y = OANA ES SUISSE A ~~ SAN BANKAI MY MAUKARRMRRRW WMH} SSRN SS IY MMQy Se tgs hss Loi Le Yi Lie Vfl 4, Lee Sl NN A S WK ral ae ae? fas ey i " h ah ok PAD jb ey ie ; + by ; é a we 7 —. —— = —— wh a | ee I ae — aie S. iv a if 7 au SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 THE MAYA INDIANS OF SOUTHERN YUCATAN AND NORTHERN BRITISH HONDURAS BY THOMAS W. F. GANN = ‘snsonian te Bee e ; taps a 2 \ JU el 4 1919 , G1¢ ° 4; ; eine WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1918 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL WasHineTon, D. C., November 4, 1916. Srr: I have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript of a memoir entitled ‘The Maya Indians of Southern Yucatan and Northern British Honduras,” by Thomas W. F. Gann, and to recom- mend its publication as a bulletin of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Very respectfully, F. W. Hopes, Ethnologist-in- Charge. Hon. CHartes D. Watcort, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. CONTENTS Part {. Customs, CEREMONIES, AND MopeE or LIFE - age MeTETON NICLIOME Gees eee c= sce Ol eae delacies 2 nelsiloche hese daoees 13 Habitat. - Feri: 2s As se ar ho ee Se oe Seed fe eee 14 eS ee RN ee AP IN eet i SEE ee 15) Dress - zat MW Ngee 3 Ca, oy oyete ns aoe Ee ES ois Ce ee eS ee eee 18 tte Aetiviticd. Re eee ee ce A ee A Ree 20 Agriculture. . ie cya ees Caratiee Sob ice ed arate cee So eee 20 ejearinp taod: eat St eee ete Ste casey Sorat tae oi an, SA age DAL ALN Sete on nia ele nok os cio eiiws ening so wsldn ce oe Plint, objéctsiromiPenmnessee- s2-ecer tee eae eee fee ee 102 oO. Flint objects trom italy 32/220 Seer ees. 2 cok ee ic eee ee 103 51. Small cup-shaped wvaseifrom, Mound No, 15.2.2. 222. + ..ee oe eee ee eee 104 52: Objects :froms Mound Nossal bees eee ee ee 104 53. Conventionalized representation of bird on vessel shown in plate 17.....-- 106 54. Decoration on*vessel shown imaplate 17- <= 3). ek eee ere 106 55. Perforated beads found in Mound Nos 162: 23.20 ee eee eee 107 56: Jadeite:- beads foundiin Mound No. 1625.45.32 oe 6 ye eee ee 107 57. a. Circular shell disks from Mound No. 16. 6. Greenstone ear plugs from Mound ‘Nov 7,2 2 2ee esi ttt Sau. ie Seca ee 108 78. ILLUSTRATIONS 9 Page . Bird carrying a fish outlined on shallow plaque found in Mound No. 17... 110 . Cylindrical pottery vase found in Mound No. 17...............----------- 110 . Larger pottery vase found in Mound No. 17...................----------- 111 . Coiled plumed serpent painted on plaque found in Mound No. 17........ = 111 ararvervevase round im Mound No. 18.:.-.0.s.......0:.25.ecnce~ees ss onde ab . Glyph outlined on outer surface of rim of vase shown in figure 63. ......-. 112 . Torso, head, and headdress from Mound No. 20..-................-..------ 113 wereapment or pillar found.in Mound No: 20: =...--.-------2:...<<¢t-s-.<5 113 . Another view of incense burner shown in plate 20 ...................---- 119 . Incense burner decorated with crude clay figurine from Mound No. 25.... ~ 120 Pordae clay firurine foundinm Mound. No. 25....:............2202eceee2e08 121 swrude clay figurine found in Mound No. 25.:.....2:.-....<.2.-.22+--i25- 122 ealall pottery vases'tound in Mound No..26. 2.2: .-.-. 2.2 » r tt | t& he hen ie ens ace = tae 7 ‘hee ‘ . a aM iH ; “4 - aa ha Ry Weeds 11 ° a0 wi 4 N if f x i ae! ry bes es J wy! % i be 4 - Pt Man ‘teye* ; re ’ A 1? > ‘ * hey y k 7 ligeod 9 « 4 J. De vax ig hD on 1 > ae. f e Ne re, ee Na ah Bunge s - P 2 y ad ; i iN y } : i” ee ~ a Jf Apts - Ja «, ~ P. . T P of ¥ ’ - ‘ ¥ ft % - ee F + JS oud ” ? ¥) . ns ay « . - \ LY 4 % z S 2 4 < ‘ Pah ae ae ee ee a beet ate 19 PY 4 Ril Eve : ei aioe vm ane bY A aA 1 oreo: si oe Py Pati BA oe frst i one oat - th wer’ ie arr a f hail *): Aw F CoM I: s a Cae be e Bites nlf gi bigot an AMaese & * be Neat +} eA 70s a> ah + ay : vei rel a Som 4 if wsistaee 1h Ak cppeke Akt pial 7! shee KEY TO PRONUNCIATION OF MAYA WORDS Vowels and consonants are pronounced as in Spanish, with the following exceptions: ee k explosive | ee ordinary palatal k X......sh as in shut 5 Siaeye ch explosive 3 ee eae ts ae like 7 in confide ibe S$ t explosive it THE MAYA INDIANS OF SOUTHERN YUCATAN AND NORTHERN BRITISH HONDURAS By Tuomas W. F. Gann PART 1. CUSTOMS, CEREMONIES, AND MODE OF LIFE INTRODUCTION The southern and eastern parts of Yucatan, from Tuluum in the north to the Rio Hondo in the south, are occupied to-day by two tribes of Maya Indians, the Santa Cruz and Icaiché or Chichanha. The number of Santa Cruz was estimated by Sapper in 1895 at about 8,000 to 10,000, but at the present day has probably been reduced to about 5,000. The Icaiché, the number of whom he estimated at 500, 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 of extermination carried out among the Santa Cruz for years by the Mexican Government, and the consequent emigration of many of the Indians to British Honduras, Guatemala, and northern Yucatan. The northern and western parts of British Honduras contain between 5,000 and 6,000 Indians; those in the north ate partly indigenous and partly immigrants drawn from Yucatecan tribes who have left their homes after various political disturbances, especially after the occupancy of their towns of Bacalar and Santa Cruz by the Mexican Government. The Indians of the western part of the colony are also partly indigenous, but for the greater part Itzas, who have come in 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 plates 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18a, and 19 are in the Liverpool Museum; those shown in figures 15, 40, and 41 and in plate 9 are in the British Museum; those shown in figure 45 and in plates 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 are in the Bristol Museum; and those shown in figures 67 and 68 and in plates 20, 21, and 22 are in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. 13 HABITAT The northern part of British Honduras, between the Rio Hondo and the Rio Nuevo, consists of an almost level piain, having an area of nearly 1,000 square miles. The soil is a vegetal humus, varying from a few inches to several feet in depth, the average depth being about 2 feet; beneath this is a stratum of marly limestone, out- crops of which are found in many places. The southern part of Yucatan, which, unlike the northern part, is comparatively well watered, is also flat, though a few small hills are found along the northern bank of the Rio Hondo, commencing about 50 miles from its mouth (fig. 1). Most of the land along the rivers isswampy, producing only reeds, coarse grasses, and mangrove trees. Beyond the swamp country are found ‘cuhun ridges,” consisting of river val- leys or depressions in the ‘surface which have be- come filled with alluvium brought down by the rivers from the interior, forming an exceedingly rich soil suitable for the cultivation of maize and nearly every tropical prod- uct. It is upon these ‘“‘cuhun ridges” that most Fic. 1.—Map showing Yucatan, Campeche, British Hondu- of the mounds and other ras, and part of Guatemala. The area dealt with is shaded. relics of the ancient in- habitants are found and that nearly all the villages of the modern Indians 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 poor soil, producing only wiry grass, yellow pines, and small pimento palms. On these “pine ridges’? Indian mounds are hardly ever found, nor do the Indians of to-day build villages upon them except in rare instances and for special local reasons. ‘With the exception of the extreme northern part, nearly the whole of this area is well watered by rivers and streams, while scattered, throughout it are numerous lagoons and lakes, the largest of which is the Bacalar Lagoon. 14 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS The manners, customs, religious conceptions, and daily life of all these Indians are very similar, though among the Indians of British Honduras, who come more closely in contact with outside influences, old customs are dying out, and old ideas and methods are being super- seded by new. The language of the tribes here considered, with slight local dialectical variations, is the same; all are of the same physical type; in fact, there can be little doubt that they are the direct descendants of those Maya who occupied the peninsula of Yucatan at the time of the conquest. Physically, though short they are robust and well proportioned. The men average 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 3 inches in height, the women about 2 inches less. The skin varies in color from almost white to dark bronze. The hair of both sexes is long, straight, coarse, black, and luxuriant on the head, where it extends very low over the forehead, but is almost entirely absent from other parts of the body. The women usually wear their hair hanging down the back in two plaits. Their faces are round and full, with rather high cheek bones; the skull is highly brachi- cephalic in type. The following indices were taken from a smail number of Santa Cruz Indians, mostly males of middle age: Sreemarater NeNiOgal (Ole WCAC .- jose = feb ifou: -lstys OP eee oo cc geees baw ss ae%' 53 ord emrs, 1752 Ee RrIPAA ECA Ai PLOAG 42 Aho. a5 4-5 oi dein ade d= = ob pen ekewe Go Shige cm... 15, 44 Cephalic index ........-. eet it a a tek Le neo oe ee 88. 11 EDC eS So ee keg aay Oy i ee, ai em.: EIS68 Maximum bi-zygomatic breadth. .....-.-.-.. ete tie et a es cm.. 12.84 SIRE hte Sn IOS ine aac to eS Ss Se oo Seige mee STS oe ea ee 84. 40 [TIES SEE rg se ae ee eee a a Pod ns Mapa 9) 34 PI RMNIEM REIGN gh te gd 2 he na hee es AG haat Se Pak BE a8 Cmaa roep> Lo LU 2993 6 pet gilli ge ae ae i liane eae. eda eee 2 Re oo ae ee 69. 80 The eyes are large and dark brown, the ears small and closely applied to the head, the nose rather broad, and the jaw prognathous. The mouth is fairly large and the teeth excellent, though toward middle agé they become greatly worn down in many individuals from eating corn cake impregnated with grit from the stone metate, and from the same cause they are frequently much incrusted with tartar. The figure in both sexes is short and broad. The long bones and the extremities are small and delicate. Both men and women are, however, capable of considerable and prolonged exertion. The former can carry loads of 150 pounds for 20 miles in the macapal (fab), a netted bag 15 16 BUREAU. OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 which is slung over the back and held up by a band passing round the forehead, while the latter can work for hours at a time grinding corn on the metate without apparent fatigue. Many of the younger women would be considered very good looking, measured by the most exacting standard, though they reach maturity at an early age, and deteriorate in appearance very rapidly after marriage, the face becoming wrinkled and the figure squat and shapeless. In walking the men bend the body forward from the hips, keep the eyes fixed upon. the ground, and turn the toes in, habits acquired from carrying the macapal on all occasions. So accustomed have they become to this contrivance that many of them, when starting on a journey of even a couple of miles, rather than go unloaded, prefer to weight the macapal with a few stones as a counterpoise to the habitual forward inchnation of their bodies above the hips. Children begin carry- ing small macapals at a very early age, and it is probably to this habit and not, as Landa suggests, to the custom among the women of carrying their children astride the hip that the prevalence of bowlegs (kilba 6k) among the Indians is due. These people have a peculiar and indescribable odor, rather pleasant than otherwise; it is not affected by washing or exercise, is much stronger in some individuals than in others, and is perceptible in both sexes and at all ages. The women are, on the whole, both physically and mentally superior to the men, and when dressed in gala costume for a ‘‘baile”’ with spotlessly clean, beautifully embroidered garments, all the gold ornaments they possess or can borrow, and often a coronet of fire beetles, looking like small electric lamps in their hair, they present a very attractive picture. They are polite and hospitable, though rather shy with strangers; indeed in the remoter villages they often rush into the bush and hide themselves at the approach of anyone not known to them, especially if the men are away working in the milpas. They are very fond of gossip and readily appreciate a joke, especially one of a practical nature, though till one gets to know them fairly well they appear dull and phlegmatic. When quarreling among themselves both women and girls use the most disgusting and obscene language, improvising as they go along, with remarkable quick-wittedness, not binding themselves down to any conventional oaths or forms of invective, but pouring out a stream of vituperation and obscenity to meet each case, which strikes with unerring fidelity the weak points in the habits, morals, ancestry, and personal appear- ance of their opponents. The young girls are as bad as, if not worse than, 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 promiscuously on the floor, and fleas, lice, and jiggers abound only too frequently. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS Ty The description given by Landa (chap. xxx, p. 192) of the Indian women at the time of the conquest applies equally well to their descendants of the present day: Emborachavanse tambien ellas con los combites, aunque por si, como comian por si, y no se emborachayan tanto como los hombres . . . Son avisadas y corteses y conversables, con que se entienden, y a maravilla bien partidas. Tienen poco secreto y no soa tan limpias en sus personas ni en sus cosas con quanto se lavan como los ermiiios. The women are very industrious, rising usually at 3 or 4 o’clock in 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 (kuch), weave (sakal), and embroider for garments; weave mats of palm leaf and baskets («ush) of a variety of liana (ak); make pottery (ul), and cotton and hene- quen cord, of which they construct hammocks (fan). In addition to these tasks they do the family cooking and washing, look after the 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 small earthenware cuhoon-nut oil lamp, meanwhile laughing and chatting gayly over the latest village scandal, the older ones smoking cigarettes, while the men squat about on their low wooden stools outside the house gravely discussing the weather, the milpas, the hunting, or the iniquities of the Alcalde. Among the Indian women of British Honduras the old customs are rapidly dying out; spinning and weaving are no longer practiced, pottery making has been rendered unnecessary by the introduction of cheap iron cooking pots and earthenware, candles have given place to mineral oil lamps, and even the metate is being rapidly superseded by small American hand mills for grinding the corn. The men’s time is divided between agriculture, hunting, fishing, and boat and house building, though at times they undertake tasks usually left to the women, as mat and basket making, and even spinning and weaving. The In- dians of British Honduras who live near settlements do light work for the rancheros and woodcutters; they have the reputation of being ‘improvident and lazy, and of leaving their work as soon as they have acquired sufficient money for their immediate needs, and this is to some extent true, as the Indian always wants to invest his cash in something which will give an immediate return in pleasure or amuse- ment. The men are silent, though not sullen, very intelligent in all matters which concern their own daily life, but singularly incurious as to anything going on outside of this. They are civil, obliging, and good-tempered, and make excellent servants, when they can be got to work, but appear to be for the most part utterly lacking in 70806°—18—Bull, 642 18 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 ambition or in any desire to accumulate wealth with which to acquire comforts and luxuries not enjoyed by their neighbors. It happens occasionally that an individual does perforce acquire wealth, as in the case of the head chief of the Icaiché Indians, who was paid a salary by the Mexican Government to keep his people quiet, and royalties on chicle cut on his lands by various contractors. He accumulated a considerable sum, all in gold coin, which he stored in a large demijohn and hid in the bush. At his death, as no one knew the place where the demijohn was buried, the money was permanently lost. They are remarkably skillful at finding their way in the bush by the shortest route from point to point, possessing a faculty in this respect which amounts almost to an instinct; they are skillful also at following the tracks of men and animals in the bush by means of very slight indications, as broken twigs and disturbed leaves, imperceptible to an ordinary individual. The men are very stoical in bearing pain. I have removed both arms at the shoulder joints, 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 rollers of a native sugar mill, without his uttering a single complaint. The Indians are undoubtedly cruel, but not wantonly so, as the shocking acts of cruelty reported as being per- petrated by them from time to time are usually by way of reprisal for similar or worse acts on the part of the Mexicans. Before the rising of the Indians in 1848, they were throughout this part of Yucatan prac- tically in a state of slavery, and were often treated by their Spanish masters with the utmost barbarity. As an instance of this it is recorded of a well-known merchant of Bacalar that he was in the habit of burying his Indian servants in the ground to the neck, with their heads shaved, exposed to the hot sun; their heads were then smeared with molasses and the victims were left to the ants; and this punishment was inflicted for no very serious offense. It is hardly to be wondered at that such treatment left in the Indians’ hearts an undying hatred for their masters which, when in their turn they gained the ascendancy, found vent in acts of the most horrible cruelty—flogging, burning, mutilation, and even crucifixion. Dress The men wear hats of platted palm leaf, which they make them- selves; those woven from coarse split palm leaf are known as zant pok, those of very fine leaf, like Panama hats, bear the name bomi pok (pl. 1). They wear cotton trousers (eex), or in some sections short cotton drawers (xkulex), with a short, loose, shirt-like jacket of cotton hanging outside the trousers. On the feet they use sandals of danta hide (ranapkeuel) held in place by a leather or henequen thong passing between the great and second toes and around the BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 1 GROUP OF SANTA CRUZ INDIANS GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 19 back of the heel to the front of the instep, where it is fastened. Formerly the cotton was grown, spun, and woven at home, but nowadays it is giving place to cheap imported English and Ameri- can goods, while the sandals are being superseded by moccasins and even by imported shoes. The moccasins the Indians make themselves, tanning the hides (usually of deer or antelope) in lime and red mangrove bark and stitching the parts together with thin strips of leather. These moccasins, which are made on crude wooden lasts, are very comfortable and wear well. The women wear two gar- ments of cotton; the huipil (yupte) , a loose short-sleeved blouse, cut square at the neck, and reaching nearly to the knees, and a short skirt reaching to between the knee and the ankle, known as a pik. The neck, the lower border, and the armholes of the blouse and the edge of the skirt were formerly beautifully embroidered in varicolored floral and geometrical de- vices; now, however, cotton manufactured in England or the United States and stamped in colors to imitate the original embroidery is rapidly coming into use. The women formerly went barefooted or wore loose slippers; now they frequently wear imported shoes, often with high heels, a feature which renders their walk and carriage awkward and stilted. They often go bareheaded, but sometimes wear a sort of shawl (bostch) around the head and shoul- ders. Many of them wear large round or oval plaques of gold (tup) in the ears, survivals, probably, of the enormous round ear disks worn by the ancient Maya (fig. 2). Some of the women wear long gold chains, with religious medallions attached, while the smaller Fic. 3.—Crossoftan- children wear a variety of curious objects, as small ocitiviet we™ coins, shells, beads, dried seeds, and berries, with fig- urines in wood, stone, pottery, and metal, strung round | their necks. Many of these are worn as charms or amulets to pro- tect the wearer against diseases, accidents, or evil spirits, or to bring good luck. A charm worn by nearly all children consists of a small cross of tancasche bark (fig. 3) which is regarded as a sov- ereign remedy for flatulence, a complaint from which, owing to the nature of their diet, nearly all suffer. Fig. 2.