Chapter II: Part 2: Mound Excavation in the Eastern Maya Area

Introduction 49

Classification of the mounds 49

Ancient inhabitants of the region 51

Physical appearance 51

Dress 52

Weapons 52

Houses 53

Arts 53

Musical instruments 54

Food 55

Spinning and weaving 55

Games 56

Religion 56

Chronology 58

Description of mounds 59

Mound No. 1 59

Mound No. 2 63

Mound No. 3 65

Mound No. 4 67

Mound No. 5 70

Mound No. 5 A 72

Mound No. 6 74

Mound No. 6 A 78

Mound No. 7 79

Mound No. 8 80

Mound No. 9 83

Mound No. 10 86

Mound No. 11 90

Mound No. 12 92

Mound No. 13 99

Mound No. 14 99

Mound No. 15 103

Mound No. 16 105

Mound No. 17 109

Mound No. 18 111

Mound No. 19 112

Mound No. 20 112

Mound No. 21 114

Mound No. 22 115

Mound No. 23 116

Mound No. 24 118

Mound No. 25 120

Mound No. 26 123

Mound No. 27 124

Mound No. 28 124

Mound No. 29 125

Mound No. 30 125

Mound No. 31 128

Mound No. 32 129

Mound No. 33 130

Mound No. 34 132

Mound No. 35 133

Mound No. 36 134

Mound No. 37 134

Mound No. 38 134

Mound No. 39 135

Mound No. 40 136

Mound No. 41 137

Two painted stucco faces from Uxmal 140

Authorities cited 143

Index 145

ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATES Page

1. Group of Santa Cruz Indians 18

2. Maya girls fishing 26

3. Fish drying on one of the cays off the coast of Yucatan 26

4. Maya Indian houses. _a._ Leaf-thatched house,
_b._ Indian house on Rio Hondo 26

5. Maya woman, 105 years old, spinning cotton 29

6. Maya loom 29

7. Sketch map of British Honduras, with adjacent parts of
Yucatan and Guatemala, indicating the positions of mounds
excavated 59

8. Figurines of warriors from Mound No. 1 60

9. Figurines from Mound No. 1 60

10. _a._ Section through earthwork inclosing circular space,
Santa Rita. _b._ Section of wall through Santa Rita 70

11. Egg-shaped vase from Mound No. 5 70

12. Metates and brazos from Mound No. 6 75

13. _a._ Small pottery seal. _b._ Bowl in which skull was
found, _c._ Skull 75

14. Skull and bones from Mound No. 8 80

15. Stone objects from Mound No. 10 88

16. _a._ Model of jadeite bivalve shell, _b._ Light-green
jadeite mask, _c._ Ax head, or celt. _d._ Terra-cotta
cylinder 91

17. Painted basin and cover from Mound No. 16 105

18. Pottery from Mound No. 16 107

19. _a._ Decoration on vase shown in figure 60.
_b._ Decoration of vessel from Mound No. 17 110

20. Incense burner from Mound No. 24 119

21. _a._ Small vase decorated with human head.
_b._ Human bones from Mound No. 29 125

