Fig. 23. Diagram of trenches in Mound No. 6.Fig.23.—Diagram of trenches in Mound No. 6.
Fig.23.—Diagram of trenches in Mound No. 6.
Extending out toward the northeast from the main mound was a low structure (fig.22, G) 4 feet in height and 25 yards in length. It was composed throughout of layers of clay, rubble, and limestone dust, not very clearly separated. Three separate interments were found beneath this mound near its center (fig.22, H), the bones in all of which were very much decayed. From the first of these the shallow bowl (fig.24,a), 71/2inches in diameter by 11/2inches deep, together with the vased, 8 inches in height, were taken. The vase was of rather fine pottery, painted a uniform dark red throughout. Nothing else was found with this interment.
From the second grave were taken a bowl exactly similar to that shown in figure24,a, two flat dishes 12 inches in diameter (fig.24,e), and a small polished bone ring 1 inch in length, seemingly a section from one of the larger long bones of some large animal. The vesselg, 6 inches in diameter, was also found with this burial; it is made of fine pottery, painted red, and possesses a curious upturned spout, which bends inward toward the rim of the pot to such an extent that it would be impossible either to drink or pour out the contents therefrom. These curious pots, usually with the spout parallel to the perpendicular axis of the vessel, are quite common among Maya pottery from this district; they were supposed to have been used as chocolate pots, but drinking from them must have been a feat of legerdemain.
Fig. 24. Bowls, vases, and dishes found in Mound No. 6.Fig.24.—Bowls, vases, and dishes found in Mound No. 6.
Fig.24.—Bowls, vases, and dishes found in Mound No. 6.
From the third grave came two bowls, both almost spherical, the one 12 inches, the other 6 inches, in diameter (fig.24,c). At the point K, near the end of the mound G (fig.22), three interments were found, very close together, on the ground level; these had evidently been contained at one time in a small oval cist, built of rough blocks of limestone, which had now completely caved in. With the bones were found the vases shown in figure24,b,f,h, of the same red-painted pottery as was found elsewhere in the mound. Six well-made bone awls, or lance heads, each about 6 inches in length,together with a heap of the shells of some large bivalve, one of which was polished and perforated for use as an ornament, were also found among these bones. The stones of which the cist had been built, the bones, and the objects accompanying them were so inextricably mixed that it was impossible to tell which objects belonged to each set of bones. Passing through the long axis of this mound was a rubble-filled trench, 3 feet in breadth, dug down to the bedrock, exactly similar in structure to those already described. No interments were found at the sides of this trench, which is shown in figure23, E.
Fig. Flag of limestone shown in D, fig. 25.
Mound No. 6 A, another of the group of mounds adjoining the southwesterly boundary of Santa Rita, measured 18 feet by 15 feet at the base, by about 3 feet high at the highest point, and was built throughout of earth, large blocks of limestone, and limestone dust. The mound rested directly on the limestone formation. Into this, near the center of the mound, an oval excavation had been made (see C C, fig.25) about 10 inches in depth, and in size just large enough to contain the skull which was found within it. A ledgelike projection was left at one edge of the excavation (see E, fig.25), and just beneath this rested the point of the jaw. A large heavy flag of limestone (see D, fig.25), from which a semicircular segment had been chipped, was placed above the excavation opposite the lip, so that the groove in the stone inclosed the neck and clamped the skulltightly down in the little hole which had been made to receive it. On each side of the skull the femora were found, in a nearly vertical position, condyles downward, and between the femora many fragments of other bones were brought to light, including the tibiæ, arm bones, and vertebræ. Resting upon the limestone flag which covered the skull lay a large, rudely made chert hammerstone, 8 inches long by 4 inches broad, which had probably been used in chipping out the semicircular groove to fit the neck. Near the center of this mound, 2 feet below the surface, two very neatly made flint hammerstones were found. The dimensions of this skull were: Length, 14.22 cm.; breadth, 16.76 cm.; circumference, 48.26 cm.; cephalic index, 123. The base of the skull was so much damaged that the height could not be ascertained. The extreme breadth in comparison with the length, giving it a remarkably brachicephalic appearance, was possibly, to some extent at least, the result of post-mortem compression from before backward within the little cavity which contained it.
