The Carnegie Maya IV

Contents

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List of Figures

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pp. vii-

List of Tables

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pp. xvii-xviii

Preface

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pp. 1-2

This volume includes approximately 360 authored reports pertaining to the ancient and modern Maya and submitted by a variety of researchers from the Carnegie Institution of Washington (CIW) between 1913 and 1958. Originally published in the annual Year Books of the Carnegie Institution of Washington...

Introduction

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pp. 3-22

Between 1914 and 1958 the Carnegie Institution of Washington (CIW) sponsored extensive archaeological and other investigations in the Maya region of southern Mexico and northern Central America. During these four decades, the CIW was the leader in the field, with monetary and human resources that no...

Tables

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pp. 23-26

1.0. Administrative

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pp. 27-185

This question is often asked: What aboriginal people of the New World had achieved the highest culture before the coming of Europeans? And indeed it is a matter of recognized importance to determine which Native American race had traveled farthest on the road from savagery to civilization...

2.0. Art and Architecture

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pp. 187-201

Certainly one of the most impressive facts pertaining to the civilization of the ancient Maya is the extraordinary activity of these people as builders. Any one even moderately well acquainted with the territory occupied by this civilization can not but have marveled at the vast number of ruins that lie hidden on...

3.0. Environment

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pp. 203-225

So little is known, relatively, about the biology of Central America that a considerable amount of exploration will be necessary from the first to determine the species of animals and plants to be found in each biotic province and the relative abundance of the forms involved. At present the composition of the fauna and...

4.0. Ceramics

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pp. 227-258

The general problem toward the solution of which the Division of Historical Research is directing its efforts was formulated and discussed by the Chairman in his report to the Trustees last year. The interpretation of the results of the “meeting of two races of diverse physical make-up and differing culture” must rest on a thorough...

5.0. Textiles

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pp. 259-260

It is unlikely, because of climatic conditions, that any representative group of textiles or other perishable materials dating from pre-Colombian periods in Guatemala will ever be recovered. It is, therefore, chiefly inferences based on surviving fundamental techniques that the artistry and the very evident technical skill of...

6.0. Hieroglyphic Writing

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pp. 261-272

Dr. Morley devoted such time as he could spare from administrative duties to completion of his monograph The Inscriptions of Petén, second of the compendious treatises in which he plans to cover the entire field of Maya monumental epigraphy. The first, The Inscriptions of Copán, appeared in 1920; the third will include...

7.0. Linguistics

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pp. 273-286

Our interest in the languages of the Maya peoples, aside from our concern with a number of linguistic problems involved in the study of Maya civilization, is but a manifestation of the desire which man has felt for centuries to understand the nature of language and its relations to many aspects of his experience, with...

8.0. Ethnography

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pp. 287-317

There is a marked disposition among social anthropologists to make their work a contribution to the understanding and control of life; probably it does no harm to be a little presumptuous. At any rate, few students of the simpler peoples want their work to result in merely a miscellany of curious information, and...

9.0. Ethnohistory

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pp. 319-368

The history of Yucatán from the period of the Spanish Conquest to the present time has a definite importance not only in relation to other phases of the Yucatán Project, but also for the general field of Latin American history. The significant problems of the history of those Latin American countries where the Indian has...

10.0. Physical Anthropology

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pp. 369-384

At the suggestion of Carnegie Institution of Washington the Yucatán Medical Expedition was organized by the Department of Tropical Medicine of the School of Public Health of Harvard University. It was financed jointly by the Institution and by the Department. The Expedition, making its headquarters at Chichén...

11.0. Belize

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pp. 385-387

As a joint project of the Field Museum of Natural History and Carnegie Institution of Washington, Mr. J. Eric Thompson visited northern British Honduras in the winter of 1934. The purpose of the expedition was to continue promising earlier investigations made in this region by Mr. Thompson, one of the specific objectives...

12.0. Baking Pot

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pp. 389-390

The excavations carried out during the season of 1924 at Baking Pot were under the direction of Mr. Oliver Ricketson Jr., who sailed from New Orleans on February 10, proceeding to Belize, British Honduras, where he accompanied Mr. Blom and Mr. Amsden to the ruins of Uaxactún, Guatemala, returning immediately to...

13.0. Pusilhá

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pp. 391-393

The ruins of Pusilhá are located in the extreme southern part of British Honduras, about a mile [1.6 km] east of the Guatemala frontier, on a point of land between the Pusilhá and Machaka Rivers, which unite here to form the Mojo River. Hills surround the site on all sides, enclosing a valley of very great fertility; even...

14.0. San José

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pp. 395-397

In an endeavor to learn something of the archaeology of the region directly east of that explored by the Campeche expedition of 1932, 1933, and 1934 [Chapters 15.1 to 15.3], an expedition left Chichén Itzá at the end of February 1936, with Mr. Thompson in charge, Mr. J. C. Harrington, surveyor; Mr. Conrad Kratz made...

15.0. Campeche

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pp. 399-406

As result of the exploration and study of Calakmul in 1932 and reports of other sites in the same general region, an expedition spent the months of March, April and May in the exploration of south-central Campeche. Mr. Karl Ruppert, archaeologist, was in charge; Mr. John H. Denison, Jr., served as epigrapher; Mr. John...

16.0 Calakmul

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pp. 407-408

Work at Chichén Itzá was interrupted, in mid-season, by word of the discovery of a large, hitherto unreported Maya city in the archaeological unknown forest region of south central Campeche. Mr. C. A. Lundell, then in the employ of the Chicle Development Company...

17.0 Edzna

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pp. 409-412

On January 13, 1927, Mr. Nazario Quintana Bello, Inspector of Archaeological Monuments for the State of Campeche, discovered an important Old Empire city, some 40 miles [64.4 km] southeast of Campeche, the state capital, and 8 miles [12.9 km] east of the modern village of Tixmucuy. A temple, five stories high, was...

18.0. Chiapas

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pp. 413-418

Except for the brief time occupied by field activities at Mayapán, Shook spent the major portion of the past season in Mérida. There, at the Department’s ceramic laboratory, he studied the pottery of Mayapán, assisted Berlin with his report on Tabasco, and recorded a number of privately owned archaeological collections...

19.0. Bonampak

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pp. 419-423

Early in 1946 Mr. Giles G. Healey, employed by the United Fruit Company to make a photographic record of the Maya, past and present, was in the eastern part of the state of Chiapas, Mexico, filming some groups of Lacandon Indians, and was directed by them to the site of Bonampak. Here he noted some remarkably well...

20.0. Yaxchilán

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pp. 425-430

On March 22, just after the close of the Chichén Itzá Conference, the Yaxchilán Expedition left for the State of Chiapas. The staff consisted of Dr. Morley in charge; Mr. Ruppert, archaeologist; Mr. Bolles, surveyor and engineer; Dr. Dwight M. Rife, physician and chairman; Mrs. Morley, in charge of the commissary, and...

21.0. El Salvador

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pp. 431-432

During the past field season, Mr. Dimick, assisted by Mr. Stanley H. Boggs, continued the intensive study of the great archaeological site of Campana San Andrés. The ruins are situated 32 km northwest of San Salvador in the fertile, bowl-shaped, and mountain-fringed valley of the Río Sucio. Although thorough...

22.0. Guatemala

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pp. 433-452

The termination in 1931 of the sixth season at Uaxactún concludes the second most intensive examination so far carried out of any Maya site, and if it is decided to continue work there for another two seasons, data will in all probability be furnished with which to correlate the time-relations between the five...

23.0. Kaminaljuyú

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pp. 453-466

To the great aggregation of mounds on Finca Arevalo, Finca Miraflores and other farms in the outskirts of Guatemala City, the above name has been given by the Sociedad de Geografía e Historia of Guatemala. At the suggestion of Lic. Antonio Villacorta, Minister of Public Education, excavations were undertaken at one of...

24.0. Sites near Lake Petén

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pp. 467-472

Dr. Guthe sailed from New Orleans on February 11, 1921. During the latter part of the month a week was spent in excavating a small mound within the borders of British Honduras, at a clearing called New Boston, 4 miles [6.4 km] east of Baker, a village on the banks of the Belize River. After returning to Belize to...

25.0. La Muralla

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pp. 473-474

The ruins of La Muralla lie about 50 miles [80.5 km] northwest of Uaxactún and 10 or 15 miles [16–24 km] south of the Campeche border, in a section of the Petén forest that is almost completely unexplored. They were discovered by a Negro chiclero during the rainy season of 1925, and were reported by him to Captain Vans...

26.0. Piedras Negras

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pp. 475-476

On May 5, Dr. Morley left Chichén Itzá for the Old Empire center of Piedras Negras in the extreme northwestern corner of the Department of Petén, Guatemala. The journey was made by sailboat with auxiliary motor from Campeche to Ciudad del Carmen, thence up the Usumacinta River to Tenosique, at the head of...

27.0. Quiriguá

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pp. 477-482

The principal work of the 1919 field season was the excavation in May of Temples 3 and of the Temple Plaza at Quiriguá, Guatemala. The excavation of this important group of buildings, no less than the civic and religious center of the site, as commenced 30 years ago by Mr. A. P. Maudslay, at which time Temple 6, on...

28.0. Uaxactún

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pp. 483-516

The eighth expedition of the Carnegie Institution into the Department of Petén, northern Guatemala, left Belize, British Honduras, for El Cayo, the head of navigation on the Belize River on February 18. The object of the expedition was to make a survey of the ruins of Uaxactún, discovered by the expedition of 1916, and...

