! I ■ ■ ■ il «\ i si W5 3 f ^-^aiwitjjss^ wi^ii v juiurr x LIBRARY *J -; ■ ■ ■ ■ UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS LIBRARY WITHDRAWN \B4-sas v. V- .; ■ :!■: ■■ ■.. ^ I ■ J ■ hi .; I ■ ■ H. mammiwuMmaam^^^BBHmMBBM 1 ^■■i PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY HARVARD UNIVERSITY MEMOIRS VOLUME IV CAMBRIDGE, MASS. PUBLISHED BY THE MUSEUM 1908-1910 Il u Copyright, 1908, 1910, By Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University. m I I University Press : John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U. S. A. CONTENTS toM,u ™ ° F THE IIpPEE Us™™tla and AMACEm Emions Repokts by Teobert Maler. XVI. Altar de Sacrifices, Guatemala ..... Pagb XVII. SeibaL Guatemala ' XVIII. Itsimte-Sacluk, Guatemala . . 10 ••••• no XIX. Cankuen. Guatemala .... Sketch Map of the Upper Usumatsintla, Guatemala '? XX. Sacred Island of Topoxte in Lake Yaxha, Guatemala . . „ XXI. Ruined City of Yaxha, Guatemala ...... XXII. Benque Viejo, British Honduras .... 61 XXIII. Naranjo, Guatemala 73 (XXIV. Report on Tikal is printed in Volume V, No 1.) XXV. Motul de San Jose, Guatemala XXVI. Peten-Itza, Guatemala . ' 131 153 - ■- - ----- ■■-- - ■_...-■... ..;. __ __ ., . ■ , . ■. ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT Figure „ Page 1. Altar de Sacrificios : Plan of Ruins 5 2- " " The Circular Altar 6 3. Seibal: Plan of Ruins 13 4. " Stela 2 •'.'.".'. 16 5. " Design on Altar Stone 23 6. Itsimtd-Sacluk : Plan of Ruins 30 7. Cankuen : Pottery Whistle 3g 8. " Plan of Ruins 43 9. Tdpoxte" : Sketch Map, Department of Peten .56 10. " Sketch Plan of Ruins [ 58 H- " Ground-plan and Section of Main Temple 59 12. Yaxha: Sketch Plan of Ruins . 62 13. Benque Vie jo: Ground-plan and Section of Temple 78 14. Naranjo: Sketch Plan of Ruins . . 33 15 - Ground-plan and Section, Palace of Tiger-head Stairway 90 16. " Arched Doorway of Palace 9! 17- " Plan of Tiger-head Stairway 91 18. " Glyphs, stela 13 ...'.' 97 I 9 - Flint Objects found while excavating 93 20. " Glyphs, stela 19 102 21. " " « 94. :: 24 110 22. " » - 32 117 23. Motul de San Jose : Sepulchral Monument !33 24. " « " Ruined Temples .......... . 133 25. Peten Itza : Eastern Side of Temple 142 :» ■ ' ■■^^HIM PLATES Plate. Figure 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 2-8. 1, 2. 1. "o, 1. 2, 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 4. a a t< a (< u a u Altar de Sacrificios : Round Altar. Seibal : Stela 9. Altar de Sacrificios : Stela 4. Seibal : Stela 1. Stela 3. Stela 2. Stela 7. Stela 5. Stela 6, fragment. Stelae 12-15, fragments. Stela 8. Stela 10. Stela 11. Stela 8. From cast in Peabody Museum, Stela 9. " " « « Itsimte-Sacluk : Stela 1. Stela 4. Stela 6. Cankuen : Stela 2. Stela 1, East Side. Stela 1, West Side. Topoxtd : Main Temple. Yaxha: Stela 1, West Side. Stela 2, " " Stela 4, " " Stela 5, " " Stela 6, North Side. Stela 6, East Side. Stela 10. 2. Benque Viejo: Altar " Stela Naranjo : Stela 2, South Side. Stela 3, « " Stela 5, North Side. Stela 6, South Side. Stela 7, " » Stela 9, West Side. Stela 8, North Side. Stela 8, South Side. Steps II and III. Monumental Stairway. Inscription 11. " " " 12. « « 11 1. " « " 2. *' " 11 3. » " 4. " « a a a. K u a 4 ( a (< (( n a a a tc (< ■ m PLATES LATE. Figure 26. Naranjo : Inscription 5. Monumental Stair 27. u " 6. u u 28. 1. c< " 7. it a 2. C( " 8. fragment " 3. l( " 9. U C( 4. K 10. a tt 29. IC " on Lintel, fragment. 30. 1. t( Stela 10, North Side. 2. u it n ? « (< 81. 1. 11 " 12, " " 2. (( " 12, South Side. 32. 1. u " 13, North Side. 2. (I " 13, South Side. 33. 1. (( " 14, North Side. 2. u " 14, South Side. 34. 1. ct " 19, North Side. 2. tfc " 19, South Side. 35. 1. (( « 20, " " 2. (I " 21, " " 36. 1. a " 22, West Side. 2. u " " South Side. 3. u " " East Side. 37. 1. u " 23, West Side, Upper Half. 2. u " " South Side. 38. 1. u " " West Side. Lower Half. 2. C( " " East Side. Upper Half. 3. u U (I It (( Lower Half. 39. 1. u " 24, " " 2. t( " " North Side. 3. IC " " West Side. 40. 1. l< " 25, " " 2. u " 28, " " 41. 1. tc " 29, " " 2. u " 29, East Side. v 42. 1. it . " 30, West Side. 2. a " 30, East Side. 43. u " 31, West Side. 44. (C u 32^ (< u 45. Motul de San Josd, Stela, East Side. 46. i. : [tza-Flores from Plaza of San Benito. 2. Sacred Island near Sllbitiik. MEMOIES OF THE PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY Vol. IV— No. 1 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA AND ADJACENT REGION Altar de Sacrificios; Seibal; Itsimte-Sacluk; Cankuen REPORTS OF EXPLORATIONS FOR THE MUSEUM BY TEOBERT MALER CAMBRIDGE PUBLISHED BY THE MUSEUM 1908 ■ I Copyright, 1908, Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University. 1 University Press : John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A. THE GHTY CENTER LIBRARY EXPLOKATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMAT- SINTLA AND ADJACENT EEGION. XVI. GUATEMALA, DEPARTMENT OF PETEN. ALTAR DE SACRIFICIOS. On the left bank of the upper Usumatsintla. x JULY, 1895 AND JUNE, 1904. My work in the ruins of Seibal terminated July 8, 1895. Retracing our way through the corrozo forest, we arrived toward evening at the milpero huts, where we had left our cayuco. We embarked without delay and paddled down the river in the moonlight to the Paso Real, which we reached, very much fatigued, early in the morning of July 9. Here the sargento del resguardo, Eusebio Cano, bade me farewell. After a short rest I continued my journey down the river with my three men from Sacluk, who had by this time grown very uneasy. At the end of about two hours we saw at our left the extensive Acul laguna. This lake is one kilo- meter in breadth, connecting with the Usumatsintla by a natural canal. It abounds in a great variety offish, such nspejelagarto, robalo, chopd, bobo (bagre), mojarra (tencuayaca), mdecabi, sdbalo, all of which are very palatable. The sdhalos often attain a length of more than two meters, but are rarely caught, owing to the want of proper tackle. Near the lake are a few miserable cabins inhabited by a low class of people. We travelled the rest of the day and spent the night at a small sugar rancho called Akte, the owner of which, Ermitano Manzanero, was, however, absent. On the 10th of July we continued our journey without stopping until we reached the cabins of Plancha de Piedra on the left bank of the river. Here lived two men, Navarro and Gama, for whom things had grown too hot in Mexico, and who had met on Guatemalan soil. Although I was instantly aware that I was dealing with individuals of extremely doubtful character, I 1 The sketch map of the Upper Usumatsintla (Page 51) accompanying this report, was made only for the practical use of myself and friends, without any scientific pretensions or any intention of publication. It differs from all the maps I have seen. I believe that others, without knowing the land, have supposed the Chacchinic to be the Usumatsintla and not the Chacmaic, and therefore they have represented the Upper Usumatsintla as coming from the east and not from the south. The Chac- maic brings down the great mass of water to Cankuen, and therefore it must be considered as the true Upper Usumatsintla. \ %\^QZ ■ 4 EXPECTATIONS OE THE UPPEE USUMATSINTLA. was nevertheless obliged to engage their services for large pay, since the lazy fellows I had brought from Sacluk refused to accompany me further. These two men were also well acquainted with the ruins of Altar de Sacrificios, which were in the immediate vicinity, and I therefore felt it expedient to appear unconscious of any irregularities in their lives. The filth and degradation of the lonely hut, in which I was to spend the night, beggars description. I cleaned out one corner in which I was to sleep, but I could not avoid hearing and seeing many disagreeable things. In all my journeyings on the treacherous waters of the Usumatsintla, between El Cayo and Saiyaxche*, I have been forcibly struck by the extraor- dinary contrast between the lavish beauty of nature and the extreme deg- radation of the remnants of humanity existing there. Luxuriant vegetation of emerald hue bends in flower-laden branches to the water's edge, overarched by a sky of purest azure ; brilliant-hued butterflies and humming birds with metallic sheen fly from flower to flower ; gorgeous birds build their nests in every tree ; even the snakes and iguanodons are graceful and beautiful ; but humankind produces no such splendid forms as are to be seen in the Caucasus or in Asiatic Turkey. It is long since a respectable, stationary population inhabited these fruitful shores, and the dubious elements sunk in sloth, filth, and every possible vice, whose miserable habitations are met with here and there, are constantly shifting since they acquire no fixed property rights. July 11, 1895. With the new people I had engaged I proceeded on my way, and after paddling a distance of about 11 leagues 1 (about 61 km.) we made fast our cayuco on the left bank of the river, immediately after passing a little island. The ruins I was in search of lie about 3 km. above the confluence of the Rio Chixoy and the Usumatsintla and a very little distance below the island we had passed. As soon as we had secured our cayuco, we clambered up the bank (el barranco), which was from 6 to 8 meters high, taking the photographic apparatus with us. We subjected the site of the ruins, which was overgrown with corrozo palms and fine tall trees, to a hasty search and took two photographs, returning to our cayuco late in the afternoon to con- tinue our journey to Yaxchilan. 2 I must digress here to say, that on June 23, 1904, 1 again landed at the spot where, according to my calculation, Altar de Sacrificios ought to be. This was when I went up the Usumatsintla from El Cayo to the Paso Real a second time, at the request of the Peabody Museum, to explore other ruins in the Department of Peten. On this occasion, owing to threatening rains, we lost no time in putting up on the high shore a great champa (tsampa) of corrozo palm leaves, which afforded us adequate shelter. It took barely two hours to build this champa, owing to the great ease with which a roof can be 1 The league used throughout these reports is the Mexican legua, which equals 2.63 Eng- lish miles. 2 Memoirs Peabody Museum, Vol. II, p. 109. ■ ALTAR DE SACRIFICIOS. made of corrozo leaves. The leaves of the young palms are fully 8 meters long. Each leaf is chopped off a little at either end, and then, beginning at the small end, the rib is split down the whole length. When these half-leaves are bound horizontally upon the frame of the roof with the grooved sides turned upward, one half-leaf well overlapping the other and slanted at an angle of 45°, not a drop of rain can penetrate even during a violent down- pour. The question of shelter being thus disposed of, the following days were employed in searching the site of the ruins for more sculptures to photograph. The following report is therefore based on notes made in 1895, which were revised and corrected in 1904. A chain of cuyos (mounds of ruins) about a kilometer in length extends along the river bank a few steps from its present edge. The original dis- tance was no doubt about 100 meters, but for centuries the river has eroded the shore to a considerable extent, and deposited the earth on the opposite bank. The eastern end of this cuyo chain is formed by an oblong structure fronting to the south, which we will call The Structure with the two Glyph- stelae at its Southern Side. At right 3 E niiiif ill Hill T~ j--j !P ! I |oej lo* |o **? t angles to the western end of this structure rises the largest earth pyra- mid in the place, which no doubt was the substructure of the main temple. The constructions on this ruined site seem to have been earthworks in which very few stones were used and all were formed with a platform on top. The edifices on these platforms were not built of stone, but probably of perishable material. We found no traces of masonry on any of these terraces, though on most of them I Fig. 1. Altar de Sacrificios. Plan of Ruins. noticed a single layer of stones form- ing right angles, which may have served as a foundation for wooden struct- ures with a palm-leaf roof. (See plan, Fig. 1, the positions of the stelae are indicated by the figures 1-6.) We climbed up the earth pyramid of the main temple and found an ob- long platform on top, in the middle of which was a large round altar, sharply and nicely worked out, in a good state of preservation, being of reddish brown sandstone, which is much more enduring than limestone. Its di- ameter is exactly 160 cm. Its upper side displays a concentric band of glyphs 25 cm. in width, surrounding a smooth circular surface 82 cm. in di- ameter. The band of glyphs has a smooth outer edge 14 cm. in width. I ■ 6 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. I The stone is about 70 cm. high and has no sculpture on its periphery. The photograph of this stone was taken in 1895 and includes the two un- pleasant fellows who were with me at the time (Plate 1, Fig. 1). Besides the photograph I made a drawing of the upper surface of the stone for the better understanding of the nine glyphs, the outlines of which are still distinguishable, the details having disappeared (Fig. 2). As the ruins are quite without a name, I called the place Altar de Sacrifices, for the sacrificial stone is the most striking object to be seen here. The stone has been pushed forward a little from its original position, probably by some treasure seeker, who also dug a deep hole in the platform, doubt- less hoping to find treasure beneath it. A second round altar, this time of limestone, lies on the left wing of the same platform, but no discernible Fig. 2. The Circular Altar. Altar de Sacrificios. trace of sculpture remains. The front of this struct- ural mass evidently faced the rising sun, and its temple esplanade was naturally also that of the structure with the two glyph-stelae. The main stairway was no doubt also on this side, but as the entire mass was con- structed of earth, all traces of steps have disappeared. A careful search of the esplanade along the eastern side of this earth pyramid resulted in finding three stelae lying weather-worn and broken on the ground, each with a small round altar before it. Stela 1. On the right wing (or at the southern end), embedded in the earth, lay a small, delicately sculptured stela, its bas-relief representing the richly clad, upright figure of a man. The upper part of the relief was en- tirely shattered by falling trees or milpa fires, but otherwise it was not much worn away. In particular the richly ornamented garment of network (retic- ulated pattern) in which the figure was dressed is still perfectly distinct. Stela 2. The relief on this second, or middle stela, showed more pro- jection than that of the first, but it is very weather-worn. The stone is broken into several pieces. Stela 3. This stela was the largest of all and had stood on the left of the group, but it is now lying on the ground like the others, with its sculp- ALTAE DE SACEIFICIOS. tured side turned upward and very badly worn away. The broadest portion of this stone measures 108 cm. ; its present length (height) is 340 cm. To this should be added the piece sunken in the ground close to which the stela was broken off. After clearing away the foliage and roots, I found that the relief represented a throne supported by two kneeling personages (?). On the throne was seated, in European fashion, a deity represented in profile, stretching out the right hand. Above the head-dress of the deity a horizon- tal row of four glyphs forms the finish of the stela. Unfortunately only the outlines of this interesting relief are discernible, and notwithstanding its considerable thickness, this stone like the others is broken into several pieces. While the temple with the sacrificial altar forms the western boundary of the esplanade, the northern boundary is formed by the structure with the two glyph-stelae facing south. This also is constructed of earth alone, in what seem to be three terraced sections, with stairways probably on the sides. Close to the lowest section, to the right and left of the observer, stand the two stelae with glyphic inscriptions. Stela 4 (Plate 2). This is the stela to the left of the observer. It is still in upright position and is made of hard limestone, which has withstood the wear of time fairly well. The upper part of the stone was broken off by falling trees, or possibly in consequence of fires. Its breadth is 121 cm. ; the present height from the lowest row of glyphs to the edge of the fracture is 200 cm., to which should be added about 45 cm. belonging to the part broken off, and about 75 cm. more for the part embedded in the ground. The bottom glyphs were buried in the earth and had to be cleared. Then the stone was brushed off and washed, and a clearing made in the forest, so that about one o'clock in the afternoon the sunlight fell full and strong on the stela, allowing a very satisfactory photograph to be taken. There are four vertical rows of glyphs and ten glyphs in each row. It is my opinion that the arrangement of 4 x 10 glyphs is unusual, therefore I think it probable that the arrangement here was 4 x 12 = 48 glyphs, — a goodly number ! Accordingly, about 2J glyphs of each row are lost. Stela 5. This stela is on the observer's right. It is likewise still stand- ing, but with a decided incline forward, because a deep hole had been dug behind it — probably by the meddlesome seeker after treasure who displaced the great round altar. A careful examination of the sculptured surface showed that nearly all the glyphs were so badly weather-worn that a photo- graph would serve no useful purpose, otherwise I would have spared no pains to replace the stone in its former favorable position. The top of the sculp- tured surface is rounded off and occupied by a very large initial glyph of the usual form. This, and the three vertical rows of glyphs below it, are barely traceable. The breadth of the stone is 110 cm. ; the height was not measured, because the lower part was too deeply embedded in the earth. 