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54AMCS Bulletin 12 — Chapter 4Closing RemarksFigure 4.1.18. Map of Actun Toh and associated surfacestructures.three lots (table 4.1.16). A total of 127 sherds werecollected from the treads of the stairway (SJ2O7-2). Istrongly suspect that this material tumbled into operation7 from the collapsing northern edge of the floor.In other words, these sherds were likely at one timedeposited as sub-floor construction fill. This was mostdefinitely the case with SJ2O7-1, which is characterizedby a steep flow of sherd-bearing fill that hasspilled out of the exposed sub-floor ballast. It is alsolocated beneath the section of the sub-floor that wasprofiled and collected (see figure 4.1.17 and table4.1.5). The ceramics in SJ2O7-2/1 were extracted frombeneath one of the steps and include sherds from theDzudzuquil and Sierra groups. Although MiddlePreclassic material is consistently associated with thesub-floor construction fill, it can be stated with somecertainty that the consolidation of the sub-floor fill aswell as the construction of the stairway into operation7, took place during a later period.Although the complexity of Actun Toh stands outamong other caves in the survey, it shares with themcertain distinct similarities. Notable modifications ofthe cave’s interior demonstrate the importance placedon the small (and seemingly insignificant) pool thatonce provided access to the water table. An establishedcircuit within the cave directed attention towards naturallyor artificially enclosed or delineated spaces. Inthe case of Actun Toh, the extraction of a sascab-likematerial was particularly valued. Points along thiscircuit were marked by offerings, while the paths themselveswere further designated as specialized routesby sherds scattered along them. The spatial organizationof Actun Toh is developed in more detail in thefinal chapter of the dissertation.The ceramic collection from Actun Toh attests toits long use history. A quantitative assessment of representedceramic groups suggests a strong LatePreclassic to Early Classic component. The fact thatno whole vessels were found within the cave can likelybe attributed to looting activities. It is unclear whetheror not each sherd in the cave’s diverse assemblage atone time belonged to a vessel that was introduced intothe cave whole. Nevertheless, I am led to believe thata signification percentage of the cave’s pottery wasbrought in and deposited as sherds. A number of sherdswere recovered from contexts that were highly stableand essentially sheltered from erosive forces. Consequently,many of these sherds were in pristine condition.However, other sherds among them were visiblyweathered. This suggests that they were either exposedat the surface for some time and later introduced intothe cave or they were transported from less stable areasof the cave. The Saxché Orange Polychrome sherdspose a similar problem. None of the sixteen sherdsrecovered appear to be from the same vessel. It shouldbe noted that one hundred percent of the cave’s surfacewas surveyed and no additional Saxché OrangePolychrome sherds were found. Either the remainingportions of these broken vessels were subsequentlyremoved from the cave or the sherds were brought inand deposited as vessel fragments. Many of the MiddlePreclassic sherds were in good condition, which suggeststhat they were deposited during this early period ratherthan collected from a surface site (either as sherds orwhole vessels) and brought into the cave at a latertime.Two platform structures are located at the surfacenear the entrance of Actun Toh (figure 4.1.18). It ispossible that the cave itself was part of a culturallydefined precinct, where controls were placed on its