QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO—Riviera Maya News reports that two stucco benches discovered last year in the Yucatán Peninsula, near the Chakanbakán Archaeological Zone, have been restored by researchers from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) at the Chetumal Restoration Laboratory. Felix Camacho Zamora of the Conservation Area of the Maya Train Archaeological Rescue Project said that the benches, which are made up of a base with three upper sections constructed in four stages, have been dated to the Late Classic period, between A.D. 600 and 900. The first bench measures about 10 feet long and is decorated with three anthropomorphic figures wearing loincloths and a garment over their shoulders. Some geometric figures in black on the upper part of the bodies may have been intended to simulate fabric, explained restorer Kara Mora Yerena. She suggested that the figures may have been associated with funeral rituals. The second bench is L-shaped and faced with rectangular stones and red polychrome stucco. Scientists also determined that salts on the surface of the stucco had caused some deterioration of the materials. Protective edging and lime grout injections were applied to the benches to stabilize the modeled stucco decorations. The laboratory work and study of the benches’ iconography continues. For more on Maya archaeology in the Yucatán, go to "Jungle Realm of the Snake Queens."