8 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. Stela 6. Searching along the centre line of the structure for a possible third stone, I found a large one on a broad step, at half the height of the earthwork, lying broken in two on the ground. I examined it carefully on both sides, but no sculpture could be detected. On the oblong upper plat- form there is only a rectangular layer of stones. No round altars were found in front of these stelae. All the cuyos of the chain lying along the river bank were carefully searched in 1904 in the hope of finding another sculptured stone. I found a very much worn, circu- lar altar on one of the cuyos, but nothing else of interest. Altar de Sacrificios was doubtless the only place of any importance between San Lorenzo and Seibal, though it may be taken for granted that there were settlements varying in size wherever the river banks were hio-h. The overgrown, swampy lowlands, which are inundated every year during the rainy season, were probably no more suitable for human habitation dur- ing the earlier periods of history than they are now. From the mouth of the Rio Chixoy as far as Saiyaxche, and a little fur- ther up, the Usumatsintla has a very slight fall, so that, even when the inflow from the Chixoy is unusually great, the water accumulates and has a back-flow {una revesa) for a distance of several kilometers. From the Boca del Rio Chixoy to a point beyond Saiyaxche the water is so calm that it is no longer necessary to hug the shore in going up stream, but the paddles can be freely used in the middle of the river, and short cuts can be made through its numerous windings. During my second visit to Altar de Sacrificios (1904) I narrowly escaped being drawn into a bloody affair which occurred very near us. As I have occasionally reflected upon the degradation of the lower class of people whose habitations are still found on the banks of these rivers, I will give an account of the affray, in order to convey some idea of the lamentable dis- turbances which arise, even where the investment of capital and a super- fluity of the necessities of life obviate the miseries of poverty. The Mexican and Guatemalan governments give concessions to capi- talists for cutting precious woods and for collecting chicle and caoutchouc, and the managers of these enterprises set up their monterias on the banks of the most navigable rivers. The workmen (monteros, cJdckros, huleros), most of whom are brought here from a distance, all receive high wages, free board, and many perquisites. Although every want is provided for and they have been paid many hundred pesos in advance, and have abundant food, such is the depravity of these people that they constantly invent pretexts for deserting their work in order to resume their vicious life in the villages. This tendency to violate contracts perpetually occasions bloody conflicts be- tween the managers and the men. An encargado either shoots a recalci- trant mozo, or the mozos kill the encargados ; and the men secretly procure brandy and attack each other with their machetes in drunken brawls ! nH^KBH ALTAB DE SACRIFICIOS. 9 A few days before the affray alluded to, several mozos, very much in debt and tired of work, escaped from the settlement of Lagarto on the Lacan- tun River, belonging to Mr. Charles H , an American. After paddling down the Lacantun they speedily went on shore on the Guatemalan side of the Usumatsintla, where they considered themselves safe. Here they aban- doned the stolen cayuco, intending to work their way on foot through the forests along the banks of the river. Not far from the mouth of the Chixoy they saw a cayuco belonging to the monteria of Manuel Otero on its way to the Paso Real. "Weary of travelling on foot they begged to be taken into the cayuco, and their request was imprudently granted by the good-natured vogas. In the meantime the encargado of Mr. H.'s monteria, young Romero, had started with some reliable mozos in pursuit of the fugitives, in order to induce them to return, or at any rate to settle their accounts. Romero and his men crossed the strip of land between the Lacantun and the Chixoy on foot and reached the monteria in charge of his father, Guadaloupe Romero, situated on the lower Chixoy. Here without delay they took a cayuco, in- tending to head off the fugitives by water. Scarcely had they entered the Usumatsintla when a bloody encounter took place between the pursuers and pursued, for each party opened fire on the other. One man was killed on each side, to the terror of the milder-mannered vogas of Otero's cayuco, who flung themselves flat on the bottom of their boat and remained there until the battle was over. The men from the Lacuntun monteria turned back in all haste, carrying the body of their young encargado with them, while the vogas of Otero's cayuco carried their dead mozo to Plancha de Piedra, where they also put ashore his companions. In this region of great natural beauty, where the boundaries of two Spanish-Indian republics meet, this general rule prevails : — whoever com- mits murder on the Mexican side immediately crosses over to Guatemala, and whoever on Guatemalan soil sends a troublesome denizen of this earth to a better world, speedily crosses the border into hospitable Mexico. Of course there is always a simulacro de justicia enacted on each occasion. Las exhortaciones judiciales fly back and forth between the two countries, but this does not prevent the miscreants from taking a journey " around the world ' : in the meantime to seek the particular spot where they are not likely to be molested. That even an explorer of ruins is to a certain extent exposed to danger amid these idyllic surroundings is a matter of course, especially as he is supposed always to carry a sum of money about with him. It will be seen that my account of conditions in this country is not exaggerated, when I state that on my return, after completing my labors at Tikal and Naranjo, I heard that, notwithstanding the escape of the most dissatisfied of the mozos, the remaining ones had murdered Mr. Charles H. at his monteria. 10 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. ■ I i XVII. GUATEMALA, DEPARTMENT OF PETEN. SEIBAL. 1 On the left side of the Usumatsintla. BEGINNING OF JULY, 1895. On my return from Tikal to Peten-Itza-Flores in June, 1895, Senor Pacheco, the administrador de rentas of Flores, who was exceedingly kind to me, advised me to visit the ruins of Seibal, where some time before very fine sculptures had been uncovered, while establishing a wood-cutters' camp. Accordingly the Prefect of Flores, Isaias Armas, gave me a letter of intro- duction to the alcalde of Sacluk-Libertad, and Senor Pacheco himself in- structed the local sargento de resguardo, Eusebio Cano, to accompany me, since he was thoroughly acquainted with the site of the ruins. I therefore left the island city of Flores on June 26, 1895, and having had my scanty luggage packed on mules at the Playa de San Benito, we started on our way to Sacluk, a distance of fully 8 leagues. The road, which was fairly good, led at first through well-wooded, rolling country, and later through open meadow-land (savannas). Senor Antonio del Valle placed a little cottage at my disposal, and I soon entered into pleasant relations with his wife, Dona Amada, an intelli- gent and energetic lady, and also with his young son and grown daughter. Preparations for the expedition to Seibal having been completed, I left Sacluk on July 3, 1895. accompanied by Eusebio Cano and three men whom the alcalde had placed at my disposal, and whose wages had been fixed at 6 reales a day. Thus we started on our way to the Paso Real, situated about 9 leagues distant, on the right bank of the Usumatsintla. During the first three hours our way led through lovely savannas, where the cattle, belonging to the people of Sacluk, were pasturing, and were not infested by mosquitoes. Later, however, when we passed through the tall tropical forests we were horribly tormented by gnats (zancudos), while, without exaggeration, millions of small butterflies hovered around us. It is, by the way, only at the beginning of the rainy season and along certain areas that this superabundant insect life is developed. In the Paso Real the government maintains a warden's cabin with a guarda ; and several canoes, or cayucos, as they are called, are moored near the shore for any one wishing to cross the river, since the road leading from 1 Seibal means " Place of the Seiba trees." BHHttHOMHHHBV^^H SEIBAL. 11 the Playa de San Benito continues on the other side to Coban and Guate- mala. At this point the telegraph wire coming from Flores also crosses the river. Besides the government cabin there is in this deserted spot only a lean-to, un galeron, for the shelter of travellers, and no other human habitation. On the morning of July 4, accompanied by the guarda, we embarked in the large government canoe, in the prow of which, by the way, was a large hole ! At Saiyaxche, about 2 leagues up stream but on the left bank, near the mouth of the Arroyo Petexbatun, we left the government canoe, and I succeeded in hiring a smaller cayuco with the name El Curtidor painted on it, for 2 reales a day, the whole time, as nearly as we could figure it, being paid for in advance. We not only needed the cayuco for the journey up stream to Seibal, but also for the return trip down stream to Anaite. Saiyaxche consists of only about a dozen cabins inhabited chiefly by negroes who have straggled hither from Belize. Indeed, the African race, physically more vigorous, seems destined to take the place of the Spanish- Indian population, which is dying out, enervated and utterly degraded. Having rested a short time and partaken of a simple meal, we proceeded on our way to Seibal situated 4 leagues further above, also on the left bank of the river, but on the right going up stream. Seibal was then a recently abandoned monteria, its best huts being still inhabited by maize-planters (contraiistas de maiz) who were cultivating maize for the Hamet lumber firm. On arriving we made our cayuco fast, and spent the night in one of the abandoned cabins. "We also succeeded in finding a negro to serve as a L ^ J \ L™*L J ! — — — - il ¥0 OE23- D isdi y / 40. a a a IP? to *{ dw - a 8. Fig. 3. Seibal. Plan of Ruins. Notwithstanding its many unavoidable imperfections, this chart is fairly useful. Taking it as a guide, we can proceed in the following manner to describe the ruins and their sculptured stelae. Near the east end of a long mound, which doubtless was once an edifice containing a double row of chambers, stood Stela 1, discovered by me, with its sculptured side turned towards the east ; while on the southern side of the edifice, near the south- west corner, stood another stela, the south side of which is so weather-worn that its sculpture is no longer distinguishable. Stela 1 (Plate 3, Fig. 1). The present height (length) of the stone is 310 cm., to which should be added a piece broken off at the bottom. Breadth toward the bottom, 103 cm., toward the top, 120 cm. Thickness, about 28 cm. The height of the sculpture from the base line to the extreme top is 230 cm. 14 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. H i ; ■ ■ ■ • The figure of the warrior is represented partly in profile and partly front face, both thighs being in profile and the right foot placed before the left, an attitude very unusual with sculptors of that period, who generally placed the feet far apart, one turned to the right, the other to the left. The elaborate buskins have a fantastic bird-head in front, and a broad cross-gartering reaches half way up the leg. The short tiger-skin breeches are held in place at the waist by a girdle, the left side of which (the observer's left, but probably intended for the middle) is ornamented with a snake-head with gaping jaws, the saw-like teeth in the upper jaw being distinctly visible. From beneath this gaping jaw ornament two bands proceed downward, dividing in scroll-like curves across each knee, and at the point of division the front tassel of the girdle emerges hanging between the legs as far as the feet. Where the tassel joins the curves there is a small encircled St. Andrew's cross. From the back of the belt, as a finish to the tiger-skin breeches, falls the tiger's tail, reaching to the ground and ending in a flower. An oval face with two pendants is applied to the middle of the girdle, and on the right side (that is, the observer's right) there is a face in profile also with two pendants. The warrior seems to be clad in a tunic of some thin material with a flat collar. The unusually large horizontal breast-plate has an oval containing a reticulated pattern in the middle, and is finished at each end with an elaboration of scroll-work sur- rounding a small' oval containing another St. Andrew's cross. The cuffs are ornamented with a bird-head. The ear-pegs are round, the nose-peg has two large feathers. The warrior's face is turned to the right in profile, and displays an imperial on the chin. The helmet is adorned with four serpents intertwined in a double knot, from which the heads protrude diagonally, the two upper heads with wide-open jaws throwing out tongues like bifarious scrolls. Above the knot of serpents is a large hand pointing upward, hav- ing a small oval in the palm, in which the St. Andrew's cross or Kin sign is repeated. This sign, half obscured, appears again behind the fingers. On top of the helmet is still another writhing serpent darting its head forward, and bunches of long feathers fall down at the back. The warrior hero, who doubtless also held the rank of priest, holds in his outstretched right hand a large sawfish lance, and in his left, which hangs down, the almost never failing pouch, which, in this case, merges into elabo- rate arabesques and loops. Below the loop, from which the pouch hangs, a face in profile is discernible, merely indicated by incised lines, and from this depends an inverted " Ahaukabtun" face, also merely incised, from the front coussinet of which proceeds a divided scroll terminating in a small tassel or flower reaching to the ground. Along one side of the pouch writhes a sixth serpent, its wide-open jaws showing the strong, sharp, poison- fangs. Above the serpent is a sixth oval containing the Kin sign. The background displays two glyphs below the sixth serpent beside the pouch, I I ■ SEIBAL. 