29.0. Zacualpa

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pp. 517-519

Investigations at Zacualpa, in the Department of Quiché, were carried on by Mr. Wauchope from November 27, 1935, to March 5, 1936. Mr. A. L. Smith and Dr. Ricketson accompanied him on preliminary trips to Zacualpa early in November and the Chairman...

30.0. Honduras

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pp. 521-526

The work of excavation and repair at the ruins of Copán, Honduras, which has been in progress since 1936, was continued during the past winter. Mr. Strömsvik was assisted by Mr. Robert F. Burgh, Mr. Arthur W. Wheelwright, and Mr. Leonard J. Currie. The major activities of the season were completion of...

31.0. Copán

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pp. 527-543

Toward the end of March, Dr. Morley left Chichén Itzá for Guatemala by way of Veracruz and the land route down the Pacific Coast. He was accompanied by Joseph Linden Smith, the artist, and Robert A. Franks, Jr., as assistant. John Lindsay, a field observer of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, joined the party at...

32.0. Nicaragua

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pp. 545-548

As was stated in the introduction to this report, Mr. Richardson, who went to Nicaragua to study relatively recent stone sculpture, was diverted from that end by the necessity of investigating a series of ancient human footprints found in deeply buried volcanic deposits near Managua...

33.0. Quintana Roo

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pp. 549-552

The explorations described below were carried on by Strömsvik and Pollock between February 23 and 28, and by Berlin and Strömsvik between May 24 and 29, 1954. Previously, one of our workmen from the village of Telchaquillo, Yucatán, had been sent into the area to gather information on the location of ruins and to...

34.0. Cobá

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pp. 553-557

The most important contribution of the year, indeed of the past five years in the field of Middle American archaeology, was the discovery, by the Institution’s Third Cobá Expedition, on May 24 of the site of Macanxoc, 50 mi. east and slightly south of Chichén Itzá. This site lies a mile and a half [2.4 km] southeast...

35.0. Tabasco and Veracruz

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pp. 559-563

At the invitation of Sr. Arq. Ignacio Marquina, Chief of the Office of Prehistoric Monuments of the Mexican Government, Mr. Ruppert as representative of the Carnegie Institution spent the months of November and December 1937 in cooperative investigations with Sr. Lic. Juan Valenzuela and Sr. Agustin García...

36.0. Yucatán

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pp. 565-571

As was stated in the last Year Book report [Chapters 1.22 and 1.23], the 10 years of intensive excavation at Chichén Itzá are being followed by an interval for the publication of those units of work which have not yet been treated monographically; and for research upon certain problems raised by the Chichén Itzá diggings...

37.0. Chacchob

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pp. 573-576

The ruins of Chacchob are in the District of Tekax, some 13 km by road and 10 or 11 km airline southeast of the town of Teabo. The site was first brought to the attention of the public over 100 years ago in an anonymous article that appeared in a Mérida periodical of the time. The part of the account that particularly has...

38.0. Chichén Itzá

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pp. 577-653

On May 27, after one week’s preliminary work, consisting of cutting new growth and burning the vast mass of timber felled in 1923, excavations were begun in the Court of the Thousand Columns at Chichén Itzá. The first point attacked was the natural entrance to the Column Group walking westward from the...

39.0. Ek Balam

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pp. 655-656

On June 4, Dr. Morley and Mr. Charlot left Chichén Itzá for Valladolid, and thence north 15 miles [24.1 km] to the ruins of Ek Balam. This site had been previously visited and described by the French explorer, [Désiré] Charnay (1886), but a recent report of a hieroglyphic inscription there initiated the advisability of...

40.0. Mayapán

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pp. 657-726

In accordance with arrangements made by the Institution and the U. S. Geological Survey, Mr. Morris R. Jones reported to Washington, November 1, 1949, where papers, instruments, and instructions necessary for his entrance into Yucatán and his work in the ruins of Mayapán were procured. Proceeding by way...

41.0. Uxmal

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pp. 727-729

Dr. Morley returned to Yucatán by way of Mexico City in September 1941. While in Mexico City he delivered a lecture at the University Club, for the benefit of British war relief, on the archaeological investigations of the Institution during the past 25 years, and repeated the lecture in Spanish before the Sociedad Científica...

42.0. Yaxuná

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pp. 731-732

The ruins of Yaxuná, located a short distance to the south of Chichén Itzá, are archaeologically important because their architecture differs strongly from that of Chichén, because they are allied ceramically to the cities of the Puuc and Cobá, and because they form the apparent terminus of the great ancient highway...

Appendix 1

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pp. 733-

Appendix 2

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pp. 735-740

Appendix 3

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pp. 741-746

Appendix 4

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pp. 747-750

Appendix 5

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pp. 751-758

Appendix 6

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pp. 759-766

Appendix 7

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pp. 767-769

Glossary

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pp. 771-774

References

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pp. 775-786

Index

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pp. 787-803

Contents

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List of Figures

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pp. vii-xi

Foreword

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pp. xiii-xvii

Mayapán was the largest, most significant political capital of the Maya world of its time. Its stature as one of the great cities of the ancient world and as a historical landmark site within Mesoamerica is gaining more recognition, particularly with renewed archaeological research at this center over the past two decades...

Introduction

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pp. xix-xxiv

Between 1914 and 1958 the Carnegie Institution of Washington (CIW) sponsored extensive archaeological, ethnographic, linguistic, historical, and other related investigations in the Maya region of southern Mexico and northern Central America. During these four decades, the CIW was the leader in the...

Table 1. Contents of CIW Current Reports, vol. 1 (1–14) and vol. 2 (15–41), 1952–1957

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pp. xxv-

Preface to the Current Reports, 1952

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pp. 1-

The purpose of the present series is to make available as promptly as possible the results of work in progress. The advantages of prompt reporting seem almost too obvious to need comment. A fact sometimes forgotten, however, is that, aside from the information provided to others than our own staff...

No 1. Map of the Ruins of Mayapán,Yucatán, Mexico

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pp. 3-7

Carnegie Institution of Washington is deeply in- debted to the United States Geological Survey for its fine co-operation in the work described below. Not only were the services of Mr. Jones made available for a considerable period of time in two successive seasons, but all necessary surveying...

No. 2. The Great Wall of Mayapán

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pp. 9-24

There are numerous references in the Maya chronicles and early Spanish colonial historical accounts of Yucatán relating to Mayapán. Few, however, give specific information concerning the Great Wall surrounding the ancient city. Nevertheless, statements in two sources are pertinent to this study, one in...

No. 3. Residential Property Walls at Mayapán

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pp. 25-29

The initial surveys of Mayapán disclosed the existence of a great number of field-stone walls running everywhere among the ruins (Pollock 1951:226; Ruppert and Smith 1951:232). While some walls were clearly milpa fences or cattle enclosures of post-conquest construction, others seemed contemporary...

No. 4. Excavations in House Mounds at Mayapán

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pp. 31-41

The dwelling-type structures at Mayapán follow closely Landa’s description of native houses in Yucatán in the sixteenth century. A large number of these structures are shown on the map of Mayapán (Jones 1952). Essentially they consist of a front and a back room but with considerable variation in detail...

No. 5. Cenote X-Coton at Mayapán

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pp. 43-51

The cenotes of Yucatán have been studied by various people and institutions, notably H. C. Mercer (1896), L. J. Cole (1910), Carnegie Institution of Washington (see Pearse and others, 1936), Brainerd (1942), and Lothrop (1952). These studies have been primarily geological, hydrographic, and zoological, the...

No. 6. Chacchob, Yucatán

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pp. 53-63

The ruins of Chacchob are in the District of Tekax, some 13 km by road and 10 or 11 km airline southeast of the town of Teabo. The site was first brought to the attention of the public over 100 years ago in an anonymous article, signed in Curioso, that appeared in a Merida periodical of the time...

No. 7. Archaeological Reconnaissance in Tabasco

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pp. 65-84

Tabasco lies in southeast Mexico on the Gulf of Campeche. It consists mainly of an alluvial plain through which the Usumacinta and Grijalva rivers and their tributaries slowly meander. Only at the southern edge of the state does the plain merge into the northern Chiapas mountain chain. As Tabasco...

No. 8. A Portal Vault and Temple at Mayapán

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pp. 85-89

Str. Q-127 lies at the western edge (265 S, 110 W) of a small assemblage of ceremonial structures that appears to be distinct from the Main Group, some 70 m to the west (Jones 1952, map). A fair likeness of the ground plan is recorded on the map of Mayapán, and from that and what the cleared mound looked...

No. 9. Some Small Ceremonial Structures of Mayapán

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pp. 91-110

Although the Main Group is chiefly distinguished by the imposing and easily identifiable ruins of the more important temples and colonnaded halls, there is a considerable number of less impressive structures which also played a part in the activities at Mayapán. The excavations here reported, in...

No. 10. Excavations in House Mounds at Mayapán II

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pp. 111-124

During the 1952 season we excavated in house mounds where depressions in benches or any visible constructions below bench level, such as exposed capstones or bared vault or walls, were noted. These constructions had one, two, or three benches...

No. 11. The X-Coton Temples at Mayapán

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pp. 125-133

An examination in 1952 of the Mayapán map (Jones 1952) disclosed a major concentration of presumably nonresidential buildings within Square Q. We assumed the clustering of these structures to indicate the civic and religious center of the city. The remaining area inside the Great Wall and for...

No. 12. Cenote Exploration at Mayapán and Telchaquillo

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pp. 135-142

In Europe prehistoric archaeology has largely been established on the results of exploration in caves. More recently archaeological data have been obtained from cave investigation in the United States. As might be expected, therefore, the cenotes of Yucatán have yielded remunerative finds of the...

