,, i>^^ SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONBUREAU OF A^IERICAN ETHNOLOGYBULLETIN 64THE MAYA INDIANS OF SOUTHERN YUCATANAND NORTHERN BRITISH HONDURAS BYTHOMAS W. F. GANN WASHINGTONGOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE1918 LETTER OF TRANSMITTALWashington, D. C, November 4, 1916.Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript of amemoir entitled "The Maya Indians of Southern Yucatan andNorthern British Honduras," by Thomas W. F. Gann, and to recom-mend its pubhcation as a bulletin of the Bureau of AmericanEthnology.Very respectfully, F. W. Hodge,Eihnologist-in- Charge.Hon. CEtARLEs D. Walcott,Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. CONTENTS Part 1. ( ustoms. Ceremonies, and Mode of Life PageIntroduction ' 13Habitat - 14Personal characteristics 15Dress 18Industrial activities 20Agriculture 20Procuiing food ; cooking 21Hunting 23Fishing 25Construction of houses and furniture 26Pottery making 28Boat building 28Spinning and weaving 29Minor industries 30Tobacco cui-ing 30Basket and mat weaving 30Social characteristics 32Villages 32Marriage and children 32Drunkenness 34Chiefs 35Diseases and medicines 36Games 39Religion 40Part 2. Mound Excavation in the Eastern Maya AreaIntroduction 49Classification of the mounds 49Ancient inhabitants of the region 51Physical appearance 51Dress 52Weapons 52Houses 53Arts 53Musical instruments 54Food 55Spinning and weaving 55Games 56 , Religion 56Chronology 58Description of mounds 59Mound No. 1 59Mound No. 2 63Moimd No. 3 65Mound No. 4 67Mound No. 5 705 6 CONTENTSDescription of mounds?Continued. PageMoundNo. 5 A 72Mound No. 6 74Mound No. 6 A 78MoundNo. 7 79Mound No. 8 80Mound No. 9 83Mound No. 10 86Mound No. 11 90Mound No. 12 92Mound No 13 99Mound No. 14 99Mound No. 15 103Mound No. 16 105Mound No. 17 109Mound No. 18 IllMound No. 19 112Mound No. 20 112MoundNo. 21 114MoundNo. 22 115Mound No. 23 116MoundNo. 24 118MoundNo. 25 120Mound No. 26 : 123Mound No. 27 .- 124Mound No. 28 124MoundNo. 29 125Mound No. 30 125Mound No. 31 128Mound No. 32 129Mound No. 33 130Mound No. 34 132Mound No. 35 133Mound No. 36 134Mound No. 37 134Mound No. 38 134Mound No. 39 135Mound No. 40 136Mound No. 41 137Two painted stucco faces from Uxmal 140Authorities cited 143Index 145 ILLI'STRATIONS PLATES Page1. Group of Santa Cruz Indians 182. Maya girls fishing 263. Fish drying on one of the raj's off the coast of Yucatan 264. Maya Indian houses, a. Leaf-thatched house, b. Indian house on RioHondo 265. Maya woman, 105 years old, spinning cotton 296. Maya loom 297. Sketch map of British Honduras, with adjacent parts of Yucatan and Guate-mala, indicating the positions of mounds excavated 598. Figurines of warriors from Mound No. 1 609. Figurines from Mound No. 1 6010. a. Section through earthwork inclosing circular space, Santa Rita. b. Sec-tion of wall through Santa Rita 7011. Egg-shaped vase from Mound No. 5 7012. Metates and brazos from Mound No. 6 7513. a. Small pottery seal. b. Bowl in which skull was found, c. Skull 7514. Skull and bones from Mound No. 8 8015. Stone objects from Mound No. 10 8816. a. Model of jadeite bivalve shell, b. Light-green jadeite mask. c. Ax head,or celt. d. Terra-cotta cylinder 9117. Painted basin and cover from Mound No. 16 10518. Pottery from Mound No. 16 10719. a. Decoration on vase shown in figure 60. b. Decoration of vessel fromMound No. 17 11020. Incense burner from Mound No. 24 11921. a. Small vase decorated with hximan head. b. Human bones from MoundNo. 29 12522. Painted clay figurine from Mound No. 33 13123. Pottery vase from Yalloch, Guatemala 14224. Pottery vase from Yalloch, Guatemala 14225. Pottery vase from Yalloch, Guatemala 14226. Pottery cylinder from Yalloch, Guatemala 14227. Pottery cylinder from Yalloch, Guatemala 14228. Pottery cylinder from Yalloch, Guatemala 142TEXT FIGURES1. Map showing Yucatan. Campeche, British Honduras, and part oi Guatemala. 142. Gold earrings made and worn by the Santa Cruz Indians 193. Cross of tancasche bark worn by children 194. Powder horn and measure of bamboo used by the Indians 235. Watertight box for caps, matches, or tinder, with corncob stopper 236. Whistle for attracting deer l)y imitating their call 247 8 ILLUSTRATIONS Page7. Indian carrying load of bejuco, a liana used as rope in house building 268. Domestic altar 279. Stonelike substance used to prevent fingers from sticking while spinning. . 2910. Calabash with liana base used in spinning 3011. Chichanha Indian priest in front of altar at Cha chac ceremony 4312. Priest tracing cross on cake and filling it in with sikil 4413. Sacrificing a turkey at the Cha chac ceremony 4514. Plan of Santa Rita mounds 5915. Figurine from Mound No. 1 6016. Figurines from Mound No. 1 6117. Unpainted object from Mound No. 1 " 6218. Clay alligator found in Mound No. 2 6419. Objects from Mound No. 4. 6820. Pottery vessels from Mound No. 4 6921. Objects found in Mound No. 5 7122. Diagram of Mound No. 6 7423. Diagram of trenches in M6und No. 6 7624. Bowls, vases, and dishes found in Mound No. 6 7725. a. Skull, h. Limestone foundation, c. Excavation, d. Grooved flag insitu. e. Projecting lip 7826. Circular openings leading into natural cavity 8027. Ground plan of chultun 8228. Ground plan of Mound No. 9 8429. Wall construction of Mound No. 9 8430. Details of Mound No. 9 8531. Obsidian object and pottery vase from Mound No. 10 8732. Obsidian arrowhead from Mound No. 10 8933. Flint object from Mound No. 10 8934. Obsidian object from Mound No. 10 9035. Inscription on mask, plate 16, h 9136. Inscription on ax head, plate 16, c 9237. Flint spearheads 9438. Flint objects 9439. Devices sci'atched on stucco in aboriginal building 9540. Eccentrically shaped implements found at summit of mound 9641. Flint object found at base of stela 9642. Flint object found at base of stela 9643. Flints found in ruins at Naranjo 9744. Objects from Benque Viejo 9845. Obsidian objects found in a mound near Benque Viejo 9946. Flint object from Seven Hills 10047. Horseshoe-shaped flint object found near San Antonio 10048. Figure from River Thames, near London 10149. Flint objects from Tennessee 10250. Flint objects from Italy 10351. Small cup-shaped vase from Mound No. 15 10452. Objects from Mound No. 15 10453. Conventionalized representation of bird on vessel shown in plate 17 10654. Decoration on vessel shown in plate 17 10655. Perforated beads found in Mound No. 16 10756. Jadeite beads found in Mound No. 16 10757. a. Circular shell disks from Mound No. 16. h. Greenstone ear plugs fromMound No. 17 10858. Obsidian disk inserted in tooth of skeleton found in Mound No. 17 109 ILLUSTRATIONS 9Page59. Bird carrying a fish outlined on shallow plaque found in Mound No. 17 . . . 11060. Cylindrical pottery vase found in Mound No. 17 11061 . Larger pottery vase found in Mound No. 17 Ill62. Coiled plumed serpent painted on plaque found in Mound No. 17 Ill63. Pottery vase found in Mound No. 18 11264. Glyph outlined on outer surface of rim of vase shown in figure 63 11265. Torso, head, and headdress from Mound No. 20 11366. Fragment of pillar found in Mound No. 20 ] 1367. Another view of incense burner shown in plate 20 11968. Incense burner decorated with crude clay figurine from Mound No. 25 ' 12069. Crude clay figurine found in Mound No. 25 12170. Crude clay figurine found in Mound No. 25 12271. Small pottery vases found in Mound No. 26 12372. Red pottery vase found in Mound No. 27 12473. Pottery vessels found in Mound No. 31 12874. Chocolate pot found in Mound No. 31 12875. Pottery vessels found in Mound No. 32 12976. Head cut from limestone found in Mound No. 32 13077. Greenstone mask found in Mound No. 32 13078. Soapstone lamp found in Mound No. 33 13179. Rough pottery vessel found in Mound No. 33 13280. Objects found in Mound No. 34 13281. Figure in diving position on small vase 13382. Design incised on femm* of deer found in Mound No. 39 13583. Copper object found in Mound No. 39 13684. Ruins found in Mound No. 40 137 KEY TO PRONUNCIATION OF MAYA WORDSVowels and consonants are pronounced as in Spanish, witli thefollowing exceptions : t k explosiveK ordinary palatal kX sh as in shutT? ch explosivetsAi like i in confidett t explosive 11 THE MAYA INDIANS OF SOUTHERN YUCATAN ANDNORTHERN BRITISH HONDURASBy Thomas W. F. GannPART 1. CUSTOMS, CEREMONIES, AND MODE OP LIFEINTRODUCTIONThe southern and eastern parts of Yucatan, from Tuluum in thenorth to the Rio Hondo in the south, are occupied to-day by twotribes of Maya Indians, the Santa Cruz and Icaiche or Chichanha,The number of Santa Cruz was estimated by Sapper in 1895 at about8,000 to 10,000, but at the present day has probably been reducedto about 5,000. The loaiche, the number of whom he estimated at500, and is given by the Guia de Yucatan in 1900 as 803, now com-prise not more than 200. This decrease is due to the policy ofextermination carried out among the Santa Cruz for years by theMexican Government, and the consequent emigration of many ofthe Indians to British Honduras, Guatemala, and northern Yucatan.The northern and western parts of British Honduras contain between5,000 and 6,000 Indians; those in the north ate partly indigenousand partly immigrants dra\\Ti from Yucatecan tribes who have lefttheir homes after various political disturbances, especially after theoccupancy of their towns of Bacalar and Santa Cruz by the MexicanGovernment. The Indians of the western part of the colony arealso partly indigenous, but for the greater part Itzas, who have comein from Peten in Guatemala.The objects shown in figures 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 31, 35, 36, 47,51, 52, 55, 56, 57, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 69, 70, 76, and 77, and in plates8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18a, and 19 are in the Liverpool Museiun ; those shown in figures 15, 40, and 41 and in plate 9 are in the BritishMuseum; those shown in figure 45 and in plates 23, 24, 25, 26, 27,and 28 are in the Bristol Museum; and those shoMii in figures 67and 68 and in plates 20, 21 , and 22 are in the Museum of the AmericanIndian, Heye Foundation. 13 HABITATThe northern part of British Honduras, between the Rio Hondoand the Rio Nuevo, consists of an almost level plain, having an areaof nearly 1,000 square miles. The soil is a vegetal humus, varyingfrom a few inches to several feet in depth, the average depth beingabout 2 feet; beneath this is a stratum of marly limestone, out-crops of which are found in many places. The southern part ofYucatan, which, unlike the northern part, is comparatively wellwatered, is also flat, though a few small hills are found along thenorthern bank of the Rio Hondo, commencing about 50 miles fromits mouth (fig. 1). Mostof the land along the riversisswampy, producing onlyreeds, coarse grasses, andmangrove trees. Beyondthe swamp country arefound ''cuhun ridges,"consisting of river val-leys or depressions in thesurface which have be-come filled with alluviumbrouglit down by therivers from the interior,forming an exceedinglyrich soil suitable for thecultivation of maize andnearly every tropical prod-uct. It is upon these '' cuhun ridges " that mostof the mounds and otherrelics of the ancient in-habitants are found and that nearly all the villages of the modernIndians are built. Large tracts of what is known as "pine ridge"are scattered throughout this area; these are level or slightly undu-lating plains covered with gravel and coarse sand?exceedingly poorsoil, producing only wiry grass, yellow pines, and small pimentopalms. On these "pine ridges" Indian mounds are hardly everfound, nor do the Indians of to-day build villages upon them exceptin rare instances and for special local reasons. With the exceptionof the extreme northern part, nearly the whole of this area is wellwatered by rivers and streams, while scattered, throughout it arenumerous lagoons and lakes, the largest of which is the BacalarLagoon.14 Fig. 1.?Map showing Yucatan, Campeche, British Honduras, and part of Guatemala. The area dealt with is shaded. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICSThe inaiiners, customs, religious conceptions, and daiJy life of allthese Indians are very similar, though among the Indians of BritishHonduras, who come more closely in contact with outside influences,old customs are d3^ing out, and old id(ias and methods are heing super-seded by new. The language of the tribes here considered, withslight local dialectical variations, is the same; all are of the samephysical type; in fact, there can be little doubt that they are thedirect descendants of those Maya who occupied the peninsula ofYucatan at the time of the conquest. Physically, though short theyare robust and weU proportioned. The men average 5 feet 2inches to 5 feet 3 inches in height, the women about 2 inches less. Theskin varies in color from almost white to dark bronze. The hair ofboth sexes is long, straight, coai-se, black, and luxuriant on the head,where it extends very low over the forehead, but is almost entirelyabsent from other parts of the body. The women usually wear theirhair hanging down the back in two plaits. Their faces are roundand full, with rather high cheek bones; the skull is highly brachi-cephahc in type. The following indices were taken from a smallnumber of Santa Cruz Indians, mostly males of middle age : Maximum length of head cm. . 17. 52Maximum breadth of head cm. . 15. 44Cephalic index 88.11Facial height cm .. 11. 68Maximum bi-zygomatic breadth cm. . 12. 84Facial index 84. 40Nasal height .cm. . 5. 13Nasal breadth cm . . 3. 55Nasal index 69.30The eyes are large and dark brown, the eai-s small and closely appliedto the head, the nose rather broad, and the jaw prognathous. Themouth is fairly large and the teeth excellent, though toward middleag6 they become greatly worn dowai in many individuals from eatingcorn cake impregnated with grit from the stone metate, and from thesame cause they are frequently much incrusted with tartar. The figurein both sexes is phort and broad. Tlxe long bones and the extremitiesare smaU and delicate. Both men and women are, however, capableof considerable and prolonged exertion. The former can carry loadsof 150 pounds for 20 miles in the macapal (tah), a netted bag15 16 BUREAU. OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64which is slung over the back and held up by a band passing roundthe forehead, while the latter can work for hours at a time grindingcorn on the metate without apparent fatigue. Many of the youngerwomen would be considered very good looking, measured by themost exacting standard, though they reach maturity at an early age,and deteriorate in appearance very rapidly after marriage, the facebecoming wrinkled and the figure squat and shapeless. In walkingthe men bend the body forward from the hips, keep the eyes fixed uponthe ground, and turn the toes in, habits acquired from carrying themacapal on all occasions. So accustomed have they become to thiscontrivance that many of them, when starting on a journey of evena couple of miles, rather than go unloaded, prefer to weight themacapal with a few stones as a counterpoise to the habitual forwardinclination of their bodies above the hips. Children begin carry-ing small macapals at a very early age, and it is probably tothis habit and not, as Landa suggests, to the custom among thewomen of carrying their children astride the hip that the prevalenceof bowlegs (Jculba die) among the Indians is due. These people havea peculiar and indescribable odor, rather pleasant than otherwise;it is not affected by washing or exercise, is much stronger in someindividuals than in others, and is perceptible in both sexes and atall ages. The women are, on the whole, both physically and mentallysuperior to the men, and when dressed in gala costume for a "baile"with spotlessly clean, beautifully embroidered garments, all the goldornaments they possess or can borrow, and often a coronet of firebeetles, looking like small electric lamps in their hair, they present avery attractive picture. They are polite and hospitable, thoughrather shy with strangers; indeed in the remoter villages they oftenrush into the bush and hide themselves at the approach of anyonenot known to them, especially if the men are away working in themilpas. They are very fond of gossip and readily appreciate a joke,especially one of a practical nature, though till one gets to knowthem fairly well they appear dull and phlegmatic. When quarrelingamong themselves both women and girls use the most disgusting andobscene language, imi^rovising as they go along, with remarkablequick-wittedness, not binding themselves down to any conventionaloaths or forms of invective, but pouring out a stream of vituperationand obscenity to meet each case, which strikes with unerring fidelitythe weak points in the habits, morals, ancestry, and personal appear-ance of their opponents. The young girls are as bad as, if not worsethan, the older women, for whom they seem to have no respect.They are extremely clean in their persons, and wash frequently,though with regard to their homes they are not nearly so particular,as hens, dogs, pigs, and children roll about together promiscuouslyon the floor, and fleas, lice, and jiggers abound only too frequently. GA.NN] MAYA IXDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 17The description given by Landa (chap, xxxii, p. 192) of the Indianwomen at the time of the conquest apphes equally well to theirdescendants of the present day:Emhorac'havanse tambien ellas con los combites, aunque por si, como cotnian parsi, y no ee emborachavan tanto como los hombres . . . Son avisadas y corteses yconversables, con que sc entienden, y a maravilla bien partidas. Tienen pocosecreto y no son tan limpias en sus personas ni en sua cosas con quanto se lavan comolos erminos.The women arc very industrious, rising usually at 3 or 4 o'clockin the morning to prepare the day's supply of tortillas or corn cake.During the day they prepare tobacco (kutz) and make cigarettes;gather cotton (taman), which they spin (kucli), weave (sakal), andembroider for garments; weave mats of pahn leaf and baskets (xush)of a variety of Uana (aJc); make pottery (ul), and cotton and hene-quen cord, of which they construct hammocks Qcan). In additionto these tasks they do the family cooking and washing, look afterthe children, and help their husbands to attend to the animals.Till late at night the women may be seen spinning, embroidering,and hammock-making by the light of a native candle or a smallearthenware cuhoon-nut oil lamp, meanwhile laughing and chattinggayly over the latest village scandal, the older ones smoking cigarettes,while the men squat about on their low wooden stools outside thehouse gravely discussing the weather, the milpas, the hunting, orthe iniquities of the Alcalde. Among the Indian women of BritishHonduras the old customs are rapidly dying out; spinning andweaving are no longer practiced, pottery making has been renderedunnecessary by the introduction of cheap iron cooking pots andearthenware, candles have given place to minc-ral oil lamps, andeven the metate is being rapidly superseded by small American handmills for grinding the corn. The men's time is divided betweenagriculture, hunting, fishing, and boat and house buildmg, thoughat times they undertake tasks usually left to the women, as matand basket making, and even spinning and weaving. The In-dians of British Honduras who live near settlements do light workfor the rancheros and woodcutters; they have the reputation of beingimprovident and lazy, and of leaving their work as soon as they haveacquired sufficient money for their immediate needs, and this is tosome extent true, as the Indian always wants to invest his cash insomething which will give an immediate return in pleasure or amuse-ment. The men are silent, though not sullen, very intelfigent in allmatters which concern their o^vn daily life, but singularly incuriousas to anytiiing going on outside of this. They are civil, obliging,and good-tempered, and make excellent servants, when they can begot to work, but appear to be for the most part utterly lacking in -18?Bull. 64 2 18 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64ambition or in any desire to accumulate wealth with which to acquirecomforts and luxuries not enjoyed by their neighbors. It happensoccasionally that an individual does perforce acquire wealth, asin the case of the head chjef of the Icaiche Indians, who waspaid a salary by the Mexican Government to keep his peoplequiet, and royalties on chicle cut on his lands by various contractors.He accumulated a considerable sum, aU in gold coin, which hestored in a large demijohn and hid in the bush. At his death, as noone knew the place where the demijohn was buried, the money waspermanently lost. They are remarkably skillful at finding their wayin the bush by the shortest route from point to point, possessing afaculty in this respect which amounts almost to an instinct; they areskillful also at followmg the tracks of men and animals in the bushby means of very slight indications, as broken twigs and disturbedleaves, imperceptible to an ordinary individual. The men are verystoical in bearing pain. I have removed both arms at the shoulderjoints, with no other surgical instrument than a long butcher's knife,and no anesthetic except several drinks of rum, for an Indian,crushed between the roUers of a native sugar mill, without his utteringa single complaint. The Indians are undoubtedly cruel, but notwantonly so, as the shocking acts of cruelty reported as being per-petrated by them from time to time are usually by way of reprisal forsimilar or worse acts on the part of the Mexicans. Before the risingof the Indians in 1848, they were throughout this part of Yucatan prac-tically in a state of slavery, and were often treated by their Spanishmasters with the utmost barbarity. As an instance of this it isrecorded of a well-known merchant of Bacalar that he was in thehabit of burying his Indian servants in the ground to the neck, withtheir heads shaved, exposed to the hot sun; their heads were thensmeared with molasses and the victims were left to the ants ; and thispunishment was inflicted for no very serious offense. It is hardly tobe wondered at that such treatment left in the Indians' hearts anundying hatred for their masters which, when in their turn theygained the ascendancy, found vent in acts of the most horriblecruelty?flogging, burning, mutilation, and even crucifixion.DressThe men wear hats of platted pahn leaf, which they make them-selves; those woven from coarse split pahn leaf are known as xanipole, those of very fine leaf, like Panama hats, bear the name lomipole (pi. 1). They wear cotton trousers (eex), or in some sectionsshort cotton drawers {xkulex), with a short, loose, shirt-like jacket ofcotton hanging outside the trousers. On the feet they use sandalsof danta hide (xanaplceueT) held in place by a leather or henequenthong passing between the great and second toes and around the BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 64 PLATE 1 GROUP OF SANTA CRUZ INDIANS GA.NN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 19back of the heel to the front of the mstep, where it is fastened.Formerly the cotton was grown, spun, and woven at home, butnowadays it is giving place to cheap imported Enghsh and Ameri-can goods, while the sandals are being superseded by moccasinsand even by imported shoes. The moccasins the Indians makethemselves, tanning the hides (usually of deer or antelope) in limeand red mangrove bark andstitching the parts togetherwitli thin strips of leather.These moccasins, whichare made on crude woodenlasts, are very comfortableand wear well.The women wear two gar-ments of cotton; the huipil(yupte) , a loose short-sleeved11 , . . 1 Fig. 2.?Gold earrings made and worn by the Santa Cruzblouse, cut square at the Indians.neck, and reaching nearlyto the knees, and a short skirt reaching to between the knee andthe ankle, laio\\Ti as a pik. The neck, the lower border, and thearmholes of the blouse and the edge of the skirt were formerlybeautifully embroidered in varicolored floral and geometrical de-vices; now, however, cotton manufactured in England or the UnitedStates and stamped in colors to imitate the origmal embroideryis rapidly coming into use. The women formerly went barefootedor wore loose slippers; now they frequently wear imported shoes,often with Jiigh heels, a feature which renders their walk andcarriage awkward and stilted. They often go bareheaded, butsometimes wear a sort of shawl (hostcli) around the head and shoul-ders. Many of them wear large round or oval plaquesof gold (tup) in the ears, sm-vivals, probably, of theenormous round ear disks worn by the ancient Maya(fig. 2). Some of the women wear long gold chains,with religious medallions attached, while the smallerFig. 3.?Cross of tan- children Wear a variety of curious objects, as smallby chiicien^ '?? coiiis, sheUs, bcads, dried seeds, and berries, with fig-urines in wood, stone, pottery, and metal, strung roundtheir necks. Many of these are worn as charms or amulets to pro-tect the wearer against diseases, accidents, or evil spirits, or to bringgood luck. A charm worn by nearly all children consists of asmall cross of tancasche bark (fig. 3) which is regarded as a sov-ereign remedy for flatulence, a complaint from which, owing to thenature of their diet, nearly aU suffer. 20 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64Industrial ActivitiesagricultureOf all the arts practiced by the Indian, agriculture is by farthe most important; indeed the greater part of his time and laborare devoted to the milpa {Icol), or corn plantation, whichaffords him his principal means of livelihood, for if the corn cropfails he knows that actual starvation will menace his family untilthe next crop is gathered. The virgin bush, in which the mdpa ismade, is cut down about December or January, only the large andhardwood trees being left standing. This is the most arduous partof the work, and the neighbors often assist in it, being helped inturn when making their own milpas. The bush is allowed to dryuntil the end of May (the dry season lasting from January to May) , when it is burned off. After the burnt area has been cooled by thefirst shower of rain it is planted in corn (ixim). This is a simpleoperation, two or three men going over the ground, each with a bagof corn.and a sharp-pointed stick, making smaU holes at fairly regularintervals, into each of which they drop a few grains of corn, andthen cover them with earth. About October the corn begins to ripen,whereupon each stalk is bent about a foot below the ear and allowedto hang down for several days in order that rain may not gainentrance and spoil the grain in the final stages of ripening. Duringthis period the owner spends nearly aU his time in the milpa, sleepingthere in a little palm-leaf shack at night, since many animals, asdeer and wild hogs, are very fond of corn, which is subject to raidsalso by neighboring Indians and by tame pigs from the village.When the corn is ripe, it is stored, still in the husk, upon a low plat-form, in a small house specially built for the purpose, often, in orderto avoid transportation, situated within the milpa. It is shelled asrequired for use, the surplus from that eaten by the family andstock being exchanged at the nearest village for cash or for cottoncloth, rum, iron cooking pots, ammunition, and other luxuries. Theshelling is done by rubbing the husked ear against a rough fiat sur-face, made by binding a number of corncobs (bacal) together into acircle with liana. Many fruits and vegetables besides corn are grownin the milpa, including yams {xaci Tnacal), camote (is), pumpkinsQcuum), squashes {xka), tomatoes (paalc), plantains (haz), colalu{xterkoch), aguacate (on), plums {abal), oranges (paJcaal), siricote(Jcopte), sapodillas (ya), mamai (chacal Jiaz), okra, garden egg, melon,breadfruit, sweet lune, pineapple, and a variety of others. OANx] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 21PROCURING food; COOKINGBoth men and women take for the first meal of the day a hotthick drink known as posol, made from ground corn and water,often flavored with honey; later they eat tortillas, beans, and chilipepper, accompanied with a cold drink made from corn. In theevening they make their principal repast, which includes game,pork, fish, or eggs, with beans and other vegetables, plenty of chiUpepper, and either chocolate or some hot drink made from corn.They use a great variety of drinks concocted of ground maize andwater, including chocosacan, a solution of the masa from whichtortillas are made, in water, flavored with a little salt; pinol, asolution of ground toasted corn seasoned with pimento and otherspices; posol, boded corn ground to a paste and mixed with hotwater; sacM, very much hke posol, but the corn is not cookedsoft, so that the beverage is gritty; and, lastly, atol, which is cho-cosacan boiled till the mixture becomes thick and glutinous.Tortillas, or corn cake, sometimes eaten hot, sometimes cold,and at times toasted, are the Indian's chief mainstay in the wayof food, as they appear at every meal, and at a pinch he can existon them alone for a very long period. Tortillas are made in thefollowing way: The grain is first soaked overnight in a lye of woodashes, treatment which softens the grain and loosens the outer husk.The softened grain is next ground into a fine paste on an oblongstone, slightly concave, known as a metate (ka), by means of astone roUing pin thicker in the middle than at the ends, designatedas a brazo (u Tcahka). This procedure takes considerable time, asthe grain has to be ground a number of times in order to get thepaste to the required degree of fineness. When the paste or masais ready it is flattened by hand into small round cakes (tortOlas),which are baked on an iron or earthen plaque (xamach) over a glow-ing wood fire.The hunters are experts at barbecuing (macan) the carcasses ofvarious birds and animals, chiefly deer, peccary, wild turkey, andcurassow, as they often get a large supply of game when severaldays' journey from the village, which, unless preserved in some way,would c[uickly spod. The carcasses are cut into joints; the birdsplucked, cleaned, and spUt open; and the meat thus prepared ishung in a small palm-leaf shack rendered as nearly airtight as pos-sible, upon the floor of which is kindled a fire of damp cedar chips.These give off some heat and great quantities of aromatic smoke,so that in about 24 hours the meat is sufficiently cured to last forseveral weeks. Meat prepared in this way is considered a greatdelicacy. . If it is wished to preserve the meat for longer periodsthe process is prolonged and salt may be rubbed in. Strips of meat 22 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY f bull. 64and carcasses of birds may sometimes be seen hanging from therafters over the fire in the kitchen so desiccated, hard, and black-ened that it would appear impossible to eat them; but after monthsof drying this meat, when soaked in warm water for 24 hours, isnot unpalatable. The Indians wash their hands before and aftereating, a very necessary practice, as they eat exclusively with theirfingers, using the tortillas to scoop up gravy, beans, and othermushy foodstuffs. They eat at small round tables about 16 incheshigh, sitting, or rather squatting, aroimd them on little blocks ofwood 4 to 5 inches high. They are very fond of salt, which amongthe coast Indians is obtained by evaporating sea water, among theinland villages by trade fjom Yucatan and Guatemala. Since thissupply has been almost cut off, owing to the troubles with Mexico, theIndians frequently use for salt the ashes obtained by burning botantops. Men and women do not eat together, as the women are pre-paring relays of hot tortillas for the men while the meal lasts. Theirfood and mode of eating is well described by Landa (chap, xxi,p. 120) : Que por la mafiana toman la bebida caUente con piinienta, como esta dicho yentre dia las otras frias, y a la noche los guisados. Y que si no ay came bazen sussalsas de la pimienta y legumbres. Que no acostumbravan comer los bombres conlas mugeres, y que ellos comian por si en el suelo, o quando mucho sobre una serillapor mesa: y que comen bien quando lo tienen, y quando no, sufren muy bien lahambre y passan con muy poco. Y que se lavan las manos y la boca despues decomer.Indeed, the foregoing description would apply almost as well toIndians of the more remote villages of the present day as to thoseof the time immediately after the conquest. In localities wherethey have come in contact with more civilized communities theirmenu has been considerably enlarged by the introduction of im-ported foodstuffs, while their methods of eatmg have been changedby the introduction of knives, forks, and spoons. The nativemethods of cooking are very primitive. Three large flat stonesso placed as to form an equilateral triangle, known as Jcohen, formthe only fireplace; in this is kindled the fire of sticks or split logs,over which is placed the earthenware or iron cooking pots or plaquefor baking tortillas, restmg on the stones. Fire (kaak) is usuallyobtained tlirough the use of matches among the Indians of BritishHonduras. Hunters and others who spend a great part of theirtime in the bush employ flmt and steel. Among the Indians in theremote villages fire is stiU made by swiftly rotating a sharp-pointedshaft of some hardwood (usually dogwood) m a hole made in asmall slab of very light dry wood (commonly gumbo lunbo) . Thereis no chunney to the kitchen, the smoke finding its way out as bestit can through the doors and crevices in the walls; consequently GAXN] MAYA INDTAXS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 23the whole of the mterior, with its pormaiKuit furnishings, is coloreda fine rich bro\\Ti. HUNTINGIt must be admitted that the Indian is no sportsman in the pur-suit of game, the claims of the pot being always paramount. Herarely shoots at a flying bird unless to fire into the midst of a flockof parrots or wild ducks, and when after the larger game he waitstiU he can deliver the contents of his gun point-blank hito some vital Fig. 4.?Powder hom an mboo used by the Indians.part. This practice may be duo partly to the limitations of hisweapon, which tiU recent years consisted of a muzzle-loading sectionof gas pipe, nearly as dangerous when discharged to the hunteras to the game, and partly to the fact that the bush is usually sodense that an animal, if not shot at point-blank range, can notbe gotten at aU. It is probably not more than four generationssince the use of the bow and arrow died out among the Indiansin the western part of British Honduras, as old men among them Fig. 5.?Watertight box for caps, matches, or tinder, with corncob stopper.have told me that they could remember seeing a few still in usewhen they were very young. The flint arrowheads, they said,were obtained down the Mopan River. This seems quite possible, asat Baker's, not far from Belize, there is an outcrop of flint, where,judging by the great heaps of fresh-looking chips and rejects stillin existence, a considerable "factory" must have existed at a com-paratively recent date. Some of these old men could still makefairly serviceable bows and arrows, the heads of the latter being cutfrom hardwood. 24 BUREAU OF AMEEICAK ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64The principal game animals of this region are the deer (ke), twospecies of wild hog, the warri and peccary (kekem), gibnut Qialih),armadillo (vetsh), wild turkey (kutz), parrot (tut), pigeons of variouskinds (mucui), curassow (kamhul), quam (cosh), quail {num), andpartridge (mankolom) . Besides these, birds in great variety, rep-tiles, and mammals are killed and eaten from time to time, includingplovers, garzas, toucans, water hens, wild ducks, and chichalacas.The iguana (tolok) is eaten by the Indians in the west of British Hon-duras, as are also the woula (odikan), a large constrictor snake, andthe rattlesnake, known as the cazon % leash, or "little shark of thewoods." Turtles (sacak) are often captured along the east coast ofYucatan and the adjacent islands, and their eggs in the breedingseason form a great delicacy for the Santa Cruz Indians living inthe neighborhood of Tuluum. Hicatee (ok.) and bucatora are caughtin great numbers in aU the rivers and lagoons. The tiger (halam),puma (coh), picote (chic), monkey (maash), tapir (tzimin), squirrel(Jcuuk), cane rat (tso), and other animals are hmited from time totime, either for their skins or flesh. Deer are secured in considerablenumbers in the rutting season by imitating their call with a woodenwhistle (fig. 6) ; they arc also found in the milpas, just after the burning, Fig. 6.?Whistle for attracting deer by imitating their call.where they come to lick the slightly saline ashes. At this time theowners build platforms on poles 10 to 12 feet high, on top of whichthey spend the whole night in an extremely cramped and uncom-fortable position, waiting for deer or other game to approach nearenough for an easy shot. A favorite method of hunting the largergame animals is to go out at night with a split-pine torch attachedto the hat; this attracts animals of aU kinds, whose eyes may beseen gleaming in the dark, affording an easy mark, though notinfrequently a neighbor's errant pig pays the penalty of curiosity.Traps of two kinds are in common use. One employed to snarelarger game is constructed in the following way: A path frequentedby game in going to and from a watering place is found; along thisis dug a shallow trench opposite a good sprmgy young sapling; twostakes are driven in, one on each side of the trench, the one farthestfrom the tree being crooked at the top. A piece of henequen cord,provided with a noose at one end, and with a stick long enough toextend from one stake to the other, firmly tied by its middle abovethe noose, is attached to the top of the sapling by its other end.The sapling is then bent down and held in place by the stick abovethe noooe, which is fixed lightly between the crook in one stake and GANNl MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 25the stake opposite to it, the loop hanging suspended between thetwo. Lastly, a number of sticks and leaves are scattered lightly overthe trench and beside the stakes and loop. Animals coming alongthe run are very apt to put their necks in the loop, and by pullingon this, to release the cross stick, whereupon they are immediatelysuspended in the air by the jerking back of the bent sapling.Animals of all sizes, from rabbits to tigers, are caught in traps ofthis kind, the strength and adaptability of which vary with the sizeof the bent tree and the adjustment of the noose. Another trap,used only for small animals, consists of an oblong cage made of splitbamboo or cabbage bark. Over the opening, which is in the top,rests an accurately balanced strip of board, baited at one end withcorn. When the animal endeavors to reach the bait it is precipitatedinto the trap, and the board swings back into place, covering theexit. Before they obtain guns the boys use slings, with which theycan throw pebbles with remarkable force and accuracy, bringingdown birds, squirrels, and other small game. They keep many tameanimals, some for food, others as pets, including pigs, dogs, cats,peccaries, gibnuts, rabbits, quashes, nicos de noche, and squirrels;also birds, as parrots, doves, quam, curassow, chichalaca, sinsonte,pavo real, and many others.Many fish are found in the coastal waters, in the rivers, and in thelagoons of the interior, including cazones, tarpon, skipjacks, snappers,eels, baracoudas, stone bass, cobarli, je^vfish, tubers, bay snooks,river snooks, and a variety of others. Tliey are caught with hook andline, in cast and seine nets, in traps, and by spearing or harpooning.Fish traps are cylindrical in shape, with a funnel-shaped openingat each end, the apex of the funnel pointing toward the center of thetrap, so that entrance is easy but exit very difficult. The traps,made of split bamboo, are placed upon the bottoms of rivers orlagoons, baited with "masa," which attracts multitudes of the tinyfish there abounding; these in their turn attract larger fish, whichenter the trap in pursuit of the small fry and are captured. Har-pooning at night by the light of a split-pine torch is about the nearestapproach to real sport which the Indian enjoys; this is usually donenear the bar of a river, on a calm dark night, by tliree men in acanoe, one paddling, one holding the torch, and the third wieldingthe harpoon. Tliis implement consists of a slender cane 10 to 12feet in length provided with a sharp barbed spindle-shaped steel head,fitting into the hollow at one end, so that on striking the fish thehead parts from the shaft to which it is attached by a cord held inthe hand of the harpooner. The fish are attracted by the light ofthe torch, and the harpooner strikes at the swirl which they make 26 BUREAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64alongside the dory. Harpooning is rather an exciting form of sport,as it is impossible to tell what sort of fish has been struck until itis landed. Hicatee and bucatora are harpooned with an unbarbedtriangular point, this givmg the best hold on their tough shells; theyare captured also by spreading small nets in the vicinity of the stumpsand holes along the river banks, which they frequent.CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES ANDFURNITUREThe Indians construct their housesin the following manner: First anumber of straight trees about 8inches in diameter at the base andcrotched at the top are selected inthe bush for posts. These are usu-ally Santa Maria, chichem, sapo-dilla, or some hardwood. They arecut down, and after having beenpeeled are dragged to the site of thenew house, where they are firmlyplanted, one at each of the four cor-ners and others, the number de-pending on the size of the house, atshort intervals between in the linesof the waUs. In the crotches otherslightly smaller poles 5 to 6 inchesin diameter, also peeled, are laid ; tothese are attached still smaller poles,which run up to the ridgepole(honacTie), forming rafters (uinciche).Fig. 7.?Indian can \mg load of bejuco, a liana ^jj t,}^jg fpameWOrk is firmly boUlldused as rope in houes building. , .