80 KESEARCH AT THE RUINS OF CHICKEN ITZA, YUCATAN. 



cient to show the need for a reasonable amount of repair work in connection 

 with the excavation of Chichen Itza. 



It is recommended to carry out at Chichen Itza a research similar to that 

 of the Smithsonian Institution in connection with the prehistoric remains in 

 our Southwestern States. At Casa Grande, Arizona/ and in the Mesa Verde 

 National Park, Colorado,' remarkable and praiseworthy work has been done 

 under the direction of Dr. J. Walter Fewkes and of Mr. J. L. Nusbaum. 

 Plate 11a shows Spruce Tree House, one of the cliff-dwellings of the Mesa 

 Verde National Park before excavation, and Plate 11b the same building 

 after excavation. These views clearly indicate the great improvement which 

 a reasonable amount of repair work makes in the appearance of archaeological 

 remains. The only previous attempt of this kind in the INIaya field has been 

 the work of the School of American Archaeology at Quirigua, Guatemala. 

 Here, in connection with the excavation of the principal building, the walls 

 were relaid in cement and finished with a cement cap to render them imper- 

 vious to the excessive rainfall of the region.'' 



In addition to the work of excavation and repair, extensive use should be 

 made of photograph^'. Chichen Itza offers a particularly rich field for the 

 camera, and this phase of the work should receive special attention. It is 

 recommended to make a complete photographic record of the site, showing 

 the progress of the excavations, and other features also: groups of build- 

 ings, single buildings, architectural and sculptural details, statuary, hiero- 

 glyphic inscriptions, mural paintings, etc. If an archaeological expedition is 

 sent to Chichen Itza, its photographic equipment should l)c of the best, since 

 no branch of the work except excavation will be of greater importance. 



The making of maps from accurate surveys is a necessary feature of such 

 research. A map of the entire city, with detailed ground-plans of its indi- 

 vidual structures, is a vital part of the general plan of work and will not only 

 shed much light on the question of the assemblage of Maya structures, but 

 also on the much larger question of Maj'a social organization. The map 

 of Chichen Itza given in Plate 13, although accurate so far as it goes, does 

 not begin to cover the limits of the city, nor even to show all of the buildings, 

 pyramids, platforms, and causeways in the area surveyed. 



Molds should be made of the different sculptures recovered, including 

 the statuary, facade decorations, hieroglyphic inscriptions, and the like. The 

 Mexican Government takes the stand that original objects shall not be taken 

 out of the country, and the justice of this position can not be questioned. 



'"Casa Grande Arizona," J. Walter Fewkes, 28th Annual Report, Bureau American Ethnology. 



^ "Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park. Spruce Tree House," J. Walter Fewkes, Bulletin 41, 

 Bureau American Ethnology. "Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park-Cliff Palace," J. Walter 

 Fewkes, Bulletin 51, Bureau American Ethnology. 



'"Two Seasons' Work in Guatemala," Edgar L. Hewett, Papers of the School of American Arche- 

 ology, No. 22. "Third Season's Work in Guatemala," Edgar L. Hewett, Papers of the School of American 

 Archa;ologj-, No. 23. "Quirigua, .an .Vmerican Town 1400 Years Old," Sylvanus G. Morley, Scientific 

 American, vol. cvii. No. 5, .-Vugust 3, 1912, p. 96. "Excavations at Quirigua, Guatemala," Sylvanus G. 

 Morley, National Geograpliic Magazine, March, 1913, p. 339. 