Fig. 25. skullFig.25.—A, skull;B, limestone formation;C, excavation;D, grooved flag in situ;E, projecting lip.
Fig.25.—A, skull;B, limestone formation;C, excavation;D, grooved flag in situ;E, projecting lip.
Mound No. 7, situated very close to No. 6 A, was oval in shape, measuring 30 yards by 10 yards at the base, and 8 feet high along the summit. It was built throughout of large blocks of limestone, limestone dust, and a small proportion of earth. It rested upon the natural limestone formation, into which, near the western end of the mound, a shallow oval pit 18 inches in length by 10 inches in depth had been dug. In this was found a somewhat imperfect skull, resting with the foramen magnum uppermost. The other bones, which were distributed irregularly around the hole, were in a poor state of preservation. Upon one side of the skull lay a small shallow bowl, with four hollow legs, each containing a pellet of dry clay loose in its interior; and upon the other side a small three-legged vase. Both of these were of rather crude pottery, painted dark-red throughout and polished. Two other excavations similar to this were found in the limestone beneath this mound, each containing fragments of a skull in a very advanced state of decay, surrounded by fragments of the other bones. No additional pottery or other objects were found beside them. The two mounds last described are the only ones in which this peculiar method of interment appears to have been employed. The procedure seems to have been somewhat as follows: First, the earth capping was removed from the limestone rock, over the area to be occupied by the mound; next, shallow oval pits were dug in the rock into which the skulls were wedged; each body was bent, and the thighs were flexed on the abdomen, so that the knees touched the rock on each side of the head; finally, the mound was built up of limestone dust, earth, and blocks of limestone around the body, in this position.
Mound No. 8, situated very close to Mound No. 7, was roughly circular, 36 feet in diameter and 4 feet high on its flattened top. It was built throughout of earth, limestone dust, and blocks of limestone. Projecting from the western edge of the mound was a large, roughly hewn block of limestone, 3 feet by 4 feet, and 8 inches in thickness. Running through the center of the mound from east to west were two parallel rows of limestone flags, 2 feet apart, projecting 18 inches from the limestone rock upon which the mound was erected and in which they were embedded. Near the center of the mound, between the rows of limestone flags and resting on the earth, covered only with limestone dust, was found a single interment. The skull is shown in plate14. Its dimensions are: Length, 17.01 cm.; breadth, 16.51 cm.; height, 10.68 cm.; circumference, 51.30 cm.; cephalic index, 97. The body, which was stretched at full length, had probably been laid face downward, as the bones of the forearms, also shown in plate14, were found beneath the skull. With the bones of the hands were found four copper rings, considerably oxidized; three were plain narrow bands, while the fourth was a broad flat band decorated with incised double volutes. Some of the phalanges were colored a bright-greenish tinge, from contact with the rings. Three of the rings and three phalanges are shown in plate14. These bones were all in a remarkably good state of preservation, probably owing to the fact that they were completely surrounded by fine limestone dust.
Fig. 26. Circular openings leading into natural cavity.Fig.26.—Circular openings leading into natural cavity.
Fig.26.—Circular openings leading into natural cavity.
Within a few yards of this mound was the opening of a smallchultun, with steps leading to the interior. It was oval in shape, 15 feet long, and at one time had been covered with plaster, which had nearly all peeled off. The floor was covered with earth, of which there was a pyramidal heap under the opening. Nothing was found in thischultunexcept great quantities of fragments of large, rough earthenware water vessels.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 14.Plate 14. SKULL AND BONES FROM MOUND NO. 8.SKULL AND BONES FROM MOUND NO. 8
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 14.
