Chapter V: Introduction: Classification of the Mounds (1)

In the following pages is a description of the mounds opened during the last few years in that part of the Maya area now constituting British Honduras, the southern part of Yucatan, and the eastern border of Guatemala (pl. 7). For descriptive purposes these mounds may be divided, according to their probable uses, into six main groups:

_1. Sepulchral Mounds._--This group includes mounds which, originally constructed for other purposes, were afterwards used as burial sites.

_2. Refuse Mounds._--This group includes kitchen middens, shell heaps, deposits of waste material remaining after the manufacture of lime, and heaps of stones gathered from the surface of the ground.

_3. Foundation Mounds._--As the buildings themselves invariably stood on the summits of flat-topped mounds, such mounds, capped with the débris of the earlier structures, formed the bases of later ones.

_4. Defensive Mounds._--Some of these mounds were crescent-shaped; others were in the form of a horseshoe.

_5. Lookout Mounds._--These mounds extend in chains, at intervals of 6 to 12 miles, along the coast and up some of the rivers; they are lofty, steep-sided, and usually form the nuclei of groups of other mounds. As a rule they contain neither human remains nor artifacts, though in one or two of them superficial interments seem to have been made at a comparatively late date.

_6. Mounds of Uncertain Use._--No trace of human interment was found in these mounds. Many of them are too small at the summit to have supported buildings, and it seems probable that they are sepulchral mounds, in which no stone, pottery, or other indestructible objects were placed with the corpse, and in which the bones have entirely disintegrated. The larger mounds of this class, many of them flat topped, are carefully constructed of blocks of limestone, marl dust, and earth, and no doubt at one time served as bases for buildings either small temples or houses--which, being built of wood, have long since vanished.

Most of the mounds are distributed in small and large groups, the latter usually containing one or more examples of each class, the former consisting for the greater part of small burial mounds, probably of late date, as they are less carefully constructed than the mounds of the larger groups, and the objects which they contain are of rougher and cruder workmanship.

The burial mounds comprise more than half of all the mounds opened, followed in order of numbers by (a) foundation mounds; (b) mounds of uncertain use; (c) refuse mounds; (d) lookout mounds; (e) defensive mounds.

It has been found that, as a rule, rich land contains many mounds; poor land, fewer; and sour-grass savannah, pine ridge, and swamp, none at all. The better the land the more numerous the mounds scattered over it, as is natural, since the more fertile the land the denser the population it would sustain. Not all the mounds opened have been described, as small burial mounds, especially in the same group, in both construction and contents, resemble one another closely, as do foundation mounds also.

This part of the Maya area must either have been occupied during a very considerable period or at one time must have supported a dense population, as wherever it is possible to cultivate the soil, especially to raise maize, mounds are to be found in great abundance; moreover, the surface everywhere bears such indestructible rubbish as potsherds, flint chips, and fragments of obsidian knives. It would probably be impossible to find anywhere in this area an acre of moderately good land on which dozens of such objects could not be discovered. This indicates that what is now dense tropical bush, with a few small Indian villages scattered through it at considerable intervals, was at one time a highly cultivated and thickly populated country.

Referring to Yucatan before the conquest, Landa uses the words, "toda la tierra parescia un pueblo;"[6] while 200 years after the conquest Villagutierre[7] mentions by name 10 tribes with whom the Itzas were at war, who lived to the east of the lagoon, nine days' journey away--in a region corresponding to the territory of coastal tribes of British Honduras and Quintana Roo.

ANCIENT INHABITANTS OF THE REGION

From the contents of the mounds we are able to deduce many valuable facts relating to the physical appearance, social life, religion, and art of the former inhabitants of this area.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

A very accurate idea of the physical appearance of these people may be derived from the figurines, paintings, stucco moldings, and skeletons found in the mounds. It would appear that they very closely resembled the modern Maya Indians.[8] They were broad of face, with small features and rather high cheek bones; without beard or mustache, but with straight, black, coarse hair, which was allowed by both men and women to grow long.

The skull was naturally brachicephalic, and as this characteristic was (and is now by the Maya) admired, it seems to have been almost invariably accentuated artificially by pressure applied over the occipital and frontal regions during early infancy.[9] The average cephalic index of eight skulls removed from the mounds was found to be 110. The following list gives the average lengths of a number of bones of adults taken from the mounds, though in no case were all the bones of one individual found in a sufficiently perfect condition to permit of their accurate measurement:

Humerus, 29.21 cm.

Ulna, 25.38 cm.

First phalanx (little finger), 3.04 cm.

Femur, 36.83 cm.

Tibia, 33.27 cm.

Metatarsal bone of great toe, 5.33 cm.

The bones are small, the ridges for muscular attachment not well marked, and the phalanges, metacarpal, and metatarsal bones small and delicate, indicating a body with rounded contours, poor muscular development, and small extremities. The front teeth in some cases were filed, in others filled with round plugs of obsidian, iron pyrites, or jadeite, for ornamental purposes.