No. 13. Boundary Walls and House Lots at Mayapán

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pp. 143-155

During the field season of 1952, preliminary studies were made of the rough stone walls found in great numbers through-out the ruins of Mayapán. The results indicated that the walls surrounded dwelling- type structures and in all probability marked the boundaries of house properties...

No. 14. Three Temples and Their Associated Structures at Mayapán

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pp. 157-177

The following report describes the investigations, during the 1953 field season, of several ancient structures within the central group of religious and civic buildings at Mayapán. There are approximately 100 of these units tightly clustered around the central and dominant architectural feature of the site, the...

No. 15. The Northern Terminus of the Principal Sacbe at Mayapán

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pp. 179-186

The principal sacbe, or causeway, at Mayapán is seen on the map of the ruins (Jones 1952) running from the western part of Square R in a southwesterly direction to the northeastern part of Square Z. The roadway connects two groups of structures, each group forming a quadrangle about a court, that...

No. 16. A Round Temple at Mayapán, Yucatán

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pp. 187-192

Since the exhaustive study of round structures in aboriginal Mesoamerica by Pollock (1936), a number of these specialized units have been discovered and a few of them excavated. The round form in prehistoric architecture occurs sporadically throughout Mesoamerica; its use ranges from pre-Classic times...

No. 17. Excavations in House Mounds at Mayapán III

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pp. 193-206

Excavations in the 1954 season were confined to a relatively thorough examination of Group A-3 and Str. Q-62 and to spot digging in nine other structures. The spot digging was done at likely places for encountering tombs and cists noted during the survey and surface examination of the areas...

No. 18. Exploration on the Outskirts of Mayapán

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pp. 207-216

The excavation of a small site near a large one, such as Mayapán, often adds valuable information, confirmatory, supplementary, or explanatory, to the archaeological findings at its sizable neighbor. And further, a study of the ruins in the immediate environs of Mayapán helps to explain what was going...

No. 19. A Presumed Residence of the Nobility at Mayapán

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pp. 217-226

Str. Q-208, situated some 80 m south of the apparent southern edge of the ceremonial center at Mayapán (390 S, 335 W), was chosen for excavation because the surface remains, principally the arrangement of the rooms and the fine masonry, suggested that the building probably had been the residence of some family...

No. 20. The Temple of Kukulcan at Mayapán

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pp. 227-237

Even a casual inspection of the ruins of Mayapán would enable one to state that the temple of Kukulcan (Str. Q-162), popularly known as the Castillo, was the most important architectural unit of the site. Situated on the northwest edge of Cenote Ch’en Mul, it occupies the central position in a tight...

No. 21. Excavations in Three Ceremonial Structures at Mayapán

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pp. 239-248

During the 1953 field season a program of intensive excavation was begun in selected ceremonial structures in the Main Group at Mayapán. This area clearly had been the ritual heart of the city, and it was considered that careful digging in certain types of structures, followed by analysis of the results and...

No. 22. Colonnaded Buildings at Mayapán

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pp. 249-270

The work of Carnegie Institution in the prehistoric political capital of Mayapán has among its broad objectives the study of each type of architectural unit occurring within the confines and immediate environs of the ancient walled city. One major phase of the undertaking required the close scrutiny of...

No. 23. Exploration in Quintana Roo

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pp. 271-276

No. 24. An Archaeological Reconnaissance of Northern Quintana Roo

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pp. 277-305

One of the most important regions of the peninsula of Yucatán for the study of post-Classic Maya history is northern Quintana Roo. We know from Spanish accounts that this area, especially the northernmost part of it, was well populated at the time the Spaniards arrived and that its inhabitants were considered...

No. 25. A Noble’s Residence and Its Dependencies at Mayapán

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pp. 307-319

The group comprises Str. Q-169 to Q-173a, inclusive. Str. Q-169 (260 S, 385 W), as judged from its size, its superior masonry, and its position less than 100 m from the Temple of Kukulcan, was almost certainly the residence of a chief or priest of outstanding importance; the other buildings in the group...

No. 26. Early Ceramic Horizons at Mayapán and Santa Cruz

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pp. 321-327

The early pottery found at Mayapán and the small neighboring site of Santa Cruz (R. E. Smith, 1954:53–58) includes pre-Classic, Classic, Puuc, and Toltec period types, which together form approximately 2.5 percent of the total pottery collected. Here by Classic is meant Lowland Maya Classic as...

No. 27. Another Round Temple at Mayapán, Yucatán

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pp. 329-336

The round temple investigated in 1954 at Mayapán (Shook 1954) proved to be in too ruinous condition to warrant repair. Therefore, in order to have one example of this type of structure available for students, another such temple, Str. Q-126, was selected for excavation and solidification. Early in 1955, the...

No. 28. An Altar and Platform at Mayapán

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pp. 337-342

The ceremonial group at Itzmal Ch’en in the northeast part of Mayapán (365 N, 1520 E), being a fairly small and compact center over 1.5 km from the Main Group, was thought worthy of survey in order to determine, if possible, the minimum number and class of buildings required for such a center. The...

No. 29. A Residential Quadrangle: Structures R-85 to R-90

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pp. 343-386

The quadrangle to be described is situated just short of 300 m on the magnetic east line from the main pyramid of Mayapán. It is adjacent to a ceremonial group comprising a round temple, Str. Q-126, a gateway, Q- 127, and several other civic and religious buildings on the periphery of the city center. It faces away from...

No. 30. A Vaulted Temple at Mayapán

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pp. 387-396

During the 1953 field season, test excavations by Pollock had indicated the presence of murals in a buried room in Str. Q-80 (150 S, 260 W). Consequently, it was decided the following year to undertake excavation for the purpose of exposing the murals and gaining information on architectural details of the...

No. 31. Excavation of a Colonnaded Hall at Mayapán

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pp. 397-405

In 1954, while an approach trench was being carried across the colonnaded hall Str. Q-81 (165 S, 260 W) toward the vaulted temple Str. Q-80 on the north side of the north court of the Castillo, the central shrine of the hall was encountered. Excavation of the shrine produced a very interesting group of effigy...

No. 32. Three Serpent Column Temples and Associated Platforms at Mayapán

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pp. 407-422

The temples and platforms discussed in the following report were excavated during the 1954 field season. The primary objective in the excavation of the temples was the gathering of comparative data on serpent column temples at Mayapán. Two low platforms in front of Strs. Q-143 and Q-218 were cleared...

No. 33. A Dwelling and Shrine at Mayapán

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pp. 423-432

Strs. Q-165 to 168 are situated in the Main Group, southwest of the Castillo (280 S, 350 W). The two principal structures are Q-165 and Q-168 (Fig. 33.1). The former, described in a following section of this report, is immediately adjacent to a colonnaded hall on the east. To the west, Strs. Q-166 to 168 stand on...

No. 34. A Round Temple and Its Shrine at Mayapán

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pp. 433-443

During the 1955 season at Mayapán, the small ceremonial group in Square H, next to Cenote Itzmal Ch’en, was partially excavated and mapped. The original purpose was to remove enough of the overburden so that the plans of the buildings would be evident, but preliminary excavation of one of the...

No. 35. Exploration of the Cave of Dzab-na, Tecoh, Yucatán

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pp. 445-449

Late in 1954, while I was exploring the environs of Mayapán and Telchaquillo for pre-Spanish occupation sites, Felix Pat, the comisario municipal of Telchaquillo, told me about cenotes near the town of Tecoh, the municipal seat. Pat’s description of these water sources, and an interesting legend associated...

No. 36. Excavations in House Mounds at Mayapán IV

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pp. 451-480

The three groups chosen, all of the dwelling type with buildings facing on small courts, were J-71, K- 67, and Q-244. Group J-71 was selected primarily because one of its four constructions faced in two directions. Two of the others were buildings of the normal dwelling type, one having once supported...

No. 37. The Southern Terminus of the Principal Sacbe at Mayapán, Group Z-50

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pp. 481-492

The principal sacbe at Mayapán has been referred to in an earlier report in this series (Pollock, 1950). The road runs from a large group of buildings in the western part of Square R to a somewhat smaller group in the northeastern part of Square Z (Jones 1952, map). The limited excavations described in the 1954 report...

No. 38. Skeletal Remains from Mayapán

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pp. 493-505

This paper is divided into three sections. Section one discusses the finds in general, with specific remarks on remains of extraordinary interest. The second section is a technical appendix in which all finds described in the field notebooks are listed. Section three, also an appendix, consists of a...

No. 39. House Types in the Environs of Mayapán and at Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil, Chichen Itza, and Chacchob

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pp. 507-520

During the 1955 field season the area around Mayapán was explored to a radius of about 20 km. The purpose of the survey was to see how the house types compared to those at Mayapán and to determine the extent of the Mayapán types. Other places investigated in order to obtain data on their house...

No. 40. Deities Portrayed on Censers at Mayapán

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pp. 521-537

An excellent description of the effigy incense burners of Mayapán has been published by R. M. Adams, Jr. (1953:146–168), and supplementary information by H. D. Winters (1955:385–388). Accordingly, it is sufficient here to give an outline of their material and to refer readers to those sources. Full technical...

No. 41. Notes on Vertebrate Animal Remains from Mayapán

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pp. 539-550

The collections of animal bones discussed in this paper come from four seasons (1952–1955) or archaeological excavations at the ancient Maya city of Mayapán in Yucatán, Mexico. Short accounts of this work have appeared in Carnegie Institution Year Books nos. 51–54 (1952–1955), under the sections dealing...

Editor’s Note

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pp. 551-552

The preliminary edition of this map was first issued in 1951 and reissued, without change, to accompany Current Report 1 in 1952. The text of that report describes the mapping procedures and indicates the relative reliability of the map. The present revised edition incorporates no changes in the basic survey...