About 300 yards to the east of the mound three circular openings were found (see AAA, fig.26) leading into a large irregular natural cavity (see C, fig.26) formed in the limestone (see BB, fig.26). Each of these openings was about 2 feet in diameter, and close to one of them a circular slab of stone, 6 inches in thickness, and of about the same diameter as the opening, was found, which had probably been used as a cover for the latter. Thischultun, unlike the first one, was of purely natural formation; the walls, which were rough and irregular, showed no signs of tool marks. The chamber varied in height from 8 to 9 feet beneath the openings, where it was highest, to 2 to 3 feet at the sides. There was a considerable accumulation of earth upon the floor (see DD, fig.26), which had evidently fallen and been blown in, as it was collected in two heaps beneath the openings. There were no stone steps leading down into thischultun, and access must have been gained to the interior by means of wooden ladders, which had long since disappeared. Numbers of potsherds, shells, pieces of charcoal, clay beads, and fragments of flint and obsidian implements were found upon the floor. Several skeletons of small mammals were also found among the earth, but these creatures had probably fallen in after thechultunceased to be used, and had been unable to get out.
At a distance of less than half a mile from the last-mentionedchultunanother was discovered under somewhat curious circumstances. A large flat mound was completely removed for the sake of the stone and limestone dust which it contained, to be used in repairing the Corozal streets. About the center of the mound, at the ground level, a heavy circular flag of limestone, 2 feet 4 inches in diameter, was brought to light. On removing this it was found to cover a round well-like opening, which expanded below into a smallchultun, 12 feet long by 9 feet in greatest diameter. The chamber was egg-shaped and showed no signs of having ever been stucco-covered. From the opening a short flight of steps, cut in the rock, led to the bottom of thechultun. Nothing was found in thischultunwith the exception of two small bowls of rather coarse earthenware, painted red and polished; one almost globular in shape, 6 inches in diameter; the other circular, flat-bottomed, 31/2inches in height. The mound which covered thischultunappeared to have been one of the commonest kind of burial mounds. At its summit fragments of a rude circular earthenware pot were found, and near its center fragments of human bones, together with three flint hammerstones and two small round vessels, one of light yellow, the other of yellowish-red, pottery.
One of the most remarkable of thechultunsfound in this area is situated at San Andres, within a mile of the village of Corozal. It was accidentally found by some coolies in digging marl, and as, unfortunately, the entire roof of the larger chamber and a considerable part of that of the smaller had caved in, it was impossible todiscover how it had been entered from outside, as no trace of steps remained. A ground plan of thischultunis shown in figure27. The small chamber, A, is 8 feet long, 7 feet broad, and 5 feet 6 inches high in the center; it is cut out of solid rock. The large chamber (C) is 15 feet in diameter, but as nearly the entire roof has fallen in, it is impossible to estimate its exact height. The chambers are partially separated by a wall (B) built of rough blocks of stone and tough mortar, which has been partly broken down. In the side of the small chamber, opposite the wall, are three oblong shafts (D, D, D, fig.27) cut into the rock, by the side of the chamber wall, which is here nearly perpendicular. Each of these is about 1 foot in depth by 8 to 9 inches in breadth, and is separated from the chamber by a single row of bricks (E, E, E, fig.27) mortared together, reaching from the roof to the floor, so that there is no communication between the shafts and the chamber. Each shaft opened originally on the surface of the ground, but the openings had become blocked by vegetable refuse from the surrounding bush. The bricks which fill in one side of each shaft are of two kinds. The first, by far the more numerous, are made of sun-dried clay, yellowish in color, and very friable: they contain considerable powdered marl. They measure 8 by 4 by 23/4inches. The bricks of the second kind also are made of clay, mixed with many pebbles; they have been fired, are of a reddish color, far harder and tougher than the first variety; they measure 8 by 4 by 21/4inches. Nothing was found in either chamber except a few potsherds of various kinds.
Fig. 27. Ground plan of chultun.Fig.27.—Ground plan of chultun.
Fig.27.—Ground plan of chultun.
