ARCHEOLOGY. 



Morley, Sylvanus G., Santa Fe, New Mexico. Associate in American Archae- 

 ology. (For previous reports see Year Books Nos. 13-20.) 



The members of the Central American Expedition for 1922 were Messrs. 

 Morley, Guthe, Lothrop, Ricketson, Jessup, and Sopefia; Messrs. Cook, 

 Loomis and Martin, of the Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, also accompanied the party on the first trip into Peten 

 during the last half of March and early April. 



Owing to the increasing personnel of the Central American expedition 

 and to the extension of its activities, it has become impracticable for all 

 members to take the field at the same time. Doctors Morley and Lothrop 

 sailed from New Orleans for Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, on January 14; 

 Dr. Guthe and Messrs. Ricketson, Jessup, and Sopefia sailed from New 

 Orleans for Belize, British Honduras, on January 28; and Messrs. Cook, 

 Loomis, and Martin for the same destination on February 25. 



The activities of the current field-season may be described under four 

 main headings, as follows: 



1. A further exploration of the east coast of Yucatan, notably of the ruins of Tuluum, by- 

 Doctors Morley and Lothrop (third season). 



2. A continuation of Doctor Morley's explorations in northern Peten in search of new 

 archaeological sites and hieroglyphic inscriptions (sixth season) . 



3. An investigation of the agricultural possibilities of the northern Peten region by 

 Mr. O. F. Cook. 



4. A continuation of Doctor Guthe's excavations at Tayasal, the last Maya stronghold 

 on the shores of Lake Peten Itza (second season). 



After the usual preliminary trip to Guatemala City, to arrange for the 

 continuation of the Institution's investigations in the Department of Peten 

 under the permit granted by the Government of Guatemala in June 1920, 

 Doctors Morley and Lothrop returned to Belize, where they were met by 

 Messrs. Ricketson and Sopefia. A small schooner, with auxiliary gasoline 

 engine, the Esperanza, was chartered and on February 7 the expedition 

 sailed for the ruins of Tuluum on the east coast of Yucatan, Mexico. A stop 

 was first made at Payo Obispo, Quintana Roo, to secure the necessary 

 permits from the local authorities, and here Sefior Miguel Carral joined the 

 party as the official representative of the Ministry of Fomento. 



This trip lasted from February 7 to March 6, during which time two new 

 sites, Tancar and Xelha, 1 were discovered, mapped, photographed, and 

 described, and a more extensive study was undertaken at the ruins of Tuluum. 



At Tancar, 4 miles north of Tuluum and 0.25 mile back from the beach, 

 there are two principal plazas and about a dozen stone buildings. At the 

 southern end of the site is a cave with rock carvings, a roughly carved, stone 

 slab leaning against the back wall, and a small square altar of stone and 

 stucco. 



Xelha lies some 15 miles north of Tuluum and a mile inland from the sea. 

 The lagoon of the same name extends perhaps half a mile back from the sea, 

 and bifurcates at its inner end. The point of land lying between these two 

 reaches of the lagoon has a narrow neck, where it joins the mainland and this 



» Both of these names are probably of ancient origin. John Lloyd Stephens speaks of Tancar 

 as early as 1841 (see Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, vol. n) and Oviedo mentions a point on the 

 east coast of the peninsula named Xelha three centuries earlier. 



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