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Structure M7-32



Str. M7-32 was even more elaborately built than Str. M7-22. Erick Ponciano and Estela Pinto, who excavated this building, revealed a structure-wide front room by removing thick layers of rubble from the collapsed vault. This room led to a spacious center room, which was connected with the north room by a narrow doorway.The south room was facing sideways to the south. The bench of the center room was in a C-shape, and had niches under its northern and southern wings. The capstone of the northern niche was removed, and an adjacent area of the bench floor was broken. Dense deposits of sherds and other artifacts filled this niche without a capstone and the adjacent hole in the bench. This clearly shows that the bench was intentionally destroyed before the masonry roofs collapsed. The dense deposits also covered the entire area in front of the bench. The bench floor, on the other hand, was virtually clean of artifacts. The nature of these deposits appears to be similar to those associated with the east front room and the westernmost room of Str. M7-22. Notable in the deposit of Str. M7-32 were fragments of human crania and other bones. These deposits, blocking the access to the main chamber of the building, do not seem to be middens left by squatters. In particular, covering the destroyed parts of the bench with broken objects appears to have been a symbolic act.


Reconstruction of M7-32

Broken Niche