Appendix

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pp. 553-609

Glossary

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pp. 611-612

References

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pp. 613-618

Index

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pp. 619-625

Contents

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List of Figures

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pp. xi-xv

List of Tables

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pp. xvi-

Introduction

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pp. xvii-xix

The history and many accomplishments and criticisms of the Carnegie Maya program are presented elsewhere (Weeks and Hill 2006; see also Black 1990; Brunhouse 1971; Castañeda 1996; Givens 1989, 1992; Harris and Sadler 2003; Sullivan 1989; Taylor 1948; Woodbury 1954) and need not be repeated...

Preface

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pp. 1-

The present series is designed to give circulation to those random bits of information that all anthropologists accumulate in the field, the museum, and the library but that, if not relevant to a current investigation, are generally stored in the cluttered attics of memory or, at best, are consigned to personal...

No. 1. Clay Heads from Chiapas, Mexico

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pp. 2-

By courtesy of Dr. Norman Hartweg of the University of Michigan it has been possible to examine four specimens (illustrated herewith) collected by him near Escuintla, in the southeastern part of the State of Chiapas, Mexico. They are human heads of unslipped, reddish brown clay, crudely finger-modeled...

No. 2. Pottery from Champerico, Guatemala

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pp. 3-6

During the winter of 1940 Dr. Erwin P. Dieseldorff visited the Salinas de Istan, some 5 km southwest of Champerico on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, in the Department of Retalhuleu. At about ground level in the center of a low mound then being leveled by its owner, Dr. Dieseldorff found a nest of...

No. 3. The Ruins of Culuba, Northeastern Yucatan

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pp. 7-9

In the winter of 1939–1940 I visited Tizimin, Yucatan, with the purpose of examining some ruins reported to be a short distance from this city but which actually are on properties owned by Eduardo Conde of Tizimin, some 28 km. farther east on a trail which ended at the settlement of Hoopel, about...

No. 4. The Missing Illustrations of the Pomar Relación

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pp. 10-14

The Relación de Texcoco, written in 1582 as one of the replies to the famous questionnaire of Philip II, contains a great deal of important ethnological information. It was published in 1891 by Joaquin García Icazbalceta as part of the third volume of his Nueva colección de documentos para la historia de México. Juan...

No. 5. An Ethnological Note from Cilvituk, Southern Campeche

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pp. 15-16

In the course of a reconnaissance in southwestern Campeche for Carnegie Institution of Washington in the winter of 1939–1940, the village of Cilvituk, on the east shore of the large lake of that name, was visited. A native guided me to a locality some 7 km south on the opposite shore where there was a single...

No. 6. The Prototype of the Mexican Codices Telleriano-Remensis and Vaticanus A

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pp. 17-18

The identity of many of the illustrations and much of the text of Codex Telleriano-Remensis and Codex Vaticanus A (known also as Codex Rios or Codex Vaticanus 3738) has been explained by assuming that the latter was copied from the former. Dr. B. Reina (1925) has submitted cogent reasons for believing...

No. 7. Observations on Glyph G of the Lunar Series

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pp. 19-20

Two further examples occur on Monument 7, Tonina, Chiapas, first published as from Ocosingo by E. Seler (1901, Fig. 281). Sides b and c of this monument, apparently the pedestal of a stela, carry a Calendar Round date which is almost surely 1 Ahau 3 Uo, the only doubt being as to whether the month...

No. 8. A New Pottery Style from the Department of Piura, Peru

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pp. 21-23

Several examples of a very curious ware have lately found their way into private collections in Peru. The known examples are vessels with double spout and bridge, with surface decoration in Mochica (Early Chimu) style of drawing but in polychrome. They come, moreover, from the Department of Piura...

No. 9. Archaeological Specimens from Yucatan and Guatemala

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pp. 24-27

With the exception of the first three, the provenience of the specimens here presented is not a matter of absolute certainty. This distinction is stressed because specimens that are in private collections or that find their way into museums from private hands are sometimes unequivocally assigned, by the authors...

No. 10. The Payment of Tribute in the Codex Mendoza

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pp. 28-29

In the part of Codex Mendoza containing the tribute roll each pair of pages (the verso and recto of sequent folios) lists the towns and a tally of tribute paid. Apparently each pair relates to a single taxation district, comprising all the towns in it, and the tribute enumerated was paid by the district as a whole...

No. 11. A Note on Aztec Chronology

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pp. 30-31

In the American Anthropologist (1938) Dr. Vaillant has a paper “A Correlation of archaeological and historical sequences in the Valley of Mexico.” I think his chronological scheme should be amended slightly with regard to the Aztec. He says that the records for the Tenochca run back to 1163, the year One Flint...

No. 12. Representations of Tezcatlipoca at Chichen Itza

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pp. 32-33

Jean Charlot in The Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza, Yucatan notes under the heading “Mutilation” (Morris, Charlot, and Morris 1931:275) that there are five carvings of’ individuals who have one leg amputated above the knee. These are sculptured on columns, two of which (nos. 1 and 15) are in the...

No. 13. A Theory of Maya tš-Sounds

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pp. 34-39

The account of the interrelationships and historical development of the Maya languages presented here differs in many respects from previous accounts. Though the conclusions are not unconditionally guaranteed, the author feels that he has achieved at least some methodological advances. For this...

No. 14. A Reconnaissance on Isla de Sacrificios, Veracruz, Mexico

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pp. 40-49

The oval-shaped island known as Isla de Sacrificios lies 5.5 km southeast of the port of Veracruz and has a north-south length of 368 m and a breadth of 192 m. Its greatest elevation is 4 m. The scant vegetation is confined to a few palms, some tallish trees called chacas, some flor de Mayo and wild plum trees, large...

No. 15. Pottery from the Pacific Slope of Guatemala

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pp. 50-55

It seems worth while to make record of two small collections from the above area, even though precise data as to the provenience of individual specimens are lacking, for although very little is known of the antiquities of the Guatemala highlands, we are in even worse case as regards the south coast. Yet that...

No. 16. Spindle Whorls from Chichen Itza, Yucatan

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pp. 56-60

Spindle whorls are found, often abundantly, in many parts of Middle America. Certain types, marked by peculiarities of shape and decoration and by variations in size, appear to be characteristic of certain areas and periods. Thus, spindle whorls should be very useful to the archaeologist as indicators of...

No. 17. Some Sculptures from Southeastern Quezaltenango, Guatemala

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pp. 61-67

There is an important group of mounds and pyramids on the adjacent coffee farms of Santa Margarita and San Isidro Piedra Parada. These are situated on the road from Retalhuleu to Colomba, a few miles northwest of Asintal, ire the southeast of the Department of Quezaltenango. This is the site which. Karl...

No. 18. The Initial Series of Stela 14, Piedras Negras, Guatemala, and a Date on Stela 19, Naranjo, Guatemala

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pp. 68-69

The decipherment of the Initial Series of Stela 14, Piedras Negras, has been generally but reluctantly accepted as 9.18.0.3.1 7 Imix 19 Pax principally because the data given in the lunar series appeared to be in agreement with that decipherment. A reconstruction of the difficult Initial Series has to meet the...

No. 19. Representations of Tlalchitonatiuh at Chichen Itza, Yucatan, and at El Baul, Escuintla

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pp. 70-71

The three friezes which gird the pyramid of the Temple of the Warriors at Chichen Itza, Yucatan, repeat with unrelieved monotony the same ritual. Jaguars, eagles, and an unidentified animal offer slightly conical objects to persons in recumbent positions. The animals are in pairs, set back to back, so that each faces a...

No. 20. Maya Epigraphy: Directional Glyphs in Counting

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pp. 72-74

The manner in which the Maya may have indicated whether a Secondary Series was to be reckoned backward or forward has puzzled Maya epigraphists for nearly half a century; and our inability to find the answer to this problem has hampered research, since in the many cases of suppressed starting or...

No. 21. Notes on Sculpture and Architecture at Tonala, Chiapas

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pp. 75-78

The railroad town of Tonala, about 150 km east of Tehuantepec and about the same distance west of Izapa, lies at the base of a high escarpment, which flanks the narrow coastal plain. C. Seler-Sachs (1900) and E. J. Palacios (1928) have described two ruins in the neighborhood: one, known as El Paredon, on the...

No. 22. Maya Epigraphy: A Cycle of 819 Days

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pp. 79-85

In five Maya inscriptions the month position of an Initial Series is separated from the context by an intervening Secondary Series and date, together with six (in one incomplete text four) explanatory hieroglyphs. In four cases the Secondary Series is subtracted from the Initial Series to reach a day with...

No. 23. The Periods of Tribute Collection in Moctezuma’s Empire

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pp. 86-87

R.C.E. Long (The Payment of tribute in the Codex Mendoza. No. 10 of this series) has recently pointed out that the tributary provinces of Moctezuma’s empire made their payments yearly, half yearly, and “quarterly,” that is, what is termed every eighty days on the four festivals of Tlacaxipeualiztli, Etzalqualiztli...

No. 24. Notes on Glyph C of the Lunar Series at Palenque

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pp. 88-89

Since J. E. Teeple (1931) established, according to four cases where he studied Glyph C, that the Maya of Palenque used exactly 6 moons to a group, nobody, so far as I can see, ever tried to prove or refute this theory; on the contrary it was generally accepted. Nevertheless, during the excavations made in...

No. 25. A Figurine Whistle Representing a Ball Game Player

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pp. 90-91

The pottery figurine whistle here illustrated was found somewhere in the vicinity of Icaiche, Quintana Roo, Mexico, by a former inhabitant of that now abandoned village. The finder, a shaman, subsequently moved to Kaxil Uinic and thence to San Jose, British Honduras, taking the figurine whistle with him. In...