These underground chambers, orchultuns, seem to be fairly common throughout Yucatan. Considerable doubt exists as to the uses to which they were put.[34]It seems probable that those the walls of which were plastered with an impervious cement lining were intended as water receptacles, since they could easily have been filled by drainage from the thatched roofs of buildings in the vicinity, which have long since completely disappeared. Though the southern part of Yucatan, unlike the northern, is fairly well watered, plasteredchultunsare not infrequently found there, but always situated at considerable distances from a good permanent water supply, as a lagoon or river. The uncementedchultunswould not hold water, and had probably been used as storehouses for corn and other provisions. Some of these chambers were undoubtedly used as burial places, as one at Platon, on the Old River,[35]was covered by a burial mound, and itself contained human bones; but it is possible that their use for this purpose may have been secondary only. The San Andreschultunis somewhat puzzling, as it was certainly not a reservoir for water, nor were any traces of human burial found within it. It had probably been used as a storehouse for food, though it is difficult to understand the object of the oblong shafts, leading into the open air, found at the side of the smaller chamber, as they must have been quite useless for ventilating purposes, not having any opening into the chamber itself through which the air might circulate.
Fig. 28. Ground plan of Mound No. 9.Fig.28.—Ground plan of Mound No. 9.
Fig.28.—Ground plan of Mound No. 9.
Mound No. 9, situated close to thechultun, with three openings, was oval in shape with flattened summit, 44 feet in breadth, 66 feet in length, and 14 feet high at its highest point. On removing the summit of the mound to a depth of about 4 feet the floor of a building, with parts of the walls, was exposed. The cap of the mound, covering the ruins of the building, was composed of blocks of marl, clay, rubble, and limestone. The lower part of the mound, upon which the building stood, was constructed of large blocks of limestone mortared together, forming a solid block of masonry. The building was in a very ruinous condition; as much of its ground plan as could be traced is shown in figure28. The walls, A, A, A, are 3 feet 4 inches in thickness.
Such parts as remain standing are built of well-squared stones held together by mortar (see fig.30). They are covered with stucco inside, which is continuous with the cement flooring of the rooms; outside they were also covered with stucco above the water table (B, figs. 28 and 29) but nearly all of this had been broken away. The water table, which projects 3 inches from the wall, is 12 inches deep; it is built of well-squared stones not covered with stucco, and is continuous below (figs. 29 and 30) with C, a layer of hard cement 18 inches broad, which apparently ran completely round the building, and possibly acted as a drain to carry off the water after heavy tropical showers. The main room was 8 feet in breadth and had probably been about 30 feet in length, with four doors opening into it, two on each side. This was floored with very hard, smooth, polished cement, which even now is in an excellent state of preservation; this flooring is continuous through the doorways with the top of the water table, with which it is on the same level. Nothing was found in excavating this mound, with the exception of a fragment of a conch-shell trumpet, a piece of an obsidian knife, numerous potsherds, and half of a flint paint grinder, with traces of green paint still adherent to it. All of these objects were found on the floor of the main room.
Fig. 29. Wall construction of Mound No. 9.Fig.29.—Wall construction of Mound No. 9.
Fig.29.—Wall construction of Mound No. 9.
Mounds erected over the ruins of buildings are extremely common all through this part of the Maya area; some are very large, covering buildings which had been placed on lofty stone pyramids; some are very small, as when they cover buildings of a single small room, built almoston the ground level. All the buildings are in ruins, all are raised more or less on stone platforms above the ground level, and all show traces of having been covered with stucco, both internally and externally. In some cases this stucco is very beautifully decorated in colored devices, as in the mound already described at Santa Rita;[36]in others the stucco is molded in various designs and ornaments, which may or may not be colored, as in the mound at Pueblo Nuevo on the Rio Nuevo, presently to be described. Most of these mounds contain nothing except the building which they cover, but some had been used as burial places, the interments evidently having taken place after the building had been covered in, as they are found irregularly distributed through the loose superstructure which forms the cap of the mound, quite close to the surface.[37]
Fig. 30. Details of Mound No. 9.Fig.30.—Details of Mound No. 9.
