El Aguilucho:
Located on a saddle roughly 1 km. west of
Cerro Chucunhueso, a steep, volcanic promontory constituting one of the more
striking land features in the region. The hills of Aguilucho and Cerro
Chucunhueso are separated by the Quebrada Seca, a steep ravine
containing not only the massive jadeite boulder but also translucent
jadeite of various colors, including green and light purple as well as
blue. To the west of Sitio Aguilucho, there is the Quebrada del Mico. A
small, tributary ravine on the western side of this quebrada contains
extensive natural sources of jadeite, including a highly translucent,
greenish blue hue, with nearby lithic workshops. This
jade source is
also entirely visible from Sitio Aguilucho, and clearly this site was
oriented towards major jadeite sources in the region.
Los Encuentros
are located further south but shares the same
architectural
arragement.
The site is composed of a series of five hillside terraces supporting
over forty structures, most of these apparently house platforms. These
platforms are generally small, and are generally under two meters in
height. In general, the architecture is relatively simple, being
platforms lined with quadrangular schist blocks, or laja, on the
exterior surface. Although serpentine is the predominant stone in the
terrace areas, there is a schist outcrop roughly 300 meters west of
Terrace 3. In many cases, the platforms have two levels delineated by
schist blocks, one marking the upper edge of the platform, and an
interior, slightly higher level probably marking the edge of the
superstructure. In fact, contemporary houses in
Carrizal Grande
and
other towns in the area frequently have stones supporting the walls,
with larger stones delineating the outer edges of the house platforms.
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Actual
Site Views |
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Terrace
1 map |
Terrace
2 map |
