chapter six

Structure 195-3

Structure 195-3 was the final building constructed on Mound 195 Sub and the structure most completely explored in excavations. It covered an area of about 434 m² and represents a complete renovation of Structure 195-4. With the exception of the main west entry, which could not be explored because of later constructions that covered it, Structure 195-3 was fully exposed in excavations, making it possible to draft a complete floor plan (Fig. 6.1). Like Structure 195-4, Structure 195-3 included two patios—southeast (SE) and northeast (NE)—each with rooms arranged around it. Each of these separate sectors of the house will be discussed in turn, beginning with the NE sector.

STRUCTURE 195-3NE

This section of the building measured approximately 13.7 m north-south and 11.1 m east-west and covered an area of about 152 m². It was built up against and partly incorporated into Structure 195-3SE and represents a major renovation over its Structure 195-4NE form. The renovation involved moving rooms south and east of their former Structure 195-4NE locations, raising them to a higher elevation, and incorporating some of the rooms on the south side into areas formerly occupied by rooms along the north side of Structure 195-4SE (compare Figs. 5.11 and 6.1).

6.1. Plan and profiles of Structure 195-3

6.2. Structure 195-3NE

No sloping stone walls were found along the north and east sides of Structure 195-3NE despite the fact that they once must have existed to contain the construction fill in the platform atop which the structure was built. Any north wall of the platform, however, would have been destroyed by the hole dug by S.O.P. crews. The absence of a wall along the east side of the platform is difficult to explain. It is possible that its stones were removed and reused in the later construction of Structure 195-1.

The Structure 195-3NE patio was fully exposed in excavations. It measured 6.2 m north-south and 4.3 m east-west. The southern half (3.2 m) of the earlier Structure 195-4NE patio was reused as the northern half of the patio floor of Structure 195-3NE, and a new section, 3 m long, was tacked on to form the southern half. The juncture between the “old” and “new” sections of the Structure 195-3NE patio floor is clearly visible at the center of the patio (Fig. 6.1). The patio had a drain, formed by a tubular ceramic pipe, in its southeast corner.

Walkways, which were fully preserved and uncovered in excavations, were raised 75 cm above the level of the patio floor and occur in a continuous band around the north, east, and south sides of the patio; but none occurs along the west side (Fig. 6.2a). However, the floor of the west room, like the walkways, was raised 75 cm above the level of the patio floor. The height of the walkways and west entrance hall above the patio floor necessitated the construction of stairways that were placed to lead directly to the rooms above on all four sides of the patio. Each stairway was composed of two steps that measured about 35 cm wide and about 25 cm high. The 75 cm high vertical walls on either side of each of the stairways manifested white plaster-covered panels framed by single cornices. The shorter north and south sides of the patio had single panels on each side of the stairways, whereas the longer east and west sides had twin panels.

The northwest corner room was completely preserved and exposed in excavations (Fig. 6.2b). It was at the level of the north walkway that led into the room from the east, providing an 80 cm wide entry. This narrow access was the only entry to the northwest corner room, which otherwise was enclosed on all four sides by adobe walls. The adobe walls on the west, east (shared with the north room), and north sides were 55 cm thick, whereas the adobe wall on the south (shared with the west room) was 65 cm thick. The room measured 3.3 m north-south and 1.9 m east-west, and a circular hole through the plaster floor near the center of the room indicated that a ceramic pan, serving as a hearth, had once been embedded in the floor.

The north room was a step (25 cm) above the 80 cm wide north walkway that fronted it (Fig. 6.2b). Its corresponding stairway, 90cm wide, rose from the patio directly in front of the center of the room. Practically two-thirds of the northern part of the room was destroyed by S.O.P. crews. However, the southern third of the room floor, sections of the east adobe wall (55 cm thick), and all of the west adobe wall (65 cm thick) were preserved. Because of the destruction of the floor, it was not possible to determine whether this room had a ceramic pan embedded in its floor; but it most likely did. The room measured 3.9 m east-west and an estimated 2.6 m north-south. It was enclosed on three sides (the north was not preserved) by adobe walls; the south side was open, facing on the patio.

Like the north room, the northeast corner room had been destroyed along its north side by S.O.P. crews so that it was not possible to determine whether a ceramic pan occurred in its floor (Fig. 6.2c). The room was entered through a narrow (70 cm) doorway at its southwest corner and was a step (20 cm) above the walkway. Apart from this narrow doorway, the room was enclosed on all sides (the north wall was not preserved) by adobe walls 65 cm thick. It measured an estimated 3.3 m north-south and 2.9 m east-west, making it the largest corner room in Structure 195-3NE.

The east room was partially destroyed along its east side but otherwise was preserved and exposed in excavations (Fig. 6.2c). It was a step (20 cm) above the 80 cm wide east walkway that fronted it. The east stairway, 80 cm wide, rose from the patio directly in front of the center of the room. The west side was open, facing on the patio, whereas the other three sides were enclosed by adobe walls 65 cm thick. A ceramic pan was found embedded in the floor in the center of the room. The room measured 4.9 m north-south and 2.9 m east-west, making it the largest room in Structure 195-3NE.

