Aguas Buenas (Nicaragua): Mysterious Mounds

Uncovering Matagalpa Archaeology in Central Nicaragua

Source – VIDEO = http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/13/mysterious-mounds-uncovering-matagalpa-archaeology-in-central-nicaragua/

Ashes are drifting across the gray agricultural field, purposefully set ablaze some time ago. In the field, stone and earthen mounds are visible at regular intervals. In this setting, we’ll be working for the next few weeks at the site of Aguas Buenas, located to north of the city of Juigalpa. The Central Nicaragua Archaeological Project is an ongoing archaeological investigation to shed light on the prehistory of Nicaragua, in particular its extraordinary indigenous tradition of monumental stone sculptures and its poorly understood ceremonial complexes. As part of this, the Aguas Buenas archaeological site holds special interest. Our recent explorations of the site have revealed its unequalled architectural characteristics and extraordinary number of mounds, spread out over the hilly Chontales landscape by means of wide concentric semi-circles. Current knowledge of prehistoric monumental architecture in Central America cannot tell us anything specific about why this site looks like it does. Nor is there a significant amount of previous archaeological research in the region to help us out in understanding Aguas Buenas. We’re basically working from scratch.

Today we kicked-off our 2013 field season featuring students from Leiden University, the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua and the University of Calgary, geared towards completing our GPS mapping of the site and excavating several of the more than 500 mounds. What are these mounds actually? When were they built and how? Do they serve a purpose as individual mounds or rather playing a role in the larger complex of the site itself? These are just some of the questions fuelling the effort to withstand scorching heat, prickly shrubs and the occasional snake and scorpion.

The day started around 6 AM, filling the pick-up with excited students, as well as shovels, sieves, levels, and the like. Rolling into the site a little bit later, everyone took a moment to take in the impressive landscape and trying to spot some of the mounds. Standing among the mound, one would never guess the 600-meter diameter semi-circular patterns these mounds clearly follow from an airborne perspective. Determining the mound to be excavated was determined by working on creating understanding of when distinct sectors of the site may have been built and how comparable the contents of mounds really are.

Having selected the most suitable mound, the actual excavation went underway around 9 AM. By lunchtime we had scratched the surface of the mound, working through Level 1. The deeper levels revealing the content of the mound are up next..