15 and two below the right hand of the warrior, and four along the saw-blade of the lance. The back as well as the narrow side-faces of the stela are plain. In front of the stela a large stone slab was let into the ground. This, however, should not be regarded as the actual sacrificial altar, for there is little doubt that the sacrifices in connection with this piece of sculpture were performed with the victim standing. This theory seems to be con- firmed by the deep grooves cut into the back of the stela at the top, and also into the left edge of the front, since through these grooves may have run the cords with which the arms of the victim were bound. Proceeding along the side of the oblong mound, to the east end of which belongs Stela 1, we reached a small square mound, and continuing from this point in a westerly direction we came upon two parallel mounds, one of insignificant size to the north, and a very long one to the south, the bearings being taken from the space between the parallel mounds. Begin- ning at a moderate height the long mound displays an elevation (un cuyito) somewhere near the middle (very likely a small outer temple), and ends toward the west in a high pyramidal mound (un cuyo grande), which doubt- less was the main temple with a pyramidal base. The principal stairway and fagade of the temple structure, it may be assumed, were turned toward the east, while the facades of the palace joining the base of the pyramid faced north and south. The palace was oblong in shape, probably contain- ing two rows of chambers. On the north side of the long mound — between the small outer temple and the large main temple — there are three stelae standing side by side, but so completely weather-worn that I was unable to discern any sculpture upon them. Toward the west and south of the main temple the land slopes down to a deep ravine. Opposite Stela 1, going in an easterly direction, we reached an oblong mound, at the rear of which, toward the east, a declivity extends far down to portions of the town and the surrounding country lying below, while in front of what was once the west fagade stand three stelae side by side: Nos. 2 and 3 with sculptures, the third one very weather-worn without dis- cernible sculpture. A fourth stela stands near the northwest corner, like- wise without sculpture, and a fifth — which I called No. 4 — considerably in advance of the others. Stela 4 had once been adorned by a fine low relief representing a richly clad personage of rank. It is now lying on the ground broken in so many pieces that I could make nothing of it. Besides all these, between Stelae 1 and 2, there are three stones in a row, one still standing upright while the other two lie shattered on the ground. None of these displays a trace of sculpture. Stela 2 (Plate 4). This stela stands opposite No. 1, as it were, its sculptured side turned toward the west. The entire height of this stone, including the piece broken off at the top, is 450 cm., of which 150 cm. 16 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. M I I ■ ^ .. i* .ILL- =lDlOi!Diell = Wis: belong to the plain portion sunk into the ground for the most part, and 300 cm. to the figure measured from its base line to the extreme top. The average breadth and thickness of the stone is 60 cm. The personage represented on the west side of the stela (Fig. 4) presents a full front view, including the face. The foot-gear shows protections at the foot- joints, and there are garters below the knees. The lower garment is held around the waist by a broad girdle. This has an ornamented flap in front, at the upper part of which there seems to be a grotesque face with gaping mouth ; below this is an ornamen- tation of several parallel diagonal bars, terminating with what appears to be a knot and tassel. Three bands hang from the broad breast-cape. The arms hang straight down by the sides with cuffs at the wrists; the right hand seems to hold a feather fan, and the left a staff-like object. The singularly con- ventionalized face, which seems to be masked by the flayed face of a victim, has large, round, protruding eyes; the mouth is half open, showing the two-stepped upper teeth ; the ears have large circular ornaments. The head is crowned by a second one, showing the same horrible type. Above the forehead of the second face a horizontal band forms the base of the crowning ornamentation, consisting of a heron-like bird holding a frog in its beak. A portion of the bird is destroyed by the scaling of the stone. The other three sides of the stone are plain. In front of this stela, and close to it, I found a small, round altar, very much injured and entirely without sculpture. This remarkable figure on Stela 2 is quite unlike any other, and is called "el Rey" by the wood-cutters. We can, however, consider this horrid face as the prototype of all these grotesque " Tlaloc faces " with goggle-eyes and open mouth (showing always the two-stepped upper teeth) to be found on numerous bas-reliefs, principally as an ornament on the flap hanging from the girdle of high priests. Citing only one of the many instances, the apron of the Ahaucan represented on Stela 6 of Itsimte shows the same characteristic face. I was told with regard to Stela 2, that when the Hamet Company established a lumber camp in this wilderness about 1890, the encargado of this monteria ^ It Hi m r 1 Fig. 4. Stela 2. Seibal From cast in Peabody Museum. SEIBAL. 17 desired to have the stone removed to the river bank and set up there as a landmark. In order to accomplish this he had chains placed about the neck of the figure and to these he attached eight oxen ; naturally the head broke off as the result of this operation. Whether this story is true or not, it remains a deplorable fact that these monuments of a past civilization are left to the mercy of the lumbermen and gatherers of chewing-gum, who do not give the slightest heed to the laws which Mexico and Guatemala have passed for the protection of the ruins. When I photographed the stone, which leaned far over to the right, I placed the head-piece, broken off at the neck, in the foreground, and now it only remains to imagine it restored to its proper place. [Fig. 4 is from a restored cast from moulds made by Gorgonio Lopez, and is introduced in order to show the complete sculpture.] Stela S (Plate 3, Fig. 2). Close beside Stela 2 is Stela 3. The sculpture on the west side represents five personages, for which reason I shall call it The Stela of the Five Personages. The present height (length) of the stela is 282 cm., exclusive of the piece broken off at the bottom. Its height from the base line of the lowest group of figures to the extreme top is 194 cm. At the middle its breadth measures 62 cm. Thickness only 10-12 cm. The lowest section contains two personages sitting cross-legged on the ground, in Turkish fashion, performing a religious ceremony before an altar placed between them. The personage on the observer's left rests his right hand on his hip and holds his left over the altar. The personage on the right holds his left hand against his breast, and a magician's rattle (una sonaja) in his upraised right hand. Both persons are nude but for cuffs, anklets, loin-cloth, necklaces, circular ear-pegs, and a simple head-covering. Separated from the lower section by a horizontal band, the middle higher section displays the figure of a man in front view, with his head turned to the right. This figure also wears cuffs or protections at the wrists and at the foot-joints, also garters below the knees, a low garment of thin material, a narrow girdle with a broad flap in front ornamented with a vertical crisscross pattern, a simple bead necklace, small nose-peg, circular ear-pegs, and a skullcap on his head. The left hand, holding a feather fan, rests on his hip, and the outstretched right hand is held palm upward so that the glyph occurring at this point seems to rest upon the hand. This figure stands in a shallow niche, the arch of which is very much flattened and has six blunt points on top and three on each side. Eight of these points finish in knobs containing a small incised circle, the four upper ones being adorned with upright bunches of feathers. It is possible that the little circles signify the number 8, because the sign for eight, y , is placed obliquely beside the feather fan. Below the flattened arch, placed between two scrolls, is to be seen the sign cab-uac, honey-drops (abbreviated to cauac) : the 16 th day in the Maya month. 18 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSESTTLA. ■ : ii 1 ■ 1 Along the inner left edge of the niche lie four large, well preserved glyphs, the topmost one lying upon the outstretched hand, as already mentioned. The middle section is separated from the one above it by another hori- zontal band. This upper section again contains two personages with " Tlaloc faces," seated on the ground in Turkish fashion, evidently engaged in ani- mated conversation. They are adorned like the two in the lowest section. Two square glyphs of equal size, each with a two-edged saw placed diago- nally, fill in the rounded top of this section. By the side of one of the square glyphs, is the numeral 7, 1 , beside the other, the numeral 5, 1 . The drawing of the figures is remarkably correct and true to nature, which is most unusual with the sculptors of that remote period. The back and narrow sides of the stela are plain. At an obtuse angle with the long mound with the five stelae in front of it, of which three (Nos. 2, 3, 4) are sculptured, there stands an edifice long since fallen to decay. To judge by the height of the ruins it must have had a massive foundation, upon which rose the palace, doubtless consisting of a double row of chambers. The facade, like the central flight of steps, faced the southwest, and joined to its right flank was a low right wing without a substructure. Standing in front of this ruined edifice, one sees to the right of the ob- server a very broad stela half of which is unfortunately broken off. I called this No. 5, and one still standing upright on the left of the observer I called No. 7. No. 6 is a broken stela with glyph-inscription, standing on the upper platform of the staircase, in the architectonical middle line of the edifice. Besides these I found at the end of the low right wing, at the extreme left of the spectator, three or four small glyph-stelae all broken in pieces. Stela 5 (Plate 5, Fig. 2). Though the stone has scaled off at the edges, its present breadth is 135 cm. Its former height can no longer be even sur- mised. In consequence of falling trees, forest fires, and possibly also of mis- chievous acts committed by wood-cutters, this stone is very badly impaired. On the southwest side, however, the figure of a personage of rank is discern- ible in front view with the face turned to the right. At his feet, crouching on the ground with hands folded on his breast, is a second personage repre- sented in profile. The extraordinarily pure and harmonious lines of the side face furnish an excellent example of race type. Since the principal figure on this stone is much injured, but in dress and bearing strongly resembles the figure on Stela 7, which is very well preserved, I refer the reader to the description of Stela 7. There are also remnants of hieroglyphs on the background, but they are nearly obliterated. Stela 6 (Plate 6. Fig. 1). Of this glyph-stela, which once stood on the edge of the platform at the head of the stairway, only the lower portion was I SEIBAL. 19 found in 1895. It is 195 cm. in height (length) and 83 cm. in breadth. It displays the five lowest glyphs of two perpendicular rows, which except for slight injuries are fairly well preserved. The piece broken off at the top could not be found, and the search for it was very much hampered by an enormous cedar (Cedrela odorata, L.) which had been felled just here by wood-cutters. The best lumber cut from it had been hauled to the river bank, while the colossal cross-section nearest the root was left lying on the spot because it was too badly perforated by beetle larvae to be of any value. This gigantic section was still practically intact in 1905, and the renewed search for the missing piece during my second visit was again unavailing. Stela 7 (Plate 5, Fig. 1). The breadth of the stone at the bottom is 1 m. From the base line, upon which the large glyph rests, to the very top, the sculpture measures 190 cm., of which 37 cm. belong to the great glyph, and 153 cm. to the actual figure. In addition to this measurement it may be assumed that the stone is sunk 1 m. into the ground. The head on the great glyph base is turned to the right (from the observer), while as a rule the heads in glyphs are turned to the left. The reason for this unusual position may have been the desire to place the glyph in the same position as the face of the personage of rank associated with it. Standing upon this glyph an exalted personage is represented in front view with his face turned to the left. He wears cuffs and anklets and garters below the knees binding in an unknown object at the left knee. The skirt, ornamented with feathers, divides in front, displaying the loin-cloth, which seems to be of thin material drawn through between the thighs, and finished in a knot. It is especially noticeable that the figure wears across the breast a kind of girdle (?) ornamented with a series of parallelograms whose short sides are horizontal. The personage of rank on Stela 5 wears the same pe- culiar girdle, which I have not seen elsewhere. The other ornaments are a rather insignificant necklace and round ear-pegs. The elaboration of the helmet displays two paws with claws, and a border of small round stars. Above this rises a broad bunch of short feathers with another bunch of long ones, while a third bunch of feathers hangs down from the hinder part of the helmet. The right hand, half closed, rests on the right wing of the garment, the left hand, also half closed, is thrown forward. Along the edge of the stela, to the left of the observer, there are six glyphs in a perpendicular row. Along the right edge there are nine, all well preserved. There are cracks, the result of fire (reventazones), near the bottom of this interesting stela, in consequence of which it must inevitably fall to pieces before long. The fires in these tropical forests do not affect the high trees, but con- sume only the undergrowth. The accidental forest brands, and even more 20 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. ■ i the great milpa fires built by the maize-planters when burning away the felled trees to get a clear soil for their milpa, are the principal causes of the cracking and calcining of the sculptured stones throughout all the ancient cities. Near the northwest end of the wing adjoining the main structure are the fragments of three or four broken glyph-stelae in a deplorable condition. I put together the best pieces and photographed them, but the glyphs did not come out very well. It seems that on several of these stones the glyphs are arranged in horizontal rows and not in vertical ones ; but the idea that the stones could have formed part of a hieroglyphic stairway must be excluded. No flight of steps could have existed on that corner. The breadth of these stelae was about 40, 45, and 50 cm. It seems safe to number them as the last of the series : 12, 13, 14, and perhaps 15 (Plate 7, Figs. 2-7). Proceeding southward from Stela 1 we reached a square, ruined edifice of considerable height, which, in all probability, had facades and flights of steps facing the four points of the compass. Climbing up over the massive substructure, about 3 m. in height, we found among the ruins of the upper edifice remnants of masonry with good facings of hewn blocks, beginnings of vaulted ceilings, sculptured stones belonging to friezes covered with stucco and red paint, pieces of stucco heads painted red, etc. I found no lintel slabs (linteles) among the debris, for the doorways probably had been spanned by wooden beams long since decayed. In front of each of the four sides of the substructure stands a large, inter- esting stela, forming, as it were, the crowning glory of Seibal, although all the others are also of great interest. I think it very doubtful whether the figures on the four stelae refer to the points of the compass, but I shall men- tion the stones in the order in which they stand. I will preface the description of these four stelae by remarking that all the stelae in Seibal have plain backs and plain, narrow sides. Stela 8 (Plate 7. Also Plate 10, Fig. 1, from cast in Peabody Museum). This is at the south side of the quadrangular edifice, with the sculptured face turned toward the south. The height of the stone is 326 cm., 246 of which belong to the sculpture, measured from the base line to the extreme top. Breadth at the bottom, 90 cm. ; at the top, 120 cm. Thickness about 45 cm. and a little more toward the bottom. Represented in front view, with his face turned to the right, we have here before us the " Tiger-paw-man " of Seibal, the real Chacmol (tsac-mol) or garra de tigre. Compare with this sculpture the similar figure on Stela 10 of Piedras Negras, which unfortunately is only partially preserved. Of course the name garra de tigre, or Chacmol, in nowise pertains to the half recumbent, mortuary figures of Chichen Itza (Tsitsen-itsa). ^ni^B^n ^ « «X^^^^H«M« — — — SEIBAL. 