No. 26. Notes on a West Coast Survival of the Ancient Mexican Ball Game

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pp. 92-96

These notes were obtained in the spring of 1939, during an archaeological survey of the west coast of Mexico. Originally I planned to publish them jointly with Mr. Carlos Linga, who, through his commercial agents in southern Sinaloa, has acquired several accounts of the same ball game from the Mazatlan...

No. 27. Animal-Head Feet and a Bark-Beater in the Middle Usumacinta Region

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pp. 97-98

The accompanying photograph is recorded because J.E.S. Thompson (1943) has recently noted that “The Mexican period . . . is poorly developed in the Central Area,” and has used “tripod dishes with feet shaped as heads of animals or persons” as a criterion of the Mexican period. If animal-head feet are...

No. 28. New Photographs and the Date of Stela 14, Piedras Negras

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pp. 99-101

Drawings of eroded inscriptions must, I think, be accepted as representing the possibly fallible judgment of the person who made them. While one may have confidence that the drawings of a given epigrapher are generally correct representations of what the Maya originally carved, if he proposes to make...

No. 29. Grooved Stone Axes from Central America

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pp. 102-104

It has commonly been supposed, although I can find no statement to that effect in print, that grooved stone axes do not occur in Central America. It therefore seems desirable to record six specimens from that region which have recently come to notice; four from Guatemala, one from Nicaragua, and one from...

No. 30. A Vase from Sanimtaca, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala

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pp. 105-106

Figure 30.1 illustrates the design of a fragmentary vase, the pieces of which were amongst broken pottery of a cache, unearthed in 1927, at the mouth of a cave called Calajau, in a hill of that name. It was situated on, a property, Sanimtaca, in the Chama region of Alta Verapaz. At that time Sanimtaca...

No. 31. A Human-Effigy Pottery Figure from Chalchuapa, El Salvador

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pp. 107-110

In February 1943 Ing. don Agusto Baratta, Director of the National Museum of El Salvador, and I were informed by Sr. Domingo Mendoza of several antiquities which the latter offered far sale. All specimens had been discovered in the Chalchuapa Archaeological Zone and were subsequently purchased by...

No. 32. A Preconquest Tomb on the Cerro del Zapote, El Salvador

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pp. 111-115

In November 1943, while engaged in cleaning the grounds immediately north of the National Museum of San Salvador, workmen accidentally discovered a small stone cyst containing a badly decomposed human skeleton and two pottery vessels. Further investigation uncovered a third vessel lying a short...

No. 33. A Tentative Identification of the Head Variant for Eleven

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pp. 116-118

In 1942 during the regular season of field work undertaken at Palenque by the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia de Mexico, I had an opportunity to start cleaning House XVIII, where F. Blom (1926–1927, Fig. 135) previously had found on the back wall of the inner room a stucco inscription...

No. 34. A Possible Lunar Series on the Leyden Plate

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pp. 119-

Little attention has been paid to ‘the glyphs on the Leyden Plate following the record of Glyph G5 and Yaxkin in A7a. It is, however, quite probable that the remaining glyphs form a Lunar Series. Because of the positions of Glyph G5 and Yaxkin, I assume that the four sections comprising each of the two remaining...

No. 35. Stucco Decoration of Early Guatemala Pottery

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pp. 120-123

Stucco was used for the embellishment of prehistoric Mexican and Central American pottery in various ways: as a coating, tinted in plain colors, for whole vessels or parts of vessels; as a surface upon which more or less elaborate designs were painted; and as a background of which parts were cut away...

No. 36. Certain Pottery Vessels from Copan

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pp. 124-125

Encroachment of the Copan River upon its right bank a short distance below the Acropolis of Copan resulted in the washing out of human bones and pottery. Following this clue, Mr. Gustav Strömsvik, in 1942, trenched into its bank and discovered a number of graves of different periods, and refuse...

No. 37. Archaeological Specimens from Guatemala

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pp. 126-132

The pottery and other artifacts herein illustrated are contained in various private collections. Precise data as to the circumstances under which most of them were discovered are lacking, but the proveniences assigned them by their owners are probably correct. They should therefore be useful for distributional...

No. 38. Jottings on Inscriptions at Copan

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pp. 133-140

The purposes of this paper are to propose alternative readings of some dates at Copan, and to suggest that for a short while at Copan lunar data were recorded in some system which increased the recorded moon ages of dates by two or three days from what might have been expected...

No. 39. The Dating of Seven Monuments at Piedras Negras

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pp. 141-148

Morley (1938) has reaped a rich harvest of skillful decipherments from the large body of hieroglyphic texts at Piedras Negras However, fields are seldom reaped so clean that nothing is left for the gleaner, and that is the case with the Piedras Negras texts. New datings are given below for seven monuments...

No. 40. Archaeological Finds near Douglas, British Honduras

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pp. 149-154

In building the road from San Pablo westward to Douglas in northern British Honduras, workmen used soil dug from two Indian mounds, in the larger of which they penetrated two chambers containing skeletal material and pottery. These mounds form part of the site of Noh Mul, partially excavated by...

No. 41. The Vienna Dictionary

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pp. 155-160

The first page bears the title “Bocabulario De mayathan por su abeceario,” followed by the heading “A, ante, B.” At the top of the page above the title is written “de Diego Rejon” in a hand which appears to be much later than the manuscript itself. On the last page of the manuscript in the same hand is the...

No. 42. Ixtla Weaving at Chiquilistlan, Jalisco

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pp. 161-164

At the time of the Spanish conquest, clothing of maguey fiber was common over a large area of western Jalisco and southern Nayarit. There are specific statements written in 1525 of its use in Tenamaxtlan, Ayutla, Autlan, Tequesquitlan (then in the Purificacion), Etzatlan, Ocotitlan, Aguacatlan, Ixtlan (del...

No. 43. Worked Gourds from Jalisco

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pp. 165-172

Gourd-working in this general area goes back at least as far as the early eighteenth century, for Ornelas (1941:43) speaks of “los tecomates que llaman de Acmulan.” And a few decades later it is said that Ayotitlan is populated by seventy-six Indian families who make “Bateas, primorosamente pintadas...

No. 44. The Graphic Style of the Tlalhuica

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pp. 173-175

It is true that we now know with certainty that the Nuttall and Vindobonensis group come from such towns as Tilantongo and Teozacualco in Oaxaca, as Caso has established on the basis of the unpublished codex of the latter town. This same style of painting obtained as far west as...

No. 45. Variant Methods of Date Recordingsin the Jatate Drainage, Chiapas

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pp. 176-179

In the only two lengthy and fairly legible inscriptions now known from the Jatate drainage of eastern Chiapas a somewhat different arrangement is followed. The distance numbers are not cumulative, that is to say, not reckoned from the last date reached, but give the total interval between the Initial Series...

No. 46. The Venus Calendar of the Aztec

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pp. 180-181

Sahagun says that the Aztec festival of Atamalqualiztli occurred every eight years, sometimes in the month of Tepeilhuitl and sometimes in the month of Quecholli, and that after seven days of fasting the principal ceremony took place on the eighth day. Nothing is said as to when these festivals fell...

No. 47. An Inscription on a Jade Probably Carved at Piedras Negras

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pp. 182-184

Finely carved jades were doubtless regarded by the Maya as objects of great value. They could be passed on from generation to generation and could be traded in distant parts. In most cases one cannot rely on the circumstances of their discovery to evince their origin, and often the only clue is the style of the carving...

No. 48. Costumes and Wedding Customs at Mixco, Guatemala

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pp. 185-187

Santo Domingo Mixco is a Pokoman-Maya village in the Department of Guatemala, 15 km west of Guatemala City. Despite the proximity of the capital and many Cakchiquel villages in the immediate vicinity, the Pokoman of Mixco still retain many of their old customs, particularly those relating to the...

No. 49. Combinations of Glyphs G and F in the Supplementary Series

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pp. 188-190

The two glyphs known as G and F were once believed to have formed part of the Lunar or Supplementary Series. In the past ten years Thompson (1935:84–85; 1940; 1944) and Beyer (1935a–b; 1939) have called attention to occurrences with Calendar Round dates of either Glyph G alone or, less frequently, of Glyphs...

No. 50. Moon Age Tables

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pp. 191-196

The first, and simpler of the two, needs little explanation beyond the legend. The dates shown in the chart are of conjunctions five lunar years apart. Intermediate conjunctions, or new-moon dates, can be determined by interpolation. It is suited to problems handled best with our decimal system, and...

No. 51. A Second Tlaloc Gold Plaque from Guatemala

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pp. 197-

It has been supposed until recently that one of the Zacualpa gold disks (Fig. 51.1a) originated in Peru and was of Chavin workmanship. Lately, however, the disk was said to represent the Mexican rain god Tlaloc, a claim which seems to be confirmed by a second and similar disk hitherto unreported...

No. 52. Rock Paintings at Texcalpintado, Morelos, Mexico

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pp. 198-200

At the end of September 1943 some people from Hueyapan, Morelos, reported to the Mexican National Museum of Anthropology the discovery of a great number of figures painted on a rock at a place called Texcalpintado in the state of Morelos. With the permission of the director of the museum I went to...

No. 53. A Pyrite Mirror from Queretaro, Mexico

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pp. 201-202

The pyrite mirror described herein holds considerable interest because of the technique of manufacture and the nature of the carved design on its reverse side (Fig. 53.1). It was acquired by the American Museum of Natural History (Cat. no. 30.1-618) in 1931 along with a small collection of other objects. Information...