^ ^ r r i ?together by means oi ropes oi liana(fig. 7) . Rows of long thin phable sticks are next bound round therafters, and to these are attached layer upon layer of " huana " (shaan)leaves till a thatch, sometimes 18 inches thick and quite imperviousto rain, is formed (pi. 4).The walls between the posts are filled in with 'Hasistas," a smallpalm trunk, or in some cases with strips of spht cabbage palm. Theouter sides of the waUs may be daubed with a mixture of mud andhair, or of chopped fiber {paMoom), and whitewashed, or they maybe thatched with palm leaves. The floor is made of marl dustpounded down to a flat hard surface.Doors and windows may be made of wickerwork of liana, of sphtcabbage palm, or of a frame of sticks thatched with pahn leaves.When a man undertakes the building of a new house his neighbors BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 64 PLATE 2 MAYA GIRLS FISHING BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 3 FISH DRYING ON ONE OF THE CAYS OFF THE COAST OF YUCATAN BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE a. LEAF-THATCHED HOUSE b. INDIAN HOUSE ON RIO HONDOMAYO INDIAN HOUSES GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 27usually help him, and the residence is ready for occupancy in a fewdays, as all the materials are growing ready to hand in the neighbor-ing forest, and require only cutting down and assembling. Thefacility with which their dwellings are constructed, and the difficultyin getting more than one or two crops in succession from each plan-tation, with their primitive agricultural methods, probably accountfor the frequent changes in site which one notices in Indian villages.As the lands in one neighborhood become impoverished, the popula-tion has a tendency gradually to desert the old village, and start anew one in a more favorable locality.The kitchen, which is a replica of the house on a small scale, isusually placed a few yards be-hind it.The furniture is of the sim-plest, consisting of a smallround cedar table, with a lit-tle bowl-shaped projectionwhich contains a lump of masawhen tortillas are being madeand chili peppers or salt atmeal times. The seats are mereblocks of wood, 3 or 4 incheshigh (caancJie), with perhapsone or two more pretentiouslow hollow-backed woodenchairs covered with deer skinor " tiger" skin. A number ofcalabashes of all shapes andsizes, with a few earthenwater jars, iron cooking pots,and plaques for baking tortil-las, are found in all houses.Hammocks (kdan) of cotton or henequen fiber are always conspicu-ous articles of furniture, as they are slung all around the room,making it very difficult to move about in it when they are letdown. In many houses contact with the hammocks is not desir-able, as Uce have a habit of leaving the body of the hammockduring the day and secreting themselves in the knots betweenthe body and the arms, whence they may transfer themselves to thegarments of the unwary. If the hammock is large the father andmother often sleep in one, their heads at opposite ends, while thesmaller children, frequently to the number of three or four, occupyanother. There can be no such thing as privacy, as the whole familycommonly sleep, live, and eat in a single room, which at most is dividedinto two apartments by a flimsy cotton curtain. A prominent Fig. 8.?Domestic altar. 28 BUREAU OF^AMEBICAlsr ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64object in most Indian houses is an altar (cancJie), or high squaretable, upon which stands a wooden cross (fig. 8). The altar iscovered with a cotton cloth, embroidered in flowers and religioussymbols; the cross is draped with ribbon or strips of colored fabric,and sometimes with crude models, in silver or gold, of legs, arms,and hands, representing thank offerings to some favorite Santo forthe healing of corresponding parts of the body. Little images inwax, and, if the Indian can obtain them, religious oleographs andmedallions, with colored-glass vases, are commonly found upon thealtar, which is frequently dressed with fresh flowers.The Indian's only tool is his machete, a heavy cutlass-like knife,about 16 inches long; with this he cuts and cleans his milpa, makeshis house and most of his furniture, digs postholes, and fights anddefends himself.His indispensable belongings consist of a hammock, a few cal-abashes and pots, a machete, and a cotton suit, all of which hecan carry slung over his back in a macapal; with his wife anddogs trotting behind him, he can leave his old home and seek pas-tures new with a light heart and untroubled mind, knowing thatthe bush wiU provide for all his needs.POTTERY MAKINGPottery making is rapidly dying out through the greater partof this area, owing to the importation of more convenient and dur-able vessels. It is undertaken almost exclusively by the olderwomen, who employ a fine light yeUow clay mixed with sand orpowdered quartz. They make vessels in considerable variety, bothas to size and shape, which are used for the storage of water and drymaterial, as corn, beans, and achiote, and as cooking pots. Theydo not use a potter's wheel, but mold the smaller utensils by handand build up the larger by the addition of fragment upon fragmentof clay. The outside is smoothed over with a little wooden spade-like implement. No polish, glaze, or paint is applied to the pottery,either inside or out; the highest effort at decoration resulting inmerely a few incised lines just below the neck, or a rough scallopingaround the rim. The pottery is burned in a clear, open wood fire;when completed the ware is known as ul.BOAT BUILDINGThe Indians living in the neighborhood of lakes and rivers possessdories or canoes which vary in size from tiny craft 5 to 6 feet longby 16 to 18 inches beam, capable of holding only a single individual,to large craft 25 feet or more in length, large enough to hold a dozenpeople. All their canoes are constructed by the simple process ofhollowing out large logs, the more durable ones being made fromcedar, the lighter ones from wild cotton {yaxche). The boats are 3UREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 64 PLATE 5 MAYA WOMAN, 105 YEARS OLD. SPINNING COTTON 5UREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 64 PLATE 6 MAYA LOOMYamaL b. Xunche. c, Sikinche d. Toboche. e. Cheil. /. Mamacche. g. Yoch. h. Botochz. New spindle, fc. Old spindle. Z. Cotton cloth. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 29pointed, bow and stern, and when steel tools are available to theirmakers the lines are often very graceful. Many of the boats, how-ever, foUow to some extent the contours of the logs from whichthey were made, being exceedingly clumsy and difficult to manage.On the rivers and lakes the only method of propulsion is by meansof a broad-bladed cedar paddle about 5 feet long, or, where the wateris shallow and the bottom hard, a long pole. Both men and womenhave acquired considerable dexterity in paddling and can keep itup at a 4-mile-an-hour gait from early morning till late at night,with very short intervals for refreshment. They use their canoesfor trading corn, vegetables, lime, and live stock among villagesalong the river banks, for line fishing, spearing, and netting, andfor getting from place to place. On the large lagoons and alongthe seacoast they sometimes use the pole to support a lug sail.SPINNING AND WEAVINGSpinning (kuch) is done by means of a spindle (hecliech) of hard-wood, 12 to 14 inches long, weighted about 3 inches from the bottomwith a hardwood or pottery ring(pi. 5). The upper end is re-volved by the fmger and thumbof the right hand, which are con-stantly rubbed on a piece of stone-like substance, made from deer-skin burned and ground to apowder, to prevent them fromi' 1 ? -. /? r\\ rm. j.i Fig. 9.?Stonelike substance used to preventStickmg (fig. 9). The cotton from sticking wWle spinning.(taman) may be held in the lefthand, or on the shoulder; the lower end of the spindle rests in asmaU calabash (luch), which is cemented into a support of wovenliana (met), the luch and met together being known as toh (fig. 10).Weaving is done on a simple loom consisting of a cloth beam andyam beam (xuncTie) of light strong wood, connected by the warp(cheiT) (pi. 6). The cloth beam is attached round the back of theweaver by a thick henequen cord (yamal), enabling him to tighten thewarp at will by simply loaning backward. The yarn beam is usuallyattached to a doorpost. The shuttle (hotosh) consists of a lightstick, pointed at both ends, on which the weft is womid obliquely.AU the alternate warp strands may be raised together by moans ofa heddle (mamaccTie) consisting of a number of loops attached to arod, each loop passuig round a warp strand, so that when the rod israised the warp threads are raised with it. The lease rods (halahteJi)consist of splints of hard heavy wood, usually sapodilla, 2 to 3 inchesbroad, one-third of an inch thick in the center, with sharp edges andpointed ends. A loose rod {toboche) about the size of the yarn beam 30 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64is used to roll up the completed material (yoch). The loom forcotton cloth is usually 2J to 3 feet broad, but much smaller loomsare frequently used for narrower strips of materialMINOR INDUSTRIESTobacco CuringThe tobacco leaves are hung in bunches, often under the roof ofthe corn house, in the milpa, in a free current of air, till they arethoroughly dry; they are then powdered in a shallow basin, orthe bottom cut from a large calabash, and mixed with the leaves ofthe chiohle, a species of vanilla, which gives a distinctive flavor andfragrance to the tobacco; finally the mixture is rolled into cigarettes(chiople) in a covering of corn husk (coloch). Fig. 10.?Calabash with Uana base used in spimung.Basket and Mat WeavingBaskets are woven from a special thin tough liana and from splitcane; those of liana (ok), which are large and coarse, are commonlyused for carrying corn from the milpa, slung over the shoulders likea macapal. The split-cane baskets, which are smaller and moreneatly woven, are used in the house for all sorts of domestic purposes.Henequen fiber is used by the Indians for a great variety of pur-poses. The fiber is obtamed from the leaf, which is cleaned upon asmooth board {folcche) about 4 feet long by 6 mches broad, in thefollowing way: The top of the board is held against the lower partof the operator's chest while the lower end rests on the floor. Theleaf is placed on the board and the pulp scraped from the fiber witha bar of hardwood, triangular in section. At the upper end of theboard is a deep notch in its side, m which the cleaned part of theleaf is clamped, thus fixing the part which is being scraped. The GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 31cleaning has to be done very early in the morning, as when the sungets hot the juice from the pulp produces an unpleasant itchmg rashupon the skin. The fiber when cleaned and dried is made into ropeand cord; from the cord hammocks, sacks, a coarse kind of cloth,and many other articles are manufactured. Candles are made bydipping a wick of twisted cotton into melted black beeswax (box Iceb),obtamed from wild bees. Sometimes a number of the logs in whichthe wild bees hive are brought m to the village and placed one abovethe other, on trestles, to form a sort of apiary, m order that honeyand wax may be always obtainable.Oil for cooking and for bm-ning in small earthenware lamps withtwisted cotton wicks is obtained by breaking up the kernel of thecuhoon nut and boiling it in water. A clear rather thin oil floats tothe surface, which may easily be skimmed off. Near the sea coconutoil is prepared in the same way. SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICSVillagesThe villages vary in size from two or three houses to two hundredor more, with inhabitants numbermg from 10 or 12 to more than1,000. In the smaller villages the houses are very irregularly dis-posed; in the larger they are arranged more or less regularly so asto form streets around a large central space, or plaza, where thedance house and church are usually situated. Each "house is sur-rounded by its own patio, or yard, generally inclosed in a fence of "tasistas," in which the bush is allowed to grow to a considerableheight in order to provide a convenient latrine for the women andchildren. Dogs, pigs, and vultures serve as scavengers. Many of theIndians, especially the Santa Cruz, are at great pains to conceal thewhereabouts of their villages. Along the main roads only a fewscattered groups of huts will be seen, while the larger villages areapproached by tracks so inconspicuous that they may easily bemissed. The villages themselves are surrounded by a maze of narrowtortuous paths, in which a stranger may wander about for some timebefore finding his way in. Tlie Santa Cniz are said sometimes tocut the tongues from their cocks m order to prevent them crowingand so betraying the situation of the village.Tlie Indians are very jealous of outside interference in their affairsand do not permit foreigners to reside m their villages. An exceptionwas made in the case of a number of Chinese coolies imported mtoBritish Honduras many years ago, most of whom ran away to theSanta Cruz country, where they w^ere well received and marriedIndian wives. Among their offspring, it is interesting to note, arefound a very unusual proportion of defectives. On one occasion theMexican Government commenced to cut a road through from Petoto Santa Cruz, the Indian capital. Five of the Santa Cruz Indianswent to see the work going on and were well received and given usefulpresents. On returnmg to their own country, however, they wereexecuted by the head chief as traitors for encouraging the entry ofoutsiders into their territory.Marriage and ChildrenThe Indian girls married formerly at about 14 or 15, the boysat about 17 or 18 years. , After the conquest of Bacalar, however,and the expulsion of Yucatecans from Indian territory a law waspassed making marriage compulsory for all girls of 12 years of age32 [BULL. 64, GANN] IMAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 33and upward. This ^vas probably done with the idea of increasingthe population, which had been considerably depleted by the long-continued war. Formerly, the fii'st question of a girl's father toher suitor was " Ilai tzak a hul hai tzak taman?" (How many macatesof corn and cotton have you T) ; but at the present day there arenot enough men to "go round." The Indians of British Hondurasare usually married by the Catholic priest, though the actual cere-mony is often performed months or even years after the youngcouple have set up housekeeping together, since owing to the re-moteness of many of the Indian settlements the priest can visitthem only at long intervals. Among the Santa Cruz marriages arenot considered legal unless performed by an official known as theyumxcrih (probably derived from the Maya Yum, "lord," and Span-ish escnhano), w^ho holds a position somewhat analogous to thatof colonial secretary in a British colony.The babies and smaller children m general are pretty, merrylittle things. The mothers almost invariably nurse them w^eU intothe second year, as the mammary glands are remarkably well devel-oped and the secretion is abundant and long continued. Childrenare much desired by both parents and are well treated and loved,though not spoiled. If the father and mother separate, the veryyoung children remam with the mother; of the older children, theboys go w^ith the father, the girls with the mother. If small chil-dren are left destitute by the death of both parents, the nearestrelative takes them, and in the absence of relatives they are dis-tributed by the subchief among families of his choosing in theirown village. "When a man dies his widow takes the home, furniture,domestic animals, corn, and plantations; other possessions, if suchexist, are divided equally between the widow and the older chil-dren, each taking such articles as wiU be most useful to him or her.When a woman dies her jewelry, ornaments, and clothes are dividedbetween her daughters. The marriage tie is a somewhat loose one,and the more the Indians come in contact w4th civilization thelooser it seems to become. In British Honduras, where the Indiansare closely associated with wSpaniards, Mestizos, Negroes, and otherraces, the women change their partners with the utmost facility.The Negroes are called hisinbosh, "black devils," by the Indians,a term which, however it originated, is now employed without anyparticularly opprobrious significance, as many of the Maya womenshow no repugnance to a Negro husband. A good deal of theimmorality is brought about by the cheapness of rum and the facil-ity with which it is obtainable by the Indians. The husband "takesto dr'nk, neglects his wife and family, and probably gets entangledwith some other woman; the wife, in order to obtain food, clothing,70806??IS?Bull. 64 3 34 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64and a shelter for hei-self and children, is driven to an alliance withsome other man who is a better provider. The consequence is thatin British Honduras all degrees of racial mixture are to be foundbetween Indian women and European, East Indian, Chinese, andNegro men, who, again intermarryiAg, produce a bewildering racialkaleidoscope.The Indians are a short-lived race, a fact due partly to theirindigestible and badly cooked food and partly to the prevalenceamong them of malarial fever (choTcuil), with accompanying anemia(xcan mucui) and splenic enlargement (cancJiikin) , but chiefly tooverindulgence in alcohol whenever an opportunity offers. Notableexceptions to this rule are, however, not uncommon, and once anindividual passes the four-score mark he or she is quite likely to live towell over 100 years; dried up, wrinkled, and feeble, but clinging tolife with an almost incredible tenacity.DrunkennessLanda frequently mentions the fact that in his day drunkenness(l-altal) was the curse of the Indians and the cause of many crimesamong them, including murder, rape, and arson.' At the presenttime these remarks apply equally well; indeed, drunkenness is prob-ably more prevalent than formerly, as the rum is made locally andis far more intoxicating than the halcM, which Landa describes as adrink made from fermented honey, water, and roots. Moreover, thepeople drink rum at all times and seasons, whereas both the prepara-tion and consumption of lalcJie were to some extent ceremonial, aswas the resulting intoxication. Drunkenness is not considered inany way a disgrace, but is looked on rather as an amiable weakness.The women, especially the older ones, drink a good deal but theyusually do so in the privacy of their own houses. I have seen,however, a little girl of 14 or 15 purchase a pint of rum in a villageliquor store, and go out on the plaza, where she drank it in a fewgulps; then, lying down in the fierce heat of the afternoon sun, shelapsed into alcoholic coma. Alcohol effects an extraordinarily rapidchange for the worse in the Indian's temperament; from a quiet,poUte, rather deferential individual, he is converted almost in amoment into a maudhn idiot, staggering about singing foolishsnatches of native songs, and endeavoring to embrace everyone hecomes in contact with. When thwarted while in this condition his,temper is hkely to flare up at the slightest provocation, whereuponthe thin veneer of civilization and restraint is sloughed in a moment,and he becomes savage, impudent, overbearing, and contemptuous 1 Que los indios eran muy dissolutos en bever y emboracharse, de que les seguian muchos males, comomatarse uuos a otros, violar las camas . . . y pegar fuego a sus casas.?Landa, Belacion de las Cosas deYucatan, chap, xxii, p. 122. GAXX] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 35toward the stranger, and ready to draw his machete and fight tokill, with friend or foe ahke. ChiefsOn the death of the head chief (noh calan or nohoch yumtat) amongthe Santa Cruz and Icaiche the oldest of the subchiefs {clian yum-topiloh) is supposed to succeed him; as a matter of fact there arealwa3"s rival claimants for the chieftainship, and the subchief withthe strongest personality or greatest popularity among the soldiersusually succeeds in grasping the office. There are nearly alwaysrival factions endeavoring to oust the chief in power, and the latterrarely dies a natural death. The village subchiefs are elected bythe people. The power of the head chief is practically absoluteover the whole tribe., Some years ago, when Roman Pec was headcliief , one of the subchiefs came to . Corozal, the nearest town inBritish Honduras, to purchase powder, shot^ and other supplies.He remained some time, as he had many friends in tlie place, andobtained, among other things, a bottle of laudanum to relieve tooth-ache. On returning to liis village he was met by three soldiers,who informed him that he was to go with them at once to the headchief, as the latter was angry with him on account of his long absencefrom the country. Aware that this was equivalent to a sentence ofdeath, he asked permission to retire to his house for a few minutes,to get ready for the journey, and taking advantage of the oppor-tunity, he swallowed the whole contents of the bottle of laudanum.This began to take effect very shortly, and long before reaching thecapital he was dead.The method of executing those sentenced to death is curious.Tlie accused does not undergo a formal trial, but the evidenceagainst hun is placed before the head chief; if he is convicted,he has an opportunity of defending himself and of producmg wit-nesses in his behalf. Three or four soldiers are chosen by the chiefto carry out the sentence; this they do by chopping the victimto death with their machetes when they catch him asleep or offhis guard. Several men always perform this act, all chopping thevictim at the same time, so that no single individual may be directlyresponsible for his death. Imprisonment as a punishment forcrime is unkno\vn, fine, flogging, and death being the only threemethods employed for dealing with criminals. Fines and floggingmay be administered by the subchiefs, but sentence of death canbe passed only by the head chief. The severity of the floggingis regulated by the nature of the offense, and after it is over therecipient is compelled publicly to express sorrow for his crime andgo around humbly kissing the hands of all the spectators, after whichhe is given a large calabash of anise to drink. The heaviest pun- 36 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. G4ishment is inflicted for witchcraft or sorcery, as the pulya, or sor-ceress, is greatly dreaded by the Indians. She is literally choppedImib from limb; but whereas the bodies of other victims executedin this way are always buried, that of the pulya is left for the dogsand vultures to dispose of.Military service is compulsory for all adult males among theSanta Cruz, though many avoid such service by payment to thechief of a certain sum in money or its equivalent. Small garrisonswere kept up at Santa Cruz, Chan Santa Cruz, Bacalar, and otherIndian towns where soldiers were permanently stationed. No uni-form was provided, though many of the men were armed with"Winchester rifles. They were provided also with a ration of cornand beans, and often took their wives along with them as cooks.Diseases and MedicinesIndian men and "Nyomen of all ages and classes, when attackedby any serious malady, are found to be lacking in vitality andstamma; they relinquish hope, and relax their grip on life very easily,seeming to hold it lightly and as not worth a fight to retain.An elderly man or woman will sometunes take to the hammockwithout apparent physical symptoms of disease beyond the anemiaand splenitis from which nearly all suffer, and merely announceHe in cimli, "I am going to die." They refuse to eat, drink,or talk, wrap themselves in a sheet from head to foot, and finallydo succumb in a very short time apparently from sheer lack ofvitality and absence of desire to continue living.Malaria is without doubt the chief scourge of the Indian's existence.Many of the villages are built in low-lying situations, with mosquito-breeding swamps aU round them, while the scrubby bush and rankvegetation are allowed to grow in the yards right up to the houses,furnishing good cover and an excellent lurking place for the insects;moreover, the Indians seldom use mosquito curtains, as they seemto have acquu"ed a sort of immunity to the irritation caused at nightby the noise and biting of the pests. Practically all Indians sufferfrom malaria, which is the main cause of the splenic enlargement andanemia so prevalent among them. In some cases the spleen reachesan enormous size, nearly filling the abdominal cavity, and deaths froma slight blow or fall, causing rupture of this organ, are by no meansuncommon. Malaria is usually treated by means of profuse sweating(Mlcahanhil) , the patient lying wrapped in a cotton sheet in thehammock, with a fire burning beneath and drinking sudorific bushmedicine. This in itself is an excellent remedy, but in the midst ofthe sweat patients frequently plunge into cold water, thu? becomingthoroughly chilled, a procedure very apt to bring on pneumonia, towhich they are peculiarly subject. GAXNl MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 37The splenic enlargement is treated by applying a number of smallcircular blisters (xacal) containing chichem juice to the skin, overthe affected organ, which seem to be remarkably efficacious in reduc-ing the swelling.In the winter \vhen the nights are cold the Indians often lie outaU night in the wet, a practice which frequently results in pneumoniaand death. Hookworms and many other varieties of intestinal para-sites are jjrevalent, owing to the earth-eating habits of the children,the earth being taken usually from the immediate vicinity of thehouse, where pigs and other domestic animals have their quarters.This disgusting habit no doubt accounts in part for the swollen belliesand earthy color of many of the children.SmaUpox (hilc) invading an Indian village is a terrible scourge,far worse than in a more civilized community of the same size, w^here|)artial immunity has been acquired. Sometimes the whole unaffectedpojiulation depart en masse, leaving the dead unburied and thestricken lying in their hammocks, with a supply of food and water,to do the best they can for themselves. The Indians employ thesame mode of treatment for this disease as for malarial fever ? sweating followed by immersion in cold water, treatment which, itneed hardly be said, is not infrequently followed by disastrous results.Venereal diseases of aU kinds are remarkably rare among aU theIndian tribes. Among the Santa Cruz and Icaiche s'uch diseases werepractically unknown. Even among the mixed breeds of BritishHonduras they are comparatively rare, notwithstanding the fact thatthese natives have come much in contact with people of many otherraces, especially of late years with Mexican Chicleros, nearly all ofwhom are affected with venereal disease in one form or another.Sunple fractures of the long bones are set very neatly and skill-fully in the following way: The fractured limb is pulled awayfrom the body with considerable fofce in order to overcome the dis-|)lacement; over the fractured bone is wound a thick layer of cottonwool, and over this are applied a number of small round, straightsticks, completely surrounding the limb, their centers correspondingnearly to the seat of fracture; these are kept in place by a firmbinding of henequen cord. The limb, if an arm, is supported in asling; if a leg, the patient is conlined to his hammock till the fractureis firmly knit. Excellent results are secured by this method, theunion being firm, and the Imib nearly always uniting in good position.Bleeding, a favorite remedy for all complaints, is especially resortedto in cases of headache and malarial fever. Usually the temporal vein,less frequently one of the veins in the front of the forearm, is opened,having been first distended with blood by tying a ligature aroundthe upper arm, A chip of obsidian, a sharp splinter of bone, or asnake's tooth, serves as a crude lancet; the use of the last causes 38 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64considerable pain, but is believed to have some esoteric virtue con-nected with it.Decoctions made from the charred carcasses of animals at one timewere much employed, certain animals being regarded as specificsfor certain diseases. Thus, during an epidemic of w^hooping cough{xinki sen) a decoction from the charred remains of the cane ratwas almost exclusively given to the children to relieve the cough,though in this case it is difficult to trace the connection betweenthe remedy and the disease.Many eye troubles are treated by placing a small rough seedbeneath the lower lid of the affected eye, where it remains for a day;when the seed is withdrawn it is covered with mucus, to which thedoctor points as the injurious matter, the cause of all the trouble,which he has removed.Massage is practiced chiefly for uterine and ovarian pains by theolder women, who also act as midwives; it is used also in conjunc-tion with kneading and manual manipulation in the cure of neuralgicpains, strains, stiffness, and rheumatism.In confinements, which usually take place either in the hammockor on the floor, the dorsal position is invariably assumed. In suchcases also massage over the uterus is performed by the midwife.If the desired results are not secured, the patient is made to vomitby thrusting a long coil of hair down her throat, while a woman ofexceptional lung power is sent for to blow into her mouth, withthe object of hastening delivery.The Indians use for medicinal purposes a great variety of plantswhich grow in their country; some of these are purely empiricalremedies; others produce definite physiological results and arefrequently used with good effect, while a few, apparently on theassumption that "similia similibus curantur," are employed becauseof some fancied resemblance in form to the diseased part, as xhuduhpelc, twin seeds of the size of small eggs, the milky juice of which isused as an external application for enlarged glands and for variousforms of orchitis.The following plants are used medicinally by the Indians asremedies for the diseases named, respectively:Acitz.?The milky juice of a tree, used as an application for chronic sores andulcers.Acam.?The leaves of this plant are applied hot to reduce the swelling and relievethe pain in enlargement of the spleen and liver.Purgacion Xiu.?An infusion made from the leaves is administered warm inbladder and urethral troubles.Pakaal.?An infusion made from the leaves of the orange tree is given as a sudorific.Pichi.?k paste made from the leaves of the guava is applied to "bay sore," aspecific ulcer somewhat resembling "oriental sore."Pomolche.?A mouth wash made from the milk of this tree is used in cases of sto-matitis and ulceration of the mouth. OANNl MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 39Qnimbombo.?The wild okra is .^neatly esteemed as an external application ineases of snake hite.Sidm.?An infusion made from the leaves is used as a sudorific in cases of malarialfever.Sirilpuz.?A yellowish fruit sometimes used as a purgative.Cabalvixoy.?The fruit of this tree is given in cases of diarrhea, and an infusionmade from the hark is used in diarrhea and dj-sentery.Claudiosa Xiu.?An infusion made from the whole lush i.s greatly esteemed asa bath and lotion in all uterine and ovarian, complaints.Chalche.?The spinous leaf of this plant is used as a local application to relieveneuralgic pains, and an infusion made from the leaves is given for rheumatism.Chamico.?An infusion made from the leaves of the convolvulus mixed with otherleaves is given to relieve asthma and bronchial catarrh.Chaac.?The arrowroot, eaten raw, is regarded as a useful remedy in all 1 ladderand urethral complaints.Clique.?The wood, gi-ound into a paste, is applied to the heads of small childrensuffering from fever and convulsions.Ruda.?The leaves of this plant are universally used as an external applicationfor children suffering from convulsions, and frequently in the same manner for therelief of almost any nervous complaint in adults.Pica pica ? \ sort of cowhage which, mixed with atol or some corn beverage, islargely used as a vermifuge for children.GamesBoth children and adults play many games, most of which haveprobably been introduced since the conquest. A favorite amongthese is a game known as talc in Jcul, in which a number of playersstand m a row with their hands behind their backs while one, whoholds a small pottery disk in his hand, stands behind the row, anotherstanding in front. The one holding the disk places it in the hands ofone of those m the line, who in turn passes it to his neighbor, so thatit travels rapidly up and down the line. The player in front has toguess in whose hand the disk is at the moment of guessing. If he isright, the holder of the disk has to come in front while the one whoguessed correctly joins the line.Chac is a sort of "knucklebones," played with pottery disks, whichare tossed from the palm to the back of the hand and back again;the one who drops fewest disks in a given number of double throwswins the game.The boys make little bows (pohoche) and arrows (hul) tipped withblack wax, with which they play war and hunting games.A seesaw made from a small tree balanced on a stump is popular,as is also a sort of merry-go-round constructed from a cross of polesfixed on top of a stump by means of a wooden pin, which rotatesfreely. The children sit at the extreme ends of the poles and makethe contrivance rotate by kickmg against the ground vigorously at 40 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64The bull roarer, made from a dry seed pod, is popular in somevillages- and is probably one of the few toys used by the nativesbefore the conquest.Cricket, baseball, marbles, kites, and spinning tops have beenintroduced among the Indians of British Honduras, and all have theirdevotees. ReligionThe Indians, who are extremely superstitious, believe that the airis full of 'pishan, or souls of the dead. They imagine that thesesouls are at liberty at all times to return to earth, and that at cer-tain seasons they are compelled to do so. They are regarded asbeing capable of enjoying the spirit, though not the substance,of food or drink provided for them. Some of these pishan theIndians believe to be friendly and some inimical to mortals. Theybelieve also in spirits, usually miscliievous or harmful, known asxtahai, who often take the form of beautiful women, though theyhave never been human. The natives will whisper a message intothe ear of a corpse with the certamty of having it conveyed to afriend or relative in the next world. They firmly believe that theclay images of the gods upon incense burners, at one time found inconsiderable numbers in forests which had been uncut since the daysof their ancestors, live, walk about, and dance at certain seasons.Another belief held by the Indians is that the images of Clu'istiansaints are endowed at times with life and perform acts desired bytheir devotees. A celebrated wooden image, supposed to reJDresentSan Bernardo, was credited with considerable powers in this respect,and when an Indian wanted rain for his milpa, the return of anerrant wife, or any similar blessing, he would come and pray tothe image to obtain it for him. On one occasion an Indian cameasking the saint to aid him in the recovery of pigs which he hadlost, and on returning to his village found that the pigs had arrivedhome before him. Next day he returned with the intention ofmaking an offering to the saint, and incidentally to the owner ofthe house where the image was kept. He found the poor Santowith torn clothes and many burs sticking all over him. On inquir-ing how tliis happened he was informed that the saint had beenout in the bush hunting for pigs, a quest which had given hima great deal of trouble before he could find and drive them home,and that when he got back he was tired out, his clothes torn bythorns, and covered with burs?an explanation with which theIndian was perfectly satisfied.The men are very unwilling to dig either in ancient mounds orruins, as they are afraid of being haunted by the pishan of thosewhose remains they may disturb; and nothing will induce them to OANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 41go into caves or burial chambers in mounds. Many curious super-stitions hang about tlie ruins found throughout the countiy. I wasassured by an Indian at Benque Viejo that lie had gone on oneoccasion to the ruins situated near the village, and seeing a pigeonseated on a tree, raised his gun to shoot it; before he could do so,however, the pigeon turned into a cock, and this almost imme-diately into an eagle, which flew at him, driving him away. Thereis another superstition about these ruins to the effect that whenthe first settlers came to Benque Viejo they wished to build thevillage near the ruins, where the land is very good for growing com,but were repeatedly driven off by a little old man with a long graybeard. At last, giving up the idea, they contented themselves withthe present site for the village.For many years, between the expulsion of the Yucatecans fromBacalar by the Indians and the conquest of the latter by the Mexicantroops, some 12 years ago, no Catholic priests were permitted tovisit the Santa Cruz country. The Indians, however, appointedpriests from among themselves, who carried out, so far as can beascertained from those of their number who left the territory andsettled in British Honduras, a sort of travesty of the rites of theRoman Catholic Church freely interspersed with many of those oftheir ancient religion, which had survived. The headquarters ofthis religious cult was the capital, where it centered around whatwas known as the "Santa Cruz," a plain wooden cross, 2 to 3 feethigh, which had probably been removed from some church afterthe expulsion of the Spaniards. This cross was supposed to begifted with the power of speech (a belief arising no doubt from theexercise of ventriloquial powers by one of the priests), and acted asa sort of oracle, to whom all matters of importance?civil, military,and religious?were submitted for decision. It need hardly be saidthat the cross never failed to return an answer to all these questions,in entire conformity with the wishes of the chief .^ ? In 1859 a mission was dispatched by the superintendent of British Honduras to the chiefs of the SantaCruz, with the object of rescuing Spanish prisoners held by them. The following accoimt is from " Anarrative of a journey across the unexplored portion of British Honduras, with a sketch of the historyand resources of the colony," by Henry Fowler, colonial secretary (Belize, 1879):"That night as usual all the availaljle Indians in Bacalar arrived in front of the home where the SantaCruz is kept. The boy attendants or sentries on the idol, called angels, were in front of it and the drumsand bugles sounded at recurring parts of the song. The chief was inside with the image and the angels.The subordinate chiefs and soldiers knelt outside, and did not rise until the service was over, when theycrossed themselves and rubbed their foreheads in the dust. About 11 o'clock the Indians were heardrunning backward and forward, and an order was given to bring out the prisoners, who were placed in aline before the Santa Cruz, and a large body of soldiers were placed with them. They all knelt down inthe road. There were about 40 female prisoners, with one arm tied to the side, and 12 or 14 men pinionedby both arms. All were calm, except the children, although it was known Santa Cruz was pronouncingtheir doom. A squeaking whistling noise was heard issuing from the oracle, and when it ceased it wasknown the Santa Cruz wanted a higher ransom from the prisoners. * * *"Some of the women and children were separated from the rest, amongst whom was a young Spanishgirl well known in high circles. A procession was then formed and marched olT to the east gate; first camea strong body of troops, then alternately in Indian file, a male prisoner and his executioner, who droye nimon with his machete, holding him by a rope; next came the women, 35 in number, driven and held in a 42 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64The Indians here under consideration occupy an intermediateposition between the civiHzed Maya of northern Yucatan, whohave lost nearly all tradition and traces of their former civilization,and the Lacandones of the Usumasintla Valley, who have probablychanged but little in their customs and religious observances sincethe conquest. Nominally they are Christians, but the longer onelives among them, and the better one gets .to know them, the morehe realizes that their Christianity is to a great extent merely a thinveneer, and that fundamentally their religious conceptions and eventheir ritual and ceremonies are survivals?degenerate, much changed,and with most of their significance lost?but still survivals of thoseof their ancestors of pre-Columbian days. To Christianity, not asa separate religion, but as a graft on that which they already prac-ticed, they seem to have taken kindly from the first; and at thepresent day, as will be seen, the sun god, the rain god, St. Laurence,and Santa Clara may all be invoked in the same prayer, while theCross is substituted in most of the ceremonies for the images of theold gods, though many of the latter are called on by name. Thefour principal religious ceremonies of the Indians are, as might besupposed, closely associated with agriculture, especially with thecorn crop. The first of these ceremonies takes place at the cuttingof the bush in which the corn plantation is to be made, the secondat the planting of the corn, the third during its ripening, and thefourth at harvest time. Of these the third, known as the Clia chac,which takes place during the ripening of the corn, and whose objectis to secure sufficient rain for that purpose, is by far the most impor-tant, and it alone will be described, as it embraces the offerings andritual of all the other ceremonies.The day previous to the ceremony the men of the family preparedthe pih, an oblong hole in the ground, in which the various cornofferings were to be baked, while during the night the women werebusy grinding corn to make masa (a thick paste of ground maize)and pumpkin seeds to make siJcil. Very early in the morning ofthe day of the ceremony the priest with his assistant arrived at thehouse of the giver. This priest called himself men, but was calledby the owner a chac, while the Chichanha priest called himself anah Tcin. The Indians chose a site in the midst of a grove oflarge trees. After clearing away the undergrowth they swept cleana circular space about 25 feet in diameter. In this they proceeded similar maimer; then another body of soldiers closed the rear; the Ens;lishmen were not allowed to follow.The procession halted under a clump of trees about 150 yards off. And soon the butchery commenced;shrieks were heard, but in 10 minutes all was over."The Santa Cruz was mixed up with some Catholic rites, but retains the leading characteristics of thegod who was best propitiated by placing bleeding human hearts within his lips."In 1863 the IcaichS were beaten by the Santa Cruz, and, says the chronicler: "The account of theslaughter and human sacrifice made on that occasion is appalling." GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 4ato erect two rude huts, one 12 feet the other 6 feet square; bothwere thatched with huano leaf, and the floor of the smaller hutwas covered with wild plantain leaves. In the center of the largerhut was erected a rough allar 6 hy 4 feet and 4 feet 6 inches high, builtof sticks bound together with bejuco (fig. 11). The central part of this Fro. n.?Chichanha Indian priest in front of altar at Clia cbac ccremonj-.altar was covered by an arch of "jabm" branches with the leavesstill attached. About a dozen small calabashes in their ring supports(Maya chuyub) were placed on the altar, and three more were hungto a string passing from the side of the shed to a post a few yardsaway. The masa prepared the previous night was then broughtout m four large calabashes, two of these being placed under the altar 44 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64and two on top of it; a large calabash of siJcil and one of water werealso placed on the altar and a jar of halche (a drink made of fermentedhoney in which is soaked the bark of a tree) beneath it. Beneath thesuspended calabashes was placed a small table containing piles oftortillas and calabashes of masa and water. In carrying out thisceremony it is essential that everything used in it be perfectly freshand new; the leaves, sticks, bejuco, and jabin must be freshly cut,and the masa, siJcil, halcJie, and even the calabashes must be freshlymade. The masa was taken from the large to the small shed, wherethe priest and severalwBift.Mp.MUB'vm-MllirWAl male members of thefamily sat around it.After flattening out asmall ball of the masathe priest placed it ona square of plantainleaves and pouredover it a little sikil(a thin paste made ofground pumpkin seedand water) . Then thenext man flattened outa piece of masa, whichhe placed over thesiJcil, and the processwas continued until acake was formed con-taining 5 to 13 alter-nating layers of masaand siMl. On top ofeach cake, as it wascompleted, the priesttraced with his fore-finger a cross sur-rounded w^ith holes ; these were first partlyfilled with halcJie, which was allowed to soak into the cake, afterwhich they were filled completely with silcil, whereupon the wholecake was carefully tied up in plantain leaf, with an outer cover-ing of palm leaf (fig. 12). These cakes are known as tutiua; theirnumber is generally gauged by the number of participants in theceremony. When siHl is not available, a paste of gromid blackbeans is used; in this case the cakes are known as huliua (Mayahul, "bean"; ua, "bread"). The priest next made a deepdepression in a ball of masa about the size of a tennis ball, which hefilled with, siTcil, covering it with the masa, so as to leave a ball of Fig. 12.?Priest tracing cross on cake and filling it in w ith sikil. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDUEAS 45masa with a core of silcil. A number of these balls, known as yoJcua,were made, each wrapped in plantain leaves. When finished, all ofthem were wrapped in a large palm leaf and tied into a bundle withsplit palm-leaf strands. Two more tutiua were next made, and lastlyall the masa and silil left were mixed together with a few ounces ofsalt. After being well loieaded this mass was divided into two por-tions, each of which was tied up in plantain and palm leaf covermgs.In the meantime some members of the family had filled the pih or rfTo"^-<^Au" Fig. 13.?Sacrificing a turkey at the Cha chac ceremony.oven with fh-ewood, over which they placed a layer of small blocksof stone. The priest next made a bowl of sacAa (hterally "white water,"a drink made from ground corn and water), witli wliich he filledthe small calabashes on the altar, as well as the suspended calabashes ; these he explained were for the tuyun pislian, or solitary souls. Atm-key and four fowls were then placed in front of the altar, alive,while the priest lighted a black wax candle by blowing a piece ofglowing wood to a flame; this candle he placed upon the altar. Henext took up the tm-key, around whose neck the assistant had placed 46 BUREAU OF AMERICAISr ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64a wreath of jabin leaves, and poured a little halche down its throat,its legs being held by the assistant (fig. 13). While doing this thepriest murmured the following prayer:In kubic ti hahnal cichpan colel, ti San Pedro, San Pablo, San Francisco.TranslationI offer a repast to the beautiful mistress, to San Pedro, San Pablo, San Francisco.The turkey and the other fowls were then killed hy having theirnecks wrung, and the carcasses of all five were removed to thehouse to be prepared by the women. The various bundles of masaand sikil in their leaf coverings were next removed to the pib, wherethe fire had burned itself out, leaving the hole half full of ashesand red-hot stones. A lining of plantain bark was laid over thestones, upon which the bundles were arranged; over these wereplaced more hot stones and over the latter palm leaves; lastly, theearth which had been dug from the 'pib was raked over all. Thepriest next took a small quantity of the sacha from a calabash, ina jabin leaf, and scattered it on the ground in three directions,meanwhile murmuring this prayer:Cin kubic ti atepaloli, ti noh yum kab yetel uahmetan, atepalob, tiaca tzib nali.TranslationI offer to the majestic ones, to the great lord, corn cake, great ones. [Tiaca tzibnah is somewhat obscure. The reading, according to Don Juan Martinez, of Merida,should be tia ca oib-nah.lAfterward the priest repeated the performance with sacha fromthe calabashes on the altar, and lastly with some from the cala-bashes of the tuyun pishan. The sacJia was then distributed incalabashes to the participants, it being essential that every drop ofit be drunk. After a wait of about an hour all proceeded to thepih, which, after it had been sprinkled by the priest with halchefrom a small calabash, was opened. The red-hot leaf-wrappedbundles were carried to the small shed, where the coverings wereremoved, exposing the tutiua and yoJcua, crisp, bro\\Ti, and hot.These were placed upon the altar, with the exception of one tutiua,which was tied to the string holding the calabashes of the tuyunpishan. The cakes made from the remainder of the masa and siMlwere now crumbled into a large calabash and mixed with anotherlarge calabash of Jcool (a reddish liquid made from water, groundcorn, black pepper, and achiote). The two mixtures were stirredwith a peeled wand of jabin till they formed a thick paste knownas sopas. While the sopas was being made the hearts, heads, and intes-tines of the fowls were removed to the pi& where they were buried, lestsome animal by eating them should defile the offering. The cookedand dismembered turkey and other fowls were brought out to thesmall shed in calabashes; the livers, gizzards, and immature eggswere chopped up fine and well mixed with the sopas. A small GANN] MAYA INDIAJfS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 47calabash full of this mixture was placed with the calabashes of thetuyun inslian, while the rest, in a large calabash,- the fowls' clawsstanding upright in it, was placed upon the altar, together with thedismembered birds wrapped in a clean cotton cloth. The priestnext removed some halclie from the jar and filled a calabash, whichhe placed upon the altar, as he did so murmuring these prayers:Ea, in cichpan colel kanleoox, yetel bacan tech in cichkelem tat yum San Isidro,ah kolkal, yetel bacan tech yum kankin, culucbalech ti likin, yetel bacan in chant-tupchaac, culucbal chumuc caan, ti likin, yetel bacan yum canchaacoob; kin kubicyetel bacan ahooil atepalo chumuc caan, yetel bacan tech in cichkelem tata ahcanankakabool, yetel bacan tech in cichkelem tata Cakaal Uxmal, yetel bacan tech incichpan colel Santa Clara, yetel bacan tech in cichkelem tata yum xualakinik,yetel bacan tech in cichpan colel Xhelik, yetel bacan tech in cichkelem tatayumSanto Lorenzo, yetel bacan tech in cichpan colel Guadelupe, yetel bacan tech tunyum Mosonikoob, meyahnaheex ichil cool kat tocah. Cin kubic bacan letie SantoGracia, utial a nahmateex, yetel bacan tech u nohchi Santo uai yokol cab halibein yumen sates ten in cipil. Minan a tzul pachkeech letie Santo Pishan, Ooki inmentic letie Santo Promicia. TranslationNow my beautiful lady of the yellow-leaf breadnut, as well as you, my handsomefather San Isidro, tiller of the earth; as well as you, lord sun, who art seated at theeast; as well as you, Chanttupchaac, who art seated in the middle of the heavens,in the east; as well as you, Yumcanchaacoob : I deliver to you, with the majesticservants in the middle of the heavens. As well as you, my handsome father, Ahca-nankakabool; as well as you, my handsome father Cakaal Uxmaal; as well as you, mybeautiful lady Santa Clara; as well as you, my handsome father Xualakinik; as wellas you, my beautiful lady Xhelik; as well as you, my handsome father San Lorenzo;as well as you, my beautiful lady of Guadelupe; as well as you, Lord Mosonicoob,that blows within the milpa when it is burnt. I deliver then to you this Holy Grace,that you may taste it, and because you are the greatest Santos on earth. That is allmy master. Pardon my sins; you have not to follow the holy souls, because I havemade this holy offering.Cin Kubic ti nah tatail, ti u cahil San Roque, u cahil Patchacan, ti Chan Sapote.TranslationI offer you, great father, for your town of San Roque, your town of Patchacan, andChan Sapote.The assistant then brought up some burning incense (pom) on apiece of plantain bark, which the priest took, and after waving it aboutfor a short time placed it upon the altar, after which he dipped out asmall portion of halclie and scattered it in three directions, murmur-ing wliile doing so the following prayer:Noh Nah ti Uxmal, ti atepaloob Ixcabach Chen Mani, ti Xpanterashan, Chacanchi,Chacantoc, ti Xnocachan, Xcunya, Yaxutzub, Yaxaban, ti atepaloob.TranslationGreat house of Uxmal, of the majestic Ixcabach, Chen Mani, of Xpanterashan,Chacanchi, Chacantoc, of Xnocachan Xcunya, Yaxatzub Yaxaban gf the majesticones. 48 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 04, gann]A small portion of halche was next passed around to each of theparticipants, the priest again . scattering a little on the ground andrepeating the prayer! The calabash, which was now nearly empty,was then removed to the house for the benefit of the women. Itwas soon brought back by the assistant and refilled from the jar,and the same procedure gone through again. This was repeated tillno more halcM remained to be drunk. The priest then scattered someof the soims in four directions, using one of the fowls' claws to scoopit up from the calabash, after which what remained of the soims wasdivided up among the participants, each one being given a calabashin which a fowl's claw was placed for use as a fork. A small quantityof the mixture which remained was taken to the house for use of thewomen. Lastly the priest removed the tutiua and yokua from thealtar, and divided these among the participants, giving each one atthe same time a corn-husk cigarette. The ceremony was nowfinished, and the last act was completely to destroy all the objectsused in it, including buildings, altar, calabashes, and chuyuos; tliiswas done by fire.This Cha chac ceremony as performed by the Santa Cruz andIcaiche Indians bears a strong resemblance to certain ceremoniesperformed before the conquest, in honor of the Chacs, or Kain gods,and also to ceremonies carried out at the present day by the LacandonIndians.The names given to the modern priests were, according to Landa,aU in use in his day. The Chacs were four old men chosen to assistthe priests.^ The men was an inferior priest or sorcerer, while thename Alikin ^ was applied after the conquest, both to their own andto Christian priests by the Maya. Landa also mentions (Chap, xl,p. 260) a fiesta given to the Chacs, in conjunction with other gods,held in one of the plantations, when the offerings were consumed bythe people after being first presented to the gods; these offeringsconsisted of turkeys and other fowls, corn cake, sikil, and posol,^ allof which are used in the modern Maya Cha chac.The god Yumcanchacoob (Lord of aU the Chacs) of the SantaCruz probably corresponds to Nohochyumchac (Great Lord Chac)of the Lacandones, as does the Ahcanankakabol (keeper of thewoods) of the Santa Cruz, to the Kanancash of the Lacandones,whose name has practically the same significance. A belief inXtahai, or spirits, and Rooh, or Wind gods, seems common aliketo the Santa Cruz, the Lacandones, and the Indians of Yucatan. 1 "Los chaccs eran quatro hombres anoianos elegidos siempre de nuevo para ayudar al sacerdote a bieny complidamente hazer las fiestas."?Landa, op. cit., chap, xxvn, p. 160.2 "En contrario llamavanse y se Uaman oy los sacerdotes en esta lengua de Maya AhUn, que se, deriva.de un verbo kinyah. que signiflca 'sortear 6 echar suertes.'"?Landa, jbid., p. 362,3 Landa, ibid., chaps, X.xxv, p. 212; xxxvi, p. 222. PART 2. MOUND EXCAVATION IN THE EASTERN MAYA AREAINTRODUCTIONCt>assification of the MoundsIn the following pages is a description of the mounds openedduring the last few years in that part of the Maya area now con-stituting British Honduras, the southern part of Yucatan, and theeastern horder of Guatemala (pi. 7). For descriptive purposes thesemounds may be divided, according to their probable uses, into sixmain groups:1. Sepulchral Mounds.?This group includes mounds which, orig-inally constructed for other purposes, were afterwards used as burialsites.2. Refuse Mounds.?This group includes kitchen middens, shellheaps, deposits of waste material remaining after the manufactureof hme, and heaps of stones gathered from the surface of the ground.3. Foundation Mounds.?As the buildings themselves invariablystood on the summits of flat-topped mounds, such mounds, cappedwith the debris of the earher structures, formed the bases of laterones.4. Defensive Mounds.?Some of these mounds were crescent-shaped ; others were in the form of a horseshoe.5. LooTcout Mounds.?These mounds extend in chains, at intervalsof 6 to 12 miles, along the coast and up some of the rivers; they arelofty, steep-sided, and usually form the nuclei of groups of othermounds. As a rule they contain neither human remains nor arti-facts, though in one or two of them superficial interments seem tohave been made at a comparatively late date.6. Mounds of Uncertain Use.?No trace of human interment wasfound in these mounds. Many of them are too small at the summitto have supported buildings, and it seems probable that they aresepulchral mounds, in which no stone, pottery, or other indestruct-ible objects were placed with the corpse, and in which the boneshave entirely disintegrated. The larger mounds of this class, manyof them flat topped, are carefully constructed of blocks of limestone,marl dust, and earth, and no doubt at one time served as bases forbuildings?either small temples or houses?which, being built ofwood, have long since vanished.70806??18?Bull. 64 4 49 50 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64Most of the mounds are distributed in small and large groups,the latter usually containing one or more examples of each class,the former consisting for the greater part of small burial mounds,proba])ly of late date, as they are less carefully constructed than themounds of the larger groups, and the objects which they contain areof rougher and cruder workmanship.The burial mounds comprise more than half of all the moundsopened, followed in order of numbers by (a) foundation mounds;(b) momids of uncertain use; (c) refuse moimds; (d) lookout moimds;(e) defensive mounds.It has been found that, as a rule, rich land contains many mounds;poor land, fewer; and sour-grass savannah, pine ridge, and swamp,none at all. The better the land the more numerous the moundsscattered over it, as is natural, since the more fertile the land thedenser the population it would sustain. Not all the mounds openedhave been described, as small burial mounds, especially in the samegroup, in both construction and contents, resemble one anotherclosely, as do foundation mounds also.This part of the Maya area must either have been occupied duringa very considerable period or at one time must have supported adense popidation, as wherever it is possible to cultivate the soil,especially to raise maize, mounds are to be found in great abundance;moreover, the surface everywhere bears such indestructible rubbish aspotsherds, flint chips, and fragments of obsidian knives. It wouldprobably be impossible to find anywhere in this area an acre ofmoderately good land on which dozens of such objects could notbe discovered. This indicates that what is now dense tropical bush,with a few small Indian villages scattered through it at considerableintervals, was at one time a highly cultivated and thickly populatedcountry.Referring to Yucatan before the conquest, Landa uses the words,^"toda la tierra parescia un pueblo; " ^ while 200 years after the con-quest Villagutierre ^ mentions by name 10 tribes with whom the Itzaswere at war, who lived to the east of the lagoon, nine days' journeyaway?in a region corresponding to the territory of coastal tribes ofBritish Honduras and Quintana Roo. 1 Que estas gentes tuvieron mas de XX auos de abundancia y de saliid y se multiplicaron tanto que todala tierfa parescia un pueblo, y que entonccs se labraron los templos en tanta muchedumbre, como se vee oyen dia por todas partes y que atravesando por montes se veen entre las arboledas assientos de casas y ediflcioslabrados a maravilla.?Landa, op. cit., p. 58.2 Que en Aflos passados tuvieron quatro Batallas con los Indies Aycales (que son los Mopanes) Chinamitas,y Tulunquies, y Taxchinchan, Nob, y Acabob, Zuacuanob, Ahtimob, Teyucunob, Ahchemob, Ahcamulob. . . . y que todas estas Naciones estavan viviendo juntas al Leste, u Oriente, y que de aquel I'eten, k susPoblaciones, avla nueve dias de Camino, que era el que ellos gastavan en ir k ellas.?Villagutierre,Historia de la conquista de la provincia de el Itza, p. 554. GANX] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 51iVNCIENT iNHiiBITANTS OF THE ReGIONFrom the contents of the mounds we are able to detliicc many vahi-able facts relating to the physical appearance, social Ufe, religion, andart of the former inhabitants of this area.PHYSICAL APPEARANCEA very accurate idea of the physical appearance of these peoplemay be derived from the figurines, paintmgs, stucco molduigs, andskeletons found in the mounds. It would appear that they veryclosely resembled the modern Maya Indians.^ They were broadof face, with small features and rather high cheek bones; withoutbeard or mustache, but with straight, black, coarse hair, which wasallowed by both men and women to grow long.The skull was naturally brachicephalic, and as this characteristicwas (and is now by the Maya) admired, it seems to have been almostinvariably accentuated artificially by pressure applied over the occipi-tal and frontal regions during early infancy .^ The average cephaHcindex of eight skulls removed from the mounds was found to be 110.The following list gives the average lengths of a number of bones ofadults taken from the mounds, though in no case were all the bonesof one mdividual found in a sufficiently perfect condition to permit oftheir accurate measurement : Humerus, 29.21 cm.Uhia,, 25.38 cm.First phalanx (little finger), 3.04 cm.Femur, 36.83 cm.Tibia, 33.27 cm.Metatarsal bone of great toe, 5.33 cm.The bones are small, the ridges for muscular attaclunent not wellmarked, and the phalanges, metacarpal, and metatarsal bones smaUand delicate, indicatmg a body with rounded contours, poor musculardevelopment, and small extremities. The front teeth in some caseswere filed, in others filled with round plugs of obsidian, iron pyrites,or jadeite, for ornamental purposes. > Son en lo personal, estos Indies Itza?x, bien agestados; color trigueno, mas claro que el de los de Yuca-tan. Son agiles, y de buenos cuerpos, y roslros, aunque algunos se los rayavan, por senales de valentia.Traian las Cabelleras largas, quanto pueden ciezer: Y assi, es lo mas dificultoso en los Indios el reduzirlos& cortarles el pelo; porque el traerlo largo, es seflal de Idolatria.?Villagutiekre, op. cit., p. 498.Que los Indios de Yucatan son bien dispuestos y altos y rezios y de muchas fuercas.?Landa, op. cit.,p 112. ? Que las inaias criavan sus hijitos en toda aspereza y desnudez del mundo, porque a cuatro o cinco diasnacida la criatura la ponian tendidita en un leeho pequeno hecho de varillas, y alii boca abaxo le ponianentre dos tablillas la cabc^a, la una nn cl colodrillo, y la otro en la frente, entre las quales se le appretavanreciamente y le tenian alii padecicndo hasta que acabados algunos dias le quedava la cabega liana y enmol-dada como lo usavan toaos ellos. ? Landa, op. cit., p. 180. 52 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. f]iAmong the lower class tlie men seem to have worn no garmentexcept the maxtli, consisting of a loin-cloth wound several timesaround the waist, the ends hanging down in front and behind, likesmall aprons. The women wore two garments, similar to those ofthe modern Maya, the liuijnl, or loose, sleeveless upper gamient reach-ing to the hips (at the present this is worn longer, reachmg well belowthe knees) and a short, loose skirt, both of cotton, and both embroid-ered in colors at the borders.^ The warriors wore m addition to themaxtli a breastplate of thick quilted cotton, saturated with salt,arrow and spear proof, and ornamented with bows, studs, and tassels.To its upper border was attached a hollow bar, through which passeda cord, contmued round the back of the neck, holdmg the breastplatein place.Both warriors and priests wore very elaborate headdresses. Thoseof the former were decorated with plumes of feathers and many ofthem held in front the head of some animal carved in wood,^ as thejaguar, eagle, peccary, snake, or alligator. Some of the headdresses ofthe priests were shaped like a bishop's miter, while others resembled theEgyptian headdress. All classes wore sandals of leather or plattedhenequen fiber. The ornaments worn consisted of large circular earplugs of shell, greenstone, or pottery, many with a tassel dependentfrom the center; studUke labrets at each side of the mouth;and occasional triangular ornaments attached on each ala of thenose. Round the neck were worn strings of beads, some in theform of human or animal heads, others with a gorget of greenstoneor shell in the form of a human mask dependent from them.Wristlets and anklets of large oval beads, fastened with ornamentalloops, were common, and copper finger rings have been found on twooccasions, though it is possible that these may not have been intro-duced till after the conquest. Among the upper classes the orna-ments were made from jade, greenstone, iron pyrites, obsidian,mother-of-pearl, and copper; among the lower, from pottery, shell,and stone. WEAPONSThe offensive weapons of the natives here dealt with consisted offlint and obsidian tipped arrows,^ javelins, and spears, flint and stone 1 Sus vestiduras, de que vsavan, eran vnos Ayates, 6 Gabachas, sin Mangas, y sus Mantas, todo de Algoddntexido de varios colores: Y ellos y las Mugeres, vnas como Faxas, de lo mismo, de cosa de quatro varas delargo, y vna tercia de ancho, con que se gefiian, y cubrian las partes; y algunas al canto, u orilla, muchaPlumeria de colores, que era su ma.vor gala.?Villagutierbe, op. cit., p. 498.2 Tenlan algunos senores y capitanes como moriones de palo y estos eran pocos, y con estas armas ivana la guerra, y con plumajes y pellejos de tigres, y leones, puestos los que los tenian.?Landa, op. cit., p. 172.3 Y en las orillas de la Playa, solo se veian amontonadas la multitud de Flechas, que la rcsaca de las olasavia llevado a Tierra. De adonde se puede inferir, quan inmenso seria el numero de ellas, que los Infielesarrojaron 4 los Pobres Christianos. ? Vulagutieere, op. cit., p. 483. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 53axes, with slingstoncs, and stone-hcadcMl clubs, made for the mostpart of hard limestone. Their defensive weapons were small circidarshields of leather-covered wickerwork and thick cotton breastplates. The lower classes probably lived exclusively in thatched pimento-walled houses, identical in construction with those used by the Mayaof the present day; naturally, these have completely disappeared,but the former sites of villages composed of such huts may easilybe recognized by the presence of half-choked weUs and the greatnumber of malacates, broken pots, weapons, implements, ornaments,and rubbing stones, which are to be found scattered all over them.The priests, caciques, and upper classes doubtless lived in the stonehouses, the remains of which lie buried in considerable numbers inthe mounds. The walls of these houses were of stucco-covered stoneand lime, the floors of hard cement, and the roofs, no doubt, ofbeams and thatch, as many of them are too wide to have beencovered by the so-called "American arch."Many of these buildings were doubtless used as temples, but prob-ably the majority of them were private houses.* In one of them aninterment had taken place beneath the floor of the house before thestructure was destroyed.^ The former inhabitants of this part of the Maya area do not seemto have fallen far behind those of northern Yucatan in the arts ofsculpture upon stone, stucco molding, mural painting, ceramics, andthe manufacture of stone implements and weapons, as excellentexamples in all these fields have been found.At Seibal, Holmul, Naranjo, and Benque Viejo, cities of the oldEmpire lying along the British Honduras-Guatemala frontier, examplesof sculptured stelae and altars have been found, equal in fineness ofworkmanship to those found at any other site within the IMa^^a area.Tlie molded stucco figures at Pueblo Nuevo are beautifully executed,while the painted stucco upon the temple walls at Santa Rita is prob-ably the finest example of this kind of decoration yet brought tolight in the whole Maya area. The colors used (green, yellow, red,blue, black, and white) seem to have been derived from coloredearths and vegetal dyes ground to a paste in small shallow stone 1 Estava en vn gran Sal<5n, cuyos Techos eran de Paja, y las Paredes de Cal, y Canto, de vna vara de alto,brunidas, como el suelo, y en ellas estrivava d Maderage de lo levantado en la Casa.?Villagutieree,op. cit., p. 392.Estava poblada toda ella de Casas, algunas con Paredes de T'iedra, de cosa de mas de vara de alto, y dealliarrilia Maderas, y los Techos de Paja, y otras de solo Madera, Y Paja.?Ibid., 491.2 Enterravanlos dentro en sus casas o a las espaldas dellas, . . . Comunmente desamparavan la casa yla de.xavan yerma despues de enterrados.?Landa, op. cit., p. 196. 54 BUREAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 64mortars with spatulate flint grinders, wiiicli have been found withtraces of paint still adhering to them. Ornaments in the form ofhuman and animal faces and heads nicely cut from jadeite and green-stone are not uncommon. Some bear incised hieroglyphic inscrip-tions. The greenstone shell from Kendal, described later on, in itsfineness of finish and accurate imitation of the natural form, is aremarkable example of gem cutting.Most of the domestic pottery used was of a rather coarse hard redware. This comprises large amphora-hke water jars, shallow dishes,saucers, and bowls, used probably to hold food; cooking pots ofvarious sizes and shapes, chocolate pots with upright spouts, anddisks for baking tortillas.. In addition to these, thick brittle vesselsof very coarse pottery, some of exceptionally large size, are found,which were probably used as receptacles for corn, beans, pepper, andother light dry substances. Of the finer kinds of pottery some areornamented with incised devices, executed after the vessels had beenfired, others are covered with devices in polychrome, and still otherswith ornaments molded while the clay was plastic. Lastly, tliesethree methods, or any two of them, may be combined in the deco-ration of any one vessel.The objects most frequently depicted on the vases are humanheads, simple glyphs, animal and mythological figures, and flowers.Most of the vessels are pohshed, some of them to a high degree, butthe art of glazing does not seem to have been understood. The finerkinds of pottery are thin, tough, hght, and very hard. The appliquework, displayed best in incense burners, upon which the figure of thegod in high rehef is built up bit by bit, is rather coarse, but in someexamples very efi'ective. Stone implements and weapons of greatvariety have been discovered, including ax, spear, javehn, andarrowheads, knives, clubs, throwing stones, hammerstones, scrapers,chisels, borers, paint and corn grinders, fiber cleaners, and manyothers. Fhnt, chert, obsidian, greenstone, and limestone were thematerials most commonly used in the manufacture of implementsand weapons. Very remarkable eccentrically shaped objects, in-cluding crosses, crescents, rings, and a variety of other forms, chippedwith great care and precision, from flint, chert, and obsidian, arealso found, though not in great numbers. They seem to be con-fined almost exclusively to this joart of the Maya area.MUSICAL INSTRUMENTSWith the exception of clay whistles of from one to four notes, nomusical instruments have been found in the mounds, unless thehollow cylinder (10^ inches high by 4 inches in diameter) fromYalloch may be regarded as a small hand drum similar to those men- gann] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 55tioned by Laiida as having been in use at the time of the conquest/and somewhat resembling the clay jar with a piece of gibnut hidestretched over the opening for a head, still in use as a drum amongthe Lacandones.2 'pj^g j^^g g^j. Alfred Moloney obtained in the villageof Succots a tunhul, or wooden drum, with two rubber-tipped drum-sticks, which had been brought by the Indians from Guatemala at thetime of their emigration from that country. This had been handeddown from Alcalde to Alcalde from time immemorial, and was usedto summon the villagers on special occasions, as a fire or the electionof new Alcaldes. FOODThe staple article of diet among the ancient Maya seems to havebeen maize, as it is at the present day among their descendants.Numbers of rubbing-stones and rubbers, both broken and whole,are found in the mounds, as are also the clay disks used for bakingcorn cakes. The bones of various animals, which had probably beenused for food, are also found; among these are the peccary, gibnut,armadillo, puma, tapir, and manatee, together with woula (snake),alligator, and (of birds) the curassow and wild turkey. Shells ofthe conch, cockle, oyster, and fresh-water snail are also found inabundance. The Maya probably kept small domestic animals andbirds,^ as great numbers of rough stone troughs are found in themounds, precisely similar to those manufactured and used by themodern Maya Indians for watering their fowls, while eggs, with tur-keys and other birds, have been found, held in the hands of figurinesupon the incense burners, as offerings to the gods. They seem to havemade periodical expeditions to the cays and islands off the coast tofish and collect shellfish, as quantities of net-sinkers, flint chips,potsherds, and broken javelin heads are found on many of the cays.But few mounds, however, which give evidence of permanent humanoccupancy have been discovered in this situation.SPIXXIXG AND WEAVINGJudging by the great number of spindle-whorls found in the moundsand on village sites, cotton spinning must have been practicallyuniversal among the women. Oval perforated stones of a sizesuitable for loom weights have been found, and it is probable that 1 Tienen ataljlas pequenos que tar'ien con la mano, y otro atabal de palo hueco de sonido pesado y triste;tanenlo con un palo larguillo pucsto al cal)o cierta leche de un arl)ol.?Landa, op. cit., p. 124.s The drum is composed of a clay jar al)out twenty inches high. Over the top of the jar is stretched apiece of the hide of the tcpcizquinte for a head. The whole drum is painted white. On one side near thetop there is a head similar in all respects to that found in all the sacred ollas. This head, as it has Ijeenexplained, represents one of the lesser gods called Qaiyum.?Tozzer, A Comparative Study of theMayas and the Lacandones, p. HI.3 Crian aves para vender de Castilla, y de las suyas y para comer. Crian pa.xaros para su recreacion ypara las plumas para hazer sus ropas galanas.?Landa, op. cit., p. 190. 56 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64they were used as such, as they do not seem to be adapted to anyother purpose. With this exception we learn nothing of the art ofweaving from the contents of the mounds. Henequen fiber wasdoubtless used for the manufacture of rope, mats, hammocks, and otherobjects, as grooved flat stones for beating the pulp from the fiber arecommon. GAMESThe appliances for at least two distinct games have been found. ^ The first consists of a large spherical block of limestone, nicelypohshed, and about 1 foot in diameter, found associated with 6 to 12smaller spherical stones, each about 3 inches in diameter, of very lightmaterial somewhat resembling pumice stone. The second consistsof a number of small disks of shell, about three-fourths of an inch indiameter. Collections of these have been found together on severaloccasions; they might have been used as beads or ornaments but forthe fact that they are neither perforated nor decorated with incisedfigures as sheU beads usually are.RELIGIONOf the 15 gods of the codices classified by Schellhas five may berecognized in this area with a fair degree of certainty. God A, thegod of death, in the form of a human skull, decorates the outside ofnot a few small pottery vessels, and is depicted upon the paintedstucco wall at Santa Rita. God B, the long-nosed, god, is usuallyidentified with Cuculcan. Representations of this god are foundthroughout the whole area in great abundance, painted upon potteryand stucco, incised on bone and stone, and modeled in clay. Thisgod is associated with the cities of Chichen Itza and Mayapan, and issupposed to have entered Yucatan from the west ; indeed it is possiblethat he may originally have been the leader of one of the Mayaimmigrations from that direction. He appears to have been by farthe most popular and -generally worshiped deity in this area, and itis his image which is found on nearly half of all the incense burnersdiscovered. God D, probably Itzamna, appears in the codices as anold man with a Roman nose, shrunken cheeks, toothless jaws, and apeculiar scroU-like ornament beneath the eye, to the lower border ofwhich are attached two or three small circles. In some representa-tions a single tooth projects from the upper jaw, and in a few the 1 Por lo qual se usava tener en cada pueblo una casa grande y encalada, abierta por todas partes, en laqual se juntavan los mo^os para sus passatiempos. Jugavan a la pelota y a un juego con unas habas comoa los dados, y a otros muehos.?Landa, op.'cit., p. 178.Two curious stones, which maj' have been used in some game, were discovered in a small bmial moundin the Orange Walk district of British Honduras some years ago. They were made of nicely polishedcrystalline limestone, about one foot in diameter, and shaped very much like curling stones without handles.The upper part of each was traversed by two round holes, about one inch in diameter, which passed com-pletely through the stone, near its summit, and crossed each other at right angles. oannI MAYA IXDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 57face is bearded. This god is not infrequently found associated withthe serpent. A typical representation of him is seen upon the SantaRita temple wall;^ here he is depicted standing upon intertwinedserpents, holding in his right hand a feather-plumed serpent. Thisgod is represented upon some mccnse burners, and is foimd not infre-quently associated with Cuculcan,God K, the god with an elaborate foliated nose, often closely asso-ciated with God B, his face in some cases forming the headdress orna-tnent of the latter god, is unmistakably depicted upon the SantaRita temple wall.- God P, the Frog god, is found on some smallpottery vases, and on a few incense burners. Nothing found mthe mounds proves definitely the practice of human sacrifice in thisarea, but that it existed is almost certain, as Villagutierre refers to itas prevalent among the Itza of Peten at the time of their conquest,''at the end of the seventeenth century, and Landa mentions it asoccurring among the Maya at the time of the coming of the Spaniards.^Near the headwaters of the Rio Hondo a mound was opened, whichcontained, in a stone-walled chamber, a number of human skullsunaccompanied by other bones. It is possible that these may havebeen the remains of sacrificial victims, as it was customary to remove ,the head of the victim after death, which became the perquisite ofthe priests.Human sacrifice among the Maya was probably a somewhat rareevent, taking place only on extraordmary special occasions, as intmies of public calamity?for example, during the prevalence offamine, war, or pestilence?^when it was felt that a special pro-pitiatory offering to the god was called for. This practice was con-fined to one, or at most to a very small number of victims, neverreaching the proportions which it did among the Aztec, by whom itwas probably introduced mto Yucatan. The main offering of theMaya to their gods seems to have consisted of an incense composedof copal gum and aromatic susbtances. Landa mentions this aslargely employed at the time of the conquest; Villagutierre en-countered it among the Itza at the end of the seventeenth century;and Tozzer found it in use among the Lacandon Indians at thepresent day. The mcense itself has been found all over this area,as well as great numbers of incense burners. 1 See Nineteenth Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethn., pi. xxx, fig. 8.sibid., pi. XXIX, no. 3.3 A la primcra vista encontraron con la Messa de los Sacriflcios, que era vna Piedra muy grande, de masde dos varas y media de largo, y vara y media de ancho, con doze assientos, que la rodeavan, para los dozeSacerdotes, que executavan el Sacriflcio.?Villagutierre, op. cit., p. 392; ibid., p. 457; ibid., 4S2.* Que sin las fiestas en las quales, para la solcmnidad de ellas, se sacriflcavan animales, tambien por algunatribulacion o necessidad, les mandava el sacrcdote o chilanes sacriflcar personas, y para esto contribuiantodos, para que se comprasse esclavos, o algunos de devocion davan sus hijitos los quales eran muy regaladoshasta el dia y fiesta de sus pcrsonos, y muy guardados que no se huyessen o ensuziassen de algun carnalpeccado, y mientras a ellos Ucvavan de puelilo en pueblo con vailes, ayunavan los sacerdotes y chilanes yotros ofiiciales?Landa, op. cit., p. 164. 58 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64, gann]In addition to incense, the blood of fish, birds, and animals wassmeared over the images of the gods, as an offermg, together withhuman blood obtained by cutting the ears, tongue, genitals, and otherparts of the body. The hearts of various animals, together with liveand dead animals (some cooked and some raw) and aU kinds of foodsand drinks in use among the people,^ were also employed as offeringsto the gods. In the hands of figurines upon the incense burners arefound, modeled in clay, fruit, flowers, eggs, cakes, birds, small animals,and other objects, all evidently mtended for the same purpose.CHRONOLOGYThree distinct periods of Mayan civilization seem to be representedin this area. The center of the earliest of these was along the RioGrande, in southern British Honduras, within 20 miles of the Guate-mala frontier, where the Leyden Plate was discovered, upon whichis inscribed the earliest but one known Maya date?namely, Cycle8, Katun 14, Tun 3, Uinal 1, Kin 12. If the massive stone-facedpyramids and terraces of these ruins are contemporaneous with theLeyden Plate, as seems possible, they must be reckoned amongthe earliest monuments of the first, or southern Maya, civihzation.The Benque Viejo temple, in the extreme western part of BritishHonduras, comes next in point of time. This was almost certamlycontemporaneous with its near neighbor, Naranjo, where the earhestInitial Series found is 9.10.10.0.0, and the latest 9.19.10.0.0, givingthe city an age of at least 9 katuns, or 180 years. It will be seen thatthe difference between the Leyden tablet date and the earliest re-corded date at Naranjo is rather more than 16 katuns, or 320 years.The latest of all the sites is undoubtedly Santa Rita, which showsstrong Mexican influence; this belongs to the second era of Mayacivihzation, which reached its highest development in Yucatan andthe northern cities. Excluding the Tuluum Stela, the date uponwhich, 9.6.10.0.0, is almost certainly not contemporaneous,^ theonly Initial Series deciphered with certanity in Yucatan up to thepresent time is that at Chichen Itza, 10.2.9.1.9, nearly 3 katuns, or60 years, later than the latest at Naranjo; but probably the SantaRita site is much later m date than this, and if we may judge by theobjects found in the mounds in the vicinity, some of which showstrong Spanish influence, it was occupied up to and beyond theconquest. 1 Mas de todas las cosas que aver podian que son aves del cielo, animales de la tierra, o pescados de laagua, siempre les embadurnavan los rostros al demonio con la sangre dellos. Y otras cosas que tenianofrecian; a algunos animales les sacavan el corazon y lo otrecian, a otros enteros, unos vivos, otros muertos,unos crudes, otros guisados, y hazian tambien grandes ofreudas de pan y vino, y de todas las maneras decomidas, y bevidas que usavan.?Landa, op. cit., pp. 162-164.2 Recent examination of the Tuluum Stela has brought to light upon it, in two places, the glyph rep-resenting the lahuntum, and the date 7 Ahau; now 7 Ahau occurs as alahuntun ending in 10.6.10.0.0(approximately 695 A. D. of our era) which is almost certainly the contemporaneous date of the Stela. iUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 6-1. PLATE 7YUCATAN A\a^s ? Bacalar 'IcaicheSan Antonio SKETCH MAP OF BRITISH HONDURAS, WITH ADJACENT PARTS OF YUCATAN ANDGUATEMALA INDICATING THE POSITIONS OF MOUNDS EXCAVATED DESCRIPTION OF MOL^DSMound No. 1Mound No. 1 (No. 24 on the plan of Santa Eita (fig. 14), situatedmidway between Nos. 6 and 22) was conical in shape, nearly circularat the base, 18 feet high, and 90 feet in circumference. It was builtthroujjhout of large irregular blocks of limestone, the interstices being 60 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 64found to cover the mouth of a bell-hke cist, nearly 3 feet in diameterand about 5 feet in depth. On opening the cist, which was shghtlynarrower at the bottom than at the top, it was found to be nearlyhalf filled with very fine brown dust, at the bottom of which lay aroughly made circular urn 18 inches in diameter, covered by amushroom-shaped lid.The ui-n was filled to the top with small crudely executed potteryfigurines of men and animals. There were 49 of these in all, con-sisting of 4 warriors, with shield and spear, 3 seated human figures,4 standing figures (eating and famiing themselves), 4 lizards, 4 alli-gators, 4 snakes, 4 birds, . 4 dragon-like creatures, 4 tigers, and 14 quashesor picotes. The warriors (pi. 8) arerepresented in a crouching position,with the right knee and left footupon the ground; each holds in theright hand a small spear and on theleft forearm a circular shield.