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Results of the 2012 Excavations at Kaxil Uinic Ruins Matthew C. Harris and Vincent M. Sisneros INTRODUCTION The first season of investigations at Kaxil Uinic ruins (Figure 5.1) took place as part of the 2012 field season of the Chan Chich Archaeological Project (CCAP). The focus of the investigations included determining the extent, condition, and nature of the prehistoric site, the age of the site, the conditions of the monuments at the site, and the site’s relationship to Chan Chich. The 2012 CCAP field season commenced on May 23, 2012, and ended on June 20, 2012. The authors, both Texas Tech University graduate students, served as field supervisors to six field school students and several workmen hired from Chan Chich Lodge to assist in the field. Sir J. Eric S. Thompson (1963) planned to conduct fieldwork at the site in 1931, using workers from the nearby chicle camp (see Figure 5.1. Map of the ruins of Kaxil Uinic based on Guderjan et al. (1991:Figure 33). Harris, Matthew C., and Vincent M. Sisneros 2012 Results of the 2012 Excavations at Kaxil Uinic Ruins. In The 2012 Season of the Chan Chich Archaeological Project, edited by Brett A. Houk, pp. 45–64. Papers of the Chan Chich Archaeological Project, Number 6. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Texas Tech University, Lubbock. 45
The 2012 Season of the Chan Chich Archaeological Project Houk’s [this volume] discussion of the historic village and chicle camp). However, when the camp was closed and the workers moved prior to his arrival in March 1931, he decided not to do any excavations at Kaxil Uinic and instead conducted excavations near the village of San José (Thompson 1963). In the San José report, Thompson (1939:280) published a brief description of Kaxil Uinic and the structures associated with it: “[m]ounds, sculptured stela, plain altar. Second group on west bank of R. Holmul (Bravo) one league southeast.” Thompson (1963:233) later published his description of the chicle camp of Kaxil Uinic in Maya Archaeologist as “…huts scattered around a dirty water hole…” After Thompson’s departure from British Honduras, archaeologists would not study the area for over 50 years. The land where Kaxil Uinic is located was once owned by the Belize Estates Land Produce Company. In the 1980s a Belizean named Barry Bowen purchased part of the former holdings, including the land where the ruins of Kaxil Uinic are located. Today, this property is known as Gallon Jug Ranch. The archaeological site of Chan Chich, also situated on the property, was chosen as the location of a jungle lodge (Houk 2011a:5). During the 1987, 1988, and 1990 field seasons of the Rio Bravo Archaeological Project, Thomas Guderjan (1991:35) and his teams conducted mapping of the ruins at Chan Chich. Guderjan et al. (1991:59) also recorded a site called E’kenha, which Houk (this volume) has concluded is actually the site Thompson referred to as Kaxil Uinic. Guderjan’s crews mapped 12 structures and “a very badly damaged carved stela and altar” at the site, but conducted no excavations (Guderjan et al. 1991:59). Following the Rio Bravo Archaeological Project, Brett A. Houk conducted formal archaeological investigations at Chan Chich in 1996–1999, 2001, and again in 2012. During the 1996 CCAP field season Houk (2011b:13): …discovered a sacbe running west from Chan Chich, but the length of the sacbe was never determined. It is hypothesized that it connects Chan Chich to Kaxil Uinic. If confirmed, this would be an important discovery; thus far no sacbe terminus group has been documented in the eastern half of the Three Rivers Region. The site of Kaxil Uinic is 2.6 km west of Chan Chich, with a bajo located between the two sites. The aguada and the associated historic chicle camp described by Thompson (1963) are about 500 m south of Kaxil Uinic ruins, on what is today Yalbac Ranch. The La Lucha Escarpment is about 900 m west of the ruins. Kaxil Uinic is on a small rise west of the bajo. RESEARCH DESIGN As discussed below, due to the condition of the vegetation at the prehistoric site we were unable to completely follow through with our original research design. The vegetation was very thick and there were many felled trees as a result of a hurricane that struck the area in 2010. Therefore, the original research design had to be almost completely revised to conduct investigations at the site. Below is an explanation of the original and modified versions of the research design. Original Research Design We had planned to clear the vegetation in the two courtyards at Kaxil Uinic to enable better visibility of the structures, monuments, and features. A datum was to be established in the western courtyard (southwest of Structure 3), and an east-west oriented baseline was to be cut extending about 200 m in both directions. At 25-m intervals along the baseline, we planned 46
Page 1 and 2: The 2012 Season of the Chan Chich A
Page 3 and 4: Contents Acknowledgments...........
Page 8 and 9: Return to Paradise: An Introduction
Page 10 and 11: An Introduction to the 2012 Chan Ch
Page 12 and 13: An Introduction to the 2012 Chan Ch
Page 14 and 15: Multi-sensor Archaeo-geophysical Su
Page 16 and 17: Archaeo-geophysical Survey of the U
Page 26 and 27: Chan Chich: 2012 Investigations of
Page 36: Chan Chich: 2012 Investigations of
Page 51: The 2012 Season of the Chan Chich A
Page 72 and 73: Preliminary Comments on the 2012 Ce
Page 80 and 81: The Chan Chich Archaeological Proje
Page 82 and 83: CCAP Digital Data Collection System
Page 90 and 91: Dear Dr. Thompson Matthew C. Harris
Page 92: Dear Dr. Thompson Figure 8.3. Scan

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