21 The hands and feet of the figure are covered with tiger-paws fastened by bandages to the wrists and ankles. The lower garment, reaching from the hips to the knees, consists of strips and shows a large flap in front, dis- playing that characteristic mask with goggle-eyes and open mouth (the two- stepped upper teeth distinctly visible) and finishing downward with scrolls, crossed bars, and an inverted tuft of feathers. At the right hip a medallion head in profile is attached to the girdle, which is invisible. The corre- sponding head on the left hip is doubtless covered by the tiger-paw resting upon it. A breast-plate of peculiar form is attached to the collar. A tas- sel depends from the centre of the one visible ear-disc. The nose-peg consists of a bead with two feathers. The lines encircling the eye and mouth are noticeable. A ketsal is attached to the front of the band encircling the head, and at an acute angle with the back of the head-dress rises a small ceremonial bar ending in front in elaborated open jaws holding a grotesque profile. The lower rear end of the ceremonial bar ends in a bunch of feathers. The top of the head-dress also displays a vertical ornament with crisscross pattern, scrolls, and more feathers. This remarkable personage holds in his uplifted right hand a fierce mask of the kind probably worn by priests on certain occasions. On the background at the top, on the observer's left, there are three glyphs, and along the left edge of the stela, reaching from the extended right arm to the base line, there is a perpendicular row of five compound glyphs. Stela 9 (Plate 1, Fig. 2. Also Plate 10, Fig. 2, from cast in Peabody Museum). At the west side of the quadrangular edifice is the shattered Stela 9 with its sculptured face turned to the west. The height of the stone is 240 cm., to which, in all probability, should be added nearly one meter for the part sunk in the ground. Detailed meas- urements could not be taken, but the breadth of the stone is somewhat less at the bottom than at the top. Thickness, 36 cm. A person of sacerdotal rank is represented here in front view, his face turned to the right. With both hands he holds obliquely across his body the ceremonial bar, which terminates at either end in scroll-work and grotesque masks, — the mask at the upper end being unfortunately broken into fragments. He wears striped cuffs and anklets. The girdle has a large tiger-mask in front with an ornamental pendant below its gaping mouth. The large breast-cape of strips is carefully carried out in radiating lines and a small breast-plate is attached to the lower part. There seems to be a gro- tesque animal mask on the helmet, above which rises a bunch of feathers drooping forward, and feathers droop down from the crest at the back of the head-dress. Above, on the right of the observer, there are seven glyphs, and below on the left, four compound glyphs in a perpendicular row. This stela was IMHIfflMfiM RS 22 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. ; ;i I shattered by the fall of a forest giant. To excavate the fragments, set them up in favorable positions, and take separate negatives (to be joined subse- quently into one harmonious whole) would have occasioned too great loss of time, especially as my men were already very impatient. But I think the manner in which I have photographed the stela gives an adequate idea of its actual condition. I posed Eusebio Cano in the midst of the fragments. He certainly was most useful to me in exploring the ruins of Seibal, and it is therefore all the more to be regretted that in later years, in an evil hour, he committed a dreadful crime. As in this country the law rarely reaches a person of Spanish affiliations, no matter how great his crime, Cano escaped his earthly pun- ishment. He was merely transferred from Sacluk to a distant town. Stela 10 (Plate 8). This stela is standing at the north side of the quadrangular edifice, with its sculptured face turned to the north. A large stone slab is laid at the base line of this stela. From the slab to the top of the stela the measurement is 320 cm., and a meter should be added for the part embedded in the ground. The sculpture occupies 300 cm. of the 320. Breadth at the bottom, fully 160 cm. Thickness, 30 cm. This magnificent stela still stands upright, unimpaired in all its splendor, having escaped both falling trees and fires as by a miracle. The sculpture represents the more than life-size figure of a high priest or Ahaucan in front view, with his face turned to the right. Of his foot-gear, the soles, the straps, and the tiger-skin leggings are perfectly distinct, also the pear-shaped ornament with tuft of feathers on the instep. His breeches (or lower garment, if you will) are of tiger-skin and reach to the knee. Coming out beneath the girdle is an ornamental flap, decorated again with the fantastic conventionalized face, and recalling Stela 2. The face has an oval with parallel lines on the forehead and shows the staring eyes. The open mouth displays the two upper front teeth filed in steps. The end of the flap is ornamented with scrolls, crossed bars, and an inverted bunch of feathers. The girdle is decorated with three signs of the second manner of writing, and has a fringe of beads and cylindrical sea-shells on the lower edge. A profile mask with pendants is attached to the girdle at the hips, the one on the right hip being very distinct, while the left one, though placed somewhat lower, is partially covered up. There are cuffs of strips at the wrists. The breast-cape is especially rich in effect, consisting of five rows of cylindrical beads, upon which are placed ornaments of crisscross pattern and tassels with bead heads, which also hang from the lower edge at wide intervals. The disc of the ear-peg is quite large, but the nose-peg is small and horizontal. The well executed profile with the realistic eye plainly shows the racial type to which the priest belongs. The very faint fluff on the upper and under lips remains nearly invisible in the photograph. SEIBAL. 23 The ornamentation of the helmet is of unusual magnificence and can be thus described : On the ornamental band above the forehead there are two grotesque profiles looking forward while a bunch of feathers falls down from it at the back. Above this horizontal band are three perpendicular ones of crisscross pattern. From the middle of the fore-band of crisscross design proceeds a great bifurcated scroll, the shorter branch tending downward, the longer one tending upward. From the top of this first crisscross band a scroll is bent forward with a small grotesque face looking down ; a similar face in a like attitude is attached to the upright crisscross band at the back. From the middle band rises an ornamental shaft, having in front, at its base, a grotesque profile, while from the top rises a heron's head with the neck bending forward. The heron's bill holds a "flower" with two feathers. (The object held in the heron's bill resembles a nose-ornament in frequent use, i. e., a stone bead with two feathers.) Elaborate bunches of feathers droop from the back of the whole structure. Three signs of the second manner of writing are on the ceremonial bar, which the priest holds with both hands in a slightly oblique position. The front end of the bar terminates in a great conventionalized gaping jaw, showing everywhere transition to scroll-work. On one of the upper scrolls lies the grotesque profile of a deity, looking upward. The other end finishes in a scroll bending downward, to which is attached a large grotesque profile with symbolical pendent adjuncts, the lowest scroll of which reaches to the base line of the figure. Above, on the background, to the left of the observer, are 3 + 5 hiero- glyphs in two vertical rows, and along the left edge of the stela, reaching from the base line to the lower end of the scroll-work, are two more vertical rows of 6 glyphs each, i. e., 20 glyphs in all, with the details well preserved. Generally speaking there were no circular altars erected in front of the stelae in Seibal ex- cepting Stela 2. But in front of the sculptured side of all the most important stelae there was always a large stone slab upon which to place sac- rificial gifts, but displaying no design whatever. Only on the sacrificial slab of Stela 10 a design like a trellis was deeply incised (Fig. 5). Unfortunately it was impossible to reproduce this trellis pattern in its entirety because the slab was much cracked and calcined, as the result of a large fire which had been built on it for the purpose of drying a paper mould. I will mention here, that at the observer's left of this stelae, and a little in advance of it, there are two small stelae on which no sculpture was discernible, probably owing to the destructive action of the weather. Fig. 5. Design on Altar Stone. Seibal. 24 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER TTSUMATSLNTLA. Stela 11 (Plate 9). This stela is standing at the east side of the quad- rangular edifice, the sculptured side turned toward the east. Height, from the body line of the prostrate sacrificial victim to the extreme top, 341 cm. (41 cm. belonging to the victim, and 300 cm. to the per- sonage of rank), to which a full meter should be added for the portion sunk into the ground. Breadth toward the middle, 128 cm. ; thickness, 35 cm. In front of this stela had once been a large oblong altar-slab with rounded edges. This is now broken in pieces, which were piled up in confu- sion and had to be moved to one side, as shown by the photograph, in order to bring to view the lowest portion of the sculpture. Unfortunately this entire lower portion has been very badly injured either by forest or moulding fires, but from the girdle of the high priest upward all is well preserved. The details of the figure of the victim, lying flat on his stomach, have completely disappeared. He is separated by a horizontal ridge from the principal personage, who is represented in front view, with the face turned to the right. On the instep of the foot covering the familiar bunches of feathers are still discernible. The girdle holding the lower garment may be regarded as ornamented with three heads, of which the middle one is placed somewhat lower than the other two in order to make room for the pendants of the breast-plate. From the girdle hangs a flap ornamented with the same fantastic human face and having the same finishing at the lower end, as described on Stelae 8 and 10. This is much weather-beaten, but in the little oval on the inverted feather-bunch, the Kin sign, remains distinctly visible. The breast-cape consists of four rows of scales with a lower edge of round beads. The breast-plate is a large circular face with tripartite affixes, radiating from it to the right, to the left, and downward. Each shoulder has a similar face, of course seen only from the side, with the same triple radiation. As usual, the wrists are ornamented with cuffs. The face in profile is executed with great skill, the modelling of the eye being quite perfect, and clearly resembles the face of the personage repre- sented on Stela 10, which leads to the supposition that the two bas-reliefs were executed by the same sculptor. The face shows a thin moustache and a scanty beard on the under lip, and seems to be set in the jaws (the skin) of an animal's head. From the large circular ear-peg a small ornamental bar protrudes obliquely, ending in an involuted square. A small nose-peg is in the nose, but it is difficult to say what the toothed scroll appearing on the other side of the nose is meant to represent. A broad band sur- rounds the forehead, having four small round stars with indented centres incised upon it, and a grotesque face in front. Parallel with this band lies a narrow bar ending in a " spectacle sign " (suggesting in a measure the triple-pointed sign which Hindoo archaeologists call trisula), together with other scroll-work ornamentation. At an acute angle with this staff rises an I I I SEIBAL. 25 ornamental bar bearing two St. Andrew's crosses and number signs (?). On the upper edge of this bar writhes a miniature serpent bearing the shell sign in the bend of its body. The bar terminates in scroll-work tending upward, which may possibly include a grotesque mask placed upside down. The back of this remarkable symbolical helmet is finished in ornamental trellis-work, from which rise and droop immense bunches of feathers. The right hand reaches down to the head of a figure kneeling on a kind of pedestal with a strange mask before its face. The left hand, now broken off, held a plain ceremonial staff obliquely before the body. There must also have been figuration at the left foot, for the photograph distinctly shows the head of a feline mammal. The bas-relief is finished at the top by two horizontal rows of six glyphs each, twelve in all. Fortunately they are in a fine state of preservation, as are also the three glyphs on the left edge of the stela. They are in a perpendicular row in front of the face of the priest. With the exception of remnants of red, which still remained in the deepest indentures, the sculptures of Seibal showed no traces of color. The limestone employed for the stelae is of good quality, whitish or yellowish in color and of a hard grain. The results of my researches at Seibal were : 10 large sculptured stelae, of which only one (No. 4) could not be photographed ; one large stela with glyphs of which the upper portions could not be found ; and three or four small stelae having glyphs now quite valueless. In all, 14 or 15 sculptured stones. The architectural centre of Seibal is surrounded, within a certain radius, by many other mounds of ruins, the most important of which I searched without finding any more sculptured stones. Eemains of fagades were nowhere apparent. When I found a heap of coal and ashes before Stela 5 at Tikal, I thought it quite inconceivable that roaming Indians should have built their camp-fires in front of this particular stela. Again, in Seibal I found in front of the most important stelae heaps of ashes and the remains of half- charred sticks of wood; I observed with profound regret that the stelae thus singled out were either partly calcined at the base, or were very badly cracked. I therefore questioned Cano and the people who were with me what this meant, and who had built the fires. Cano was very reticent at first, but, seeing that the injurious effects of the fire on the stones could not be denied, he finally made the following statement : About three years ago, 1892, the government of Guatemala sent a certain Seiior Federico Artes as special commissioner to Peten, for the purpose of collecting specimens of natural history, antiquities, etc., and also to make paper moulds of all the available Maya bas-reliefs for the Guatemalan division of the Chicago Expo- sition. As Senor Artes knew nothing of making moulds he engaged the i 26 EXPECTATIONS OF THE UPPEK USUMATSINTLA. services of Gorgonio Lopez, who had thoroughly learned the difficult art of making moulds by means of layers of paper from Mr. Alfred Maudslay. Accompanied by Indians from San Jose, and some men from the more distant Coban, these two gentlemen went first to Tikal. But not feeling satisfied with the result of the expedition, owing to the great difficulties to be surmounted at that remote city of ruins, they soon returned and made inquiries regarding other more accessible ruins. In Flores they were advised to go to Seibal, whereupon they engaged him (Cano) with the understanding that he was to show them the sculptured stelae. Cano was not particularly charmed with the treatment he received during that expe- dition. Nobody is infallible in these densely overgrown forests, and Cano had great difficulty in finding the ruins again, and, as is usual under these circumstances, he seemed to be wandering about quite aimlessly. In conse- quence of this, Federico Art6s lost patience and overwhelmed Cano with the bitterest reproaches and threatened to send him bound hand and foot to Flores unless he at once disclosed the whereabouts of the ruins.^ While Artes directed his people to pitch a camp, Cano dived once more into the thicket, and this time succeeded in finding the ruins which had seemed to be bewitched. But now a new difficulty arose, — he could not find his way back to the encampment of the Comisionado especial, whose men neither answered his despairing calls, nor fired off their rifles for his guidance, conduct quite contrary to the rule invariably observed in these wildernesses. However, he finally regained the camp, and it was in no pleasant frame of mind that the honest Cano reported his success in once more finding the ruins to the Comisionado especial. Cano explained that it was necessary to make great fires to dry the moulds because they were very large. When I observed that it was quite impossible thus to calcine a stone, since the mould itself protected it from the fire, he stated clearly and emphatically, that the large moulds while still hot were very carefully removed from the stelae, but that no one afterward took the trouble to extinguish the fires to prevent them from overheating the stones. Quitados los moldes y siguiendo elfuego, entonces fu'e cuando reventaron y tronaron las piedras ! When I asked Cano why he and the mozos had not scattered the fire with poles, which would have taken only a few seconds, he replied that the gentlemen had come from Guatemala with orders, and were directing the work. He himself and the mozos had observed that the fires continued to burn and that the stones had cracked with a loud report, but he supposed that was a part of the business, and the way it should be done. I asked no more questions after this statement. It is very difficult to nudge in such matters. When a traveller sees a heap of coals and ashes on the ground in front of a half-calcined bas-relief, he is naturally tempted to ascribe the calcining to the fire the remains of which he sees before him, SEIBAL. 