^ Twoof them exhibit tusk-like objects pro-jecting from their mouths. The fig-ures are 4 ^ inches high ; they are paintedin red and white throughout. Theheaddress consists of a boat-shapedcap worn with the bow and stern pro-jecting over the ears. The seatedfigures (pi. 9; fig. 15) are each 6 inchesin height ; these are painted through-out in red, white, and green. Eachis seated upon a low four-legged stool,and grasps in one hand by its greatlyenlarged spatulate glans the project-FiG. 15.?Figurine from Mound No. 1. . . i ? i i ? ? img penis, on which he is seemmgly per-forming some sort of surgical operation with a long knife held m theother hand.The headdress consists of a mitre-hke erection in front, with along queue hanging down to the waist behind. Button-hke labretsare worn on each side of the mouth in two of the figures, and all wearlarge circular ear plugs. The standing figures (fig. 16) are each 5iinches high, and had been painted throughout in red and white,though not much of the original color now remains. The headdressconsists of a broad flat cap decorated in front with a row of circularbeads, and on each side with a large tassel, which hangs down overthe ear plugs. Each figure wears a small narrow maj^^Zi and button-likelabrets at each angle of the mouth. In one of the figures the right 1 Tenian languelas cortas de un esfado con los hierros de fuerte pedemal . . . Tenian para su defensarodelas que hazian de eanas hendidas, y muy texidas redondas y guamecidas de cueros de venados.?Landa,op. cit., pp. 170-172. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 64 PLATE '?' gann] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 61hand is extended, while the left holds a circular fan. In the other theforearms arc flexed at right angles, mth hands held open in front ofthe waist, as if about to receive something. The lizard effigies, thoughcrudely made, are most lifelike representations about 6 inches inlength. The alligators resemble very closely those taken from anothermound at Santa Ilita.*The tigers and dragon-like creatures are exactly similar to thosefigured in Nos. 6 and 4 of the same plate. The bird and snake effigiesare very crude and ill made ; the former, about 1 h inches in length,represent birds in the act of flying, A\nth wings extended. The snakes,each represented with a double curve in the body, are about 5h inches Fig. 16.?Figurines from Mound No. 1.in length and one-half inch in diameter; they are made of roughclay, painted red. The effigies of the quashes, though rough andcrudely made, are rather vigorous and lifelike in execution. Each isabout 3 inches long. This small arboreal animal, which abounds inthe district, is represented in a variety of comical positions; so wellindeed has the artist studied his model that one can not help think-ing that he must have kept some, of the little animals as pets, asmany of the Maya Indians do at the present day. The figures whenfirst found were so brittle that it was impossible to remove themfrom the pot without breakage, as they had been seemingly onlysun dried. After exposure to the sun and air, however, for a fewdays they gradually hardened.Figured in Nineteenth Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethn., pi. xxxrv, No. 5. 62 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64The only unpainted object found in the urn was a natural-sizemodel of the human penis, in a state of semierection (fig. 17). Thisdiffered from all the other objects in that it had been fired, instead ofmerely sun dried, and is on that account much harder. Upon theupper surface of the glans penis are three longitudinal incisions,extending almost from base to apex, evidently made with a sharp-pointed implement while the clay was still soft.With these figurines a number of perforated beads of jade andsome of a dark-red stone, all nicely polished, were found; also thetooth of a large alligator, perforated at the base, evidently for sus-pension with the beads.About 6 feet to the north of the center of the mound, at a depthof 3 feet below the surface, was discovered a small stone cistor chamber, 18 inches sr[uare, built of roughly cut blocks oflimestone. Within this were found most of the bones of a male ofmedium height and fair muscular development. These bones wereexceedingly friable, but showed noeffects of fire; with the exceptionof the tibiae, they were in no wayabnormal. The upper articular sur-face of the right tibia had disap-peared. The shaft was rounded insection, the prominent angles at thefront and sides being obliterated. Itwas slightly bowed, with the con-vexity anteriorly, and was consider-ably enlarged, especially in its uppertwo-thirds, which were composedchiefly of very friable cancellous tis-FiG 17?T npaintcd object from \r()niirlNo 1 i ? i i i t isue, rendering the bone much lighterthan its appearance indicated. The surface of the upper part ofthe bone was marked by the presence of a number of smallpits or depressions. Of the left tibia only a few fragments werefound, but so far as could be judged from these a change some-what similar to that observed in the right tibia had takenplace in it. The bones and other objects found in this moundwould suggest at first sight the possibility of the individual buriedbeneath it having suffered during life from some form of venerealdisease, closely allied to, if not identical with, syphilis. On readingLanda's account^ of two forms of ceremonial self-mutilation car-ried out by the Yucatecan Maya at the time of the conquest there ' Otras, se harpavan To superfluo del mieml^ro vergongoso, dexandolo como las orejas, de lo qual se enganoel historiador general de las Indias, diziendo que se circumcidian. Otras vezes hazian iin suzio y penososacrificio afiudandose los que lo hazian en el templo, donde puestos en rengla, se hazian sendos agujeros enlos mfembros viriles al soslayo por el lado, y heohos passavan toda la mas cantidad de hilo que podianquedando assi todos asldos, y ensartados; tambien untavan con la sangre de todas estas partes al demonioy el que mas hazia, por mas valiente era tenido.?Landa, op. cit., p. 162. GAXX] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 63can be little doubt, however, that the figurines shown in plate 9 andfigure 15 are meant to represent individuals inflicting on themselvesone or other of these, but, owing to the crudeness of the workman-ship, it is difficult to determine which. In one the foreskin was piercedand expanded in much the same way that the ears were treatedwhen sacrificing to the idols. In the other, a number of men,sitting in a row in the temple, each pierced his glans penis from sideto side, and passing a long piece of cord through all the apertures,strung themselves together in this way.Mound No. 2Mound No. 2 (No. 25 on the plan, fig. 14) was situated ashort distance to the south of Mound No. 19. It was circular atthe base, conical in shape, 6 feet high at its highest point, and 40yards in circumference. On the summit of the mound, partiallyburied in the earth, was found a conch shell, much worn by theweather, with the tip cut smoothly off, and still capable of beingused as a trumpet. The surface layer of the mound was composed ofearth, in which were embedded a few limestone blocks. Withinthis layer, which was 18 inches thick, near the center of the moundand a few inches beneath the surface, was found a turtle, hewn froma block of limestone, measuring 13 inches in length and 10 inches inbreadth. The next layer was composed of ashes, charcoal, andpieces of half-charred wood. This layer, which varied from 3 to8 inches in thickness, extended evenly over the whole surface of themound, and withm it were found 16 beads of jade, two small roundthree-legged vases, and the fragments of two pottery images. Thebeads were all perforated and fmely polished; two of them repre-sented human faces, and one the head of some animal, probably analligator. One is unusually large, measuring 3f inches in lengthby f inch in breadth.The clay images are so fragmentary as not to be worth figuring,but in construction, ornamentation, and size they appear to bealmost identical with those found in the mounds at Santa Rita,already described.^ One of the vases is 3J inches and the other 2|inches in height; both are ovate. All the objects taken from thislayer show traces of having been exposed to the action of fire. Thebeads are all more or less cracked and blackened, and the potteryimages and vases are discolored. The next layer was composed ofmortar, embedded in which were numerous pieces of limestone; itvaried in depth from 18 inches to 2 feet. The upper part of this layer,to a depth of 2 to 3 inches, was yellow and very hard, and seeminglyhad been fired; the lower part was lighter in color and very friable.Within this layer, toward the center of the mound, was found the ' Gann, Mounds in Northern Honduras. 64 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64alligator effigy shown in figure 18. This animal is 15^ inches in lengthfrom the snout to the tip of the tail. The interior is hollow, and inthe center of the dorsal region is a circular opening 3^ inches in diam-eter, surrounded by a rim 1^ inches high and covered by a saucer-Hke lid.' Within the widely opened jaws is seen a human face, hav-ing at each corner of the mouth a small pottery disk, and in the earstwo large circular ear plugs.^ Between the eyes of the alligatorare two claw-like horns, 1 inch in length, each terminating in threecurved prongs, which point forward. Within tlie body were foundtwo small perforated beads of polished jade. The inside of the jaws iscolored red; the whole of the body, together with the head and limbs,is colore.d brown; the forehead and cheeks of the face held betweenthe animal's jaws are colored blue; the nose, mouth, and chin, white. llii^alor fcjLuid in Mound No. 2.This is by far the largest and most carefully modeled of the potteryfigurmes found at Santa Rita, the smallest detail having receivedcareful attention, and the scales, claws, and teeth being separatelyand accurately formed. ^ The fourth and deepest layer was 2 J feet1 These large round ear plugs seem to have been universally worn; they are found in the paintings, onfigurines, and on the incensarios. The plug may be funnel shaped or flat, plain, or decorated with a stud,rosette, or tassel. Describing the ear ornaments worn by the Itzas, Villagutierre says: "Si bien muchosde ellos rayadas las caras, y abujereadas las orejas. . . . Y que algunos Indios traian puestas, en las orejasque traia, vnas Rosas de Plata, y otros las traian de Oro; y otros de Oro, y Plata."?VttLAGUTiERKE, op.cit., pp. 402-403.Landa, speaking of the Maya women, says: "Horadavanse las orejas, para ponerse zarzilloa al modo desus maridos."?Landa, op. cit., p. 182.2 Figurines of animals with human heads projecting from their widely opened jaws are common in thisarea. The turtle, alligator, tiger, shark, and snake are usually the animals selected. Thomas says of thisfigure: "If we may judge from its use there is no doubt that the Mexican cipactli figure is a symbol of theearth or underworld. The usual form of the day symbol in the Mexican codices is shown in plate Lxrv,16, and more elaborately in plate lxiv, 17. " [These correspond almost exactly with some of the figurinesfoimd.) "Asproofthat It indicates the earth, or underworld, there is shown on plate 73 of the Borglan Codexan individual, whose lieart has been torn from his breast, plunging downward through the open jaws ofthe monster into the shade of the earth below. ... It is therefore more than likely that the animal indi-cated by the Mexican name of the day is mythical, represented according to locality by some knownanimal which seems to indicate best the mythical conception. Some figures evidently refer to the alligator,and others apparently to the iguana; that on plates 4 and 5 of the Dresden Codex is purely mythical."Thomas, Day Symbols of the Maya Year, p. 212.Spinden explains these part human, part animal, monsters differently. He regards the human faceas symbolical of the human mind contained within the animal body of the god.?A Study of Maya Art,pp. 35 and 62. GANN] MAYA INDIANS Oi YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 65in thickness, and \vas built of blocks of limestone, each weighingfrom 50 to 200 pounds, roughly fitted together, without clay ormortar to fill in the creYices. Scattered all through this layer weregreat numbers of fragments of pottery censers decorated externallywith human figures; nearly 150 pounds of these were taken from it,representing probably 20 incense burners. The whole of the potterywhen first found was exceedingly brittle, but hardened in a few hourson being exposed to the air and sun. At the bottom of this layer, andresting on the ground, were found a number of pieces of black porousmaterial with a peculiar odor. The bottom of a large round pot, 10inches in diameter, was also found full of the same substance, whichis probably a mixture of copal gum with various aromatic substances,which had been used as incense and partially charred at the bottomof the incense burner. Fragments of the bottoms of round pots werefound scattered about on the ground level, many of them having bitsof this charred incense still adhering to them.The mound appears to have been constructed in the followingmanner: First, a number of pieces of burning incense and round jarscontaining the same substance were strewn thickly over an area ap-proximately 40 yards in circumference; next a foundation or plat-form 2 J feet in height was formed by placing together a number oflarge rough blocks of limestone, among which w^ere scattered thefragments of about 20 incense burners, decorated outside with humanfigures in high relief. Over this was plastered a layer of mortar 18inches to 2 feet in thickness in which was embedded the alligatorseen in figure 18. Fires were lighted on top of this mortar till itsupper layers were discolored, and into the fire while still burningwere thrown fragments of two clay images, two small oval vases, anda number of beads. Over the ashes and charcoal left by the firesearth and blocks of limestone were heaped to a height of 18 inches,and in this layer was buried the stone turtle already referred to;finally on top of the earth layer was placed a conch-shell trumpet.Mound No. 3Mound No. 3 (No. 26 on the plan, fig. 14) was situated immediatelybetween Mounds Nos. 6 and 11. It was roughly circular in shape, 120feet in circumference and 3 feet in height. On being dug away tothe ground level it was found to be composed of earth and smallblocks of limestone, among which were numerous potsherds and frag-ments of terra-cotta images, though the latter were so small that itwas impossible to tell how many images they represented. The pot-sherds varied very much, some being rough and undecorated, otherspolished and well painted in geometrical devices. Fragments offlint spearhead^ and obsidian knives were also found in this mound.70S0G??IS?Bull. 64 5 66 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64On reaching the ground level the opening of a narrow passage 18inches square was discovered which led obliquely downward towardthe east for a distance of 8 feet ; it was lined with roughly squaredflags of limestone and terminated in a small stone-lined chamber2 feet square. On the floor, half buried in fine dry earth, lay a smallurn, roughly made of coarse pottery, neither painted nor glazed. Itwas circular in form, 38^ inches in circumference, with a semicircularhandle at each side, and was covered by a mushroom-shaped lid; withthe lid in situ the whole formed a somewhat irregular sphere. In theurn and almost completely filling it were 20 small pottery figurines,comprising 3 warriors, 1 seated human figure, 4 alligators, 4 dragons,6 quashes or picotes, and 2 serpent-like creatures.The warrior figures resemble very closely those found in Mound No.24 (see pi. 8), the only difference being that while two of them holdshields on their left forearms, and grasp spears in their right hands(as in pi. 8), the third warrior from this mound grasps a long dagger,instead of a spear, in his right hand. The seated figure is verysimilar to those from Mound No. 24 (see fig. 15), the only differencebeing that the glans penis is grasped in the left hand while the righthand wields the knife. The alligators are closely similar to thosealready described, except that they are solid throughout instead ofbeing hoUow. They are painted red, white, and black, and vary inlength from 5 J to 6^ inches. The tigers are similar to those found inMound No. 24, but are rougher, and not so carefully modeled ; all arehollow and are painted red throughout. The four dragon-likecreatures vary from 6 to 7 inches in length; the body, which is roundand slender, ends in a flattened bifid tail; the mouth, which is heldwide open, is furnished with a set of formidable teeth. Upon theupper lip is a horn-like excrescence, and over the thorax are onedorsal and two lateral fins. Each animal is painted white over thewhole surface; the inside of the mouth is painted red over the whitelayer. The six quashes are exactly similar to those found in MoundNo. 24, as are also the two serpents.Mounds containing animal and human effigies appear to be singu-larly limited in their distribution. At Santa Rita seven have beenexplored in all, each containing 1 to 49 effigies, some very crudelyand roughly made from sun-dried clay, others nicely modeled andpainted in various colors. Probably several more of these moundshad been removed by the former owners of the estate to obtain stonefor buildhig and road-making purposes, as figurines similar to thosetaken from the excavated mounds were found in the possession ofcoolie laborers working on the estate, which they said they hadfound from time to time when digging for stone. The effigies com-prise figures of men, alligators, turtles, quashes, lizards, birds, sharks, GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 67and gnakes, together with two-headed dragons and other mythologicanimals. Snnilar mounds contaming animal effigies have been foundat Douglas, about 18 miles southwest of Santa Kita; at Bacalar,25 miles northwest; at Corozal, less than a mile south; and nearSan Antonio, about 9 miles north of it. In each of these locaUtiesonly a single effigy was found, the workmanship of which resembledso closely that of the Santa Rita specimens that it wouM be difficultto decide from which locality they had come.So far as it has been possible to ascertain, no similar human andanimal effigies have been previously discovered in this section of theMaya area. The significance of these figurines appears to be some-what obscure. They are not invariably found associated with hu-ma!i remains, though this may be owing to the fact that the boneshave completely perished through decay or because cremation hasbeen practiced. They show no signs of use or wear and were evi-dently made only to be buried. The hollow specimens frequentlycontain one or more beads of red shell, greenstone, or clay in theirinterioi-s, while in most cases they have been found associated withfragments of pottery incense burners, which in this region seem tohave been very commonly mortuary in use. On the whole it seemsprobable that these figurines were merely votive offerings to thegods, buried with the dead. Some of them may indicate the occu-pation of the individual with whom they were buried. A priest andwarrior from the same mound have been described, whose occupantmay have combined the double office, while a small statuette of anold man, with a macapal slung over his shoulders, by a strap passingacross the forehead (t}T)ical of an Indian laborer of the present day),was found by a coohe digging out stone from a mound at Santa Ritamany years ago. Mound No. 4Mound No. 4 (No. 7 on the plan of the Santa Rita mounds) ^ hasrecently been excavated, together with nearly the whole of the earth-work on its south side. The mound was circular at the base, conicalin shape, 57 feet in height, 471 feet in circumference, and was builtof blocks of limestone held together by mortar. On the south sideof the mound and continuous with it was a circular earthwork 100yards in diameter. The walls inclosing the circular space variedfrom 10 to 25 feet in height. They were higher toward the north,where they were continuous with the large mound, and lower towardthe south, where an opening 80 feet wide gave access to theinclosure. The summit of the mound was truncated, circular, andabout 20 feet in diameter. It was covered by a layer of alluvial ' Figured in pi. xxxvni of the Nineteenth Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethn., as the Great Central LookoutMound. 68 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64earth 4 inches in thickness, on removing which the following objectswere brought to light, lying on the layer immediately subjacent,near the center of the mound: (a) A leaf-shaped spearhead of verylight yellow flint, 5 inches in length; (b) a leaf-shaped spearhead ofreddish flint, 5^ inches in length; (c) an eccentricaUy-shapedflint object (fig. 19, a), 4i inches in breadth by 2f inches indepth, of light grayish flint, very neatly and carefully chipped;(d) a large, well-made flint arrowhead, deeply grooved on each sideof the base, 2^ inches in length, and of light grayish color (fig.19, h) ; (e) the broken end of a roughly chipped flint hook or crescent(fig. 19, c). With these flint objects were found a small red-stonebead and a quantity of pieces of broken images, as arms, legs, faces,hands, breastplates, etc., in rough pottery. Below the alluvial layerthe mound was composed of large blocks of limestone, held togetherby mortar, giving it the consistency of masonry and renderingdigging in it very difficult. At a depth of 6 feet a small oblongchamber was opened, built of rough blocks of limestone, about 8 fcFig. 19.?Objects from Mound No. 4.feet by 3 feet, within which were found fragments of human bones,the head pointing to the north. At both head and feet a few veryroughly chipped spearheads were found. At a depth of 10 feetanother small chamber, 4 feet in length by 2 feet in height and 2feet in breadth, was opened, also composed of rough blocks of lime-stone. Within this were four basin-shaped vessels; two, somewhatlarger than their feUows, were superimposed upon them (fig. 20).These basins were made of rough pottery, colored yeUow, with abroad red stripe round the rim. Each was pierced by a pair ofsmaU round holes, 1 inch apart, repeated at equal intervals four timesround the circumference, about one-half inch from the margin. Theperforations in the upper vase corresponded exactly to those in thelower when they were discovered, suggesting that they had been con-nected by cords of henequen fiber, ti-ii, or some perishable materialwhich had disintegrated. It was considered certain that these vesselswould' contain a number of the small pottery figures which similarvessels from neighboring mounds had yielded. On removing thecover from the first one, however, it was found to contain nothing Oann] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 69but a small quantity of impalpable dust. The second containedabout an equal quantity of similar dust, together with a small roughopal. The excavatioii of this mound \vas continued to a depth ofabout 18 feet, but nothing further was discovered.The circular space inclosed within the earthwork was surfaced bya layer var^nng from 2 feet to 3 feet in thickness, resting on the bed-rock, and composed of rubble and powdered marl beaten into acompact mass, covered by two layers of cement, one beneath theother, which formed a smooth level floor over the whole inclosure.A great part of the earthwork and the rubble from the floor of theinclosed space have been removed to repair the Corozal streets.Nothing, however, was found within them with the exception of afew broken flint axheads and spearheads, some hammerstones (whichare found practicaUy everywhere), fragments of obsidian knives,and quantities of potsherds. Plate 10 shows a section through theearthwork in process of removal at its western extremity.The wall is 21 feet 8 inches in height at this point, though onlyabout 17 or 18 feet are shown in thephotograph, as the ground was filled upbehind the men excavating by a heapof limestone dust 3 or 4 feet high, leftafter the stones had been removed. Thewall is composed here from the groundup of? (1) a layer of small rubble, 18inches in thickness, the stones compos-ing which had apparently been picked ^'^- 2o.-Pottery^ve^is from Moundoff the land ; (2) a layer of cement, 6 to 8inches in thickness (the upper surface of this layer is continuous withthe upper surface of the cement covering the inclosed space, and thetwo together evidently formed originally one continuous flat, smoothpavement) ; (3) a layer of large rough blocks of limestone, 8 feet inthickness, built in together with some care, but without the interven-tion of mortar (these blocks had evidently been quarried out especiallyfor this purpose, as they were quite fresh and showed no signs of weath-ering) ; (4) a cement layer 3 feet in thickness, composed of alternatethin layers of bluish gray cement and thick layers of yellowishcement, which can be faintly seen in the photograph. At the pointB, plate 10, were found a quantity of ashes and small pieces of charredwood; the large stones in the neighborhood were also blackened bythe action of fire, and ashes were mixed with the lower part of thecement layer, which would seemingly indicate that a large fire,lasting a considerable period, had been kept up at this point on topof layer c before the cement capping was added. The top layer, 8 feethigh, is composed of loose, friable mortar with rough blocks of lime-stone set in it irregularly and fuiished with a conical cap. In the 70 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64upper center of plate 10, 6, may be distinguished a trench, 3 feetin width, which runs through the whole thickness of this layer.Its walls are composed of rough limestone blocks mortared together.The trench was completely filled in with small loose rubble similar tothat found in layer a.The high, steep, solidly constructed mounds, the bases of many ofwhich are connected with more or less circular earthworks, wereprobably lookouts or observation mounds. Most of these moundsterminate in a narrow flattened summit too small to have supportedeven the smallest temple, wliile many of them form the centers ornuclei of other groups of mounds. Few contain anything besidesthe stone, mortar, and earth of which they are constructed, thoughsome of them contain superficial interments. That at Santa Rita isexceptional in that it includes stone-faced cysts. These moundsextend in a more or less regular chain along the coast of QuintanaRoo and British Honduras, reaching from the top of Chetumal Baynearly as far south as Northern River, and extending inland in asouthwesterly direction along the courses of the Rio Hondo and RioNuevo, though many are situated at a considerable distance fromeither sea or rivers. Mound No. 5Mound No. 5 (No. 27 on the plan, fig. 14), situated about 200 yards tothe southeast of the fortification, was 3 feet in height, 30 feet in diam-eter, and nearly circular. It was built of blocks of limestone, rubble,limestone dust, and earth. Many of these blocks had evidently beentaken from some building, as they were well squared. About the centerof the mound, at the ground level, a small cyst was discovered, 3feet long, 2 feet broad, and 1 foot high, built thi-oughout of roughflags of limestone. Within it were two vases; one, shown in figure21, a, is of rough unpainted pottery, 4 J inches liigh, with a smaUearlike projection on each side, each of wliich is ornamented withan ear plug. Vases with these earlike projections and ear plugs arenot uncommon in this area, and are probably highly conventionalizedincense burners. The figure of the god outside (which, as will be shownlater on, was represented after a time by the face only) has here hadevery feature and ornament of the face ehminated with the exceptionof the ears and ear plugs, which would always be mimistakable.The other, seen in plate 11, is an egg-shaped vase standing ontliree short legs. It is decorated outside with a human face and wasoriginally painted white throughout and ornamented with black lines.It has a small opening at the top covered by a triangular stopper.Within this vase were found two small pohshed beads, one of green-stone, the other of red shell. Throughout the mound were foundnumerous fragments of incense burners, with the small head of a BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 10 .rr' 'sr^^ "-"-^ ^ < , -^.- -^ ., - ^^^?. a. SECTION THROUGH EARTHWORK INCLOSING CIRCULAR SPACE.SANTA RITA -J ... ? ?^S'- '- - -- -'''^''-^imk#-b. SLCThjN uF WALL THROUGH ^AfJ MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BEITISH HONDURAS 71tio-or, 2 birds, 5 small beads, 2 malachates, 4 net sinkers, and theceremonial bar sho\Mi in figure 21, c; all in rough pottery. About5 feet from the northern edge of the mound Were fomid human bones,representing a smgle interment, seemingly of a male of middle age.The skull and long bones, which were very brittle, though theyhardened on being exposed to the air for a day, were gotten out onlyin fragments. The molar and premolar teeth are heavily coatedwith tartar but are not greatly worn doMTi at the cro\^Tl; the incisors,on the other hand, are very much worn and in life must havebeen nearly level with the gum. Marked attrition of the incisorsseems to be present in nearly all the teeth of individuals pastmiddle life found in sepulchral mounds throughout this area, which0ID d ^9Fig. 21.?Objects found in Mound No. 5.is rather remarkable, as the staple diet of the ancient inhabitantsmust have been nearly identical with that of the Indians of thepresent day; that is, maize ground to a fine paste on a stone metate,which of necessity contains a good deal of grit from the metate, somuch so that the modern Maya say that an old man eats two rub-bing stones and six rubbers during his life. This gritty nistamalwears do^vn the back teeth of the modern Maya almost to the gum,but does not materially affect the front teeth; yet it is the latter,not the former, which we find affected in maxillae from the moimds.One of the molar teeth from this burial has had a triangular pieceremoved from its crown (fig 21, f). Along one edge of the gap leftthe tooth is carious. 72 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull, etMingled with the human bones were found: (a) A flat, oblong ob-ject, made of finely polished bone, 1 inch broad and one-tenth inchthick. Its original length could not be determined, as the upperpart had been broken away, (b) Three beads, one of polished green-stone, two of pohshed red shell; one of the latter was IJ inches long,with two incomplete perforations passing through it longitudinally.It had probably been intended to form part of a wristlet, (c) Partsof three small obsidian knives wliich had evidently seen considerableuse, as their edges were much chipped, (d) The curious object shownin figure 21, d, front view, and e, side view. It is made of cop-per, and was evidently used as tweezers, either for the removal ofhair, for which purpose it would be admirably adapted, as the lowerexpanded parts of the blades when pressed together come into suchclose apposition that the smallest and most dehcate hair can beremoved by means of them;^ or for the extraction of small thornsfrom the skin. Landa mentions the fact that the Maya were in thehabit of removing the hairs from their chins and lips, but if this littleimplement was the only one employed for the purpose the custom cannot have been a very common one in this locahty, as no othersimilar specimen was found in any of the mounds. Passing fromnorth to south through the mound, about 8 feet from its center, weretwo parallel rows of limestone flags, set perpendicularly, about 18inches apart. Against the outer of these rows lay a considerableaccumulation of animal bones, probably those of the tapir. In thespace between the outer row of flags and the edge of the moundwere found 10 oblong blocks of limestone, averaging 18 by 10 inches,the upper surfaces of which were hollowed out to a depth of 3 or 4inches. These were probably intended as water receptacles for theuse of fowls or small animals kept about the home, as precisely sim-ilar smaU stone troughs are made and used by the modern Indiansfor this purpose. The space between the rows of flags was flooredwith mortar, but nothing was found within it.Mound No. 5 AMound No. 5 A (No. 28 on the plan, fig. 14) was situatedwithin a few yards of the opening into the circular earthworkattached to Mound No. 7. It was long and narrow, nowhere ex-ceeding 2 feet in height. It was built throughout of small limestonebowlders, mixed with a large proportion of black earth. The limitsof the mound were difficult to define, as the earth of which it was 1 Landa, in mentioning the beardlessness of the Yucatecans at the time of the conquest, says it wasreported as being brought about hy applying hot cloths to the chins of the children. This seems improb-able. "No criavan barbas, y dezian que les quemavan los rostros sus madres con panos calientes, siendoninos, por que no les naciessen,. y que agora crian barbas aunque muy asperas como cerdas de tocines." ? Landa, op. cit., p. 114.The pure-blood Indians of the present day have l)iit a very scanty growth of hair on the face and ]and in some cases even the few straggling hairs which the.v possess are pulled out. OANxl MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 73built liad hoon ^vasl^(Ml down and miiiglod \vith the suiToimding soilto so great an extent that it was almost impossible to d(^termine whereone began and the other ended. This mound or ridge has not asyet been complett^ly explored, but in the part which has already beendug down two interments were found. The first was quite super-ficial, about 1 foot below the surface, near the eastern extremity ofthe ridge. The bones were those of a well-developed male, of ratherunusual height and muscular development for a Maya Iiidian; theywere in an exceptionally good state of preservation, tliough not pro-tected from the surrounding earth by cist or burial chamber. Un-fortunately, the skull was smashed into small fragments by a carelessblow of the pickax before it was realized that a burial existed at thespot. The body appeared to have been buried lying upon the right side,with the legs flexed at the knees and thighs. From one of the incisorteeth a quadranglar piece had been cleanly removed (fig. 21, g).Unfortunately, the tooth in contact with it on the other side could notbe found, so that it was impossible to ascertain whether a correspond-ing piece had been removed from this also. The tooth was muchworn at the cutting edge. Landa describes a grinding down of theteeth to a sawUke edge, for ornamental purposes, practiced by theYucatecans at the time of the conquest,^ and it seems probable thatthis tooth was operated on for a similar purpose.With the bones were found: (a) An oblong piece of marble-likestone, 2 inches long, 1| inches broad, and 1 inch deep, polished onall its surfaces, probably used for smoothing or burnishing; (b) whatappeared to be a piece broken from a rubbing stone which had beensquared, and which showed marks on its upper sm-face indicatingthat it had been used for giving an edge to stone implements; (c)fragments of rough unpainted pottery.The second interment was that of a child 8 to 10 years of age.The site of this burial was withm a few feet of the first, at a depthof about a foot below the surface. The bones, which were m a fairstate of preservation, were in contact with the earth of which themound was built. The corpse appeared to have been laid on theside, with the legs drawn up. With the bones were found only afew ornaments broken from pottery incense burners, as ear plugs,small animal heads, and part of a quilted breastplate.This mound was probably of a much later date than the othermounds described at Santa Rita. It is merely an nregular ridgebuilt of earth and stones, while the earlier mounds just referred toare well defmed and constructed of blocks of limestone with rubble,limestone dust, and mortar filling in the interstices. The bones, 1 "Tenian por costumbre accrrar.se los dientcs dexandolos como diente de sierra y esto tenian por galan-teria, y hazian esle olBcio viejas, limandolos eon ciertas piedras y agua." ? Landa, op. cit., p. 1S2. Simi-larly filed teeth have been discovered at Copan and in caves at Loltun. See Joyce, Mexican Archaeology,p. 294. 14 BUREAU OP AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64though placed under the most unfavorable conditions, havingbeen in direct contact with the damp earth, are in an excellentstate of preservation, far better, indeed, than even the best preservedof those in the other mounds where the conditions are decidedlymore favorable. The skeletons of children are practically neverfound in the other mounds, as the bones have long since disappearedcompletely, while here we find the bones of a child under 12 yearsof age in a fairly good state of preservation. There are a number ofthese sepulchral ridges at Santa Rita, many of them hardly distin-guishable from the surrounding soil; they are all seemingly of muchmore recent date than the other mounds, and are probably the workof Maya Indian tribes who flourished long after the conquest. C/fPP//V?, OF?/{f^TH OF /^ORTMR A/^OSMALL RUBBLEBASE- OFMOUNDFig. 22.?Diagram of Mound No. (Mound No. 6Mound No. 6 was situated near the southwestern boundary of SantaRita. The mound was nearly circular, with flattened top, 25 yards indiameter, and 10 feet high at its highest point. Toward the southernside of the mound was unearthed a wall (fig. 22, A) 2 feet thick,2 feet high, and about 15 yards long. From the ends of the wallroughly made masses of hmestone and mortar (fig. 22, BB) passedalmost through the mound, inclosing a rectangular space, C. Thewall was evidently the remains of an older structure, as it wasbuilt of well-sc^uared stones and had been broken down at both thetop and sides. The masses of masonry (fig. 22, BB) were 5 to 6 feetthick by about 5 feet high. The space C was filled with alternatinglayers of mortar and small rubble. The spaces (fig. 22, FFF) at theperiphery of the mound were filled with rubble mixed with earth. ULLETIN 64 PLATE 12 METATES AND BRAZOS FROM MOUND NO. 6 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 13 a. SMALL POTTERY SEAL c. SKULLLength, 15.9 cm.; breadth, 1.3.9 cm.; height, 13.3 cm.; circumference, 47.9 cm. GANNl MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS ' 75The ru])])le, wliereYor found in the mound, contained large quanti-ties of potsherds, togetlier witli flint chips and a few hammerstones.In the spaces FFF were found numerous fragments of metates andbrazos, with one unbroken specimen of each (pi. 12). At the pointsmarked (fig. 22, 1, 2, 3, 4) four human interments were encountered ata depth of 12 to 18 inches beneath the surface. The bodies had beenburied lying on the back, fully extended. The bones were in a verypoor state of preservation, and A\ath each interment were found a fewflint chips, hammerstones, broken spearheads, obsidian knives, andone or two small, very roughly made, round cooking pots. The wholemound was removed to provide material for the Corozal streets. Onreacliing the ground level it was found that a series of trencheshad been cut through the earth beneath, to the bedrock, and filled inwith small rubble. Figure 23 gives a plan of these trenches, which areiri the form of two parallelograms, measuring 9 yards by 6 yards,joined by a third of approximately the same area. The trenchesvaried from 3 to 4 feet in breadth and from H to 3^ feet in depth,according to the thickness of the layer of earth over the bedrock.The space marked figure 23, A, contained remains of at least 30interments; some of these were in small semicircular excavationsmade in the surrounding earth from the sides of the trenches ; these areshown at figure 23, D; others were made in holes dug in the earthat various points within the space A. The bodies buried in the ex-cavations at the sides of the trenches seem to have been crowded in,in a variety of positions, in order to accommodate ^themselves tothe size and shape of the cavity. Most of those in the space Ahad been buried head downward, the skulls resting in some casesin earthenware bowls, with the back bent, legs flexed, and kneesdrawn up against the chin. Nearly all these bones were decayedand friable, and could not be removed without crumbling away.The only exception was the burial marked figure 23, D', from wliichthe upper part of the skull w^as recovered almost entire, thoughthe facial bones and lower jaw were lost. This skull (pi. 13, c)rested in the bowl shown in plate 13, h, a handsome piece of pottery,standing upon four nearly globular hoUow legs, with slits in theirsides, and within them small spheres of clay wliich rattled whenthe bowl was moved. It is painted yellow and red throughout,and is nicely polished, A great number of objects were foundaccompanying the bones in the space A. These included flintax heads and spearheads, flint scrapers, and hammerstones, twoobsidian spearheads, and fragments of obsidian knives, shell andclay beads, and a small cyhndrical pottery seal about 3 inchesin length, with a geometrical device in low relief stamped uponit (pi. 13, a). The bones of the peccary, curassow, snake, and ofsome variety of fish were also found, together with the shells of V6 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHiSTOLOGY [bull. 64conches, cockles, snails, and hooties (a large variety of fresh-water snail still eaten by the natives). A block of crystalline Ume-stone, 18 inches long by 8 inches high and 12 inches broad, wasfound in one of the semicircular pits leading from the trench atthe upper border of space A, figure 23. It was traversed by 14 longi-tudinal grooves on its upper surface, wliich was shghtly concave;each groove was ^ inch broad by | inch deep, quite smooth, andnearly straight. The stone had seemingly been used as a hone forgiving an edge to small stone implements. Fig. 23.?Diagram of trenches in Mound No. 6.Extending out toward the northeast from the main mound was alow structure (fig. 22, G) 4 feet in height and 25 yards m length.It was composed throughout of layers of clay, rubble, andlimestone dust, not very clearly separated. Three separate inter-ments were found beneath this mound near its center (fig. 22, H)",the bones in all of which were very much decayed. From the firstof these the shallow bowl (fig. 24, a), 7^ mches in diameter by1^ inches deep, together with the vase d, 8 inches in height, weretaken. The vase was of rather fine pottery, painted a uniformdark red throughout. Nothing else was found with this intennent. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 77From the second grave were taken a bowl exactly similar tothat shown in figure 24, a, two flat dishes 12 inches in diameter(fig. 24, e), and a small polished bone ring 1 inch in length, seemingly asection from one of the larger long bones of some large animal. Thevessel g, 6 inches i'n diameter, was also fomid with this burial; it ismade of fine pottery, painted red, and possesses a curious upturnedspout, which bends inward toward the rim of the pot to such anextent that it would be impossible either to drink or pour out thecontents therefrom. These curious pots, usually with the spoutparallel to the perpendicular axis of the vessel, are quite common 9 hFig. 24.?Bowls, vases, and dishes foimd in Moimd No. 6.among Maya pottery from tliis district; they were supposed to havebeen used as chocolate pots, but drinking from them must havebeen a feat of legerdemam.From the third grave came two bowls, both ahnost spherical, theone 12 mches, the other 6 inches, in diameter (fig. 24, c). At thepoint K, near the end of the mound G (fig. 22), three intermentswere found, very close together, on the ground level; these hadevidently been contamed at one time in a small oval cist, built ofrough blocks of limestone, which had now completely caved in. Withthe bones were found the vases shown in figure 24, 6,/, /;, of tho samered-painted pottery as was found elsewhere in the mound. Six well-made bone awls, or lance heads, each about 6 inches in length. 