No. 54. Informe sobre la existencia de jugadores de pelota mayas en la cerámica escultórica de Jaina

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pp. 203-204

Durante la última visita que J. Eric S. Thompson realizara a México, tuve oportunidad de informarle de la existencia de dos figurillas de barro, procedentes de la Isla de Jaina, Campeche, representado jugadores de pelota, informe que venía a completer su noticia sobre un jugador de pelota maya modelado...

No. 55. Un sello cilindrico con barras y puntos

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pp. 205-206

Encontrándome de paso en la ciudad de Jalapa, Veracruz, aproveché mi corta estancia pare efectuar una visita a mi buen amigo al Sr. Ingeniero Cástulo Villaseñor, gran amigo de los arqueólogos y entusiasta coleccionador de nuestras antigüedades, que son la misma atención de siempre me mostró ufano...

No. 56. The Inscription on the Altar of Zoomorph O, Quirigua

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pp. 207-212

The inscription on the altar of Zoomorph O, Quirigua, is very hard to decipher because of erosion, but also because of other difficulties. Carelessness on the part of the composers of the original text as well as unwonted urge for brevity, manifested in the suppression of month signs, make the translation far...

No. 57. Archaeological Discovery at Finca Arizona, Guatemala

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pp. 213-223

Many important discoveries in the field of archaeology as well as in other sciences are made by nonprofessionals. So significant are some of these that one often hears wailing and gnashing of teeth by professionals who were not present for the unveiling and therefore were unable to record the exact circumstances surrounding the find. The excavations here...

No. 58. The Initial and Supplementary Series of Stela 5 at Altar de Sacrificios, Guatemala

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pp. 224-227

I first saw Stela 5 at Altar de Sacrificios in the spring of 1914, when the drawing of its corresponding Initial Series shown in Figure 58.1 was made. Beyer had not then discovered the meaning of the variable central element of the Initial Series introducing glyph, and there was no reason for doubting the reading that I...

No. 59. Mausolea in Central Veracruz

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pp. 228-232

For some time I have been interested in some curious small structures, first reported by Isidro A. Gondra (1836). Sr. Gondra’s account was based on some clippings from newspapers of Veracruz which described the discovery of some pre-Colombian ruins in the Mizantla region, and on a verbal account by...

No. 60. Archaeological Material from theClub Internacional, El Salvador

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pp. 233-239

In 1939, during construction of the present building of the Club Internacional in the center of the city of San Salvador, workmen excavating the basement discovered a deposit of prehistoric objects associated with a stratum of volcanic ash. This material, according to Sr. Don Jose Maria Duran, architect and...

No. 61. Some Uses of Tobacco among the Maya

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pp. 240-242

These scant jottings on “the weed” have lain among my notes for many years. I have not attempted to improve the mixture by seeking more gleanings to blend with it, but offer it more or less as garnered without any pretense that it adequately covers the subject. Information on the use of tobacco among...

No. 62. Observations on Altar Sites in the Quiche Region, Guatemala

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pp. 243-249

In February 1928, while a guest in the Protestant mission house in Santo Tomas Chichicastenango, I was told of a brujeria where Indians worshipped. A group of town picnickers had discovered it on the wooded summit of a hill, about 1 km west of the town. Starting before midmorning of March...

No. 63. Tattooing and Scarification among the Maya

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pp. 250-253

There is a considerable body of material, both in the literature and in archaeological collections, on the practices of tattooing and scarification among the Maya. In view of the world-wide interest in the subject, it has seemed advisable to bring together in print such items as have come to my attention...

No. 64. The Tamiahua Codices

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pp. 254-255

Three lithographed maps, tinted in bright watercolor, were given me for publication in 1944 by Sr. Guillermo Echaniz, who retained duplicates. Another collection was shown me later by Sr. Pompa y Pompa, in the library of the Alzate Society. Obviously intended for publication in the nineteenth...

No. 65. The Malinche of Acacingo, Estado de Mexico

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pp. 256-

Below Tenancingo (Estado de Mexico) lie the small settlement of Acacingo and, to the west of this, the Cerro de la Malinche. On the latter exist various carvings, or remains of carvings, for in one place an outcropping of petroglyphs has recently been blasted with dynamite by someone eager to detach...

No. 66. Three Zapotec Stones

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pp. 257-258

Some time ago when visiting San Juan he happened to stroll around the small jail, at the back of which he found the three stones built into the wall. He had them removed to the small plaza of the village. It is supposed that they came from the neighboring hills, which apparently hold further...

No. 67. Blowguns in Guatemala

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pp. 259-261

In an effort to protect small game and particularly the quetzal bird, the Guatemalan national symbol of freedom, a law was passed about 15 years ago prohibiting the use of the blowgun. In areas where administration of the law was possible it was so rigorously enforced that the blowgun as a hunting...

No. 68. A Reconnaissance of El Rincon del Jicaque, Honduras

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pp. 262-267

The backbone of organized resistance offered by the Indians of western Honduras to Spanish rule was finally broken in April 1530, when Hernando Chaves besieged and conquered the stronghold of the Maya chieftain, Copan Calel. The story of this siege, told by Francisco Antonio Fuentes y Guzman...

No. 69. “Rim-Head” Vessels from Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala

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pp. 268-270

From time to time there have turned up at the great archaeological site of Kaminaljuyu, in the northwestern outskirts of Guatemala City, fragments of an interesting type of presumably ceremonial vessel, whose rim bore large human heads. Some of these were brought in for sale by people living in the vicinity, others were...

No. 70. Some Mexican Figurines of the Colonial Period

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pp. 271-272

The manufacture of “idolitos” did not, of course, stop with the conquest, though there must have been some shift in their function. Sr. Miguel Covarrubias, who owns ten of the eleven figurines depicted in the accompanying illustration, observes that all sorts of little clay figures are sold in the markets today, for...

No. 71. The Dating of Structure 44, Yaxchilan, and Its Bearing on the Sequence of Texts at That Site

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pp. 273-278

The hieroglyphic texts at Yaxchilan are the most tantalizing of all Maya inscriptions. Most of them, despite their generally fine state of preservation, cannot be used with assurance, for the Calendar Round dates, fully rigged with explanatory dates, are in general adrift, bereft of the anchors of Initial Series or the fair...

No. 72. The Codex of the Derrumbe del Templo Mayor

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pp. 279-280

According to the text of 1553, Costumbres de Nueva España (1943:1, 57) “. . . llegado que fue el marqués del prendimiento de naruaez a su jente le halló herido a moteçuma y mandó el marques dar fuego a todos los cues y altares que tenián y como se quemauan se caían y al caer vn cu grande hizo gran ruido y preguntando...

No. 73. Some Examples of Yeztla-Naranjo Geometric Ware

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pp. 281-282

A new type of painted pottery, corresponding closely to that from the old Tepuzteco area, was found by Mr. R. J. Weitlaner and myself in the southern drainage of the upper Balsas River (Rio de las Truchas). We published two complete pieces in Tlalocan (1944:1, Pl. 4) and Hendrichs published a third...

No. 74. The Treble Scroll Symbol in the Teotihuacan and Zapotec Cultures

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pp. 283-286

The first example shows the treble scroll incised on both sides of two shoe-shaped vessels (Fig. 74.1a). On a third shoe-shaped vessel of the same size we find on the point of the shoe not the scroll but a sign representing four drops of water, arranged at right angles and painted in red. As no other symbols of...

No. 75. The Book of Chilam Balam of Ixil

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pp. 287-292

Most of the so-called Books of Chilam Balam are essentially almanacs. They are written in the Maya language of Yucatan and in the European script adapted by the missionaries to express the sounds not found in Spanish. Brinton (1890:257) tells us that “in whatever village it was written, or by whatever...

No. 76. The “Tortuga” of Coatlan del Rio, Morelos

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pp. 293-

In Coatlan, which lies on the edge of the Chontal de Guerrero zone, the monument is assumed to be a turtle, but it seems more likely to be a composite of giant phallus and articulated animal. In the upper figure what appears to be the prepuce is on the right and the animal’s claws are at the left. Below...

No. 77. Drawings of Tajumulco Sculptures

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pp. 294-300

During the winter of 1938–39, the School of American Research and the Museum of New Mexico carried on archaeological excavations at the small ruin site of Tajumulco, Department of San Marcos, Guatemala. A report on that work, Excavations at Tajumulco, Guatemala, was published as Monograph...

No. 78. Otomi Looms and Quechquemitls from San Pablito, State of Puebla, and from Santa Ana Hueytlalpan, State of Hidalgo, Mexico

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pp. 301-311

The quechquemitl is a pre-Cortesian garment. In codices and documents written shortly after the Spanish conquest we find illustrations of goddesses and noble women wearing quechquemitls, whereas women of the lower classes are pictured wearing huipiles. We also find representations of quechquemitls...

No. 79. Maya Calendar Round Dates Such as 9 Ahau 17 Mol

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pp. 312-315

It has been known for very many years that the positions in the months held by each day were one less in Yucatan at the time of the Spanish conquest than they had been in the cities of the Central area during the Classic or Initial Series Period. That is to say, combinations such as 12 Kan 1 Pop, 6 Imix 3 Yax, or...

No. 80. Stone Objects from Cocula and Chilacachapa, Guerrero

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pp. 316-318

At the Fourth Mesa Redonda, Sr. Covarrubias presented a typology of the stone figures which abound in the region of Mezcala and other parts of Guerrero. When available in a formally published version, this typology will help to anchor the lithic work of Guerrero, which appears frequently in private and public...