—Gold earrings made and worn by the Santa Cruz Indians. WA) BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES AGRICULTURE Of all the arts practiced by the Indian, agriculture is by far the most important; indeed the greater part of his time and labor are devoted to the milpa (kol), or corn plantation, which affords him his principal means of livelihood, for if the corn crop fails he knows that actual starvation will menace his family until the next crop is gathered. The virgin bush, in which the milpa is made, 18 cut down about December or January, only the large and hardwood trees being left standing. This is the most arduous part of the work, and the neighbors often assist in it, being helped in turn when making their own milpas. The bush is allowed to dry until 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 the first shower of rain it is planted in corn (izim). This is a simple operation, two or three men goimg over the ground, each with a bag of corn.and a sharp-pointed stick, making small holes at fairly regular intervals, into each of which they drop a few grains of corn, and ~ then cover them with earth. About October the corn begins to ripen, whereupon each stalk is bent about a foot below the ear and allowed to hang down for several days in order that rain may not gain _ entrance and spoil the grain in the final stages of ripening. During this period the owner spends nearly all his time in the milpa, sleeping there in a little palm-leaf shack at night, since many animals, as deer and wild hogs, are very fond of corn, which is subject to raids also by neighboring Indians and by tame pigs from the village. When the corn is ripe, it is stored, still im the husk, upon a low plat- form, in a small house specially built for the purpose, often, in order ‘to avoid transportation, situated within the milpa. It is shelled as required for use, the surplus from that eaten by the family and stock being exchanged at the nearest village for cash or for cotton cloth, rum, iron cooking pots, ammunition, and other luxuries. The shelling is done by rubbing the husked ear against a rough flat sur- face, made by binding a number of corncobs (bacal) together into a circle with liana. Many fruits and vegetables besides corn are grown in the milpa, including yams (xaci macal), camote (@s), pumpkins (kuum), squashes (zka), tomatoes (paak), plantains (haz), colalu (xterkoch), aguacate (on), plums (abal), oranges (pakaal), siricote (kopte), sapodillas (ya), mamai (chacal haz), okra, garden egg, melon, breadfruit, sweet lime, pineapple, and a variety of others. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS Bh PROCURING FOOD; COOKING Both men and women take for the first meal of the day a hot thick drink known as posol, made from ground corn and water, often flavored with honey; later they eat tortillas, beans, and chili pepper, accompanied with a cold drink made from corn. In the evening they make their principal repast, which includes game, pork, fish, or eggs, with beans and other vegetables, plenty of chili pepper, nd either chocolate or some hot drink made from corn. They use a great variety of drinks concocted of ground maize and water, including chocosacan, a solution of the masa from which tortillas are made, in water, flavored with a little salt; pinol, a solution of ground toasted corn seasoned with pimento and other spices; posol, boiled corn ground to a paste and mixed with hot water; sacha, very much like posol, but the corn is not cooked soft, 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 way of food, as they appear at every meal, and at a pinch he can exist on them alone for a very long period. ‘Tortillas are made in the following way: The grain is first soaked overnight in a lye of wood ashes, treatment which softens the grain and loosens the outer husk. The softened grain is next. ground into a fine paste on an oblong stone, slightly concave, known as a metate (ka), by means of a stone rolling pin thicker in the middle than at the ends, designated as a brazo (wu kabka). This procedure takes considerable time, as the grain has to be ground a number of times in order to get the paste to the required degree of fineness. When the paste or masa is ready it is flattened by hand into small round cakes (tortillas), which are baked on an iron or earthen plaque (camach) over a glow- ing wood fire. The hunters are experts at barbecuing (macan) the carcasses of various birds and animals, chiefly deer, peccary, wild turkey, and curassow, as they often get a large supply of game when several days’ journey from the village, which, unless preserved in some way, would quickly spoil. The carcasses are cut into joints; the birds plucked, cleaned, and split open; and the meat thus prepared is hung 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 for several weeks. Meat prepared in this way is considered a great delicacy. , If it is wished to preserve the meat for longer periods the process is ‘prolonged and salt may be rubbed in. Strips of meat 99, BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [RuLD. 64 and carcasses of birds may sometimes be seen hanging from the rafters over the fire in the kitchen so desiccated, hard, and black- ened that it would appear impossible to eat them; but after months of drying this meat, when soaked in warm water for 24 hours, is not unpalatable. The Indians wash their hands before and after eating, a very necessary practice, as they eat exclusively with their fingers, using the tortillas to scoop up gravy, beans, and other mushy foodstuffs. They eat at small round tables about 16 inches high, sitting, or rather squatting, around them on little blocks of wood 4 to 5 inches high. They are very fond of salt, which among the coast Indians is obtained by evaporating sea water, among the inland villages by trade from Yucatan and Guatemala. Since this supply has been almost cut off, owing to the troubles with Mexico, the Indians frequently use for salt the ashes obtained by burning botan tops. Men and women do not eat together, as the women are pre- paring relays of hot tortillas for the men while the meal lasts. Their food and mode of eating is well described by Landa (chap. xx1, p- 120): Que por la mafiana toman la bebida caliente con pimienta, como esta dicho y entre dia las otras frias, y a la noche los guisados. Y que si no ay carne hazen sus salsas de la pimienta y legumbres. Que no acostumbravan comer los hombres con las mugeres, y que ellos comian por si en el suelo, o quando mucho sobre una serilla por mesa: y que comen bien quando lo tienen, y quando no, sufren muy bien la hambre y passan con muy poco. Y que se lavan las manos y la boca despues de comer. Indeed, the foregoing description would apply almost as well to Indians of the more remote villages of the present day as to those of the time immediately after the conquest. In localities where they have come in contact with more civilized communities their menu has been considerably enlarged by the introduction of im- ported foodstuffs, while their methods of eating have been changed by the introduction of knives, forks, and spoons. The native methods of cooking are very primitive. Three large flat stones so placed as to form an equilateral triangle, known as koben, form the only fireplace; in this is kindled the fire of sticks or split logs, over which is placed the earthenware or iron cooking pots or plaque for baking tortillas, resting on the stones. Fire (kaak) is usually obtained through the use of matches among the Indians of British Honduras. Hunters and others who spend a great part of their time in the bush employ flint and steel. Among the Indians in the remote villages fire is still made by swiftly rotating a sharp-pointed shaft of some hardwood (usually dogwood) in a hole made in a small slab of very light dry wood (commonly gumbo limbo). There is no chimney to the kitchen, the smoke finding its way out as best it can through the doors and crevices in the walls; consequently - oa wns GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 23 the whole of the interior, with its permanent furnishings, 1s colored a fine rich brown. HUNTING It must be admitted that the Indian is no sportsman in the pur- suit of game, the claims of the pot being always paramount. He rarely shoots at a flying bird unless to fire into the midst of a flock of parrots or wild ducks, and when after the larger game he waits till he can deliver the contents of his gun point-blank into some vital Fic. 4.—Powder horn and measure of bamboo used by the Indians. part. This practice may be due partly to the limitations of his weapon, which till recent years consisted of a muzzle-loading section of gas pipe, nearly as dangerous when discharged to the hunter as to the game, and partly to the fact that the bush is usually so dense that an animal, if not shot at point-blank range, can not be gotten at all. It is probably not more than four generations since the use of the bow and arrow died out among the Indians in the western part of British Honduras, as old men among them Fic. 5.—Watertight box for caps, matches, or tinder, with corncob stopper. have told me that they could remember seeing a few still in use when they were very young. The flint arrowheads, they said, were obtained down the Mopan River. This seems quite possible, as at Baker’s, not far from Belize, there is an outcrop of flint, where, judging by the great heaps of fresh-looking chips and rejects still in existence, a considerable ‘“‘factory” must have existed at a com- paratively recent date. Some of these old men could still make fairly serviceable bows and arrows, the heads of the latter being cut from hardwood. 24. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 The principal game animals of this region are the deer (ke), two species of wild hog, the warri and peccary (kekem), gibnut (halib) 4 armadillo (vetsh), wild turkey (kutz), parrot (tut), pigeons of various kinds (mucut), curassow (kambul), quam (cosh), quail (num), and partridge (mankolom). Besides ‘these, birds in great variety, rep- tiles, and mammals are killed and eaten from time to time, including plovers, 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 (ochkan), a large constrictor snake, and the rattlesnake, known as the cazon « kash, or “little shark of the woods.”’ Turtles (sacak) are often captured along the east coast of Yucatan and the adjacent islands, and their eggs in the breeding season form a great delicacy for the Santa Cruz Indians living in the neighborhood of Tuluum. Hicatee (ak) and bucatora are caught in great numbers in all the rivers and lagoons. The tiger (balam), puma (coh), picote (chic), monkey (maash), tapir (tzimin), squirrel (kuuk), cane rat (ts), and other animals are hunted from time to time, either for their skins or flesh. Deer are secured in considerable numbers in the rutting season by imitating their call with a wooden whistle (fig. 6) ; they are also found in the milpas, just after the burning, I) gd ly where they come to lick the slightly sale ashes. At this time the owners build platforms on poles 10 to 12 feet high, on top of which they spend the whole night in an extremely cramped and uncom- fortable position, waiting for deer or other game to approach near enough for an easy shot. A favorite method of hunting the larger game animals is to go out at-night with a split-pme torch attached to the hat; this attracts animals of all kinds, whose eyes may be seen gleaming in the dark, affordmg an easy mark, though not infrequently a neighbor’s errant pig pays the penalty of curiosity. Traps of two kinds are in common use. One employed to snare larger game is constructed in the following way: A path frequented by game in going to and from a watering place is found; along this is dug a shallow trench opposite a good springy young aecline two stakes are driven in, one on each side of the trench, the one farthest from 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 to extend from one stake to the other, firmly tied by its middle above the 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 above the noose, which is fixed lightly between the crook in one stake and Fic. 6.—Whistle for attracting deer by imitating their call. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS rita) the stake opposite to it, the loop hanging suspended. between the two. Lastly, a number of sticks and leaves are scattered lightly over the trench and beside the stakes and loop. Animals coming along the run are very apt to put their necks in the loop, and by pulling on this, to release the cross stick, whereupon they are immediately suspended in the air by the jerking back of the bent sapling. Animals of all sizes, from rabbits to tigers, are caught in traps of this kind, the strength and adaptability of which vary with the size of the bent tree and the adjustment of the noose. Another trap, used only for small animals, consists of an oblong cage made of split bamboo or cabbage bark. Over the opening, which is in the top, rests an accurately balanced strip of board, baited at one end with corn. When the animal endeavors to reach the bait it is precipitated into the trap, and the board swings back into place, covering the exit. Before they obtain guns the boys use slings, with which they can throw pebbles with remarkable force and accuracy, bringing down birds, squirrels, and other small game. -They keep many tame animals, 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. FISHING Many fish are found in the coastal waters, in the rivers, and in the lagoons of the interior, including cazones, tarpon, skipjacks, snappers, eels, baracoudas, stone bass, cobarli, jewfish, tubers, bay snooks, river snooks, and a variety of others. They are caught with hook and line, in cast and seine nets, in traps, and by spearing or harpooning. Fish traps are cylindrical in shape, with a funnel-shaped opening at each end, the apex of the funnel pointing toward the center of the trap, so that entrance is easy but exit very difficult. The traps, made of split bamboo, are placed upon the bottoms of rivers or lagoons, baited with ‘‘masa,’’ which attracts multitudes of the tiny fish there abounding; these in their turn attract larger fish, which enter 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 nearest approach to real sport which the Indian enjoys; this is usually done near the bar of a river, on a calm dark night, by three men in a canoe, one paddling, one holding the torch, and the third wielding the harpoon. This implement consists of a slender cane 10 to 12 feet in length provided with a sharp barbed spindle-shaped steel head, fitting into the hollow at one end, so that on striking the fish the head parts from the shaft to which it is attached by a cord held in the hand of the harpooner. The fish are attracted by the hght of the torch, and the harpooner strikes at the swirl which they make 26 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 alongside the dory. Harpooning is rather an exciting form of sport, as it is impossible to tell what sort of fish has been struck until it is landed. Hicatee and bucatora are harpooned with an unbarbed triangular point, this giving the best hold on their tough shells; they are captured also by spreading small nets in the vicinity of the stumps and holes along the river banks, which they frequent. CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES AND FURNITURE The Indians construct their houses in the following manner: First a number of straight trees about 8 inches in diameter at the base and crotched at the top are selected in | the bush for posts. These are usu- ally Santa Maria, chichem, sapo- dilla, or some hardwood. They are cut down, and after having been peeled are dragged to the site of the new house, where they are firmly planted, one at each of the four cor- - ners and others, the number de- s* pending on the size of the house, at short intervals between in the lines of the walls. In the crotches other slightly smaller poles 5 to 6 inches in diameter, also peeled, are laid; to these are attached still smaller poles, which run up to the ridgepole fs (honache), forming rafters (uinciche). Fig. 7.—Indian carrying load of bejuco, a liana All this framework is firmly bound used as rope in houes building. A together by means of ropes of liana (fig. 7). Rows of long thin pliable sticks are next bound round the rafters, and to these are attached layer upon layer of “huana”’ (shaan) leaves till a thatch, sometimes 18 inches thick and quite impervious to rain, is formed (pl. 4). The walls between the posts are filled in with “tasistas,” a small palm trunk, or in some cases with strips of split cabbage palm. The outer sides of the walls may be daubed with a mixture of mud and hair, or of chopped fiber (pakloom), and whitewashed, or they may be thatched with palm leaves. The floor is made of marl dust pounded down to a flat hard surface. Doors and windows may be made of wickerwork of liana, of split cabbage palm, or of a frame of sticks thatched with palm leaves. When a man undertakes the building of a new house his neighbors ip atu, | oti ae BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 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 b. INDIAN HOUSE ON RIO HONDO MAYO INDIAN HOUSES GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 27 usually help him, and the residence is ready for occupancy in a few days, as all the materials are growing ready to hand in the neighbor- ing forest, and require only cutting down and assembling. The facility with which their dwellings are constructed, and the difficulty in getting more than one or two crops in succession from each plan- tation, with their primitive agricultural methods, probably account for 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 a new one in a more favorable locality. The kitchen, which is a replica of the house on a small scale, is usually placed a few yards be- hind it. The furniture is of the sim- plest, consisting of a small round cedar table, with a lit- tle bowl-shaped projection which contains a lump of masa when tortillas are being made and chili peppers or salt at mealtimes. Theseats are mere F blocks of wood, 3 or 4 inches { |||, high (caanche), with perhaps | one or two more pretentious low hollow-backed wooden chairs covered with deer skin or “tiger”? skin. A number of calabashes of all shapes and sizes, with a few earthen water jars, iron cooking pots, and plaques for baking tortil- las, are found in all houses. Hammocks (kdan) of cotton or benequen 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 let down. In many houses contact with the hammocks is not desir- able, as lice have a habit of leaving the body of the hammock during the day and secreting themselves in the knots between the body and the arms, whence they may transfer themselves to the garments of the unwary. If the hammock is large the father and mother often sleep in one, their heads at opposite ends, while the smaller children, frequently to the number of three or four, occupy another. There can be no such thing as privacy, as the whole family commonly sleep, live, and eat in asingle room, which at most is divided into two apartments by a flimsy cotton curtain. A prominent = — ry a 2 —=———n _——————— > 4 —— TA ea = i ay = a \ i ~ = SS / a | it wee j v ocr - ay, g pa Fia. 8.—Domestic altar. 28 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [put. 64 object in most Indian houses is an altar (canche), or high square table, upon which stands a wooden cross (fig. 8). The altar is . covered with a cotton cloth, embroidered in flowers and religious symbols; 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 for the healing of corresponding -parts of the body. Little images in wax, and, if the Indian can obtain them, religious oleographs and medallions, with colored-glass vases, are commonly found upon the altar, 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, makes his house and most of his furniture, digs postholes, and fights and defends himself. His indispensable belongings consist of a hammock, a few cal- abashes and pots, a machete, and a cotton suit, all of which he can carry slung over his back in a macapal; with his wife and dogs trotting behind him, he can leave his old home and seek pas- tures new with a light heart and untroubled mind, knowing that the bush will provide for all his needs. POTTERY MAKING Pottery making is rapidly dying out through the greater part of this area, owing to the importation of more convenient and dur- able vessels. It is undertaken almost exclusively by the older women, who employ a fine light yellow clay mixed with sand or powdered quartz. They make vessels in considerable variety, both as to size and shape, which are used for the storage of water and dry material, as corn, beans, and achiote, and as cooking pots. They do not use a potter’s wheel, but mold the smaller utensils by hand and build up the larger by the addition of fragment upon fragment ‘of 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 in merely a few incised lines just below the neck, or a rough scalloping around the rim. The pottery is burned in a clear, open wood fire; when completed the ware is known as ul. BOAT BUILDING The Indians living in the neighborhood of lakes and rivers possess dories or canoes which vary in size from tiny craft 5 to 6 feet long by 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 dozen people. All their canoes are constructed by the simple process of hollowing out large logs, the more durable ones being made from cedar, the lighter ones from wild cotton (yaxche). The boats are BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BUEEERING64 PEATELS MAYA WOMAN, 105 YEARS OLD, SPINNING COTTON BUREAU OF-AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 6 MAYA LOOM a. Yamal. 