78 BUEEAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [Btnx. 64together with a heap of the shells of some large bivalve, one of whichwas polished and perforated for use as an ornament, were also foundamong these bones. The stones of which the cist had been built,the bones, and the objects accompanying them were so inextricablymixed that it was impossible to tell which objects belonged to eachset of bones. Passing through the long axis of this mound was arubble-filled trench, 3 feet in breadth, dug down to the bedrock,exactly similar in structure to those alreadydescribed. No interments were found at thesides of this trench, which is shown in figure23, E. Mound No. 6 AMomid No. 6 A, another of the group ofmounds adjoming the southwesterly bomid-ary of Santa Rita, measured 18 feet by 15feet at the base, by about 3 feet high at thehighest point, and was built throughout ofearth, large blocks of limestone, and limestone dust. The moundrested directly on the limestone formation. Into this, near the cen-ter of the mound, an oval excavation had been made (see C C, fig.Flag of limestone shown in D , fig. 25. Fig. 25.?a, skull; B, limestone formation; C, excavation; D, grooved flag in situ; E, projecting lip.25) about 10 inches in depth, and in size just large enough to con-tain the skull which was found within it. A ledgelike projectionwas left at one edge of the excavation (see E, fig. 25), and justbeneath this rested the point of the jaw. A large heavy flag of lime-stone (see D, fig. 25), from which a semicircular segment had beenchipped, was placed above the excavation opposite the lip, so thatthe groove in the stone inclosed the neck and clamped the skuU GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 79tightly (loAYii ill the little liolo ^vlli(]l liad been made to receive it.On eacli side of the skull tlie femora were found, in a nearly verticalposition, condyles downiward, and between the femora many frag-ments of other bones were brought to light, including the tibiie, armbones, and vertebrae Resting upon the limestone flag which coveredtlie skull lay a large, rudely made chert hammerstone, 8 inches longby 4 inches broad, which had probably been used in chippmg outthe semicircular groove to fit the neck. Near the center of this mound,2 feet below the surface, two very neatly made flint hammerstoneswere found. The dmiensions of this skull were: Length, 14.22 cm.;breadth, 16.76 cm.; circumference, 48.26 cm.; cephalic index, 123. -The base of the skull was so much damaged that the height couldnot be ascertained. The extreme breadth in comparison with thelength, givmg it a remarkably brachioephalio appearance, was possi-bly, to some extent at least, the result of post-mortem compressionfrom before backward withm the little cavity which contained it.Mound No. 7Mound No. 7, situated very close to No. 6 A, was oval in shape,measuring 30 yards by 10 yards at the base, and 8 feet high alongthe summit. It was built tliroughout of largo blocks of limestone,limestone dust, and a small proportion of earth. It rested upon thenatural limestone formation, into which^ near the western end of themound, a shallow oval pit 18 inches in length by 10 inches in depthhad been dug. In this was found a somewhat imperfect skull, restingwith the foramen magnum uppermost. The other bones, wliich weredistributed irregularly around the hole, were in a poor state of preser-vation. Upon one side of the skull lay a small shallow bowl, withfour hollow legs, each contammg a pellet of dry clay loose in itsinterior; and upon the other side a small three-legged vase. Both ofthese were of rather crude pottery, painted dark-red throughout andpolished. Two other excavations similar to this were found m the lime-stone beneath this mound, each contammg fragments of a skull in avery advanced state of decay, surrounded by fragments of the otherbones. No additional pottery or other objects were found besidethem. The two momids last described are the only ones in whichthis peculiar method of interment appears to have been employed.The procedure seems to have been somewhat as follows : First, theearth capping.was removed from the limestone rock, over the area tobe occupied by the mound ; next, shallow oval pits were dug in therock into which the skulls were wedged ; each body was bent, and thethighs were flexed on the abdomen, so that the knees touched therock on each side of the head ; finally, the mound was built up ofUmestone dust, earth, and blocks of limestone around the body, inthis position. 80 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGYMound No. 8Mound No. 8, situated very close to Mound No. 7, was roughlycircular, 36 feet in diameter and 4 feet high on its flattened top. Itwas built throughout of earth, limestone dust, and blocks of lime-stone. Projecting from the western edge of the mound was a large,roughly hewn block of limestone, 3 feet by 4 feet, and 8 inches inthickness. Running through the center of the momid from east towest were two parallel rows of limestone flags, 2 feet apart, projecting18 inches from the limestone rock upon which the mound was erectedand in which they were embedded. Near the center of the mound,between the rows of limestone flags and resting on the earth, coveredonly with limestone dust, was found a single interment. The skullis shown in plate 14. Its dimensions are: Length, 17.01 cm.;breadth, 16.51 cm.; height, 10.68 cm.; circumference, 51.30 cm.;cephalic index, 97. The body, which was stretched at full length,had probably been laid face downward, as the bones of the forearms,also shown in plate 14, were found beneath the skull. With the Fig. 26.?Circular openings leading into natural cavity.bones of the hands were found four copper rmgs, considerablyoxidized; three were plain narrow bands, while the fourth was abroad flat band decorated with incised double volutes. Some of thephalanges were colored a bright-greenish tinge, from contact with therings. Three of the rings and three phalanges are shown in plate14. These bones were all in a remarkably good state of preservation,probably owing to the fact that they were completely surrounded byfine hmestone dust.Within a few yards of this mound was the opening of a smallchultun, with steps leading to the interior. It was oval in shape,15 feet long, and at one time had been covered with plaster, whichhad nearly aU peeled off. The floor was covered with earth, ofwhich there was a pyramidal heap under the openmg. Nothingwas found in this chultun except great quantities of fragments oflarge, rough earthenware water vessels.About 300 yards to the east of the mound tlu'ee circular openingswere found (see AAA, fig. 26) leading into a large irregular naturalcavity (see C,fig. 26) formed in the limestone (see BB, fig. 26). Each of ULLETIN 64 PLATE 14 SKULL AND BONES FROM MOUND NO GAXX] ]\rAYA INDIANS f)F YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 81these openings was about 2 feet in diameter, and close to one of thema circular slah of stone, 6 inches in thickness, and of about the samediameter as the opening, was found, which had probably been usedas a cover for the latter. This cliulfun, unlike the first one, was ofpurely natural formation ; the walls, which were rough and irregular,showed no signs of tool marks. The chamber A^aried in height from8 to 9 feet beneath the openings, where it was highest, to 2 to 3 feetat the sides. There was a considerable accumulation of earth uponthe floor (see DD, fig. 26), which had evidentlyfallen and been blown in,as it was collected in two heaps beneath the openings. There werenb stone steps leading down into this chultun, and access must havebeen gained to the interior by means of wooden ladders, which hadlong since disappeared. Numbers of potsherds, shells, pieces ofcharcoal, clay beads, and fragments of flint and obsidian implementswere found upon the floor. Several skeletons of small mammalswere also found among the earth, but these creatures had probablyfallen in after the chultun ceased to be used, and had been unableto get out.At a distance of less than half a mile from the last-mentioned chultunanother was discovered under somewhat curious circumstances. Alarge flat mound was completely removed for the sake of the stoneand limestone dust wliich it contained, to be used in repairing theCorozal streets. About the center of the mound, at the groundlevel, a heavy circular flag of limestone^ 2 feet 4 inches in diameter,was brought to hght. On removing this it was found to cover around well-like opening, which expanded below into a small chultun,12 feet long by 9 feet in greatest diameter. The chamber was egg-shaped and showed no signs of having ever been stucco-covered.From the opening a short fhght of steps, cut in the rock, led tothe bottom of the chultun. No tiling was found in this cliultun withthe exception of two small bowls of rather coarse earthenware,painted red and pohshed; one almost globular in shape, 6 inches indiameter; the other circular, flat-bottomed, 3 ? inches in height. Themound which covered this cliultun appeared to have been one of thecommonest kind of burial mounds. At its summit fragments of arude circular earthenware pot were found, and near its center frag-ments of human bones, together with three flint hammerstones andtwo small round vessels, one of light yellow, the other of yellowish-red,pottery.One of the most remarkable of the chultuns found in this area issituated at San Andres, within a mile of the village of Corozal. Itwas accidentally found by some coolies in digging marl, and as,unfortunately, the entire roof of the larger chamber and a consider-able part of that of the smaller had caved in, it was impossible to70806??18?Bull. 64 6 82 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64discover how it had been entered from outside, as no trace of stepsremained. A ground plan of this chultun is shown in figure 27. Thesmall chamber, A, is 8 feet long, 7 feet broad, and 5 feet 6 inchesliigh in the center; it is cut out of sohd rock. The large chamber(C) is 15 feet in diameter, but as nearly the entire roof has fallenin, it is impossible to estimate its exact height. The chambers arepartially separated by a wall (B) built of rough blocks of stone andtough mortar, which has been partly broken down. In the side ofthe small chamber, opposite the wall, are three oblong shafts (D, D, D,fig. 27) cut into the rock, by the side of the chamber wall, wliich Fig. 27.?Ground plan of chultun.is here nearly perpendicular. Each of these is about 1 foot in depthby 8 to 9 inches in breadth, and is separated from the chamber bya single row of bricks (E, E, E, fig. 27) mortared together, reach-ing from the roof to the floor, so that there is no communicationbetween the shafts and the chamber. Each shaft opened origi-nally on the surface of the ground, but the openings had becomeblocked by vegetable refuse from the surrounding bush. The brickswhich fill in. one side of each shaft are of two kinds. The first, byfar the more numerous, are made of sun-dried clay, yellowish in color,and very friable; they contain considerable powdered marl. Theymeasure 8 by 4 by 2 f inches. The bricks of the second kind alsoare made of clay, mixed with many pebbles; they have been fired,are of a reddish color, far harder and tougher than the first variety;they measure 8 by 4 by 2^ inches. Nothing was found in eitherchamber except a few potsherds of various kinds. GAXX] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 83These underground chambers, or chultuns, seem to be fahly com-mon throughout Yucatan. Considerable doubt exists as to the usesto which they were put.^ It seems probable that those the walls ofwhich were plastered with an impervious, cement lining were intendedas water receptacles, since they could easily have been filled bydrainage from the thatched roofs of buildings in the \icinity, whichhave long since completely disappeared. Though the southern part ofYucatan, unhke the northern, is fairly well watered, plastered c^wZ/wnsare not infrequently found there, but alwa^'-s situated at consider-able distances from a good permanent water supply, as a lagoonor river. The uncemented chultuns would not hold water, and hadprobably been used as storehouses for corn and other provisions.Some of these chambers were undoubtedly used as burial places, as oneat Platon, on the Old River,^ was covered by a bm'ial mound, and itselfcontained human bones ; but it is possible that their use for this purposemay have been secondary only. The San Andres cJiultun is somewhatpuzzling, as it was certainly not a reservoir for water, nor were anytraces of human burial found within it. It had probably been used asa storehouse for food, though it is difficult to understand the objectof the oblong shafts, leading into the open air, found at the side of thesmaller chamber, as they must have been quite useless for ventilatingpurposes, not having any opening into the chamber itself throughwhich the air might circulate.Mound No. 9Mound No. 9, situated close to the chultun, with three openings,was oval in shape with flattened summit, 44 feet in breadth, 66 feetin length, and 14 feet high at its highest point. On removing thesummit of the mound to a depth of about 4 feet the floor of a builchng,with parts of the walls, was exposed. The cap of the mound, coveringthe ruins of the building, was composed of blocks of marl, clay,rubble, and limestone. The lower part of the mound, upon whichthe building stood, was constructed of large blocks of limestone mor-tared together, forming a sohd block of masonry. The building wasin a very ruinous condition; as much of its ground plan as could be > Tozzer, in commenting on these chultuns at Nakum, says: " There is evidently no close connection,as in Yucatan, between the water supply and these underground rooms. In fact they are frequently foundnear sites where there is an abundant supply of water throughout the year. In almost no case do we findany drainage into them. They are usually found on ground slightly higher than that of the surroundingcountry. In this respect they differ from those in Yucatan. Another point against their use as storage forwater is shown in the fact that in several the rock from which they are excavated is porous, and the wallsdo not seem in all cases to have been covered with an impervious layer of plaster. That they were used Insome cases for the storage of maize and other foods is possible, as they are generally dry and would be suitablefor such a purpose. That some were used for burial places is very probable." ? Tozzer, A PreliminaryStudy of the Prehistoric Ruins of Nakum, Guatemala, p. 191.2 Gann: On Exploration of Two Mounds in British Honduras, pp. 430-434; On the Contents of SomeAncient Mounds in Central America, pp. 308-317. 84 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64traced is shown in figure 28. The walls, A, A, A, are 3 feet 4 inchesin thickness. Such parts as remain standing are built of well-squaredstones held together by mortar (see fig. 30). They are covered withstucco inside, which is con-riooR orHARD POUSHED B_ tiuuous with the cement floor-ing of the rooms; outside theywere also covered with stuccoabove thewater table (B,figs. 28and29) but nearly all of thishadbeen broken away. The watertable, which projects 3 inchesfrom the wall, is 1 2 inches deep ;it is built of well-squaredstones not covered with stucco,and is continuous below (figs.29 and 30) with C, a layer ofhard cement 18 inches broad,wliich apparently ran com-pletely round the building, andpossibly acted as a drain tocarry off the water after heavytropical showers. The mainroom was 8 feet in breadthand had probably been about30 feet in length, with fourdoors opening into it, two oneach side. This was flooredwith very hard, smooth, pol-ished cement, which even nowis in an excellent state of pres-ervation; this flooring is con-tinuous tln-ough the doorwayswith the top of the water table, with wliich it is on the same level.Notliing was found in excavating this mound, with the exception of afragment of a conch-shell trumpet, a piece ofan obsidian knife, numerous potsherds, andhalf of a fhnt paint grinder, with traces ofgreen paint still adherent to it. All of theseobjects were found on the floor of the mainroom.Mounds erected over the ruins of buildingsare extremely common all through this partof the Maya area; some are very large, covering buildings whichhad been placed on lofty stone pyramids; some are very small,as when they cover buildings of a single small room, built almost Fig. 28.?Ground plan of Mound No. 9. -Wall construction ofMound No. 9. GAXN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS S5on the ground level. All the buildings arc in ruins, all are raisedmore or less on stone platforms above the ground level, and allshow traces of having been covered with stucco, both internally andexternally. In some cases tliis stucco is very beautifully decoratedin colored devices, as in the mound already described at Santa Rita; ^in others the stucco is molded in various designs and ornaments,which may or may not be colored, as in the mound at Pueblo Nuevoon the Rio Nuevo, presently to be described. Most of these moundscontain notliing except the building wliich they cover, but some had Fig. 30.?DetaUs of Mound No. 9.been used as burial places, the interments evidently having takenplace after the buikhng had been covered in, as they are foundirregularly distributed tlu'ough the loose superstructure which formsthe cap of the mound, quite close to the surface.^ 1 Gann, Mounds in Northern Honduras, pp. 666-680.2 The interments which are found, superflcially placed in mounds which cover buildings, were probablyof later date, as Landa distinctly states that the owner was buried witliin Iiis house. " Enterravanlosdentro en sus casas o a las cspaldas della.s" CLanda, op cit., p. 196). Moreover, more than one of thesesuperficial interments are foimd in mounds covering buildings, and, lastly, human remains have beenfound beneath the floors of ruined houses, where one would naturally expect to find them. 86 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64Mound No. 10Vague reports had been in circulation for some years as to tlieexistence of a mound close to the headwaters of the Rio Hondo,where the Indians still practiced to some extent their ancientrehgion. It was said that the mound contained a stone chamber inwhich stood on a stone pedestal a hfe-sized image, painted in variouscolors, and that aromid the walls of the chamber were niches in whichrested life-sized stone turtles, also painted; furthermore, that thebush Indians of the neighborhood were in the habit of coming to themound for the purpose of burning incense before the idol.The mound was found situated quite close to the bank of the RioHondo, buried in the bush which covers this part of Yucatan. It was80 feet in height, 350 feet in circumference, conical in shape, and com-pletely covered by high bush continuous with that of the surround-ing forest. After clearing the underbrush from the mound an open-ing 3 feet square was discovered about 17 feet from the summitof the mound on its northern aspect, the walls of which were facedwith cut stone. From this opening a low passage led to a smallstone-faced chamber 8 feet higli, 6 feet broad, and 10 feet long, thefloor of which was composed of earth and lime well beaten down toform a hard, smooth surface. Projecting from the walls were eightsmall stone brackets, upon which nothing was found. No tracewhatever was seen of a painted image or of turtles. The walls andceiling of the room, especially the latter, were considerably blackenedby smoke, possibly caused by burning incense.Excavation was commenced at once in the floor of the chamber.At a depth of 8 inches the hard floor gave place to soft brown sand,which was continuous to a depth of 2 feet, where several small depositsor pockets of lime were found inclosed within it, each of which con-tained a number of obsidian knives and small cores. The knives weredeeply indented on each side of the base, as if to facihtate hafting.The cores, of which 20 were found, were slender and varied from 1 to3 inches in length. On digging down through an additional 18 inchesof the brown sand a layer of hme was exposed about 18 inches inthickness, filhng the entire lumen of the chamber, in which were foundirregularly scattered 60 cruciform objects, finely chipped in obsidian,each from 3 to 4 inches in length (fig. 3 1 , a) . These would have servedas either arrowheads or small javehn heads, or possibly were intendedfor ceremonial purposes only. With them were a single pottery vaseand two small triangular j avelinheads of obsidian. The vase (fig. 31,6)was circular in shape, 6 inches in diameter, with a long pigUke faceprotruding from one side. It was made of dark-tjrownish pottery,painted red and fuiely pohshed externally. It was filled with smallmussel-Hke bivalve shells embedded in hme. A nmnber of these gann] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 87shells AV(^ro found also closely adjacent to tlu^ vase in the lime whichsurrounded it. Beneath the layer of lime lay a layer of ])ro^^'nsand, 3 feet thick, in which ahsolutely nothing was found. Belowtliis appeared another lajer of lime, mixed with sand, 4 feet tliick,near the bottom of which were found 40 human skulls, neatly disposedin rows. These, when first uncovered, seemed to he in a moderatelygood state of preservation, but when removed from their bed of limeand sand they crumbled so easily that it was found impossible topreserve them. The skulls were all placed in the same horizontalplane, each one nearly in contact with its neighbor. No other boneswere found with them, or in fact in any other part of thismound, with the exception of two small oblong objects of bone,about 2 inches in length, each still bearmg traces of paint, whichwere discovered among the skulls. These skulls would seem tohave been either the result of secondary interments or the re-mains of sacrificial victims whose bodies were either eaten orburied elsewhere. In favor of the first theory is the fact that a ftFig. 31.?Obsidian object and pottery vase from Moimd No. 10.the Maya did not practice human sacrifice to anything like thesame extent that their neighbors, the Aztecs, did, and slaughterinvolving forty-odd victims must have been practically unknownamong them. Furthermore, in one or two instances small shallowstone-hned graves, covered mth large slabs of stone, have been foundat and around the bases of large mounds, and it seems quite possiblethat these graves may have held the bodies of distinguished dead untiltheir skulls were in a fit condition to be removed to the mound oruntil a sufficient number had accumulated to make it worth whileopening the chamber for their reception. In favor of the secondtheory is the fact that, judging by what could be seen of the teethand lower jaws, all the skulls were of individuals in the prime of fife,no jaws of very young or of very old inchviduals being discovered.Immediately beneath the skulls were unearthed 12 objects of chertfasliioned withgreat care. Seven of these were spearheads, the other fiveof eccentric form. The spearheads varied in length from 3 7 cm. (pi. 15, c)to 29 cm. (pi. 15,/) ; they were very well made, some from gray, others 88 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64from brownish-yellow, chert. The eccentric flints comprised : (a) Ananimal form, possibly meant to represent a bush rabbit, 30 cm. inlength from the forehead to the tip of the tail (pi. 15, a); (b) ananimal form, evidently meant to represent a turtle or tortoise, 28cm. in length from the head to the tip of the tail (pi. 15, g); (c) ahalberd-shaped implement (pi. 15, h), exquisitely cliipped from light-ocher-colored chert, 44 cm. in its greatest length by 19 cm. in breadthacross the widest part of the head. This implement is furnished withtwo sharp-pointed cutting projections in front, separated by a groove;at the back is a larger triangular sharp projection. The whole imple-ment is well balanced, for use in the hand, by a bulging or thickeningof its body between these three projections; (d) an implement chippedfrom yellowish chert, 44 cm. in length, serrated on each side, pointedat one end and rounded at the other (pi. 15, d); (e) a crescentic imple-ment, chipped from yellowish chert, 26 cm. in its greatest length,17^ cm. across the widest part of the crescent. From the convexityof the crescent project three spines, the central one long and serrated,the lateral ones merely pointed knobs. This object is more crudelychipped and less symmetrical than any of the others (pi. 15, e).These eccentrically shaped fhnt and chert objects seem to belimited in their distribution to that part of the Maya area comprisedin southern Yucatan, eastern Guatemala, and most of the colony ofBritish Honduras. The earliest known specimens are probably thosenow preserved in the Salisbury Museum, England, which have beenthus described:Among the numerous stone weapons and implements which have been discovered,and serve to illustrate the primitive arts of the New World, three remarkable relicsfrom the Bay of Honduras, in South America, are deserving of special attention.They were found about the year 1794, with other examples, in a cave between twoand three miles inland. * * * One is a serrated weapon, pointed at both ends,measuring 16>| inches long. [This object is almost exactly similar to plate 15, d, exceptthat the latter is pointed at one end only, the opposite one being rounded.] Anotheris in the form of a crescent, with projecting points. It measures 17 inches in itsgreatest length, and it is conjectured may have served as a weapon of parade, likethe state partisan or halbert of later times. The third, which is imperfect, has prob-ably resembled the previous one in general form.'The second of these implements very closely resembles that shownin plate 15, e, the Salisbury specimen being somewhat larger, moresymmetrical, and more carefully chipped.About 3 feet beneath these fhnt objects, embedded in the sandwdiich filled this part of the chamber, were discovered 20 cruciformobsidian arrowheads or javelin heads, similar to that shown in figure31, a; 40 small obsidian cores; 2 obsidian arrowheads, of the shapeshown in figure 32; 12 well-made obsidian knives, grooved on each 1 From Wilson, Daniel, Prehistoric Man, vol. i, pp. 214-15, Cambridge and London, 1S62; quoted byStevens, Edward T., in Flint Chips. 5UREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 64 PLATE 15 STONE OBJECTS FROM MOUND NO. 10 Gann] MAYA INDIAKS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 89 32.?Obsidian arrowheadfrom Mound No. 10. side of the base, and two cresccTitic objects chipped from chert,somewhat resembhng that seen in plate 15, e, but smaller, withoutprojecting spines at the convexity of the crescent, and altogethermore crudely and carelessly made.After the sand and lime had been removed from tliis chamber toa deptli t)f nearly 30 feet it was found that the walls became continuouswith the solid foundation of masonry uponwhich the mound stood. This was very diffi-cult to penetrate, and so far aswas ascertainedcontained nothing further of interest. Theroof of the chamber was next attacked fromthe sunmiit of the mound. To a depth ofnearly 2 feet notliingwas found but fine, brownalluvial soil, fidl of the roots of plants andtrees. Beneath this the real structure of themound began, for not so much as a sohtarypotsherd or chip of fhntwas found in the earthon the summit of the mound, indicating clearly that this layer hadaccumulated since its construction. Beneath the earth layer, tothe roof of the chamber, the mound was composed of blocks of lime-stone of varying size, loose friable mortar, and powdered limestone.In the first 8 feet notliing except a few potsherds was found. Atthis depth two shallow circular saucers, each 7J cm. in diameter,were unearthed. These were made of coarsered unpaintcd pottery, and close to them lay afmely chipped flint object (fig. 33, a, &). Thiswas rounded at both ends, narrower at thehandle than at the base, and markedly con-vex on its under surface (fig. 33, a, h). Thefront part of the under sm-face was quitesmooth and pohshed, evidently from attrition,while that part of it marked A A bore dis-tinct traces of blue paint. There can be littledoubt that tliis implement was a paint grinder,as a specimen almost exactly similar was foundina moundnearCorozal, bearing traces of greenpaint on the under surface. Fourteen nicelypolished redchsh stone beads, spherical in shape, together with foursmaller beads of a light-green color, and a leaf-shaped spearhead offlint, were found adjacent to the paint grinder. Immediately beneaththese was found an object made of what seems to be redcUsh-brownagate,- this is 10 cm. in length, oval in section, 1 cm. in its greatestbreadth, tapering off to a blunt point at each end, and finely polishedall over. With it were nearly 300 small triangular obsidian objects ofthe shape shown in figure 34. These vary in length from 1 J to 2| cm. 33.?Flint objectMound No. 10. 90 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64They are thick at the upper angle, the side subtending this forming asharp cutting edge. In some of the implements this edge is notched,as if from use. These implements were probably used as scrapers, orsmall chisels or gouges, for which purposes they would be suitable,either hafted or unhafted. It is possible that they may have beenused as teeth for the sword known to the Aztec as mextatl, whichwas also in use among the Maya at the time of the conquest. Thisweapon was constructed by setting a number of sharp obsidiansplinters in deep lateral grooves, cut in a long piece of hard wood,which were filled with liquid resin in order to prevent the splintersfrom shifting from their positions.In the Stann Creek district of British Honduras, on the banks ofthe Sittec River, at a distance of approximately 15 miles from itsmouth, there exists an extensive clearing in the bush known as"Kendal Estate." The soil here is remarkably fertile and weU suitedfor the cultivation of every kind of tropical vegetable product. Ashas been pointed out before, wherever throughout northern CentralAmerica one finds patches of exceptionally rich soil, there, on clearingthe bush, will be found in greater or less numbers themounds erected by the former inhabitants, togetherwith the indestructible refuse usually associated withformer village sites, as fragments of pottery, flint andobsidian chips, broken and rejected implements andFig. ~34.?Obsidian weapous, shoUs of various edible shellfish, clay beads,object fromMound ng^ sinkers, malacates, broken rubbing stones, etc.The converse of this holds true to some extent, as oneof the guides relied on by the modern degenerate Maya Indian in hisannual selection of land for a milpa, or corn plantation, is the num-ber of mounds which he finds upon it. Indeed this remarkable indexas to the degree of fertility of the soil appears to be almost the onlyuseful heritage transmitted to him by his courageous and compara-tively liiglily civilized ancestors.Mound No. UMound No. 11, at Kendal, occupies a conspicuous position uponthe summit of a small natural elevation, situated on the left bankof the river close to its margin. It is 60 feet long, 40 feet broad, and20 feet high, its long diameter running due east and west. An exca-vation was made' into the north slope of the mound, which exposed athree-walled chamber, 8 feet in length by 4 feet 8 inches in width.There was no wall on the south side. The north wall, owing to theouter slope of the mound trending over it, was only 1 foot in height;the east and west walls were each 4 feet high. All three walls wereabout 18 inches thick. The chamber was packed with water-worn BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 16 oann] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 91bowlders and eartli, among which nothing was found l)nt scatteredpatches of charcoal, with a few small red pots, so rotten and friablefrom long exposure to the damp that it was found impossible toremove them. Had there over been bones in the chamber, as seemsprobable, they must have completely disintegrated Jong before fromcontact with tlie damp cla}-. The floor was composed of flags ofshale. About the center of the west wall a recess was discovered2 feet wide b}?^ 1^ feet high. This was half filled with earth, in whichthe following objects were found:(1) The model of half a bivalve shell in liglit-green jadeite, verywell executed and polished both inside and out (pi. 16, a). On itsouter surface, following the contour of the outer edge, are sevenglyphs, the chief component of each of which is a grotesque humanface.'(2) A small mask of light-groen jadeite, well polished on bothsurfaces, measuring approximately 7 cm. in both diameters (pi. 16, h).Inscribed on the forehead in shallow lines are the glyphs shownin figure 35, somewhat enlarged from the actual size. Around theedge of the lower haKof the mask are sevenminute perforations,while running across theback of the foreheadfrom ear to ear is a larger'^ Fig. 35.?Inscription on mask, plate 16, 6.hole, evidently used lorsuspension. No doubt this mask was used as a breast ornament,similar to those portrayed in the codices and on the monohths, thesmall holes being intended for the suspension of the aUigator-headbeads fomid with the 'mask, which again may have been connectedalong their outward-pointing snouts by the cylindrical beads.(3) An ax head, or celt, of light-green stone, finely polished through-out (pi. 16, c), 21 cm. in length by 6.5 cm. in breadth at the cuttingedge. One side is engraved with hieroglyphs done in shallow lines,much less carefully and neatly than those on the shell. The lowertwo-tliirds of the engraved side have evidently been subjected to con-siderable attrition, as the surface of the stone, especially along thelower third of the ax, has been so worn away as to render the finesalmost undecipherable. This inscription, somewhat smaUer than theoriginal, is shown in figure 36. With these engraved o])jocts werea number of cylindrical beads, pierced in their long diameter, madeof very pretty mottled light and dark green jade, well polished.They varied from 1.2 to 1.6 cm. in length, and the substance ofthe stone from which they were made was distinctly crystaUine 1 This shell has already been reproduced in the Sixteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of AmericanEthnology, pi. lxix. ^s BUREAU OP .MERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64on fracture. With them were a number of small alligator heads,made of similar stone and about the same size as the beads, piercedat the base of the skull for suspension, six celts of green and chocolate-colored stone, all finely polished, varying from 9 to IS cm. in length,and a circular disk of iron pyrites 8 cm. in diameter by 5 mm. inthickness. This object was milled round the edges like a com andperforated in the center. With it was the broken half of a similarornament; probably both of these had been used as ear ornaments.Trenches were dug through this mound in all directions, but nothingfurther was found therein. Mound No. 12Mound No. 12, at Kendal, was situated close to the last-describedmound. Its flattened summit measured 28 feet by 20 feet; theaverage height was approximately 1 5 feet. The momid extended eastand west, and on its eastern slope large slate slabs were seen protrudingfrom the surface. On excavating round these they were found to bepart of a chamber measurmg 7 feet by 3 feet; the south wall had Fig. 36.?Inscription on ax head, plate 16, c.caved in and the roof slabs also had been somewhat displaced. Thechamber was filled with earth, on removing which the followingobjects were found upon the floor slabs: (1) Three nearly sphericalred pots, averaging 6 inches in diameter; they were so rotten fromthe effect of moisture that it was impossible to remove them. (2)Two small, rather crudely executed human faces cut in mottledjadeite, and finely polished, with which were three green jadeitebeads. (3) A small quantity of greenish powder. (4) Fom* smallchisels of polished greenstone, varying from 2 to 4 cm. in length.(5) One chisel made of very soft gray stone, which had been coveredexternally with greenish paint somewhat resemblmg enamel, and veryclosely simulating the genuine greenstone chisels with which it wasplaced, except that it was much lighter in weight. Instances ofcounterfeit implements and ornaments buried with the dead havebeen found more than once throughout this area.Excavations were made along the flattened top of this mound,and about 16 feet to the westward of the first one a second grave wasdiscovered. This was in a much better state of preservation than GAXN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 93the first, as all tlio Avails and the roof w<>ro in situ. It was composedthroughout of largo flat irregular slabs of slate, averaging about 2inches in thickness. It measured 8 feet by 2 feet T)y 2 feet in height.The chamber was fiUed with earth, and the roof was not more than6 or 8 inches below the surface of the mound. Tlie following objectswere found in this chamber, all resting upon tlie slate slabs whichformed the floor. At the north end five nearly globular red earthen-ware pots, of rather coarse manufacture, each containing a stonecelt, were found. These pots had been packed closely together, inearth, and over them a large slab of slate had been j^laced as ifto protect them; this, however, it failed to do, as the pots were sosaturated with moisture that it was found possible to remove onlyone unbroken. The celts averaged 6 inches in length; all were weUmade and polished ; four were of greenstone, one of a bluish-gray stone.Close to the pots were found a small jadeite face and three green-stone beads or pendants. Nearer the center of the floor of the cham-ber were found two small cubical objects of light greenstone 1 cm.in diameter, very closely resembling dice, with a geometrical deviceinscribed in rather deep lines uj^on two of their opposed surfaces;these might have been seals or stamps, or they might have beenused in playing some game. With them were a smaU solid cylin-der, of light greenstone, finely polished for suspension, 12 smallobsidian knives, seemingly quite new, as they showed no signs ofnotching from use, and six convolvulus-shaped ornaments of lightgreenstone, finely polished, which had probably been used as earplugs. Close to the last lay a hollow cylinder of extremely hardterra cotta 7 cm. in height, inscribed externally with a geometricaldevice in Ioav relief (pi. 16, d). This object was undoubtedly acylindrical seal or stamp for use on a handle; similar specimens arenot uncommon in the south of British Honduras and in Guatemala,though in the north of the colony and in Yucatan they are of muchless frequent occurrence. SmaU patches of charcoal and of greenpowder wore found i"n several places scattered over the floor of thischamber. Nothing further was found in this mound, which wascomposed throughout of earth and water-worn bowlders.Several more mounds were excavated at Kendal, but notliing wacfound in them. They were all composed of earth and large, water-worn bowlders, the former greatly predominating. Close to many ofthe mounds a deep excavation in the surface is to be seen, from whichthe material to construct the mound was evidently taken. Thesemounds form a decided contrast to those in the north of BritishHonduras and in southern Yucatan; they are lower, flatter, morediffuse and irregular in outline, with the line of demarcation be-tween the base of the mound and the surrounding soil very poorlydefined. The northern mounds are more clearly defined, with steeper 94 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 64 Fig. 37.?Flint spearheads. sides, smaller summits, and base lines easily distinguishable. Thereason for this difference is to be sought in the material from whichthe mounds were constructed, which in the south is clay, with asmall admixture of river bowlders, both of which are easily washeddoviTi by the torrential tropical rains of the district. Year by year ,^ the mound becoines flatter and less welldefined, till at length most of thesemounds will be hardly distinguishablefrom the surrounding earth. In thenorth, on the contrary, the mounds arebuilt of large blocks of limestone, withonly a small admixture of earth and lime-stone dust. In many cases the blocksare mortared together, and in nearly allcases layers of cement are alternatedwith layers of stone. The whole forms apractically sohd block of masonry, capa-ble of withstanding for aU time the lessheavy rainfall of this part of British Honduras and Yucatan. Aboutthe center of a triangular space, bounded at each angle by a smaUmound, situated close to the mound last described, was found -apiece of water-worn rock measuring 4 feet 10 inches in length, whichhad evidently been carried up from the river bed a quarter of a mileaway. Three or four inches of it appeared above the soil. Beneaththe rock extended a layer of water-worn river stones to a depth of2 feet. Among these were found numerous fragments of potteryand patches of charcoal. On thewestern side of the rock, close toits edge, and buried 10 inches be-neath the surface, were found tlireerather well-chipped fUnt spearheads,the largest of which was 25 cm. inlength (fig. 37, a, h, c) ; these wereplaced erect in the earth, points,up-ward, and close to them lay the small,eccentrically shaped object seen infigure 38, h, very well chipped fromdark-blue flint, measuring 7J cm. inlength. A few feet to the north ofthese objects, buried at about thesame depth and quite close to the rock, were found the serrated fhntspearhead shown in figure 38, c, 27 cm. in length, together with theeccentrically shaped object seen in figure 38, a, 28 cm. in length; bothof these were placed perpendicularly, the spearhead point upward.About H miles from the village of Benque Viejo, in the WesternDistrict, is the only considerable aboriginal building in British Hon- FiG. 38.?Flint objects. MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 95duras, still in a fairly good state of i)r('scrvation. This is a twg-storytemple standing upon a small natural elevation. Each story contains12 small rooms, tliree on the north side and tliree on the south side,each of wliich has a narrower room in the rear. The central roomsare 27 feet in length, the side rooms 17 feet 6 inches. The breadthof the smaller rooms is 4 feet 6 inches; the divi(Ung walls are 3 feetthick. ^Ul the rooms in the lower story are filled in with large blocksof stone, loosely held together with a small amount of mortar. Tliisseems to have been a favorite device among the Maya architects, itsobject probably having been to give greater strength and stabilityto the new upper story erected upon a building of older date. All therooms are roofed withthe triangular so-called''American arch."The height of theroomsis 5 feet 10 inches tothe top of the wall, and5 feet 10 inches fromthe top of the wall tothe apex of the arch.All the rooms had beencovered with stucco,and upon the wall ofone of the inner cham-bers completely cov-ered over with greenmold the devicesshownin figure 39 were found,rudely scratched uponthe stucco. In boththe upper and thelowerpart of the drawingare what may be takenas crude representa-tions of "Cimi," the God of Death, probably, hke the "grafiti" ofRome and Pompeii, scratched on the wall after the abandonmentof the temple by its original builders.