The eastern half of the southeast corner room had completely eroded away but the remaining portion was preserved and exposed in excavations. It was entered through a 90 cm wide doorway at its northwest corner, which was a step (20 cm) above the walkway. Apart from the entry, the room was enclosed on four sides (the east wall was not preserved) by adobe walls 65 cm thick. Because the eastern half of the room was obliterated, it was not possible to determine if it had a ceramic pan in its center. The room measured 2.8 m north-south and an estimated 2 m east-west, making it the smallest corner room in Structure 195-3NE.

The south room was built in the area formerly occupied by the northeast corner room and part of the north room of Structure 195-4SE. It was completely preserved and exposed in excavations. The room was a step (15 cm) above the 85 cm wide south walkway that fronted it. The south stairway, 80 cm wide, rose from the patio directly in front of the center of the room. The north side of the room was open, facing on the patio, whereas the other three sides were enclosed by adobe walls 65 cm thick. No ceramic pan was embedded in the room floor. The room measured 2.3 m north-south and 3.7 m east-west, making it the smallest room in Structure 195-3NE.

The west room was preserved and excavated in its entirety. As mentioned before, no walkway fronted the room, but a stairway, 1 m wide, rose from the patio floor to the center of the room. The room measured 5 m north-south and 2.1 m east-west and was enclosed by adobe walls 65 cm thick on the north and south sides and 40 cm thick on its west side. Its east side was open, facing on the patio. No ceramic pan was embedded in its floor. A 95 cm wide doorway in its south wall opened onto a stairway that descended into the north vestibule of Structure 195-3SE (Fig. 6.2d).

STRUCTURE 195-3SE

The platform (Mound 195 Sub) atop which Structure 195-3SE was built measured 14.6 m north-south and about 19.3 m east-west and covered approximately 282 m²; its full western extent could not be determined because of later constructions that covered that side. The talud at the southwest corner of the platform was exposed in excavations (Fig. 6.3a). It was preserved to its original height of 1.35 m. Its standing section extended 2.3 m along its west side, where it met at a right angle with a vertical stone wall that ran west to accommodate the southwest entrance corridor. Above the platform wall on the west side, the exterior adobe wall of the Structure 195-3SE house was faced with thin, flat stones covered with white plaster (Fig. 6.3b). The sloping wall along the south side of the platform extended for 4 m, its remaining 12.5 m either was not explored or was removed to obtain stones to build the later Structure 195-1. A 1 m wide raised walkway with a stone curb was built along the base of the south platform wall (Fig. 6.1).¹

6.3. Southwest corner of the platform of Structure 195-3SE

The talud along the east side of the platform was only preserved to a height of 90 cm. The standing section extended for 10.3 m and had a 20 cm jog outward (east) beginning at a point 5.5 m from its southern terminus. The jog was built to accommodate the southeast corner room of Structure 195-3SE. The east platform wall was either not exposed along the 2.5 m of its southern end and for 2 m along its northern end or the stones had been removed to build the later Structure 195-1. No sloping wall existed along the north side of the platform, but the exterior wall in the northwest section of Structure 195-3SE had a stone foundation that was covered with red plaster as it probably had in Structure 195-4SE.

Like its predecessor, Structure 195-3SE had its principal entry located on the west side of the platform. A stairway, probably consisting of four steps, ascended the platform leading to the entry behind the west room. Because this area could not be excavated, it has been hypothetically reconstructed in Fig. 6.1. The corridors behind the west room leading directly from the entry, however, were fully explored. Whereas the L-shaped northwest corridor was the main entryway to Structure 195-4SE, this corridor was blocked and filled in Structure 195-3SE and the L-shaped southwest corridor became the only passageway open between the west entry and the Structure 195-3SE house.

The L-shaped corridor passed behind and turned eastward alongside the exterior of the west room to enter a small square vestibule located in front of the southwest corner room. The west leg of the corridor was 80 cm wide and 2.25 m long. It was at the same elevation as the south leg so that no step separated them. The south leg was 95 cm wide and 2 m long and ended at a step that descended 26 cm to the level of the small square vestibule, 1.7 m on a side, in front of the southwest corner room at which point it merged with the raised walkway along the south side of the patio. The eastern 1 m of the south leg of the corridor was widened to 1.7 m to conform to the width of the small vestibule.

Construction of the entry and southwest corridor of Structure 195-3SE over their Structure 195-4SE counterparts involved some complex building activities. Two narrow (25 cm) adobe walls were erected along the north and east sides of the entry behind the west room. The adobe wall in the north served to block the northwest corridor from the entry. The adobe wall in the east was built up against the back wall of the west room and probably served to reinforce the wall following the remodeling of the entry. Construction of the 1.7 m wide space at the eastern end of the south leg involved building a jog in the south wall of the corridor and overlapping it with the west wall of the southwest corner room. To accomplish this, it was necessary to add a vertical stone wall at a right angle to the west platform wall to accommodate the expansion of the corridor, as mentioned earlier (Fig. 6.3b).

