Summary

Preston discusses the importance of the cache of sculptures found at Mosquitia. Though other caches had been found, this was the first to be excavated professionally. Chris and his team returned to the valley during the dry season to excavate the cache in January of 2016, and they found more than 200 stone and ceramic artifacts. Chris concluded that the cache was an offering, or shrine. Artisans had crafted the objects out of hard rhyolite or basalt, and the stones came different locations, meaning that there was likely a trade network in existence. It was clear that skill and labor went into making the objects, which had been crafted by specialized artisans. The offering was well organized on a clay foundation, and some of the objects featured a strange human-like figure with a triangular head and others featured the were-jaguar. The objects...