^ Whoever executed thedrawing must have had some knowledge, however crude, of Mayaart and mythology, as the Cimi head shown in the lower and theconventional feather ornaments in the upper part of figure 39 areunmistakably of Maya origin. To the north of tliis building hes aconsiderable group of ruins. Among these tliree large pyramidal 1 Similar grafiti were discovered on the wall of a temple at Nakum, in Guatemala. See Tozzer, Pre-liminary Study of the Prehistoric Ruins of Nakum, Guatemala, p. 160, fig. 4Sa. -k;;;:^^^^-^^^^r^^^^ -Devices scratched on stucco in aboriginal building. 96 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGYstructures are conspicuous, which no doubt at one time carried smalltemples upon their summits, some remains of wliich are still to beseen. At the base ofthese pyramids standthree small plain stelae,quite unornamented.Upon the summit of oneof these mounds theeccentrically shaped im-plements shown in figures40 and 44 were found. Ofthese, figure 40, a,!), andfigure 44, m, n, o, p, arcof obsidian, while the restare of fhnt. Sixty-four ofthese objects were foundin all, at depths varyingfrom one or two inchesto a, foot beneath the sur-face; all were within anarea of about 2 squareyards. Some of the ob-jects, especially the obsid-ians, were chipped outwith great care and ac-curacy; others weremerely fhnt flakes with afew shallow indentations chipped in their sides. On the south sideof the largest of the pyramids stood a large sculptured stela, the upperpart of wliich had been broken off and lay close tothe lower part, which was still embedded in cement.The sculptured part of tliis stela measured 10 feet2 inches in length by 4 feet 3 inches in breadth,and about 16 inches inthickness. The sculpture,which is in low relief, rep-resents a captive, or sacri-ficial victim, prone on liisface- and knees, while abovehim rises the figure of thepriest or warrior, with elab-orately decorated featherheaddress, holding in hisextended right hand a smallfigure of the manikin god. The hmestone from which the stela iscut has been very much defaced by the weather, and the finer Eccentrically shaped implements foiuid at summit ofmound. Fig. 41.?Flint ob-ject found at baseof stela. Fig. 42.?Flint object found at base ofstela. MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 97details of the sculpture can not now be deciphered. The back andsides are plain and unsculptured. Close to tliis monoli"th lay a smallstone altar, 2 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 4 inches; on its upper surface isrepresented the figure of a skeleton with head bent over the extendedright arm, while the h^ft is held in to the side, the elbow joint at rightangles. In front of the skeleton is a double row of hieroglyphs,each row containing 7 glyphs, most of which are in a fairly goodstate of preservation. An excavation was made round the part ofthe monolith still standing. It was found to be surrounded by asolid foundation of Idocks of limestone, held together by cement, FiCr. 43.?Fiinls found in ruins at Naranjo.among wliich were found, near the base of the stela, and actually incontact with it, the two eccentrically shaped fUnt objects shown infigures 41 and 42. In excavating a stela at the ruins of Naranjo,Repubhc of Guatemala, Teobert Maler found the fhnt illustrated infigure 43, a, and in clearing another stela at the same ruins 24 similarfhnts were -found (fig. 43, l-s). Of these he says:During the excavation of this "starfish stela" quite a collection of very interestingflint ornaments, 24 in number, came to light. Among them were crescents, suchas are seen as ear ornaments on certain stelse of Yaxha and Tikal, several curved oreven S-shaped pieces, which, perhaps, were used asnose ornaments, a serrated lanceand a serrated plate, a piece in the shape of a cross, and one composed of three leaves,a double lance, single lances, etc.70806??IS?Bull. 64 7 98 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64We may assume that near many stelae, as well as in the interior or on the exteriorof temples, in addition to incense burners and sacrificial bowls, there were placedcertain death's-head masks or other figures of perishable material tricked out withornaments, feathers, and locks of hair, which have long since mouldered away, leav-ing behind only those of indestructible stone. For elsewhere, in the vicinity ofstelse, objects of flint and obsidian are found in addition to pottery sherds.^It will be seen that figure 43, a, from Naranjo is practicallyidentical with figure 44, Ti, from Benque Viejo, as is figure 43, c,from Naranjo with figure 40, d, from Benque Viejo, and figure43, Ar, from Naranjo with figure 44, Ic, from Benque Viejo, while Fig. 44.?Objects from :the objects shown in figure 43, h, Z, m, respectively, from Naranjovery closely resemble tliose seen in figure 44, o, a, Z, from BenqueViejo.Close to Succots, which is an extension of the village of BenqueViejo, a small mound was opened by Dr. Davis some years ago,within which were found the objects illustrated in figure 45. Theseare all of obsidian and of very eccentric and irregular shai>es. Theobject shown in figure 45, c, closely resembles that shown in figure43, c, from Naranjo, and that in figure 40, d, from Benque Viejo, 1 Maler, Explorations in the Department of Peten, Guatemala, pp. 100-101. GANX] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 99and still more closely figure 44, p, from Benque Viejo, both beingmade of obsidian. Mound No. 13Close to Corozal, in the northern district of British Honduras, thesea in its gradual encroachment along the coast had partially washedaway a small mound. On the beach, by the side of the jnomid,were found a few fragments of human long bones, a small triangulararrowhead or javelin head of black flint, a number of potsherds ofcoarse, thick, reddisli pottery, and two small obsidian knives. Thesehad evidently been washed out of the mound b}^ the sea. Theremaining j^art of the mound was dug down. It was found to be18 feet in diameter, loss than 4 foot high at its highest point, andbuilt throughout of water-worn stones, sand, and earth. Near thecenter and on the ground level wt^e found human vertebrae andparts of a skuU, probably belonging with the leg bonos found on the c d e fFig. 45.?Obsidian objects found in a mound near Benque Viejo.beach. Close to these were found a small three-legged earthenwarebead vase, containing two pottery and one small polished greenstonebead, together with one eccentrically shaped flint object. This isprobably meant to represent a ''quash," or picote, with bushy tailcoiled over his back. It is rather neatly chipped from dark-yellowflint. It measures nearly 3 inches from the curve of the tail to thetip of the forepaw. Mound No. 14 ?The next mound in wliich an eccentrically shaped flint was dis-covered is a very large one situated far away from any settlement,at the headwaters of the Rio Hondo, in northern British Honduras.The stone implements found in it lay near the summit, about acouple of feet beneath the surface. They were discovered accident-ally by an Indian (from whom they were purchased) while diggingout a lialib, or gibnut, from its hole, and consisted of: (a) A spindle-shaped stone brazo 12 inches long by 9f inches in circumference,finely polisliod from grinding corn on a metate. (b) A chipped flintbrazo, 7^ inches long by 10^ inches in circumference, polished on one 100 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64side only. Flint brazes are exceedingly rare, as the rough surfacenecessary for corn grinding must have been difficult to produce onso refractory a material, (c) Eight stone ax heads, varying from 3|to 8J inches in length, (d) A dark greenstone ax head, 9^ inches inlength, with two shallow notches, one on each side of a shoulder situ-ated 3 inches from the base, probably intended to afford greaterfacility in hafting the implement, (e) Two well-chipped flint spear-heads, one lOj, the other 7^, inchesin length, (f) An oblong block offlint 6^ inches in length and 6^inches in circumference. This hadFIG. 46.-Fimt object from Seven Hills. probably been used as a hammer-stone, since it exhibits well-defined percussion marks' at each extrem-ity, (g) A rather roughly chipped stellate disk of flint, 10 inches indiameter, with 13 sharp-pointed triangular rays or spines, each about2 inches in length, at equal intervals around its periphery. Near thecenter of this object is a natural hole 3| inches in diameter.The upper part of this moimd consisted of earth and blocks of lime-stone; the lower part was not excavated. The implements werefound lying close together in a cache, loose in the soil. Numerousrough potsherds were found, but there was no trace of human inter-ment discovered.In the southern part of British Honduras, not far from PuntaGorda, is a group of small natural elevations, known as Seven HiUs.Upon the summit of the highest of these, some years ago, the objectillustrated in figure 46 was found. This somewhat resembles a horse-shoe with two long bars, each tapermg off to a point, projectuigfrom either side. It is very neatly chippedfrom grayish flint. Its extreme length is 16inches. This implement was found just be-neath the surface, covered only by a fewinches of soil. At a later date a nimiber oftrenches were dug on the summit of thismound, but nothing except potsherds ofvarious kinds with flint and obsidian chipscame to lio'ht. ^^^- ^7.?Horseshoe-shaped flintTO '^ .? p .T n ,c object found near San Antonio.In figure 47 is seen one oi the finest oithese eccentrically shaped ffints ever found in this part of theMaya area. It is horseshoe-shaped, chipped to a sharp edge allround, and has six sharp spines projecting from the outer periph-ery (one of which has been broken off, as shown in the figure),with shaUow indentations between them. The implement, whichis 35 cm. in its greatest diameter, is made of nearly black flint,covered with a beautiful creamy white porcelain-like patina. It oannI MAYA INDIANS OF YI-^CATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 101was found by an Indian in the neighhorhood of San Antonio, on theRio Hondo, which here forms the boundary Uiic between Mexico andBritish Honduras. He was idly scratching on the top of a smallmound, buried 'in the bush, with his machete, when a few inchesbelow the surface he came upon this very remarkable flint. Unfor-tunately, he took no pains to locate the mound, and as the bushin this neighborhood is literally covered with mounds in all directions,he has never been able to find this particular one again.The implement shown in figure 48 was dredged up from the RiverThames, near London, at a spot where foreign-going ships were in thehabit of dumping their ballast. There can be little doubt that itcajne originally from British Honduras, as flint implements of suchlarge size and of this peculiar type are not found outside the Mayaarea. This object, as may be seen, is a crude representation of thehuman form; it is 9^ inches in length and is neatly chipped. Acloselysimilar anthropomorphic specimen is pre-served in the Northesk collection, a cast ofwhich may be seen in the British Museum.It is extremely difficult to form any satisfac-tory theory as to the use of these eccentricallyshaped flints which will cover all the instancesin which theyhave been found. Teobert Maler,judging by the small specimens, closely packed,which he found at Naranjo, considers that theymay have been used as ornaments upon death's-head masks, placed near stelje and temples,the more perishable parts of which have disap-peared. This theory could hardly apply to theimmense specimens from the Douglas, OrangeWalk, and Seven Hills mounds, some of which F'*^- -Js-Figiire from River , . . Thames, near London.are, moreover, obviously intended as weapons,and not as ornaments. Stevens, the author of ''Flint Chips," withonly the three large specimens found in a cave inland from theBay of Honduras to judge from, considers that they may haveserved as "weapons of parade, like the state partisan or halbert oflater times;" it is perfectly obvious, however, that the zoomorpMcforms from Corozal and Douglas, and the small specimens fromBenque Viejo, Naranjo, Kendal, and Santa Rita, could not have beenintended for this purpose. Finding small, beautifully chipped cres-cents, crosses, and rings of obsidian and varicolored flints, as have beendiscovered at Benque Viejo and Succots, one would be inclined tothink that they were intended as earrings, gorgets, and breastornaments, especially as one sees such forms frequently recurringin the ornaments worn by figures on the stelae in the ntnghborhood.Finding the huge flints pictured hi plate 15, 6, d, especially when 102 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGYassociated, as they were, with the large flint spearheads illustratedin plate 15, c, /, the conclusion that they were intended as weaponswould be almost irresistible.The number of these objects found at each of the 11 sites whichhave been described varies from 1 to 64. On 5 of the 11 occa-sions they were undoubtedly associated with human interments;in 4 of the remaining 6 they were found lying, superficially placed,on the summits of mounds, which for various reasons were notthoroughly excavated, and may or may not have been sepulchral infunction; in the two remaining finds the flints were placed closelyadjacent to sculptured stelae, andthese again may have been used^tomark the grave of some priest orcacique, though they more fre-quently marked the lapse of cer-tain time periods. The common-est form assumed by these objectsis the crescent or some variant ofit. Of the 11 sites excavated,this form was found in no fewerthan 8. The crescent is in somecases quite plain, in some indentedor spiked along the convexity, andis in one instance furnished withlong spines on tach side.In every instance (except that ofthe chambered mound at Douglas)where these implements were foundin mounds they were placed quitesuperficially at the summit of themound; indeed at Benque Viejo,Seven Hills, and Santa Rita itseemsprobable that they had not beenburied originally at aU, but merelyplaced upon the summit of the mound and in course of time becamecovered with a layer of humus from decaying vegetation in thevicinity.Similar flint objects have been found in other parts of the world,notably at Brionio in Italy and in Stuart, Smith, and HumphreyCounties, Tennessee. In figure 49, h-n, are shown somewhatrough outhne sketches of the Tennessee objects, and in figure 50,a-f, are represented a selection of the most important objectsfound at Brionio, now in the collection of the late Professor Gigholiat Florence. The Tennessee objects are to be seen at Wasliington.The latter are small when compared with the largest of the Maya Fig. -19.?Flint objects from Tennessee. CANNl MAVA IXDTAKS OF YUCATAN AND BRTTISIT TTONDURAS lOSspecimens, but are neatly chipped, whereas the Brionio objects arever}^ oruclely blocked out, mostly from black flint.It will be observed that figure 49, c, d, g, from Tennessee, showsspecimens almost identical with figure 50, p, from Brionio, andwith the turtle, pictured in plate 15, g, from the Douglas chamberedmound; again the spiked crescents, figure 50, h, c, n, from Brionio,closely resemble the very much larger spiked crescent illustrated inplate 15, e, from the Douglas chambered mound, and still more closelythe spiked crescent figured in ''Fhnt Chips" (from Wilson, PrehistoricMan, op. oit.; p. 214). Though these objects are not found in Cen-tral America outside the IMaya area, the Aztec were sufliciently ex-pert in the art of flint and obsidian cliipping to have produced themhad they wished. In figure 49, a, is seen the outhne of a typeof labretworn by the Aztecs, chippedout of both fhnt and obsidian, wliichcompares favorably in workmansliipwith any of the objects from theMaya area.In reviewing the evidence it wouldappear that these eccentricallyshapedobjects were not employed either asimplements or as weapons, most ofthem being utterly unsuited in bothsize and shape for such purposes;moreover, none of them show anysigns of wear or use. Neither werethey used as ornaments, as many ofthem are too large and heavy, whilethe more roughly chipped specimenswould be quite unadapted for sucha purpose. Judging by the fact that5 at least of the 11 separate finds fig. so.-F^t objects from itaiy.were associated with human burials, it seems probable that theseobjects were purely ceremonial in use ; that they were most frc(iuently,if not invariably, buried with the dead, either on top of the sepul-chral mound, in close association with the corpse, or by the side of amemorial stela; and that they were manufactured and used solely fortliis purpose Mound No. 15Mound No. 15 was situated on the south bank of the Rio Hondo,about 5 miles from its moutli, near the village of Santa Helena,This wjus a conical mound 25 feet in height and 120 feet in circum-foronce at the base. Excavation was begun at the summit of themound, which was somewhat flattened. For the first foot the coil 104 BUREAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY fBULL. 6-1 Fig. 51.?Small cup-shapedvase from Mound No. 15. consisted of light-brown earth, which contained nothing of interest.For the next 3^ feet there were large blocks of limestone, the inter-stices between which were filled with limestone dust and debris. Inthese were found large quantities of potshej-ds, some well painted andpolished, together with part of the inferior maxilla of a medium-sized carnivore, probably a puma. At a depth of 3^ feet a number ofstone flags, each nearly 5 feet in length and from4 to 6 inches in thickness, were exposed ; on re-moving these a small chamber appeared, ofwhich the flags formed the roof. The walls ofthe chamber, or cist, were built of squared stonesmortared together; it was 6 feet long, 6 feethigh, and 4 feet broad ; the floor was of light-brown, very fine river sand. On carefully re-moving the sand the following objects werebrought to light at depths varying from 3 feetbelow the surface of the sand to the bottom of the chamber: (a) A smallround, cup-shaped vase, shown in figure 51, pamted bright yellowand finely polished. It is 10 cm. high by 8| cm. in its greatestdiameter. On its outersurface are tw^o grotesquemonkey-like figures, theoutline of one of which isshown in figure 52, a. 0^)Asmall thin bowl of the shapeshown in figure 52, e, pamtedyellow throughout, well pol-ished, and ornamented ex-teriorlywith geometrical de-vices in red and black, (c)A somewhat larger bowlthan the next preceding, ofthe shape seen in figure 52,/.The geometrical ornamen-tation on the outer surfaceis executed in low relief,and was afterwards paintedover, (d) A large circularplaque painted yellow throughout, 42 cm. in diameter. Tliis plaquehad been polished but shows considerable signs of hard usage beforeburial, (e) A plaque-flke vessel, 9 cm. m height, with the design repre-sented in figure 52, d, of a hmnanface separated from a dragon's head bythe Maya numeral 7, repeated around the outer surface of its rim, (f ) A shallow plaque, 36 cm. in diameter, painted yeUow throughout, and ^^^ --^ r-?^ rp )y gaxn] MAVA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 105polished ; on the inner surface of the rim are repealled twice, outlinedin hhick hues, the bird and the curious mythological animal seen infigure 52, b, c. (g) A basin-shaped vessel^ painted a deep reddish-brown and finely polished throughout, with a very attractive andintricate device of mterlacing diamond-shaped figures aroundthe inside of the rim. (h) A vessel closely sunilar to the pre-ceding, but smaller and not so well polished. It was brokeninto a number of pieces when found, (i) A small round pot,with flaring rim, of common red ware, showing no attempt atdecoration, (j) Scattered throughout the sand, in the midst ofthese pots, were found 35 very small, flat, circular disks or beads,averaging about one-twelfth inch in thickness. Some were ofgreenstone, others of a reddish-yellow stone mottled with white.All were well polished.On removmg the sand to a depth of 12 feet the bottom of the^chamber was reached. The floor, which was composed of hardmortar, measured 4 by 3 feet, as the chamber was somewhat funnel-shaped, narrowmg as it descended. On the bottom of the chamberwere found a number of small oyster and cockle shells, with frag-ments of human bones. Among these was an inferior maxilla infairly good state of preservation; from the facts that the toothsockets had disappeared, that there was considerable atrophy alongthe alveolar processes and widening of the angle between the hori-zontal and vertical sections of the bone, it had probably belongedto a person of advanced age.Mound No. 16Mound No. 16 was situated about 2 miles due north of the last-described mound, close to the north bank of the Rio Hondo, withinthe territory of Quintana Roo. It was discovered by an Indian,who had cut a piece of virgin bush with the object of making amilpa. The mound was 35 feet in height by 250 feet in circumfer-ence at the base; in shape it resembled a truncated cone, the flat-tened summit of which measured 30 feet in one direction by 6 feetin the other. The mound was composed throughout of roughblocks of limestone, the interstices of which were filled in with Ume-stone dust and an unusually large quantity of light-brown earth.Excavation was commenced at the top of the momid; for the first6 feet nothing except a few potsherds was found. Scattered throughthe next 2 feet of the mound the followmg objects were broughtto light; these were mmgled indiscriminately with the limestoneblocks of which the mound was built, quite miprotected by cystor chamber: (a) A basin-shaped vessel 20 cm. in diameter, 10 cm.in height (pi. 17), covered by a round conical lid with a semicircularhandle. Both basin and cover are painted black and polished, inside 106 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64 Fig. 53.?Conventionalizedrepresentation of bird onvessel shown in plate 17. and out. Upon the outer surface of the vase and the upper surface ofthe lid are incised in low relief a series of pictographs, identical uponboth. From the nature of the design and the fact that the vase con-tained a number of fragments of human bones, it seems probable thatit was intended for a cinerary urn. The design is of considerable inter-est and worthy of detailed consideration. The most prominent objectupon both the lid and the vase itself is a naked human figure in a re-cumbent position, with the arms flexed over thechest and abdomen and the knees and thighssemiflexed. The ornaments worn consist of anelaborate feather-decorated headdress, a labret,or nose ornament (it is somewhat difficult todetermine which), and large bead anklets andwristlets. Below the head, on the body of thevase, is the conventionalized representation of abird (fig. 53) with extended drooping wings, anda rectangular object occupying the position of the beak. On the lid,probably from lack of room, this bird is represented only by therectangular object, beneath which is seen the conventionalized ser-pent's head, represented only by the upper jaw, from which projectthe head and hand of a human being, whom it is in the act of swal-lowing. This monster, with a human head projecting from its niouth,is frec|uontly represented in mounds in this area, usually in the formof a clay figurine.The next figure is probably intended to represent Quetzalcoatl, theCuculcan of the Maya, and God B of the Codices. It is the shrunkenbearded face of an old man, with a single tooth in the lower jaw, veryprominent nose, and a bird's head (probably that of the owl) in theheaddress. These are all well-recognized characteristics of this god.At the back part of the headdress of the god, and connected with it, isa human face. Immediately above thehead of Cuculcan is depicted a fish,with a flower-like object in front of itsmouth (fig, 54), which is probably con-nected with this god, who is frequentlyassociated with objects connotingwater, vegetation, and fertility, as fish,flowers, water plants, leaves, and shells.The next figure probably represents Schellhas's God K of theCodices. This god possesses an elaborate foliated nose, and is usuallyclosely associated with God B, as he is in the present instance; indeedBrinton and Fewkes regard him as being merely a special manifesta-tion of the latter god, while Spinden is of the opinion that his face isderived from that of the serpent so constantly associated with GodB.i Thelower jaw of the god seems to consist of a dry bone, Imme- Decoration on vessel shown inplate 17. See Spinden, Maya Art, p. 64. BULLETIN 64 PLATE 13 POTTERY FROM MOUND NO. 16 GANN] MAYA IXDIAXS OF YrCATA^T AND BEITTSTI HONDURAS 107diatoly boliind God K is ix^poatcd the design of the serpent swallowinga human head, above which is a striated bar, whose sole purposeseemingly is to decorate a vacant space. Above this again is a barwith feathei-s or leaves projecting from it, which may possibly beconnected with the headdress of God B, and at the top is rej^eated thefigure of the fisli, with the circular object in front of its mouth. Next Fig. 55.?Perforated beads found in Mound No. 16.to these is again seen the head of the god Cuculcan, after which thewhole series recommences with the prone naked human figure, (b) Avessel exactly similar in size, color, and shape to the one last described(pi. 18, a). The outer surface is decorated b}^ four curious monkey-like creatures, sculptured in low relief, separated from each other byovate spaces inclosed in double parallel Imes and filled with cross-hatching. Above and below is a border of frets, alsoexecuted in low relief. The faces of these monkeysare represented by a simple oval, no attempt havingbeen made to depict any of the features. The handsare furnished with huge clawlike fuigers, and the tails,which are of great length, are curled over the back.The cover of this vessel (pi. 18, a) is circular, some-what funnel-shaped, 23 cm. in diameter. Upon itsouter surface is executed, in low relief, a monkey almostexactly similar to those which appear on the outer sur-face of the vase, except that it is somewhat largerand is seen in front view, not in profile. The face of the monkeyis carefuUy molded in high relief to form the handle of the lid,while between his hands he grasps an ovate object identical withthose on the vase. (c) The lid of a vessel corresponding exactlyto the lid of the vessel first described. The pot to which itbelonged could not be found (pi. 18, 6). (d) A pair of cjdindricalvases, each standing upon three short, lioUow, oval legs. Both are Fig. 53. ? Jadeitebeads found inMound No. 10. 108 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 64made of extremely thin, brittle pottery painted a dirty yellow andpolished throughout, with no ornament except a broad red stripe,which passes obliquely around the whole of the outer surface of eachvase, (e) Two shallow circular plaques, painted reddish-brown, andpolished throughout, with a geometrical device in thin black linesaround the inner surface of the rim of each, (f ) A quantity of bones,probably those of a Tialih or gibnut, and of a wild turkey. Thesewere found under a large block of rough limestone, (g) A number of Fig. 57.?a. Circular shell disks from Mound No. 16. 6. Greeustone ear plugs from Mound No. 17.imivalve shells, each about 1 inch in length, perforated at the apexin two places, as if for suspension in the form of a necklace or orna-mental border.^ With these shells was found half of a large cockle-like bivalve, painted red throughout, and perforated, possibly for useas a gorget, (h) Thirteen large, round, perforated beads (fig. 55).Some of these are reddish in color, and show traces of polishing. Withthese were the three jadeite beads pictured in figure 56; two of these ' See Memoirs of the Pcabody Musfum, vol. u, No. 1, Researches in the Valley of the Usumatsintla,where on several illustrations rows of similar shells are seen decorating the edges of the garments of thepersons represented. GAN.N] MAVA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 109are cylindricdl, with a knob at one end, while the third is nearlyspherical; all are finely polished; they are made of light and dark-green mottlt>d jadeite, (i) A single small oyster shell, with a greatnumber of cockle shells, (j) Two circular disks of shell, representedin figure 57, a, exhibiting the front and back view. The centralpart is of a deep reddish color, and is well polished. Each disk is 5 cm.in diameter and is perforated at the center. They were probably usedas oar ornaments. Excavations were made in this mound to theground level, but no additional objects were found in it.Mound No. 17Mound Xo. 17 was situated within a mile of the mound lastdescribed, on high ground, about H miles from the Rio Hondo,from which it is separated by a belt of swamp. It was conical inshape, about 40 feet high, nearly 90 yards in circumference, and wasbuilt throughout of large blocks of hmestone, the interstices beingfilled \vith a friable mortar, made seemingly from limestone dust,earth, and sand mixed together. Near the sum- ^mit was an irregular opening, about 4 feet across, \ ?^which led into a small stone-faced chamber, 15 /ca tartarfeet long, 5 feet broad, and 6 feet high. The / 1opening had been made by the falUng in of one C_J obsidian discof the flags which formed the roof of the cham- fiq. ss.-obsidian disk in-ber; this was found within the chamber with a serted m tooth of skeletonpile of debris. The floor was composed of largeflat flags, on removing one of which an aperture was made which ledinto a second chamber, of exactly the same size as the first, and imme-diately beneath it. The floor of this was covered to a depth of about12 inches with a layer of soft brown river sand, in wliich were found:(a), Parts of a human skeleton, seemingly belonging to an adult male,the bones of which were very friable and greatly eroded. In one ofthe incisor teeth was inserted a small disk of obsidian, the outer surfaceof which was highly pohshed (fig. 58). These ornamental tooth fillingsare rather rare, though they have been found from time to timein Yucatan and as far south as Quirigua. They were usually madefrom greenstone, obsidian, or iron pyrites, aU higlily polished, theonly teeth ornamented being the incisors and canines, usually in theupper jaw. The plugging seems to have been exclusively for orna-mental purposes, not with any idea of filling a cavity, the result ofcari&s in the tooth. ^ > It is curious that neither Landa nor Villagutierre mentions this ornamental plugging of the front teeth,as, judging by the number of teeth found, it can not have been of exceptionally rare occurrence.Landa, who describes their ornaments very closely, mentions the filling of the teeth, but not the plug-ging, which, had it been in vogue at the time of the conquest in Yucatan, he must have heard about or ob-sened. It seems probable that the custom had already become obsolete before the first appearance ofthe Spaniards in Yucatan. 110 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64 -Bird carrying a fish outlined on shallow I found in Mound No. 17. (b) A shallow plaque, 28 cm. in diameter, painted throughouta dark reddish-yeUow, and finely polished. Upon the upper surfacewas outlined in fine black fines a bird, apparently a sea hawk, carry-ing in its claw a good-sized fish, possibly a stone bass (fig.. 59).The artist probably witnessed this event many times, as the mouthof the Rio Hondo, where stonebass abound, is a favorite fish-ing ground for sea hawks andfrigate birds.(c) A number of painted andglazed potsherds of all sizes.Beneath this second chambera thii'd was discovered, roofed inwith rough flags, of the samedimensions as the other two.The floor of this chamber wascemented over; nothing exceptfimestone blocks and mortar wasfound between it and the bot-tom of the mound. Upon the floor lay a soUtary plaque, of a deepreddish-yellow color, the upper surface divided by black lines intofour equal spaces, in each of which was crudely outlined in black afish, probably meant to represent a stone bass. On digging into thesummit of the mound outside the area occupied by the chambers,the foUowing objects were brought to fight: (a) A cylindrical vase oflight, thin, well-made pottery, 16^ cm. high by 13 cm. in diameter,painted light yellow throughout and finely pofished (fig. 60) . Uponone side of the vase, within an oblong space outfined in black, area number of curious mythological animals, above which is a row ofsix glyphs, seemingly explanatory of the picture be-neath (pi. 19, a). Both animals and glyphs are verycarefully executed in red, black, and brown, on ayellow background. The lowest figure on the rightsomewhat resembles that on a vase in the AmericanMuseum of Natural History,^ upon which the Long-nosed god is associated with bulbfike objects, flowers,and a bird (probably a pefican). On this vase theLong-nosed god is seen with a bulblike object, possiblya root, from which project interlacing stalks, at theends of which are water-lily buds. Above these is a bird, possiblya sea hawk. The whole comiotes water, or fertility, (b) A secondvase, similar in shape, but somewhat larger (fig. 61), is paintedyeUow and pofished throughout. Upon this is depicted a cruciformobject, with outgrowths from the upper and lateral fimbs of the Fig. 60.?Cylindri-cal pottery vasefound in MoundNo. 17. See Spinden, Maya Art, fig. 79. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 64 PLATE 19 b. DECORATION OF VESSEL FROM MOUND NO. 17 MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 111 Fig. 61. ? Largerpottery vasefound in MoundNo. 17. cross, probably a higlily conventionalized tree, (c) A shallow circularplaque, 36 cm. in diameter, painted light yellow, and polishedthroughout. Upon its upper surface is painted, in red and black,a coiled plumed serpent (fig. 62), doubtless intended to representOuculcan, the ''Feathered Serpent." (d) Two circular objects of])()lished greenstone, somewhat resembling broad-brimmed hats fromwhich the crowns have been removed (see fig. 57, i).Each has on the upper surface of the brim a smallovate piece of mother-of-pearl, firmly cemented to thestone. These objects were probably used as earplugs; with them were five small- perforated sphericalbeads of polished greenstone.At the base of the northern aspect of this mound \was a small square enclosure, surrounded by a stonewall 2 to 3 feet in height. On digging into this, nearits center, an alligator made of rough pottery, 15inches long, was discovered. In the center of its backis a small circular opening, covered by a conical stop-per, leading into the hollow interior, in which was found a smallperforated pohshed jadeite bead, in the form of a grotesque humanface. Close to the aUigator lay a basin-shaped vessel, 28 cm. indiameter, painted yellow, and polished throughout. In the centerof this, outlined in thin black lines, is the object seen in plate 19, h,probably meant to represent thetwo-headed dragon so common inMaya art.Mound No. 18Mound No. 18, situated less thanhalf a mile from the next preced-ing, was 10 feet high, 70 feet incircumference, roughly conical inshape, and firmly built through-out of blocks of hmestone theinterstices between v/hich werefilled with earth and limestoneP^G. 62.?Coiled plumed serpent painted on plaque dust. At the bottom of thefound in Mound No. 17. j ?. . ,?mound, near its center, restingon the ground, was a cist, about 2 feet in diameter, roughly con-structed of large flags of limestone. Within this were found twovessels: (a) A basin-shaped specimen of thin pottery, painted red-dish-yellow and polished throughout; on its inner surface is depicted,in fine black lines, an object closely resembhng a four-leafed sham-rock, (b) A vase of the shape shown in figure 63, 13 cm. highand 13 cm. in diameter. This is made of rather thick pottery; it is 112 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64(^iisMW Fig. 63.?Pottery vaseMound No. 18. painted light yellow and polished throughout. On the outer surfaceof the rim, outhned in thin black lines, is the glyph representedin figure 64, which is repeated all the way round the circum-ference. No additional objects were foundin this cyst, nor were there any traces ofbones in it, or in the rest of the mound,which was afterward examined.Mound No. 19Mound No. 19, situated close to the preced-ing, was 6 feet in height, with flattened top,built solidly throughout of hmestone blocksand a friable mortarlike substance. At thefound in ground level, near the center of the mound,were discovered two cists, placed side byside, separated by a partition wall built of blocks of cut stone.Each cist was .6 feet long, 3 feet broad, nearly 4 feet deep, solidlyconstructed of stones mortared together. Neither the cists nor thebody of the mound contained anything of interest except a fewfragments of bone in the last stages of disintegration.Mound No. 20Mound No. 20 was situated at Pueblo Nuevo, about 6 miles fromthe mouth of the Rio Nuevo, in the northern district of BritishHonduras. The mound was about 100 feet in length and variedfrom 8 to 12 feet in height and from 15 to 25 feet in breadth. Itwas built tliroughout of earth, limestone dust, and blocks of lime-stone, a great many of wliich had been squared. Immediatelybeneath the surface, running east and west along the long chameterof the mound and nearly centrally placed in it, was the upper sur-face of a waU, wliich had evidently at one time formed part of a buildingof considerable size. This wall was built of finely squared blocks oflimestone mortared to-gether, and was some-what more than 18inches thick. It ex-tended for 40 feet,turning at right anglesat both the eastern andwestern extremitiesand was broken by asingle opening, 3 J feet broad at the center. The part of the wall leftstanding varied from 2 to 3^ feet in height and was covered on itsinner surface by a layer of smooth, yeUow, very hard cement; theouter surface, which still retained traces of painted stucco moldings, Fig. 6-1.?Gljph outlined on outer surface of rim of vase shown infig. 63. GAN'N] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 113 Fig. 65.?Torso, head, and headdress from Mound No. 20. ended holow in a floor of hard cement 12 inches thick. The greaterpart of these moldings had been broken away, but portions werestiU adherent to the wall and great quantities of fragments,painted red and blue, were found immediately beneath the wallfrom which they had beenbroken. The most im- /^ -v,:*-^'^^-'^*fi*?'^ _ \portant of these were: (a)Two human torsos, one(the more elaborate) ofwhich is seen in figure65, c. (b) Three humanheads, one of which is rep-resented in figure 65, h,in situ. Both heads andtorsos are life size, andboth are painted red andblue throughout.^ (c)TSvo headdresses, one ofwliich is seen in situ infigure 65, a; the other isalmost precisely similarin coloring and design,(d) Fragments of elabo-rately molded pillars, wliich had originally separated the figures onthe waU. A portion of one of these is sho\vn in figure 66. Tliisdesign was repeated tlu-ee times upon the front of the pillar, the backof wliich was flattened for attachment to the wall. Great quantitiesof fragments of painted stucco, of aU shapes and sizes, were dugout of the mound, but the human figures, with the piUars wliich sepa-rated them, were the only objects the originalpositions of which on the waU it was possibleto determine with certainty. Resting upon thelayer of hard cement in wliich thewaU terminatedbelow, between 5 and 6 feet from the eastern endand close to the wall itself, was found an adulthuman skeleton, the bones of wliich were hud-fUed together witliin a very small compass, in amanner suggesting secondary burial. In remov-ing these bones nearly all of them crumbledto pieces. Tliroughout the whole mound werefound numerous potsherds, some of very fine pottery, colored andpolished; others tliick, rough, and undecorated. Fragments of fhntand obsidian, broken flint spearheads and scrapers, and brokenobsidian knives were also found. 1 The photojjraphs of the torso and headdress were taken in England and those of the head in BritishHonduras. Consequently they do not fit together as well as do the originals.70806??18?Bull. 64 8 Fig. Tit).?Fragmont of pil-lar found in Mound No.20. 