DRESS

Among the lower class the men seem to have worn no garment except the _maxtli_, consisting of a loin-cloth wound several times around the waist, the ends hanging down in front and behind, like small aprons. The women wore two garments, similar to those of the modern Maya, the _huipil_, or loose, sleeveless upper garment reaching to the hips (at the present this is worn longer, reaching well below the knees) and a short, loose skirt, both of cotton, and both embroidered in colors at the borders.[10] The warriors wore in addition to the _maxtli_ a breastplate of thick quilted cotton, saturated with salt, arrow and spear proof, and ornamented with bows, studs, and tassels. To its upper border was attached a hollow bar, through which passed a cord, continued round the back of the neck, holding the breastplate in place.

Both warriors and priests wore very elaborate headdresses. Those of the former were decorated with plumes of feathers and many of them held in front the head of some animal carved in wood,[11] as the jaguar, eagle, peccary, snake, or alligator. Some of the headdresses of the priests were shaped like a bishop's miter, while others resembled the Egyptian headdress. All classes wore sandals of leather or platted henequen fiber. The ornaments worn consisted of large circular ear plugs of shell, greenstone, or pottery, many with a tassel dependent from the center; studlike labrets at each side of the mouth; and occasional triangular ornaments attached on each ala of the nose. Round the neck were worn strings of beads, some in the form of human or animal heads, others with a gorget of greenstone or shell in the form of a human mask dependent from them. Wristlets and anklets of large oval beads, fastened with ornamental loops, were common, and copper finger rings have been found on two occasions, though it is possible that these may not have been introduced till after the conquest. Among the upper classes the ornaments were made from jade, greenstone, iron pyrites, obsidian, mother-of-pearl, and copper; among the lower, from pottery, shell, and stone.

WEAPONS

The offensive weapons of the natives here dealt with consisted of flint and obsidian tipped arrows,[12] javelins, and spears, flint and stone axes, with slingstones, and stone-headed clubs, made for the most part of hard limestone. Their defensive weapons were small circular shields of leather-covered wickerwork and thick cotton breastplates.

HOUSES

The lower classes probably lived exclusively in thatched pimento-walled houses, identical in construction with those used by the Maya of the present day; naturally, these have completely disappeared, but the former sites of villages composed of such huts may easily be recognized by the presence of half-choked wells and the great number of malacates, broken pots, weapons, implements, ornaments, and rubbing stones, which are to be found scattered all over them. The priests, caciques, and upper classes doubtless lived in the stone houses, the remains of which lie buried in considerable numbers in the mounds. The walls of these houses were of stucco-covered stone and lime, the floors of hard cement, and the roofs, no doubt, of beams and thatch, as many of them are too wide to have been covered by the so-called "American arch."

Many of these buildings were doubtless used as temples, but probably the majority of them were private houses.[13] In one of them an interment had taken place beneath the floor of the house before the structure was destroyed.[14]

ARTS

The former inhabitants of this part of the Maya area do not seem to have fallen far behind those of northern Yucatan in the arts of sculpture upon stone, stucco molding, mural painting, ceramics, and the manufacture of stone implements and weapons, as excellent examples in all these fields have been found.

At Seibal, Holmul, Naranjo, and Benque Viejo, cities of the old Empire lying along the British Honduras-Guatemala frontier, examples of sculptured stelæ and altars have been found, equal in fineness of workmanship to those found at any other site within the Maya area. The molded stucco figures at Pueblo Nuevo are beautifully executed, while the painted stucco upon the temple walls at Santa Rita is probably the finest example of this kind of decoration yet brought to light in the whole Maya area. The colors used (green, yellow, red, blue, black, and white) seem to have been derived from colored earths and vegetal dyes ground to a paste in small shallow stone mortars with spatulate flint grinders, which have been found with traces of paint still adhering to them. Ornaments in the form of human and animal faces and heads nicely cut from jadeite and greenstone are not uncommon. Some bear incised hieroglyphic inscriptions. The greenstone shell from Kendal, described later on, in its fineness of finish and accurate imitation of the natural form, is a remarkable example of gem cutting.

Most of the domestic pottery used was of a rather coarse hard red ware. This comprises large amphora-like water jars, shallow dishes, saucers, and bowls, used probably to hold food; cooking pots of various sizes and shapes, chocolate pots with upright spouts, and disks for baking tortillas. In addition to these, thick brittle vessels of very coarse pottery, some of exceptionally large size, are found, which were probably used as receptacles for corn, beans, pepper, and other light dry substances. Of the finer kinds of pottery some are ornamented with incised devices, executed after the vessels had been fired, others are covered with devices in polychrome, and still others with ornaments molded while the clay was plastic. Lastly, these three methods, or any two of them, may be combined in the decoration of any one vessel.

