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An Introduction to the 2012 Chan Chich Archaeological Project
An Overview of the 2012 Season
Practical Matters
Chan Chich Lodge is built in and around the
Main Plaza of the ancient Maya site (Figure
1.2). In the plaza are 12 cabanas, the restaurant,
and the bar. Outside of the plaza to the north are
two large cabanas (casitas), a house (the former
residence of the managers and the location of
the lodge’s business office), the lodge’s laundry
facility, and the swimming pool. The original
plan had been for the field school to use the
house as a lab, staff housing, and dining hall,
but, as is often the case, plans changed. The
staff and students ate at the lodge’s restaurant
and were housed in the casitas and in two
cabanas. A third cabana served as my room and
the lab.
Investigations at Chan Chich
When we mapped the ruins in 1996, GPS
technology was not particularly accurate
for determining elevations. Therefore, our
contour map of the site was based on published
topographic maps of the area, which, as it turns
out, were also not very accurate for determining
elevations. Mr. Leroy Lee, a seismologist
working in and around Gallon Jug while we
were at the lodge, used his GPS to establish
a control point for us in the Main Plaza. We
chose a point south of the bar near the edge of
the asphalt drive for our control point, and Mr.
Lee’s GPS collected data for the better part of
day to acquire a solution. The UTM coordinates
for this location are Zone 16Q, Northing 19 40
412.846, Easting 2 75 875.557, and the elevation
is 118.722 m. Based on our 1996 map, we had
Figure 1.2.
Composite aerial photograph of Chan Chich Lodge, courtesy of Chet Walker, AGA-LLC.
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