364 CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON. 



a drain through the platform north of Mound VI. This indicates 

 that Stela 30 had been broken in ancient times, since a piece of it 

 had been built into the roof of a drain before the city had been aban- 

 doned. Owing to this sheltered position, its inscription was perfectly 

 preserved and records the date 9.5.0.0.0 (275 A. D.). This date is 

 75 years older than the earliest date previously reported at this site 

 (9.8.15.0.0 on Stela 25) and carries the foundation of this city at least 

 as far back as the first quarter of Baktun 9. 



This pushing back of the monumental remains to the early part of 

 Baktun 9, and even earlier, at a number of sites, Tikal, Xultun, 

 Uolantun, and Piedras Negras, for example, is one of the most signifi- 

 cant results of the last field season, and it is confidently anticipated 

 that further exploration, especially in the region around Tikal, will 

 shed much light on the beginnings of the Maya civilization in the 

 Old Empire region. 



Report of Dr. Carl E. Guthe. 



Dr. Guthe sailed from New Orleans on February 11, 1921. During 

 the latter part of the month a week was spent in excavating a small 

 mound within the borders of British Honduras, at a clearing called 

 "New Boston," 4 miles east of Baker, a village on the banks of the 

 Belize River. After returning to Belize, in order to meet Mr. Gates, 

 Dr. Guthe left on March 7, met the rest of the expedition in El Cayo, 

 British Honduras, and proceeded at once, with Mr. Ricketson, to 

 Flores, Peten, arriving there on March 18. The first two weeks were 

 spent in making a transit survey of the principal plazas of Tayasal. 

 Actual excavation began April 5 and continued until May 21. Dr. 

 Guthe left Flores on May 23, arriving in the United States on June 9. 



The excavations at New Boston were made possible through the 

 kind offices of Dr. T. Gann, of Belize, and the officials of the Belize 

 Estate and Produce Company, to whom the land upon which the 

 mounds are situated belongs. The purposes of this excavation were 

 two-fold: to obtain some data upon the consti-uction of mounds in 

 this area and to secure a collection of potsherds from this district. 



A mound which consisted almost entirely of large and small stones, 

 with very little earth, was trenched from one side to the center. Two 

 walls of dressed stone, one running at right angles to the other, were 

 uncovered. Neither extended to the surface. The foundation course 

 in both cases was composed of large flat stones which projected be- 

 yond the face of the wall proper. A small but representative collec- 

 tion of sherds was secured. The mound also yielded a few fragmentary 

 human bones, a serpentine bead, and some partly finished flint objects. 

 Since flint outcrops are numerous in this district, it is safe to assume 

 that flint-working played an important part in the economic life of 

 the builders of these mounds. 