6. Xunche. c. Sikinche. d. Toboche. e. Cheil. /. Mamacche. g. Yoch. h. Botoch, a. Newspindle. k. Old spindle. 7. Cotton cloth. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 29 pointed, bow and stern, and when steel tools are available to their makers the lines are often very graceful. Many of the boats, how- ever, follow to some extent the contours of the logs from which they were made, being exceedingly clumsy and difficult to manage. On the rivers and lakes the only method of propulsion is by means of a broad-bladed cedar paddle about 5 feet long, or, where the water is shallow and the bottom hard, a long pole. Both men and women have acquired considerable dexterity in paddling and can keep it up at a 4-mile-an-hour gait from early morning till late at night, with very short intervals for refreshment. They use their canoes for trading corn, vegetables, lime, and live stock among villages along the river banks, for line fishing, spearing, and netting, and for getting from place to place. On the large lagoons and along the seacoast they sometimes use the pole to support a lug sail. SPINNING AND WEAVING Spinning (kuch) is done by means of a spindle (hechech) of hard- wood, 12 to 14 inches long, weighted about 3 inches from the bottom with a hardwood or pottery ring (pl. 5). The upper end is re- volved by the finger and thumb of the right hand, which are con- stantly rubbed on apiece of stone- like substance, made from deer- skin burned and ground to a powder, to prevent them from Piekins (iz "9). 4 The Scotéon:, °° Sonelite stbstance aod te-prevent fingers (taman) may be held in the left hand, or on the shoulder; the lower end of the spindle rests in a small calabash (uch), which is cemented into a support of woven liana (met), the luch and met together being known as toh (fig. 10). Weaving is done on a simple loom consisting of a cloth beam and yarn beam (runche) of light strong wood, connected by the warp (cheil) (pl. 6). The cloth beam is attached round the back of the weaver by a thick henequen cord (yamal), enabling him to tighten the warp at will by simply leaning backward. The yarn beam is usually attached to a doorpost. The shuttle (botosh) consists of a light stick, pointed at both ends, on which the weft is wound obliquely. All the alternate warp strands may be raised together by means of a heddle (mamacche) consisting of a number of loops attached to a rod, each loop passing round a warp strand, so that when the rod is raised the warp threads are raised with it. The lease rods (halahteh) consist of splints of hard heavy wood, usually sapodilla, 2 to 3 inches broad, one-third of an inch thick in the center, with sharp edges and pointed ends. A loose rod (toboche) about the size of the yarn beam 30 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 is used to roll up the completed material (yoch). The loom for cotton cloth is usually 24 to 3 feet broad, but much smaller looms are frequently used for narrower strips of material MINOR INDUSTRIES ToBpacco CURING The tobacco leaves are hung in bunches, often under the roof of the corn house, in the milpa, in a free current of air, till they are thoroughly dry; they are then powdered in a shallow basin, or the bottom cut from a large calabash, and mixed with the leaves of the chiohle, a species of vanilla, which gives a distinctive flavor and fragrance to the tobacco; finally the mixture is rolled into cigarettes (chiople) ina covering of corn husk (coloch). Fia. 10.—Calabash with liana base used in spinning. BASKET AND Mat WEAVING Baskets are woven from a special thin tough liana and from split cane; those of liana (ak), which are large and coarse, are commonly used for carrying corn from the milpa, slung over the shoulders like a macapal. The split-cane baskets, which are smaller and more neatly 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 obtaimed from the leaf, which is cleaned upon a smooth board (pokche) about 4 feet long by 6 inches broad, in the followmg way: The top of the board is held against the lower part of the operator’s chest while the lower end rests on the floor. The leaf is placed on the board and the pulp scraped from the fiber with a bar of hardwood, triangular in section. At the upper end of the board is a deep notch in its side, in which the cleaned part of the leaf is clamped, thus fixing the part which is bemg scraped. The ¢ GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 31 cleaning has to be done very early in the morning, as when the sun gets hot the juice from the pulp produces an unpleasant itching rash upon the skin. The fiber when cleaned and dried is made into rope and cord; from the cord hammocks, sacks, a coarse kind of cloth, and many other articles are manufactured. Candles are made by dipping a wick of twisted cotton into melted black beeswax (box keb), obtained from wild bees. Sometimes a number of the logs in which the wild bees hive are brought in to the village and placed one above the other, on trestles, to form a sort of apiary, in order that honey and wax may be always obtainable. Oil for cooking and for burning in small earthenware lamps with twisted cotton wicks is obtained by breaking up the kernel of the cuhoon nut and boiling it in water. A clear rather thin oil floats to the surface, which may easily be skimmed off. Near the sea coconut oil is prepared in the same way. SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS VILLAGES The villages vary in size from two or three houses to two hundred or more, with inhabitants numbering from 10 or 12 to more than 1,000. In the smaller villages the houses are very irregularly dis- posed; in the larger they are arranged more or less regularly so as to form streets around a large central space, or plaza, where the dance 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 considerable height in order to provide a convenient latrine for the women and children. Dogs, pigs, and vultures serve as scavengers. Many of the Indians, especially the Santa Cruz, are at great pains to conceal the whereabouts of their villages. Along the maim roads only a few scattered groups of huts will be seen, while the larger villages are approached by tracks so inconspicuous that they may easily be missed. The villages themselves are surrounded by a maze of narrow tortuous paths, in which a stranger may wander about for some time before finding his way in. The Santa Cruz are said sometimes to cut the tongues from their cocks in order to prevent them crowing and so betraying the situation of the village. : The Indians are very jealous of outside interference in their affairs and do not permit foreigners to reside in their villages. An exception was made in the case of a number of Chinese coolies imported into British Honduras many years ago, most of whom ran away to the Santa Cruz country, where they were well received and married Indian wives. Among their offspring, it is interesting to note, are found a-very unusual proportion of defectives. On one occasion the Mexican Government commenced to cut a road through from Peto to Santa Cruz, the Indian capital. Five of the Santa Cruz Indians went to see the work going on and were well received and given useful presents. On returning to their own country, however, they were executed by the head chief as traitors for encouraging the entry of outsiders into their territory. MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN The Indian girls married formerly at about 14 or 15, the boys at about 17 or 18 years. _ After the conquest of Bacalar, however, and the expulsion of Yucatecans from Indian territory a law was passed making marriage compulsory for all girls of 12 years of age 32 [BULL. 64, GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 88 and upward. This was probably done with the idea of increasing — the population, which had been considerably depleted by the long- continued war. Formerly, the first question of a girl’s father to her suitor was “ Hai tzak a kul ha tzak taman?”’ (How many macates of corn and cotton have you?); but at the present day there are not enough men to ‘‘go round.” ‘The Indians of British Honduras are usually married by the Catholic priest, though the actual cere- mony is often performed months or even years after the young couple have set up housekeeping together, since owing to the re- moteness of many of the Indian settlements the priest can visit them only at long intervals. Among the Santa Cruz marriages are not considered legal unless performed by an official known as the yumxerib (probably derived from the Maya Yum, “lord,” and Span- ish escribano), who holds a position somewhat analogous to that of colonial secretary ina British colony. The babies and smaller children in general are pretty, merry little things. The mothers almost invariably nurse them well into the second year, as the mammary glands are remarkably well devel- oped and the secretion is abundant and long continued. Children are much desired by both parents and are well treated and loved, though not spoiled. If the father and mother separate, the very young children remain with the mother; of the older children, the boys go with the father, the girls with the mother. If small chil- dren are left destitute by the death of both parents, the nearest relative takes them, and in the absence of relatives they are dis- tributed by the subchief among families of his choosing in their own village. When a man dies his widow takes the home, furniture, domestic animals, corn, and plantations; other possessions, if such exist, are divided equally between the widow and the older chil- dren, each taking such articles as will be most useful to him or her. When a woman dies her jewelry, ornaments, and clothes are divided between her daughters. The marriage tie is a somewhat loose one, and the more the Indians come in contact with civilization the looser it seems to become. In British Honduras, where the Indians are closely associated with Spaniards, Mestizos, Negroes, and other races, the women change their partners with the utmost facility. The Negroes are called kisinbosh, “black devils,’ by the Indians, a term which, however it originated, is now employed without any particularly opprobrious significance, as many of the Maya women show no repugnance to a Negro husband. chamber was filled with earth, on removing which the followmg objects were found upon the floor slabs: (1) Three nearly spherical red pots, averaging 6 inches in diameter; they were so rotten from the effect of moisture that it was impossible to remove them. (2) Two small, rather crudely executed human faces cut in mottled jadeite, and finely polished, with which were three green jadeite beads. (3) A small quantity of greenish powder. (4) Four small chisels of polished greenstone, varying from 2 to 4 cm. in length. (5) One chisel made of very soft gray stone, which had been covered externally with greenish paint somewhat resembling enamel, and very closely simulating the genuine greenstone chisels with which it was placed, except that it was much lighter in weight. Instances of counterfeit implements and ornaments buried with the dead have been 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 was discovered. This was in a much better state of preservation than GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 93 the first, as all the walls and the roof were in situ. It was composed throughout of large flat irregular slabs of slate, averaging about 2 inches in thickness. It measured 8 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet in height. The chamber was filled with earth, and the roof was not more than 6 or 8 inches below the surface of the mound. The following objects were found in this chamber, all resting upon the slate slabs which formed the floor. At the north end five nearly globular red earthen- ware pots, of rather coarse manufacture, each containing a stone celt, were found. These pots had been packed closely together, in earth, and over them a large slab of slate had been placed as if to protect them; this, however, it failed to do, as the pots were so saturated with moisture that it was found possible to remove only one unbroken. The celts averaged 6 inches in length; all were well made 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 em. in diameter, very closely resembling dice, with a geometrical device inscribed in rather deep lines upon two of their opposed surfaces; these might have been seals or stamps, or they might have been used in playing some game. With them were a small solid cylin- der, of light greenstone, finely polished for suspension, 12 small obsidian knives, seemingly quite new, as they showed no signs of notching from use, and six convolvulus-shaped ornaments of light greenstone, finely polished, which had probably been used as ear plugs. Close to the last lay a hollow cylinder of extremely hard terra cotta 7 cm. im height, inscribed externally with a geometrical device in low relief (pl. 16, d). This object was undoubtedly a cylindrical seal or stamp for use on a handle; similar specimens are not uncommon in the south of British Honduras and in Guatemala, though in the north of the colony and in Yucatan they are of much less frequent occurrence. Small patches of charcoal and of green powder were found m several places scattered over the floor of this chamber. Nothing further was found in this mound, which was composed throughout of earth and water-worn bowlders. Several more mounds were excavated at Kendal, but nothing was found in them. They were all composed of earth and large, water- worn bowlders, the former greatly predominating. Close to many of the mounds a deep excavation in the surface is to be seen, from which the material to construct the mound was evidently taken. These mounds form a decided contrast to those in the north of British Honduras and in southern Yucatan; they are lower, flatter, more diffuse and irregular in outline, with the line of demarcation be- tween the base of the mound and the surrounding soil very poorly defined. The northern mounds are more clearly defined, with steeper 94 - BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 sides, smaller summits, and base lines easily distinguishable. The reason for this difference is to be sought in the material from which the mounds were constructed, which in the south is clay, with a small admixture of river bowlders, both of which are easily washed down by the torrential tropical rains of the district. Year by year the mound becomes flatter and less well defined, till at length most of these mounds will be hardly distinguishable from the surrounding earth. In the north, on the contrary, the mounds are built of large blocks of limestone, with only asmall admixture of earth and lime- stone dust. In many cases the blocks are mortared together, and in nearly all cases layers of cement are alternated with layers of stone. The whole forms a os + teeth ‘ practically solid block of masonry, capa- Fig. 37.—Flint spearheads. : 5 a ble of withstanding for all time the less heavy rainfall of this part of British Honduras and Yucatan. About the center of a triangular space, bounded at each angle by a small mound, situated close to the mound last described, was found -a piece of water-worn rock measuring 4 feet 10 inches in length, which had evidently been carried up from the river bed a quarter of a mile away. Three or four inches of it appeared above the soil. Beneath the rock extended a layer of water-worn river stones to a depth of 2 feet. Among these were found numerous fragments of pottery and patches of charcoal. On the western side of the rock, close to its edge, and buried 10 inches be- neath the surface, were found three rather well-chipped flint spearheads, the largest of which was 25 cm. in length (fig. 37, a, 6, c); these were placed erect in the earth, points up- ward, and close to them lay the small, eccentrically shaped object seen in figure 38, b, very well chipped from dark-blue flint, measuring 74 cma. in length. A few feet to the north of these objects, buried at about the same depth and quite close to the rock, were found the serrated flint spearhead shown in figure 38, c, 27 cm. in length, together with the eccentrically shaped object seen in figure 38, a, 28 cm. in length; both of these were placed perpendicularly, the spearhead point upward. About 14 miles from the village of Benque Viejo, in the Western District, is the only considerable aboriginal building in British Hon- a b c Fig. 38.—Flint objects. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 95 duras, still in a fairly good state of preservation. This is a twg-story temple standing upon a small natural elevation. Each story contains 12 small rooms, three on the north side and three on the south side, each of which has a narrower room in the rear. The central rooms are 27 feet in length, the side rooms 17 feet 6 inches. The breadth of the smaller rooms is 4 feet 6 inches; the dividing walls are 3 feet thick. All the rooms in the lower story are filled in with large blocks of stone, loosely held together with a small amount of mortar. This seems to have been a favorite device among the Maya architects, its object probably having been to give greater strength and stability to the new upper story erected upon a building of older date. All the rooms are roofed with the triangular so-called “American arch.” The height of the rooms is 5 feet 10 inches to the top of the wall, and 5 feet 10 inches from the top of the wall to the apex of the arch. All the rooms had been covered with stucco, and upon the wall of one of the inner cham- bers completely cov- ered over with green mold the devicesshown in figure 39 were found, rudely scratched upon the stucco. In both the upper and thelower vy part of the drawing are what may be taken as crude representa- ; tions of ‘‘Cimi,” the God of Death, probably, like the “‘grafiti” of Rome and Pompeii, scratched on the wall after the abandonment of the temple by its original builders! Whoever executed the drawing must have had some knowledge, however crude, of Maya art and mythology, as the Cimi head shown in the lower and the conventional feather ornaments in the upper part of figure 39 are unmistakably of Maya origin. To the north of this building lies a considerable group of ruins. Among these three large pyramidal Fia. 39.—Devices scratched on stucco in aboriginal building. 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. 48a, 96 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 structures are conspicuous, which no doubt at one time carried small temples upon their summits, some remains of which are still to be seen. At the base of these pyramids stand three small plain stele, quite unornamented. Upon the summit of one of these mounds the eccentrically shaped im- plements shown in figures 40 and 44werefound. Of these, figure 40, a, 6, and figure 44, m, n, 0, p, are of obsidian, while the rest are of flint. Sixty-four of these objects were found in all, at depths varying from one or two inches to a, foot beneath the sur- face; all were within an area of about 2 square yards. Some of the ob- jects, especially the obsid- ians, were chipped out with great care and ac- curacy; 0 thers were Fig. Ase ae shaped implements found at summit of : mound. merely flint flakes with a few shallow indentations chipped in their sides. On the south side of the largest of the pyramids stood a large sculptured stela, the upper part of which had been broken off and lay close to the lower part, which was still embedded in cement. The sculptured part of this stela measured 10 feet 2 inches in length by 4 feet 3 inches in breadth, and about 16 inches in thickness. The sculpture, which is in low relief, rep- pe resents a captive, or sacri- ficial victim, prone on his face.and knees, while above him rises the figure of the priest or warrior, with elab- Ba ho ight) ae orately decorated feather ject found at base Fie. 42.—Flint object found at base of headdress, holding in his ores Za extended right hand asmall figure of the manikin god. The limestone from which the stela is cut has been very much defaced by the weather, and the finer GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 97 details of the sculpture can not now be deciphered. The back and sides are plain and unsculptured. Close to this monolith lay a small stone altar, 2 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 4 inches; on its upper surface is represented the figure of a skeleton with head bent over the extended right arm, while the left is held in to the side, the elbow joint at right angles. In front of the skeleton is a double row of hieroglyphs, each row containing 7 glyphs, most of which are in a fairly good state of preservation. An excavation was made round the part of the monolith still standing. It was found to be surrounded by a solid foundation of blocks of limestone, held together by cement, Fic. 43.