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A more extensive clearing operation was focused on Structure 124, a small building (roughly 4 m by 6 m, .2 m high) constructed of unmodified river cobbles, located in the approximate center of the plaza. Over 2,500 pottery sherds were found littering the floor of the room and its immediate environs, and included large fragments of several different modeled censers, which suggest that rituals involving the burning of incense occurred in this building.
Also, two mature Spondylus shells were found cached in the interior of the room, indicating that the building likely was involved in significant ritual activities. The excavation of Structure 125, a plastered cobble and cut-block platform (roughly 4 m by 6 m, .4 m high) located a few meters to the north of Structure 124, likewise yielded abundant ceramics, and also the basal portion of a deer antler, suggesting its use in ritual contexts. In addition, the plaza’s northeastern corner was investigated, which revealed a 12 m wide (east-to-west) by 8 m long (north-to-south) staircase whose 5 main steps ascend to a height of approximately 2 m above the nearby causeway surface.
A large midden was uncovered at the northeast basal corner of the stairway, which yielded more than 10,000 ceramic sherds, including the remains of numerous polychrome vessels and a large, modeled figural censer. Immediately to the north of this deposit, a massive burial comprised of at least 12 disarticulated individuals (all appear to be adolescent males) was uncovered. The individuals were placed in a formal limestone cist (1.5 m north-south by 1.25 m east-west, and .5 m deep), which overlies an earlier version of the staircase.
Overall, individual elements were not found articulated in their correct anatomical positions, but instead, were heaped together in large piles with the crania placed separately on the margins of the cist’s interior. However, three concentrations of bones, found near the floor of the cist, maintained some articulations. Microscopic analyses have revealed that some bones show evidence of cut marks where ligaments attached, which indicates that at least some of the individuals were either defleshed or dismembered.
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