The southwest corridor was the only entryway to the entire Structure 195-3 building. It provided direct access to the walkway that fronted the rooms along the south side of the Structure 195-3SE patio. The walkway, 1.1 m wide and raised 70 cm above the level of the patio floor, extends 9.25 m along the south side of the patio from the end of the southwest corridor in front of the southwest corner room to the southeast corner room.

The southwest corner room of Structure 195-3SE was small, measuring 2.7 m north-south and 2.4 m east-west. It was enclosed on three sides (east, west, and probably south—the south wall was not preserved) by adobe walls 50 cm thick. The adobe wall on the west side of the room was preserved to a height of about 60 cm. The exterior of this wall, which is located directly above the west platform wall, was faced with large, thin, flat stones (Fig. 6.3b). Whether or not the exteriors of the walls of Structure 195-3SE had also been faced with stone is not known. It seems likely, however, that only the exterior adobe walls at the front (west side) or façade of Structure 195-3SE, where the main entry was located, manifested stone facing.

The southwest corner room shared its wall in the east with the large south room, and an adobe pilaster projecting from this wall occurred at the extreme northeast corner of the room. The adobe pilaster probably served to support a roof pole across the front (north side) of the room. The north side of the room was open, facing on the small square vestibule a step below (30 cm). The southwest corridor entered this small vestibule directly in front of the southwest corner room.

The south room was centered on the south side of the patio and raised a step (30 cm) above the walkway that fronted it, which placed it 1 m above the level of the patio floor. The room was the largest one in Structure 195-3SE, measuring 3.25 m north-south and 5.7 m east-west. It was enclosed on three sides (east, west, and probably south—the south wall was not preserved) by adobe walls 60 cm thick and preserved to a height of 1 m. The north side of the room, facing on the patio, was totally open. A ceramic pan, 40 cm in diameter and 12 cm deep, was embedded in the center of the room.

A stairway, about 1.5 m wide, served as a direct means of communication between the patio, walkway, and the center of the south room. The stairway consisted of two steps, each about 45 cm wide and 30 cm high. The walls on either side of the stairway manifested panels decorated with step frets framed by double cornices (Fig. 6.4a).

The step frets in the panel on the east side of the stairway were well-preserved (Fig. 6.4b). Those in the panel on the west side were only partially preserved. However, from the remnants uncovered in excavation it is apparent that they represented the same design as occurred in the east panel (Fig. 6.4c). The motifs in each panel included a double-stepped T-shaped element in the center and stepped rectilinear upturned hooks on either side of it that display outward bilateral symmetry. The late Howard Leigh (personal communication, 1979) suggested an interpretation of this step fret design. The double-stepped T-shaped element represents the sky, whereas the upturned rectilinear hooks represent lightning. The former motif actually has counterparts in the Zapotec hieroglyphic script where it appears accompanied by drops of water and thus seemingly carries the semantic value of “cloud.” According to Leigh’s interpretation, then, this step fret design would signify by metonymic extension “lightning in the sky,” which is a metaphor for Cociyo, the Zapotec deity representing lightning, thunder, and rain.

6.4. South room of Structure 195-3SE

The southeast corner room, directly east of the south room, was an unusual enclosure measuring 4.6 m north-south and 5.2 m east-west, making it the largest corner room in Structure 195-3SE (Fig. 6.5a). The south walkway led into the area providing a 1.1m wide entry on the west side (Fig. 6.5b). The room was otherwise enclosed on all four sides by adobe walls, although the south and east walls were not preserved. The floor of the room included a sunken basin or small patio, 2 m on a side, with a drain in its southeast corner. Narrow walkways occurred on the north and west sides of the small patio. The walkway in the west, 18 cm above the patio, was 65 cm wide and 2.5 m long. The walkway in the north, 28 cm above the patio, was only 50 cm wide and 2 m long.

6.5. Southeast corner room of Structure 195-3SE

An L-shaped room occurred on the east and south sides of the small patio at a level 28 cm above it. The east wing of the room was 2.5 m wide east-west and 3.3 m long north-south and had a circular hole indicating that it had had an embedded ceramic pan in its center. The south wing was 2.1 m wide north-south and 3.4 m long east-west. The L-shaped room was once covered by a thatched roof that had burned following the abandonment of Structure 195-3SE (Fig. 6.5c). Carbonized thatching from the roof and remnants of charred roof poles 5 cm in diameter that had supported the thatching were found on the floor of the room. The roof poles had rested on top of the freestanding L-shaped adobe column at the juncture of the two wings of the room and extended across the front of the south wing to an adobe pilaster projecting from the wall on the west side and across the front of the east wing to a narrow adobe wall (35 cm thick) in the north built up against the back half of the south wall of the east room.