Fig.30.—Details of Mound No. 9.
Vague reports had been in circulation for some years as to the existence of a mound close to the headwaters of the Rio Hondo, where the Indians still practiced to some extent their ancient religion. It was said that the mound contained a stone chamber in which stood on a stone pedestal a life-sized image, painted in various colors, and that around the walls of the chamber were niches in which rested life-sized stone turtles, also painted; furthermore, that the bush Indians of the neighborhood were in the habit of coming to the mound for the purpose of burning incense before the idol.
The mound was found situated quite close to the bank of the Rio Hondo, buried in the bush which covers this part of Yucatan. It was 80 feet in height, 350 feet in circumference, conical in shape, and completely covered by high bush continuous with that of the surrounding forest. After clearing the underbrush from the mound an opening 3 feet square was discovered about 17 feet from the summit of the mound on its northern aspect, the walls of which were faced with cut stone. From this opening a low passage led to a small stone-faced chamber 8 feet high, 6 feet broad, and 10 feet long, the floor of which was composed of earth and lime well beaten down to form a hard, smooth surface. Projecting from the walls were eight small stone brackets, upon which nothing was found. No trace whatever was seen of a painted image or of turtles. The walls and ceiling of the room, especially the latter, were considerably blackened by smoke, possibly caused by burning incense.
Fig. 31. Obsidian object and pottery vase from Mound No. 10.Fig.31.—Obsidian object and pottery vase from Mound No. 10.
Fig.31.—Obsidian object and pottery vase from Mound No. 10.
Excavation was commenced at once in the floor of the chamber. At a depth of 8 inches the hard floor gave place to soft brown sand, which was continuous to a depth of 2 feet, where several small deposits or pockets of lime were found inclosed within it, each of which contained a number of obsidian knives and small cores. The knives were deeply indented on each side of the base, as if to facilitate hafting. The cores, of which 20 were found, were slender and varied from 1 to 3 inches in length. On digging down through an additional 18 inches of the brown sand a layer of lime was exposed about 18 inches in thickness, filling the entire lumen of the chamber, in which were found irregularly scattered 60 cruciform objects, finely chipped in obsidian, each from 3 to 4 inches in length (fig.31,a). These would have served as either arrowheads or small javelin heads, or possibly were intended for ceremonial purposes only. With them were a single pottery vase and two small triangular javelin heads of obsidian. The vase (fig.31,b) was circular in shape, 6 inches in diameter, with a long piglike face protruding from one side. It was made of dark-brownish pottery, painted red and finely polished externally. It was filled with small mussel-like bivalve shells embedded in lime. A number of theseshells were found also closely adjacent to the vase in the lime which surrounded it. Beneath the layer of lime lay a layer of brown sand, 3 feet thick, in which absolutely nothing was found. Below this appeared another layer of lime, mixed with sand, 4 feet thick, near the bottom of which were found 40 human skulls, neatly disposed in rows. These, when first uncovered, seemed to be in a moderately good state of preservation, but when removed from their bed of lime and sand they crumbled so easily that it was found impossible to preserve them. The skulls were all placed in the same horizontal plane, each one nearly in contact with its neighbor. No other bones were found with them, or in fact in any other part of this mound, with the exception of two small oblong objects of bone, about 2 inches in length, each still bearing traces of paint, which were discovered among the skulls. These skulls would seem to have been either the result of secondary interments or the remains of sacrificial victims whose bodies were either eaten or buried elsewhere. In favor of the first theory is the fact that the Maya did not practice human sacrifice to anything like the same extent that their neighbors, the Aztecs, did, and slaughter involving forty-odd victims must have been practically unknown among them. Furthermore, in one or two instances small shallow stone-lined graves, covered with large slabs of stone, have been found at and around the bases of large mounds, and it seems quite possible that these graves may have held the bodies of distinguished dead until their skulls were in a fit condition to be removed to the mound or until a sufficient number had accumulated to make it worth while opening the chamber for their reception. In favor