The objects most frequently depicted on the vases are human heads, simple glyphs, animal and mythological figures, and flowers. Most of the vessels are polished, some of them to a high degree, but the art of glazing does not seem to have been understood. The finer kinds of pottery are thin, tough, light, and very hard. The appliqué work, displayed best in incense burners, upon which the figure of the god in high relief is built up bit by bit, is rather coarse, but in some examples very effective. Stone implements and weapons of great variety have been discovered, including ax, spear, javelin, and arrowheads, knives, clubs, throwing stones, hammerstones, scrapers, chisels, borers, paint and corn grinders, fiber cleaners, and many others. Flint, chert, obsidian, greenstone, and limestone were the materials most commonly used in the manufacture of implements and weapons. Very remarkable eccentrically shaped objects, including crosses, crescents, rings, and a variety of other forms, chipped with great care and precision, from flint, chert, and obsidian, are also found, though not in great numbers. They seem to be confined almost exclusively to this part of the Maya area.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

With the exception of clay whistles of from one to four notes, no musical instruments have been found in the mounds, unless the hollow cylinder (10-1/2 inches high by 4 inches in diameter) from Yalloch may be regarded as a small hand drum similar to those mentioned by Landa as having been in use at the time of the conquest,[15] and somewhat resembling the clay jar with a piece of gibnut hide stretched over the opening for a head, still in use as a drum among the Lacandones.[16] The late Sir Alfred Moloney obtained in the village of Succots a _tunkul_, or wooden drum, with two rubber-tipped drumsticks, which had been brought by the Indians from Guatemala at the time of their emigration from that country. This had been handed down from Alcalde to Alcalde from time immemorial, and was used to summon the villagers on special occasions, as a fire or the election of new Alcaldes.

FOOD

The staple article of diet among the ancient Maya seems to have been maize, as it is at the present day among their descendants. Numbers of rubbing-stones and rubbers, both broken and whole, are found in the mounds, as are also the clay disks used for baking corn cakes. The bones of various animals, which had probably been used for food, are also found; among these are the peccary, gibnut, armadillo, puma, tapir, and manatee, together with woula (snake), alligator, and (of birds) the curassow and wild turkey. Shells of the conch, cockle, oyster, and freshwater snail are also found in abundance. The Maya probably kept small domestic animals and birds,[17] as great numbers of rough stone troughs are found in the mounds, precisely similar to those manufactured and used by the modern Maya Indians for watering their fowls, while eggs, with turkeys and other birds, have been found, held in the hands of figurines upon the incense burners, as offerings to the gods. They seem to have made periodical expeditions to the cays and islands off the coast to fish and collect shellfish, as quantities of net-sinkers, flint chips, potsherds, and broken javelin heads are found on many of the cays. But few mounds, however, which give evidence of permanent human occupancy have been discovered in this situation.

SPINNING AND WEAVING

Judging by the great number of spindle-whorls found in the mounds and on village sites, cotton spinning must have been practically universal among the women. Oval perforated stones of a size suitable for loom weights have been found, and it is probable that they were used as such, as they do not seem to be adapted to any other purpose. With this exception we learn nothing of the art of weaving from the contents of the mounds. Henequen fiber was doubtless used for the manufacture of rope, mats, hammocks, and other objects, as grooved flat stones for beating the pulp from the fiber are common.

GAMES

The appliances for at least two distinct games have been found.[18] The first consists of a large spherical block of limestone, nicely polished, and about 1 foot in diameter, found associated with 6 to 12 smaller spherical stones, each about 3 inches in diameter, of very light material somewhat resembling pumice stone. The second consists of a number of small disks of shell, about three-fourths of an inch in diameter. Collections of these have been found together on several occasions; they might have been used as beads or ornaments but for the fact that they are neither perforated nor decorated with incised figures as shell beads usually are.

RELIGION

Of the 15 gods of the codices classified by Schellhas five may be recognized in this area with a fair degree of certainty. God A, the god of death, in the form of a human skull, decorates the outside of not a few small pottery vessels, and is depicted upon the painted stucco wall at Santa Rita. God B, the long-nosed god, is usually identified with Cuculcan. Representations of this god are found throughout the whole area in great abundance, painted upon pottery and stucco, incised on bone and stone, and modeled in clay. This god is associated with the cities of Chichen Itza and Mayapan, and is supposed to have entered Yucatan from the west; indeed it is possible that he may originally have been the leader of one of the Maya immigrations from that direction. He appears to have been by far the most popular and generally worshiped deity in this area, and it is his image which is found on nearly half of all the incense burners discovered. God D, probably Itzamna, appears in the codices as an old man with a Roman nose, shrunken cheeks, toothless jaws, and a peculiar scroll-like ornament beneath the eye, to the lower border of which are attached two or three small circles. In some representations a single tooth projects from the upper jaw, and in a few the face is bearded. This god is not infrequently found associated with the serpent. A typical representation of him is seen upon the Santa Rita temple wall;[19] here he is depicted standing upon intertwined serpents, holding in his right hand a feather-plumed serpent. This god is represented upon some incense burners, and is found not infrequently associated with Cuculcan.

God K, the god with an elaborate foliated nose, often closely associated with God B, his face in some cases forming the headdress ornament of the latter god, is unmistakably depicted upon the Santa Rita temple wall.[20] God P, the Frog god, is found on some small pottery vases, and on a few incense burners. Nothing found in the mounds proves definitely the practice of human sacrifice in this area, but that it existed is almost certain, as Villagutierre refers to it as prevalent among the Itza of Peten at the time of their conquest,[21] at the end of the seventeenth century, and Landa mentions it as occurring among the Maya at the time of the coming of the Spaniards.[22] Near the headwaters of the Rio Hondo a mound was opened, which contained, in a stone-walled chamber, a number of human skulls unaccompanied by other bones. It is possible that these may have been the remains of sacrificial victims, as it was customary to remove the head of the victim after death, which became the perquisite of the priests.