Although the rooms raised above the south side of the patio were directly accessible from the southwest corridor, it was necessary to descend the stairway in front of the south room and enter the patio to gain access to the rooms along the west and north sides of Structure 195-3SE. Even though the Structure 195-4SE patio was reused as the Structure 195-3SE patio, modifications of the rooms around it resulted in a reduction of its overall size. Whereas the earlier patio measured 6.6 m on a side in Structure 195-4SE, its dimensions were later reduced to 5.9 m east-west and 6.2 m north-south in Structure 195-3SE. The patio had a drain, formed by a tubular ceramic pipe, in its southwest corner.

The west room remained unchanged in Structure 195-3SE from its Structure 195-4SE form (see Fig. 5.12). During the remodeling of the entry behind the west room, a doorway, 85 cm wide, was opened temporarily in the west wall of the room—probably to allow access to the house. After completion of the remodeling, the doorway was sealed and a 25 cm thick adobe wall was built, reinforcing the room wall. Furthermore, the narrow 95 cm wide walkway, which had fronted the west room in Structure 195-4SE, was extended 35 cm eastward out onto the patio in Structure 195-3SE. This 1.3 m wide walkway led from the west room to the northwest corner room.

In Structure 195-4SE, the northwest corner room had functioned as a vestibule, entered from the west by the northwest corridor and from the north through a doorway (see Figs. 5.11 and 5.16a). In Structure 195-3SE, the corridor and doorway were blocked and the vestibule was converted into a corner room measuring 2.4 m north-south and 2.9 m east-west. The room had adobe walls on four sides and was entered through a 1.4 m wide doorway a step (20 cm) above the north end of the west walkway. A circular break in the floor indicates that the northwest corner room had an embedded ceramic pan near its center.

The earlier north room of Structure 195-4SE was converted into a vestibule in Structure 195-3SE. The north vestibule of Structure 195-3SE was both shortened in its east-west dimensions and widened in its north-south dimensions over its Structure 195-4SE counterpart. The shortening of the room from 4.8 m in Structure 195-4SE to 3.7 m in Structure 195-3SE involved building an adobe wall on the east side of the room 1.1 m west of the earlier east wall, thereby lopping 1.1 m off the east end of the room. The Structure 195-3SE north vestibule was shortened to accommodate construction of the south room of Structure 195-3NE. Likewise, the earlier northeast corner room of Structure 195-4SE was eliminated and the area it had occupied was filled by part of the south room and southeast corner room of Structure 195-3NE (compare Figs. 5.11 and 6.1).

Apart from being shortened, the north vestibule of Structure 195-3SE was also widened over its Structure 195-4SE counterpart by the addition of a row of stones along its front (south side), which flanks the north side of the patio. Therefore, although the earlier north room was 2.3 m wide, north-south, in Structure 195-4SE, it was widened to 2.6 m, north-south, in the later Structure 195-3SE north vestibule. The north vestibule, then, measured 2.6 m north-south and 3.7 m east-west and was a step (23 cm) above the patio floor. The vestibule floor had been extended 30 cm south out onto the patio floor. It was enclosed on three sides (north, east, and west) by adobe walls, although its south side was open, facing on the patio. The vestibule had a 95 cm wide doorway in its north wall, which was reached by a stairway that communicated with the west room of Structure 195-3NE (Figs. 6.1 and 6.2d).

The east room of Structure 195-3SE underwent two phases of construction. The ancient hole through the altar exposed a segment of the floor of the Structure 195-3SE east room and revealed that it had been built 50 cm above the walkway in front of the Structure 195-4SE east room, making it 70 cm above the patio floor. Further excavations exposed the northern third of the Structure 195-3SE east room beneath later construction (Fig. 6.6). It is evident that a walkway, 80 cm wide and at the same level as and at a right angle to the south walkway, extended northward into the east room. The east room floor was at the same level as the walkway that led into it. Adobe walls, 60 cm thick and preserved to a height of 1.5 m, occurred on the north and south sides of the room but the east adobe wall was only 25 cm thick. The east room measured 4.65 m north-south and 2.75 m east-west.

Sometime after its construction, the east room was filled to the tops of the walls and extended 25 cm eastward out onto the patio floor to convert it into a large altar complex above Tomb 6 (Fig. 6.6a). This remodeling probably took place at the same time that two portrait heads modeled in plaster were attached to the façade of the tomb.

6.6. Earlier east room of Structure 195-3SE

TOMB 6 IN STRUCTURE 195-3SE

Apart from the portrait heads attached to its façade, Tomb 6 was the same in Structure 195-3 as it had been in Structure 195-4 (Fig. 6.7). To affix the heads, it was necessary to dig a hole through the patio floor to expose the façade and lintel of the tomb. The hole, which also penetrated a 1 m wide section of the Structure 195-5 patio floor above the façade and directly behind the heads, was apparently cut to provide the working space necessary to attach the heads. Following their placement, the hole above the façade was filled with adobe blocks and mortar (Fig. 6.8).

6.7. Plan and profiles of Tomb 6 in Structure 195-3SE

6.8. Cut above the Tomb 6 façade

In the process of preserving the heads, it was discovered that the panels on the façade had been covered with five layers of paint. Two layers of red paint decorated the panels before the heads were attached. Following their attachment, a layer of white paint and two additional layers of red paint had been applied.