of the second theory is the fact that, judging by what could be seen of the teeth and lower jaws, all the skulls were of individuals in the prime of life, no jaws of very young or of very old individuals being discovered. Immediately beneath the skulls were unearthed 12 objects of chert fashioned with great care. Seven of these were spearheads, the other five of eccentric form. The spearheads varied in length from 37 cm. (pl.15,c) to 29 cm. (pl.15,f); they were very well made, some from gray, othersfrom brownish-yellow, chert. The eccentric flints comprised: (a) An animal form, possibly meant to represent a bush rabbit, 30 cm. in length from the forehead to the tip of the tail (pl.15,a); (b) an animal form, evidently meant to represent a turtle or tortoise, 28 cm. in length from the head to the tip of the tail (pl.15,g); (c) a halberd-shaped implement (pl.15,b), exquisitely chipped from light-ocher-colored chert, 44 cm. in its greatest length by 19 cm. in breadth across the widest part of the head. This implement is furnished with two sharp-pointed cutting projections in front, separated by a groove; at the back is a larger triangular sharp projection. The whole implement is well balanced, for use in the hand, by a bulging or thickening of its body between these three projections; (d) an implement chipped from yellowish chert, 44 cm. in length, serrated on each side, pointed at one end and rounded at the other (pl.15,d); (e) a crescentic implement, chipped from yellowish chert, 26 cm. in its greatest length, 171/2cm. across the widest part of the crescent. From the convexity of the crescent project three spines, the central one long and serrated, the lateral ones merely pointed knobs. This object is more crudely chipped and less symmetrical than any of the others (pl.15,e).
These eccentrically shaped flint and chert objects seem to be limited in their distribution to that part of the Maya area comprised in southern Yucatan, eastern Guatemala, and most of the colony of British Honduras. The earliest known specimens are probably those now preserved in the Salisbury Museum, England, which have been thus described:
Among the numerous stone weapons and implements which have been discovered, and serve to illustrate the primitive arts of the New World, three remarkable relics from the Bay of Honduras, in South America, are deserving of special attention. They were found about the year 1794, with other examples, in a cave between two and three miles inland. * * * One is a serrated weapon, pointed at both ends, measuring 161/2inches long. [This object is almost exactly similar to plate15,d, except that the latter is pointed at one end only, the opposite one being rounded.] Another is in the form of a crescent, with projecting points. It measures 17 inches in its greatest length, and it is conjectured may have served as a weapon of parade, like the state partisan or halbert of later times. The third, which is imperfect, has probably resembled the previous one in general form.[38]
Among the numerous stone weapons and implements which have been discovered, and serve to illustrate the primitive arts of the New World, three remarkable relics from the Bay of Honduras, in South America, are deserving of special attention. They were found about the year 1794, with other examples, in a cave between two and three miles inland. * * * One is a serrated weapon, pointed at both ends, measuring 161/2inches long. [This object is almost exactly similar to plate15,d, except that the latter is pointed at one end only, the opposite one being rounded.] Another is in the form of a crescent, with projecting points. It measures 17 inches in its greatest length, and it is conjectured may have served as a weapon of parade, like the state partisan or halbert of later times. The third, which is imperfect, has probably resembled the previous one in general form.[38]
The second of these implements very closely resembles that shown in plate15,e, the Salisbury specimen being somewhat larger, more symmetrical, and more carefully chipped.
About 3 feet beneath these flint objects, embedded in the sand which filled this part of the chamber, were discovered 20 cruciform obsidian arrowheads or javelin heads, similar to that shown in figure31,a; 40 small obsidian cores; 2 obsidian arrowheads, of the shape shown in figure32; 12 well-made obsidian knives, grooved on each side of the base, and two crescentic objects chipped from chert, somewhat resembling that seen in plate15,e, but smaller, without projecting spines at the convexity of the crescent, and altogether more crudely and carelessly made.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 15.Plate 15. STONE OBJECTS FROM MOUND NO. 10.STONE OBJECTS FROM MOUND NO. 10
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 15.