Human sacrifice among the Maya was probably a somewhat rare event, taking place only on extraordinary special occasions, as in times of public calamity--for example, during the prevalence of famine, war, or pestilence--when it was felt that a special propitiatory offering to the god was called for. This practice was confined to one, or at most to a very small number of victims, never reaching the proportions which it did among the Aztec, by whom it was probably introduced into Yucatan. The main offering of the Maya to their gods seems to have consisted of an incense composed of copal gum and aromatic substances. Landa mentions this as largely employed at the time of the conquest; Villagutierre encountered it among the Itza at the end of the seventeenth century; and Tozzer found it in use among the Lacandon Indians at the present day. The incense itself has been found all over this area, as well as great numbers of incense burners.

In addition to incense, the blood of fish, birds, and animals was smeared over the images of the gods, as an offering, together with human blood obtained by cutting the ears, tongue, genitals, and other parts of the body. The hearts of various animals, together with live and dead animals (some cooked and some raw) and all kinds of foods and drinks in use among the people,[23] were also employed as offerings to the gods. In the hands of figurines upon the incense burners are found, modeled in clay, fruit, flowers, eggs, cakes, birds, small animals, and other objects, all evidently intended for the same purpose.

CHRONOLOGY

Three distinct periods of Mayan civilization seem to be represented in this area. The center of the earliest of these was along the Rio Grande, in southern British Honduras, within 20 miles of the Guatemala frontier, where the Leyden Plate was discovered, upon which is inscribed the earliest but one known Maya date--namely, Cycle 8, Katun 14, Tun 3, Uinal 1, Kin 12. If the massive stone-faced pyramids and terraces of these ruins are contemporaneous with the Leyden Plate, as seems possible, they must be reckoned among the earliest monuments of the first, or southern Maya, civilization. The Benque Viejo temple, in the extreme western part of British Honduras, comes next in point of time. This was almost certainly contemporaneous with its near neighbor, Naranjo, where the earliest Initial Series found is 9.10.10.0.0, and the latest 9.19.10.0.0, giving the city an age of at least 9 katuns, or 180 years. It will be seen that the difference between the Leyden tablet date and the earliest recorded date at Naranjo is rather more than 16 katuns, or 320 years.

The latest of all the sites is undoubtedly Santa Rita, which shows strong Mexican influence; this belongs to the second era of Maya civilization, which reached its highest development in Yucatan and the northern cities. Excluding the Tuluum Stela, the date upon which, 9.6.10.0.0, is almost certainly not contemporaneous,[24] the only Initial Series deciphered with certainty in Yucatan up to the present time is that at Chichen Itza, 10.2.9.1.9, nearly 3 katuns, or 60 years, later than the latest at Naranjo; but probably the Santa Rita site is much later in date than this, and if we may judge by the objects found in the mounds in the vicinity, some of which show strong Spanish influence, it was occupied up to and beyond the conquest.

DESCRIPTION OF MOUNDS

MOUND NO. 1

Mound No. 1 (No. 24 on the plan of Santa Rita (fig. 14), situated midway between Nos. 6 and 22) was conical in shape, nearly circular at the base, 18 feet high, and 90 feet in circumference. It was built throughout of large irregular blocks of limestone, the interstices being filled with limestone dust and earth, forming together a sort of friable mortar, which rendered the whole structure nearly as compact as a solid block of masonry.

Excavation near the center of the mound, at a depth of 2 feet below the surface, brought to light a large circular disk of roughly hewn limestone, 3 feet in diameter by 8 inches thick. On lifting this it was found to cover the mouth of a bell-like cist, nearly 3 feet in diameter and about 5 feet in depth. On opening the cist, which was slightly narrower at the bottom than at the top, it was found to be nearly half filled with very fine brown dust, at the bottom of which lay a roughly made circular urn 18 inches in diameter, covered by a mushroom-shaped lid.

The urn was filled to the top with small crudely executed pottery figurines of men and animals. There were 49 of these in all, consisting of 4 warriors, with shield and spear, 3 seated human figures, 4 standing figures (eating and fanning themselves), 4 lizards, 4 alligators, 4 snakes, 4 birds, 4 dragon-like creatures, 4 tigers, and 14 quashes or picotes. The warriors (pl. 8) are represented in a crouching position, with the right knee and left foot upon the ground; each holds in the right hand a small spear and on the left forearm a circular shield.[25] Two of them exhibit tusk-like objects projecting from their mouths. The figures are 4-1/2 inches high; they are painted in red and white throughout. The headdress consists of a boat-shaped cap worn with the bow and stern projecting over the ears. The seated figures (pl. 9; fig. 15) are each 6 inches in height; these are painted throughout in red, white, and green. Each is seated upon a low four-legged stool, and grasps in one hand by its greatly enlarged spatulate glans the projecting penis, on which he is seemingly performing some sort of surgical operation with a long knife held in the other hand.