6.9. Plaster portrait heads on the façade of Tomb 6

The slightly larger-than-life-size heads (each measures 30 cm by 30 cm), attached to the façade of Tomb 6, are virtual portraits of individuals (Fig. 6.9a). The head on the north side of the façade depicts an old man, identified as old-aged by the wrinkles on his face (Fig. 6.9b). He has a small pointed beard and wears a necklace and earspools with dangling jaguar tooth pendant earrings. Each of his eyes has a scroll above and below it. The hair is folded over the head and tied with a thin band. These last two attributes (scroll in the eyes and long hair folded and tied with a thin band) are part of the defining traits of Glyph Ñ, a sign that has been correlated with the fourth day name in the Zapotec calendar, Lachi (“Ballcourt”) (Urcid 2001:188–193, 245–247). The complementing numeral, a single dot marked with a U-shaped groove in the center, appears above the folded hair. Thus, the name of the personage is rendered as Lord 1 Lachi.²

The head on the south side of the façade portrays an old woman, identified as old-aged by the wrinkles on her face (Fig. 6.9c). She wears her hair intertwined with ribbons, a fashion still known among present-day Zapotec women, particularly from the community of Yalalag (see Fig. 10.1 for location). Over her forehead is the Glyph J, a sign that corresponds to the fifteenth day name in the Zapotec calendar, Naa (“Corn”) (Urcid 2001:178–181). She is adorned with a necklace and earspools, and beneath the earspools are numeral bars that represent the number 10. Her calendar name, then, is rendered as Lady 10 Naa.

Following the attachment of the plaster portrait heads to the façade, they were covered by a layer of mud and a petate (woven mat) was placed on top of the mud to protect the heads when the area in front of the tomb was refilled with dirt. Upon excavation, the petate impression was clearly visible on the chunks of solidified mud directly in front of the heads. The heads were uncovered each time the tomb was reopened and then protected again, as evidenced by the presence of several layers of paint in the panels of the façade and by the petate impressions on the solidified mud associated with the last opening of the tomb.

Lord 1 Lachi and Lady 10 Naa are probably the couple who occupied Structure 195-3 between ca. 775 and 800 CE and were buried in the main chamber of Tomb 6. Their probable skeletal remains occur among those of the four persons buried in the main chamber of the tomb. He evidently died first because the last burial in the tomb is an intact primary of a female.

THE ALTAR COMPLEX IN STRUCTURE 195-3SE

As mentioned above, the first phase of construction of the east room of Structure 195-3SE was followed by a second phase in which the room was filled to the tops of its walls with construction fill (Fig. 6.10a). A flat-topped altar was constructed at the center of the east side of the patio above Tomb 6 and up against the construction fill in the east room. The walls flanking the altar had panels decorated with elaborately executed plaster friezes framed by double cornices, and large taludes (sloping stone walls) nearly 2 m high, topped with panels containing additional friezes, were built above them, enclosing the altar in an open niche. The entire complex appears to have been modeled after the façade of a monumental platform, with the projecting flat-topped altar and the recessed niche substituting for a central staircase, and the lateral lower and upper friezes with sloping walls mimicking broad balustrades decorated with panels (Fig. 6.13).

6.10. The altar complex in Structure 195-3SE

The altar was built of adobes, faced with well-cut stone, and finished with white plaster (Fig. 6.10c). The front (west half) of the altar projected 55 cm out into the patio, whereas the back (east) half was set 55 cm into the east room. The altar rose 86 cm above the patio floor and its top measured 1.8 m north-south and 1.1 m east-west. This top formed the base of a niche between the two taludes on either side of the altar. The front of the altar faced west on the patio and consisted of a single panel, which may have contained a frieze, framed by double cornices.

Based on the height of a frieze fragment of Glyph V Chilla (“Alligator”) found in excavations and additional information from Tomb 6 to be discussed in Chapter 7, we hypothesize that the glyphic appellative of an individual named Lord 2 Chilla was depicted in the panel at the center of the altar (Fig. 6.12). The upper cornices on either side of the panel were each decorated by a red-painted rectangle with rounded corners and a red X-shaped motif in its center. These signs seemingly allude to the four corners of the world. The center of the altar had been destroyed upon the abandonment of the SE sector of Structure 195-3 when a hole was dug through it to gain access to the main chamber of Tomb 6 to place a final burial (Fig. 6.10b).

6.11. The lower friezes of the altar complex

The lower lateral panels containing the extant friezes were 1.06 m long and about 22 cm high. Each one depicts a bearded man and a woman, identified as old-aged by the wrinkles on their faces (Fig. 6.11). These couples are shown in profile and in a horizontal position, as if floating. The men are rendered as complete figures, from head to toe, whereas the women are only profiled from the waist to the head. The men have small pointed beards, are barefoot, wear only loincloths, and are adorned with earspools and necklaces. Each carries a human femur clearly identified as the proximal end by the prominent femoral head. The distal ends are cut off and squared (Rabin 1970:4–5). The women wear shawls, earspools, and necklaces and have their hair intertwined with ribbons. In contrast to the portrait-like heads on the façade of Tomb 6, the personages in the friezes are conventionalized representations of couples lacking individuality.

