Archaeologist excavating a feature in the Macroblock and collecting soil and charcoal samples.


are predominantly Elenoid, supporting the evidence from the structures that ceremoni- alism intensified during this period. We also found clear evidence of a major flood event some time between A.D. 900 and 1000 that impacted the western side of the site in a cata- strophic way. As mentioned above, however, most of


the new evidence discredited some of our expectations and debunked the premises of our hypothesis. First, the project has not been able to find any clear evidence of social stratification or the accumulation of wealth and sumptuary objects by any segment of society. Although some valued objects were found, such as exotic food (guinea pigs) and shell and stone ornaments, they are scarce and do not seem to have been concentrated in any particular sector of the site. And, second, the results of the excavation of the structures and the cooking area suggest that they are not nec- essarily domestic in nature. Most possibly they were related to the ceremonial role of the site, where the structures seem to have been used more during festivals and gatherings and the


cooking area was possibly used in the prepara- tion of food during feastings. Nevertheless, the information obtained


from this project and the 1970s excavation is helping us to reconstruct a new, unexpected and more accurate view of the history of the Ceremonial Center of Tibes. Instead of the traditional perspective that equated ceremo- nial centers and monumental architecture with social stratification and centralization of power, we now believe that these centers rep- resent more the development of communal, ritual space built under egalitarian conditions. In this scenario, groups of different back- grounds or interests could meet to solidify their social bonds through communal rituals or performances represented by the plazas. At the same time, these groups could reinforce their different identities in the face-offs rep- resented by the ball courts and the ball game. We also now know that the development


of this ceremonial center happened gradu- ally and not rapidly; most probably in stages involving the destruction of old structures, and the construction and re-construction


of new ones, leading eventually to the spa- tial distribution of structures that we see at Tibes today. This suggests that the relations between groups may have changed through time, as well. Despite these advances, there is still much


work to be done. The information collected to date has helped develop new working hypoth- eses based on new premises. But, at the end of the day, it has helped us get closer to the real story of the rise and fall of the Ceremonial Center of Tibes. X


L. Antonio Curet is an archaeologist who specializes in Caribbean and Mesoamerican ancient history. He is currently the Curator of Archaeology at the National Museum of the American Indian - Smithsonian Institution.


This project has been conducted in collaboration with the City of Ponce and it includes specialists from several American universities and colleagues and students from Puerto Rico, the U.S., the Netherlands and Colombia. Funds for the project have been provided throughout the years by the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the Heinz Foundation and more recently by the 2015 Smithsonian Scholarly Studies Awards Programs in the Arts and Humanities.


For more information on Tibes and the archaeological project, see: Luis A. Curet and Lisa M. Stringer. Tibes: People, Power, and Ritual at the Center of the Cosmos. (University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa: 2010.)


SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 33


PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTONIO CURET


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