Fig. 32. Obsidian arrowhead from Mound No. 10.Fig.32.—Obsidian arrowhead from Mound No. 10.
Fig.32.—Obsidian arrowhead from Mound No. 10.
Fig. 33. Flint object from Mound No. 10.Fig.33.—Flint object from Mound No. 10.
Fig.33.—Flint object from Mound No. 10.
After the sand and lime had been removed from this chamber to a depth of nearly 30 feet it was found that the walls became continuous with the solid foundation of masonry upon which the mound stood. This was very difficult to penetrate, and so far as was ascertained contained nothing further of interest. The roof of the chamber was next attacked from the summit of the mound. To a depth of nearly 2 feet nothing was found but fine, brown alluvial soil, full of the roots of plants and trees. Beneath this the real structure of the mound began, for not so much as a solitary potsherd or chip of flint was found in the earth on the summit of the mound, indicating clearly that this layer had accumulated since its construction. Beneath the earth layer, to the roof of the chamber, the mound was composed of blocks of limestone of varying size, loose friable mortar, and powdered limestone. In the first 8 feet nothing except a few potsherds was found. At this depth two shallow circular saucers, each 71/2cm. in diameter, were unearthed. These were made of coarse red unpainted pottery, and close to them lay a finely chipped flint object (fig.33,a,b). This was rounded at both ends, narrower at the handle than at the base, and markedly convex on its under surface (fig.33,a,b). The front part of the under surface was quite smooth and polished, evidently from attrition, while that part of it marked A A bore distinct traces of blue paint. There can be little doubt that this implement was a paint grinder, as a specimen almost exactly similar was found in a mound near Corozal, bearing traces of green paint on the under surface. Fourteen nicely polished reddish stone beads, spherical in shape, together with four smaller beads of a light-green color, and a leaf-shaped spearhead of flint, were found adjacent to the paint grinder. Immediately beneath these was found an object made of what seems to be reddish-brown agate; this is 10 cm. in length, oval in section, 1 cm. in its greatest breadth, tapering off to a blunt point at each end, and finely polished all over. With it were nearly 300 small triangular obsidian objects of the shape shown in figure34. These vary in length from 11/2to 21/2cm.They are thick at the upper angle, the side subtending this forming a sharp cutting edge. In some of the implements this edge is notched, as if from use. These implements were probably used as scrapers, or small chisels or gouges, for which purposes they would be suitable, either hafted or unhafted. It is possible that they may have been used as teeth for the sword known to the Aztec asmextatl, which was also in use among the Maya at the time of the conquest. This weapon was constructed by setting a number of sharp obsidian splinters in deep lateral grooves, cut in a long piece of hard wood, which were filled with liquid resin, in order to prevent the splinters from shifting from their positions.
Fig. 34. Obsidian object from Mound No. 10.Fig.34.—Obsidian object from Mound No. 10.
Fig.34.—Obsidian object from Mound No. 10.
In the Stann Creek district of British Honduras, on the banks of the Sittec River, at a distance of approximately 15 miles from its mouth, there exists an extensive clearing in the bush known as "Kendal Estate." The soil here is remarkably fertile and well suited for the cultivation of every kind of tropical vegetable product. As has been pointed out before, wherever throughout northern Central America one finds patches of exceptionally rich soil, there, on clearing the bush, will be found in greater or less numbers the mounds erected by the former inhabitants, together with the indestructible refuse usually associated with former village sites, as fragments of pottery, flint and obsidian chips, broken and rejected implements and weapons, shells of various edible shellfish, clay beads, net sinkers, malacates, broken rubbing stones, etc. The converse of this holds true to some extent, as one of the guides relied on by the modern degenerate Maya Indian in his annual selection of land for a milpa, or corn plantation, is the number of mounds which he finds upon it. Indeed this remarkable index as to the degree of fertility of the soil appears to be almost the only useful heritage transmitted to him by his courageous and comparatively highly civilized ancestors.