27 and not to a forest or milpero fire, which may have raged in that region a hundred years ago. However that may be, my prejudice against making moulds by means of fire, without proper superintendence, dates from my visits to Tikal and Seibal. It should be said here that when I met the distinguished archaeologist, Alfred Maudslay, in the city of Mexico in 1903, he expressly stated that he had already found the splendid lintel sculptures of the temples of the lesser Acropolis at Yaxchilan in a sadly impaired condition ; hence their calcined aspect can in no way be ascribed to carelessness on the part of his employee, Gorgonio Lopez, whom Maudslay considers as a very clever and careful moulder and highly commends. Eusebio Cano also told me in confidence that Senor Federico Artes con- sidered the name Seibal too insignificant, and had asked him if he did not know a better name for the forgotten city, which still harbors such splendid monuments of a bygone civilization. Without cherishing any resentment for the harsh treatment he had received, Cano, of his own free will, helped Artes by an invention of his own. He told him that an aged Lacantun called Jose Coudh (Tarantula), who lived on the banks of the Chacrio, when he became communicative in his cups, had often told him with tears in his eyes that Seibal had been the capital city of his ancestors, and in the glorious days when they still ruled the land, before the cursed " Sacmax " {sac-mas), white monkeys, came in and ruined everything, the city had borne the proud name of " Sactankiki." The Comisionado especial seems to have been much pleased with this communication. I subsequently heard that the casts made from Federico Artes' s, or rather Gorgonio Lopez's moulds in the Gautemalan division of the Chicago Exposition (1893) did, in fact, excite the admiration of archaeologists under the splendid name of " Sactankiki." It is an actual fact that, during the second half of the nineteenth cen- tury, free Maya families, so-called Lacantuns, still dwelt in these wildernesses and often came to Sacluk to make their trifling purchases. Now they have all disappeared ; no one knows whether they have died out or become ab- sorbed by the mixed Spanish population or withdrawn into distant unex- plored wilds. The remarkable name used by Cano as a harmless practical joke admits of a philological explanation. The beautiful white falcon, el gavilan bianco, which was first made known to Europeans by the Belgian naturalist Augustin Ghiesbrecht, and named after him Leucopternis Ghieshrechtii, is called by the Mayas sactankiki. Sactankiki means " the white kiki caller," sac-tan mean- ing "white-looking" and MB being the onomatopoetic name for the shrill cry of the bird when it proudly sails through the air. This beautiful bird frequently occurs in Palenque, Yaxchilan, and other parts of the tierra calienle, but is rarely seen in the highlands. The Spanish criollos, who are very fond of highflown names, call this bird Pdscua florida, flowery Easter. E MM m 28 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPEE USUMATSINTLA. As for myself, I shall abide by the modest name of Seibal. If in the future other travellers come to visit the ancestral city of Jose Couoh- Tarantula, though the last milpero hut has disappeared, they will have no difficulty in obtaining from the alcalde of Saiyaxche' a guide to the ruins of Seibal. I XVIII. GUATEMALA, DEPARTMENT OF PETEN. ITSIMTE-SACLUK. Four leagues northwest of the modem town of Sacluk. BEGINNING OF JULY, 1905. When my work in remote Naranj6 was completed the journey back to the Paso Real took me again past Sacluk. As there is always time lost on journeys of this kind, I deemed this a good opportunity to inform myself with regard to some partially destroyed sculptured stones found at a milpa near Sacluk, concerning which I had heard vague rumors several years ago. The meaning of the name S^c-luk is " white clay," barro bianco, 6 lodo bianco {sac = white, luk = clay). The present ruling class, which has not the slightest interest in historical names, will not permit this modest place to continue under its Maya name, and has changed it to " Libertad." Many of the ancient American names of places have been forgotten because the Spaniards replaced most of them by names of Christian saints, and the remaining ones are disappearing, owing to the present mischievous custom of supplanting them by political catch-words, such as Progreso, Reforraa, Libertad, etc., or even names of very dubious champions of liberty. Of course it does not improve the condition of affairs because the people con- tinue to find it easier to alter names rather than to make roads and build bridges. Affairs had therefore not improved at Sacluk-Libertad since my first visit in 1895, the population here — as throughout the department of Peten — having diminished rather than increased, so that at present it does not exceed 600 souls. Agriculture is very much neglected, but stock-raising is still carried on to a considerable extent, the surrounding savannas with their aguadas being excellently adapted to this pursuit. Meat is therefore plenti- ful, especially as deer (venados) are killed almost daily on these pasture-lands. The Guatemalan and Mexican Mahogany Export Co., the management of which is located at Sacluk, is still the only enterprise which gives a slight impulse to business in the otherwise extremely impoverished Department of Peten. This company receives large supplies of provisions and the most .wBflva-T.' MB BMnMBHH^^ ■ ITSIMTE-SlCLUK. 29 necessary wares from Belize (now spelt Belice !) by means of large cayncos rowed upon the River Mopan to the Cayo de San Ignacio and thence by mules; while the precious woods, las trozas, are transported on all the available tributaries of the great Usumatsintla to the distant port of Ciudad del Carmen for final distribution. Unfortunately within recent years this great American company had been involved in serious difficulties with the authorities of Peten, and its manager, Tranquilino Pulido, had retired to Mexico. However, the newly appointed manager, Mr. Ralph Izard, has succeeded by diplomatic manage- ment in re-establishing amicable relations, and the affairs of the company are again running smoothly. In a conference with the Comandante, Bartolo Marroquin, and the Pres- idente municipal, Juan Mendoza, it transpired that the stones in question were probably situated somewhere on a tract of land called Itsimte, about four leagues (13 km.) north of Sacluk, on which tract certain members of a family by the name of Trujillo had for many years cultivated sugar-cane and maize. The Presidente therefore appointed Filadelfo Trujillo to accompany me to Itsimte and to give me his assistance as circumstances should demand. Having hired a horse for myself and a mule to carry my photographic apparatus and a small stock of provisions, I set out for the site of the ruins, accompanied by Trujillo and my only remaining Tenosiquero. My valuable luggage I left carefully stored at Sacluk in the house of Senor Norberto Hernandez, where I had taken lodgings. For three hours we travelled through lovely, flowery savannas diversified here and there by wooded hills. After the first league we crossed an ancient stone wall, stretching from hill to hill, which had formerly enclosed that part of the savanna. Various plants with gorgeous flowers, not found elsewhere and likely to be of interest to botanists, occur on these plains. Among other plants I found, far from Sacluk, however, the pretty little herb itsimte. This little yellow-flowered plant tastes and smells strikingly like anise, and is used by the natives of certain parts of the country as a flavoring for various beverages. It is the same plant from which the great ruined city of Itsimte, near Bolonchen, derives its name. But in this part of the country the name is seldom used by a people who are rapidly forgetting the Maya language. Owing to its yellow, closely set, little flowers, the plant is here called pericon, in reference to the yellow-headed perico (parrot) ; and the belief is current that the Maya name is maxtic {mastic), which may be approximately rendered by " monkey flower," because the Mayas consider all wild, useful plants as appertaining to monkeys. I was particularly struck by a tree of moderate height growing on the wooded edges of the plains. Its extremely graceful form would adapt it as an ornament for a tropical garden. This tree is called sactinte, and its seeds pulverized and boiled are regarded as - I ^HHHH SH 30 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. i an excellent remedy for disorders of the stomach. The bark can be used as bast (majdhua, as it is called). The name sde-tinte may be rendered " something white for me," which probably refers to the prepared bark. Here on these savannas, as in all meadow-lands, are found nantzin trees, guayabos, and cocoyol palms. In the immediate vicinity of Sacluk the maranon shrub also occurs, the pretty little fruits of which are prepared as a favorite dulce ; enormous mango trees flourish and grow here and there spontaneously. The last league of the way to the city of ruins leads through a noble forest of tall trees, which is only twice interrupted by small savan- nas. A few very rare diurnal butterflies were remarked on this last stretch of the journey. Arrived at our destination, we established ourselves in a well-preserved open milpero hut, near which we were fortunate enough to find a small bubbling spring, yielding an ample supply of water. We at once began to explore the quite extensive ruins, which occupied us several days. Three of the sculptures found here were photographed. i ill •i ! o © °:- i Fig. 6. Itsimt^-Sacluk. Plan of Ruins. 1 6 >rt The plan of the city (Fig. 6) is as follows : In the east, on the top of a flattened hill, there is a group of ruined structures, the Acropolis, as it were, of Itsimte. It is probable that the principal buildings of the group with their facades faced the west ; that is, they faced the town in the valley below. On the western edge of the plateau there are five stelae with bas- reliefs, four in a row, and a fifth on the centre line, standing somewhat in ad- vance of the others. Close behind the row of four stelae lies a heap of ruins of considerable size, which was once, no doubt, either the first temple or a palace. But behind this mass of ruins lies what appears to have been a court with a much larger and higher ruined structure (opposite the rear of the first one) which was probably a temple-palace of two stories. This court is enclosed on the north and south sides by the ruins of buildings of less height. Behind the first court is a second, likewise enclosed on all four sides by buildings in such a manner that the high temple-palace may be re- - 1 ITSIMT^-SACLUK. 31 garded as forming the dividing line. There is also a little mound (un cuyito) on the southern side of this plateau. Before describing the five stelae it should be stated that there was no cir- cular altar either in front or at the back of any of them, and that the sculp- tured sides faced the west, while the backs, facing the temple, were left plain. Stela 1 (Plate 11, Fig. 1). This stela is broken off at the calves of the sculptured figure and is 125 cm. high, 75 cm. in width, and 60 cm. in thickness. The sculpture represents a man, probably of sacerdotal rank, from the left side ; in his extended right hand he holds a lance, ornamented along its whole length with what might be described as trellis-work, finishing at the top with scroll-work arranged something like gaping jaws, from which the flint lance head protrudes. Let me add, by the way, that the ornamental lance in this piece of sculpture closely resembles the one held in the right hand of the figure on the south side of Stela 8 of Naranjo. On his left arm, hanging at his side, is a round shield with a grotesque face. The skirt of the figure reaches almost to the knees, and is held about the waist by a girdle orna- mented with shells and clasped in front by a head in profile. Below the necklace of round beads is the horizontal breast-plate, the visible end of which, like the ceremonial bar, terminates in a conventionalized open jaw holding what resembles an animal's head. The head-gear seems to be orna- mented with a large bird-head with uplifted, crooked beak, from which darts a serpent with outstretched head and a forked tongue. From the crest of feathers at the back of the helmet falls an indefinable appendix with a jagged edge. The stone is plain at the back and sides. As it has been lying on the ground with the sculptured side up, the relief which was originally quite flat is very much washed away by the rains. Laying the stone on one of its narrow side-faces, however, so that it was struck by the slanting sunlight, brought out the picture very well. Stela 2. The whole length or height of the stone is 290 cm., of which 87 belong to the lower, plain part; breadth at the top about 80cm., thickness, 60 cm. The sculptured side having come uppermost when the stela fell, it is now almost entirely worn away by the action of the elements. It is only possible to discern with great difficulty that the figure is represented from the left side, and that its outstretched left hand holds the small image of a deity. The back of the stela is plain, but there are indistinct traces of glyphs on the side-faces, corresponding probably to eight large glyphs on each side face. Stela 3. This was once a handsome stela, 115 cm. in breadth, with a large figure executed in very high relief on the west side. The stone is unfortunately broken off in the middle, and the top piece is totally shattered. The lower half, now leaning forward, displays the **>**?=) 39 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. thighs and feet of the personage represented ; these are preserved only in part, the rest having split off; I therefore did not think it worth photo- graphing. The remaining fragments of the sculpture show that there had here been a large figure carefully and skilfully executed, in much higher relief than those of the other stelae of Itsimte, the projection of which never exceeds 1-3 cm. Stela 4 (Plate 11, Fig. 2). The topmost portion of this stela has been cracked off by falling trees in the course of time, and the remaining part when it fell — fortunately with the sculptured face downward — broke into two pieces, the height or length of which measures 72 cm. (of which 40 cm. are plain) + 130 cm. = 202 cm. ; greatest breadth, 1 m. ; thickness, 55 cm. The back and the narrow side-faces of this stela are plain. The bas-relief is on the west side of the stone and represents a man of sacerdotal rank in front view, turning his face to the right. There are unusually large tufts on the instep where the foot-gear is fastened. The skirt clings closely and is held at the waist by a very broad girdle, the lower edge of which is ornamented with shells and with three large masks, one in the middle and one on either hip. As the mask in the middle is repre- sented in full front view, and the one visible on the right hip strictly in profile (the face on the left hip being obscured by the down-hanging arm), they are of real anthropological significance in determining the race type existing in the mind of the artist when executing these medallions. There are cuffs at the wrists, and the breast-cape has three rows of beads. Attached to the lower edge of the latter is a narrow horizontal breast-plate separating in three parts at each end. The ear-ornament is a square plate. The top of the ornamental helmet is quite destroyed, what remains shows a grotesque animal face with feathers on top and down the back. In his uplifted right hand the priest holds the figurine of a deity by the left thigh. The leg ends, as always, in a serpent darting forward. The figurine is unfortunately destroyed from the girdle up. The left arm of the priest hangs down, partially concealing the profile medallion on the left hip, and the fingers of the hand are wound about by two narrow bands. On the smooth background along the right thigh traces of incised glyphs are faintly discernible. This bas-relief set up on one of its narrow sides, brushed off and washed, looked like new, resplendent in the fine light-yellow color of the hard limestone used for such purposes in this region. There were no traces of color to be found on this relief. Stela 5. On the architectural centre line of the ruined temple with the row of four stelae stood a fifth sculptured stone somewhat in advance of the row of four. I do not think it served as a sacrificial altar, though, on the other hand, I must admit that it was only half as high as the stelae already described. Nor could I decide whether the present case was similar I ITSIMTE-SACLUK. 