The Carnegie Maya III: Carnegie Institution of Washington Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology, 1940-1957

14. A Reconnaissance on Isla de Sacrificios, Veracruz, Mexico (1943)

0 N o t e s o n M i d d l e A m e r i c a n A r c h a e o l o g y a n d E t h n o l o g y Carnegie Institution of Washington Division of Historical Research No. 14 March 30, 1943 a Reconnaissance on isla de Sacrificios, Veracruz, Mexico Wilfrido du Solier DIRECCIóN DE MONUMENTOS PREHISPáNICOS INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ANTROPOLOGíA E HISTORIA intROduCtiOn 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 quantities of cane (carrizal) and a creeping ground plant generally called frijolillo. Our excavations proved what we had at first surmised, namely, that the island had been formed by artificially extending and raising the elevation of a sandbank, for much of it is formed of volcanic rocks, presumably brought from the mainland. Sr. Miguel Angel Fernandez and I visited the island on hearing of certain archaeological discoveries made at the north end of the island by the Department of Forestry, which was engaged in constructing a fish hatchery. We had been sent as members of the Mexican Scientific Expedition by the Departamento de Monumentos (now integrated in the Instituto National de Antropología a Historia). Sr. Fernandez has kindly prepared the diagram and sections. aRCHaeOlOGY The largest collection of material from Isla de Sacrificios is the Nepean collection in the British Museum. A number of the pottery pieces have been illustrated by Joyce (1914) and others. Mrs. Zelia Nuttall and Batres (1910) have also made minor excavations on the island. Strebel (1885–1889) discusses the cultural setting of the finds there. At first glance no sign of pre-Columbian construction was visible, but a more careful search revealed that on the south coast of the island waves had laid bare some stones placed in line on very deteriorated stucco floors. Following this clue, we discovered a burial of considerable importance (no. 1), and, aided by the excavations made by the Forestry Department, we succeeded in discovering six others on the north side of the island (Fig. 14.1). Burial 1 Location. This lay 30 cm below the last of five floors, the topmost of which supported the line of stone already mentioned. Floors 1 and 2 were of stucco firmly bedded in white coralline. One of the remaining three floors was formed of sherds on a bedding of small marine pebbles but was perfectly smooth and level. Skeletal remains. These consisted only of a hand, a foot, and sternum with the front ends of its attached ribs. They were placed in correct positions (Fig. 14.1a). Furniture. (1) A circle of small bivalvular shells which surrounded the skeletal remains (2) A pottery dish (diameter 27 cm) with interior decoration of cherry-on-coffee in false negative-painting technique . The paste, of good quality, showed a black 14.1. Map of Isla de Sacrificios. Wilfrido du solier  core (Fig. 14.6d). (3) An elegant vase of red ware with two bands on the upper part made before firing and standing on an annular base (Fig. 14.6b). This was with Item 2. (4) A great pottery dish of unpolished and unslipped ware badly smashed, but which had clearly held carbon and ash. It lay 20 cm southwest of Item 2. (5) A large marine univalvular shell. With Item 4. (6) Alarge number of small marine shells also containing carbon and ash. Close to Item 4. Burial 2 Location. Just 2.70 m. beneath the stucco floor of a great platform which had been broken up by the Forestry Department. It lay in damp sand, for salt water is found 30 cm lower (Figure 14.1b). Skeletal remains. A skeleton in fetal position in excellent preservation, except that the skull had suffered some frontal deformation from the pressure of the soil. Furniture. (1) Ared pottery bowl with flaring annular base of excellent clay, well baked (Fig. 14.6a). Found near the pelvis. (2) A broken unclipped dish of coarse orange-colored clay containing much sand. Inside was a univalvular shell. Found by the tibiae...