Mound No. 11, at Kendal, occupies a conspicuous position upon the summit of a small natural elevation, situated on the left bank of the river close to its margin. It is 60 feet long, 40 feet broad, and 20 feet high, its long diameter running due east and west. An excavation was made into the north slope of the mound, which exposed a three-walled chamber, 8 feet in length by 4 feet 8 inches in width. There was no wall on the south side. The north wall, owing to the outer slope of the mound trending over it, was only 1 foot in height; the east and west walls were each 4 feet high. All three walls were about 18 inches thick. The chamber was packed with water-worn boulders and earth, among which nothing was found but scattered patches of charcoal, with a few small red pots, so rotten and friable from long exposure to the damp that it was found impossible to remove them. Had there ever been bones in the chamber, as seems probable, they must have completely disintegrated long before from contact with the damp clay. The floor was composed of flags of shale. About the center of the west wall a recess was discovered 2 feet wide by 11/2feet high. This was half filled with earth, in which the following objects were found:
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 16.Plate 16 d.d. TERRA-COTTA CYLINDER.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 16.
Plate 16 a-c.a. MODEL OF JADEITE BIVALVE SHELL. b. LIGHT-GREEN JADEITE MASK. c. AX HEAD, OR CELT.
(1) The model of half a bivalve shell in light-green jadeite, very well executed and polished both inside and out (pl.16,a). On its outer surface, following the contour of the outer edge, are seven glyphs, the chief component of each of which is a grotesque human face.[39]
Fig. 35. Inscription on mask, plate 16, b.Fig.35.—Inscription on mask, plate16,b.
Fig.35.—Inscription on mask, plate16,b.
(2) A small mask of light-green jadeite, well polished on both surfaces, measuring approximately 7 cm. in both diameters (pl.16,b). Inscribed on the forehead in shallow lines are the glyphs shown in figure35, somewhat enlarged from the actual size. Around the edge of the lower half of the mask are seven minute perforations, while running across the back of the forehead from ear to ear is a larger hole, evidently used for suspension. No doubt this mask was used as a breast ornament, similar to those portrayed in the codices and on the monoliths, the small holes being intended for the suspension of the alligator-head beads found with the mask, which again may have been connected along their outward-pointing snouts by the cylindrical beads.
(3) An ax head, or celt, of light-green stone, finely polished throughout (pl.16,c), 21 cm. in length by 6.5 cm. in breadth at the cutting edge. One side is engraved with hieroglyphs done in shallow lines, much less carefully and neatly than those on the shell. The lower two-thirds of the engraved side have evidently been subjected to considerable attrition, as the surface of the stone, especially along the lower third of the ax, has been so worn away as to render the lines almost undecipherable. This inscription, somewhat smaller than the original, is shown in figure36. With these engraved objects were a number of cylindrical beads, pierced in their long diameter, made of very pretty mottled light and dark green jade, well polished. They varied from 1.2 to 1.6 cm. in length, and the substance of the stone from which they were made was distinctly crystalline on fracture.
With them were a number of small alligator heads, made of similar stone and about the same size as the beads, pierced at the base of the skull for suspension, six celts of green and chocolate-colored stone, all finely polished, varying from 9 to 18 cm. in length, and a circular disk of iron pyrites 8 cm. in diameter by 5 mm. in thickness. This object was milled round the edges like a coin and perforated in the center. With it was the broken half of a similar ornament; probably both of these had been used as ear ornaments. Trenches were dug through this mound in all directions, but nothing further was found therein.
Mound No. 12, at Kendal, was situated close to the last-described mound. Its flattened summit measured 28 feet by 20 feet; the average height was approximately 15 feet. The mound extended east and west, and on its eastern slope large slate slabs were seen protruding from the surface. On excavating round these they were found to be part of a chamber measuring 7 feet by 3 feet; the south wall had caved in and the roof slabs also had been somewhat displaced. The chamber was filled with earth, on removing which the following 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.