| Rancho del
Rio is a large rural site in north central Honduras. Part of a larger
valley ofeconomic and political system; the site comprises at least
eight mounds, and has been dated from the Classic (A.D. 650) to Postclassic
(A.D. 1200) periods.
Excavation in 2003 has revealed that the site was actively engaged in
specialized ceramic manufacture making it very unique. In a further
twist, the primate site in the valley, El Coyote, has yielded no evidence
of any type of specialized production.
Further Excavation is planned in the summer of 2004.
The project goal for the 2004 season is to strip much of the central
courtyard area, as well as areas outside the compound, to determine
the exact location and extent of ceramic production. Further work on
the ceramics will include the beginning of petrographic analysis, the
development of site-specific typologies, and the location of local clay
beds used in past pottery manufacture.
In addition to the courtyard, attention will also be paid to deliniating
the extent and nature of the mounds, and other structures on the site,
in an effort to understand the relationship between different past families
on site, and its dynamics.
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