Q02-2u3 Descriptive Characteristics by Level

The stratigraphy at the Maymeja workshop contains layers at two distinct angles that suggest that mounding occurred initially downslope of where the mound is located today. The Q02-2u3 test unit measured only 1x1m and provided little spatial evidence for architectural interpretation, but the yellow surface labeled as S3 is suggestive of some kind of prepared surface associated with obsidian production at the workshop. Radiocarbon samples recovered from levels 4, 6, and 7 indicate that the sequence in this test unit spans the middle of the Terminal Archaic through to the Early/Middle Formative and probably well into the Middle Formative. A soil sample examined by UC Santa Barbara volcanologists from level 6 contained grains of biotite and hornblende but these grains may have derived from the older bedrock (Sarah Fowler, pers. comm., 27 Feb 2006). The sampling strategy during excavation at the obsidian source involved collecting 25% of flakes being excavated per level by retaining flakes from a single quad, while carbon samples, cores and retouched artifacts (most of which were presumably observed by the excavator) were collected from throughout the 1x1m unit. Thus, flake counts and weights are proportionally ¼ of the amount of other artifact types collected from the Q02-2u3 excavation.

Figure 7-12. Q02-2u3 workshop test unit west and north profile diagrams showing strata.

Figure 7-13. Q02-2u3 west profile at Maymeja workshop site [A03-126].

Lvl	HBD*	Contents	Soil	Photos #s
1	51	S1 Strata. 1 projectile point.	Dark brown 7.5YR3/2, Silty loam, Med grain, poorly sorted, .7/.7	243
2	62	S2	Dark greyish brown 2.5YR4/2, Sand, Coarse grain, poorly sorted, .9/.5	244-245
3	72	S2	F1; Dark brown 7.5YR4/2, Silty sand, Medium grain, poorly sorted, .9/.5	246-249
4	81	S2.14C: 3149±53bp	Dark brown 10YR3/3, Silty loam Fine grain, well sorted, .3/.7	N950:250-251 N4100: 2329-2330
5	93	S2,S3. Midden with yellow stains. Floor surface?	Dark yellowish brown 10YR3/4, Silty clay, Fine grained, well sorted, .3/.7	252-253
6	101	S3, S4: midden, F4&F5: depression on west edge, poss postmolds. Charcoal. S314C: 4063±39bp	Dark yellowish brown 10YR3/4, Silty loam Fine grain, well sorted, .3/.7. Grains of biotite and hornblende encountered in soil sample.	254-256
7	108	Charcoal, Moist soils. Fewer lithics. S414C: 4160±43bp	Dark greyish brown 10YR4/2, Silty loam, Fine grain, poorly sorted, .5/.7, F2: Dark yellowish brown, Silty loam, 10YR3/4, Fine grain, poorly sorted, .5/.7	258-259
8	122	Very moist, poss. altitude of bofedal.. Near sterile.	Brown 7.5YR4/3, silty sand, Med grain, poorly sorted, .7/.3	258-259
* HBD = mean height below datum in centimeters for the top of each level based on five depth measures per level.

Table 7-13. Q02-2u3 Excavation levels from test unit at the A03-126 workshop.

As with other units in Maymeja, TU3 consisted of almost exclusively obsidian artifacts in a matrix of tephra-rich soils. As would be expected at a workshop site, there was a great deal of redundancy both in material types and technical classes. Hammerstones were not found in abundance in the excavation, but cores made a large contribution to the assemblages in most levels. This is considerably more than are encountered in consumption sites. For example, in all 13 levels in the test unit A02-26u1 (Taukamayo) only 15 cores were found.

Figure 7-14. Proportions of Tech Classes in excavation levels by count in Q02-2u3.

Lvl		Biface		Core		Flake		Flake Retouched		Total
		No.	Wt.(g)	No.	Wt.(g)	No.	Wt.(g)	No.	Wt.(g)	No.	Wt.(g)
1	No. and Wt.	3	31	59	1484.1	151	765.2	6	73.7	219	2354
	Std. Resid.	-1.2		1.1		-.4		.2
2	No. and Wt.	7	52.4	49	1218	151	699.4	4	29	211	1998.8
	Std. Resid.	.5		0		0		-.6
3	No. and Wt.	13	100.5	70	2703.4	279	602.1	2*	60.2	364	3466.2
	Std. Resid.	1.0		-1.6		1.2		-2.4
4	No. and Wt.	9	60.1	94*	2915.4	205	998	11	209.9	319	4183.4
	Std. Resid.	.1		2.3		-1.5		1.0
5	No. and Wt.	6	60.9	54	1500.8	187	558.7	7	71.2	254	2191.6
	Std. Resid.	-.3		-.7		.4		.2
6	No. and Wt.	2	15.5	8	306.3	55	406.4	7**	33.3	72	761.5
	Std. Resid.	0		-2.1		.5		3.9
7	No. and Wt.	1		18	582.3	50	618.7	1	9.7	70	1210.7
	Std. Resi.	-.7		.4		0		-.6
Total	No. and Wt.	41	320.4	352	10710.3	1078	4648.5	38	487	1509	16166.2

Table 7-14. Q02-2u3:c²showing Technical Class by Level with the Standard Residual.

The variety of technical classes by level is shown above, with very significant counts of retouched flakes in level 6, and significantly low counts of retouched flakes in level 3. There are also a significantly high number of cores discarded in level 4. The weight of these assemblages is also important because, for example, while the count is high in level 3 the weight is relatively low as the assemblage consists of many small flakes. The thickness of each layer (HBD in Table 7-13) can be compared with weight.