—Flints found in ruins at Naranjo. among which were found, near the base of the stela, and actually in contact with it, the two eccentrically shaped flint objects shown in figures 41 and 42. In excavating a stela at the ruins of Naranjo, Republic of Guatemala, Teobert Maler found the flint illustrated in figure 43, a, and in clearing another stela at the same ruins 24 similar flints were found (fig. 43, b-s). Of these he says: During the excavation of this ‘‘starfish stela” quite a collection of very interesting flint ornaments, 24 in number, came to hght. Among them were crescents, such as are seen as ear ornaments on certain stele of Yaxh4 and Tikal, several curved or even S-shaped pieces, which, perhaps, were used as-nose ornaments, a serrated lance and a serrated plate, a piece in the shape of a cross, and one composed of three leaves, a double lance, single lances, etc. 70806°—18—Bull. 64——7 98 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 We may assume that near many stele, as well as in the interior or on the exterior of temples, in addition to incense burners and sacrificial bowls, there were placed certain death’s-head masks or other figures of perishable material tricked out with ornaments, feathers, and locks of hair, which have long since mouldered away, leay- ing behind only those of indestructible stone. For elsewhere, in the vicinity of stele, objects of flint and obsidian are found in addition to pottery sherds.1 It will be seen that figure 43, a, from Naranjo is practically identical with figure 44, h, from Benque Viejo, as is figure 43, ¢, from Naranjo with figure 40, d, from Benque Viejo, and figure 43, k, from Naranjo with figure 44, k, from Benque Viejo, while © © bh JOO H8O89 Fia. 44.—Objects from Benque Viejo. the objects shown in figure 43, h, 1, m, respectively, from Naranjo very closely resemble those seen in figure 44, 0, a, l, from Benque Viejo. Close to Succots, which is an extension of the village of Benque Viejo, a small mound was opened by Dr. Davis some years ago, within which were found the objects illustrated in figure 45. These are all of obsidian and of very eccentric and irregular shapes. The object shown in figure 45, c, closely resembles that shown in figure 43, c, from Naranjo, and that in figure 40, d, from Benque Viejo, } Maler, Explorations in the Department of Peten, Guatemala, pp. 100-101. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 99 and still more closely figure 44, p, from Benque Viejo, both being made of obsidian. “ail No. 13 Close to Corozal, in the northern district of British Honduras, the sea In its gradual encroachment along the coast had partially washed away a small mound. On the beach, by the side of the mound, were found a few fragments of human long bones, a small triangular arrowhead or javelin head of black flmt, a number of potsherds of coarse, thick, reddish pottery, and two small obsidian knives. These had evidently been washed out of the mound by the sea. The remaining part of the mound was dug down. It was found to be 18 feet in diameter, less than 4 feet high at its highest point, and built throughout of water-worn stones, sand, and earth. Near the center and on the ground level were found human vertebre and parts of a skull, probably belonging with the leg bones found on the weacony Fic. 45.—Obsidian objects found in a mound near Benque Viejo. beach. Close to these were found a small three-legged earthenware bead vase, containing two pottery and one small polished greenstone bead, together with one eccentrically shaped flint object. This is probably meant to represent a ‘‘quash,”’ or picote, with bushy tail coiled over his back. It is rather neatly chipped from dark-yellow flmt. It measures nearly 3 inches from the curve of the tail to the tip of the forepaw. Mounp No. 14 The next mound in which 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 a couple of feet beneath the surface. They were discovered accident- ally by an Indian (from whom they were purchased) while digging out a halib, or gibnut, from its hole, and consisted of: (a) A spindle- shaped stone brazo 12 inches long by 9? inches in circumference, finely polished from grinding corn on a metate. (b) A chipped flint brazo, 74 inches long by 104 inches in circumference, polished on one 100 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 side only. Flint brazos are exceedingly rare, as the rough surface necessary for corn grinding must have been difficult to produce on so refractory a material. (c) Hight stone ax heads, varying from 34 to 84 inches in length. (d) A dark greenstone ax head, 94 inches in length, with two shallow notches, one on each side of a shoulder situ- ated 3 inches from the base, probably intended to afford greater facility in bedtime the implement. (e) Two well-chipped flint spear- heads, one 104, the other 74, inches in length. (f) An oblong block of flint 64 inches in length and 64 inches in circumference. This had Fic. 46.—Flint 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 in diameter, with 13 sharp-pointed triangular rays or spines, each about 2 inches in length, at equal intervals around its periphery. Near the center of this object is a natural hole 3? inches in diameter. The upper part of this mound consisted of earth and blocks of lime- stone; the lower part was not excavated. The implements were found lying close together in a cache, loose in the soil. Numerous rough potsherds were found, but there was no trace of human inter- ment discovered. In the southern part of British Honduras, not far from Punta Gorda, is a group of small natural elevations, known as Seven Hills. Upon the summit of the highest of these, some years ago, the object illustrated in figure 46 was found. This somewhat resembles a horse- shoe with two long bars, each tapering off to a point, projecting from either side. It is very neatly chipped from grayish flint. Its extreme length is 16 inches. This implement was found just be- neath the surface, covered only by a few inches of soil. At a later date a number of trenches were dug on the summit of this mound, but nothing except potsherds of various kinds with flint and obsidian chips came to light. FIG. 47.—Horseshoe-shaped flint In figure 47 is seen one of the finest of aeibieKemic ss these eccentrically shaped flints ever found in this part of the Maya area. It is horseshoe-shaped, chipped to a sharp edge all round, and has six sharp spines projecting from the outer periph- ery (one of which has been broken off, as shown in the figure), with shallow indentations between them. The implement, which is 35 cm. in its greatest diameter, is made of nearly black flint, covered with a beautiful.creamy white porcelain-like patina. It GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 101 was found by an Indian in the neighborhood of San Antonio, on the Rio Hondo, which here forms the boundary line between Mexico and British Honduras. He was idly scratching on the top of a small mound, buried’in the bush, with his machete, when a few inches below the surface he came upon this very remarkable flint. Unfor- tunately, he took no pains to locate the mound, and as the bush in 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 River Thames, near London, at a spot where foreign-going ships were in the habit of dumping their ballast. There can be little doubt that it came originally from British Honduras, as flint implements of such large size and of this peculiar type are not found outside the Maya area. This object, as may be seen, is a crude representation of the human form; it is 94 inches in length and is neatly chipped. A closely similar anthropomorphic specimen is pre- served in the Northesk collection, a cast of which may be seen in the British Museum. It is extremely difficult to form any satisfac- | tory theory as to the use of these eccentrically shaped flints which will cover all the instances in which they have beenfound. Teobert Maler, judging by the small specimens, closely packed, which he found at Naranjo, considers that they may have been used as ornaments upon death’s- head masks, placed near stele and temples, the moro perishable parts of which have disap- peared. This theory could hardly apply to the immense specimens from the Douglas, Orange Walk, and Seven Hills mounds, some of which fF". _48.—Figure from River - - Thames, near London. are, moreover, obviously intended as weapons, and not as ornaments. Stevens, the author of ‘‘Flint Chips,’ with only the three large specimens found in a cave inland from the Bay of Honduras to judge from, considers that they may have served as ‘‘weapons of parade, like the state partisan or halbert of later times;’’ it is perfectly obvious, however, that the zoomorphic forms from Corozal and Douglas, and the small specimens from Benque Viejo, Naranjo, Kendal, and Santa Rita, could not have been intended for this purpose. Finding small, beautifully chipped cres- cents, crosses, and rings of obsidian and varicolored flints, as have been discovered at Benque Viejo and Succots, one would be inclined to think that they were intended as earrings, gorgets, and breast ornaments, especially as one sees such forms frequently recurring in the ornaments worn by figures on the stele in -the neighborhood. Finding the huge flints pictured in plate 15, 6, d, especially when 102 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 associated, as they were, with the large flint spearheads illustrated in plate 15, ¢, f, the conclusion that they were intended as weapons would be almost irresistible. . The number of these objects found at each of thé 11 sites which have 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 not thoroughly excavated, and may or may not have been sepulchral in function; in the two remaining finds the flints were placed closely adjacent to sculptured stele, and these again may have been used,to mark the grave of some priest or o cacique, though they more fre- quently marked the lapse of cer- : Ser cies tain time periods. The common- 53 est form assumed by these objects f is the crescent or some variant of it. Of the 11 sites excavated, this form was found in no fewer than 8. The crescent is in some # cases quite plain, in some indented or spiked along the convexity, and is in one instance furnished with i h 7t long spines on cach side. In every instance (except that of the chambered mound at Douglas) wherethese implements werefound in mounds they were placed quite superficially at the summit of the mound; indeed at Benque Viejo, Seven Hills, and Santa Ritaitseems Tish ip probable that they had not been Fig. 49.—F lint objects from Tennessee. 2 ele buried originally at all, but merely placed upon the summit of the mound and in course of time became covered with a layer of humus from decaying vegetation in the vicinity. | Similar flint objects have been found in other parts of the world, notably at Brionio in Italy and in Stuart, Smith, and Humphrey Counties, Tennessee. In figure 49, b-n, are shown somewhat rough outline sketches of the Tennessee objects, and in figure 50, a—p, are represented a selection of the most important objects found at Brionio, now in the collection of the late Professor Gigholi at Florence. The Tennessee objects are to be seen at Washington. The latter are small when compared with the largest of the Maya GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 103 specimens, but are neatly chipped, whereas the Brionio objects are very crudely blocked out, mostly from black flint. It will be observed that figure 49, c, d, g, from Tennessee, shows specimens almost identical with figure 50, p, from Brionio, and with the turtle, pictured in plate 15, g, from the Douglas chambered mound; again the spiked crescents, figure 50, b, c, n, from Brionio, closely resemble the very much larger spiked crescent illustrated in plate 15, e, from the Douglas chambered mound, and still more closely the spiked crescent figured in “‘ Flint Chips” (from Wilson, Prehistoric Man, op. cit.; p. 214). Though these objects are not found in Cen- tral America outside the Maya area, the Aztec were sufficiently ex- pert in the art of flint and obsidian chipping to have produced them had they wished. In figure 49, a, is seen the outline of a type of labret worn by the Aztecs, chipped out of both flint and obsidian, which oe, compares favorably in workmanship with any of the objects from the Maya area. “ b In reviewing the evidence it would appear that these eccentricallyshaped objects were not employed either as } l 7 implements cr as weapons, most of them being utterly unsuited in both size and shape for such purposes; they used as ornaments, as many of them are too large and heavy, while the more roughly chipped specimens apurpose. Judging by the fact that G 5 at least of the 11 separate finds Fic, Sh-—Pint objets rom aly. were associated with human burials, it seems probable that these 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 a memorial stela; and that they were manufactured and used solely for rei A u moreover, none of them show any z signs of wear or use. Neither were -would be quite unadapted for such | | objects were purely ceremonialin use; that they were most frequently, this purpose Mowunp No. 15 Mound No. 15 was situated on the south bank of the Rio Hondo, about 5 miles from its mouth, near the village of Santa Helena. This was a conical mound 25 feet in height and 120 feet in circum- ference at the base. Excavation was begun at the summit of the mound, which was somewhat flattened. For the first foot the coil 104 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [RULL. 64 consisted of light-brown earth, which contained nothing of interest. For the next 34 feet there were large blocks of limestone, the inter- stices between which were filled with limestone dust and débris. In these were found large quantities of potsherds, some well painted and polished, together with part of the inferior maxilla of a medium- sized carnivore, probably a puma. Ata depth of 34 feet a number of stone flags, each nearly 5 feet in length and from 4 to 6 inches in thickness, were exposed; on re- moving these a small chamber appeared, of which the flags formed the roof. The walls of the chamber, or cist, were built of squaredstones mortared together; it was 6 feet long, 6 feet high, and 4 feet broad; the floor was of light- Ae Bl i\y, —. ey 7 ve 7 Pp ¥ he! i ¢ ca see Vitel =. ey : - — U = t a ; =5@ BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 18 b POTTERY FROM MOUND NO. 16 GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 107 diately behind God K is repeated the design of the serpent swallowing a human head, above which is a striated bar, whose sole purpose seemingly is to decorate a vacant space. Above this again is a bar with feathers or leaves projecting from it, which may possibly be connected with the headdress of God B, and at the top is repeated the figure of the fish, 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 the whole series recommences with the prone naked human figure. (b) A vessel exactly similar in size, color, and shape to the one last described (pl. 18,a). The outer surface is decorated by four curious monkey- like creatures, sculptured in low relief, separated from each other by ovate spaces inclosed in double parallel lines and filled with cross- hatching. Above and below is a border of frets, also executed in low relief. The faces of these monkeys are represented by a simple oval, no attempt having been made to depict any of the features. The hands are furnished with huge clawlike fingers, and the tails, which are of great length, are curled over the back. The cover of this vessel (pl. 18, a) is circular, some- what funnel-shaped, 23 cm. in diameter. Upon its outer surface Is executed, in low relief,amonkey almost 5,, 55. —qaaeite exactly similar to those which appear on the outer sur- beads found in face of the vase, except that it is somewhat larger “°"™' N° 7° and is seen in front view, not in profile. The face of the monkey is carefully molded in high relief to form the handle of the lid, while between his hands he grasps an ovate object identical with those on the vase. (c) The lid of a vessel corresponding exactly to the lid of the vessel first described. The pot to which it belonged could not be found (pl. 18, 6). (d) A pair of cylindrical vases, each standing upon three short, hollow, oval legs. Both are 108 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 made of extremely thin, brittle pottery painted a dirty yellow and polished throughout, with no ornament except a broad red stripe, which passes obliquely around the whole of the outer surface of each vase. (e) Two shallow circular plaques, painted reddish-brown, and polished throughout, with a geometrical device in thin black lines around the inner surface of the rimof each. (f) A quantity of bones, probably those of a halib or gibnut, and of a wild turkey. These were found under a large block of rough limestone. (g) A number of b Fic. 57.—a. Circular shell disks from Mound No. 16. 6. Greenstone ear plugs from Mound No. 17. univalve shells, each about 1 inch in length, perforated at the apex in 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 use as agorget. (h) Thirteen large, round, perforated beads (fig. 55). Some of these are reddish in color, and show traces of polishing. With these were the three jadeite beads pictured in figure 56; two of these SS EES as OS 2 1See Memoirs of the Pcabody Museum, vol. u, No. 1, Researchés in the Valley of the Usumatsintla, where on several illustrations rows of similar shells are seen decorating the edges of the garments of the persons represented. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 109 are cylindrical, with a knob at one end, while the third is nearly spherical; all are finely polished; they are made of light and dark- green mottled jadeite. (i) A single small oyster shell, with a great -number of cockle shells. (j) Two circular disks of shell, represented in figure 57, a, exhibiting the front and back view. The central part is of a deep reddish color, and is well polished. Each disk is 5 em. in diameter and is perforated at the center. They were probably used as ear ornaments. Excavations were made in this mound to the ground level, but no additional objects were found in it. Mounp No. 17 Mound No. 17 was situated within a mile of the mound last described, on high ground, about 14 miles from the Rio Hondo, from which it is separated by a belt of swamp. It was conical in shape, about 40 feet high, nearly 90 yards in circumference, and was built throughout of large blocks of limestone, the interstices being filled with 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, Jag i which led into a small stone-faced chamber, 15 TARTAR feet long, 5 feet broad, and 6 feet high. The opening had been made by the falling in of one OBSIDIAN Disc of the flags which formed the roof of the cham- yy¢, 5s3—obsidian disk ins ber; this was found within the chamber with a __ s¢tted in tooth of skeleton - ‘ found in Mound No. 17. pile of débris. The floor was composed of large flat flags, on removing one of which an aperture was made which led into asecond chamber, of exactly the same size as the first, and imme- diately beneath it. The floor of this was covered to a depth of about 12 inches with a layer of soft brown river sand, in which 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 of the incisor teeth was inserted a small disk of obsidian, the outer surface of which was highly polished (fig.58). These ornamental tooth fillings are rather rare, though they have been found from time to time in Yucatan and as far south as Quirigua. They were usually made from greenstone, obsidian, or iron pyrites, all highly polished, the only teeth ornamented being the incisors and canines, usually in the upper jaw. The plugging seems to have been exclusively for orna- mental purposes, not with any idea of filling a cavity, the result of caries in the tooth.! 1 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 tecth, 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- served. Itseems probable that the custom had already become obsolete before the first appearance of the Spaniards in Yucatan. ; 110 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 64 (b) A shallow plaque, 28 cm. in diameter, painted throughout a dark reddish-yellow, and finely polished. Upon the upper surface was outlined in fine black lines 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 mouth of the Rio Hondo, where stone bass abound, is a favorite fish- ing ground for sea hawks and frigate birds. (c) A number of painted and glazed potsherds of all sizes. Beneath this second chamber a third was discovered, roofed in with rough flags, of the same dimensions as the other two. The floor of this chamber was cemented over; nothing except Fic. 59.