The stratigraphy in our excavations was extremely complex in spite of the fact that seven feet of cultural material had been removed by modern cultural activity. A total of 55 discrete archaeological strata were recognized in our excavations. These distinct strata were identified on the basis of the ratio of shell to sand, the species of marine shell they contained and the degree of breakage they exhibited.We referred to these distinct deposits as zones and isolated them from each other through the use of stratigraphic excavation. Whenever we came across a new type of matrix or sediment change, we stopped our excavation and changed the designation of the strata so that the artifacts would be collected with the depositeswith which they are actually associated. Three distinct building platform stages are revealed in the above profile.
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