The headdress consists of a mitre-like erection in front, with a long queue hanging down to the waist behind. Button-like labrets are worn on each side of the mouth in two of the figures, and all wear large circular ear plugs. The standing figures (fig. 16) are each 5-1/2 inches high, and had been painted throughout in red and white, though not much of the original color now remains. The headdress consists of a broad flat cap decorated in front with a row of circular beads, and on each side with a large tassel, which hangs down over the ear plugs. Each figure wears a small narrow _maxtli_ and button-like labrets at each angle of the mouth. In one of the figures the right hand is extended, while the left holds a circular fan. In the other the forearms are flexed at right angles, with hands held open in front of the waist, as if about to receive something. The lizard effigies, though crudely made, are most lifelike representations about 6 inches in length. The alligators resemble very closely those taken from another mound at Santa Rita.[26]

The tigers and dragon-like creatures are exactly similar to those figured in Nos. 6 and 4 of the same plate. The bird and snake effigies are very crude and ill made; the former, about 1-1/2 inches in length, represent birds in the act of flying, with wings extended. The snakes, each represented with a double curve in the body, are about 5-1/2 inches in length and one-half inch in diameter; they are made of rough clay, painted red. The effigies of the quashes, though rough and crudely made, are rather vigorous and lifelike in execution. Each is about 3 inches long. This small arboreal animal, which abounds in the district, is represented in a variety of comical positions; so well indeed has the artist studied his model that one can not help thinking that he must have kept some of the little animals as pets, as many of the Maya Indians do at the present day. The figures when first found were so brittle that it was impossible to remove them from the pot without breakage, as they had been seemingly only sun dried. After exposure to the sun and air, however, for a few days they gradually hardened.

The only unpainted object found in the urn was a natural-size model of the human penis, in a state of semierection (fig. 17). This differed from all the other objects in that it had been fired, instead of merely sun dried, and is on that account much harder. Upon the upper surface of the glans penis are three longitudinal incisions, extending almost from base to apex, evidently made with a sharp-pointed implement while the clay was still soft.

With these figurines a number of perforated beads of jade and some of a dark-red stone, all nicely polished, were found; also the tooth of a large alligator, perforated at the base, evidently for suspension with the beads.

About 6 feet to the north of the center of the mound, at a depth of 3 feet below the surface, was discovered a small stone cist or chamber, 18 inches square, built of roughly cut blocks of limestone. Within this were found most of the bones of a male of medium height and fair muscular development. These bones were exceedingly friable, but showed no effects of fire; with the exception of the tibiæ, they were in no way abnormal. The upper articular surface of the right tibia had disappeared. The shaft was rounded in section, the prominent angles at the front and sides being obliterated. It was slightly bowed, with the convexity anteriorly, and was considerably enlarged, especially in its upper two-thirds, which were composed chiefly of very friable cancellous tissue, rendering the bone much lighter than its appearance indicated. The surface of the upper part of the bone was marked by the presence of a number of small pits or depressions. Of the left tibia only a few fragments were found, but so far as could be judged from these a change somewhat similar to that observed in the right tibia had taken place in it. The bones and other objects found in this mound would suggest at first sight the possibility of the individual buried beneath it having suffered during life from some form of venereal disease, closely allied to, if not identical with, syphilis. On reading Landa's account[27] of two forms of ceremonial self-mutilation carried out by the Yucatecan Maya at the time of the conquest there can be little doubt, however, that the figurines shown in plate 9 and figure 15 are meant to represent individuals inflicting on themselves one or other of these, but, owing to the crudeness of the workmanship, it is difficult to determine which. In one the foreskin was pierced and expanded in much the same way that the ears were treated when sacrificing to the idols. In the other, a number of men, sitting in a row in the temple, each pierced his glans penis from side to side, and passing a long piece of cord through all the apertures, strung themselves together in this way.

MOUND NO. 2

Mound No. 2 (No. 25 on the plan, fig. 14) was situated a short distance to the south of Mound No. 19. It was circular at the base, conical in shape, 6 feet high at its highest point, and 40 yards in circumference. On the summit of the mound, partially buried in the earth, was found a conch shell, much worn by the weather, with the tip cut smoothly off, and still capable of being used as a trumpet. The surface layer of the mound was composed of earth, in which were embedded a few limestone blocks. Within this layer, which was 18 inches thick, near the center of the mound and a few inches beneath the surface, was found a turtle, hewn from a block of limestone, measuring 13 inches in length and 10 inches in breadth. The next layer was composed of ashes, charcoal, and pieces of half-charred wood. This layer, which varied from 3 to 8 inches in thickness, extended evenly over the whole surface of the mound, and within it were found 16 beads of jade, two small round three-legged vases, and the fragments of two pottery images. The beads were all perforated and finely polished; two of them represented human faces, and one the head of some animal, probably an alligator. One is unusually large, measuring 3-3/4 inches in length by 3/4 inch in breadth.