—Bird carrying a fish outlined on shallow ]|jmestone blocks and mortar was ia A fe oe found between it and the bot- tom of the mound. Upon the floor lay a solitary plaque, of a deep reddish-yellow color, the upper surface divided by black lines into four equal spaces, in each of which was crudely outlined in black a fish, probably meant to represent a stone bass. On digging into the summit of the mound outside the area occupied by the chambers, the following objects were brought to light: (a) A cylindrical vase of light, thin, well-made pottery, 164 em. high by 13 em. in diameter, painted light yellow throughout and finely polished (fig. 60). Upon one side of the vase, within an oblong space outlined in black, are a number of curious mythological animals, above which is a row of six glyphs, seemingly explanatory of the picture be- neath (pl. 19, a). Both animals and glyphs are very carefully executed in red, black, and brown, on a yellow background. The lowest figure on the right somewhat resembles that on a vase in the American Museum of Natural History,! upon which the Long- nosed god is associated with bulblike objects, flowers, SOT and a bird (probably a pelican). On this vase the ee toe Long-nosed god is seen with a bulblike object, possibly — found in Mound a root, from which project interlacing stalks, at the “°™” ends of which are water-lily buds. Above these is a bird, possibly asea hawk. The whole connotes water, or fertility. (b) A second vase, similar in shape, but somewhat larger (fig. 61), is painted yellow and polished throughout. Upon this is depicted a cruciform object, with outgrowths from the upper and lateral limbs of the 1 See Spinden, Maya Art, fig. 79. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 19 b. DECORATION OF VESSEL FROM MOUND NO. 17 GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS brk cross, probably a highly conventionalized tree. (c) A shallow circular plaque, 36 cm. in diameter, painted light yellow, and_ polished throughout. Upon its upper surface is painted, in red and black, a coiled plumed serpent (fig. 62), doubtless intended to represent Cuculean, the ‘‘Feathered Serpent.”’ (d) Two circular objects of polished greenstone, somewhat resembling broad-brimmed hats from which the crowns have been removed (see fig. 57, 6). Each has on the upper surface of the brim a small ovate piece of mother-of-pearl, firmly cemented to the stone. These objects were probably used as ear plugs; with them were five small perforated spherical beads of polished greenstone. At the base of the northern aspect of this mound was a small square enclosure, surrounded by a stone wall 2 to 3 feet in height. On digging into this, near 4, gy) Larger its center, an alligator made of rough pottery, 15 pottery vase inches long, was discovered.' In the center of its back eae ae is a small circular opening, covered by a conical stop- per, leading into the hollow interior, in which was found a small perforated polished jadeite bead, in the form of a grotesque human face. Close to the alligator lay a basin-shaped vessel, 28 cm. in diameter, painted yellow, and polished throughout. In the center of this, outlined in thin black lines, is the object seen in plate 19, b, probably meant to represent the two-headed dragon so common in Maya art. Mounp No. 18 Mound No. 18,situated less than half a mile from the next preced- ing, was 10 feet high, 70 feet in circumference, roughly conical in shape, and firmly built through- out of blocks of limestone the interstices between which were filled with earth and limestone Fic. 62.—Coiled plumed serpent painted on plaque dust. At the bettom of the eT oe mound, near its center, resting on 1 the ground, was a cist, about 2 feet in diameter, poushls con- stricted of large flags of Taestons, Within this were found two vessels: (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 resembling a four-leafed sham- rock. (b) A vase of the shape shown in figure 63, 13 cm. high and 13 em. in diameter. This is made of rather thick pottery; it is 112 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 painted light yellow and polished throughout. On the outer surface of the rim, outlined in thin black lines, is the glyph represented in figure 64, which is repeated all the way round the circum- ference. No additional objects were found GESCHIGE| 1g in this cyst, nor were there any traces of bones in it, or in the rest of the mound, which was afterward examined. Mounp No. 19 Mound No. 19, situated close to the preced- ing, was 6 feet in height, with flattened top, built solidly throughout of limestone blocks and a friable mortarlike substance. At the Fic. 63.—Pottery vase found in ground level, near the center of the mound, a a were discovered two cists, placed side by side, separated by a partition wall built of blocks of cut stone. Each cist was 6 feet long, 3 feet broad, nearly 4 feet deep, solidly constructed of stones mortared together. Neither the cists nor the body of the mound contained anything of interest except a few fragments of bone in the last stages of disintegration. Mounp No. 20 Mound No. 20 was situated at Pueblo Nuevo, about 6 miles from the mouth of the Rio Nuevo, in the northern district of British Honduras. The mound was about 100 feet in length and varied from 8 to 12 feet in height and from 15 to 25 feet in breadth. It was built throughout of earth, limestone dust, and blocks of lime- stone, a great many of which had been squared. Immediately beneath the surface, running east and west along the long diameter of the mound and nearly centrally placed in it, was the upper sur- face of a wall, which had evidently at one time formed part of a building of considerable size. This wall was built of finely squared blocks of limestone mortared to- gether, and was some- what more than 18 inches thick. It ex- - tended for 40 feet, turning at right angles at both the eastern and ! western extremities Fig. 64.—Glyph outlined on outer surface of rim of vase’shown in a fig. 63. and was broken by a single opening, 34 feet broad at the center. The part of the wall left standing varied from 2 to 34 feet in height and was covered on its inner surface by a layer of smooth, yellow, very hard cement; the . e . . . outer surface, which still retained traces of painted stucco moldings, GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS Lis ended below in a floor of hard cement 12 inches thick. |The greater part of these moldings had been broken away, but portions were still adherent to the wall and great quantities of fragments, painted red and blue, were found immediately beneath the wall from which they had been broken. The most, im- portant of these were: (a) Two human torsos, one (the more elaborate) of which is seen in figure 65, c. (b) Three human heads, one of which is rep- resented in figure 65, ), in situ. Both heads and torsos are life size, and both are painted red and blue throughout.’ (c) Two headdresses, one of which is seen in situ in figure 65, a; the other is almost precisely similar me aS = desen. Fia. 65.—Torso, head, and headdress from Mound No. 20. (d) Fragments of elabo- \ rately molded pillars, which had origimally separated the figures on the wall. A portion of one of these is shown in figure 66. This design was repeated three times upon the front of the pillar, the back of which was flattened for attachment to the wall. Great quantities of fragments of painted stucco, of all shapes and sizes, were dug out of the mound, but the human figures, with the pillars which sepa- rated them, were the only objects the original TeTelelele[? positions of which on the wall it was possible AY JAX 77) to determine with certainty. Resting upon the ye WW layer of hard cement in which the wall terminated Ne 2, below, between 5 and 6 feet from the eastern end SHON HY ), and close to the wall itself, was found an adult eo ra Thi = Te [olele lel human skeleton, the bones of which were hud ———————— dled together within a very small compass, in a Fic. 66.—Fragment of pil- manner suggesting secondary burial. In remoy- larfoundin Mound No. .- a ing these bones nearly all of them crumbled to pieces. Throughout the whole mound were found numerous potsherds, some of very fine pottery, colored and polished; others thick, rough, and undecorated. Fragments of flint and obsidian, broken flint spearheads and scrapers, and broken obsidian knives were also found. 1The photographs of the torso and headdress were taken in England and those of the head in British Honduras. Consequently they do not fit together as well as do the originals. 70806°—18—Bull. 648 114 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 Mounp No. 21 Mound No. 21 was situated near Corozal, in the northern district of British Honduras. This mound had very steep sides; it was 50 feet in height by 200 feet in circumference, and was built of blocks of limestone, the interstices of which were filled with friable mortar. Toward the west the mound joined a smaller mound, 20 feet in height. A rumor was current among the Indians in the neighbor- hood that some years before a number of fragments of clay idols had been found lying on the surface of the earth near the mound. Excavations were consequently made all around the mound, for a distance 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. These excavations brought to light enormous quantities of fragments of crude, coarse pottery vessels, for the greater part the remains of large hourglass-shaped incense burners, which had been decorated on their outer surfaces with either a human head or an entire human figure. Among these fragments were animal heads in terra cotta, the snake and the dragon being of most frequent occurrence, but the deer, alligator, and tiger also being represented. Heads of ‘the owl, the wild turkey, and the humming bird likewise 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, and bracelet-decorated hands and arms were also plentiful. The right arm seems in most cases to have been extended, holding in the upward turned palm some object as a gift or offering. These objects vary considerably; three are undoubtedly wild turkeys, with their long necks coiled around their bodies; two are palm-leaf fans attached to handles; one appears to be a’shallow saucer containing three small cakes; while two are pyramidal, spike-covered objects, possibly meant to represent the fruit of the pitaya cactus. With these frag- ments of pottery were found four entire oval pottery vases, each about 4 inches high, standing on three short legs, each containing a few clay and polished greenstone beads. Close to these was a pair of vases, shaved like 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 above the ankle. These vases showed traces of white and blue paint, which had, however, almost completely worn off; around them were a considerable number of fragments of the bones of deer and peccary, very much decayed. Close to the base of the mound was found an oval 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 entirely of pottery fragments, with a capping of humus. It is not improbable that this was the spot on which tie ceremonial destruction, of these GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 115 incense burners took place, the fragments being scattered in all direc- tions around the entire circumference of the large mound. Mowunp No. 22 Mound No. 22, situated at Saltillo, near the mouth of the Rio Nuevo, northern district of British Honduras, was partially explored in 1908-9 on behalf of the Institute of Archeology of Liverpool University. The mound was about 30 feet high; it was built of limestone blocks, limestone dust, and rubble. It stands at one corner of a quadrangular space measuring 80 by 35 yards, and ele- vated from 4 to 5 feet above the surrounding ground level. This space is encompassed by four mounds, joined by a bank or rampart averaging 10 feet high. Around the base of the mound a great number of fragments of pottery incense burners were found, with the images of the gods, which decorated them externally. Eight complete heads and two broken ones were recovered, together with arms, legs, bodies with quilted cotton breastplates and maztlis, elaborate headdresses, and various objects held im the hands of the figures. These vessels are almost exactly similar to those found along the valley of the Usu- masintla and Rio de la Pasion, described by Seler in ‘his ‘Antiquities of Guatemala.”” Rude specimens, with the face of the god only decorating the outside of the vessel, were found by Sapper and Charnay in use among the Lacandon Indians a few years ago. The dress and ornaments of these clay figurines, which vary from 1 to 2 feet in height, are those found almost universally throughout the Maya area. The large circular ear ornaments, with a tassel or twisted pendant hanging from the center, the curious projecting curved ornament above the nose, the small button-like labrets at each corner of the mouth, are present in all, and are highly charac- teristic. On all the feet elaborate sandals are worn, fastened by thongs attached between the first and second and third and fourth toes, with a band passing around the ankle ending in a broad depend- ent flap. Around the legs are plain bands and strings of beads; around the wrists, strings of beads, in some cases fastened by an ornamental loop. The breastplates are of quilted cotton, some very elaborate, and decorated with beads, studs, and tassels, while below the breastplate covering the genitals is the maztli, or small apron, comnmionly worn by both Maya and Aztec. The objects held in the hands consist of birds, fans, globes, mcense burners, and other: less easily distinguishable articles. The whole of the space within the earthwork appears to have been sprinkled with these fragments _ of pottery vases and idols, but it was only around the base of the large mound that entire heads were found. The fragments seem to have been originally placed on the earth, and in course of time to have been covered by a thin layer of humus from decaying vegetation, 116 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 as many of them still lie on the surface, and nowhere are they buried more than a few inches, except at the base of the mound, where earth from its side, washed down by rains, would naturally have covered them with a slightly deeper layer. On making excavations at various points within the enclosed space, the floor was found to consist first of the earth which contained the broken incense burners, with some blocks of limestone, and beneath this of a layer about 4 feet thick composed of marl dust, very small fragments of pottery, and rubble, welded together into an almost cement-like mass. Mounp No. 23 Mound No. 23 was situated near the northern end of Chetumal Bay, 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 feet in diameter was inclosed by a low, roughly built stone wall. On digging within this space there were brought to light, immediately beneath the surface, the following objects: (a) Part of a large hourglass-shaped incense burner in rough pottery, decorated with a human figure in high relief, 20 inches high. Unfortunately the left arm and leg and part of the chest are missing from this figure, which, judging by the headdress, curved nose, and tusk-like teeth, is probably intended to represent the God Cuculcan. The left foot is sandaled, and on the left wrist is a loop-fastened string of beads, while over the front of the chest hangs a breastplate of quilted cotton, decorated with flaps and fastened over the shoulders.' Round the neck is a flat gorget, decorated with round bosses, and in the ears are large circular ear plugs with tassels dependent from their 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 and upper jaw of some mythological animal, the latter projecting well over the face of the god, as if in the act of swallowing him. 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 exhibits traces of blue and white paint on that part of the face protected by the broad flap of the headdress, and originally doubtless the whole was painted in various colors, which first exposure to rain and afterward burial in moist earth, have almost 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 por moler colchada de dos tandas ocolchaduras, y estos eran fortissimos.’’ GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS Lk? height, which doubtless at one time ornamented the outer surface of alargeincense burner. The left foot and leg are gone; the right foot is covered with a sandal held on by a curved heelpiece rismg above the 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 is attached to this, holding the front part of the sandal in place. Round the leg is a broad band, with a row of semilunar ornaments projecting downward from it. The mazili has been broken away, but the quilted cotton chest covering is still in position. This is held in place by bands passing over the shoulders, and is ornamented — by a row of five circular studs passing down its center, with long tassels below, which must have hung on each side of the maztli, and tassels above, attached near the shoulder, which hang down on each side of it. The throat is covered by a broad band, decorated along its lower edge with four pairs of small circular studs. Round the left wrist is a bracelet composed of six flat oval beads, fastened in front by an ornamental loop. The left arm is extended, and in the hand, held palm upward, is grasped an acorn-shaped object from which project nine spikes. From each side of the mouth project long curved tusks. The nose is of unusual shape, being long, straight, and slender; the bridge is covered by a curved snake- like object. The headdress rises 6 inches above the superciliary ridges; its lower part consists of the head and upper mandible of the bill of some bird, probably a hawk or eagle. Above this rises a hollow cylindrical 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 a plume of feathers. There can be little doubt that this figure is meant to represent the God Itzamna, as the sunken cheeks, the single large tooth on each side of the mouth, and the prominent, though well-formed nose, are all characteristics of this god. (c) An earthenware figure, closely similar in size and appearance to those just described. Of the face only the left eye, the left side of the mouth, and the nose are left; the last named is short, rounded, and well formed, and is ornamented at its root with a small round stud. (d) Fragments of a rough bowl of yellowish pottery, which must have been of considerable size. Unfortunately only four fragments were 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 glyphic inscrip- tions which 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, which would fix the period inthe Maya long count when the mounds, temples, burial places, and other monuments scattered throughout this 118 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 colony, were constructed. According to recent researches the latest _ date recorded by an initial series on the monoliths of Quirigua, in Guatemala, is within about 70 years of the earliest date recorded by any of the initial series found up to the present among the ruins of Yucatan.'' As the tide of Maya migration was undoubtedly from south to north, and as British Honduras stands midway between Guatemala and Yucatan, it is only reasonable to suppose that the colonization of the greater part of it by the Maya took. place at some period between the abandonment of the cities of Quirigua and Coban, and the rise of Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and other Yucatan - cities. This theory is borne out by the fact that the hieroglyphic inscriptions and pictographs found in the colony are closely allied to those found both in the northern and southern cities; moreover, the painted stucco and wooden lintels so common in Yucatan, but not found in the south, are present here, while the sculptured stele found in the south, but of extreme rarity in northern Yucatan, are (though not very numerous and poorly executed) found in British Honduras. (e) Large quantities of fragments of rough pottery vases and bowls; some of these evidently belonged to hourglass-shaped incense burners, 2 to 3 feet high, decorated with incised lines and - glyphs, raised bands, and studs, but without human figures on their exterior surfaces. A number of these fragments were taken down to the camp of some chicle bleeders in the vicinity; unfortunately in the night the palm-leaf shelters caught fire and the whole camp was burned to the ground, most of the potsherds being lost or destroyed. Among these were probably the missing parts of the clay figures and of the hieroglyphic-covered pot. The whole of the mound was dug down, but with the exception of traces of a wall built of squared stones on the ground level, nothing worthy of note was found in it. It is almost certain that this mound had never been visited from the time of its erection till its discovery last year by chicle bleeders ~ looking for sapodilla trees in this very remote corner of Yucatan. The clay images were lying on the top of the mound, partially uncovered, and had anyone, even an Indian, visited the place, they would almost certainly have removed these, as there is always a ready market for idolos, as the Indians call every relic of their ances- tors, among curio collectors who visit Belize. Mounp No. 24 Mound No. 24 was situated near the coast, at the northern extrem- ity of Chetumal Bay, in Yucatan. This mound was 10 feet high by about 10 yards in diameter. Upon the summit, which was flattened, were found a great number of rough potsherds, partially buried in a layer of humus from 6 to 12 inches deep. These were evi- 1 MORLEY, An Introduction to the Study of the Maya Hieroglyphs, p. 15. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 20 INCENSE BURNER FROM MOUND NO, 24 GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 119 dently fragments of incense burners, as arms, legs, and parts of head- dresses, faces, maztlis, 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 20 and figure 67. The vessel which served as a receptacle for the incense is 154 inches high by 9 inches in diameter at the mouth. The human figure which decorates the side of the vessel is 22 inches in height from the top of the headdress to the sole of the sandals. The figurine was not complete when first discovered, as the hands, arms, feet, maztli, and feather ornaments from the sides and headdress were missing; nearly all of these, however, were unearthed, mixed with other pieces of pottery, not far from the incense burner. The head- dress consists of a flat, broad cap with slightly projecting rim and large quadrangular flaps, which extend downward and outward over the large ear plugs. The back of the cap ex- tends upward 3 inches; the crown is decorated with feather ornaments, while on each side appears an object resembling half an ear of maize, from the top of which depends a tassel. The nose is sharp, thin, and promi- nent; starting on each side of it and passing down almost to the angles of the jaw, where it ends in alittle up- ward curl,is what might be intended as either a mustache or some form of nose ornament. From each angle of the mouth projects a circular labret; this evidently passes behind the upper lip, which it causes to bulge consider- ably. The ear plugs are large, round, and funnel-shaped (pl. 20); these, as well as the shoulders, show traces of 1. 67,—Another view of incense burner shown in plate 20. blue paint, with hich: the entire figure was evidently at one time covered Around the neck is a flat collar decorated with five circular studs, to the sides and front of which is attached a hollow cylindrical bar, which supports the quilted cotton breastplate. The latter is decorated with six tassels, three above and three below, and below it is seen the plain apron (mazfli), which descends almost to the sandals. The shoulders are covered with caps or 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 ith large flaps, which almost cover the dorsum of each foot. Attached 120 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 to the incense burner, and forming a background for the figure, are pro- jecting feather ornaments extending from the headdress to the elbow. The mound was dug away to the ground level. It was found to be built of blocks of limestone and earth, but nothing of moment was found in it with the exception of numerous potsherds of all kinds. Mounp No. 25 Mound No. 25 was situated in the country of the Icaiché Indians, Quintana Roo, Yucatan. ‘The mound was discovered by the Indians when cutting down virgin bush to make a milpa, or corn plantation. It was a moderate-sized mound, about 10 feet high, and upon its summit, uncovered, lay the ob- jects iulustrated in figures 68, 69, and 70. Figure 68 exhibits a roughly formed clay figurine, nearly 1 foot in height, decorat- inga small hourglass-shaped in- cense burner. Both figure and vase are very crudely modeled in rough pottery; most of the prom- inent characteristics of the care- fully modeled and _ elaborately decorated incense burner repre-_ sented in plate 20 and figure 67 are still retamed. The large round ear plugs, with long flaps from the headdress overlapping FI@. 68.—Incense burner decorated with crude clay them, the horizontally striated figurine from Mound No. 25. : breastplate, and even a rudiment- ary maztli, together with the extended position of the arms, as if in the actof making an offering,and the background of featherworkarefeatures which may be recognized. There is exhibited, however, a lamentable decadence from the art which fabricated the more elaborate vase. In figure 69 may beseen what probably represents a further stage of de- generation—namely, the substitution of the head for the entire figure on the outside of the incense burner. The last stage of all in the decadence of this branch of Maya art is to be seen in the small crude bowls found by Sapper in the great Christa of the settlement of Izan, and by Charnay in the ruins of Menche Tmamit.! These bowls, 1 Accounts of the finding of these incense burners and of copal are common in both ancient and modern times. ‘Hallé en una de las dos Capillas cacao ofrecido, y sefial de copal (que es su incienso) de poco tiempo alli quemado, y que lo era de alguna supersticion, 6 idolatria recién cometida.’’—COGOLLUDO, His- toria de Yucathan, Bk. Iv, Cap. vm, p. 193. ““¥ Jos que ivan tenian de costumbre de entrar también en templos derelictos, quando passavan por ellos a orar y quemar copal.””—LANDA, op. cit., p. 158. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS Por each decorated with a roughly modeled human face, are manufac- tured by the modern Indians and used by them in burning copal gum in the ruins of the temples erected by their ancestors. Figure 70 shows a life-sized hollow head, in rough pottery, with a thin hollow neck, probably used to carry around in processions on the top of a long pole. There can beno doubt that these bowls and hourglass-shaped vessels, each decorated externally with a human figure or face, usually that of a god, were used asincense burners, since a number of them, as already stated, were found in a mound at Santa Rita with half burnt out incense still contained in them. Moreover, their use for this purpose persists to the present day among the Lacandones'! and even among the Santa Cruz Indians. These incense burners occur most frequently in the cen- tral part of the Maya area and are not common in northern Yucatan or southern Guatemala. Three distinct types are found: The first include the large, well-modeled specimens found in and around burial mounds, decorated with the complete figure of the god (usually Cuculcan or Itzamna), haying every detail in clothing and ornament carefully executed in highrelief. These are all prob- fe. 69.—crude ciay figurine found in Mound ably pre-Columbian, and such as Mo. 2: have been found seem to have been used only as ceremonial mor- tuary incense burners, to be broken into fragments (which were scattered through or over the burial mound) immediately after use. “While searching the upper steps of the pyramid my men found two interesting incense vessels with a head on the rim.’’—MALER, Researches in the Central Portion of the Usumatsintla Valley, Part 2, p. 136. “Yn nearly all the houses (speaking of Yaxchilan) I found earthen pots, partly filled with some half- burned 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 been placed there since the partial destruction of the houses.”—MaupsLAy, Explorations in Guatemala, pp. 185-204. CHARNAY, Voyage au Yucatan et au pays des Lacandons, pp. 33-48. “Se trouvent une multitude de vases d’une terre grossiére, et d’une forme nouvelle; ce sont des bols de dix & quinze centimétres de diamétre sur cinq & six de hauteur, dont les bords sont ornés de masque humains représentant des figures camardes et d’autres & grands nez busqués, véritables caricatures ot lart fait complétement défaut. ... Ces vases servaient de briile-parfums, et la plupart sont encore & moitié pleins de copal.’’—CHARNAY, ibid., p. 88. 1“*These incense-burners are used by the Lacandones in their religious ceremonies. Each family or group of connected families living together possesses several of the incense-burners or braseros.”—T0ZzER, Comparative Study of the Mayas and Lacandones, p. 84. 19 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY "Taunt. 64 The specimen shown in plate 20 and figure 67 is a typical example of this class. Incense burners of the second type aresmaller, cruder, and probably later 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 of the god. ; Villagutierre tells us that the Indians of this region as late as the end of the seventeenth century still practiced to some extent the rites of their ancient religion;' and in the voyages which he describes up the Rio Hondo, and to Tipu, the Spaniards must frequently havecome in con- tact with the ancestors of the present Santa Cruz and Icaiché Indians, from whose territory the specimens shown in figures 68 and 69, typical examples of. this class, were taken. During the early years of the Spanish occupancy it is probable that the Indians, even in this re- mote and littlevisited region, living in a constant state of semiwarfare and rebellion, robbed, enslaved, driven from their villages, with little time to cultivate their Fiq. 70.—Crude clay figurine found in Mound No. 25. milpas, gr adually lost their ancient traditions and arts, and, long neglecting, ultimately almost entirely forgot, the elaborate ritual connected with their former religion. Such a decadence may be observed in comparing the incense burners illustrated in plate 20 and figure 68. The very marked facial characteristics of the former have 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 significance and symbolism, though retaining to some extent the form of their main constituents—the headdress, breastplate, maztli, and sandals— have almost completely lost the wealth of detail which gave them significance. 1“°Y Jas dos mas grandes, de Comunidad, y la otra, aiin mas grande, que todas las otras, era el Adoratorio de los perversos Idolos de aquellos Lacandones, donde se hallaron muchos de ellos, de formas raras, como assimismo cantidad de Gallinas muertas, Brasseros, con sefales de aver quemado Copal; y ain se hallaron las cenizas calientes, y otras diversas, ridiculas, y abominables cosas, pertenecientes & la execicuion de sus perversos Ritos, y Sacrificios.’,-—VILLAGUTIERRE, op. Cit., p. 264. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 13 Incense burners of the third type are decorated with a very crude representation of the face only of the god, consisting in some cases merely of slits for the eyes and mouth, with a conical projection for the nose, on the outer surface of the vessel. Some of the faces are represented conventionally by two ears, with ear plugs, one on each side of the vessel, or by knobs of clay on its outer edge, which repre- sent the hair. Lastly, the incense burner, which may be recognized by its hourglass shape, may be quite plain and undecorated. The third type is probably the latest in point of time; this includes the crude face-decorated bowls still used by the modern Lacandones,? among whom the ritual, as is so frequently the case, seems to have survived almost in its entirety the faith which gave birth to it. This is the more readily comprehensible when we remember that the manufacture and use of these ceremonial incense burners was practiced commonly by all classes of the people, not having been restricted, like most other details of the Maya ritual, solely to the priests. a b Fic. 71.—Small pottery vases found in Mound No. 26. Mounp No. 26 Mound No. 26 was situated in a clearing about 7 miles to the south of Corozal, in the northern part of British Honduras. There were about 20 mounds, irregularly grouped, in this clearing, varying from 6 to 12 feet in height and from 50 to 120 feet in circumference. The mound ‘was 8 feet high by 80 feet in circumference. It was built of rough blocks of limestone, limestone dust, and earth, tightly packed 1 See T0ZZER, op. cit., p. 87: ‘‘If we consider the type 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 on which 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 are seldom made or used now.” 2 These face-decorated bowls were in use as incense burners among the Mayas of Valladolid, very shortly after the conquest. See Relacion de la villa de Valladolid, p. 185: ‘‘Adoraban unos idolos hechos de barro 4 manera de jarillos y de macetas de albahaca, hechos en ellos de la parte de afuera rostros desemejados, quemaban dentro de estos una resina llamada copal, de gran oler. Esto les ofrecian 4 estos idolos, y ellos cortaban en muchas, partes de sus miembros y ofrecian aquella sangre.”’ ; See also Relacion de los pueblos de Popola, y Sinsimato y Samiol, pp. 44-45: ‘‘Usaban de adorar unos jarrillos hechos en ellos rostros desemejados, teniandolos por sus ydolos quemavan dentro y ofresian una resina llamada copal ques como trementina elada, de gran olor, y se cortavan en muchas partes para ofrecer la sangre a aquel ydolo.”’ 124 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 together, forming a tough, resistant mass. The mound was com- pletely removed to the ground level, but nothing of interest except chips of flint, fragments of obsidian knives, and potsherds was found till the ground level was reached. Lying upon this, near the center of the mound, were found the two small vases represented in figure 71, a,b. Each is about 6 inches in diameter; the one marked a is of polished red pottery, nearly globular in shape; 6 is of dark chocolate-colored pottery, also finely polished. There was a space of about 4 feet between the two vessels, in which were found frag- ments of human bones. Mounp No. 27 Mound No. 27 was situated within 100 yards of the next preceding, compared with which it was shghtly smaller. It was built of blocks of limestone, limestone dust, and earth. No remains were found in the mound till the ground level was reached. Resting on this, about the center of the mound, lay a small vase (fig. 72), 8 inches in height, of rough red pottery. Close to this were a few fragments of human bones and some teeth. This mound contained nothing else of interest. Mowunp No. 28 Mound No. 28 was situated close to Nos. 26 and 27, and was built of similar material. It was 6 feet high by 120feet in circumference. On the ground Fic. 72.-Red pottery level about the center of the mound lay a circular, vase found in Mound flat-bottomed bowl 8 inches in diameter, painted a AG darkchocolatecolorand polished. A hole had been bored in its bottom and the bowl itself was broken into three pieces. With it was an irregularly shaped piece of flint about 5 inches mm length, into which nearly 20 circular holes had been bored. It would appear that this piece of flmt 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, and had evidently been made with a solid cylindrical borer, others, how- ever, had a solid core projecting from their bottom, and appeared to have been bored with a hollow cylinder; while a third variety had a small indentation at the summit of this central core. No further exca- vation was done in this group of mounds, as they all appeared to be sepulchral, belonging to persons of the poorer class, hence it was considered very improbable that objects of interest would be found in them. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 21 a. SMALL VASE DECORATED WITH HUMAN HEAD b. HUMAN BONES FROM MOUND NO. 29 GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 125 Mowunp No. 29 Mound No. 29, situated close to the seashore, near Corozal, was of unusual construction, being built throughout of marl dust. It was a low, flat mound, 2 feet in height by 25 feet in diameter. Nothing of human origin was found in it with the exception of a few rough potsherds. On reaching the ground level two circular well-like holes, 2 feet in diameter, were discovered, about 15 feet apart. At the tdép both openings were covered with large blocks of limestone, on removing which it was found that each hole was filled with marl dust, enclosing in both cases asingle male human skeleton. The knees had been forci- bly flexed on the thighs, and the thighs on the pelvis, while the back had been bent till the head, which rested on the folded arms, almost touched the symphysis pubis. Evidently the body had been doubled up at the time of burial, so as to fit tightly into the cavity, and had been further compressed by ramming down large stones’ on top of the marl dust with which it was surrounded.' The bones in one of the graves were in an excellent state of preservation, as may be seen from plate 21, 0; they are those of a young adult male, prob- ably somewhat more than 5 feet in height, of poor muscular develop- ment. The teeth are excellent; the skull is decidedly brachicephalic, the measurements being: Length, 15.4 cm.; breadth, 17.5 cm.; circumference, 52 cm.; cephalic index, 113. Beneath this skele- ton were found an unfinished flint arrowhead, four fragments of small obsidian knives, and the broken fragments of a small, round, unpolished chocolate-colored bowl. The bones in the other cist, though placed apparently under pre- cisely the same conditions as the one first opened, were found to be so friable that they crumbled into fragments when an effort was made to remove them Beneath them were found only fragments of obsidian knives. Mowunp No. 30 Mound No. 30, situated close to Corozal, was completely dug down, and was found to contain multiple burials. The mound was 8 feet in height, roughly circular, and 40 feet in diameter. It was capped bya layer of reddish-brown earth, 6 inches to 1 foot in thickness, beneath which were alternate layers of soft cement,each about 1 foot thick, and of small limestone rubble about 2 feet thick. Scattered over the sur- face of the mound, jyst beneath the earth capping, were found a num- ber of fragments of clay figurines. The best preserved of these were three human faces, an arm with the hand holding a small bird, a bird’s head, an alligator’s head, and a plaited cotton breastplate. At depths varying from 2 to 3 feet, six interments were found; of these 1 “Que en muriendo la persona, para sepultar el cuerpo le doblan las piernas y ponen la cara sobre las rodillas ... abren en tierra un hoyo redondo.’’—CoGoLLupo, op. cit., Bk. xu, Chap. Vu, p. 699. 126 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 only a few fragments of the skull and long bones remained, not enough to determine even the position in which the corpse had been placed at burial. With the bones, in some cases close to them, in others at some little distance, the following objects were discovered: One rubbing stone (for grinding corn), 2 pear-shaped flints, 9 flint hammerstones, 1 ax head, 1 flint scraper, 1 broken hone of slate, 1 flint spearhead, 2 fossil shells, 2 pieces of brick-like pottery, 1 pot- tery disk, 3 small beads, and 1 shell. On reaching the ground level of hard compact earth, it was found that 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 im depth; this trench had been filled in with small rubble. In its inner wall, at the north side of the quadrangle, three interments had been made by scooping out small cists in the earth, depositing the remains therein, and filling in with limestone dust and rubble. With one of these burials was found a small three-legged pot, of rough, unpolished pottery; with another, a vessel in the form of a quadruped, 7 inches in length, the identity of which is difficult to determine; and with the third a small saucer-shaped vessel of red ware, and a nearly spherical vessel of dark polished red ware. Within the latter were discovered a few small animal bones, some fresh-water snail shells (as are found . at the present day in the neighboring swamps and eaten by the Indians), and a few bivalve shells. It seems probable that this vessel contained food, either as an offering to the gods or for the use of 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 of deer, tiger, gibnut, snake, and (along the seashore) manatee, in| British 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 burials have been from time to time completely dug down near Corozal, in order to obtain stone for repairing the streets. Beneath nearly all of them were found trenches cut through the earth down to the subjacent limestone. These trenches varied from 2 to 5 feet in breadth; in the case of the smaller mounds they formed a parallelo- gram, a triangle, or even a sing!e straight line; in the larger mounds two parallelograms were joined by parallel trenches (see fig. 23). They were 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 Hanal pishan, or All Souls’ Day, tortillas, posol, meat, and other foods are placed upon the graves, on the odor of which the soul of the departed is supposed to rezale itself. Tozzer mentions the custom of burying food with the dead as still practiced by the modern Lacandones. (See TozzER, A comparative Study of the Mayas and the l.acandones, pp. 47-48.) See also COGOLLUDO, op. cit., Bk. xu, Chap. vu, p. 699: “Al rededor le ponen mucha vianda, una xicara, un calabaco con atole, salvados de maiz, y unas tortillas grandes de lo mismo, que han llevado juntamente con el cuerpo, y assi lo cubren despues con tierra.”’ GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 127 interments in their walls. The purpose of these trenches is difficult to surmise, as they could hardly have served as foundations; drainage was unnecessary; and, while the trenches themselves were never em- ployed for sepulchral purposes, it is only occasionally that a few burials are found. within cists excavated in the earth along their margins. Three kinds of burial seem to have been commonly employed among the ancient inhabitants of this part of the Maya’ area. The poorest class were buried in large flat mounds, some of them a half an acre in extent and containing as many as 40 to 50 interments. The body was usually buried with the feet drawn under the pelvis, the knees flexed on the abdomen, the arms crossed over the chest, and the face pressed down on the knees; the position, in fact, in which it would occupy the smallest possible space. With the remains are usu- ally found a few objects of the roughest workmanship, as flmt hammer- stones, scrapers, and spearheads, pottery or sheil beads, stone metates 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, to himself. Several mounds of this class have already been described from the neighborhood of Corozal. The objects found with inter- ments of this class are usually more numerous and of better workman- ship than those found in the multiple burial mounds, though they do not show much greater variety. The position of the skeleton, where it has been possible to ascertain this, is usually the same as in the multiple burial mounds; occasionally, however, it is found in the prone position, and, in rare instances, buried head down. The third mode of burial was probably reserved for priests, caciques, and other important individuals. The interment took place in a stone cist or chamber, within a large mound, varying from 20 to 50 feet in height. The skeleton is found in the prone position, surrounded by well painted and decorated vases, together with beautiful greenstone, shell, obsid- ian, and mother-of-pearl] beads, gorgets, studs, ear plugs, and other ornaments.' Some of these mounds contain two or even three cham- bers or cists, superimposed one upon the other. The skeleton is then usually found in the top cist, the accompanying objects being placed in the lower ones. In one instance partial cremation seemed to have been practiced, as fragments of half-burned human bones were found in a large pottery urn. 1 This practice of burying with the dead some of their belongings is mentioned both by Landa and Villa- gutierre. “Enterravanlos dentro en sus casas 0 a las espaldas dellas, echandoles en la sepultura algunos de sus idolos, y si era sacerdote algunos de sus libros, y si hechizero de sus piedras de hechizos y peltrechos.”’— LANDA, op. cit., p. 196. “Tenian por costumbre estos Indios, de sepultar los Difuntos en los Campos, 4 corta distancia del Pueblo, y poner sobre las Sepulivras de los Varones Banquitos, Puquietes, y otras cosas del vso varonil; y sobre las de las Mugeres, Piedras de moler, Ollas, Xicaras, y otros trastos & este modo.’”’—VILLAGUTIERRE, Op. cit., p. 313. 128 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 Mounp No. 31 Mound No. 31 was situated close to the Rio Nuevo, about 16 miles from its mouth, in the northern part of British Honduras. It was a somewhat 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 a ruined building, formed by two walls averaging 2 feet high, intersect- ing at right angles, and built of squared blocks of limestone, was tes Fig. 73.—Pottery vessels found in Mound No. 31. brought to light. The walls enclosed part of a floor of smooth, hard cement. Numbers of blocks of squared stone were found throughout the upper part of the mound, which had evidently at one time formed part of the ruined building. | Resting on the cement floor, close to the wall, were found nine pottery vessels, covered with limestone dust. Five of these were of the type shown in figure 73, a, of dark-red, rather coarse pottery, 12 inches in diameter at the rm. One, pictured in figure 74, is the usual Maya chocolate pot, similar to the one already described (see fig. 24, g}, except that the spout, instead of bending inward toward the vessel, passes directly upward parallel to its perpendicular axis, an arrangement which must have ren- dered it far easier to drink from the ves- sel or’ pour fluid out of it. The three other vessels found are illustrated in fig- ures 73, b, c, and d; b is of polished choco- late-brown pottery, 3 inches in diameter by 5 inches in height; ¢ is of thick red pottery, 3 inches high, with two small handles for suspension, one on. each side; d is of coarse polished red ware, unusually thick and clumsy, 12 inches high by 8 inches in diameter. Each of these vessels con- tained a single small polished greenstone bead. No other objects were found associated with them, and there was no trace of human bones. Excavations were made in this mound to the ground. level without results. The lower part of the mound was built of large blocks of limestone and rubble, held loosely together with friable mortar. Fia. 74.—Chocolate pot found in Mound No. 81. es dees GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 129 Mowunp No. 32 Mound No. 32 was situated quite close to No. 31, which it very closely resembled in both size and construction. At a depth of 9 feet the end of a small building constructed of squared blocks of limestone was brought to light. The walls were still standing toa height of 2 to 3 feet, and showed traces of a red stucco covering on their inner surfaces. The cement floor of the building and the plat- form upon which it stood could also be traced. Lying upon this floor were five pottery vessels and an unfinished flint celt. Two of these vessels were precisely similar to that shown in figure 73, a; one is a large, circular, shallow plaque, of rather thick reddish-brown pottery, in the center of which a small hole has been made, evidently with the object of rendering the plaque useless. The last two vessels are illustrated in figure 75, a,b. A is an unusually large vessel of very coarse, thick, red pottery, 18 inches high, which had probably been a b Fig. 75.—Pottery vessels found in Mound No. 32. used to contain corn or some such dry material, as the. pottery was too friable and soft for a cooking pot, or even to hold water. Bisa small three-legged vase, 4 inches high, of coarse, unpainted pottery. Each of these five vessels, with the exception of the plaque, contained a single polished greenstone bead. The celt was roughly blocked out of yellowish flint. No objects except those above described werefound with these vessels, nor were there any traces of human burial. Exca- vaticas were made in the mound to the ground level, and it was found so be ern posed below the platform upon which the building stood of a solid mas of rubble and limestone held together by loose, friable mortar. .ere are numerous groups of mounds of all sizes in the neighborhood, and judging by these, and by the potsherds and flint and obsidian chips which one finds strewn over the surface of the soil in great profusion, it must have been a densely populated region 70806° —18—Bull. 64-9 SOE: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY (Bunn, 64 \ at onetime. The twolife-size human heads shown in figures 76 and 77 were found close to these two mounds in digging a posthole. Fig- ure 76 represents a grotesque head cut from a solid block of erystal- line limestone. Figure 77 is a mask, rather crudely cut from greenstone and unpolished. Both were buried in the marl and were unaccompanied by other objects. Mounp No. 33 Mound No. 33 was situated near Bacalar, in the Province of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It was 6 feet in height by 20 feet in diameter, and was built of blocks of limestone, limestone dust, and earth. Near the summit of this mound, close to the surface, was found the small soapstone lamp illustrated in figure 78, 42 inches in length, by 13 inches in depth. The lamp is deco- Fic. 76.—Head cut from limestone found in : ‘ ; Mound No. 32. rated in front with a floral design, and at the back by wing or feather-like ornaments, possibly meant to represent the tail and half-folded wings of a bird. It is finely polished throughout but had probably never been used, as in hol- lowing out the interior the maker had. carried one of his strokes too close to the surface, making a small hole, which would have allowed the oil to escape. There is a freedomand lackof convention- ality, both in the pleasing and natural floral design and in the flowing lines of the back part of this little lamp, which are to- tally unlike the cramped and highly conventional style to be observed in similarsmall objects of ancient Maya manufacture. So widely does it differ from Maya standards that there can be but little doubt that it was introduced in post-Colum- bian days, probably very soon after the conquest, especially as in the same mound was found one of the small painted clay figurines so common in mounds in this neighborhood, which with the censers probably belonged to the Fic. 77.—Greenstone mask found in Mound No. 82. €€ “ON GNNOW WOdsd ANIYNDISA AVIOD GALNIVd 6 ALV1id 9 NILAIING ADSOTONHLA NVOIYAWV 3O NVaYNd GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS Hs | latest period of Maya culture. Another explanation which suggests itself is that the lamp was buried in the mound at a much later date (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 with the original purpose of the mound. No other objects were found in this mound, with the exception of a number of potsherds, till the ground level was reached, where, near the center of the mound, the painted clay figur- ine shown in plate 22 was uncovered. ‘This represents a deer with a human head, whose headdress is the upper jaw of some mythological animal, The back of the figure, which is hollow, contains a small open- ing near the tail, covered with a conical plug of clay. Within were Fic. 78.—Soapstone lamp found in Mound No. 33. two small beads, one of polished red shell, the other of polished green- stone. The whole figurine had been coated with lime wash, over which were painted black lines, dots, and circles.t' The human face, earrings, gorget, and part of the headdress are painted blue, while the mouth of both the human face and the face in the headdress are painted red. Near the figurine lay a vessel (fig. 79) of rough yellow pottery, unpainted and undecorated, with two small ear-like projec- tions just below the rim. No bones and no trace of human burial were found in the mound. 1 This white lime wash, applied evenly to the entire surface, over which other colors were afterward painted, seems to have been used on all the more elaborate incensarios and on nearly all the clay figurines It is still employed by the modern Lacandones in the manufacture of their braseros. (See Tozzrer, A comparative Study of the Mayas and the Lacandones, p. 109.) 132 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL 64 Mounp No. 34 Mound No. 34, situated near Provreso, in the northern district of British Honduras, was 5 feet in height, roughly circular, and about 20 feet in diameter at the base. The mound was built throughout of rough blocks of limestone, rubble, and earth. At the ground level, about the center of the mound, were found large flat unworked flags, which seemed to have formed the roof of a small cist that had caved in. Beneath these were found a few fragments of bone, which crumbled away as they were being removed, with a small spherical vase of rough unpainted pottery, 14 inches in diameter (pl. 21,a). This was decorated on the outside with a human head wearing a peaked headdress, some- what resembling the cap of liberty,and large circu- lar ear plugs in the ears. Below the head pro- jected a pair of arms with the hands clasped in front, supporting between them a small pottery Fic. 79.-Rough pottery ball. Within this little vase, which was filled aes found in Mound with earth and limestone dust, were found: (a) A small earthenware bead (fig. 80,@). (b) A small, very delicate obsidian knife, the tip of which is broken off, 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 fair state of preservation (fig. 80,¢). The burial of a terminal phalanx of one of the fingers of the mother, with a favorite child, is not an un- known custom among, semicivilized peoples, and it is possible that this little mound contains such an interment. The bones of the child being fragile and deficient in calcareous matter, may well have almost disap- peared, while the finger bone of the mother, being of more compact bony tis- sue, and protected to some extent by the vase in which it lay, has been preserved. The crudeness of the modeling of the little vase and of the face and arms thereon would suggest that. it may have been a plaything of the child during life, and even perhaps may have been modeled by its own hands. The obsidian knife may have been used by the mother to separate the bone at the last finger joint. The little figure which decorates the outside of this vase closely resembles those curious figures in a diving position, witharms pointed downward and feet upward, which are not uncom- mon in this area. Figure 81 shows one represented on the outside of a small vase; several are to be found, molded in stucco, on the Fiq. 80.—Objects found in Mound No.34. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 1338 ruined buildings of Tuluum, on the eastern coast of Yucatan, just below the island of Cozumel, and they are occasionally, though rarely, found decorating pottery incense burners, instead of the commoner representations of the Gods ltzamna and Cuculean. Neither Landa, Villagutierre, nor Cogolludo mention the custom as practiced by Maya mothers or relatives on the deaths of their children. Had it been prevalent at the time of the conquest it seems hardly possible that such a practice could have escaped their notice; on the other hand, if the solitary phalanx had not been buried with the dead as a memorial, its presence under these circumstances is very difficult to explain. 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 one another, are all distinctly of this type. Mounpv No. 35 Mound No. 35 was situated near the Cayo, on the Mopan River; it forms one of a group of about 30 mounds scattered over a considerable area. It was 12 feet in height and seemingly had been about 30 feet in diameter, but situated as it was, immediately on the river bank, nearly half of it had been washed away by the floods of successive rainy seasons, leaving a clean section almost through the center of the mound, very favorable for observing its construction. The lowest layer, 1 to 2 inches in thickness, resting on the ground level, 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 the top of the mound—strata of ashes averaging 2 inches thick alter- nating with strata of earth averaging about 1 foot. No objects with the exception of a few potsherds were found in the earth layers, but the layers of ashes were rich in flint and obsidian chips, fragments of conch and snail shells, clay beads and mala- cates, potsherds in great variety and abundance, with the bones of the deer, gibnut, and peceary. It would seem that this mound had formed a sort of kitchen midden; that when a certain amount Fig. 81.—Figure in diving position on small vase. 134 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [purn. 64 of refuse had been deposited it was covered with a layer of earth, and that the mound must have been in use for a considerable time to have reached its present height. Small mounds containing considerable quantities of ashes and charcoal 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, are not of infrequent occurrence, and probably mark the sites of ancient kitchen middens. Twosuch mounds werefoundonthemainland, south of the island of Tamaleab, in Chetumal Bay, Yucatan, situated in what seemingly had been a village site, occupying an area of approximately 20 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 this site. Mowunp No. 36 Mound No. 36 was situated at Sarteneja, in the northern district of British Honduras, quite close to the seashore. This mound was 2 feet 6 inches in height, about 12 feet in diameter; it was’ composed throughout of conch shells mingled with cockle and whelklike shells. Nothing except the shells was found in this mound, which forms one of a group of similar mounds, evidently dumping places used by each house, for the disposal of the shells of shellfish brought in from the reef by the fishermen after the fish had been extracted and eaten. Mowunp No. 37 Mound No. 37, situated close to the next preceding mound on the seashore, at Sarteneja, is about 2 feet high by 12 to 15 feet in diameter. It is composed almost entirely of fragments of rather rough unpainted pottery and seemingly marks the site of a manu- factory of this class of ware, as great quantities of fragments are also to be found scattered in all directions around the mound. A small quantity of earth was mingled with the potsherds, but nothing else was found in the mound. Mowunp No. 38 Mound No. 38, situated about 5 miles from Corozal, in the northern district of British Honduras, was 6 feet in height by 15 feet in diame- ter, with a flattened top. It was covered with a layer of humus and contained nothing but fragments of weathered stone, of sizes varying GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 135 from small rubble to blocks weighing 30 to 40 pounds. Similar mounds are found elsewhere and are apparently merely heaps of stones, 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 and no trace of burials or any object of human construction. Mowunp No. 39 Mound No. 39 was situated on Wild Cane Cay, a small island off the southern coast of British Hon- duras. The island seems to have been built up with stone and other material brought from the main- land and to have been used as a burial place. Several small mounds are scattered over the face of the island; unfortunately most of them had been dug down for the sake of the stone they contaimed and the objects from the graves lost or given away. Those which could be traced consisted chiefly of copper ornaments, as rings, gor- gets, and studs. Mound No. 39, the only one whose contents were ascertained with any degree of ac- curacy, Was a small circular mound 10 feet high, built of sand and blocks of reef stone ; near the ground level about the center of the Fie. 82.—Design incised on femur of deer found : : ° in Mound No. 39. mound, a single human interment was found, the bones of which were in an advanced state of decay; mingled with these were: (a) A round red earthenware pot, con- tainmg a few small circular beads made from conch shell and five or six medium-sized, unused obsidian knives. (b) A second some- what larger pot, of the same shape and material, which contained the upper part of the femur of a deer, on which is incised the design shown in figure 82. This is neatly executed in shallow lines; the upper part evidently represents a tiger, or the skin of that animal, and is separated by a platted design from the lower, which may be intended as a representation of the God Itzamna. With 136 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY _ [BuLu. 64 the bone were two objects of copper, one a finger ring constructed of thin flat bands two-fifths imch apart, jomed by double scrolls; this is very much worn, either from use or from oxidization, conse- quent on long exposure in the damp soil. The second copper object (fig. 83) was probably used as a gorget, or for attachment to a headdress, as at the back is seen a cruciform grille, evidently intended to hold it m place. This object is in the form of a human face, the lower part with its large mouth, thick prominent lips, and flattened nose, exhibitmg marked negroid characteristics, which. the upper part with its bulging prominent forehead contradicts. The headdress is ornamented with three spikes passing along the sagittal suture from front to back, while under the chin is a projec- tion probably intended to represent a short beard. The ring and ornament are both strongly suggestive of Spanish influence, as the face with its thick lips, flattened nose, and bulging forehead is totally unlike any type with which the Maya were likely to come in contact, unless, indeed, it were the Carib, who even at this early date had possibly formed small settlements as far north as the southern coast of British Honduras. If the objects were of Spanish origin they were probably obtained from some Spanish settlement farther north, possibly Bakhalal, as there was no settlement between that town and the coast of Guatemala till many years after the conquest. That the cult of Itzamna was still flour- FIG. 83.—Copper ob- ishing is shown by the effigy of the god incised on the jectfoundinMound deer bone, and according to Villagutierre, the In- ae dians of this neighborhood up to the end of the seventeenth century were closely allied to the Itzaex,! who still freely practiced their ancient religious rites. Mounp No. 40 Mound No. 40, situated near Pueblo Nuevo, on the Rio Hondo, consisted of a ridge about 10 feet high by 40 feet in length. On the summit 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, polished, greenstone bead. The upper part of the ridge was found to consist of blocks of limestone, limestone dust, and rubble, on removing which to a depth of about 4 feet the ruins of a building were broyght to light (fig. 84). The bones were in so poor astate 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 sea as its eastern limit. All the tribes between the lagoon of Itza and the sea were evidently not subject to the Itzaex, however, as he mentions (Lib. Ix, cap. M, p. 554) a number of tribes inhabiting this area with whom they were at war, and states (Lib. v1, Cap. Iv p. 352) that the Mopanes and Tipu Indians were not subject to the Canek of Itza. GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS uo. position in which the body had been placed at the time of burial; it had, however, certainly been fully extended. Close to the head were found fragments of three round bowls, all precisely similar in both size and coloring. Each was of the shape shownin figure 71,b,34 inches high by 6} inches in diameter, and was made of rather fine ash- colored pottery, finely polished. Each of these bowls before burial had had the bottom knocked out. The mound beneath the building was composed of blocks of limestone, rubble, and limestone dust, forming a tough, solid, compact mass. This would seem to have been asmall private house, not a temple, which (probably on account of the death of its owner) had been deliberately wrecked, and the owner’s body buried beneath the cement floor of the one chamber remaining partially intact. Fresh cement seems to have been applied over the Fic. 84.