No. 81. Easter Ceremonies at San Antonio Palopo, Guatemala

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pp. 319-324

The small village of San Antonio Palopo is situated on the northeast shore of Lake Atitlan, a mile or two east of Santa Catarina Palopo. The villagers, Cakchiquel Maya, have no canoes; except for fish weirs, of stone or sod, their interests are in the land. Their principal industry is agriculture; their main crops are...

No. 82. Cuchumatan Textiles: The Course of an Error

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pp. 325-326

A relatively unimportant error is capable of spreading and perpetuating itself in a remarkable way. One such, originally little more than a bit of carelessness, has developed to the point at which published correction is required, having infected not only one of my own publications (La Farge and Byers...

No. 83. Representations of Temple Buildings as Decorative Patterns on Teotihuacan Pottery and Figurines

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pp. 327-330

Miniature clay temples occur frequently in the Aztec cultural horizon, as well as in western Mexico, but they do not appear in the Teotihuacan period. Nevertheless, the pattern of temple façades has been widely applied by the Teotihuacanos as decorative motifs on pottery and moldmade figurines. Its use...

No. 84. The Codex of Tonayan

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pp. 331-334

The Codex of Tonayan, or Plano de San Juan Chapultepec, was painted a short distance north of Xalapa, Veracruz, in the year 1665. What has become of the original is unknown, but it still existed in 1849, when a watercolor copy was made. In 1852 it was copied again, this time in oils, and this second copy...

No. 85. Elements of Maya Arithmetic with Particular Attention to the Calendar

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pp. 335-340

Maya arithmetic was characterised by virtually complete absence of fractions. No doubt the Maya understood simple fractions such as one-half, one-quarter, and one-third. But quantities, including those we think of as continuous and indefinitely divisible were, for them, strictly counted values of...

No. 86. Certain Types of Stamped Decoration on Pottery from the Valley of Mexico

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pp. 341-346

In discussing a collection of pottery from Texcuaco on the Rio Coyolate, Department of Escuintla, Guatemala, Dr. A. V. Kidder (Note 15) refers to a vase which bears two rectangular panels, impressed by the same stamp (Fig. 86.1.1). Each panel is outlined, after stamping, with an incised line. Near the base...

No. 87. Observation of the Sun among the Ixil of Guatemala

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pp. 347-349

Through the courtesy of the Division of Historical Research I have been able to see the microfilm of the notes on the Ixil by the late J. Steward Lincoln (1946). Appended to it is a diagram entitled “So-called sun observatory. Nebaj. Stone markers extending from behind Campo Santo up to top of high hill west...

No. 88. Some Remarks on Maya Arithmetic

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pp. 350-351

J. Eric S. Thompson (1942) has set out very fully how the Maya might have used an abacus for calculating and he has given a diagram of such an abacus. Although I am in general agreement with his paper, I think that no abacus was used and that it is useful to consider the methods of reckoning used in Europe..

No. 89. Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala: Addenda and Corrienda

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pp. 352-356

In the recent report by Kidder, Jennings, and Shook (Kaminaljuyu, hereafter referred to as KJS) on the great archaeological site of Kaminaljuyu in the outskirts of Guatemala City, it was stated that four cultural phases were there represented: Miraflores, an Archaic or Middle Culture development; Esperanza...

No. 90. Did the Maya Have a Zero? The Meanings of Our Zero and the Maya “Zero” Symbols

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pp. 357-359

Did the Maya have a zero? They had several symbols which have been translated by means of our zero, and the real question, naturally, is whether the translations are correct. Perhaps the answer might be either yes or no. Our symbol 0 represents several different concepts, according to the way it is used...

No. 91. Jades from Guatemala

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pp. 360-365

In 1946 and 1947, A. L. Smith excavated two mounds at a large archaeological site in the outskirts of the town of Nebaj in the Department of El Quiche. The jades recovered are of much importance for the study of Mesoamerican ornaments of this material because of the fact that the age relative to each other of the...

No. 92. Certain Archaeological Specimens from Guatemala I

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pp. 366-376

Most of the objects treated in this Note were incidental finds or purchases made in the course of Carnegie Institution’s field work. As such, they will not find a place in papers devoted to major excavations and surveys. The rest are in private collections which are unlikely ever to be published and always...

No. 93. Some New Discoveries at Coba

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pp. 377-381

In December 1948, we made a trip to Coba for the purpose of photographing the ruins. Starting from Valladolid, we went to Chemax, thence on mule back to Tsinup, approximately 12 km beyond. About halfway between Chemax and Tsinup we observed, across a milpa to the right of the trail, some rather...

No. 94. Tlaloc Incensarios in the Baratta Collection, El Salvador

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pp. 382-387

The collection of prehistoric pottery vessels owned by Prof. Augusto and Doña Maria Baratta of San Salvador, El Salvador, includes many fine specimens, most of which, unfortunately, are of unknown provenience. The five incensarios with which this paper deals were purchased by Doña Maria in 1944 from...

No. 95. Certain Archaeological Specimens from Guatemala II

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pp. 388-392

Like specimens from Guatemala recorded in an earlier paper in this series (Note 92), the objects here described are incidental finds, purchases, or gifts and therefore will not be included in reports dealing with Carnegie Institution’s major archaeological undertakings. All are now in the Guatemala...

No. 96. Tlaloc Effigy Jar from the Guatemala National Museum

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pp. 393-395

The large Dieseldorff Collection, donated to the Guatemala National Museum in 1942, includes many fine specimens, most of which, unfortunately, are of unknown provenience. The anthropomorphic jar representing a bearded individual, with which this paper is concerned, is believed to have come from...

No. 97. Rim-Head Vessels and Cone-Shaped Effigy Prongsof the Preclassic Period at Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala

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pp. 396-404

In July 1949 I received a grant from the Viking Fund of New York to organize the study material of the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia y Etnologia of Guatemala. While engaged in the organization of the large figurine collections, composed of material from the Dieseldorff Collection, the “desconocido”...

No. 98. A Polychrome Maya Plate from Quintana Roo

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pp. 405-406

In a private collection in Oaxaca City is a Maya plate which probably is one of the most magnificent pieces of Maya ceramics and certainly one of the most intriguing (Fig. 98.1a). It was found in Quintana Roo, Mexico, not far from Chetumal Bay. I am much indebted to the owners for permission to reproduce...

No. 99. “Olmec” Pictographs in the Las Victorias Group, Chalchuapa Archaeological Zone, El Salvador

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pp. 407-410

During a rather hurried reconnaissance of the Chalchuapa Archaeological Zone in 1942, a large, irregularly shaped boulder, decorated on four surfaces with incised human figures, was found in the Las Victorias coffee plantation about 2 km east of the city of Chalchuapa. At that time, I prepared a brief note of this...

No. 100. A Group of Jointed Figurines in the Guatemala National Museum

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pp. 411-415

A small group of “Archaic” figurines, thought to be of interest to students of Middle American archaeology, came to light during organization of the large study collection of the Guatemala National Museum. This project is being made possible by a fellowship granted by the Bollingen Foundation of New York to the...

No. 101. A Study of Three-Pronged Incense Burners From Guatemala and Adjacent Areas

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pp. 416-428

Since the recent discussion (Note 97) of a group of cone-shaped effigy heads and three-pronged incense burners from the Preclassic period at Kaminaljuyu, the large archaeological site just outside Guatemala City, some interesting new specimens have come to light. Their study has brought about new concepts...

No. 102. Some Archaeological Specimens from Pomona, British Honduras

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pp. 429-437

During the winter of 1950 the writers and Mr. Gustav Strömsvik had opportunity to conduct an archaeological reconnaissance of the Bay Islands and northwest coast of Honduras and the southern coast and cays of British Honduras. This was made possible by Mr. Charles Sumner Bird, who, through the sponsorship...

No. 103. “Loop-Nose” Incense Burners in the Guatemala National Museum

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pp. 438-446

In July 1950 the Guatemala National Museum received a donation from Don Guillermo Batres containing many interesting archaeological specimens which originally belonged to the private collection of his brother, the late Lic. Carlos Batres. It is thought that most of this material came from his property...

No. 104. Ethnological Material from British Honduras

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pp. 447-448

While excavating not far from the village of Socotz, in the Cayo District of British Honduras, during the summer of 1949, our Maya workmen supplied us with some interesting ethnological material. The story was told to us by Ascension Alfaro, an Indian born in the vicinity of Lake Peten Itza in Guatemala...

No. 105. Further Notes on Three-Pronged Incense Burners and Rim-Head Vessels in Guatemala

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pp. 449-457

During March 1951, I spent a weekend at Finca El Progreso near Chiquimulilla, Department Santa Rosa, at the invitation of the owner, Faustino Padilla. The purpose of my visit was to investigate the spot where a three-pronged incense burner now located in the Guatemala National Museum...

No. 106. Notice to Replace Note 106

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pp. 458-

Since the issue of “Map of the Ruins of Mayapan, Yucatan, Mexico,” by Morris R. Jones, as Note 106 (December 4, 1951), a new series of papers, Current Reports, has been initiated by this Department. These reports will deal at the outset largely with the results of field work at Mayapan. Constant reference will be...

No. 107. The Ruins of Cotio, Department of Guatemala, Guatemala

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pp. 459-463

Throughout the Guatemala valley there are known at present over 50 scattered archaeological sites. The largest, Kaminaljuyu, on the southwest outskirts of Guatemala City, is more or less centrally located; spreading out in all directions from this great ceremonial center are others ranging in size from a...

No. 108. A Possible Early Classic Site in Northern Yucatan

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pp. 464-465

While recently in Valladolid, I heard of the discovery of ruins near Colonia Yucatan, the center of the Yucatecan plywood industry. As they are in an area little known archaeologically, a visit promised to be of some value. The site is approximately 1.5 km south of Triplay, which in turn is said to be...

