The ejido of Sacalaca contains a number of archaeological sites, dating from the Middle Formative (~500 B.C.) through the Caste War until the present. In 2003, the sites of Chakal Ja'as (site with structures and a cave with incised iconography), Cortada (small site partially cut by the modern road), Parcela Escuela, Ramonal, Sacalaca (now only scattered mounds within the modern pueblo), Santa Cruz Cave, and Xtojil were located. Several of the sites were mapped, with a total station being used to record the more accessible sites and a GPS with pace and compass technology used to map sites situated several kilometers from modern roads.
In 2003, two excavations were conducted at the site of Sacalaca. Operation 1 (photo, section) was excavated at the base of a palace structure (reconstruction), into the plaza of an acropolis. Below several plaza flooring episodes, several steps of a Formative structure were located at the end of the excavation. Operation 2, which quickly struck bedrock, was placed to the north of a large mound at the southern edge of Sacalaca. All of our test pits are backfilled upon completion of the excavation and documentation process.
In 2004, the CRAS Project's research in the Sacalaca ejido focused upon the cave sites of Chakal Ja'as, San Pedro, and Yo'Aktun. Chakal Ja'as has a number of petroglyphs, while the caves at San Pedro (with a walled entrance) and Yo'Aktun contains only sherds (and above-ground occupations) to indicate their use by the ancient Maya.
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