The clay images are so fragmentary as not to be worth figuring, but in construction, ornamentation, and size they appear to be almost identical with those found in the mounds at Santa Rita, already described.[28] One of the vases is 3-1/4 inches and the other 2-3/4 inches in height; both are ovate. All the objects taken from this layer show traces of having been exposed to the action of fire. The beads are all more or less cracked and blackened, and the pottery images and vases are discolored. The next layer was composed of mortar, embedded in which were numerous pieces of limestone; it varied in depth from 18 inches to 2 feet. The upper part of this layer, to a depth of 2 to 3 inches, was yellow and very hard, and seemingly had been fired; the lower part was lighter in color and very friable. Within this layer, toward the center of the mound, was found the alligator effigy shown in figure 18. This animal is 15-1/2 inches in length from the snout to the tip of the tail. The interior is hollow, and in the center of the dorsal region is a circular opening 3-1/2 inches in diameter, surrounded by a rim 1-1/2 inches high and covered by a saucer-like lid. Within the widely opened jaws is seen a human face, having at each corner of the mouth a small pottery disk, and in the ears two large circular ear plugs.[29] Between the eyes of the alligator are two claw-like horns, 1 inch in length, each terminating in three curved prongs, which point forward. Within the body were found two small perforated beads of polished jade. The inside of the jaws is colored red; the whole of the body, together with the head and limbs, is colored brown; the forehead and cheeks of the face held between the animal's jaws are colored blue; the nose, mouth, and chin, white.

This is by far the largest and most carefully modeled of the pottery figurines found at Santa Rita, the smallest detail having received careful attention, and the scales, claws, and teeth being separately and accurately formed.[30]

The fourth and deepest layer was 2-1/2 feet in thickness, and was built of blocks of limestone, each weighing from 50 to 200 pounds, roughly fitted together, without clay or mortar to fill in the crevices. Scattered all through this layer were great numbers of fragments of pottery censers decorated externally with human figures; nearly 150 pounds of these were taken from it, representing probably 20 incense burners. The whole of the pottery when first found was exceedingly brittle, but hardened in a few hours on being exposed to the air and sun. At the bottom of this layer, and resting on the ground, were found a number of pieces of black porous material with a peculiar odor. The bottom of a large round pot, 10 inches in diameter, was also found full of the same substance, which is probably a mixture of copal gum with various aromatic substances, which had been used as incense and partially charred at the bottom of the incense burner. Fragments of the bottoms of round pots were found scattered about on the ground level, many of them having bits of this charred incense still adhering to them.

The mound appears to have been constructed in the following manner: First, a number of pieces of burning incense and round jars containing the same substance were strewn thickly over an area approximately 40 yards in circumference; next a foundation or platform 2-1/2 feet in height was formed by placing together a number of large rough blocks of limestone, among which were scattered the fragments of about 20 incense burners, decorated outside with human figures in high relief. Over this was plastered a layer of mortar 18 inches to 2 feet in thickness in which was embedded the alligator seen in figure 18. Fires were lighted on top of this mortar till its upper layers were discolored, and into the fire while still burning were thrown fragments of two clay images, two small oval vases, and a number of beads. Over the ashes and charcoal left by the fires earth and blocks of limestone were heaped to a height of 18 inches, and in this layer was buried the stone turtle already referred to; finally on top of the earth layer was placed a conch-shell trumpet.

MOUND NO. 3

Mound No. 3 (No. 26 on the plan, fig. 14) was situated immediately between Mounds Nos. 6 and 11. It was roughly circular in shape, 120 feet in circumference and 3 feet in height. On being dug away to the ground level it was found to be composed of earth and small blocks of limestone, among which were numerous potsherds and fragments of terra-cotta images, though the latter were so small that it was impossible to tell how many images they represented. The potsherds varied very much, some being rough and undecorated, others polished and well painted in geometrical devices. Fragments of flint spearheads and obsidian knives were also found in this mound. On reaching the ground level the opening of a narrow passage 18 inches square was discovered which led obliquely downward toward the east for a distance of 8 feet; it was lined with roughly squared flags of limestone and terminated in a small stone-lined chamber 2 feet square. On the floor, half buried in fine dry earth, lay a small urn, roughly made of coarse pottery, neither painted nor glazed. It was circular in form, 38-1/2 inches in circumference, with a semicircular handle at each side, and was covered by a mushroom-shaped lid; with the lid in situ the whole formed a somewhat irregular sphere. In the urn and almost completely filling it were 20 small pottery figurines, comprising 3 warriors, 1 seated human figure, 4 alligators, 4 dragons, 6 quashes or picotes, and 2 serpent-like creatures.

The warrior figures resemble very closely those found in Mound No. 24 (see pl. 8), the only difference being that while two of them hold shields on their left forearms, and grasp spears in their right hands (as in pl. 8), the third warrior from this mound grasps a long dagger, instead of a spear, in his right hand. The seated figure is very similar to those from Mound No. 24 (see fig. 15), the only difference being that the glans penis is grasped in the left hand while the right hand wields the knife. The alligators are closely similar to those already described, except that they are solid throughout instead of being hollow. They are painted red, white, and black, and vary in length from 5-1/2 to 6-1/2 inches. The tigers are similar to those found in Mound No. 24, but are rougher, and not so carefully modeled; all are hollow and are painted red throughout. The four dragon-like creatures vary from 6 to 7 inches in length; the body, which is round and slender, ends in a flattened bifid tail; the mouth, which is held wide open, is furnished with a set of formidable teeth. Upon the upper lip is a horn-like excrescence, and over the thorax are one dorsal and two lateral fins. Each animal is painted white over the whole surface; the inside of the mouth is painted red over the white layer. The six quashes are exactly similar to those found in Mound No. 24, as are also the two serpents.