114 BUREAU OF AMERICAN" ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64Mound No. 21Mound No. 21 was situated near Corozal, in the northern districtof British Honduras. This mound liad very steep sides; it was 50feet in height by 200 feet in circumference, and was built of blocksof limestone, the interstices of which were filled with friable mortar.Toward the west the mound joined a smaller mound, 20 feet inheight. A rumor was current among the Indians in the neighbor-hood that some years before a nmnber of fragments of clay idolshad been found lying on the surface of the earth near the mound.Excavations were consequently made all around the mound, for adistance of 10 to 15 yards from its base, through the alluvial soil,down to the limestone rock, a distance of 6 inches to 2 feet. Theseexcavations brought to Ught enormous quantities of fragments ofcrude, coarse pottery vessels, for the greater part the remains oflarge hourglass-shaped incense burners, which had been decorated ontheir outer surfaces with either a human head or an entire humanfigure. Among these fragments were annual heads in terra cotta,the snake and the dragon being of most frequent occurrence, butthe deer, alligator, and tiger also being represented. Heads of theowl, the wild turkey, and the humming bird Ukewise were found.Fragments of about a dozen human faces were brought to light,with the usual nose ornaments, large round earrings, and labrets.Quilted cotton, stud decorated breastplates, sandaled feet, andbracelet-decorated hands and arms were also plentiful. The rightarm seems in most cases to have been extended, holding in theupward turned pahn some object as a gift or offering. These objectsvary considerably; throe are undoubtedly wild turkeys, with theirlong necks coiled around their bodies ; two are pahn-leaf fans attachedto handles; one appears to be a shallow saucer containing three smallcakes; while two are pyramidal, spike-covered objects, possiblymeant to represent the fruit of the pitaya cactus. With these frag-ments of pottery were found four entire oval pottery vases, eachabout 4 inches high, standing on tliroe short legs, each containing afew clay and polished greenstone beads. Close to these was a pairof vases, shaped Hke a right and left foot and leg, of the size approxi-mately of those of a child 7 or 8 years of age, greatly expanded abovethe ankle. These vases showed traces of white and blue paint, whichhad, however, almost completely worn off; around them were aconsiderable number of fragments of the bones of deer and peccary,very much decayed. Close to the base of the mound was found anoval block of limestone, which formed the nucleus of a small hill,2 to 3 feet high and 5 to 6 feet in diameter, composed almost entirelyof pottery fragments, with a capping of humus. It is not improbablethat this was the spot on which the ceremonial destruction of those GAXX] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN" AND BEITISH HONDURAS 115inconso burners took plac??, the fragments being scattered in all direc-tions around the entire circumference of the large mound.MouxD No. 22Mound No. 22, situated at Saltillo, near the mouth of the RioNuevo, northern district of British Honduras, was partially exploredin 1908-9 on behalf of the Institute of Archasology of LiverpoolUniversity. The mound was about 30 feet liigh; it was built oflimestone blocks, limestone dust, and rubble. It stands at onecorner of a quadrangular space measuring 80 by 35 yards, and ele-vated from 4 to 5 feot above the surrounding ground level. Thisspace is encompassed by four mounds, joined by a bank or rampartaveraging 10 feet high. Around the base of the mound a great nmnborof fragments of pottery incense burners were found, with the images ofthe gods, which decorated them externally. Eight complete headsand two broken ones were recovered, together with arms, legs, bodieswith quilted cotton breastplates and maxtlis, elaborate headdresses, andvarious objects held in the hands of the figures. These vessels arealmost exactly similar to those found along the valley of the Usu-masintla and Rio de la Pasion, described by Seler in his "Antiquitiesof Guatemala." Rude specimens, with the face of the god onlydecorating the outside of the vessel, were found by Sapper andCharnay in use among the Lacandon Indians a few years ago. Thedress and ornaments of these clay figurmes, which vary from 1 to 2feet in height, are those fomid almost universally tliroughout theMaya area. The large circular ear ornaments, with a tassel ortwisted pendant hanging from the center, the curious projectingcurved ornament above the nose, the small button-like labrets ateach corner of the mouth, are present in all, and are highly charac-teristic. On all the feet elaborate sandals are worn, fastened bythongs attached between the first and second and third and fourthtoes, with a band passing around the ankle ending in a broad depend-ent flap, Aromid the legs are plain bands and strings of beads;around the \vrists, strings of beads, in some cases fastened by anornamental loop. The breastplates are of quilted cotton, some veryelaborate, and decorated with beads, studs, and tassels, while belowthe breastplate covering the genitals is the maxtli, or small apron,comn1only worn by both Maya and Aztec. The objects held inthe hands consist of birds, fans, globes, incense burners, and otherless easily distinguishable articles. The whole of the space witliinthe earthwork appears to have been sprinkled with these fragmentsof pottery vases and idols, but it was only aromid the base of the largemound that entire lu^ads were found. Tlie fragments seem to haveboon originally placed on the earth, and in course of time to havebeen covered by a thm layer of humus from decaying vegetation, 116 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64as many of them still lie on the surface, and nowhere are they buriedmore than a few Indies, except at the base of the mound, whereearth from its side, washed down by rains, would naturally havecovered them with a sUghtly deeper layer. On making excavationsat various points within the enclosed space, the floor was found toconsist first of the earth which contained the broken incense burners,with some blocks of limestone, and beneath this of a layer about 4feet thick composed of marl dust, very small fragments of pottery,and rubble, welded together into an ahnost cement-like mass.Mound No. 23Moimd No. 23 was situated near the northern end of ChetumalBay, on the east coast of Yucatan. The mound was 12 feet in height,roughly circular in shape, and 12 yards in diameter at the base.The top was flattened, and near its center a circular space 10 feetin diameter was inclosed by a low, rouglily built stone waU. Ondigging within this space there were brought to light, immediatelybeneath the surface, the following objects:(a) Part of a large hourglass-shaped incense burner in roughpottery, decorated with a hmnan figure in liigh relief, 20 inches high.Unfortunately the left arm and log and part of the chest are missingfrom this figure, which, judging by the headdress, cm'ved nose, andtusk-like teeth, is pro!)ably intended to represent the God Cuculcan.The left foot is sandaled, and on the left wrist is a loop-fastened stringof beads, while over the front of the chest hangs a breastplate ofquilted cotton, decorated with flaps and fastened over the shoulders.^Round the neck is a flat gorget, decorated with round bosses, andin the ears are large circular ear plugs with tassels dependent fromtheir centers. Over the upper part of the nose is a curious curved,snake-like ornament. The lofty headdress^ with broad flaps extend-ing over each ear almost to the shoulders, has in front the head andupper jaw of some mythological animal, the latter projecting wellover the face of the god, as if in the act of swallowmg hun. Point-ing downward from the plumed ornament on the right side of the figure(the corresponding one on the left has been broken away) is a cro-talus head, which so often accompanies representations of this god.The figure still exliibits traces of blue and white paint on that part ofthe face protected by the broad flap of the headdress, and originallydoubtless the whole was painted in various colors, which firstexposure to rain and afterward burial in moist earth, have almostcompletely obUterated. (b) An earthenware figure, 26 inches in ? It would appear that these thick woven or plaited cotton breastplates were fortified with salt.Landa, op. cit., p. 48: "Y sus rodelas y iacos fuertes de sal y algodon."Ibid. p. 172: " Hazian xacos de algodon colchados y de sal per moler colchada de dos tandas ocolchaduras,y estos eran fortissimos. " GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 117height, which doubtloss at one time ornamented the outer surface ofa largo incense burner. The left foot and leg are gone; the right foo.tis covered with a sandal held on by a curved heelpiece rising abovethe back of the ankle, and fastened in a bow in front of the instep,while a leather thong passing between the great and second toe isattached to this, holding the front part of the sandal in place.Round the leg is a broad band, with a row of semilunar ornamentsprojecting downward from it. The maxtli has been broken away,but the quilted cotton chest covering is still in position. This isheld in place by bands passing over the shoulders, and is ornamentedby a row of five circular studs passing down its center, with longtassels below, which must have hung on each side of the maxtli,and tassels above, attached near the shoulder, which hang down oneach side of it. The tlu-oat is covered by a broad band, decoratedalong its lower edge with fom* pairs of small circular studs. Roundthe left wrist is a bracelet composed of six flat oval beads, fastenedin front by an ornamental loop. The left arm is extended, and inthe hand, held palm upward, is grasped an acorn-shaped objectfrom wliich project nine spikes. From each side of the mouthproject long curved tusks. The nose is of imusual shape, beinglong, straight, and slender; the bridge is covered by a curved snake-like object. The headdress rises 6 inches above the superciharyridges; its lower part consists of the head and upper mandible ofthe bill of some bird, probably a hawk or eagle. Above this rises ahollow cyhndrical erection, with the upper border scalloped, sup-ported on each side by objects which suggest broad stone blades,hafted in club-shaped handles, and ornamented in front with aplume of feathers. There can be Httle doubt that this figure ismeant to represent the God Itzamna, as the sunken cheeks, thesingle large tooth on each side of the mouth, and the prominent,though well-formed nose, are all characteristics of this god. (c) Anearthenware figure, closely similar in size and appearance to thosejust described. Of the face only the left eye, the left side of themouth, and the nose are left; the last named is short, rounded, andwell formed, and is ornamented at its root with a smaU round stud,(d) Fragments of a rough bowl of yellowish pottery, which musthave been of considerable size. Unfortunately only four fragmentswere found; these exhibit on their outer surfaces parts of a hiero-glyphic inscription, roughly incised in the clay while it was soft,with some sharp-pointed instrument. Of the many gly[)hic inscrip-tions wliich have been found at different times in British Hon-duras, painted on pottery and stucco and incised on pottery, stone,and other material, none has proved to be an initial series, whichwould fix the period in theMaya long count when the mounds, temples,burial places, and other monuments scattered throughout this 118 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64colony, were constructed. According to recent researches the latestdate recorded by an initial series on the monohths of Quirigua, inGuatemala, is within about 70 years of the earliest date recorded byany of the initial series found up to the present among the ruinsof Yucatan.^ As the tide of Maya migration was undoubtedly fromsouth to north, and as British Honduras stands midway betweenGuatemala and Yucatan, it is only reasonable to suppose that thecolonization of the greater part of it by the Maya took place atsome period between the abandonment of the cities of Quhigua andCohan, and the rise of Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and other Yucatancities. This theory is borne out by the fact that the hieroglyphicinscriptions and pictographs found in the colony are closely alliedto those found both in the northern and southern cities; moreover,the painted stucco and wooden lintels so common in Yucatan, butnot found in the south, are present here, while the sculptured stelsefound in the south, but of extreme rarity in northern Yucatan, are(though not very numerous and poorly executed) found in BritishHonduras, (e) Large quantities of fragments of rough pottery vasesand bowls; some of these evidently belonged to hourglass-shapedincense burners, 2 to 3 feet high, decorated with incised lines andglyphs, raised bands, and studs, but without human figures on theirexterior surfaces. A number of these fragments were taken down tothe camp of some chicle bleeders in the vicinity; unfortunately inthe night the palm-leaf shelters caught fire and the whole camp wasburned to the ground, most of the potsherds being lost or destroyed.Among these were probably the missing parts of the clay figuresand of the hieroglyphic-covered pot. The whole of the mound wasdug down, but with the exception of traces of a wall built of squaredstones on the ground level, nothing worthy of note was found in it.It is almost certain that this mound had never been visited fromthe time of its erection till its discovery last year by chicle bleederslooking for sapodilla trees in this very remote corner of Yucatan.The clay images were lying on the top of the mound, partiallyuncovered, and had anyone, even an Indian, visited the place, theywould almost certainly have removed these, as there is always aready market for idolos, as the Indians call every relic of then* ances-tors, among curio collectors who visit Belize.Mound No. 24Mound No. 24 was situated near the coast, at the northern extrem-ity of Chetumal Bay, in Yucatan. Tliis mound was 10 feet highby about 10 yards in diameter. Upon the summit, which wasflattened, were found a great number of rough potsherds, partiallyburied in a layer of humus from 6 to 12 inches deep. These were evi- 1 MoKLEY, An Introduction to the Study of the Maya Hieroglyphs, p. 15. iUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 64 PLATE 20 INCENSE BURNER FROM MOUND NO. 24 MAYA INDIANS OF" YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 119dently fragments of incenso burners, as arms, legs, and parts of head-dresses, faces, maxtlis, and breastplates were plentiful among them.Near the center of the summit, partially projecting from the earth,was discovered the almost complete incense burner shown in plate 20and figure 67. Tlie vess.el which served as a receptacle for theincense is 15^ inches high by 9 inches in diameter at the mouth. Thehuman figure wliich decorates the side of the vessel is 22 inches inheight from the top of the headdress to the sole of the sandals. Thefigurine was not complete when first discovered, as the hands, arms,feet, maxtli, and feather ornaments from the sides and headdress weremissing; nearly all of these, howeyer, were unearthed, mixed withother pieces of pottery, not far from the incense burner. The head-dress consists of a flat, broad cap with slightly projecting rim andlarge quadrangular flaps, which extenddo^^^lward and outward over the largoear plugs. Tlie back of the cap ex-tends upward 3 inches; the crown isdecorated with feather ornaments,while on each side appears an objectresembhng half an ear of maize, fromthe top of which depends a tassel.The nose is sharp, thin, and promi-nent; starting on each side of it andpassing down almost to the angles ofthe jaw, where it ends in a little up-ward curl, is what might bo intendedas either a mustache or some form ofnose ornament. From each angle ofthe mouth projects a circular labret;this evidently passes behind the upperlip, which it causes to bulge consider-ably. The ear plugs are large, round,and fimnel-shaped (pi. 20) ; these, aswell as the shoulders, show traces ofblue paint, with which the entire figurewas evidently at one time covered. Around the neck is a flat collardecorated with five circular studs, to the sides and front of which isattached a hollow cylindrical bar, wliich supports the quilted cottonbreastplate. The latter is decorated with six tassels, three aboveand three below, and below it is seen the plain apron (maxtli), whichdescends almost to the sandals. Tlie shoulders are covered with capsor epaulets reaching just below the armpits ; on the forearms are brace-lets, fastened with loops on the inner side, and on the feet sandals,held in place by vertical heelpieces and thongs, and decorated withlarge fiaps, wliich almost cover the dorsum of each foot. Attached Fig. 67.?Another view of incense burnershown in plate 20. 120 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGYto the incense burner, and forming a background for the figure, are pro-jecting feather ornaments extending from the headdress to the elbow.The moimd was dug away to the ground level. It was foimd tobe built of blocks of limestone and earth, but nothing of moment wasfound in it with the exception of numerous potsherds of all kinds.Mound No. 25Momid No. 25 was situated m the comitry of the Icaiche Indians,Quintana Koo, Yucatan. The momid was discovered by the Indianswhen cuttmg down virgin bush to make a milpa, or corn plantation.It was a moderate-sized momid,about 10 feet high, and upon itssummit, micovered, lay the ob-jects illustrated in figures 68, 69,and 70. Figure 68 exliibits aroughly formed clay figurine,nearly 1 foot in height, decorat-ing a small hourglass-shaped in-cense burner. Both figure andvase are very crudely modeled inrough pottery; most of the prom-inent characteristics of the care-fully modeled and elaboratelydecorated incense burner repre-sented in plate 20 and figure 67are still retained. The largeround ear plugs, with long flapsfrom the headdress overlappingFig 68 -Incense burner decorated with crude clay them, the horizontaUy Striatedflgurme from Mound No 25 . , i , i i .breastplate, and even a rudiment-ary maxtli, together with the extended position of the arms, as ifm theactofmaking an offering,and thebackgromid of featherworkarefeatureswhich may be recognized . There is exhibited, however, a lamentabledecadence from the art which fabricated the more elaborate vase. Infigure 69 may be seen what probably represents a further stage of de-generation?^namely, the substitution of the head for the entire figureon the outside of the mcense burner. The last stage of all m thedecadence of this branch of Maya art is to be seen in the smallcrude bowls fomid by Sapper in the great Christa of the settlement ofIzan, and by Charnay in the ruins of Menche Tmamit.^ These bowls, 1 Accoimts of the finding of these incense burners and of copal are common in both ancient and modemtimes. "Hall^ en una de las dos Capillas cacao ofrecido, y seflal de copal (que es su incienso) de pocotiempo alll quemado, y que lo era de algima supersticion, 6 idolatria recito cometida."?Cogolludo, His-toria de Yucathan, Bk. iv, Cap. vn, p. 193."Y los que ivan tenian de costumbre de entrar tambi^n en templos dereUctos, quando passavan porellos a orar y quemar copal."?Landa, op. cit., p. 158. gannI MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 121each decorated with a rouglily modeled human face, are manufac-tured by the modem Indians and used by them in burning copalgum in the ruins of the temples erected by their ancestors. Figure 70shows a hfe-sized hollow head , in rough pottery, with a thm hollowneck, probably used to carry around m processions on the top of a longpole. There can be no doubt that these bowls and liourglass-shapedvessels, each decorated externally with a human figure or face, usuallythat of a god, were used as incense burners, since a number of them, asalready stated, were found in amound at Santa Rita with halfburnt out incense stiU containedin them. Moreover, their use forthis purpose persists to the presentday among the Lacandones ^ andeven among the Santa CruzIndians. These incense burnersoccur most frequently in the cen-tral part of the Maya area and arenot common in northern Yucatanor southern Guatemala. Threedistinct types are found : The firstinclude the large, well-modeledspecimens foimd in and aromidburial mounds, decorated withthe complete figure of the god(usually Cuculcan or Itzamna),havmg every detail in clothingand ornament carefully executedin high relief. These are all prob-ably pre-Columbian, and such as ^?' "'"have been fomid seem to have been used only as ceremonial mor-tuary mcense burners, to be broken into fragments (which werescattered through or over the burial momid) immediately after use. "\\Tiile searching the upper steps of the pyramid my men found two interesting incense vessels witha head on the rim."?Maler, Researclies in the Central Portion of the Usumatsintla Valley, Part 2,p. 136."In nearly all the houses (spealdng of Yaxchilan) I found earthen pots, partly filled with some half-bumed resinous substance. . . . They were in great numbers round the idol in the house I lived in.Some looked much newer than others, and many are in such positions that it was clear that they had beenplaced there since the partial destruction of the houses."?Maudslay, Explorations in Guatemala,pp. lSr>-204.Charnay, Voyage au Yucatan et au pays des I.acandons, pp. 33-48."Se trouvent une nuihitude de vases d'une terre grossidre, et d'une forme nouvcllc; ce spnt des bolsde dix k quinze cenlimdtres de diametre sur cinq a six de hauteur, dont Ics bords sont omes de masquehumains repn^sentant des figures camardes et d'autres k grands nez busqu(5s, V(5ritablcs caricatures oiiI'art fait completcment d(5faut. . . . Ccs vases servaient de brtlle-parfums, et la plupart sont encore kmoiti6 plcins de copal."?Charmay, ibid., p. 88. ' "These incense-burners are used by the Lacandones in their reUgious ceremonies. Each family orgroup of connected families living together possesses several of the incense-burners or braseros.''?Tozzer,Comparative Study of the Mayas and Lacandones, p. 84. Fig. 69.?Crude ciay figurine found in Mound 122 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGYThe specimen shown in plate 20 and figure 67 is a typical example ofthis class.Incense burners of the second type are smaller, cruder, and probablylater in date than those of the first type. Some of these are deco-rated with the entire figure, but more of them with the face only ofthe god.Villagutierre tells us that the Indians of this region as late as theend of the seventeenth century still practiced to some extent therites of their ancient religion;^ and in the voyages which he describesup the Rio Hondo, and toTipu, the Spaniards mustfrequently have come in con-tact with the ancestors ofthe present Santa Cruz andIcaiche Indians, from whoseterritory the specimensshown in figures 68 and 69,typical examples of thisclass, were taken. Duringthe early years of the Spanishoccupancy it is probable thatthe Indians, even in this re-mote and littlevisited region,living in a constant state ofsemiwarfare and rebellion,robbed, enslaved, drivenfrom their villages, withlittle time to cultivate theirmilpas, gradually lost theirancient traditions and arts,and, long neglecting, ultimately almost entirely forgot, the elaborateritual connected with their former religion. Such a decadence maybe observed in comparing the incense burners illustrated in plate 20and figure 68. The very marked facial characteristics of the formerhave given place to the crudely modeled, vacuous face of the latter,resembling the work of a child; while the elaborate dress and orna-ment, each minutest part of which probably had a special significanceand symbolism, though retaining to some exteiit the form of theirmain constituents?-the headdress, breastplate, maxtli, and sandals ? have almost completely lost the wealth of detail which gave themsignificance. Fig. 70.?Crude clay figurine found in Mound No. 25. 1 "Y las dos mas grandes, de Comunidad, y la otra, aun mas grande, que todas las otras, era el Adoratoriode los perversos Idolos de aquellos Lacandones, donde se hallaron muchos de ellos, de formas raras, eomoassimismo cantidad de Gallinas muertas, Brasseros, eon seiiales de aver quemado Copal; y aim se hallaronlas cenizas calientes, y otras diversas, ridiculas, y abominables cosas, pertenecientes a la execicuion de susperversos Ritos, y Sacriflcios." ? Villagutierre, op. cit., p. 264. GANX] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 123Incense burners of the third type are decorated with a very cruderepresentation of the face only of the god, consisting in some casesmerely of slits for the eyes and mouth, with a conical projection forthe nose, on the outer surface of the vessel. Some of the faces arerepresented conventionally by two ears,, with ear plugs, one on eachside of the vessel, or by knobs of clay on its outer edge, which repre-sent the hair. Lastly, the incense burner, which may be recognizedby its hourglass shape, may be quite plain and undecorated.The third type is probably the latest in point of time ; ' this includesthe crude face-decorated bowls still used by the modern Lacandones,^among whom the ritual, as is so frequently the case, seems to havesurvived almost in its entu'ety the faith which gave birth to it.Tliis is the more readily comprehensible when we remember that themanufacture and use of these ceremonial incense burners was practicedcommonly by all classes of the people, not having been restricted,like most other details of the Maya rjtual, solely to the priests.f^ a bFig. 71.?Small pottery vases found in Mound No. 26.Mound No. 26Moimd No. 26 was situated in a clearing about 7 miles to the southof Corozal, m the northern part of British Honduras. There wereabout 20 mounds, irregularly grouped, in this clearmg, varying from6 to 12 feet in height and from 50 to 120 feet in circumference. Themomid was 8 feet high by 80 feet in circumference. It was built ofrough blocks of Hmestone, limestone dust, and earth, tightly packed I See TozzEE, op. cit., p. 87: " If we consider the t\-pe of bowl with the knob-like projection as a transi-tion form, we are led to the conclusion that the most primitive form of incense burner was the bowl onwhich was represented the whole body at first, and then the head of a person or animal."Ibid., p. 91: "The Lacandones assert that in former times the incense burners were made in other forms,some possessing arms and legs. These arc seldom made or used now." - These face-decorated bowls -were in use as incense biu-ners among the Mayas of Valladolid, very shortlyafter the conquest. See Relacion de la villa de Valladolid, p. 185: "Adoraban unos Idolos hechos de barrod manera de jarillos y de macetas de albahaca, hechos en ellos de la parte de afuera rostros desemejados,quemaban dcntro de estos una resina llamada copal, de gran oler. Esto les ofreclan d. estos idolos, y elloscortaban en muchas, partes de sus micmbros y ofrecian aquella sangre."See also Relacion de los pueblos de Popola, y Sinsimato y Samiol, pp. 44-45: " Usaban de adorar unosjarrillos hechos en ellos rostros desemejados, teniandolos por sus ydolos quemavan dentro y ofresian unaresina llamada copal ques come trementina elada, de gran olor, y se cortavan en muchas partes para ofrecerla sangre a aquel ydolo." 124 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY' [bdll. 04together, forming a tough, resistant mass. The momid was com-pletely removed to the gromid level, but nothing of mterest exceptchips of flint, fragments of obsidian knives, and potsherds was fomidtill the gromid level was reached. Lying upon this, near the centerof the mound, were found ^he two small vases represented m figure71, a, h. Each is about 6 inches in diameter; the one marked a isof polished red pottery, nearly globular in shape; h is of darkchocolate-colored pottery, also finely polished. There was a spaceof about 4 feet between the two vessels, m which were fomid frag-ments of human bones. Mound No. 27Momid No. 27 was situated within 100 yards of the next precedmg,compared with which it was slightly smaller. It was built of blocksof limestone, limestone dust, and earth. No remains were fomid inthe niomid till the ground level was reached. Resting on this,about the center of the momid, lay a small vase(fig. 72), 8 mches in height, of rough red pottery.Close to this were a few fragments of humanbones and some teeth. This momid contamednothing else of interest.Mound No. 28Mound No. 28 was situated close to Nos, 26 and27, and was built of similar material. It was 6 feethigh by 120 feet in circumference. On the gromidFig. 72.-Red pottery level about the Center of the mound lay a circular,vase found in Mound flat-bottomed bowl 8 inohes in diameter, painted adark chocolate color and pohshed. A hole had beenbored in its bottom and the bowl itself was broken into three pieces.With it was an irregularly shaped piece of flint about 5 inches inlength, into which nearly 20 circular holes had been bored. It wouldappear that this piece of flint had been used to test the merits of vari-ous boring implements, as some of the holes were shallow depressions,while others were half an inch deep. Most of them were mere circu-lar depressions of varying diameters, with a smooth flat bottom, andhad evidently been made with a sohd cylindrical borer, others, how-ever, had a solid core projecting from their bottom, and appeared tohave been bored with a hoUow cylinder; while a third variety had asmall indentation at the summit of this central core. No further exca-vation was done in this group of momids, as they aU appeared to besepulchral, belonging to persons of the poorer class, hence it wasconsidered very improbable that objects of interest would be foimdin them. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 64 PLATE 21 a. SMALL VASE DECORATED WITH HUMAN HEAD b. HUMAN BONES FROM MOUND NO. 29 ga.nn] maya. indians of yucatan and british honduras 125Mound No. 29Mound No. 29, situated close to the seashore, near Corozal, was ofimusual construction, bemg built throughout of marl dust. It wasa low, flat moimd, 2 feet ui height by 25 feet in diameter. Nothmgof hiunan origin was found in it with the exception of a few roughpotsherds. On reachmg the ground level two circular well-like holes,2 feet hi diameter, were discovered, about 15 feet apart. At the to'pboth opeauigs were covered with large blocks of limestone, on removingwhich it was fomid that each hole was filled with marl dust, enclosingm both cases a smgle male human skeleton. The knees had been forci-bly' flexed on the thighs, and the thighs on the pelvis, wdiile the backhad been bent till the head, which rested on the folded amis, ahiiosttouched the symphysis pubis. E\^idently the body had been doubledup at the tune of burial, so as to fit tightly into the cavity, and hadbeen further compressed by ramming down large stones on top ofthe marl dust with which it was surrounded.' The bones m oneof the graves were in an excellent state of preservation, as may beseen from plate 21, h; they are those of a young adult male, prob-ably somewhat more than 5 feet hi height, of poor muscular develop-ment. The teeth are excellent; the skull is decidedly brachicephalic,the measurements bemg: Length, 15.4 cm.; breadth, 17.5 cm.;circumference, 52 cm.; cephalic index, 113. Beneath this skele-ton were found an unfijiished flmt arrowhead, four fragTiients ofsmall obsidian knives, and the broken fragments of a small, round,unpolished chocolate-colored bowl.The bones m the other cist, though placed apparently under pre-cisely the same conditions as the one first opened, were found to beso frial)le that they crumbled into fragments when an effort wasmade to remove them Beneath them were found only fragments ofobsidian Iviiives. Mound No. 30Mound No. 30, situated close to Corozal, was completely dug down,and was found to contam multiple burials. The momid was 8 feet uiheight, roughly circular, and 40 feet in diameter. It was capped by alayer of reddish-brown earth, 6 niches to 1 foot in thickness, beneathwhich were alternate layers of soft cement, each about 1 foot thick, andof small limestone rubble about 2 feet thick. Scattered over the sur-face of the mound, jijst beneath the earth capphig, were found a nimi-ber of fragments of clay figurines. The best preserved of these werethree human faces, an arm with the hand holdmg a smaU bird, a bird'shead, an alligator's head, and a plaited cotton breastplate. Atdepths varying from 2 to 3 feet, six interments were found; of these ' " Que en muriendo la persona, para sepultar el cuerpo le doblan las piernas y ponen la cara sobre lasrodillas . . . abren en tierra un hoyo redondo."?Cogolludo, op. cit., Bk. xn, Chap, vn, p. 699. 126 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64only a few fragments of the skull and long bones remained, notenough to determme even the position in which the corpse had beenplaced at burial. With the bones, in some cases close to them, inothers at some little distance, the following objects were discovered:One rubbmg stone (for grmding corn), 2 pear-shaped flints, 9 flinthammerstones, 1 ax head, 1 flint scraper, 1 broken hone of slate, 1flmt spearhead, 2 fossil shells, 2 pieces of brick-like pottery, 1 pot-tery disk, 3 small beads, and 1 shell.On reachmg the ground level of hard compact earth, it was foundthat an oblong trench had been cut through the latter down to the lime-stone rock beneath, 3 feet in breadth, and varying from 2 to 4 feet illdepth; this trench had been filled m with small rubble. In its mncrwall, at the north side of the quadrangle, three interments had beenmade hj scooping out small cists hi the earth, deposituig the remainsthereui, and filling in with Imiestone dust and rubble. With one ofthese burials was fomid a small three-legged pot, of rough, unpolishedpottery; with another, a vessel in the form pi a quadruped, 7 nichesin length, the itleiitity of which is difhcult to detemime; and with thethird a small saucer-shaped vessel of red ware, and a nearly sphericalvessel of dark polished red ware. Within the latter were discovereda few small animal bones, some fresh-water snail shells (as are foundat the present day m the neighboring swamps and eaten by theIndians), and a few bivalve shells. It seems probable that thisvessel contained food, either as an offering to the gods or for the useof the deceased in his passage to the next world. It is not uncom-mon to find considerable accumulations of the shells of conchs,cockles, snails, and other edible shellfish, with the bones and teeth ofdeer, tiger, gibnut, snake, and (along the seashore) manatee, inBritish Honduras mounds; but the remains of food offerings con-tained within a vessel are of rare occurrence.'A number of these large flat mounds containing multiple burialshave been from time to time completely dug down near Corozal, inorder to obtain stone for repairing the streets. Beneath nearly allof them wore found trenches cut through the earth down to thesubjacent limestone. These trenches varied from 2 to 5 feet inbreadth; in the case of the smaller mounds they formed a parallelo-gram, a triangle, or even a single straight line; in the larger moundstwo parallelograms were joined by parallel trenches (see fig. 23) . Theywere invariably filled with small rubble, and a few of them contained 1 Among the modern Maya Indians of this area food is no longer placed with the dead, but every Hanalpishan, or All Souls' Day, tortillas, posol, meat, and other foods are placed upon the graves, on the odor ofwhich the soul of the departed is supposed to regale itself. Tozzer mentions the custom of burying foodwith the dead as still practiced by the modern Lacandones. (See Tozzer, A comparative Study of theMayas and the Lacandones, pp. 47-48.)See also Cogolludo, op. cit., Bk. xii, Chap, wi, p. 699: "Al rededor le ponen mucha vianda,una sicara, un calaba^o con atole, salvados de maiz, y unas tortillas grandes de lo mismo, que banllevado juntamente con el cuerpo, y assi lo cubren despues con tierra." GANNl MAYA IXDIAXS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 127iiitormonts in thoir walls. The purpose of these trenches is difficult tosurmise, as they could hardly have served as foundations; drainagewas unnecessary; and, while the trenches themselves were never em-ploj-ed for sepulchral purposes, it is only occasionally that a fewburials are found within <'.ists excavated in the earth along theirmargins.Three kinds of burial seem to have been commonly employedamong the ancient inha])itants of this part of the ]Maya area. Thepoorest class were buried in large flat mounds, some of them a halfan acre in extent and containing as many as 40 to 50 intermLcnts.The body was usually buried with the feet drawTi under the pelvis,the knees flexed on the abdomen, the arms crossed over the chest, andthe face pressed down on the knees ; the position, in fact, in which itwould occupy the smallest possible space. With the remains are usu-ally found a few objects of the roughest workmanship, as flint hammer-stones, scrapers, and spearheads, pottery or shell beads, stonemetates and henequen scrapers, small obsidian knives and cores,and unglazed, rough pottery vessels. In the second class of burials,each individual has a mound, varying from 2 to 30 feet in height, tohimself. Several mounds of this class have already been describedfrom the neighborhood of Corozal. The objects found with inter-ments of this class are usually more numerous and of better workman-ship than those fomid in the multiple burial mounds, though theydo not show much greater variety. The position of the skeleton,where it has been possible to ascertain this, is usually the same as inthe multiple burial mounds ; occasionally, however, it is found in theprone position, and, in rare instances, buried head down. The thirdmode of burial was probably reserved for priests, caciques, and otherimportant individuals. The mterment took place m a stone cist orchamber, within a large mound, varying from 20 to 50 feet in height.The skeleton is found ui the prone position, surrounded by well paintedand decorated vases, together with beautiful greenstone, shell, obsid-ian, and mother-of-pearl beads, gorgets, studs, ear plugs, and otherornaments.^ Some of these mounds contain two or even three cham-bers or cists, superimposed one upon the other. The skeleton isthen usually found in the top cist, the accompanying objects beingplaced in the lower ones. In one instance partial cremation seemedto have been practiced, as fragments of half-burned human boneswere found in a large pottery urn. ' This practice of burying with the dead some of their belongings is ment ioned both by Landa and \'illa-gutierre." Enterravanlos dentro en sus casas o a las espaldas dellas, echandoles en la sepultiira algunos de susidolos, y si era sacerdote algunos de sus libros, y si hechizero de sus piedras ,de heehizos y peltrechos."?I.ANDA, op. cit., p. 196." Tenian por costumbre estos Indios, de sepultar los Difuntos en los Campos, k eorta distancia del Pueblo,y potier sobre las Pe;:r.l:r.ras de los Varones Banquitos, I'uquietes, y otras cosas del vso varonil; y sobrelas de las Mugeres, Piedras de moler, Ollas, Xicaras, y otros trastos k este modo."?Villagutierre, op.oil., p. 313. 128 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 64Mound No. 31Mound No. 31 was situated close to the Eio Nuevo, about 16 milesfrom its moutli, in the northern part of British Honduras. It was asomewhat flattened mound, 15 feet in height, built of blocks of lime-stone, limestone dust, and earth. At a depth of 9 feet, the angle of aruined building, formed by two walls averaging 2 feet high, intersect-ing at right angles, and built of squared blocks of limestone, was Fig. 73.?Pottery vessels found in Mound No. 31.brought to light. The walls enclosed part of a floor of smooth, hardcement. Nmiibers of blocks of squared stone were found throughoutthe upper part of the mound, which had evidently at one time formedpart of the ruined building. Resting on the cement floor, close to thewall, were found nine pottery vessels, covered with limestone dust.Five of these were of the type shown in figure 73, a, of dark-red, rathercoarse pottery, 12 inches in diameter at the rim. One, pictured infigure 74, is the usual Maya chocolate pot, similar to the one alreadydescribed (see fig. 24, g), except that the spout, instead of bendinginward toward the vessel, passes directly\C ~1 upward parallel to its perpendicular axis,PI an arrangement which must have ren-( dered it far easier to drink from the ves->, sel or pour fluid out of it. The threey ) other vessels foimd are illustrated in fig-\ ? J ures 73, h, c, and (Z; h is of pohshed choco-N^^^ ^^^^ late-brown pottery, 3 inches in diameter^'- ? -^ by 5 inches in height; c is of thick red'"? ''-U^o^d No.'3^ '?''' ''' pottery, 3 inches high, with two smallhandles for suspension, one on each side;d is of coarse polished red ware, unusually thick and clumsy, 12inches high by 8 inches in diameter. Each of these vessels con-tained a single smaU polished greenstone bead. No other objectswere found associated with them, and there was no trace of hmiianbones. Excavations were made in tliis mound to the ground levelwithout results. The lower part of the mound was built of largeIdocks of limestone and rubble, held loosely together with friablemortar. GANN] MAYA IXDIAXS OF VUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 129Mound No. 31Mound No. 32 was situated quito close to No. 31, which it veryclosely resembled in hoth size and construction. At a depth of9 feet the end of a small building constructed of squared blocks oflimestono was brought to light. The walls were still standing to aheight of 2 to 3 feet, and showed traces of a red stucco covering ontheir inner surfaces. The cement floor of the building and the plat-form upon wliich it stood could also be traced. Ljang upon thisfloor were five pottery vessels and an imfinished fhnt celt. Twoof these vessels were precisely similar to that shown in figure 73, a;one is a large, circular, shallow plaque, of rather tliick reddish-brownpottery, in the center of which a small hole has been made, evidentlywith the object of Hindering the plaque useless. The last two vesselsare illustrated in figure 75, a, h. A is an unusually large vessel of verycoarse, thick, red pottery, 18 inches high, which had probably been l/^^^t Fig. 75.?Pottery vessels found in Mound No. 32.used to contain corn or some such dry material, as the. pottery wastoo friable and soft for a cooking pot, or even to hold water, i? is asmall tliree-legged vase, 4 inches high, of coarse, unpainted pottery.Each of these five vessels, with the exception of the plaque, contameda single polished greenstone bead. The celt was roughly blocked outof yellowish fhnt. No objects except those above described werefoundwith these vessels, nor were there any traces of hmnan burial. Exca-vatiuas were made in the mound to the ground level, and it was found 'm bo CT -Dosed below the platform upon which the building stood ofa sohd ma s of rubble and lunestone held together by loose, friablemortar. .lere are nmuerous groups of mounds of all sizes in theneighborhood, and judging by these, and by the potsherds and fhntand obsidian chips which one finds strewn over the surface of thesoil in great profusion, it must have been a densely populated region70806??18?Bull. 64 9 130 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ KULL. 64 Fig 76?Head cut from lunebtone found inMound No. 32. at one time. The two life-sizehuman heads shown in figures 76 and 77were found close to these two mounds in digging a posthole. Fig-ure 76 represents a grotesque head cut from a sohd block of crystal-line hmestone. Figure 77 is a mask,rather crudely cut from greenstone andunpolished. Both were buried in themarl andwere unaccompanied by otherobjects. Mound No. 33Mound No. 33 was situated nearBacalar, in the Province of QuintanaRoo, Mexico. It was 6 feet in heightby 20 feet in diameter, and was builtof blocks of limestone, limestone dust,and earth. Near the summit of thismomid, close to the surface, was fomidthe small soapstone lamp illustratedin figure 78, 4f inches in length,by Ifinches in depth. The lamp is deco-rated in front with a floral design,and at the back by wing or feather-hke ornaments, possibly meantto represent the tail and half-folded wmgs of a bird. It is fuielypolished throughout but had probably never been used, as in hol-lowing out the interior the maker had carried one of his strokes tooclose to the surface, making a small hole, which would have allowedthe oil to escape. There is afreedom and lack of convention-ality, both in the pleasmg andnatural floral design and in theflowing lines of the back part ofthis little lamp, which are to-tally unhke the cramped andhighly conventional style to beobserved in similarsmall objectsof ancient Maya manufacture.So widely does it differ fromMaya standards that therecan be but little doubt that itwas introduced in post-Colum-bian days, probably very soonafter the conquest, especially as in the same moimd was fomid oneof the small painted clay figurines so common in momids in thisneighborhood, which with the censers probably belonged to theFig. 