This building, which we called "the House of Mirrors," was located next to the Palace Group. The main part of the structure consisted of three rooms--north, central and south rooms--each with a spacious bench in the rear part. Thin walls running parallel to the long axis of the building divided the front and rear parts of each room. In the northern part of the front portions of the north and central rooms were small benches, each with a niche underneath it. The masonry parts of the exterior walls made of roughly shaped blocks appear to have been measured 2 to 2.5 m in height and to have directly supported beams. On the northern side of the structure, excavators found a coarse line of stones defining a rectangular area. It is probable that this area was roofed, and we called it the north addition. Although the main part of the building had raised floors, the floor of the north addition was at the same level as the exterior floor. The floors and bench surfaces of the main rooms were stuccoed, whereas the floor of the north addition does not appear to have had plaster.
The north room contained numerous lithic tools and several utilitarian vessels, including large storage jars. Found on the northern side of the front porch of this room was a large metate, most likely used for grinding maize. Nine manos and three doughnut stones were neatly stored on the floor in front of the rear bench. These findings suggest that the north room and the nearby space appear to have been associated with food storage and preparation. A finding of interest in the north room was a plate without sides. Although its shape is similar to a comal, or a griddle for cooking tortillas, its function remains unclear. Current evidence suggests that the Classic lowland Maya consumed maize in the forms of tamales and atol (porridge), whereas their highland neighbors had cooked tortillas since Preclassic times. The plate without sides from Str. M8-4 does not have remains of soot on the exterior, and use wear is found at the center of the exterior base. If the plate was used as a comal on a three-stone hearth, one would expect heavy burning on the exterior and use wear toward the edge. Similar vessels were found in other excavated structures, but none of them exhibit clear evidence of use as comales. Excavators also unearthed shell ornaments, greenstone beads, and a ceramic flute in this room. A concentration of spindle whorls in the north room points to its association with spinning. A remarkable finding was a large, finely made figurine depicting a high-status male, which may represent an ancestral figure of this family.
The amount of artifacts found in the central room was relatively small. In front of and on the front bench were one stone pestle and seven stone mortars, each of which fits nicely in a hand. Five mortars and the pestles was made of chert, whereas the two other mortars were made of sandstone and possible metamorphic rock. Three more chert mortars and one pestle were found near the pillar dividing the central and south rooms and in front of the south room. These objects were probably used for the preparation of pigments, although analysis by Harriet Beaubien at the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education did not detect residues of pigments. There were twelve to fourteen unworked riverine bivalve shells in the same area. It is suggestive that the central room of Str. M8-10 also contained similar shells along with stone mortars. These shells may have been used as ink pots. It appears that a scribe worked sitting on the front bench of this room. The quantity of ceramics found in the central room is relatively small, but a small bowl left in the niche under the front bench of this room survived as a complete piece. Two fragments of carved bones uncovered on the back bench of this room had glyphic texts with the Aguateca emblem glyph, pointing to the high status of the residents. One of the most remarkable finding of the project was an alabaster ornament unearthed on the bench of the south room. Stephen Houston identified it as an image of the Jester God, or a symbol of rulership (Freidel 1990). Two holes in the back of the Jester God head were probably for attachment to a head band. There were also small perforations in the nose and chin of the Jester God, to which beads were probably attached. Associated with this ornament were eleven or twelve square alabaster plaques, also with small perforations for attachment. Stela 19 of Aguateca, recently discovered in the Main Plaza by the Aguateca Project, as well as Stela 7, depict Ruler 5 of Aguateca, Tan Te' K'inich--possibly the last king of this center--wearing a Jester God headband, with small beads on the nose and chin of the Jester God and square plaques along the band (Figure 14). The depictions of the Jester God on the stelae are identical to the excavated piece. Although Miller (1986:63) points out that some nobles depicted in the Bonampak Murals wear Jester God headbands, in most other cases the use of Jester God images is reserved for rulers. One may entertain the thought that the excavated alabaster ornament was the very piece worn by the last ruler of Aguateca and depicted in the stelae.
The same room contained more than 300 mosaic pieces of pyrite mirrors. Some pieces were found attached to fragments of a stone mirror back, although the glue had already been lost. The analysis of these materials by Marcelo Zamora and Inomata showed that some mosaic mirror pieces were in the process of being reworked into possible ornaments of rectangular shapes. The entire stages of reworking were represented by the excavated samples. The manufacturer first string-cut and snapped two longer sides of a rectangular shape. The cut sides were then polished. Finally, the manufacturer cut or polished shorter sides of a rectangle and further polished the longer sides to give them rounded edges. When mirror mosaic parts were not large enough to make a rectangular shape, two pieces were combined. Finished rectangular ornaments were found next to the Jester God diadem, whereas pieces in the process of reworking were unearthed 30 to 70 cm apart from the carved alabaster. Unreworked mosaic pieces were also found mixed with these reworked objects and in the surrounding areas.
Next to the Jester God ornament, excavators also found four pieces of possible siltstone and one fragment of ceramics that had similar shapes to those of reworked pyrite objects. In addition, a concentration of 10 pieces of worked bone, each measuring roughly 2 cm in length, was found on the same bench about 1 m to the southeast of the Jester God diadem. One end of each piece was rounded whereas the other end was not smoothed after it was cut and snapped. Interestingly, the rounded ends of most pieces were more severely burned than the other unsmoothed end. It appears that these worked bones were embedded in perishable materials on the unsmoothed ends, which were thus protected from fire. These objects, including reworked pyrite pieces, siltstone objects, and worked bones, were probably parts of complex composite ornaments, such as a headdresses, which were meant to be used by the ruler along with the Jester God headband. A resident of this structure and assistants may have been preparing new royal attires or refurbishing existing ones for the next ceremony. The level of iron in the floor of the south room, however, was relatively low. Nor did we find debitage from the reworking of pyrite pieces. Interestingly, soil chemistry analysis detected an area of high iron concentration 2 m to the southeast of the structure (Terry et al. 2001). If the manufacturer cut and polished pyrite pieces in the south room, he must have thoroughly collected manufacturing refuse and threw it outside. Or he may have worked outdoors and brought back unfinished pieces to the south room. The north addition contained numerous artifacts, including utilitarian ceramic vessels and stone tools. It may have been a working or storage space. Marco Antonio Monroy who analyzed ceramics from this structure recognized four round reworked sherds, each measuring 10 to 15 cm in diameter, which were unearthed in the southeastern corner of the north addition and in the nearby areas. Eight similar objects were also found in the area to the south of the structure. Some of them were reworked bases of large bowls or jars and had burned clay caked on their exteriors. Also found in the southern area were a chunk of burned clay and numerous pyrite pieces along with a fragment of a mirror back. Only two similar reworked sherds were found in the rest of the excavated structures in the Causeway area, and the high number of round reworked sherds appears to be related to a unique activity conducted in and around Str. M8-4. Activities involving the use of clay were probably conducted in these areas, but their precise nature needs to be further examined.
In sum, Str. M8-4 was most likely an elite residence occupied by a high courtier who worked closely for the last ruler of Aguateca. The north room, and possibly north addition, were related to food storage and preparation. The central room with a relatively small number of artifacts may have been used for meetings and the reception of visitors. The soil phosphate levels in the north room and the north addition are moderately higher than those in the central and south rooms, reflecting this pattern of space use (Terry et al. 2001). A resident also seems to have engaged in scribal or artistic work in the central room. Another important task performed in and around this structure was the preparation and maintenance of royal attires, such as a Jester God headband and a headdress.