33 to that of Stela 2 of Tikal and Stelae 1 and 5 of Yaxha. The lower pieces of this stone (which may possibly be regarded as the upper half of a stela) are now all cracked, and the upper piece — to increase the confusion — had been flung down the declivity by mischievous hands. The sculpture seemed to me to represent not a whole figure, but a fantastic countenance surrounded by large scroll-work. Furthermore it was evident that small glyphs were chiselled in the concavities found here and there along the quite irregular, narrow side-faces. Descending from the Acropolis at this doubtful fifth sculptured stone, the buildings in the valley below can be reached. The first one we came upon was an oblong low pile of ruins, which, in my opinion, had once been a structure consisting of but one apartment with three entrances, or, perhaps, of three small chambers in one line. The facade of this building must have faced the east, for approaching it from the east, along the line of its architectural centre, one comes first upon a circular sacrificial altar ornamented with glyphs — this being the seventh sculptured stone in this enumeration — and close behind it upon a second one, which is plain. To each of the altars belongs a stela, not set up, according to the usual rule, on the architectural middle line, corresponding to the altars, but to the right when approached from the east. In other words, the important sides of the stelae were not turned toward the east, but toward the north. Only the stela which we will call No. 6, belonging to the altar with glyphs, was embellished by a bas-relief on its north side. The stela belong- ing to the plain altar with a diameter of two meters, has no sculpture, and is now broken in pieces, and cracked by milpa fires. Stela 6 (Plate 12, Fig. 1). This stone is broken off in a diagonal line at the calves of the figure represented upon it. The remaining piece is 175 cm. in height or length. The width of the stone, which becomes narrower toward the top, is 85 cm. at the bottom ; thickness, 60 cm. The bas-relief on the north side is much destroyed by the rains. The photograph, however, which I took of it late in the afternoon, gives an adequate idea of the subject and its treatment, even though the nice details are now no longer visible. The priest on this bas-relief is represented in front view, his face turned to the right. He is clad in a very richly ornamented tunic and holds the small image of a god in his raised right hand, his left forearm bearing a circular shield with a grotesque face. The breast-cape consists of five rows of beads, and upon it lies a narrow horizontal breast-plate. Directly below the latter are three large faces in full front view, the one on the left being concealed by the circular shield. There seems to be no girdle below the faces, and the decorative work covers the whole garment as far as the knees, forming a large conventionalized face with great staring eyes. The head-gear consists of a grotesque mask with great eyes sur- • !M* tL 34 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. ■ rounded by scroll-work, and bunches of feathers on top and at the back. On the background, above the little image of a god, are two glyphs placed horizontally side by side, and along the left side of the priest there is a perpendicular row of four glyphs. Along the narrow side-faces of this stela there were eight large glyphs each one being composed of four small ones. These glyphs are now nearly worn away. The side facing the circular altar is plain. The circular altar belonging to this stela is 170 cm. in diameter and its upper surface is surrounded by a border enclosing a circular field, divided (along the line of the architectural centre) by two perpendicular rows of five large glyphs each (ten in all) the details of which have unfortunately been worn away by the action of rains. We will call this altar No. 7 in this series of sculptured stones. The land surrounding these ruins was planted with maize at the time of my visit, which greatly facilitated the exploration. Going in an easterly direction from the glyph-altar, I found, a little to the left, a fiat stone to which belonged two plain stelae. Proceeding a little further, turning some- what to the right, I found another horizontal stone to which belonged three likewise plain stelae. These stelae had partly fallen prostrate to the ground, but their upper, as well as their under, sides were examined in search of bas-reliefs. Going in a northwesterly direction from the mound of ruins to which the glyph-altar with Stela 6 belongs, we came upon a large pyramidal mound (cuyo) which doubtless was once a temple with pyramidal substructure, its facade and stairway facing the east. On the eastern approach to this structure I again found three plain stelae and with them a square, flat stone for sacrificial gifts. Behind this first pyramidal mound was a second of equal size, doubtless a temple of similar construction, which likewise had on its eastern esplanade three plain stelae together with a flat stone. I think we must take it for granted that the numerous perfectly plain stelae which are found in these ruined cities, had in ancient times been covered with a smooth coating of stucco upon which inscriptions and figures were painted on a red background. These paintings have disappeared in the course of centuries, leaving no trace, owing to the heavy rains, while the carved reliefs would naturally better withstand the destructive elements, even occasionally retaining a vestige of color. Most of the sacrificial stones were once painted a fiery red, the proof of which fact is occasionally met with. Continuing our search, chiefly in a northwesterly direction, we came upon numerous mounds of ruins and terraces of varying dimensions, with- out finding anything worthy of note. Near one of the ruins, however, were two chultuns (tsultuns), or rain wells, side by side. The large openings were ITSIMTE-SACLUK. 35 perfectly circular and they were half filled with rubbish. It is quite usual in the rubbish of these chultuns to find, together with numerous sherds, well- preserved water-jars (cantaros) which have slipped from the hands of children when drawing water. Having already collected a great many of such jars in Yucatan, I left the chultuns unexplored for the benefit of future travellers. Standing by the glyph-altar and looking north, two natural hills widely separated from one another come into view. They do not, however, seem to have been utilized for architectural purposes. Trujillo, my guide, told me that in former years, while preparing the ground for the milpa, quantities of often very interesting figurines had been found in great variety, which were taken to Sacluk and given to the children for toys or to be broken up ! At present countless pottery sherds of every kind of utensil are scattered over the site of the ruined city, but not a single figurine. Excavations of a very thorough nature might still yield interest- ing results to future explorers. During evening talks with Trujillo I learned that the low mountain range which begins at the Playa de San Benito, extends beyond Dsunu-uits (Humming-bird mountain, Cerro del Chupa-flor) and Itsimte toward San Joaquin, as far as the great lake of San Diego, and is called La Serrania Sacmix (Mountain of the White Cat, sac-mis). Trujillo also spoke of " La Laguna Perdida " as a large lake about three leagues (over 12 km.) in length to the north of Itsimte, at a distance of about five leagues. This lake, he said, abounded in fish, a large species of which leaps to the surface of the water like the sdvalos of the Usumatsintla : un gran pezcado que brinca como un sdvalo. Sacluk, then, lies south of Itsimte', La Laguna Perdida to the north, La Playa de San Benito (and also Flores) to the east, and the Lake of San Diego to the west. All these regions with their lakes, and no doubt their ruins, are totally unknown to Europeans. At the end of a few days our work at Itsimte' was finished and we were able to carry away at least three interesting photographs. We had had an abundant supply of food and water, especially as we had succeeded in killing a large Jcambul (Crax), and we could cut racimos from abandoned banana plantations. Thus we all returned well satisfied to Sacluk. Little expeditions like this, to points not very remote, can be undertaken in these countries without much difficulty or annoyance; but explorations of remotely situated ruins are not so easily and smoothly managed. yi*ila-l-l2 yHBWBHMll BI^^^^HMHIHHHi ■ 1 36 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. I J J ■ I I XIX GUATEMALA, DEPARTMENT OF ALTA VERA PAZ. CANKUEN. 1 The ruined city on the right side of the Usumatsintla, the modern settlement on the left side. JULY, 1905. On arriving at Sacluk from my expedition to Itsimte', I was invited by Mr. Francisco Blancaneaux, Jr., — in the absence of Mr. Izard, the manager of the " Guatemalan," — to accompany him on his journey to the company's monteria in Cankuen, whither he was obliged to go on business. This gave me an opportunity of exploring the ruined city which had been discovered in that part of the country. As I had but one man remaining (and a very disobliging one at that) and the cayuco brought from Anaite and left at the Paso de Tanay had long since been returned, I accepted the kind invitation with gratitude. I in- tended to leave my luggage meanwhile at the Paso Real, to buy a cayuco when opportunity offered, and to engage a man, in order eventually to be able to proceed down the river to El Cayo without further troubling the company. The " Guatemalan " had established a little settlement on the left bank of the Rio Subin, called San Juan, whither we journeyed on mules, while our luggage was carried to the river in carts, as the road lay chiefly through savannas, and there were no elevations to be crossed. (July 15, 1905.) As a considerable tract of forest had to be cut down and burnt over to gain ground for the huts of the settlement, the space thus laid bare was easily searched, and it became quite apparent that there had formerly been a small Indian settlement on this spot, of course without stone constructions. The black earth was everywhere mixed with pottery sherds and pieces of flint. While digging into a pile of earth we even found a pretty clay whistle, un pito, in the form of a pisotl (Nasua socialis) called chic ifsic) in Maya. It is represented sitting on its hind legs holding a stolen ear of corn against its breast with its fore paws. (Fig. 7.) The encargado of the monteria, Senor Enrique Compan, showed me some undecorated earthen vessels found by the men while preparing the ground for the huts. On the following day we em- 1 Can-ku-en = serpent's nest, nido de Culebras ; can, serpent; ku, nest; en, I am, it is. Fig. 7. Pottery Whistle, Cankuen. f. CANKUEN. 37 barked at San Juan Subin in a large cayuco manned by able vogas, mostly of African descent, who coming from Belize (now Belice) had preserved their English speech. While rowing down the river to a half-abandoned settle- ment called El Paso de Tanay, on the right shore of the Subin, we had to force our way through masses of caoba logs (trozas) waiting to be floated on to the Usumatsintla. The name Tan-ay doubtless means "among the alligators"; tan, in front of, opposite ; ay at/in, alligator. Subin is the name of a variety of mimosa. The Subin, which is a narrow river, expands to a considerable breadth below Tanay, just before joining the Usumatsintla. Not far from its mouth up stream, on the right bank of the Usumatsintla, lies the Paso Real, where I deposited my baggage for the time being with the guarda, Monico Vera. I was able at the same time to buy of him for 60 pesos a large cayuco, which I sent meanwhile to Saiyaxche to be repaired and reinforced. We spent the night at Saiyaxche, only two leagues from the Paso Real, on the left bank of the Usumatsintla, where the " Guatemalan " maintains a station in charge of Mr. Carbajal, a respectable, full-blooded negro from Belice. The distance from the Paso Real to Cankuen, following the course of the river, is reckoned at fully 36 leagues, about 153 km., and the journey up stream being for the most part very laborious requires fully eight days. During the first half of the journey the current of the river was extraordi- narily quiet and smooth, but during the last jornadas before reaching Cankuen the vogas had very hard work, for in that region the waters come down with great force. On this journey we spent the nights, when possible, in abandoned mon- teria huts or in some small shelters, champas, whose defective palm-leaf roofs we hastily repaired. Ample food and coffee were prepared at all our halting- places, to satisfy the very hard-worked vogas. We did not visit the ruins of Seibal (on the left bank of the Usumat- sintla), since they lie at a considerable distance from the shore, hidden in the tropical forest, and I had already photographed all the sculptured stones in 1895. But we intentionally selected La Reforma III, a recently aban- doned monteria, for spending the night, because two very interesting stelae had been found there. Unfortunately, however, they were sacrificed to the iconoclasm of the encargado of the monteria, one Prisciliano Colorado, a fugi- tive from Mexico. I wanted, at least, to search the site of the ruins to assure myself whether any more sculptures were to be found there. From Saiyaxche to the milpero cabins of Seibal the distance is estimated at about 4 leagues, but from Saiyaxche to La Reforma at fully 18 leagues, that is, about one-half the distance from Cankuen. At Reforma the left shore (on the right hand, going up stream) is formed by rising ground, an elevation which already in ancient times was s 38 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. considered favorable for a settlement. However, my researches proved that stone structures had never been erected here, but only huts of perishable material. Even the temple was probably constructed only of palings with a palm-leaf roof, of which not a trace remains. But the two stelae, which the monteros found standing side by side, were doubtless set up in front of one of these now vanished temples, probably on its east side, with the important bas-relief facing the east, the river. Of course, I saw nothing but the holes in the ground where those figure- stelae had stood, so thoroughly had the work of destruction been accomplished. The monteros were able to recall that upon the stela, still standing up- right at the time, there were represented two personages in profile opposite each other, and that between them was a round hole through which the rays of the sun fell at eight o'clock in the morning. This circumstance especially excited their wonder. But as I have often seen stelae with similar holes, which were very evidently designed for making fast the sacrificial victim, I am not at all inclined to consider the hole in Stela 1 at Reforma of astronomical importance. At the time spoken of by the monteros, Stela 2 lay on the ground broken in two pieces. Its bas-relief was probably on the under side and therefore it made no impression on the minds of the monteros. Their descriptions left it quite uncertain as to whether there were glyphs, or other designs, on the backs of the two stelae. But I was able to assure myself beyond a doubt that the narrow side-faces had been decorated with handsome glyphs. Just before leaving this monteria its wretched encargado, Prisciliano Colorado, conceived the idea of building an oven, for the purpose of baking bread in order to use up an insignificant remnant of flour, — a most un- necessary proceeding, considering the limited amount of flour left on his hands. Although there were plenty of other stones to be found, these two stelae were selected and broken into little pieces to build his miserable oven, which was no sooner finished and, probably, but once used, than, as needs must be in the nature of the case, it was immediately abandoned. Instead, therefore, of examining and photographing bas-reliefs, we only had the pleasure of beholding the oven of Prisciliano Colorado. A man forced to fly from Tabasco for committing some error is doubly to be censured for perpetrating such an outrage on Guatemalan soil. Besides, it was known along the whole line that I was travelling from one site of ruins to another, fully equipped to photograph every object of apparent importance. There- fore, to destroy the sculptured stones of Reforma just before my arrival was an act of contemptible meanness. The sculptures of Reforma, as a connecting link between Seibal and Cankuen, were of especial archaeological interest, particularly since the well- preserved glyphs of the narrow side-faces might in all probability have solved some chronological questions. 1 I ■ CANKUEN. 