archaeology

Since 2014, the Punta Laguna Archaeology Project has been learning about the people who occupied Punta Laguna between about 100 BCE and 1500 CE. Specifically, the project is interested in how the individuals who occupied the site later in this time span interacted with the houses, temples, and monuments built hundreds of years earlier. How, in other words, did the ancient occupants of Punta Laguna interact with objects from the past?

To answer this and other questions, archaeologists and local community members are working together. We have completed a site survey and documented over 200 structures. Most are small houses but some are larger public buildings such as temples and shrines. The tallest structures are about 6m in height.

Project members have also begun excavations. We have found human remains, a piece of pyrite that likely formed part of a mosaic mirror, and coral from the coast.

The most common objects found, however, are pieces of ceramic vessels that would have been used for cooking, serving, and storing food; pieces of obsidian that would have been used to cut a variety of materials; and pieces of shell, some of which would have been used as beads.

Currently, we are using these artifacts to understand when the various structures were occupied, and whether and why the ancient inhabitants of Punta Laguna ignored, destroyed, revered, or altered places and things associated with the past.