Each of the old men and women in the lower friezes has an open hand, curved slightly upward, with fingers pointing to his or her calendar name. The couple in the north frieze includes a man called 4Ñ, Lord 4 Lachi (“Ballcourt”), and a woman named 10O, Lady 10 Loo (“Monkey”) (Figs. 6.11a and b). The couple in the south frieze includes a man named 8F, Lord 8 Laala (“Owl”), and a woman called 3E, Lady 3 Xoo (“Earthquake”) (Figs. 6.11c and d). The couples in these lower friezes, then, are different from the one portrayed in the heads on the façade of Tomb 6.

One in-situ segment (a hand and a numeral bar) was preserved at the lower north corner of the upper panel on the south side (Rabin 1970:6, fig. 7). From this in-situ segment it was possible to determine that the upper panels rested on top of the sloping stone walls at a level 1.95 m above the patio floor. Apart from the in-situ segment, the upper friezes were destroyed in ancient times when Structure 195-3SE was covered by a subsequent construction. However, a number of frieze fragments were found in excavations and several of them were assembled to reconstruct two partially complete females (Rabin 1970:6–7). One of the female figures fits together with the in-situ segment in the upper south frieze (Rabin 1970:7, fig. 8); therefore, it is assumed that the other female figure formed part of an upper north frieze whose panel had been totally destroyed (Rabin 1970:7, fig. 9). Likewise, because the female in the upper south frieze is known to have been facing north toward the center of the altar complex, it is assumed that the female in the upper north frieze faced south toward the center of the altar complex (Fig. 6.12).

Like the females in the lower friezes, the women in the upper north and south friezes were depicted in profile and in a horizontal position, as if floating. However, whereas the old men had been fully profiled from head to toe in the lower friezes, it was the old women who were fully profiled in the upper ones. They wore sandals and were dressed in shawls (with the same design as those of the females in the lower friezes) and ankle-length skirts. “Unfortunately, only one female head, badly damaged, was recovered. The hair style is still visible and is similar to that of the women in the lower friezes” (Rabin 1970:6). From the evidence at hand, it appears that the upper north and south panels contained only the full figures of females, and therefore the panels in which they occurred were not as long as the panels of the lower friezes.

Other available fragments yielded evidence for two male figures that were probably companions to the females in the upper friezes, like the couples in the lower friezes but who were situated in an upper central panel no longer preserved. These included fragments from a necklace and parts of two waistbands, like those worn by the male figures in the lower friezes. In addition, most of a bent naked arm, like those of the males depicted in the lower friezes, occurred. However, unlike the arms of the males in the lower friezes, this arm fragment had a human mandible decorating it. Also pertaining to either one of the males or the female in the upper north frieze was a portion of a curved hand (Fig. 6.12).

6.12. In situ and loose fragments of the stucco figures upon which the hypothetical reconstruction of the friezes is based

Unlike the couples in the lower friezes, who faced one another, the males in the upper central panel probably faced away from the females and confronted each other. However, like those in the lower friezes, the couples in the upper friezes were identified by calendar names. The female figure in the upper south frieze had a numeral bar, a partial glyph for the day sign J or Naa, and an open hand with the fingers curved slightly upward pointing to her calendar name, Lady 5 Naa (“Corn”).

There were fragments of an additional day name including a main sign, a numeral bar, and three dots arranged vertically. The main sign was Glyph B Peche (“Jaguar”), and because it would not fit in front of the woman in the north frieze, then by default it would identify one of the males. For purposes of parsimony, we are hypothetically assigning the remaining numeral bar to the name of this man, who will be identified as Lord 5 Peche (“Jaguar”). Because the three vertically arranged dots manifested a slightly upturned edge along the right side, we believe the numeral was set along the south side of the upper north frieze, where the other female was depicted. However, the placement of the numeral there leaves enough room for a fourth dot. We hypothesize that this woman was named Lady 4 ? (Figs. 6.12 and 6.13).

It is apparent that the altar complex depicted the genealogy of the Structure 195-3 couple, Lord 1 Lachi and Lady 10 Naa. Their ancestors extend back five generations to an apical ancestor, Lord 2 Chilla, who founded the noble lineage. Some of them must have occupied the earlier houses of Mound 195 Sub and had their remains buried in Tombs 5 and 6.

SWEATBATH

The second phase of construction of the sweatbath, which may have occurred in association with Structure 195-3, involved expanding its size (Fig. 6.14). The center of the original sweatbath was left intact. The adobe walls around the floor, however, were demolished and new walls were built to expand the size of the sweatbath. Only the foundations at the northwest corner of this second construction were preserved. From this preserved section, it was possible to estimate that the sweatbath measured 4.55 m north-south and 5.6 m east-west.