Mounds containing animal and human effigies appear to be singularly limited in their distribution. At Santa Rita seven have been explored in all, each containing 1 to 49 effigies, some very crudely and roughly made from sun-dried clay, others nicely modeled and painted in various colors. Probably several more of these mounds had been removed by the former owners of the estate to obtain stone for building and road-making purposes, as figurines similar to those taken from the excavated mounds were found in the possession of coolie laborers working on the estate, which they said they had found from time to time when digging for stone. The effigies comprise figures of men, alligators, turtles, quashes, lizards, birds, sharks, and snakes, together with two-headed dragons and other mythologic animals. Similar mounds containing animal effigies have been found at Douglas, about 18 miles southwest of Santa Rita; at Bacalar, 25 miles northwest; at Corozal, less than a mile south; and near San Antonio, about 9 miles north of it. In each of these localities only a single effigy was found, the workmanship of which resembled so closely that of the Santa Rita specimens that it would be difficult to decide from which locality they had come.

So far as it has been possible to ascertain, no similar human and animal effigies have been previously discovered in this section of the Maya area. The significance of these figurines appears to be somewhat obscure. They are not invariably found associated with human remains, though this may be owing to the fact that the bones have completely perished through decay or because cremation has been practiced. They show no signs of use or wear and were evidently made only to be buried. The hollow specimens frequently contain one or more beads of red shell, greenstone, or clay in their interiors, while in most cases they have been found associated with fragments of pottery incense burners, which in this region seem to have been very commonly mortuary in use. On the whole it seems probable that these figurines were merely votive offerings to the gods, buried with the dead. Some of them may indicate the occupation of the individual with whom they were buried. A priest and warrior from the same mound have been described, whose occupant may have combined the double office, while a small statuette of an old man, with a macapal slung over his shoulders, by a strap passing across the forehead (typical of an Indian laborer of the present day), was found by a coolie digging out stone from a mound at Santa Rita many years ago.

MOUND NO. 4

Mound No. 4 (No. 7 on the plan of the Santa Rita mounds)[31] has recently been excavated, together with nearly the whole of the earthwork on its south side. The mound was circular at the base, conical in shape, 57 feet in height, 471 feet in circumference, and was built of blocks of limestone held together by mortar. On the south side of the mound and continuous with it was a circular earthwork 100 yards in diameter. The walls inclosing the circular space varied from 10 to 25 feet in height. They were higher toward the north, where they were continuous with the large mound, and lower toward the south, where an opening 30 feet wide gave access to the inclosure. The summit of the mound was truncated, circular, and about 20 feet in diameter.

It was covered by a layer of alluvial earth 4 inches in thickness, on removing which the following objects were brought to light, lying on the layer immediately subjacent, near the center of the mound: (a) A leaf-shaped spearhead of very light yellow flint, 5 inches in length; (b) a leaf-shaped spearhead of reddish flint, 5-1/2 inches in length; (c) an eccentrically-shaped flint object (fig. 19, _a_), 4-1/4 inches in breadth by 2-3/4 inches in depth, of light grayish flint, very neatly and carefully chipped; (d) a large, well-made flint arrowhead, deeply grooved on each side of the base, 2-1/2 inches in length, and of light grayish color (fig. 19, _b_); (e) the broken end of a roughly chipped flint hook or crescent (fig. 19, _c_). With these flint objects were found a small red-stone bead and a quantity of pieces of broken images, as arms, legs, faces, hands, breastplates, etc., in rough pottery. Below the alluvial layer the mound was composed of large blocks of limestone, held together by mortar, giving it the consistency of masonry and rendering digging in it very difficult. At a depth of 6 feet a small oblong chamber was opened, built of rough blocks of limestone, about 8 feet by 3 feet, within which were found fragments of human bones, the head pointing to the north. At both head and feet a few very roughly chipped spearheads were found. At a depth of 10 feet another small chamber, 4 feet in length by 2 feet in height and 2 feet in breadth, was opened, also composed of rough blocks of limestone. Within this were four basin-shaped vessels; two, somewhat larger than their fellows, were superimposed upon them (fig. 20). These basins were made of rough pottery, colored yellow, with a broad red stripe round the rim. Each was pierced by a pair of small round holes, 1 inch apart, repeated at equal intervals four times round the circumference, about one-half inch from the margin. The perforations in the upper vase corresponded exactly to those in the lower when they were discovered, suggesting that they had been connected by cords of henequen fiber, _ti-ti_, or some perishable material which had disintegrated. It was considered certain that these vessels would contain a number of the small pottery figures which similar vessels from neighboring mounds had yielded. On removing the cover from the first one, however, it was found to contain nothing but a small quantity of impalpable dust. The second contained about an equal quantity of similar dust, together with a small rough opal. The excavation of this mound was continued to a depth of about 18 feet, but nothing further was discovered.

The circular space inclosed within the earthwork was surfaced by a layer varying from 2 feet to 3 feet in thickness, resting on the bedrock, and composed of rubble and powdered marl beaten into a compact mass, covered by two layers of cement, one beneath the other, which formed a smooth level floor over the whole inclosure. A great part of the earthwork and the rubble from the floor of the inclosed space have been removed to repair the Corozal streets. Nothing, however, was found within them with the exception of a few broken flint axheads and spearheads, some hammerstones (which are found practically everywhere), fragments of obsidian knives, and quantities of potsherds. Plate 10 shows a section through the earthwork in process of removal at its western extremity.

