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AMCS Bulletin 12 — Chapter 4 77Table 4.7.1. Actun Pech ceramic collection.same vessel yet one was encased in calcite while theother was in perfect condition. This is typical of cavecontexts where fragments of broken vessels are exposedto different microenvironments and erroneouslyappear to represent different depositional episodes. Additionally,faunal material was recovered.Lot 11, which covers most of the dam feature, isquite sparse. Not surprisingly, lot 12, which was protectedfrom moving water, produced exceptionally wellpreserved sherds. By coincidence, the boundary betweenlots 12 and 13 fell on a natural break in slopealong the northern edge of the pool. As mentionedabove, the only material observed north of the poolincluded two ceramic clusters. The first consisted ofsherds from a single, cached AchioteUnslipped vessel. This vessel was placedin a small niche, which was partially sealedby a pile of stones. Surprisingly, only 20%of the vessel was present suggesting that itwas introduced to the cave as a partial orbroken vessel. The cluster on the oppositeside of the tunnel included sherds from twoincomplete ollas (one Chancenote Striatedand the other Carolina Bichrome Incised).No whole vessels were recovered fromActun Pech. However, partially reconstructedvessels suggest that they wereintroduced into the cave whole, rather thanas sherds. One might expect an assemblageconsisting of almost entirely of ollas, giventhe apparent singular function of the caveas a water collection site. In actuality,cajetes and tecomates were well represented.Although the tunnel offers littleroom for offertory activities, seeminglyimpractical vessels such as the small DzudzuquilCream-to-buff bowl, as well as specialized vessels,such as a spouted Maján Red-on-cream-to-buff olla,could have been placed along the sides of the passagewayor ritually broken inside the cave. The bestevidence for offertory caching is found in the lot 13clusters mentioned above.Discussion and Closing RemarksAn initial reconnaissance of the area surroundingActun Pech revealed the presence of a number of structures.Of particular interest are a low platform locatedapproximately 20 m north of the cave entrance and aFigure 4.7.11. Actun Pech tunnel looking northeast from 23 m into thecave. Note artificial mound of rocks, soil, and sherds. Location isindicated on map in figure 4.7.4. (Photo by Kurt R. Heidelberg.)