22. Painted clay figurine from Mound No. 33 131

23. Pottery vase from Yalloch, Guatemala 142

24. Pottery vase from Yalloch, Guatemala 142

25. Pottery vase from Yalloch, Guatemala 142

26. Pottery cylinder from Yalloch, Guatemala 142

27. Pottery cylinder from Yalloch, Guatemala 142

28. Pottery cylinder from Yalloch, Guatemala 142

TEXT FIGURES

1. Map showing Yucatan, Campeche, British Honduras, and part
of Guatemala. 14

2. Gold earrings made and worn by the Santa Cruz Indians 19

3. Cross of tancasche bark worn by children 19

4. Powder horn and measure of bamboo used by the Indians 23

5. Watertight box for caps, matches, or tinder, with corncob
stopper 23

6. Whistle for attracting deer by imitating their call 24

7. Indian carrying load of bejuco, a liana used as rope in
house building 26

8. Domestic altar 27

9. Stonelike substance used to prevent fingers from sticking
while spinning 29

10. Calabash with liana base used in spinning 30

11. Chichanha Indian priest in front of altar at Cha chac
ceremony 43

12. Priest tracing cross on cake and filling it in with sikil 44

13. Sacrificing a turkey at the Cha chac ceremony 45

14. Plan of Santa Rita mounds 59

15. Figurine from Mound No. 1 60

16. Figurines from Mound No. 1 61

17. Unpainted object from Mound No. 1 62

18. Clay alligator found in Mound No. 2 64

19. Objects from Mound No. 4 68

20. Pottery vessels from Mound No. 4 69

21. Objects found in Mound No. 5 71

22. Diagram of Mound No. 6 74

23. Diagram of trenches in Mound No. 6 76

24. Bowls, vases, and dishes found in Mound No. 6 77

25. _a._ Skull. _b._ Limestone foundation. _c._ Excavation.
_d._ Grooved flag in situ. _e._ Projecting lip 78

26. Circular openings leading into natural cavity 80

27. Ground plan of chultun 82

28. Ground plan of Mound No. 9 84

29. Wall construction of Mound No. 9 84

30. Details of Mound No. 9 85

31. Obsidian object and pottery vase from Mound No. 10 87

32. Obsidian arrowhead from Mound No. 10 89

33. Flint object from Mound No. 10 89

34. Obsidian object from Mound No. 10 90

35. Inscription on mask, plate 16, _b._ 91

36. Inscription on ax head, plate 16, _c._ 92

37. Flint spearheads 94

38. Flint objects 94

39. Devices scratched on stucco in aboriginal building 95

40. Eccentrically shaped implements found at summit of mound 96

41. Flint object found at base of stela 96

42. Flint object found at base of stela 96

43. Flints found in ruins at Naranjo 97

44. Objects from Benque Viejo 98

45. Obsidian objects found in a mound near Benque Viejo 99

46. Flint object from Seven Hills 100

47. Horseshoe-shaped flint object found near San Antonio 100

48. Figure from River Thames, near London 101

49. Flint objects from Tennessee 102

50. Flint objects from Italy 103

51. Small cup-shaped vase from Mound No. 15 104

52. Objects from Mound No. 15 104

53. Conventionalized representation of bird on vessel shown
in plate 17 106

54. Decoration on vessel shown in plate 17 106

55. Perforated beads found in Mound No. 16 107

56. Jadeite beads found in Mound No. 16 107

57. _a._ Circular shell disks from Mound No. 16.
_b._ Greenstone ear plugs from Mound No. 17 108

58. Obsidian disk inserted in tooth of skeleton found in
Mound No. 17 109

59. Bird carrying a fish outlined on shallow plaque found in
Mound No. 17 110

60. Cylindrical pottery vase found in Mound No. 17 110

61. Larger pottery vase found in Mound No. 17 111

62. Coiled plumed serpent painted on plaque found in Mound
No. 17 111

63. Pottery vase found in Mound No. 18 112

64. Glyph outlined on outer surface of rim of vase shown
in figure 63 112

65. Torso, head, and headdress from Mound No. 20 113

66. Fragment of pillar found in Mound No. 20 113

67. Another view of incense burner shown in plate 20 119

68. Incense burner decorated with crude clay figurine from
Mound No. 25 120

69. Crude clay figurine found in Mound No. 25 121

70. Crude clay figurine found in Mound No. 25 122

71. Small pottery vases found in Mound No. 26 123

72. Red pottery vase found in Mound No. 27 124

73. Pottery vessels found in Mound No. 31 128

74. Chocolate pot found in Mound No. 31 128

75. Pottery vessels found in Mound No. 32 129

76. Head cut from limestone found in Mound No. 32 130

77. Greenstone mask found in Mound No. 32 130

78. Soapstone lamp found in Mound No. 33 131

79. Rough pottery vessel found in Mound No. 33 132

80. Objects found in Mound No. 34 132

81. Figure in diving position on small vase 133

82. Design incised on femur of deer found in Mound No. 39 135

83. Copper object found in Mound No. 39 136

84. Ruins found in Mound No. 40 137

KEY TO PRONUNCIATION OF MAYA WORDS

Vowels and consonants are pronounced as in Spanish, with the following exceptions:

ǩ _k_ explosive
K ordinary palatal _k_
X _sh_ as in shut
TŠ _ch_ explosive
Ɔ _ts_
Ai like _i_ in confide
tt _t_ explosive

THE MAYA INDIANS OF SOUTHERN YUCATAN AND NORTHERN BRITISH HONDURAS

By THOMAS W. F. GANN