The expansion of the sweatbath necessitated an elongation of the water conduit if it were to be located outside the limits of the east wall, as it had been in the original structure. The elongation, uncovered in excavations, was achieved by somewhat shoddily attaching a 1 m long extension to the conduit to bring it, like its predecessor, to a distance of 40 cm beyond the limits of the east wall. The extension was wider than the original conduit, being 27 cm instead of 14 cm wide, but funneled into the original conduit.

THE STRUCTURE 195-3 HOUSEHOLD

Like its predecessor, Structure 195-3 had a complex layout (Fig. 6.15). Initially, before the construction of the altar complex, it contained fourteen rooms, fewer than the sixteen rooms of Structure 195-4. The earlier east room of Structure 195-3SE was probably an ancestral shrine above Tomb 6 where offerings were placed and rituals conducted in honor of the household ancestors buried in the tomb. The later construction of the altar complex converted this east room into an ancestral shrine with friezes depicting the ancestors of Lord 1 Lachi and Lady 10 Naa. Offerings were probably placed on the altar at the center of this shrine and rituals conducted before it in honor of these ancestors. Construction of the altar complex reduced the number of rooms in Structure 195-3 to thirteen—seven rooms and six corner rooms arranged around two patios—SE and NE.

The only entrance to Structure 195-3 was on the west side of Structure 195-3SE. Whereas the northwest L-shaped corridor was the main entrance to Structure 195-4SE, in Structure 195-3SE this corridor was blocked and the southwest L-shaped corridor became the only entrance to Structure 195-3. The entryway was purposefully designed to impress. The altar complex was in the direct line of view of anyone entering the small vestibule at the end of the southwest corridor (Fig. 6.16). The vestibule was in front of the Structure 195-3SE southwest corner room. We have different interpretations of this room. Lind points out that it was well-situated to control access to Structure 195-3 and suggests it may have been occupied by a servant or guard, one of whose tasks may have been to announce visitors and control access to the elite building. Urcid points out that because this corner room lacks a hearth for warming the enclosure, it would have had another function, perhaps storage. In his view, control into the house would have taken place at the entrance to the residential compound.

6.13. Reconstruction of the altar complex

6.14. Second phase of construction of the sweatbath

6.15. Isometric reconstruction of Structure 195-3

6.16. View of the altar complex from the end of the southwest entrance corridor

From the small vestibule it was necessary to proceed along the walkway in front of the south room of Structure 195-3SE and descend a stairway into the patio. To gain access to Structure 195-3NE it was necessary to cross the Structure 195-3SE patio to the Structure 195-3SE north room that served as a vestibule. The vestibule had a stairway that led to a doorway in its north wall. The doorway opened onto the Structure 195-3NE west room. This room was different from the other rooms in Structure 195-3NE. It was long and narrow and lacked a walkway linking it to the other rooms. Being the locus of the only entry to Structure 195-3NE, it served as an entrance hall isolated from the other rooms. Anyone entering this entrance hall had to descend its stairway, cross the patio, and ascend one of the stairways to access the rooms above.

The remaining five rooms, five corresponding corner rooms, and the patios of Structures 195-3SE and 195-3NE manifest some significant differences. At 36.6 m² the patio of Structure 195-3SE is larger than the 26.7 m² patio of Structure 195-3NE. Likewise, the southeast corner room of Structure 195-3SE is much larger than the corner rooms of Structure 195-3NE; and the large south room of Structure 195-3SE has the walls flanking its staircase decorated by step frets in panels framed by double cornices, whereas the walls flanking the staircases of the Structure 195-3NE rooms have undecorated panels framed by single cornices. These differences, combined with the large Structure 195-3SE altar complex containing friezes, suggest that Structure 195-3SE was a more public part of the building whereas Structure 195-3NE was more private.

By way of its elaborate west entryway, which provided a dramatic view of the altar complex to those entering the house (Fig. 6.16), Structure 195-3SE was the more public and more accessible part of the building. The wide staircase ascended from the patio to the center of the south room, the largest room in Structure 195-3. The walls flanking the staircase contained panels decorated with “lightning in the sky” step frets (a metaphor for Cociyo) framed by double cornices, marking this room as a special place. We hypothesize that this room was where Lord 1 Lachi and Lady 10 Naa conducted their daily business (Fig. 6.17).

The large southeast corner room, adjacent to the south room and the largest corner room in Structure 195-3, had a small patio with a drain and an L-shaped room on the south and east sides. Each wing of the L-shaped room was the typical size of a corner room. Lind suggests they probably functioned as kitchens that provided food and refreshments to guests conducting business in the adjacent south room. They also may have served as areas where, on occasion, feasts were prepared for groups of noble guests gathered in the patio.