The wall is 21 feet 8 inches in height at this point, though only about 17 or 18 feet are shown in the photograph, as the ground was filled up behind the men excavating by a heap of limestone dust 3 or 4 feet high, left after the stones had been removed. The wall is composed here from the ground up of--(1) a layer of small rubble, 18 inches in thickness, the stones composing which had apparently been picked off the land; (2) a layer of cement, 6 to 8 inches in thickness (the upper surface of this layer is continuous with the upper surface of the cement covering the inclosed space, and the two together evidently formed originally one continuous flat, smooth pavement); (3) a layer of large rough blocks of limestone, 8 feet in thickness, built in together with some care, but without the intervention of mortar (these blocks had evidently been quarried out especially for this purpose, as they were quite fresh and showed no signs of weathering); (4) a cement layer 3 feet in thickness, composed of alternate thin layers of bluish gray cement and thick layers of yellowish cement, which can be faintly seen in the photograph. At the point B, plate 10, were found a quantity of ashes and small pieces of charred wood; the large stones in the neighborhood were also blackened by the action of fire, and ashes were mixed with the lower part of the cement layer, which would seemingly indicate that a large fire, lasting a considerable period, had been kept up at this point on top of layer c before the cement capping was added. The top layer, 8 feet high, is composed of loose, friable mortar with rough blocks of limestone set in it irregularly and finished with a conical cap. In the upper center of plate 10, _b_, may be distinguished a trench, 3 feet in width, which runs through the whole thickness of this layer. Its walls are composed of rough limestone blocks mortared together. The trench was completely filled in with small loose rubble similar to that found in layer _a_.

The high, steep, solidly constructed mounds, the bases of many of which are connected with more or less circular earthworks, were probably lookouts or observation mounds. Most of these mounds terminate in a narrow flattened summit too small to have supported even the smallest temple, while many of them form the centers or nuclei of other groups of mounds. Few contain anything besides the stone, mortar, and earth of which they are constructed, though some of them contain superficial interments. That at Santa Rita is exceptional in that it includes stone-faced cysts. These mounds extend in a more or less regular chain along the coast of Quintana Roo and British Honduras, reaching from the top of Chetumal Bay nearly as far south as Northern River, and extending inland in a southwesterly direction along the courses of the Rio Hondo and Rio Nuevo, though many are situated at a considerable distance from either sea or rivers.

MOUND NO. 5

Mound No. 5 (No. 27 on the plan, fig. 14), situated about 200 yards to the southeast of the fortification, was 3 feet in height, 30 feet in diameter, and nearly circular. It was built of blocks of limestone, rubble, limestone dust, and earth. Many of these blocks had evidently been taken from some building, as they were well squared. About the center of the mound, at the ground level, a small cyst was discovered, 3 feet long, 2 feet broad, and 1 foot high, built throughout of rough flags of limestone. Within it were two vases; one, shown in figure 21, _a_, is of rough unpainted pottery, 4-1/2 inches high, with a small ear-like projection on each side, each of which is ornamented with an ear plug. Vases with these ear-like projections and ear plugs are not uncommon in this area, and are probably highly conventionalized incense burners. The figure of the god outside (which, as will be shown later on, was represented after a time by the face only) has here had every feature and ornament of the face eliminated with the exception of the ears and ear plugs, which would always be unmistakable.

The other, seen in plate 11, is an egg-shaped vase standing on three short legs. It is decorated outside with a human face and was originally painted white throughout and ornamented with black lines. It has a small opening at the top covered by a triangular stopper. Within this vase were found two small polished beads, one of greenstone, the other of red shell. Throughout the mound were found numerous fragments of incense burners, with the small head of a tiger, 2 birds, 5 small beads, 2 malachates, 4 net sinkers, and the ceremonial bar shown in figure 21, _c_; all in rough pottery. About 5 feet from the northern edge of the mound were found human bones, representing a single interment, seemingly of a male of middle age. The skull and long bones, which were very brittle, though they hardened on being exposed to the air for a day, were gotten out only in fragments. The molar and premolar teeth are heavily coated with tartar but are not greatly worn down at the crown; the incisors, on the other hand, are very much worn and in life must have been nearly level with the gum. Marked attrition of the incisors seems to be present in nearly all the teeth of individuals past middle life found in sepulchral mounds throughout this area, which is rather remarkable, as the staple diet of the ancient inhabitants must have been nearly identical with that of the Indians of the present day; that is, maize ground to a fine paste on a stone metate, which of necessity contains a good deal of grit from the metate, so much so that the modern Maya say that an old man eats two rubbing stones and six rubbers during his life. This gritty _nistamal_ wears down the back teeth of the modern Maya almost to the gum, but does not materially affect the front teeth; yet it is the latter, not the former, which we find affected in maxillæ from the mounds. One of the molar teeth from this burial has had a triangular piece removed from its crown (fig 21, _f_). Along one edge of the gap left the tooth is carious.