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J. Eric S. Thompson made an extensive study of San José, what he considered to be a small ceremonial center located 35 km northeast of the site of Holmul. The San José site has a plaster-lined aguada, or water hole, four small plaza groups ofmounds,aballcourt,vaultedarchitecture,andplainstelae. 14.1. J. ERIC S. THOMPSON Exploration in Campeche and Quintana Roo and Excavations at San José, British Honduras YB 35:125–128, 1936 In an endeavor to learn something of the archaeology of the region directly east of that explored by the 14.0. San José 395 Campeche expedition of 1932, 1933, and 1934 [Chapters 15.1 to 15.3], an expedition left Chichén Itzá at the end of February 1936, with Mr. Thompson in charge, Mr. J. C. Harrington, surveyor; Mr. Conrad Kratz made rubbings of inscriptions and graffiti. Principal objectives were the collection of epigraphic material and of such other data as might throw light on the position in Maya history of the peculiar architectural styles known as Río Bec and Ramonal, both of which find very close parallels in the architecture of the Chenes region, and to a lesser extent in that of the Puuc and that of the so-called Renaissance style at Chichén Itzá and elsewhere. On the other hand, there are also certain parallels between Río Bec sites and cities of northeastern Petén, particularly La Honradez. On the strength of the above resemblances it has been suggested that Río Bec and Ramonal architectural styles are transitional in time between the so-called Old and New Empires. An alternative theory that the sites are transitional merely in geographical sense has also been advanced. T H E C A R N E G I E M A Y A 396 SAN JOSÉ Three new sites, Las Escobas (18 degrees, 21'.6, 89 degrees 20'.6), No Te Metas, and San Lorenzo, possessing architecture in these two styles, were discovered. Unfortunately very little ceramic material was recovered .Sherdsfromunderthefloorsofthebuildingswould undoubtedly have solved the problem few sherds, however,werefoundatterraceedges,andtheseshould eventually yield evidence on the age and cultural relationships of the ruins. A considerable amount of information on architecture and masonry was obtained. El Palmar, a large site situated at 18 degrees, 5.'0, 89 degrees 20.'6, detained the expedition for three weeks. This city had been built around two lakes, one of which had in its center, a small island bearing the ruins of a small structure and a plain stela. Mr. Harrington mapped an area 900 m north and south, by 660 m east and west. Every superstructure had fallen, but fragmentary, walls showed that masonry was unsquared and unfaced. It had been laid in and covered, masses of mortar. This masonry contrasted sharply with the very carefully faced stone veneer found on buildings of the Río Bec and Ramonal styles. The collapsed state of the superstructures of El Palmar is probably to inferiority of construction, since the large areas of exposed mortarofferreadylodgementforvegetation .Forty-fourstelae and several round altars were found at El Palmar, but owing to the extreme softness of limestone from which they had been hewn, and the very low relief, little carving was preserved. Twenty-three stelae were carved, five plain, 16 so weathered that it was not possible to say whether or not they had once been sculptured . A peculiar feature of the inscriptions was the apparent absence of Initial Series. In those cases in which glyphs were legible, there were certainly no Initial Series, while in all other cases glyph blocks were too few to have recorded dates by this method. Period ending dates recovered were: 9.14,0.0.0?; 9.14.10.0.0; 9.18.10.0.0; 9.19.10.0.0; 10.2.15.0.0?. The stelae can be grouped stylistically with those of Naranjo and Calakmul, but in composition one stela, at least, resembles those of Honradez, in that the base of the design is occupied by a large mask, perhaps a link with the carved square columns of Yucatán. Artistically, a find of outstanding importance was a cache of eccentric flints and obsidian cores and flakes from beneath a stela. One of the flints, which was executed in the same technique as some found at Quiriguá (Joyce 1933:88) was superbly chipped to represent , in profile, four seated deities. A ballcourt, situated close to the great plaza, is of the usual early type with sloping...

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