77.?Greenstone mask found in Mound No. 32. GAXN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 131latest period of Maya culture. Another explanation which suggestsitself is that the lamp was buried in the mound at a much laterdate (possibly during the troublous times of the Indian rebellions,between 1840 and 1850) by someone who wished to hide it tem-porarily, and that it had no connection mth the original purposeof the mound. No other objects were found in this momid, withthe exception of a number of potsherds, till the gi'ound level wasreached, where, near the center of the mound, the pamted clay figur-ine shown in plate 22 was uncovered. This represents a deer with ahuman head, whose headdress is the upper jaw of some mythologicalanimal. The back of the figure, which is hollow, contams a small open-ing near the tail, covered with a conical plug of clay. Within were Fig. 78.?Soapstone lamp found in Mound No. 33.two small beads, one of polished red shell, the other of polished green-stone. The whole figurme had been coated with lime wash, overwhich were painted black lines, dots, and circles.^ The human face,earrings, gorget, and part of the headdress are painted blue, whilethe mouth of both the human face and the face in the headdress arepainted red. Near the figurine lay a vessel (fig. 79) of rough yellowpottery, unpainted and undecorated, with two small ear-hke projec-tions just below the rim. No bones and no trace of human burialwere found in the mound. ' This white lime wash, applied evenly to the entire surface, over which other colors were afterwardpainted, seems to have been used on all the more elaborate incensarios and on nearly all the clay figurinesIt is still employed by the modern Lacandones in the manufacture of their braseros. (See Tozzer, Acomparative Study of the Mayas and the Lacandones, p. 109.) 132 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 64Mound No. 34Mound No. 34, situated near Progreso, in the northern district ofBritish Honduras, was 5 feet in height, roughly circular, and about 20feet in diameter at the base. The mound was built throughout ofrough blocks of limestone, rubble, and earth. At the ground level,about the center of the mound, were found large flat miworked flags,which seemed to have formed the roof of a small cist that had cavedin. Beneath these were fomid a few fragmentsof bone, which crumbled away as they were bemgremoved, with a small spherical vasei of roughunpamted pottery, Ih mches in diameter (pi.2 1 , a) . This was decorated on the outside witha human head wearing a peaked headdress, some-what resembling the cap ofliberty,and large circu-lar ear plugs in the ears. Below the head pro-jected a pair of arms with the hands clasped infront, supporting between them a small potteryball. Within this little vase, which was filledwith earth and limestone dust, were found: (a)A small earthenware bead (fig. 80, a). Q^) Asmall, very delicate obsidian knife, the tip of which is brokenoff, but which otherwise shows hardly any signs of use (fig. 80, 6). (c)The terminal phalanx of a small and delicate finger, in a very fairstate of preservation (fig. 80, c). The burial of a terminal phalanx ofone of the fingers of the mother, with a favorite child, is not an un- FiG. 79.?Roughvessel found iNo. 33. and it is possible thatThe bones of the childknown custom among, semicivilized peoples,this little mound contains such an interment,being fragile and deficient in calcareousmatter, may well have almost disap-peared, while the fiiiger bone of themother, bemg of more compact bony tis-sue, and protected to some extent by thevase in which it lay, has been preserved.The crudeness of the modelmgof the littlevase and of the face and arms thereonwould suggest that, it niay have been a ^ ^" ^^. ^ , ^ . ^^ , J ^,j,^ ^^ J FiG.SO.?Objects found m Mound No. 34.playthmg of the child during life, andeven perhaps may have been modeled by its own hands. Theobsidian knife may have been used by the mother to separate the boneat the last finger joint. The little figure which decorates the outsideof this vase closely resembles those curious figures in a diving position,with arms pointed downward and feet upward, which are not uncom-mon m this area. Figure 81 shows one represented on the outsideof a small vase; several are to be found, molded in stucco, on the GAN.N'i MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 133ruined l)uil{liTi<:;s of Tuluum, on the eastern coast of Yucatan, justbelo^v the island of Cozumel, and they are occasionaUy, though rarely,found decorating pottery mcense burners, instead of the commonerrepresentations of the Gods Itzamna and Cuculcan. Neither Landa,Villagutierre, nor Cogolludo mention the custom as practiced ])yMaya mothers or relatives on the deaths of their children. Had itbeen prevalent at the time of the conquest it seems hardly possiblethat such a practice could have escaped their notice; on the otherhand, if the solitary phalanx had not been buried with the dead as amemorial, its presence under these circumstances is very difficult toexplain.In nearly all extensive groups of mounds one or more middens,or refuse mounds, are to be found. The four mounds next described,though varying much from oneanother, are all distinctly of thistype. Mound No. 35Mound No. 35 was situatednear the Cayo, on the MopanRiver; it forms one of a groupof about 30 mounds scatteredover a considerable area. Itwas 12 feet in height andseemingly had been about 30feet in diameter, but situatedas it was, immediately onthe river bank, nearly halfof it had been washed awayby the floods of successiverainy seasons, leaving a clean . , 111 Fig. 81.?Figure in di\-ing position on small vase.section almost through thecenter of the mound, very favorable for observing its construction.The lowest layer, 1 to 2 inches in thickness, resting on the groundlevel, was composed of ashes mixed with fragments of charcoal;above this was a layer of earth and stones about 1 foot in thick-ness, and above this a further layer of ashes; and so on to thetop of the mound?-strata of ashes averaging 2 inches thick alter-nating with strata of earth averaging about 1 foot. No objectswith the exception of a few potsherds were found in the earthlayers, but the layers of ashes were rich in flint and obsidianchips, fragments of conch and snail shells, clay beads and mala-cates, potsherds in great variety and abundance, with the bonesof the deer, gibnut, and peccary. It would seem that this moundhad formed a sort of kitchen midden; that when a certain amount 134 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY f bull. 64of refuse had been deposited it was covered with a layer of earth,and that the mound must have been in use for a considerabletime to have reached its present height.Small mounds containing considerable quantities of ashes andcharcoal mixed with earth and stones, together with refuse material,as flint and obsidian chips, broken implements, potsherds, bones,shells, clay beads and malacates, and similar indestructible objects, arenot of infrequent occurrence, and probably mark the sites of ancientkitchen middens. Two such mounds werefoundon themainland, southof the island of Tamalcab, in Chetumal Bay, Yucatan, situated in whatseemingly had been a village site, occupying aji area of approximately20 acres. Great numbers of potsherds, fragments of pottery, images,beads, malacates, chips and broken implements of stone and obsidian,broken metates, fragments of conch and cockle shells, stone water-troughs, and other indestructible rubbish were found scattered in * great profusion over the whole of tliis site.Mound No. 36Momid No. 36 was situated at Sarteneja, in the northern districtof British Honduras, quite close to the seashore. This mound was2 feet 6 inches in height, about 12 feet in diameter; it was composedthroughout of conch shells mingled with cockle and whelklike shells.Nothmg except the shells was found in this mound, which forms oneof a group of similar mounds, evidently dumpmg places used byeach house, for the disposal of the shells of shellfish brought in fromthe reef by the fishermen after the fish had been extracted and eaten.Mound No. 37Mound No. 37, situated close to the next preceding moundon the seashore, at Sarteneja, is about 2 feet high by 12 to 15 feet indiameter. It is composed almost entirely of fragments of ratherrough unpauated pottery and seemingly marks the site of a manu-factory of this class of ware, as great quantities of fragments are alsoto be found scattered in all directions around the mound. A smallquantity of earth was mingled with the potsherds, but nothmg elsewas found in the mound. Mound No. 38Mound No. 38, situated about 5 miles from Corozal, in the northerndistrict of British Honduras, was 6 feet m height by 15 feet in diame-ter, with a flattened top. It was covered with a layer of humus andcontained nothing but fragments of weathered stone, of sizes varying GANX] MAYA INDIANS OF YXJCATAlSr AND BRITISH HONDURAS 135from small rubble to blocks weighing 30 to 40 pounds. Similarmounds are found elsewhere and are apparently merely heaps ofstones, which have been picked up on the surface of the fields, as, un-like other mounds, they contain no clay, limestone, or marl dust, mor-tar, or other binding material andno trace of burials or any objectof human construction. 41 4*^^]Mound No. 39Mound No. 39 was situated onWild Cane Cay, a small island offthe southern coast of British Hon-duras. The island seems to havebeen built up with stone and othermaterial brought from the main-land and to have been used asa burial place. Several smallmounds are scattered over the faceof the island; unfortunately mostof them had been dug down for thesake of the stone they contamedand the objects from the graveslost or given away. Those whichcould be traced consisted chieflyof copper ornaments, as rmgs, gor-gets, and studs. Mound No. 39,the only one whose contents wereascertained with any degree of ac-curacy, was a small circular mound10 feet high, built of sand andblocks of reef stone ; near the groundlevel, about the center of themound, a single human intermentwas found, the bones of which were in an advanced state of decay;mingled with these were: (a) A round rod earthenware pot, con-taming a few small circular beads made from conch shell and fiveor six medium-sized, imused obsidian knives, (b) A second some-what larger pot, of the same shape and material, which contamedthe upper part of the femur of a deer, on which is incised the designsho^^Tl in figure 82. This is neatly executed in shallow lines;the upper part evidently represents a tiger, or the skin of thatanimal, and is separated by a platted design from the lower, wliichmay be intended as a representation of the God Itzamna. With Fig. 82.?Design incised on femiir of deer foundin Mound No. 39. 136 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdt.l. 64the bone were two objects of copper, one a finger ring constructedof thin flat bands two-fifths inch apart, joined by double scrolls;this is very much worn, either from use or from oxidi^iation, conse-quent on long exposure in the damp soil. The second copperobject (fig. 83) was probably used as a gorget, or for attachment toa headdress, as at the back is seen a cruciform grille, evidentlyintended to hold it in place. This object is in the form of a humanface, the lower part with its large mouth, thick prominent lips, andflattened nose, exhibitmg marked negroid characteristics, which,the upper part with its bulging prominent forehead contradicts.The headdress is ornamented with three spikes passing along thesagittal suture from front to back, while under the chm is a projec-tion probably mtended to represent a short beard. The ring andornament are both strongly suggestive of Spanish influence, as theface with its thick lips, flattened nose, and bulgingforehead is totally unlike any type with which theMaya were likely to come in contact, unless, indeed,it were the Carib, who even at this early date hadpossibly formed small settlements as far north as thesouthern coast of British Honduras. If the objectswere of Spanish origin they were probably obtainedfrom some Spanish settlement farther north, possiblyBakhalal, as there was no settlement between thattown and the coast of Guatemala till many years afterthe conquest. That the cult of Itzamna was still flour-FiG. 83.-copper ob- isliuig is showu by the effigy of the god incised on thejectfoimdin Mound Jeer bone, and according to Villagutierre, the In-dians of this neighborhood up to the end of theseventeenth century were closely allied to the Itzaex,^ who stillfreely practiced their ancient religious rites.Mound No. 40Mound No. 40, situated near Pueblo Nuevo, on the Rio Hondo,consisted of a ridge about 10 feet high by 40 feet in length. On thesummit of the ridge near its center, covered only by a layer of humus,was found a small rough three-legged vase 3 inches high, contain-ing a single long, pohshed, greenstone bead. The upper part ofthe ridge was found to consist of blocks of limestone, fimestone dust,and rubble, on removing wliich to a depth of about 4 feet the ruinsof a building were broyght to hght (fig. 84). The bones were in sopoor a state of preservation that it was difficult to determine the exact 1 Speaking of the boundaries of the territory of the Itzaex, Villagutierre (op. cit., p. 489), gives the seaas its eastern limit. All the tribes between the lagoon of Itza and the sea were evidently not subject tothe Itzaex, however, as he mentions (Lib. ix, cap. in, p. 554) a number of tribes inhabiting this area withwhom they were at war, and states (Lib. vi. Cap. iv p. 352) that the Mopanes and Tipu Indians were notsubject to the Canek of Itza. MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 137position ill which the body had l)oeii placed at the time of burial; ithad, however, certainly been fully extended. Close to the head werefound fragments of three round bowls, all precisely similar in bothsize and coloring. Each was of the shape shownin figure 71 , l,Sh incheshigh by 6^ inches in diameter, and was made of rather fuie ash-colored potter}^, fuiely pohshed. Each of these bowls before burialhad had the bottom knocked out. The mound beneath the buildingwas composed of blocks of hmestone, rubble, and hmestone dust,forming a tough, soHd, compact mass. This would seem to have beena small private house, not a temple, wliich (probably on account of thedeath of its owner) had been dehberately wrecked, and the owner'sbody buried beneath the cement floor of the one chamber remainingpartially intact. Fresh cement seems to have been apphed over the Fig. 84.?Ruins found in Mound No. 40. These consisted of broken-down walls about 2 feet high, joiningeach, other at right angles. Of the wall A-?, 10 feet remained standing; of the wall B-C, 8 feet. Theshaded space included between the walls was covered with hard smooth cement, which had beenbroken away to a rough edge at its outer border and was continuous at its inner border with the stuccowhich was still partly adherent to the walls. The walls themselves were built of blocks of limestone(squared on their outer surfaces but rough within), rubble, and mortar; they were nearly 2 feet thick.The long diameter of the ridge pointed almost due east and west. An excavation was made in thecement floor, and at the depth of 18 inches, at the point marked D, a single iaterment was brought toUcht.grave before the greater part of the house was pulled down and thewreckage piled up, to form a capping to the mound upon which thehouse stood. Mound No. 41Mound No. 41 was situated in the northern district of British Hon-duras, about 9 miles from Corozal. It consisted of a circular wall orrampart varying from 4 to 10 feet in height, inclosing a space 30yards in diameter. The wall was built of earth and blocks of lime-stone, and in places had become considerably flattened out from theaction of the heavy tropical rains of this region. To the north anopening or gap existed about 10 yards across. Excavations weremade in the encirclmg wall of the indosure, and also in the centralspace, but notliing except fragments of pottery was discovered. 138 BUEEAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64Mounds of this kind are found throughout the area, though not ingreat numbers. Some of these are circular or horseshoe shaped, somecrescentic, and others curved or even straight ridges. As a rulethey contain nothing except a few potsherds, which would natu-rally be picked up with the earth of which most of them are made;in some, however (especially in the straight ridges), superficial inter-ments have been found. These mounds were probably used as forti-fications, the circular, horseshoe-shaped, and crescentic moundsbeing particularly well adapted to tliis purpose.At Yalloch, just across the Guatemala boundary line from Choro,a small village in the western district of British Honduras, theAlcalde made a remarkable discovery a few years ago. Wliile hunt-ing for a gibnut he traced one to a hole in the ground; on poking astick into this hole, he was astonished on withdrawing it to find thathe had brought out on its end a small painted pottery cyhnder.The hole on being enlarged proved to be the entrance to a chultun,one of those curious underground chambers cut in the limestone rockfound throughout Yucatan and the northern part of British Hon-duras, especially in the neighborhood of ruins. This chultun con-tained numbers of fragments of very finely painted and decoratedpottery vases, together with two complete cylindrical vases, an ovoidvase, and a pottery cyhnder without bottom. Some of these werewithin the chultun, some in a pit sunk in its floor, from which at alater date several pieces of beautifully decorated pottery were taken.The pit had evidently been used as a burial place, in wliich thememorial pottery was deposited with the body. Merwin foundsimilar painted Maya vases some years later in a chamber coveredby a mound, at Holmul, within a few miles of Yalloch, and at Platon,on the Mopan Kiver, a sepulchral chultun was cleared out in whichhuman bones still remained. (Pis. 23-28.)Near the point where Blue Creek or Rio Azul joins the Rio Hondo,in the northern district of British Honduras, is situated in the bushabout 100 yards from the latter river a small circular lagoon, of adeep blue color and considerable depth; from this flows a narrowstream, also deep blue in color and higlily impregnated with copper,which opens into the main river just below the mouth of the RioAzul. The little lake is bounded on its eastern side by an almostperpendicular chff of limestone, in which are several small cavesand one large cave. The interior of one of the smallest of thesecaverns, situated near the base of the chff, not more than a fewyards in depth, was roughly hewn out so as to form shelves. Uponthese were found several hundred small binequins of incense, vary-ing in size from 3 to 4 inches in length by 1| to 2 inches inbreadth, to 8 to 10 inches in length by 3 to 4 inches in breadth.Tlie incense was composed of the gum of the white acacia mixed GAN.v] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 139with A'arious aromatic su])stan('os; when biiriiod it gave off a verypleasant odor. The gum had evidently been poured while in aliquid state into small bags, made of palm leaves, as in some ofthe binequins considerable fragments of the palm leaves were stilladherent to the copal, and in all, casts of the leaves were left on thesoft surface of the gum before it solidified. The binequins which thepresent-day Maya Indians manufacture as receptacles for their home-made lime, though vastly larger, are precisely similar in shape, con-struction, and appearance to those their ancestors used as recep-tacles for copal. The entrance to the large cave was near the sum-mit of the chff and so difficult to reach that it can never have beenlong used as a place of residence, though it would form an exceed-ingly strong position to hold against an attack from without, as itis necessary to cross a fallen tree trunk in order to enter, and thismight easily be hauled back into the cave or^ pushed away fromits mouth, leaving it practically inaccessible. Nothing was foundin the cave except a large quantity of bats' excrement and ofrough red potslierds. TWO PAINTED STUCCO FACES FROM IJXMALTwo human faces molded in stucco and painted were discov-ered in a small stone-lined chamber situated beneath one of theend rooms of the Casa del Gobernador in the ruins of Uxmal, north-ern Yucatan. The room was accidentally disclosed by the cavingin of a small part of its roof. One of its walls was covered, above astone cornice, by a frieze of hieroglyphs, and against this wall stooda small square stone altar, each side of which had been decoratedwith a human figure molded in stucco and painted. Unfortunatelythese figures had fallen; the two heads here described are the bestpreserved parts of them which remain. Describing the sculpture instone which adorns the outside of the Casa del Gobernador, Stevensventures the opinion that some of the heads were portraits of cele-brated men of the period.The discovery of this chamber is extremely interesting, as it opensup the possibility that many, if not all, of these vast substructures,built apparently of solid stone, which throughout Yucatan supportmore or less ruined buildings, may in fact be honeycombed withchambers. Stevens first suggests the possibihty of this. Unfortu-nately since Stevens's day little or nothing has been done tliroughoutYucatan in the way of excavation to verify the truth of his surmise.Of the two heads now described, one probably represents a male,the other a female; there is, moreover, a marked individuality abouteach of them which renders it extremely probable that they areportraits, possibly of some "Halach Uinic" (real man, or chief) ofUxmal and his wife, during the palmy days of the triple alliance.Each face is painted black with white circles round the orbitalmargin, red rims to the eyes, and brick-red oval patches at eitherangle of the mouth. The center of each upper lip is decorated bya figure 8 shaped labret, the lower portion of which has been brokenaway in the male head. Over the bridge of each nose is a curiousornament consisting of a small oblong object with rounded corners,held in place by a loop passing down the median line of the bridge.Over the center of the forehead in both faces hangs a pendant, thatof the male composed of four small round beads, that of the femaleappearing as a rounded comblike excrescence. Traces of the head-dresses remain as a few feathers above each forehead. Both headswere probably held within widely distended animal jaws, as a partof the lower jaw is seen below the chin in the male head, where also140 [BULL. 64, GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 141the large circular red ear plug stiU remains on the right side. Tliemeasurements of the faces are as follows : Male.?Top of headdress to bottom of lower jaw of animal headholding the face, 11 ro inches; top of headdress to bottom of chin,9^ inches; forehead below headdress, to bottom of chin, 8^ inches;extreme breadth of face (midway between a transverse line passingthrough the pupils and one passing immediately beneath the lowermargin of the nasal septum), Tr? inches; extreme breadth at levelof the pupils, 7 inches; length of nose, 2/^ inches; breadth of nose,IjV inches.Female.?Top of headdress to bottom of chin, 10^% inches; fore-head below headdress to bottom of chin, 8^% inches; greatest breadthof face, at same level as the male, 7t% inches; greatest breadth atthe level of eyes, 7^^ inches; length of nose, 2^ inches; breadth ofnose, 1^^ inches.The city of Uxmal belongs to the later, or northern Maya, civili-zation. Unlike the earlier southern cities, Uxmal is without a singleinitial series date by wdiich its age might be approximately deter-mined. It was founded by Achuitok Tutulxu, probably about theyear 1000 of the Christian era. In the "Series of Katuns from theBook of Chilam Balam of Mani" the date given is Katun 2 Ahau,whereas in that from Tizimin it is recorded as having taken place180 years later.^ The cities of Uxmal, Chichen Itza, and Mayapanformed a triple alliance, which lasted for nearly 200 years, duringprobably the most prosperous period of the whole Maya rule inYucatan. After the disruption of this alliance, caused by a quarrelbetween the rulers of Chichen Itza and Mayapan, Uxmal graduallydeclined m prosperity, till at the time of the conquest its temples andpalaces seem to have been completely abandoned. The city wasvisited in 1586 by the Franciscan delegate Alonzo Ponce, one ofwhose companions gives an interesting account of the ruins. De-scribing the house of the governor, he says : Besides these four buildings there is on the south of them, distant from them aboutan arquebus shot, another very large building built on a "Mul " or hill made by hand,^vith abundance of buttresses on the corners made of massive carved stones. Theascent of this "mul" is made with difficulty, since the staircase by which the ascentis made is now almost destroyed. The building which is raised on this "mul" is ofextraordinary sumptuousness and grandeur, and like the others very fine and beau-tiful. It has on its front, which faces the east, many figures and bodies of men and ofshields, and of forms like the eagle which are found on the arms of the Mexicans, aswell as of certain characters and letters which the Maya Indians used in old time ? all carved with so great dexterity as surely to excite admiration. The other facade,which faces the west, showed the same carving, although more than half the carvedpart had fallen. The ends stood firm and whole with their four corners much carvedin the round, like those of the other building below . . . The Indians do not know 1 Brinton, The Maya Chronicles, p. 87. 142 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64, gann]surely who built these buildings or when they were built, though some of them didtheir best in trjdng to explain the matter, but in doing so showed foolish fancies anddreams, and nothing fitted into the facts or was satisfactory. The truth is that to-daythe place is called Uxmal, and an intelligent old Indian declared to the father delegatethat according to what the ancients had said it was known that it was more than ninehundred years since the buildings were built. ' From this account there appears to be httle doubt that at the timeof the conquest the great buildings of Uxmal were deserted and al-ready falling into ruins. In the minds of the Indians they wereevidently associated with the practice of their ancient reUgious ritesat a much later date, for one of the reasons given by the regidor whenhe applied for a grant of the land upon which the ruins stand wasthat?It would prevent the Indians in those places from worshipping the devil in theancient buildings which are there, having in them idols to which they burn copal,and performing other detestable sacrifices as they are doing every day notoriously andpublicly.^The ruins of Uxmal were probably venerated by the Indians up toa very recent period, as in one of the chants used by the modernMaya of southern Yucatan in their "Cha chac" or rain ceremony the"Noh Nah ti Uxmal," ''Great house of Uxmal," is introduced, whichpossibly refers to the Casa del Gobernador, as this is the largest build-ing among the ruins.JRelacion Breve, quoted by Spinden, A Study of Maya Art, pp. 7-8.2 Stephens, Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, vol. i, p. 323. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 23The ovoid vase shown in plate 23 is 11 inches high by Ql inches in diameter atits -ft-idest part. It is of very fine pottery, with decorations in red, black, and reddishj'ellow on a background of light yellow. The outer surface is divided by doubleblack lines into three zones. The uppermost and narrowest -zone contains, between abroad red band above and two narrow black bands below, a row of 10 gh'phs surroundingthe edge of the vase. The middle zone, the broadest, contains upon one side (un-fortunately the decoration upon the other side has been almost obliterated by timeor wear) a human figure, in a crouching position, the right hand extended, the leftresting upon the ground. The face is in profile, and around the left eye is seen theornament usually associated with the representation of a god. This may be intendedto represent Schellhas's God D of the Codices, known as the Roman-nosed God,probably Itzamna, as tliis peculiar eye ornament is often associated with him. Theheaddress is exceedingly elaborate, projecting far in front of and behind the head,and is decorated with plumes of feathers. The whole figui-e strongly suggests thebas-relief on the side of the door of the altar at Palenque, which is undoubtedly arepresentation of the god Itzanma. The cmious eye ornaments, the construction ofthe elaborate headdress, the contour of the face, and the platted objects hangingdown in front of and belaind the chest, from the neck, are similar in both. Thelowest zone is decorated with vases having handles at the sides, nan'ow necks, andflaring rims from wliich project flame-like tongues; on the outer sm-face of each isdepicted an "Ahau" sign. The vases alternate with curious objects which mightrepresent bales of merchandise; the whole, indeed, closely resembles the tributecount of some Aztec city. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 24The cylindrical vase shown in plate 24 is 6 inches in diameter by 11 inches high.It is divided into three zones, the uppermost of which contains a single row of hiero-glyphics, in fair preservation, between a broad red band above and two narrow blackbands below. The middle zone, by far the broadest, contains two very spirited repre-sentations of the Long-nosed God, one on each side of the vase, done in red, black,white, and dark yellow. The Long-nosed God, called by Schellhas in his "Repre-sentation of Deities of the Maya Manuscripts" God B, is usually identified withCuculcan, the feathered serpent; the Aztec Quetzalcoatl. This god is usually repre-sented with a long pendulous nose and one or two projecting tusks, and is almost invariably associated with the serpent. The head of the god is often held between theserpent's open jaws, or has added to it a serpentine body; again the god may be en-circled by intertwining serpents, or may hold the reptile's body in his hand, like awand. Though the serpentine attributes of the god are in this instance conspicuousby their absence, and the tapir attributes are emphasized, there can be little doubtthat the painting is meant to represent God B, as the long pendulous nose and pro-jecting tusks are highly characteristic of that god. The lowest and narrowest zone ofthis vase is covered with alternating red and black lines. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 25The cylindrical vase shown in plate 25 is 7h inches in height by 4^ inches in diame-ter. The whole of the decoration upon it is in light and dark red on a light yellowbackground, and, like the two previously described vases, it is divided into threedecorative zones. The uppermost zone contains a single row of glyphs, almost in-decipherable, apparently from constant use of the vase before it was buried. Themiddle zone contains two very remarkable mythological creatures, one on each side,whose feather-covered bodies, long legs, and large feet are suggestive of the ostrich.The necks are long and covered with flame-like projections, and both they and theheads, with their huge elongated jaws, are evidently intended for those of featheredserpents. The lowest zone of the vase is narrow, and contains only a narrow and abroad red stripe.70806??18?Bull. CA 10 EXPLANATION OF PLATES 26, 27, AND 28The pottery cylinder shown in plates 26, 27, and 28 is lOJ inches high by 4 inchesin diameter and is \\ithout a bottom. It is most exquisitely decorated in light anddark red and dark yellow on a light yellow background, and is also divided into threedecorative zones. The uppermost zone contains only a single row of hieroglyphs,very much defaced, among which may still be recognized several of the Maya daysigns. The middle zone, by far the broadest, is covered by a most intricate design,containing human and mythological figures and hieroglyiDhs, with ornamental plumes,plats, and pendants; the whole, owing to the partial obliteration of the design, beingextremely difiicult to make out. On one side is seen a highly conventional representa-tion of what is undoubtedly intended for the feathered serpent, -nith tail bent aroundto join the upper part of the head. The feathered serpent appears to permeate allMaya art in this section of the Maya area; whether painted on pottery or stiicco, orincised on bone, pottery, or other material, one encounters him at every step. Theserpent rests upon a row of glyphs, very much defaced, and below this is a mass ofbows, knots, plumes, and glyphs. Farther along is a fierce-faced human figure,probably a warrior, with lofty and elaborate headdress, ornamented with many longfeather plumes. Between the warrior and the serpent is a row of eight cartouches,superimposed one upon the other, each containing glyphs, a good deal defaced, amongwhich the "Ahau" sign may still be clearly made out. The opening gl>'ph in thispanel may refer to the katun 8 Ahau. This katun can end in 8 Ahau only once in260 years, or twice in the ninth cycle, namely, on 9.0.0.0.0.8 Ahau, 3 Ceh, and on9.13.0.0.0.8 Ahau, 8 Uo; and it is reasonable to suppose that if this is a calendar recordit refers to some date in the ninth cycle. Naranjo, the nearest ancient Maya city toYalloch, was occupied for a period of approximately 12 katuns, or 240 years,' between9.7.10.0.0 and 9.19.10.0.0; if this glyph, therefore, refers to a katun ending in 8 Ahauin the ninth cycle, the date 9.13.0.0.0 is certainly indicated. 1 Morley, Au Introduction to the Study of tae Maya llieroglyphs, p. 15. BUREAO of AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 26 POTTEPy CYLINDER FROM YALLOCH, GUATEMALA(other views in plates 27 AND 28) BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 27 POTTERY CYLINDER FROM YALLOCH, GUATEMALA(other views in plates 26 AND 28) BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 28 POTTERY CYLINDER FROM YALLOCH, GUATEMALA(other views in plates 26 AND 27) AUTHORITIES CITEDBrintox, Daniel G. The Maya chronicles. Brintons Library Aboriginal AmericanLiterature, vol. i. Phila. 1882.Charnay, Desire. Voyage au Yucatan et au pays des Lacandons. La Tour duMonde, vol. xlvii, pp. 1-96; vol. xlviii, pp. 33^8. Paiis, 1884.CoGOLLUDO, Juan Lopez de. Historia de Yucathan. Madrid, 1688.Gann, Thomas. On exploration of two mounds in British Honduras. Prcfe. Soc.Ant. London, 2d ser., vol. xv, pp. 430-434. London, 1894-95.On the contents of some ancient mounds in Central America. Ibid., 2d ser,,vol. XVI, pp. 308-317. London, 1896-97.^lounds in northern. Honduras. Nineteenth Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., pt. 2,pp. 655-692. Washington, 1900.Joyce, Thomas A. Mexican archteology. New York, 1914.Landa, Diego de. Relation des choses de Yucatan. Texte Espagnol et traductionFrang'aise. Published by Brasseur de Bourbourg. Paris, 1864.Maler, Teobert. Researches in the central portion, of the L'sumatsintla Valley.Pt. 2. Mem. Peabodij Mus., vol. ii, no. 2. Cambridge, 1903.Explorations in the Department of Peten, Guatemala. Mem. Peabody Mus.,vol. IV, no. 2. Cambridge, 1908.Maudslay, a. p. Explorations in Guatemala. Proc. Royal Geog. Soc, vol. v, no.4, pp. 185-204. London, 1883.Morley, Sylvanus Griswold. An introduction to the study of the Maya hiero-gh-phs. Bull. 57, Bur. Amer. Ethn. Washington, 1915.Relacion de la villa de Valladolid. Actus Cong. Int. Amer., ^Madrid, 1881. vol. ii.Madrid, 1884.Relacion de los pueblos de Popola y Sinsimato y Samiol. Coleccion de documentosineditos, relativos al descubrimiento, conquista y colonizarion de las posesiones Espanolasen America y Oceania. 2d ser., vol. xiii. Madrid, 1900.Spinden, H. J. A study of Maya art. Mem. Peabody Mus., aoI. vi. Cambridge,1913.Stephens, John L. Incidents of travel in Yucatan. Vols. i-ii. New York, 1843.Thomas, Cyrus. Day symbols of the Maya year. Sixteenth Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethn.,pp. 205-264. Washington, 1897.Tozzer, Alfred M. A preliminary study of the prehistoric ruins of Nakum, Guate-mala. Mem. Peabody Mus., vol. v, no. 3. Cambridge, 1913.Comparative study of the Mayas and Lacandones. Pub. Archseol. Inst. Amer.New York, 1907.Villagutierrk, Juan de. Historia de la conquista de la provincia de el Itza . . .a las provincias de Yucatan. [Madrid], 1701. 143 INDEXPageAgrictjiture, most important occupation ofIndians 20Alcohol, cflcct on Indian temperament 34Amulets, worn by women 19ANIilALS?Domestic, kept by ancient inhabitants ... 55kept for pets 25Arts of the ANaENTS, fine examples dis-covered 53Basket.s, making of 30Bleeding, favorite remedy 37Bones, measurements of 51Bristol Museum, objects from collection of. 13British Honduras, Northern, geographicaldescription of UBritish Museum, objects from collection of. . 13Candles, method ofmaking 31CANOE3 ? making of 28used for trading along rivers 29Ceremonies, the four principal 42Ceremony', Cha chac, at ripemng of com,description 42Charms worn by women 19Chief?power practically absolute 35rarely dies natural death 35St rongest subchief usually succeeds 35Childuirth, methods of faciUtating 3SChildren, love for and disposition of 33Chronology, three periods of Mayan civih-zation 58Cigarettes?making of 30smoked by women 17Cooking, native methods of 22Cooking utensils, description of 27Corn?harvesting and storing ol 20preparation of ground and planting of 20surplus sold or exchanged 20Corn husks, wrappers for cigarettes 30Corn plantation. See Milpa."CuHUN ridges"?description of 14sites of ancient mounds 14sites of modem villages 14Death sentence, how executed 35Diet?description of 21maize staple article of, among ancientinhabitants 55Diseases?bleeding for 37eye trouble, remedy for 38intestinal parasites 37malaria 36smallpox 37venereal 37whooping cough, remedy for 33Dress?ancient inliabitants.. .*: 52ancient priests 52ancient warriors 52 PageDress?Continued.now principally English and Americangoods 19Drunkenness?curse of the Indians 34not considered a disgrace 34Fire, methods of making 22Fish?methods of catching 25varieties of 25Fishing?harpooning at night 25methods of 25torch used in 25Food?animals used as, by ancient inhabitants. 55kind and method of eating modified bycontact with more ci\-ilized communi-ties 22method of ser\ing and eating 22preparation and ser\nng of 21snakes used as 24turtles' eggs used as 24Fowls, use of, in Cha chac ceremony 45Furniture?description of 27hammocks conspicuous articles of 27Game?pursuit of 23traps used in capturing 24Game birds and animals?hst of 24preparation and curing of, for future use. 21Games?of the ancient inhabitants '. 56played by adults and children 39Hammocks?conspicuous articles of furniture 27hiding places for "cooties" 27Headdresses?ancient warriers and priests 52animals carved in wood 52Henequen fiber?method of cleaning 30uses of 31Homes, not particular as to cleanliness of 16Hookworms, prevalent, due to earth-eatinghabits of children 37Houses?ancient, description of 53built with assistance of neighbors 26method of construction 26Hunting, torch used in 24IcAicHfe, estimate of population 13Immorality, brought about by cheapness ofrum 33Indl\ns, causes of early deaths 34Itzas, occupjring western British Honduras. 13Liverpool Museum, objects from collectionof 13Macapal?carried by children, causing bowlegs 16description of its use :.. 15habits acquired by constant carrying of. . 16145 146Macapal?Continued. Pageweighted with stones as counterpoise intraveling 16Machete, used as tool and weapon 28Malaria?chief scourge of Indians 36treated by sweating 36Marriage?age of 32all degrees of racial mixtuie 3^ceremony often delayed 33Maya women to Negro men common 33not legal among Santa Cruz imless per-formed by certain official 33obligation somewhat loose 33usually by Catholic priest 33Massage, practiced by midwives 38Maya, progenitors of present inhabitants 15Medicine, list of plants used as 38Men?cruelty of, often in nature of reprisal 18dress of 18example of cruelty of master to servant . . 18have no desire to accumulate wealth 18mental characteristics of 17occupation of 1"skillful in finding routes and in followingtracks.. .^ 18stoical in bearing pain 18Metate?superseded by hand mills 17use of 21MiLPA?many fruits and vegetables grown in 20preparation of 20Moccasins, making of 19Mosquitoes, carriers of malaria 36Mounds?abundant on fertile soil 50classification of 49contents indicate physical appearanceof ancient inhabitants 51manner of construction 65Museum of the American Indian, ob-jects from collection of 13Odor, peculiar 16Oils, for cooking and lighting 31Ornaments, worn by ancient inhabitants.. . 52" Pine RIDGES, " description of 14Plants, list of, used as medicine 38Pottery?ancient, description of 54ancient, ornamentation of 54slight attempt at decoration 28Pottery making?exclusively by older women 28no polish, glaze, or paint applied 28rendered unnecessary by iron pots andearthenware 17Property, disposition of, at death 33Punishmentfine, flogging, and death only methods of. 35for witchcraft or sorcery 36imprisonment as, unknown 35 PageReligion?ancient inhabitants , 56Catholic priests not permitted for manyyears 41Christianity a thin veneer 42four principal ceremonies 42human sacrifice by the ancient inhabi-tants 57Indian conception of 40native priests appointed 41Religious altars, draped and decorated ... 28Rum?made locally 34women usually drink privately 34Sandals, worn by ancient inhabitants 52Santa Cruz tribe?emigration of 13estimate of population 13measurements of 15physical description of 15policy of extermination of, by MexicanGovernment 13Smallpox?terrible scourge 37treatment for, often disastrous 37Snakes used as food 24Spinning?method of 29no longer practiced 17imiversal among ancient women 55Spirits, belief in 40Superstition, "Santa Cruz" oracle 41Surgery, practice of 37Teeth, filed and filled with plugs 51Tobacco?curing of 30'vanilla leaves mixed with, to give flavorand fragrance 30'Torch used in fishing 25Tortillas, preparation and cooking of 21Traps used in capturing game 24Turkey, use of, in Cha chac ceremony 45Villages?description of 32foreigners not permitted to reside in 32frequent changes of sites 27locations of, carefully concealed 32Weapons?defensive, of ancient inhabitants 53offensive, of ancient inhabitants 52Weaving?method of 29no longer practiced 17Women?dress of 19in gala costume present attractive ap-pearance 16industrious workers 17j ewelry and ornaments worn by 19obscene and disgusting language used by . 16occupation of 17personal cleanliness of 16physically and mentally superior to men 16social characteristics of 16Yucatan, geographical description of 14Yucatecan tribes, immigration into north-ern British Honduras 13o