No. 109. Waxen Idols and a Sacrificial Rite on the Lacandon

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pp. 466-467

In documents referring to a little-known entrada, under the leadership of Juan de Morales Villa Vicencio, into Lacandon territory in 1586, published in Boletin del Archivo General del Gobierno (Reducción 1937), there are interesting references to the use of waxen idols by the Lacandon. These are the only...

No. 110. The Introduction of Puuc Style of Dating at Yaxchilan

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pp. 468-471

In a study of dating which yields a month coefficient of a Calendar Round date one less than in the normal system (e.g., 1 Kan 1 Pop in place of the normal 1 Kan 2 Pop) it was noted that this style is followed on two monuments at Yaxchilan (Note 79). To describe that system of dating the term Puuc way...

No. 111. Zutugil Dugout Canoes

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pp. 472-475

Some time ago we published a brief account of the unique type of dugout canoes employed by the Quiche, Cakchiquel, and Zutugil Indians who dwell on the shores of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala (Lothrop 1929). Several years later, while dwelling in the town of Santiago Atitlan and excavating in the vicinity for...

No. 112. The Survival of the Maya Tun Count in Colonial Times

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pp. 476-480

On pages 124 and 125 of the Codex Perez, now in the possession of the Escalante family of Merida, Yucatan, there is a table which consists of a list of 17 Christian years beginning with 1758, correlated with data of the Maya calendar. This table, as it is reproduced on pages 246 and 247 of the translation of the...

No. 113. A Decorated Vessel Support from Acapulco, Mexico

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pp. 481-482

In recent years explorations in Mexico have yielded a type of vessel support previously unknown in prehispanic pottery. These supports are up to 20 cm high, plano-convex, and hollow. The flat exterior bears a stamped decoration. Although, as far as I know, no complete vase or dish has been recovered..

No. 114. The Language of the Archaeologic Huastecs

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pp. 483-485

The Huastecs of the region of northern Vera Cruz have spoken a Maya language from earliest historic times. How long has this tongue been in the area? When and where in the ancient past did the forerunners of the modern Huastecs form part of a linguistic community with the other Maya? The problems...

No. 115. A Stela at San Lorenzo, Southeastern Campeche

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pp. 486-488

The small site of San Lorenzo lies 4 km north and slightly west of the chicle camp and water hole of the same name. These, in turn, are about 30 km in a direct line west by south of Aurora (Rio Bec) and about 8 km south by east of Hormiguero (Ruppert and Denison 1943, Fig. 1). It was visited by...

No. 116. Ceremonial or Formal Archway, Uxmal

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pp. 489-490

While exploring south of the main group, we came upon the badly fallen remains of an unreported archway (Fig. 116.1) about 3 km south of the Governors Palace. It faces north and south and rests on a large platform. No evidence of a raised road or sacbe could be found associated with it. On the south...

No. 117. Miscellaneous Archaeological Specimens from Mesoamerica

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pp. 491-505

In the present Note are included various objects that do not form part of collections made in the course of Carnegie Institution’s excavations, and therefore fail to find publication in reports on the Institution’s field work. Although the exact provenience of few is known, all are of interest in one way or another...

No. 118. Pottery Specimens from Guatemala I

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pp. 506-512

All save three (Fig. 118.4a–c, at present in the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Guatemala) of the 50 specimens herein illustrated came from the collection of General Frederico Ponce, who was at different times Jefe Politico of the Departments of Peten and Progreso. In 1944 Sr. Frederico...

No. 119. Drawings of Glyphs of Structure XVIII, Palenque

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pp. 513-516

During his ten years’ work at Palenque from 1935 to 1945, the late Miguel Angel Fernandez, artist rather than notebook-filling archaeologist, used his pencil primarily for drawing new finds. Through the courtesy of his heirs it is possible to present his drawings of the glyphs of Structure XVIII at...

No. 120. Memoranda on Some Dates at Palenque

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pp. 517-520

In a discussion of lunar systems at Palenque, Heinrich Berlin (1943) argued that Palenque had adopted the uniform system of reckoning moons. The evidence was not entirely satisfactory because of the two dates which he used to support his idea: one (Templo Olvidado) fell outside the period of uniformity...

No. 121. Snares and Traps in Codex Madrid

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pp. 521-524

Codex Madrid contains several divinatory almanacs (pp. 42c, 44–49, 90a–92a2, 92a3–93a2), with illustrations of animals in traps. Of the 76 animals pictured, 20 are deer, two are peccaries, two are turkeys, and two are armadillos. I follow the usual identification of the animals, a topic extensively discussed and, I...

No. 122. Two New Gallery-Patio Type Structures at Chichen Itza

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pp. 525-526

While at Chichen Itza, April 5 to 14, 1954, for the purpose of locating and examining house mounds, we found two new gallery-patio type structures. Thirteen structures of this type are now known at Chichen Itza, but so far none has been reported from any other site...

No. 123. Easter Ceremonies at Santiago Atitlan in 1930

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pp. 527-532

When I reached the village on the morning of Wednesday of Holy Week (April 16, 1930), the main door of the church was open, and a few men were busy on the terrace in front. The crudely rebuilt façade had been freshly whitewashed. An arch of two upright cedar poles and a cross pole had been...

No. 124. Pottery Specimens from Guatemala II

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pp. 533-535

The thirteen specimens described here belong to the Montano collection, and all, save one (Fig. 124.1a), are in the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Guatemala. The donor, the late Dr. Hector Montano Novela of Guatemala, was an enthusiastic amateur archaeologist and collector...

No. 125. Pottery Vessels from Campeche

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pp. 536-538

In 1949 I paid a brief visit to the small but well-organized Archaeological and Ethnological Museum of Campeche, Mexico. Among the many handsome Maya objects on exhibit, the nine pottery vessels here illustrated were of special interest to me. The director of the museum, Raul Pavon Abreu, was most...

No. 126. Selected Pottery from Tabasco

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pp. 539-541

The pottery and other artifacts here illustrated were found during two field seasons of survey of Tabasco in 1953 and 1954. For the “setting” of the specimens and the location of the sites, the reader is referred to Berlin (1953). Most of the material excavated during the two seasons consisted either of untempered...

No. 127. Chronological Decipherments from Uaxactun, Naranjo, and Ixlu, Peten

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pp. 542-544

Stela 14, Uaxactun, is broken in many pieces, and Morley (1938:1:215) despaired of wresting its dedicatory date from it. It is difficult to make much of the published fragments (Morley 1938:1, Pl. 64; note that d is inverted). On stylistic grounds, Morley favored a late placement, and very tentatively suggested...

No. 128. Notes on the Use of Cacao in Middle America

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pp. 545-552

Cacao attracted the keen interest of the first Spaniards to reach Middle America partly because of its importance as a beverage, partly because of the unusual method of cultivation dependent on the shade-giving “mother” tree, but principally because it was to Europeans, forgetful of the ‘origin of the Latin petunia...

No. 129. Tohil Plumbate and Classic Maya Polychrome Vessels in the Marquez Collection

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pp. 553-563

This collection, located in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, belonged to the late Alberto Márquez, a collector for twenty-five years. It consists for the most part of Maya archaeological material. At present there is a preponderance of ancient Maya and Mexican pottery, including several thousand Jaina figurines both...

No. 130. A New Inscription from the Temple of the Foliated Cross at Palenque

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pp. 564-565

In Note 120 of this series J.E.S. Thompson stated that a fragmentary text from the Temple of the Sun at Palenque, published by the writer in Note 24 of this same series, fitted another fragment seen by Thompson in the Palenque storeroom. This statement is incorrect. Although the fragment published...

No. 131. The Marquez Collection of X Fine Orange Polychrome Vessels

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pp. 566-593

Approximately 200 X Fine Orange and fine orange polychrome vessels, the latter in small number, are included in the collection of the late Alberto G. Marquez of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. The specimens, mostly whole and in excellent state of preservation, are said to have been found for the most part on Isla...

References

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pp. 594-605

Index

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pp. 607-614

Contents

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List of Figures

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pp. vii-

Introduction

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pp. ix-xi

Theoretical Approaches to Problems is the fourth volume in the Carnegie Maya series, a publishing initiative by the University Press of Colorado to reissue the results of archaeological and anthropological in- vestigations by the Division of Historical Research, Carnegie Institution of Washington, in southern...

General Preface

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pp. 1-2

Clearly the time for attempting a complete synthesis of Middle American cultures has not yet arrived, yet our thoughts should be turning in the direction of that final objective. Data now coming to light in increasing quantities can in some cases be utilized to interpret phases of cultural history; in other cases...

1. Dating of Certain Inscriptions of Non-Maya Origin

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pp. 3-52

Much of the second part of this paper, in which the fourth aim is discussed, is a theoretical construction, recognizably weak and primarily set up to be shot at by others in the field. It represents a re-employment of the methods and approach of the nineteenth century historian in combination with a utilization of...

2. The Fish as a Maya Symbol for Counting and Further Discussion of Directional Glyphs

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pp. 53-63

In a previous paper (Thompson 1943) I reported the two glyphs, both head and normal forms, commonly used to indicate the starting and ending points of a count. For convenience these glyphs were temporarily labeled “A” and “B.” In general usage they might be termed respectively...

3. Cultures and Peoples of the Southeastern Maya Frontier

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pp. 65-72

Most linguistic maps of Central America attempt to represent the range and boundaries of peoples at, or shortly after, the Spanish conquest. This is only natural, since most of the information on which the maps are based has been gleaned from accounts written by itinerant Spanish soldiers and priests during...

References

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pp. 73-79

Index

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pp. 81-83