39 The Guatemalan government is making arrangements for the protection of its historical remains in the Department of Peten, which is just now the centre of interest for all Americanists, and it certainly seems desirable that the strictest measures should be taken to prevent all wood-cutters, resin- gatherers, and agriculturists, from destroying such remains in the regions in which they are at work. Let me say, by the way, that I am calling the Reforma on the Usumat- sintla, No. Ill, to distinguish it from Reforma II on the Rio San Pedro-Limon, where there are said to be large cuyos which I have not yet explored, and also from Reforma I on the Rio Chacamax, the ruins in the vicinity of which I visited in 1898. Before dismissing Reforma III, I would add, that we unfortunately missed the opportunity of exploring a tract of country below Reforma near the mouth of the Arroyo Macuilishuatl, but still on the left bank of the river. This tract was called " El Prado " by the wood-cutters, who said they had there seen a structure with well preserved chambers crowning a loma (rising ground). They said nothing about bas-reliefs. Mr. Blancaneaux had no knowledge of a ruin in that part of the country. I only learned particulars concerning it after my return to Saiyaxche. On Sunday, July 23, 1905, after several days of hard work on the part of the boatmen, we arrived safely at Cankuen, an eminence on the left bank of the river, crowned by the cabins of the wood-cutters and the settlement of a remnant of Kekchi Indians. The most important building is, of course, la casa principal of the Guatemalan & Mexican Mahogany Export Co., which company is now cutting timber in this region. From the sunny height on which the casa principal is built there is a magnificent view in the direction of the river, which makes a great horse- shoe bend at Cankuen. To the store, which is kept, as usual, at the casa principal, the Indians, or their wives, from the neighboring huts, come to make their little purchases. I was struck by the curious type of this tribal remnant, which speaks a language closely allied to the Maya of Yucatan. They were all so remarkably small and compact of form that they might be regarded as belonging to a race of dwarfs. I was particularly struck by the fact that these people kept their mouths half open with the under lip protruding. This circumstance was a striking reminder of the sculptures of certain ruins, which represent all personages with half-opened mouth and protruding underlip. Besides these Kekchi (K£ktsi) who are occupied in raising maize, there is a ranchero with his family from Coban, Estanisloa Marroquin by name, settled near this spot. He devotes his energies to agriculture, and has a family consisting of an active wife and half a dozen daughters. Marroquin has told the employees of the monteria wonderful tales about the neighbor- 40 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. ■ ■ ■ ■ ing ruins, with which he said he was thoroughly acquainted, and for this reason Mr. Blancaneux thought it advisable to call upon him, although I had very little confidence in his statements. They seemed to remind me, not too remotely, of my own discoveries at Yaxchilan and Piedras Negras, con- fused rumors of which had penetrated as far as Cankuen. After we had rested at the casa principal and eaten an excellent dinner, we betook ourselves to the rancho, where Senor Marroquin, surrounded by his family, received us in due form and held forth with an air of superior knowl- edge concerning the grand things he had discovered in the mysterious city of ruins. At the same time his wife and daughters obligingly brought for our inspection two little green stone beads, a circular ear-peg of hard black stone with a small hole in the middle, a stone ring, which I think must have been the head of a ceremonial staff, and a few necks of large water -jars, and to these treasures the ridiculous fellow attached an enormous value. I gathered from his high-flown talk that he entertained the hope of doing business with me on a grand scale, and was much disappointed to hear that I had no intention of seeking for treasure, and that the trifling objects so often found were given away among people of my profession, as they were not worth the cost of transportation to a distant seaport. I told him I had only come to explore the ruined city in search of sculptured stones which could be photographed. There again he was quite in his element, and told me with great satisfaction that he had found a marvellous piece of sculpture, which represented a " hand " grasping the stone, and plainly showing every finger and every nail. It became clear to me that these people had in all likelihood found a fragment of a broken piece of sculpture which they could not comprehend, and which seemed to them to represent a hand. After prolonged conversation we took leave of Senor Marroquin and his wife and daughters, upon whom, in spite of his imposing archaeological knowl- edge, he had been unable to leave the impress of a higher racial type. We had agreed to visit the ruined city the next day in order to solve the mystery of the " hand " — provided, of course, it did not rain. I had requested Mr. Blancaneaux to let me have an Indian boy who was acquainted with the site of the ruined city, and who, with my Tenosique lad, would be quite sufficient for reconnoitring the site of the ruins without troubling the self-confident Marroquin in any way. The next morning, to my dismay, just as I was on the point of em- barking in the cayuco with my people, Senor Marroquin came along, accompanied by his wife and such of his daughters as were able to endure a hard day's march. In order not to appear uncivil, Mr. Blancaneaux, with the other gentlemen of the monteria, felt obliged to join the expe- dition. We landed on the opposite side of the river a little above Cankuen, in order to take the path leading to the ruins from that point. The ruins lie hidden under the densest growth of tropical trees and corrozo palms, CANKUEN. 41 about 4 km. below Cankuen in a tract of country near the right bank of the river. The path, occasionally used by the draft-oxen of the monteria, led for the most part through low-lying land, under water during the present month, — a so-called bajial. Our progress, especially as we had ladies with us, was fraught with difficulties, for the path branched off in various direc- tions and we lost our way several times in spite of guides, and were obliged to turn back and seek the right one. At last, after crossing two little brooks which ran through the middle of the ruined city, the Indian boy succeeded in finding the sculptured stone of our quest, and finally we all assembled at the spot. It soon appeared that we had before us a large stela broken in two pieces, the lower half having been thrown on one of its narrow side-faces when the stone was struck down by a falling tree, and the upper half had been flung several meters away. The stela had reliefs on both broad sides, and glyphs on the narrow side-faces. Mentally fitting together the parts of the relief on the eastern broad face, it became clear that the picture was of a deity, sitting in Turkish fashion upon an elaborate throne, and that the " hand," which the ridiculous Marroquin thought he had seen, was actually the right foot of the deity. This discovery excited great merriment among the monteros, who are always ready for a joke, and they made all manner of fun of the old fellow — who had for- ever lost his archaeological reputation — for not being able to distinguish between a hand and a foot. While the others were removing the earth and moss from the two pieces of the stela and setting up the fragment flung forward on one of its narrow sides, I went with my Tenosique man to the levelled place which served as the eastern approach to an oblong heap of ruins, to search for more sculptured stones. Cutting away the vegetation we found, after a few minutes, a second stela fallen to the ground, and sunken into the earth up to the very edge. The surface having been divested of earth and leaves, proved to be quite plain, and justified the hope that the relief had fallen face downward and was well preserved, since the stela was made of a hard, sandy limestone which resists the action of the damp ground. Urged by curiosity we all set to work to excavate the stone as far as possible. We then cut strong poles for levers and forced them under one of the sides of the stone, and now all, even the doughty maidens, took hold till we gradually lifted the heavy stone by means of our powerful levers, while I pushed stones under to the right and left, so that what had been gained in lifting should not be lost when the pressure relaxed on the levers, and also in order to avoid possible accidents. / When at last, after great exertions, the stone approached an angle of 90°, the levers were cast aside and all took hold with their hands, the Mm I 42 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. strongest even bracing with their shoulders, and with a last effort the stone was firmly placed on one of its narrow sides, — a pretty difficult operation, which is not always successful ! Washing and brushing disclosed a magnificent, well-preserved figure, to the astonishment and pleasure of all, excepting Marroquin, who greeted the discovery with a very dubious smile of joy. The figure represented a war- rior seated on a throne, like a chair, in European fashion, with shield and spears in his left hand and a prisoner at his feet. Late in the afternoon we returned to Cankuen in the best of spirits. Only old Marroquin was not quite satisfied. The irrepressible monteros con- tinued to tease him : " Why, what is the matter with you ? You promised to show the stranger the figures of Cankuen, but instead of your showing them to Mm, he has shown them to you! Of course, you cannot expect a gratuity now ! " But the foolish fellow, disappointed in his expectations, ob- stinately defended himself. He declared that " the things we had found were nothing at all. The figures which Tie knew about were much finer, but he would show them to no one unless he were paid 5,000 pesos in advance ! He was no such fool." He complained afterward that I was " muy miserable." If I had been so minded I could have made myself and him rich! But now we were both empty-handed ! It is sometimes exceedingly difficult to convince certain people that the visits of educated Europeans to the ruins have absolutely nothing to do with the search for treasure and sordid money-making. During the following days I made repeated visits to the ruins with my Tenosiquero and another man lent me by Mr. Blancaneaux. We felled some obstructing trees and corrozo palms to obtain the best light on the stones we had set up in a favorable position, so that they could be photo- graphed. At the same time we roamed about in all directions. We found numerous mounds of ruins and certain plain stelae, but none with reliefs. Nevertheless, I consider it quite possible that more sculptured stones, which escaped my notice, may still be found among the ruins. Seiior Enrique Compan in San Juan Subin told me, that when making his way from San Diego to the ruins he had seen a row of six stelae on the left-hand side of the road. Only one of them in the middle of the line had relief- work, and that only on one side. These stones, he said, were still standing upright, one of them being broken off diagonally. All these stelae were step-shaped at the top. The two brooks, contemporaries of the once populous town, were also thoroughly searched. The banks were strewn with broken water jugs and sherds of every kind of vessel, and the sand was everywhere mixed with fragments of flint. There is little doubt that excavations at this place are likely to yield very interesting results. CANKUEN. 43 On the western edge of the terrace with the two -figure stelae there is, as I have said, an oblong mound of ruins, which, judging from its size, must once have been a structure (perhaps a temple) of but one chamber, possibly with three divisions, and its facade facing directly east. With reference to the architectural centre of the structure the two stelae were placed as follows : No. 1 on the east edge of the terrace, and No. 2 about in the middle. The north side of the terrace is bounded by the ruins of some kind of a struc- ture, while the east and south sides are left open. (See Plan, Fig. 8.) Stela 1 (Plate 13, Figs. 1, 2). Reliefs on the east and west sides, and glyphs on both the narrow side-faces. This stone is broken in two diagonally across the middle. If the two pieces were <5 !■} w h i 2. lo 1. t joined the whole length or height of the FlG 8 cankuen. Plan of Ruins. stela would be 360 cm., of which 132 cm. at the bottom are plain on the east side. Greatest width at the top, 91 cm., and somewhat less at the bottom ; thickness, only 22 cm. Relief on the east side (Plate 13, Fig. 1). The lowest step of the throne, 20 cm. in height, displays a large conventionalized head with a flattened T-sign on the forehead and symbolical scroll-work at either side. The actual throne, 31 cm. in height (51 cm. including the base), consists of a frame of St. Andrew's crosses supporting the cushions, over which is thrown a covering with very delicately and prettily executed embroidery or plaited work bordered with a fringe. In addition a serpent twines around one corner of the throne, its head remaining invisible, while the coiled tail ends in a flower, that is, in a horizontal Ahaukatun sign, (TQ, finishing in a little roll and scroll-work. The divided roll with 4 dots upon it might correspond to the numeral :||, 14, i. e., in the 14th Ahau (?) The probably beneficent'god or goddess is represented in front view sit- ting upon the throne in Turkish fashion with legs folded under and — like- wise a reminder of Asiatic custom — without foot-gear, excepting a kind of short sock which leaves the toes free; for in Asiatic countries shoes are only worn in the streets, and at home the costly rugs or neat mats are never stepped upon with shoes, and still less are shoes worn when reclining on the richly embroidered cushions of a divan. The deity is clad in a rich garment covered with net work, probably consisting of cylindrical beads with round beads at the points of crossing. The lower edge is finished with a row of beads and fringe. The girdle is almost wholly concealed, but it seems to have a large grotesque face in front in the middle. The breast-cape, consisting of rows of beads, displays three circular faces, or medallions. The cuffs also consist of rows of beads. ^ti** 1 ' 44 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. _D The head, turned to the right, is covered by a helmet with an animal mask, surrounded by scroll-work and feathers, which also encircle the two holes cut through the top of the stela. The deity holds the ceremonial bar diagonally with both arms. It displays a St. Andrew's cross with two circles on either side, o o x o o, — what might be called nahui-ollin in Nahuatl. Lack of space does not admit of conventionalized open jaws with the figure of a deity at the lower end of the ceremonial bar, but from the higher end there proceeds upward, since there is no room at the side, a coil of serpents. To one of the curves of this coil is clinging the figure of a dwarf, looking down, with what appears to be a small serpent whose little head lies at right angles to the neck of the principal serpent of the coil. Out of the wide-open jaws of the latter serpent protrudes a second dwarf, slightly bend- ing forward, and upon this one a third dwarf seems to be looking down from the border of the upper hole. The top of the stela is step-shaped, as is usual with the stelae of Cankuen. A large hole is cut through the middle of the top and a second near the right corner (the observer's right), while there are smaller perfora- tions along the edges, and quite at the bottom. It may be assumed that the victims were bound by means of the perforations to these stelae, the sacrifice probably being usually performed with the victim in an upright position before stelae of this kind. There is on the throne a large fantastic head in profile with the sign &*, 7, on the scroll-work of the forehead; it is close to the right hip of the deity, and above it six little glyphs are cut into the background. I am inclined to think that there were some traces of red left here and there on the relief. In conclusion let me say it is quite possible that the deity represented on the east side of Stela 1 at Cankuen is the same as the one on the south side of Stela 22 of Naranjo. Relief on the west side (Plate 13, Fig. 2). This, although very much weather-worn, still shows the figure of a priest in front view, his face turned to the right. He stands upon scroll-work which has become indistinct, but his foot-gear with tall tufts on the instep is still recognizable. He wears a breast-cape and a narrow, horizontal breast-plate. Close underneath the latter, encircling his body, but not his hips, is a very broad belt with a face- mask in the middle and on each side. Upon his head he wears the cylindri- cal sacerdotal hat surrounded and overtopped by elaborate scroll-work. In his uplifted right hand the priest holds the figurine of a deity, and in the left, resting on his hip, a spherical object. In the background, along the left edge (from the observer) runs a vertical column of six glyphs and one of five glyphs along the right edge. Besides these, between the figurine and the face of the priest, there are 3 + 6 smaller glyphs, which have become almost invisible. CANKUEN. 