—Ruins found in Mound No. 40. These consisted of broken-down wails about 2 feet high, joining each other at right angles. Of the wall A-B, 10 feet remained standing; of the wall B-C, 8 feet. The shaded space included between the walls was covered with hard smooth cement, which had been broken away to a rough edge at its outer border and was continuous at its inner border with the stucco which 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 pcinted almost due east and west. An excavation was made in the cement floor, and at the depth of 18 inches, at the point marked D, a single interment was brought to light. grave before the greater part of the house was pulled down and the wreckage piled up, to form a capping to the mound upon which the house stood. Mowunp No. 41 Mound No. 41 was situated in the northern district of British Hon- duras, about 9 miles from Corozal. It consisted of a circular wall or rampart varying from 4 to 10 feet in height, inclosing a space 30 yards in diameter. The wall was built of earth and biocks of lime- stone, and in places had become considerably flattened out from the action of the heavy tropical rains of this region. To the north an opening or gap existed about 10 yards across. Excavations were made in the encircling wall of the inclosure, and also in the central space, but nothing except fragments of pottery was discovered. 188 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64 Mounds of this kind are found throughout the area, though not in great numbers. Some of these are circular or horseshoe shaped, some crescentic, and others curved or even straight ridges. As a rule they 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 mounds being particularly well adapted to this purpose. At Yalloch, just across the Guatemala boundary line from Choro, a small village in the western district of British Honduras, the Alcalde made a remarkable discovery a few years ago. While hunt- ing for a gibnut he traced one to a hole in the ground; on poking a er into this hole, he was astonished on withdrawing it to find that he had brought out on its end a small painted pottery cylinder. The hole on being enlarged proved to be the entrance to a chultun, one of those curious underground chambers cut in the limestone rock found 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 decorated pottery vases, together with two complete cylindrical vases, an ovoid vase, and a pottery cylinder without bottom. Some of these were within the chultun, some in a pit sunk in its floor, from which at a later date several pieces of beautifully decorated pottery were taken. The pit had evidently been used as a burial place, in which the memorial pottery was deposited with the body. Merwin found similar painted Maya vases some years later in a chamber covered by a mound, at Holmul, within a few miles of Yalloch, and at Platon, on the Mopan River, a sepulchral chultuwn was cleared out in which human bones still remained. (Pls. 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 bush about 100 yards from the latter river a small circular lagoon, of a deep blue color and considerable depth; from this flows a narrow stream, also deep blue in color and highly impregnated with copper, which opens into the main river just below the mouth of the Rio Azul. The little lake is bounded on its eastern side by an almost perpendicular cliff of limestone, in which are several small caves and one large cave. The interior of one of the smallest of these caverns, situated near the base of the cliff, not more than a few yards in depth, was roughly hewn out so as to form shelves. Upon these were found several hundred small binequins of incense, vary- ing in size from 38 to 4 inches in length by 1} to 2 inches in breadth, to 8 to 10 inches in length by 3 to 4 inches in breadth. The incense was composed of the gum of the white acacia mixed GANN] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 139 with various aromatic substances; when burned it gave off a very pleasant odor. The gum had evidently been poured while in a liquid state into small bags, made of palm leaves, as in some of the binequins considerable fragments of the palm leaves were still adherent to the copal, and in all, casts of the leaves were left on the soft surface of the gum before it solidified. The binequins which the present-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 cliff and so difficult to reach that it can never have been long used as a place of residence, though it would form an exceed- ingly strong position to hold against an attack from without, as it is necessary to cross a fallen tree trunk in order to enter, and this might easily be hauled back into the cave or, pushed away from its mouth, leaving it practically inaccessible. Nothing was found in the cave except a large quantity of bats’ excrement and of rough red potsherds. TWO PAINTED STUCCO FACES FROM UXMAL Two human faces molded in stucco and painted were discov- ered in a small stone-lined chamber situated beneath one of the end rooms of the Casa del Gobernador in the ruins of Uxmal, north- ern Yucatan. The room was accidentally disclosed by the caving in of a small part of its roof. One of its walls was covered, above a stone cornice, by a frieze of hieroglyphs, and against this wall stood a small square stone altar, each side of which had been decorated with a human figure molded in stucco and painted. Unfortunately these figures had fallen; the two heads here described are the best preserved parts of them which remain. Describing the sculpture in stone which adorns the outside of the Casa del Gobernador, Stevens ventures 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 opens up the possibility that many, if not all, of these vast substructures, built apparently of solid stone, which throughout Yucatan support more or less ruined buildings, may in fact be honeycombed with chambers. Stevens first suggests the possibility of this. Unfortu- nately since Stevens’s day little or nothing has been done throughout Yucatan 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 about each of them which renders it extremely probable that they are portraits, possibly of some ‘‘Halach Uinic”’ (real man, or chief) of Uxmal and his wife, during the palmy days of the triple alliance. Each face is painted black with white circles round the orbital margin, red rims to the eyes, and brick-red oval patches at either angle of the mouth. The center of each upper lip is decorated by a figure 8 shaped labret, the lower portion of which has been broken away in the male head. Over the bridge of each nose is a curious ornament 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, that of the male composed of four small round beads, that of the female appearing as a rounded comblike excrescence. ‘Traces of the head- dresses remain as a few feathers above each forehead. Both heads were probably held within widely distended animal jaws, as a part of the lower jaw is seen below the chin in the male head, where also 140 [BULL. 64, GANN) MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 14] the large circular red ear plug still remains on the right side. The measurements of the faces are as follows: Male.—Top of headdress to bottom of lower jaw of animal head holding the face, 113% inches; top of headdress to bottom of chin, 9,85 inches; forehead below headdress, to bottom of clin, 835 inches; extreme breadth of face (midway between a transverse line passing through the pupils and one passing immediately beneath the lower margin of the nasal septum), 7;'5 inches; extreme breadth at level of the pupils, 7 inches; length of nose, 24°; inches; breadth of nose, 1,5, inches. ; Female.—Top of headdress to bottom of chin, 10;45 inches; fore- head below headdress to bottom of chin, 838; inches; greatest breadth of face, at same level as the male, 7,5; inches; greatest breadth at the level of eyes, 78; inches; length of nose, 238; inches; breadth of nose, 1,°% inches. The city of Uxmal belongs to the later, or northern Maya, civili- zation. Unlike the earlier southern cities, Uxmal is without a single initial series date by which its age might be approximately deter- mined. It was founded by Achuitok Tutulxu, probably about the year 1000 of the Christian era. In the ‘‘Series of Katuns from the Book of Chilam Balam of Mani” the date given is Katun 2 Ahau, whereas in that from Tizimin it is recorded as having taken place 180 years later. The cities of Uxmal, Chichen Itza, and Mayapan formed a triple alliance, which lasted for nearly 200 years, during probably the most prosperous period of the whole Maya rule in Yucatan. After the disruption of this alliance, caused by a quarrel between the rulers of Chichen Itza and Mayapan, Uxmal gradually declined in prosperity, till at the time of the conquest its temples and palaces seem to have been completely abandoned. The city was visited in 1586 by the Franciscan delegate Alonzo Ponce, one of whose 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 about an arquebus shot, another very large building built on a ‘‘Mul” or hill made by hand, with abundance of buttresses on the corners made of massive carved stones. The ascent of this ‘‘mul” is made with difficulty, since the staircase by which the ascent is made is now almost destroyed. The building which is raised on this ‘‘mul” is of extraordinary 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 of shields, and of forms like the eagle which are found on the arms of the Mexicans, as well 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 fa¢ade, which faces the west, showed the same carving, although more than half the carved part had fallen. The ends stood firm and whole with their four corners much carved in the round, like those of the other building below . . . The Indians do not know 1 Brinton, The Maya Chronicles, p. 87. 142 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 64, GANN] surely who built these buildings or when they were built, though some of them did their best in trying to explain the matter, but in doing so showed foolish fancies and dreams, and nothing fitted into the facts or was satisfactory. The truth is that to-day the place is called Uxmal, and an intelligent old Indian declared to the father delegate that according to what the ancients had said it was known that it was more than nine hundred years since the buildings were built. From this account there appears to be little doubt that at the time of the conquest the great buildings of Uxmal were deserted and al- ready falling into ruins. In the minds of the Indians they were evidently associated with the practice of their ancient religious rites at a much later date, for one of the reasons given by the regidor when he applied for a grant of the land upon which the ruins stand was that— | It would prevent the Indians in those places from worshipping the devil in the ancient 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 and publicly.? The ruins of Uxmal were probably venerated by the Indians up to a very recent period, as in one of the chants used by the modern Maya of southern Yucatan in their ‘‘Cha chac” or rain ceremony the ‘“Noh Nah ti Uxmal,”’ ‘‘“Great house of Uxmal,” is introduced, which possibly refers to the Casa del Gobernador, as this is the largest build- ing among the ruins. ~ 1Relacion Breve, quoted by Spinden, A Study of Maya Art, pp. 7-8. 2 Stephens, Incidents of Travelin Yucatan, vol. I, p. 323. "JYOWILIYE 09 8 NIOH ¥ VIVW3LYND ‘HOOTIVA WOYS SSVA AYSLLOd roe a 8 €¢ 31V1d v9 NILZTING ASOTONHLA NVOINAWV 40 NVENNs EXPLANATION OF PLATE 23 The ovoid vase shown in plate 23 is 11 inches high by 64 inches in diameter at its widest part. It is of very fine pottery, with decorations in red, black, and reddish yellow on a background of light yellow. The outer surface is divided by double black lines into three zones. The uppermost and narrowest zone contains, between a broad red band above and two narrow black bands below, a row of 10 glyphs surrounding the 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 time or wear) a human figure, in a crouching position, the right hand extended, the left resting upon the ground. The face is in profile, and around the left eye is seen the ornament usually associated with the representation of a god. This may be intended to represent Schellhas’s God D of the Codices, known as the Roman-nosed God, probably Itzamna, as this peculiar eye ornament is often associated with him. The headdress is exceedingly elaborate, projecting far in front of and behind the head, and is decorated with plumes of feathers. The whole figure strongly suggests the bas-relief on the side of the door of the altar at Palenque, which is undoubtedly a representation of the god Itzamna. The curious eye ornaments, the construction of the elaborate headdress, the contour of the face, and the platted objects hanging down in front of and behind the chest, from the neck, are similar in both. The lowest zone is decorated with vases having handles at the sides, narrow necks, and flaring rims from which project flame-like tongues; on the outer surface of each is depicted an “‘Ahau” sign. The vases alternate with curious objects which might represent bales of merchandise; the whole, indeed, closely resembles the tribute count of some Aztec city. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 24 The 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 black bands 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 with Cuculcan, 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 in variably associated with the serpent. The head of the god is often held between the serpent’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 a wand. Though the serpentine attributes of the god are in this instance conspicuous by their absence, and the tapir attributes are emphasized, there can be little doubt that 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 of this vase is covered with alternating red and black lines. SJyOWILIVG 09 8 NIOH Ww VIVWALYND ‘HOOTIVA WONS ASVA AYSLLOd be 31V1d ~9 NILZTING ASOTONHLA NVOINSWV 40 NW4aYNs JYOWILIVE 008 NIOH' v VIWWALVND ‘HOOVIVA WOYS SSVA AYSLLOd S¢ 4lV1d 9 NILZTING ; ASOIONHLS NVOIYAWY JO NVSYNE 5) J rif vy; (Reel Me AL ws aos ae 21 re. F ri EXPLANATION OF PLATE 25 The cylindrical vase shown in plate 25 is 7} inches in height by 44 inches in diame- ter. The whole of the decoration upon it is in light and dark red on a light yellow background, and, like the two previously described vases, it is divided into three decorative zones. The uppermost zone contains a single row of glyphs, almost in- decipherable, apparently from constant use of the vase before it was buried. The middle 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 the ~ heads, with their huge elongated jaws, are evidently intended for those of feathered serpents. The lowest zone of the vase is narrow, and contains only a narrow and a broad red stripe. 70806°—18—Bull. 64——10 EXPLANATION OF PLATES 26, 27, AND 28 The pottery cylinder shown in plates 26, 27, and 28 is 10} inches high by 4 inches in diameter and is without a bottom. It is most exquisitely decorated in light and dark red and dark yellow on a light yellow background, and is also divided into three decorative zones. The uppermost zone contains only a single row of hieroglyphs, very much defaced, among which may still be recognized several of the Maya day signs. The middle zone, by far the broadest, is covered by a most intricate design, — containing human and mythological figures and hieroglyphs, with ornamental plumes, plats, and pendants; the whole, owing to the partial obliteration of the design, being extremely difficult to make out. On one side is seen a highly conventional representa- tion of what is undoubtedly intended for the feathered serpent, with tail bent around to join the upper part of the head. The feathered serpent appears to permeate all Maya art in this section of the Maya area; whether painted on pottery or stucco, or incised on bone, pottery, or other material, one encounters him at every step. The serpent rests upon a row of glyphs, very much defaced, and below this is a mass of bows, knots, plumes, and glyphs. Farther along is a fierce-faced human figure, probably a warrior, with lofty and elaborate headdress, ornamented with many long feather 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, among which the ‘‘Ahau” sign may still be clearly made out. The opening glyph in this panel may refer to the katun 8 Ahau. This katun can end in 8 Ahau only once in 260 years, or twice in the ninth cycle, namely, on 9.0.0.0.0.8 Ahau, 3 Ceh, and on 9.13.0.0.0.8 Ahau, 8 Uo; and it is reasonable to suppose that if this is a calendar record it refers to some date in the ninth cycle. Naranjo, the nearest ancient Maya city to Yalloch, was occupied for a period of approximately 12 katuns, or 240 years,! between 9.7.10.0.0 and 9.19.10.0.0; if this glyph, therefore, refers to a katun ending in 8 Ahau in the ninth cycle, the date 9.13.0.0.0 is certainly indicated. 1 Morley, An Introduction to the Study of tie Maya Hieroglyphs, p. 15. BULLETIN 64 PLATE 26 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY POTTERY CYLINDER FROM YALLOCH, GUATEMALA A.ROEN & CO BALTIMORE. MO. (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) A HOEN & CO. BALTIMORE MD BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ‘BULLETIN 64 PLATE 28 vA , ee , 4 al h iaeP Ks os a ! + Ai Zl 7) POTTERY CYLINDER FROM YALLOCH, GUATEMALA (OTHER VIEWS IN PLATES 26 AND 27) A.HOEN &CO BALTIMORE MD AUTHORITIES CITED Brinton, DanteLG. The Mayachronicles. Brinton’s Library Aboriginal American Literature, vol. 1. Phila. 1882. CHARNAY, Désiré. Voyage au Yucatan et au pays des Lacandons. La Tour du Monde, vol. xtvu, pp. 1-96; vol. xiv, pp. 33-48. Paris, 1884. Cocotiupo, JuAN Lorgez pe. Historia de Yucathan. Madrid, 1688. GANN, THomas. On exploration of two mounds in British Honduras. Proe. Soc. Ant. London, 2d ser., vol. xv, pp. 480-434. London, 1894-95. On the contents of some ancient mounds in Central America. Ibid., 2d ser., vol. xvi, pp. 308-317. London, 1896-97. Mounds in northern Honduras. Nineteenth Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., pt. 2, pp. 655-692. Washington, 1900. Joyce, THomas A. Mexican archeology. New York, 1914. Lanpa, Dirco pe. Relation des choses de Yucatan. Texte Espagnol et traduction Francaise. Published by Brasseur de Bourbourg. Paris, 1864. Mater, Teosert. Researches in the central portion. of the Usumatsintla Valley. Pt. 2. Mem. Peabody Mus., vol. mn, no. 2. Cambridge, 1903. Explorations in the Department of Peten, Guatemala. Mem. Peabody Mus., vol. tv, no. 2. Cambridge, 1908. Maupstay, A. P. Explorations in Guatemala. Proc. Royal Geog. Soc., vol. v, no. 4, pp. 185-204. London, 1883. Mortey, SyLvVANUS GRISwoLp. An introduction to the study of the Maya hiero- glyphs. Bull. 57, Bur. Amer. Ethn. Washington, 1915. Reaction de la villa de Valladolid. Actas Cong. Int. Amer., Madrid, 1881. vol. 11. Madrid, 1884. Reaction de los pueblos de Popola y Sinsimato y Samiol. Coleccion de documentos ineditos, relativos al descubrimiento, conquista y colonizacion de las posesiones Espanolas en America y Oceania. 2d ser., vol. xm. Madrid, 1900. SprnpeENn, H. J. A study of Maya art. Mem. Peabody Mus., vol. v1. Cambridge, 1913. STEPHENS, JoHn L. Incidents of travel in Yucatan. Vols. 1-1. New York, 1843. Tuomas, 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 Mayasand Lacandones. Pub. Archxol. Inst. Amer. New York, 1907. VILLAGUTIERRE, JUAN DE. Historia de la conquista de la provincia de el Itza. . . a las provincias de Yucatan. [Madrid], 1701. 143 re i: ian rai > _ at Kea ‘ Sgt Le te AGRICULTURE, most important occupation of Indians... sy ey eee eee rer ees ALCOHOL, effect on Indian temperament..... AMULETS, worn by women.................- ANIMALS— Domestic, kept by ancient inhabitants... BBE fOr MeWsarc. occ case ac ed ens nce as ARTS OF THE ANCIENTS, fine examples dis- BASE RMS Maing OF.
seb he canctgs aaa aaa é INGUStTIOUS WOrkKers= sssss eee ce ate etree exclusively by older women... ...------ 28 ; Z 3 Z ; jewelry and ornaments worn by ..--.----- no polish, glaze, or paint applied ees 22 obscene and disgusting language used by - rendered unnecessary by iron pots and oecuipation of). ::-dacececeun canes ee earthenware....------------------+---- 7 personal cleanliness of......------------- PROPERTY, disposition of, at death. ........- 33 physically and mentally superior to men. PUNISHMENT—— social characteristics of. .....--...--:.--- fine, flogging, and death only methods of. 35 | YucaTaNn, geographical description of... .--- for witcheraftvonjsorceryeen asco seas oe el 36 | YUCATECAN TRIBES, immigration into north- imprisonment as, unknown.......-.----- 35 ern British Honduras.............-.-- “ls ™") (aras . , a - : : rid ft) aay). -" Ih iG wat Acie pbs ; ne ; ie —_ ) icon ed “ae (a ay ie ae aaa 0 a co ay er pe. “WA