6.17. View of the south room in Structure 195-3SE from the north vestibule

Urcid, on the other hand, has a different interpretation regarding the function of this room based on his study of the House of Tomb 103 at Monte Albán (Fig. 6.18). The layout of this house, the last one to be built atop a tall platform on Terrace 18, generally conforms to the typical distribution of domestic space. Yet it presents three peculiar features not seen in other known house layouts. One is the occurrence of four entries, one on each side of the structure, suggesting that at least in its last version, the entire building had corresponding staircases that, when climbed, led first to a corridor along the entire perimeter of the structure. The second feature is that, by means of internal corridors that generate hidden entries, the four main entrances eventually lead to only two internal points of entry at either side of the west room (the one opposite to the room under which Tomb 103 was built). The third feature is that three of the four corner rooms have plastered quadrangular basins seemingly devoid of drainages. A passage in the second chapter of the Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas, which deals with how the world was created and by whom, seemingly provides a clue to interpret the architectural peculiarities of the House of Tomb 103:

Regarding the god of water, [the informants] say that he has an abode with four rooms, and in the center a large courtyard where there are four large containers with water: one has good water, the one that rains when bread [maize] and seeds are growing, and it comes down when the weather is good. The other is bad when it rains, causing spider webs to grow in the bread [maize], spoiling it. The other is when it rains and [maize] freezes; the other when it rains but [maize] does not produce kernels and dries out. (Garibay 1996:26; translated by Urcid)³

6.18. Plan of the House of Tomb 103 at Monte Albán

One may assume that the sequence of types of rain given in the account quoted above begins in the east (the starting direction in Prehispanic cartographic documents). The architectural features of the House of Tomb 103 seemingly produce a fourfold kinesis starting with the four staircases of the building or at least the four attested entrances to the structure. The hypothesized peripheral corridor, or at least those reached after passing through the four entrances, most likely led to circumambulatory movements that eventually ended in the central courtyard surrounded by four corner rooms, three of which contained basins that, when ritually filled, symbolically stood for the “good rain” (the northeast basin), the “bad rain” (the northwest basin), and the “rain that came with hail” (the southwest basin). The fourth corner room, without a basin (on the southeast), would have stood symbolically for the “unproductive rain” (i.e., little or no rain). Based on the preceding interpretation, the southeast corner room in Lambityeco Structure 195-3SE may have conflated the quadripartite symbolic associations present in the four corner rooms in the House of Tomb 103 at Monte Albán and thus could have been used by the household heads to conduct secluded rituals to petition for rain and good maize crops.

Irrespective of which of the above interpretations is accepted, Structure 195-3SE can be viewed as strictly a public area with the south room containing the administrative hall of the married couple who headed the noble household and not their residence, which instead was located in Structure 195-3NE. The west room of Structure 195-3SE and its associated northwest corner room may have been where visiting dignitaries were quartered.

Structure 195-3NE is the least accessible part of the building, suggesting it served as the private residential quarters of the Structure 195-3 household. Of the three rooms around the patio, the east room is the largest and most likely served as the living quarters of the married couple who headed the noble household, Lord 1 Lachi and Lady 10 Naa. The adjacent northeast corner room, associated with the east room, is the largest corner room and probably functioned as a kitchen, storeroom, sleeping quarters, or place for other activities. The north room was the second-largest living quarters and its adjacent northwest corner room the second-largest corner room in Structure 195-3NE. These rooms may have been utilized by the eldest son and his wife, the presumed heirs to the Structure 195-3 household.

The south room and adjacent southeast corner room were the smallest areas in Structure 195-3NE and are somewhat unique. Despite its floor being totally preserved, the south room did not have a ceramic pan embedded in its floor. Virtually all rooms that served as living quarters have these hearths embedded in their floors near the center of the room. This suggests the possibility that the south room may have functioned as a storage area. The small southeast corner room also appeared to lack a hearth, although its floor was partially destroyed, making this uncertain. This small room may also have served as a storage area.

Alternate interpretations are certainly possible for the complex of rooms in Structure 195-3. Structure 195-3SE may not have been a strictly public part of the house but may have included the residences of Lord 1 Lachi and Lady 10 Naa in the south room (living quarters) and associated southeast corner room and their married son and heir in the west room (living quarters) and associated northwest corner room. In this scenario, Structure 195-3NE may have contained the residences of Lord 1 Lachi’s secondary wives or concubines.

NOTES

1. Peterson (personal communication, 1983) reported the existence of this walkway. Unfortunately, no photos or drawings of it were found in the excavation archives to show exactly how far it extended along the south platform wall of Mound 195 Sub.

2. Rabin (1970:12) initially identified Lord 1 Lachi as Lord 1 L; Paddock (personal communication, 1979) identified the man as Lord 1 L because of the scrolls through his eyes, which represented Caso’s Glyph L. Caso (1965:939, 944, table 1) equated Glyph L with the Nahua Ollin, “Movement” or “Earthquake,” for which the Zapotec name is Xoo. Therefore, in earlier articles (Lind and Urcid 1983, 1990), Lord 1 Lachi was identified as Lord 1 Xoo. In an article on Tomb 6 (Lind 2002), the man was incorrectly identified as Lord 1 Piya. However, Urcid’s (1992, 2001:188–193, 245–247) work on Zapotec writing made it clear that the day name of the man was not Glyph L, based exclusively on the scrolls through his eyes, but instead a more inclusive constellation of traits that constitute Glyph Ñ or “Ballcourt.”

3. A similar account was recorded by Cruz (1946:33–35) among Zapotec peoples in the first half of the twentieth century.