45 On each narrow side-face there is a perpendicular row of about 16 glyphs, which have all become very indistinct. At the foot of the east side — which might be called the deity side — stands a little circular altar. The upper surface has a diameter of 81 cm. which diminishes toward the bottom. Thickness, 20 cm. On the upper surface remnants of scroll-work are still recognizable, but it has all become indistinct and confused. Around the upper edge of the periphery runs a band of glyphs 6J cm. broad (or high) which is in part preserved and partly cracked off by falling trees. It is probable that the victim bound to the stela stood on this stone, upon which the blood flowed down, unless it was caught in a cuauhxicatti. Stela 2 (Plate 12, Fig. 2). In the middle of the intervening space between Stela 1, on the east edge of the terrace, and the heap of ruins or former temple, stood Stela 2 with its relief-side facing the east. Whole length or height of the stone including the piece let into the earth, but now broken off, is 290 cm. Greatest width at the top, 1 m ; thickness, 37 cm. Relief on the east side. Height of the relief from the base line of the prisoner to the very top is 185 cm., of which 21 cm. belongs to the relief of the prisoner, who lies at the feet of the warrior, face downward, his body resting on the updrawn right leg. His hands are tied together on his back. On the background, in front of the face, a small glyph can be faintly dis- cerned. A warrior-chief or halachuinic (halatswinic) sits in European fashion on a throne resting on two ornamental supports ; he is represented in front view, his face turned to the right. He wears on his feet richly orna- mented buskins, cotaras, as the Spanish writers call them. Below the knee he wears garters with tassels. The torso is doubtless clad in some kind of a jerkin with breast-plate, shoulder and hip pieces, and a kind of girdle. All these articles are of bead-work with bead fringes. Below the girdle a broad decorated flap hangs down as far as the feet. The breast-cape has at each shoulder an inverted face-mask, and the middle portion is covered up by the breast-plate suspended from the neck by two straps. An eagle is depicted on the breast-plate. The cuffs are also of bead-work with bead fringes. There are round ear-pegs in the ears. The helmet rests on the forehead by means of an omega-shaped bend (in profile) -«., and above this two C-scrolls (of course only one is visible) are crowned by a ketsal — the sacred bird of the Guatemalan tribes together with other ornamental plumage. A feather mantle in the form of rays appears behind the warrior's back. In his left hand the chieftain holds a bundle of spears, and the lower half of the arm is concealed by a rectangular shield with a fierce tiger-mask. The uplifted right hand holds a pendent object — perhaps a rest for the hand when hurling spears. This stela is likewise step-shaped at the top, and the background dis- plays a group of four glyphs in the upper right and left hand corners. ■ ■ ■■M}HM«'V< : • '•• ^■'•",\\i\i-.-_\ : _\ ,■--■<■=■ =7- ;? , .t"' htniViK''.! ,,.-,.-,■.-,.,-• — ;• > : ->u 46 EXPECTATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. I 51 The west side of the stela is plain, as I have already said, but the narrow side-faces have each a vertical row of 4 + 3 glyphs, which, however, have become quite indistinct. There was no circular altar in front of this stela. I noticed only a small cylindrical piece of stone, of doubtful origin. We consumed about a week in exploring " the sacred city of the Kekchi" (?), which I finally decided to call Las Muinas de Cankuen (on the right bank of the Usumatsintla). Although the time I had spent with Mr. Blancaneaux and the other gentlemen employed at the monteria had been very pleasant, I now decided to begin my long journey back to Tenosique. Before doing so, however, I informed myself thoroughly in conversation with these men, so well versed in wood-craft, concerning the remaining portion of the upper course of the Usumatsintla. From the Arroyo de San Isidro, where it empties into the Usumatsintla (on the left side) near the Cerro de Cankuen, to the source of this great river in the mountains of Sebol, the lumbermen calculate that the distance is 17 Mexican leagues, the mouth of the Arroyo Chacchinic on the right being reached after the first 3 leagues. The name tsdc-tsi-nic might be rendered by red-mouth-flower. At the foot of the mountain range, near the source of the Usumatsintla, in the tract of land on the right shore, lies the Finca de ganado, called Sebol, belonging to one Lucas Quiroa. The voyage up the river from Cankuen in the direction of Sebol is very difficult, as the waters flow there with great force. From Sebol down to the Paso Real the course is northerly (with, possibly, a little deviation to west), the west being on the left hand, and the east on the right. Down stream from the Arroyo de San Isidro, near Cankuen, the land is considered as belonging to the Department of Peten, but up stream it belongs to the Department of Alta Vera Paz, the capital of which, Coban, is about 20 leagues south of Cankuen. In the last years the wood-cutters did a great deal of work in the forests along the upper course of the river, but they came across neither ruins nor sculptured stones. However, on some rising ground near the left shore of the Arroyo Chacchinic they said there was a stone with the figure of a " monkey " on it, and therefore the stone was called la piedra del mono. It is, of course, very doubtful whether the relief really represents a monkey or a human figure incomprehensible to the lumbermen. The Kekchi call the upper part of the river Chacmaic (tsdcmaic). I myself give to this renowned river the name Usumatsintla from its source, near Sebol, to where the delta-arms, which divide near Tonuta (Xonutla), carry the mighty masses of water to the Atlantic Ocean, — one below Fron- tera de Tabasco, and the other through the Laguna del Carmen. The river ■ -ji CANKUEK 47 takes its name from the small village of Usumatsintla, now sadly decayed, situated not far below Tenosique and during the latter centuries the princi- pal settlement, la cabecera, of its district. The Aztec name of the place, Usumatsintla, means " place of monkeys" ; osumatli, monkey; tsintla, near, under, behind, etc. The ending tsintla occurs in other place-names, like Tepetsintla, Huilotsintla, Coatsintla, etc. At present, however, the inhabi- tants, also possessed by the rage for changing names, will no longer permit their wretched village to be called " place of monkeys," and have changed the ancient name to Cabecera, quite indifferent to the fact that the generic term Cabecera belongs to all the chief towns of a district. At the present time Tenosique is " Cabecera " of the district in which it lies. Before leaving this subject I will mention the fact that the present descendants of the Spaniards, the Criollos, are not willing to pronounce a ts or a it, because it demands too great a lingual effort on the part of this ease- loving people. Therefore, instead of -tsintla they simply say -sinta, and this reminds them — ridiculous as it is — of the familiar word cinta, a ribbon. Furthermore the Spaniards have an unjustifiable aversion to representing the usual s-sound in the Indian languages simply by s. They prefer to use z or c (before e and i) or even c, and in the latter case, by way of increasing the confusion, they invariably forget the cedilla. The Spaniards therefore always spell the name Uzumazinta, and whosoever wishes to follow the very latest instructions of the Spanish Academy will spell it Uzumacinta. The prescriptions of the Academia espanola with regard to the s-sound are not at all adapted to Indian languages, because in correctly pronounced Spanish z and c (before e and i) do not correspond with the usual s-sound, but with " theta," a sound which never occurs in the Mexican tongues. I admit that Usumatsintla is somewhat too long for practical use, but in case of frequent repetition it can be contracted into Us. To all intents and purposes we may now consider this gigantic stream as explored, from an archaeological point of view, from the Atlantic Ocean to its source near Sebol — a stupendous piece of work, accomplished at great expense of money, vast labor, and many annoyances. It is an exceedingly difficult task to make expeditions to regions where the remnants of an indig- enous population have lost all initiative and are on the eve of becoming extinct. Whatever is accomplished now-a-days by way of exploiting these wildernesses, where great civilizations once flourished, is due to men who bring their still unimpaired energies from distant countries. Unfortunately the lumber industry leaves no permanent results. A flourishing monteria is established in the wilderness and suddenly life is awakened only to vanish as quickly as it came, and in a few years everything has once more fallen under the spell of the wilderness. In the agreeable society of Mr. Blancaneaux and his companions there was no lack of entertainment and mental stimulus, especially as the former 5i>t^aiiHiHi2tiiii ■■■■■■■i 48 EXPLORATIONS OF THE UPPER USUMATSINTLA. it"J is in the habit of carrying interesting English and Spanish books with him on his journeys to pass away the time. In my leisure hours I read one of these books, a novel entitled " Macaria," written about the time of the American Civil War, a copy of which had strayed up here to remote Cankuen, and seemed to me to be well written and imbued with admirable sentiment. I could not help thinking, while reading this book, that I myself, under pressure of peculiar circumstances, was playing the role of Macaria, who offered herself to the gods to save her native land when Eurystheus threat- ened Athens. Wandering about from one year's end to another in these inaccessible wildernesses in search of remnants of bygone civilizations, deny- ing myself all joys of life, subjected to strenuous labor, many dangers, and the daily annoyances resulting from the perpetual discontent of my men, — all this constitutes a kind of immolation. As Mr. Blancaneaux was to be detained at the monteria for some time longer, and the resident overseer, Senor Francisco Lizarraga, was obliged to* return to Sacluk, Mr. Blancaneaux placed a good cayuco and some able boat- men at our disposal. This enabled me to begin my long journey back to Tenosique, and on August 1, 1905, we left the hospitable roof of the monteria of Cankuen. The journey down stream was naturally more rapid and less complicated than the very difficult progress up stream, and was enlivened by the agreeable companionship of Senor Lizarraga, who gave me a great deal of information regarding the river basin. On the second day we reached Saiyaxche, where I remained for a while to have the cayuco I had purchased put in good order, to have two long oars made (canaletes), to buy provisions, and, if possible, to hire another man to accompany us at least as far as the mouth of the Lacantun River. Here again I was very comfortably lodged with Florencio Carbajal, a worthy man, already advanced in years, who had formerly been alcalde of the place. His very active wife, likewise of African descent, was also very attentive to us, supplying many additions to our stock of provisions. The name Saiyaxche (sai-yastse) signifies " seiba-tree with ant-hill," because ants are apt to build their mounds under the protection of these gigantic trees. Sai, ant; yaxche {yaMM), green stem, the Maya name for the tree called seibo, or sella, in the language of Haiti and Cuba ; it belongs to the order of Bombaceae, the botanical name of which is Eriodendron anfrac- tuosum, D. C, or Boiribax ceiba Linn. On the elevation which dominates the little half-African settlement, a noble seiba-tree stands as a landmark, visible at a great distance. All the little difficulties having been settled and a new man engaged, we took leave of our kind hosts and started again on our journey to Teno- sique. Unfortunately the return journey to Tenosique did not go off as smoothly as it might, for we were subjected to several unpleasant occur- CANKUEK 49 rences, with which, however, I will not trouble my readers. The transpor- tation of my valuable luggage through the dreaded rapids of Anait6 was, as usual, the most difficult problem to be solved, for there were no pack-animals obtainable, by means of which we could avoid the rapids and reach El Cayo by a land route. Prudently mistrusting my irresponsible Tenosique simpleton, I had taken passage in a cayuco going empty down stream under the guidance of able vogas, and had packed into it my most important baggage, guarding it in person. We got through quite safely, and the laboriously won results of my very successful expedition could be regarded as safe. The rest of my less valuable baggage, intrusted to the care of my Tenosique simpleton and an assistant in my own cayuco, was partly lost. And our cayuco, brought from the far-off Paso Eeal, was dashed to pieces on the rocks and disappeared in the brawling waters ! On arriving at El Cayo, I succeeded in hiring mules to transport the rescued portion of my baggage to Tenosique, which I finally reached on September 5, 1905. The wretched Post Office of this place had simply thrown away all the mail, including correspondence and scientific books and pamphlets, which had arrived for me during my long absence ! As it is absolutely impossible to instil the first spark of consideration and propriety into these people, I re- frained from all remonstrances. No se pueden pedir manzanas al guayabo I In the middle of October, 1905, I safely reached Merida, which I had left in the middle of February, 1904, touching at El Carmen and Cam- peche as usual. Owing to unavoidable delays, 21 months had, therefore, been consumed in the expedition to Tikal, Yaxha, Naranj6, and last of all Cankuen. The results were unquestionably magnificent, and in part unex- pected. The inevitable expense, trouble, and annoyance incident to such expeditions must simply be accepted as part of the whole undertaking, and dealt with as best may be. ninin Ti Biii i iiiiBiiiii i ii iiH i i i iiniii sasasaoMtnaiB I Ji. I j i , ; . : •. . ^■^■^H I :f ■ ■ 5T' ,/ K * y&cluJl^ „ 600 2/&A h %^ti O r flxyupxv £;<*£& $ cuyCLxLcr&cr6sve. a^xa^cxXo^v /^esi&crvuxC' £ Ojjfes X^rS^nJOr^LcJUn^ 1 9 5> cAJovvt oufr &£ Louw-kx : QM ^yLAJvy^ ctf^j&vyrJjisvCfco I I Memoirs Peabody Museum. Vol. IV. Plate 4, f/% Seibal : Stela 2. .■-L-Iiilii • % < M H 73 < cq — i 73 > i w a S >< a o 8 < 73 X S y S 1 1 m M \ l .§ I - '«&***■ y* % s \' ~« I ■ ■a! J r 1 J £0 — ( H I Memoirs Peabody Museum. Vol. IV. Plate 6. ^"^■WPJW i, Sbibal : Fragment of Stela 6. 2—8, Seibal : Fragments of Stelae 12 — 15. -J Memoirs Peahody Museum. Vol. IV Plate 7. Ski hal : Stela S. ■- ^9HM1HHH "• Memoirs Peabody Museum. Vol. IV Plate 8. Seibal : Stela io. ■ - ■ • a»m*. H I ■ ■ 1 • ■ ■ i • ■ • . X J ■ 1 • 1 1 - • * Memoirs Peabody Museum. Vol. IV. Plate 9. Seibal : Stela i i . mam -;l w < -J W CC & a o < H < § o OS w H M w en o > D >• O < w It in o s « *.* . H (x Q O cq < W H U3 < u o as fa oo < H ►J a o a < x x s < y < ■J) ■Ji *>* b < 0< -«e . < 72 25 a D < - r. < Ed JO J o 70 73 - ■ I ■HH ■MB Memoirs Peabody Museum. Vol. IV. Plate 13. 1. Cankuen : Stela 1, East Side. 2. Cankuen: Stela i, West Side. I J ■■■ . ■ . . MEMOIES OP THE PEABODY MUSEUM OP AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY Vol. IV— No. 2 EXPLORATIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PETEN GUATEMALA AND ADJACENT EEGION Topoxte; Yaxha; Benque Viejo : Naranjo REPORTS OF EXPLORATIONS FOR THE MUSEUM BY TEOBERT MALER ERRATA. In No. 1 of this volume Page 9, line 16 from top, for Guadaloupe, read Guadalupe. „ 12, „ 20 „ „ „ Stelae 10, 11, 12, 13, read Stelae 8, 9, 10, 11. „ 16, line 9 from bottom, for grotesque " Tlaloc faces," read gro- tesque faces. [The insertion of the word Tlaloc was through a misunderstanding of the Editor. See note by author on page 96.] „ 20, line 22 from top, for (linteles), read the Spanish (dinteles). HmhH^H MEMOIES OF THE PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY Vol. IV— No. 2 EXPLORATIONS in THE DEPARTMENT OF PETEN GUATEMALA AND ADJACENT EEGION Topoxte; Yaxha; Benque Viejo : Naranjo REPORTS OF EXPLORATIONS FOR THE MUSEUM BY TEOBERT MALER CAMBRIDGE PUBLISHED BY THE MUSEUM 1908 ff ma^H I^HB I Copyright, 1908, Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University. University Press : John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A. XX. THE SACRED ISLAND OF TOPOXTfi IN LAKE YAXHl. END OF NOVEMBER, 1904.1 Topoxte (toposte) is the name of a certain bush "bearing small, hollow fruit with a thin rind, which burst with a slight detonation when stepped on." Top, seed, semilla ; ox (os), ramon tree. The ramon tree bears small, round fruit forming little hard pellets when the thin, fleshy covering is removed. These pellets (or any other kind) placed in a hollow calabash, to be shaken with the hand (top-ox-kab), formed a diviner's rattle or sonafa. After completing my explorations at Tikal 2 I was ready to leave on November 15, 1904. Having reduced my luggage to the most necessary articles, I procured five able-bodied carriers from San Jose for its transporta- tion, while the three vagabonds I had brought from Tenosique, who were many degrees inferior to the Indians in every respect, were unwilling to carry even a cooking utensil or a lantern, and simply trotted along. Since there was nothing of special interest, from my point of view, on the road from Tikal to the Remate over which I had already passed several times, I deter- mined this time to traverse the wilderness in an east-southeasterly direction and come out, if possible, at Lake Yaxha. From there I purposed to go to Benque Viejo, and, after procuring the necessary provisions, to undertake from that point the exploration of the large ruined cities lying east of Tikal, — a very circuitous route to be sure ! Had it not been for the always troublesome question of provisions and the impossibility of procuring willing men, I should have entered the eastern forests directly from Tikal and should unquestionably have reached at least one of the mysterious cities. But nothing would have been gained by so doing, for such expeditions are advis- able only for purposes of reconnoitring, and not when there is work to be 1 For the location of the sites mentioned in these reports, see the sketch-map, Fig. 9. 3 The report on the exploration at Tikal will be published in a following number of these Memoirs. EXPLORATIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PETEN, GUATEMALA, AND ADJACENT REGIONS mm t^^m 56 EXPLORATIONS IN GUATEMALA M ft W H