately 120 m to the northeast. In Figure 6.7 the magnetometer data have been
superimposed over a topographic map. This image illustrates that Linear Anomaly 1
conforms to the surface features and that an extension of its directional axis intersects
Structure 84 and its massive buried anomaly. Its directional path toward Structure 84 may
suggest some type of symbolic connection or relationship between these two structures.
Another major feature was identified through an examination of the surface collection
and is directly associated with the causeway. Data revealed a highly circumscribed area
of ceramic and lithic deposition that literally straddles the axis line and extends between
Structure 109 and 84 (Figure 6.8). The Primary Deposition Zone (PDZ) is so named due
to the fact that 1,490 of the 4,756 ceramic artifacts recovered during the entire surface
collection across Fields 1 through 8, were collected within this bounded sector. Although
the PDZ represents only 8.3 percent of the surface area collected, it accounts for 33
percent of the total ceramic assemblage and 28 percent of the lithic assemblage recovered
in the surface collection.
When considering the PDZ, it should be noted that the rectangular shape and
straight-line boundaries are features created by the grid-based collection process, not of
the original deposition process. As well, during the collection process, the ground cover
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